Orlando trip warrants a few indulgences
CHRISTINE HICKS- USTA Travel
You may or may not recall my challenge - to have a really great time in Orlando over a weekend, including a VIP tour of Universal Studios, for under $500. Did I make it? Well … no. But I could have. If I really had to.

It was close. And it's feasible. Let's look inside my numbers. Included would be round-trip airfare from Buffalo to Orlando, two nights of hotel accommodation (sharing half of a twin room), three lunches, two dinners, attraction tickets for two days and transportation. $590.35. That's what I spent. Hmmm …

Had I started my airfare search earlier and committed when prices were at their lowest, I could have shaved about $40 off my airfare. $550.35

Had I not eaten dinner at Charlie's Steakhouse, a DiRoNA award-winning restaurant (gulp), I could have easily cut $34 off my dinner costs - and a few hundred delicious calories. I'm not a food snob - far from it - but where else except on vacation can you indulge yourself and not feel quite so guilty? Awwwright …. $524.35.

I would have skipped the Holyland Experience altogether, and added another day at Universal Studios or a day at Epcot. This would have added another $20 to my costs, but increased vacation satisfaction, a key factor when considering the short span of time we were there. $544.35. Hmmm … seems I'm going in the wrong direction.

Our Saturday night Brazilian feast was a tasty, if extravagant, experience as well. We could have shaved $10 off dinner that night. On the other hand, who knows when we'll ever again have a chance to try Brazilian churrascaria? (Incidentally, "churrascaria" is roughly translated as "barbecue." Real Brazilians often dressed as gauchos bring a variety of barbecued meats, chicken and sausages tableside on long knives or skewers. Generally, it's a fixed, one-price dinner that includes all you can eat, with salads and other sides served in a location central to your dining room. Delicious!) $534.35. Hmmm … I'm still $34.35 over budget. Where else could I cut? It might seem obvious to some that a $125 VIP tour (not including our $64 Florida resident admission tickets) would be among the first to go. I'm inclined to leave that, however. The keen divide between memorable vacations and those rather humdrum ones lies in those experiences that are set apart from your norm. Certainly, the VIP tour was an extravagance that took a mere theme park to new and much more memorable heights. Nope, the tour stays. Truth be told, I would change very little about my weekend, including the part where I went over budget. My experiences were a tad indulgent, but well-tempered by our modest lodging. And I just can't eat fastfood and be happy about it. That means, I suppose, that the budget might have been a little more reasonable at $550. Still, that bought us an awful lot of great fun, wholesome laughs, delicious food and memories that will last a lifetime. And what more can you ask? (Christine Hicks-Usta has enjoyed more than 30 years of globe-trotting as a member of the travel industry. Direct questions to her at Bee Group Newspapers, P.O. Box 150, Buffalo, NY 14231-0150.)