athomemom Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 We are considering our vacation options, not certain yet, but I am scoping out deals for Disney. If you used the Disney Dining Option, did you think it was worth the $$ and that it saved you $$? Did you stay inside Disney or downtown Disney? Please share your likes & dislikes. (and all helpful info :tongue_smilie:) We are also considering Universal Studios. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I've never used Disney Dining, so I can't comment on that. I just like the option of being able to eat outside of the parks. Last time we were there we stayed at a condo and had a day or two NOT in a park at all, so I just didn't think it would be the best option for us. Also, we never stay on site, or in Downtown Disney. There are just too many good deals on hotels or condos outside the park to pass up. If we drive to Orlando, we will stay at a condo (the cheapest route) and drive to the parks ourselves. If we fly, we will typically take the hotel shuttle and try to leave for the park a little after what we think the main crowd will be (like a little after park opening) and return a little before the park closes, to avoid the shuttle crowds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomemom Posted January 15, 2011 Author Share Posted January 15, 2011 I've never used Disney Dining, so I can't comment on that. I just like the option of being able to eat outside of the parks. Last time we were there we stayed at a condo and had a day or two NOT in a park at all, so I just didn't think it would be the best option for us. Also, we never stay on site, or in Downtown Disney. There are just too many good deals on hotels or condos outside the park to pass up. If we drive to Orlando, we will stay at a condo (the cheapest route) and drive to the parks ourselves. If we fly, we will typically take the hotel shuttle and try to leave for the park a little after what we think the main crowd will be (like a little after park opening) and return a little before the park closes, to avoid the shuttle crowds. Did you just google the condos or did you go thru an agent? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 We are considering our vacation options, not certain yet, but I am scoping out deals for Disney. If you used the Disney Dining Option, did you think it was worth the $$ and that it saved you $$? Did you stay inside Disney or downtown Disney? Please share your likes & dislikes. (and all helpful info :tongue_smilie:) We are also considering Universal Studios. Disney is currently running a Free Dining promotion through most of 2011. This was a GREAT deal for us in December. We ate and ate without worrying about the cost and STILL had credits left over when we left. We stayed at one of the value resorts and as such, received the Quick Service Dining Plan. This entitled us to 2 counter service meals and 2 snacks each night of our stay. Since we frequently split the huge meals, we ate 3 meals a day plus a snack or two and had plenty of credits. Check the Disney website for the details. If you can get it FREE, it's a great deal. Pegasus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 We go and stay onsite and use Dining. When we first started taking the kids, 4-5 years ago, Dining was a *fabulous* deal. Now? They've made some changes and I don't think it saves you as much. It's tremendously convenient, and if you would do a table-service meal for each of your days in Disney, it still makes sense. Basically, for the cost of one table-service meal per day (roughly), you also get a counter-service meal and a snack each day. (You get your number of nights x the number of people in your party for each of those, to be divided up among your party however you wish -- so you can eat two table-service meals today, or use all of your snacks on the last day, or share a counter-service meal among a couple of family members if you all need something light, etc, etc.) On the other hand, if your main goal is spending as little as possible and you wouldn't do the table service meals anyway, then you'll save money paying out of pocket. We really *enjoy* doing some table service meals each trip and it adds to our experience. Still, now you have to pay gratuity for each meal, and they no longer include appetizers (except at the buffet and family-style meals), so there are draw-backs. There are also drawbacks to the "kids" meal options if you have kids 9 and under and eat at menu-based places rather than family-style and buffet places. If you have a little kid who only eats mac and cheese anyway, it's fine. If you have an 8 or 9yo who eats a variety of food and will want food more like the adults have, some of the menu-based places will be ... frustrating. You can get around that by eating at buffet and family-style places, by selecting menu-base places carefully, or by buying an "adult" meal plan for a younger child. We even did the Deluxe Dining Plan once when we went with my in-laws. It would typically be WAY too much food for our family (a table service, counter service, and snack per day may not sound like much, but we always have more than plenty), but the convenience while managing a trip with older relatives really made it worthwhile in that one case. Most of us with children at the parks will want to spend more time exploring and less time sitting in restaurants though. We love staying in one of the monorail-hotels (GF or Poly -- there's also Contemporary, but I just plain don't like it) because of the convenience of reduced travel time and stress. (There are also hotels positioned between Hollywood Studios and Epcot, if you have older kids and would spend more time there than at Magic Kingdom and Epcot.) Poly, particularly, is great because you can catch the monorail to the Magic Kingdom *or* the monorail to Epcot is right there on the other side of the Poly grounds. I'm going to disagree with the PP also about when to arrive at the parks. If you get there before they open, that first hour in the park is a great time to walk straight onto your favorite rides. An hour after the parks open, things start to get crowded. ... Leaving *can* get tricky if the park is closing at a standard time (rather than staying open extra late), especially if there's "one last show/parade" that everyone stays for and then they all leave at once. My biggest advice for Disney planning is to get the newest edition of "The Unofficial Guide to WDW". It will give crowd projections for every day of the year (you can also get these at TouringPlans.com) and tons and tons of useful advice. It also covers staying off-site, Universal Studios, and other Orlando area attractions. By far the most useful resource we've found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 We just went in Nov to Orlando but we stay in a timeshare condo so we can have a kitchen to cook(food allergies here). We did visit Universal Islands of Adventure and HIGHLY recommend that park, we loved it! Sign up for the MouseSavers email. google that name. They send out really good deals for Disney and often it's one of the hotels at Downtown Disney and you get shuttles to the parks or free meals...always great deals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Did you just google the condos or did you go thru an agent? Thanks! I just googled. I've never had bad luck going that route (knock on wood!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 ...(food allergies here)... Food allergies... Okay, I'm veering way off topic, but I just wanted to mention how *fabulous* Disney foodservice is for dealing with food allergies and dietary restrictions. All of the table-service chefs are trained in dealing with food allergies: recognizing hidden ingredients, preventing cross contamination... They stock standard alternatives that avoid major allergens, and will whip up something fresh just for an allergic child. The first time we went to Disney, my then 6yo was allergic to nuts, eggs, dairy, gluten, soy, most grains... The list just went on and on. And I was terrified of trying to feed him while we were there. That very first night when the chef came out to talk to us (because our reservation listed his allergies), he confirmed the allergy list with me, then turned to ds, "So, what would you like for dinner? Sure... Okay, well, I've got... Yep, I can do that... And what vegetables do you like? Okay, I'm going to go get started!" He hand-breaded fresh chicken strips in gluten and egg-free batter, then fried them up in fresh oil. He steamed fresh broccoli, heated gluten-free rolls, made several other "safe" side-dishes, and even whipped up safe brownies. Ds was in heaven, and I sat there and *cried* because someone had gone to the trouble to make my kid feel special and to give him the celebratory "kid" foods that he so rarely had the chance to eat in real life. And because I could let go of the anxiety I'd had coming into the trip that I wouldn't be able to feed him away from the safety of my own kitchen. The counter-service places are a little more difficult, but it's possible to get a pretty comprehensive list of "safe" foods from Disney prior to a visit and plan that way. All of the pizza places offer gluten-free pizza, there's gluten-free pasta, etc -- you just have to know to *ask*. Ds has outgrown most of his allergies, so we don't see the chefs as much now when we go. But the fact that they *do* make this possible for people with food allergies and dietary restrictions is so very important to me. I just want anyone who's *worried* about that to know that it's okay. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I'm going to disagree with the PP also about when to arrive at the parks. If you get there before they open, that first hour in the park is a great time to walk straight onto your favorite rides. An hour after the parks open, things start to get crowded. ... Leaving *can* get tricky if the park is closing at a standard time (rather than staying open extra late), especially if there's "one last show/parade" that everyone stays for and then they all leave at once. We only arrive later IF we're staying at a hotel and using their shuttle because everyone is trying to leave at the same time. I'm not one for getting to the lobby an hour earlier than necessary just to get a spot on the first shuttle. That just doesn't feel like vacation to me. Other than that, I agree with you about the first hour of the day in the parks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Food allergies... Okay, I'm veering way off topic, but I just wanted to mention how *fabulous* Disney foodservice is for dealing with food allergies and dietary restrictions. All of the table-service chefs are trained in dealing with food allergies: recognizing hidden ingredients, preventing cross contamination... They stock standard alternatives that avoid major allergens, and will whip up something fresh just for an allergic child. I just want anyone who's *worried* about that to know that it's okay. :) It's because of what I hear about Disney with food allergies that we're thinking of going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Several people on DisBoards.com made a comparasin to see if free dining is really that great of a deal. Even Disney hotels on-site offer room deals off-season. However, you pay rack rate if you get "free" dining and be aware that the free dining does not include sit down restaurants unless you pay an extra amount (so those character meals will cost you extra) and it does not include tip.....so if you do go to a sit down and pay the extra, you will also need to leave a tip. It used to be a better deal.....it is not nearly what it used to be. Also, I don't know how many are in your family, but they are very strict about the Value resorts only allowing 4 people.....if you have 5 you can stay at the moderates, and if you have more than that, you will need one of their more expensive options (upwards of $250 plus tax per night!) We rented "points" from a DVC owner once and stayed at Old Key West on site for $99/night. But that was also back when there were only 4 of us. You cannot get the free dining if you go this route, but you don't have taxes on top of that either. Usually we buy blow out weeks through SkyAuction.com and save them for Disney trips. The last blow out week offer was $149 for the WEEK for a 2 bedroom condo and it included taxes! We find a place on the site that is in Kissimmee and we have gone enough to have our favorites and the ones we stay away from if at all possible.....they are older condos, but we don't care.....they are all we need. We just went in Oct and Dec and will be going back in May. There are also Disney homeschool days through their Y.E.S. program (Youth Education Services) in Sept and Jan and the tickets are literally about half price! We have done that before too and had a great time. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 (edited) We ALWAYS stay on site and use the dining plan. This past year was the first year in about 7 years in a row we haven't gone to Disney. We went on a Disney cruise instead. They have made changes to the dining plan, but it's still worth the money IMO, especially if you want to do character meals. Dinner at 1900 Park Lane should have cost us almost $100 (for 2 adults and 1 child), but it was covered on our dining plan (which was $94/day for all 3 of us at the time) AND we still had other meals during the day. We always end up with more food than we can eat and on the last day use up our extra snacks buying things to take on the return trip. The dining plan is perfect for character meals/sit down meals. We do one character meal or nice sit down a day. It makes for a great break from all the running around. You NEED to book the meals well in advance if you can. It's much easier to get in at decent times. In '08 we went for 10 days (about 3 days too long, IMO-we were tired of being happy) and I spent over an hour figuring out our dining plan and then another hour on the phone setting up reservations. It was a PITA to do, but it made things so much easier to know where we were going to be each day. If they're offering it for free, I'd jump on it ASAP. We have stayed in the value resorts and they're fine (nice rooms, good pools, decent food courts) for the price, but we prefer to spend a bit more for the moderate resorts. The Caribbean Beach Resort is one of my personal favorites. I just like the atmosphere there and Indy likes the pirate themed rooms (they cost a bit more though). Port Orleans is nice too, but not as much fun as the CB, IMO. Of course I prefer the deluxe resorts, but since we're not in our rooms very often, it doesn't make sense (to James Bond) to spend the extra money for those (though if I could convince James Bond, I totally would). The Polynesian is nice (though the waterfall in lobby makes me have to pee) as is the Yacht Club (really pretty, IMO), but I personally prefer the GF. I mean, if you're going to go deluxe, go deluxe. ;) You can read all about the dining plan options (there are several:quick service, deluxe-we usually do this one-premium and platinum) here. Edited January 15, 2011 by Mom in High Heels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Several people on DisBoards.com made a comparasin to see if free dining is really that great of a deal. Even Disney hotels on-site offer room deals off-season. However, you pay rack rate if you get "free" dining and be aware that the free dining does not include sit down restaurants unless you pay an extra amount (so those character meals will cost you extra) and it does not include tip.....so if you do go to a sit down and pay the extra, you will also need to leave a tip. That's only if you're staying at a value, though (the part about sit down meals not being included)....you get the quick service dining plan for free dining at the values (used to be regular one until a couple of years ago :()...moderates and deluxe you get the regular plan. Whether free dining is the best discount or not depends on your situation...I've done the math and, for us, it's definitely the best (we're a family of 5, get 2 value rooms, and upgrade to regular dining). If you want to stay at one of the more expensive deluxes and have younger kids, you can usually save more with a room only discount. For our upcoming September trip, we're thinking of doing 5 nights at Pop with free dining, then switching to the Contemporary with a 35% off code (and no dining plan) for 3 nights...just to get a chance to stay at a deluxe for awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoftwinboys Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 DawnM-would you mind sharing the name of just a couple of your favorite condos? We are thinking of going next Jan.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 DawnM-would you mind sharing the name of just a couple of your favorite condos? We are thinking of going next Jan.. I'm not Dawn, but I can recommend http://www.vacationcentralflorida.com/ for Windsor Hills condos. We will be staying with for the second time in less than a year next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 we just went a couple of weeks before Christmas for 8 days. We rec. the free dining. It was great. We ate at very nice sit down meals every night. On our last day, since we had a late night flight, we went one last time to Epcot. We were having lunch at our favoerite counter service place there, as we gave our card to the cashier to apply our dining plan, he said "and you now have 8 counter service meals left", just chit-chatting I said "it's too bad we can't use them as we are flying out tonight". He had someone else take over the cash register and he went in the kitchen and made us up a huge bag to take on the plane with 8 of t;he most dilicious turkey sandwiches, 8 bags of chips, a variety of juices and waters and wonderful desserts. All of this food actually lasted us a couple of days after we got back home. I had just assumed that we would just lose the free counter services credits but no this cashier really took care of us. I tried to tip him but he said that he was not allowed to receive tips. Also one night we ate at a seafood place. When the waiter told us about the daily specials, I mentioned (I tend to chit chat a lot with waiters) that dd and are allergic to shellfish. He brought out the very nice chef who told us exactly how he would cook our chicken so there would be no possibility of it being around any shellfish. We loved the dining plan and the waiters wre very helpful in making sure we rec. the best benefit from it. We also loved the refillable mugs as it was freezing on our trip and we kept refilling our mugs with hot chocolate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Since you have two kids, and provided you don't mind all of you in one hotel room, on-site might be the way to go. It's wildly convenient if you decide to stay in one of the monorail hotels, plus if vacation for you means not thinking about food prep at all, the dining plan would definitely be the way to go. We're a family of 5, however, so if we stay on-site we have to get two rooms. The idea of two little box rooms for an extended period is a little too much togetherness for us. We stay off-site, generally at Windsor Hills. We get three bedrooms, two baths, a full kitchen, washer/dryer, and access to a great community pool for less (sometimes way less) than the cost of two on-site hotel rooms, even at the value level. We like to eat breakfast in the condo, pack sandwiches for lunch, and generally go off property for dinner. Quality at Disney's counter service restaurants has gone way down in my opinion since Free Dining got big, so we try to eat in the parks as little as possible. Can't comment on the quality of the table service or character meals, as we haven't done one of those in probably 10 years. For condo recs we've used vacationcentralflorida (mentioned in an earlier post) and http://www.floridasunvacationhomes.com. Have fun, whatever you decide! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 We went in October for the first time. We stayed in the Fort Wilderness cabins & I highly recommend them. They were the only roomy place to stay in the moderately-priced range. They were very private and could comfortably sleep 6. We were able to do breakfast in our room because we had a full kitchen. The kids slept in the bedroom and we slept in the living room on the Murphy bed. Get the dining plan -- it was so worth it! You will not be hungry on the basic plan. You'd be surprised at what falls under their "snack" option. You can get a turkey leg as a "snack." To me, that's an entire meal! Your counter-service meals include the meal, a drink, and a dessert, and the sit-down meals were all big & also included drinks and desserts. If you want good viewing spots for the parade, stake them out 45-60 minutes ahead of time. Seriously. Also plan out which rides you want to go on and fast-pass those first thing if the waits are more than 30-45 minutes. They only issue a certain number of fast-passes each day for the popular rides and once they're gone, they're gone. Don't feel stuck to your FP time either. As long as you show up on or anytime after your FP time, they'll honor it. We went to Universal, but didn't really like it that much. I don't know how old your kids are, but mine couldn't go on most of the rides they wanted to go on because of height restrictions. The whole reason we went to Universal was to see the Harry Potter theme park. It was set up beautifully, but there were only 3 rides. My son could only go on 2 of them (we knew this ahead of time -- we'd checked out the restrictions online), and they wouldn't let my daughter go on the 2nd ride because she was 1/2" too short :glare: They measured her before she got in line and said she was tall enough, but they measured her a second time when she got to the top. This was after over an HOUR of waiting in line :glare:. Their customer service did nothing to appease us either, other than allowing my son and husband to cut to the front of the line after they dropped my daughter off to me in the gift shop where I was waiting for them. I would not go there again. Disney was much, much better. It was friendlier, cleaner, and their customer service was wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imprimis Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 We really enjoy staying onsite at WDW and feel the benefits make it worth the cost. The ease of transportation to and from the parks, the amazing theming of their resorts, and, especially the Extra Magic Hours keep us onsite. Each day, one of the 4 WDW parks opens an hour earlier or stays open THREE hours after regular closing time for resort guests. We are able to get in a lot more attractions and rides by taking advantage of the Extra Magic Hours. This is especially worth it if going to WDW during peak (or near peak) season. As to Universal Studios, we have fun there, too :001_smile: Staying onsite at a Universal resort offers something not even WDW does-front of the line access to most attractions for onsite guests. I can't even tell you how much time this has saved us. I do feel Universal is geared more to older kids and teens (they have some amazing thrill rides), but my youngest enjoys going there, as well. Have fun planning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomemom Posted January 16, 2011 Author Share Posted January 16, 2011 Usually we buy blow out weeks through SkyAuction.com and save them for Disney trips. The last blow out week offer was $149 for the WEEK for a 2 bedroom condo and it included taxes! We find a place on the site that is in Kissimmee and we have gone enough to have our favorites and the ones we stay away from if at all possible.....they are older condos, but we don't care.....they are all we need. We just went in Oct and Dec and will be going back in May. Dawn I looked at SkyAuctiton.com. Wow! Really one whole week for $149. What's the catch? :D Did you guys just bid on the place you wanted, and you got it or are their other deals as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 No, no bidding the way we do it. We are on their mailing list and get notices when blowouts are available. Then we buy weeks and save them to book when we are ready. This scares some people.....to pre-purchase and "hope" for a good place when they are ready.....so far, we have never had any problems. BUT, we go very off-season.....it does NOT work for peak season at all. Just to warn you. The blowout weeks range from $149-$249 depending on what they happen to be offering at the moment. When the $149 weeks came out, we nabbed three of them. They are good for another year and a half, so we have time to use them. Here are the places we have stayed with these weeks: Vacation Villas (loved it but it is no longer offered) Celebrity Resorts (ok, safe, clean, nothing fancy) Florida Vacation Village (we like this place but we ask for the condos with the washer/dryer as we like those the best.) Westgate (DO NOT STAY HERE!) Orbit One (we do like this place as well and they offer $5 Likki Tikki water park entrance!) There are others we have considered trying, but since we are familiar with Florida Vacation Village we like the familiar. The units with w/d have 2 floors, like a townhouse, and they have added in condo high speed internet, while the others don't have it, or didn't when we stayed. This price does NOT require you to sit through a sales presentation, although they will ask you usually if you want to do it for around $50-$80. We have done it twice to get the bonus, but I have no desire to do it again....we did it at Vacation Village and at Westgate.....I hate it. Dawn I looked at SkyAuctiton.com. Wow! Really one whole week for $149. What's the catch? :D Did you guys just bid on the place you wanted, and you got it or are their other deals as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I will add that we LOVE Disney and when we lived in Southern California for 19 years we had Disneyland passes and would pop down at least once a month to go. I often went with the kids and without DH. Now that we live in NC, my one requirement is that we visit WDW at least once per year. It hasn't always been the case, but we do go often, sometimes more than once per year (if we get APs). However, we are also on a budget. If I spend $150 plus tax PER NIGHT at a moderate resort on Disney property, we can't go as often. So, my quest has been to find ways to go and still work within our budget. Homeschool passes are offered twice per year......Sept and Jan. They are usually the 3rd week of the month, but the passes are also good the week before the actual homeschool week and the week after the actual homeschool week.....so you have a 21 day window to go. The only difference is that the actual homeschool week has classes to attend which are often quite interesting. Prices for homeschool week are MUCH cheaper.....we got the most expensive pass. It was around $156 for a 5 day hopper and 4 vouchers for either Disney Quest or the water parks.....so we usually would hit the water parks a couple of days and Disney Quest a couple of days. The only problem is that in January one of the waterparks is always down for refurbishment. They seem to alternate it though so one year it will be one and one year the other. Since you have 9 "events" to go to, and time to use it (even though your pass can be used in the 21 day window, once you use it/activate it you have 14 days from that date to actually use it....if that makes sense), you could potentially have a good 10-12 day vacation and really enjoy it. Here is a breakdown of our typical cheap vacation. I am well aware that many people have NO desire to do it our way and wouldn't even consider it a real vacation if they had to prepare meals or not eat out.....but it works for us and it allows us to go more often. SkyAuction: $149-$249 week Food: $200-$250 (we also have a Disney Visa card and use it for points. We use those points for eating at Disney.) We also sometimes go over as we do eat out some. Gas: $200-$300 depending on prices Dog Sitting: $150 Disney homeschool passes: $780 Here is what we carry into the parks with us: http://www.expotv.com/IGLOO-Maxcold-Max-Pack-Cooler/29-S5a It is large enough to carry water, lunch, and snacks for 5 people for the day. Honestly, we personally have very little Disney food we actually think is "great" The atmosphere is fantastic, but the food is just so-so. I also feel the quality has gone down in the last few years with the free dining, etc....just my opinion, but I think I would be sick if I ate Disney food every day for all my meals. This last trip my cousins were staying at the values and we met them at Pop for b-fast.....I thought it was really gross....eggs were rubbery, french toast was cold and limp, cinn. rolls were dried out.....the only really GOOD food is the sit down, $40 per plate stuff and we just can't do that with 5 of us. We do it occasionally, but not very often.....and if we do, the kids like places like T-Rex at DTD. Well, now that I have written a saga, I am sorry.....I have droned....but I do love Disney and try to find ways we can actually afford to go and not make it any more expensive than another vacation would be! Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 We're going to Disneyworld in 19 days!! :party: My SIL owns a timeshare in Orange Lake and we're renting a week from her for $250.00. I think you can go to the Disneyboards and find folks who are willing to sell weeks there as well. Not sure what they'd charge, but at least you know what the base price is (before they add any "profit mark-up"). We just ordered 7-day tickets this morning, and that was $1570.00. :svengo: We purposely wanted a condo for the full kitchen, so that we can eat a large breakfast before heading out to the parks, grab something light in the parks (a hot dog, ice cream cone, etc.), and then eat dinner at the condo in the evening. We are doing one character breakfast during the week we're there, as our youngest wants to eat with Mickey Mouse. So the condo is paid for, and the tickets are paid for. Just need $$ for groceries once we get to Florida, and the cost of gas (around $300 is what we estimate for Virginia to Florida and back again). The kids received $100 each from their Grandmother for Christmas and they're saving it to spend at Disney (t-shirts, stuffed animals, etc.) We are SO excited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 If you are driving down and have a car, you might also want to hit one of the Disney outlet stores off-site for last year's Disney park items so the kids can get more bang for their buck! I tell my kids to look there first and then buy in the parks if they can't find something there. They are called Character Warehouse and there are a few of them around Orlando. Dawn We're going to Disneyworld in 19 days!! :party: My SIL owns a timeshare in Orange Lake and we're renting a week from her for $250.00. I think you can go to the Disneyboards and find folks who are willing to sell weeks there as well. Not sure what they'd charge, but at least you know what the base price is (before they add any "profit mark-up"). We just ordered 7-day tickets this morning, and that was $1570.00. :svengo: We purposely wanted a condo for the full kitchen, so that we can eat a large breakfast before heading out to the parks, grab something light in the parks (a hot dog, ice cream cone, etc.), and then eat dinner at the condo in the evening. We are doing one character breakfast during the week we're there, as our youngest wants to eat with Mickey Mouse. So the condo is paid for, and the tickets are paid for. Just need $$ for groceries once we get to Florida, and the cost of gas (around $300 is what we estimate for Virginia to Florida and back again). The kids received $100 each from their Grandmother for Christmas and they're saving it to spend at Disney (t-shirts, stuffed animals, etc.) We are SO excited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomemom Posted January 16, 2011 Author Share Posted January 16, 2011 SkyAuction: $149-$249 week Food: $200-$250 (we also have a Disney Visa card and use it for points. We use those points for eating at Disney.) We also sometimes go over as we do eat out some. Gas: $200-$300 depending on prices Dog Sitting: $150 Disney homeschool passes: $780 Here is what we carry into the parks with us: http://www.expotv.com/IGLOO-Maxcold-Max-Pack-Cooler/29-S5a It is large enough to carry water, lunch, and snacks for 5 people for the day. Well, now that I have written a saga, I am sorry.....I have droned....but I do love Disney and try to find ways we can actually afford to go and not make it any more expensive than another vacation would be! Dawn Thank you for droning....:D I love all the tips! (I am in NC as well.) Do you guys drive straight through? I am a couple of hours from Charlotte. Thanks ever so much!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in GA Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Disney is currently running a Free Dining promotion through most of 2011. This was a GREAT deal for us in December. We ate and ate without worrying about the cost and STILL had credits left over when we left. We stayed at one of the value resorts and as such, received the Quick Service Dining Plan. This entitled us to 2 counter service meals and 2 snacks each night of our stay. Since we frequently split the huge meals, we ate 3 meals a day plus a snack or two and had plenty of credits. We loved doing the free DDP. We saw the Hoop-De-Doo Revue (which we never would have considered if we'd had to pay for it.) It's a wonderful thing to just walk up and get an ice cream, or whatever, without having to whip out your wallet and agonize over how expensive everything is. One big suggestion if you ever do DDP -- you've got to plan it carefully, or else you will waste a lot of food and maybe end up short up food later. For example, we would get breakfast at Port Orleans Riverside food court. We would get three breakfasts for the five of us and divvy it up. It was plenty. Then we would still have two meals left for lunchtime, or whatever. Another example -- for our snacks, we got Napoleans and cheesecake at the French Bakery at Epcot. But splitting them was more than enough. If we had walked in and bought five snacks, we would have ended up throwing away a sizable portion. Good luck! Here are posts and pics from our latest Disney trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 It takes us 8.5 hours plus a few stops. If we leave by 8 or 9am, we get get there in time for dinner. Dawn Thank you for droning....:D I love all the tips! (I am in NC as well.) Do you guys drive straight through? I am a couple of hours from Charlotte. Thanks ever so much!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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