I usually go into spring break blinded. My friends always say they did great research and that I'm getting a great deal, but somehow spending way too much money. This year, I did things differently. I did my own research and planned my trip with my friends. William Faulkner, Ian Frame, Christina Morris and I had the time of our lives together and it was easier and cheaper with just a little bit of research. Take my word for it, it pays off. If you don't believe me, take a look.

Where to go? The beach is always fun but can get expensive for just laying on the beach all day. We were in the mood to do something. And that is how we decided on Orlando, Fl. We made a list of things we all wanted to do. Island of Adventures and Universal Studios ended up at the top of the list. After doing research we decided to get what is called 2-Park Unlimited tickets. This provided us access to Universal Studios, Island of Adventure and admission to certain clubs on City Walk for 7 consecutive days $106.00 after tax.

Where to stay? When booking our hotel we wanted something close to Universal and Island of Adventures so we could save on parking. We also wanted a room with some type of kitchen so we could buy groceries and cook instead of eating out everyday. The Enclave in Orlando seemed to fit us just right. It was 1.5 miles away from City Walk, which is the strip that connects Universal and Island of Adventures. We decided to book the Two Bedroom Resort Suite for $89.00, which ended up being $140.00 per person for all five nights. The room included a kitchen, living area with dining table, two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a private balcony. Single bedrooms were available but with two girls and two boys we thought this was the better choice.

Faulkner and Frame headed out on their bikes to find the closest grocery store and to look around the area. Morris and I headed inside the lobby to check in and collect any coupons that were lying around. Always remember hotels will have all sorts of brochures of every place near by and almost all of them will be filled with coupons.

That night we walked to Ci ci’s pizza. Morris and I had found two coupons of buy one All You Can Eat and get one Free at the hotel. Instead of spending around $7.00 we spent about $4.00 per person. After we were done eating we walked over to a Titanic Museum. We all paid about $18.50 per person instead of $21.00 after coupons Morris and I found at the hotel.

Pictures of the Titanic, The Experience.

Before heading to bed we went to Publics to get groceries for the rest of the week. The grocery list consisted of cereal, milk, lunch meat, bread, mustard, water, chips, bananas, snack bars, chocolate cake, spaghetti (turkey meat, and spaghetti sauce), jambalaya (rice, turkey sausage and shrimp), and chicken fajitas. The total was $92.22, which was only $23.05 per person.

The next two days we spent at Universal Studios and Island of Adventures. One thing that is good to check into is the rule and regulations to every place you plan on visiting. We check Universal and Island of Adventure's web pages and found that guests could bring in food and drinks. So we packed lunch and snacks everyday to keep from spending unnecessary money.

For St. Patty’s Day, we decided to journey through City Walk. We entered into this club called the Raising Star. It was basically a karaoke bar but it wasn't so basic. There was a huge stage that participants had to climb up on and they sung to a live band with back up singers. Frame and Faulkner performed Since You've Been Gone.

Frame and Faulker singing at Raising Star.

Thursday, Frame and Faulkner biked to Coco Beach, (a three hour bike ride.) Morris and I met them a little later. It was $5.00 to park for the entire day. We spent most of the day on the hot beach and that night looking around the town.

It was back to the parks on Friday where we spent the entire day riding rides. We took a tour that night on City Walk for our last time, and the next morning we headed back t the Boro. Once we were back we all paid Frame back for the gas, which ended up being $10 a person.

Some pictures of us in Orlando, Fl

All and all, it was a great trip that could have easily cost us $680 if we hadn't done our research, ended up being $258.80 a person. I think we had an amazing and successful spring break.

Ashley King