Florida for two fifty seven, please

It all started on a bumpy plane ride from Turks and Caicos to North Carolina last December.  We were headed home from a family vacation, flying American Airlines (AA) for the first time.  The flight home stopped in North Carolina and then Portland, Oregon.  Midway through the flight, the stewardess came over the speaker and said that AA was running a special- sign up with their credit card and you would receive 50,500 miles.  I asked the stewardess if a spouse could sign up for a card separately and each receive 50,500 miles and she said we could.  The small print said that you had to put a purchase of any amount on the card within a certain time frame and also pay an $85. annual fee.

Fast forward to late February of this year.  It was a Sunday afternoon, I was sitting on the couch in my living room scrolling through Facebook while the rain poured outside.  Ad's pop up often in my Facebook newsfeed and I usually ignore them.  A picture of a sunny resort in Mexico was on the ad this time and under the picture was a ridiculously low price.  Even as I clicked on the ad, I was mentally telling myself that I would never actually purchase something from an ad like this, it would just be fun to look.  The company advertising was called Book VIP.  They were offering cheap vacations in Mexico, Florida, and Las Vegas.  My friend Michelle and I had just been talking about Tahiti Village in Las Vegas and I noticed that was one of the resorts offered in Book VIP's deals.  On a whim, I picked up the phone, called the number, asked a million questions (every question I could think of that would expose any shady-ness), and then booked a 3 night stay for Matt and I at Tahiti Village for just under $130.  The stipulation attached to the trip was that you had to make at least a certain amount annually, travel as a married couple that shared the same address, and listen to a two hour time-share presentation.  Matt and I went to Tahiti Village in March (19') and had a great trip.  The timeshare presentation was typical and we declined the purchase.  Book VIP sent an e-mail just before we went to Las Vegas letting me know that if I made a short video mentioning their company and the resort we stayed at, they would give me 3 free nights to a participating resort in either Last Vegas or Orlando, Florida.  I made the video and submitted it for their review.  I received 3 free nights.

Combined, Matt and I had 100,100 miles from American Airlines.  We also had a 3 free nights stay to a resort in Orlando, Florida from the video I submitted.  That was enough miles to get 3 round trip tickets from our hometown in Oregon to Orlando.  The left over miles were enough for 3 nights at a hotel in Orlando.  At this point, we had 6 hotel nights and 3 round trip flights covered to Orlando, all with miles.  The only thing left was the rental car.  Costco beat out everyones price at $167 for an SUV for the duration of our trip.

$167. rental car
$60. resort fee (Book VIP does not cover resort fees)
$30. for a $5 per person per flight ticketing fee
_____
$257. base fee for our trip.  This price does not include any excursions, food, gas, extras, or our trip to Disney World.

(I could add in the annual credit card fee associated with the AA card but I just don't feel like it)

To keep additional costs affordable on our trip but also see some of the sites that are only available in Florida we decided on the places we would visit before our trip and then shopped for the deals.  On the list was:

Day 1: Kennedy Space Center
Day 2: Cape Canaveral/Cocoa Beach (Free)
Day 3: Sea World Orlando
Day 4: Disney World
Day 5: Gatorland

• All of our rooms (short of the night we flew in) have kitchenettes.  We went to the grocery store and purchased food instead of eating out.  Normally when we travel, I fly in most of our food in checked bags and coolers.  I just didn't have time this trip.
• 4 mornings of our stay include a free breakfast with the hotel/resort- the other mornings we will eat in with food we purchased from the grocery store.
• We purchased Sea World and Kennedy Space Center tickets for a discount through AAA during a Memorial Day sale they ran- the price of the ticket did not include parking ($10-$25 to park at each).  Sea World was $48.75 per person and Kennedy was $42.50/adult and $35./child.
• We purchased tickets to Gatorland for $17.49 each so Ellie could see alligators 'up close' and because they have a small waterpark that is not overcrowded.  We used Tripster Vacations for this purchase- door price would have been $29.99/adults and $19.99/kids. 
• We packed 3 water bottles that we bring with us into the parks to refill so we do not have to purchase drinks.  We also eat before we go and pack snacks so we are not purchasing food in the parks.  
• Ellie turns 8 tomorrow (18th).  We decided to spend the money to take her to Disney World for an 8th birthday present while we are down here.  I spent several hours searching for discounted Disney World tickets and came up short.  I did go to the Sam's Club here and purchase $350 worth of Disney gift cards for $335. If we would have spent more than one day at Disney, I would have purchased our tickets through AAA because they had the best deals (at the time I looked).

We are on our last night of our 6 nights in Orlando.  It's been so fun!  The resort Book VIP put us up in is family friendly, clean, and very functional.  It is not grand or glamorous but very comfortable (equivalent to staying at a Marriott or Hilton Extended Stay).   It's called Westgate Lake Resort and Spa and is very centrally located.  The hotels we have stayed at the additional 3 nights were also nice.  One night was at a Hyatt and the additional two at The Point (on Universal Blvd.).

Florida has surprised both Matt and I with it's beauty.  It is our first trip here and definitely won't be our last.  We look forward to a return trip, hopefully bringing the rest of our family the next time!

Link to the Video I made for BookVIP for the free 3 nights in Orlando