My fiancé and I have annual passes to Universal Studios, Florida. We live decently close, about a five hour drive on a straight stretch with stops, so we go pretty often. For a while we would drive out every weekend.
We have no difficulty budgeting food and gas money and even spending money, but it seems that just about every time we planned short for the hotel. Paying 150 dollars a night really adds up and dipped into our funds.
I downloaded the hot wire app while stranded at an IHOP at 3 am, and within five minutes we had a booked hotel 3 miles from our current location: only 100 dollars for the next three nights. The deals are amazing and the website and app are both fast and ridulously easy to use. I recommend using your location as soon as you log on, you'll be amazed at how quickly you can book a hotel just about anywhere based on the amount you can afford.