s/o Disney thread

[----]

.

[Just Beachy]

The Disboards are overwhelming. Lots of good info there, but you read and start to think that you have to do all the interesting things you read about. You are also led to believe that if you don't have your touring plan structured right down to the minute you will have a terrible time. Well, that is just not the case. If you are able to make it in Sept, you won't have to worry about touring plans. There will not be long lines, and you will get to see everything you want. We go ALL the time and I have yet to plan a trip. In fact, I have even been known to call reservations for a room while we are in the car driving to Disney. LOL!!

 

Just get a basic idea of what is at each park and let one person pick the 1 thing they want to do in that park, and then just relax, enjoy, and take in the Disney magic. Disney is an incredible place. The details are just amazing, and they often go missed by those who are determined to stay on plan. It will also still be hot as blazes in Sept, so some down time at the pool everyday could be a welcomed relief.

 

Basically, just spend some time thinking about your trip. What do you envision? Is it okay if you miss some things if your kids want to stop and watch the ducks? (I don't know why but my girls find WDW ducks much more interesting than the regular old ducks around here. LOL!) Would stopping to watch the ducks (or something else) upset you too much because it would mess up your schedule? I can't tell you how many break downs I have witnessed (by childrenand adults) in the parks because someone was tired of having to follow "the plan."

 

Anyway, think about the memories you hope to bring home and start your planning there.

 

Oh, btw, I have 1 friend who packs multiple changes of clothes for her girls each day. She wants them to match whichever ride/show/restaurant they are visiting. She also packs jewelry and bows to match each outfit. In fact, the bows alone take up an entire suitcase. Now, to me that sounds like torture, but she LOVES taking and going back to look at all the pictures. Her girls love "modeling" for her, and her dh likes the attention his girls get, so for them, that works.

 

Good luck. You will have a great time, and I am happy to answer any questions you have.

 

:) Beachy

[DianeW88]

Oooooh, goodie!!! I love doing this! :lol:

 

Ok, here's what I've got.

 

Because you are a family of five and Disney counts you as a "whole person" once you're three years old, it forces you to stay in a hotel room that will accomodate that many people. So:

 

A stay for one week (7 nights, 8 days) in September, in Disney's Art of Animation resort (their newest) in a "Finding Nemo" family suite with 7-day Park Hopper + Water Parks and More and the regular Disney dining plan (one table service, one counter service and one snack for each night of your stay) is $4555.90.

 

You can reduce the cost by dropping the "Water Parks" addition to the ticket and modifying or eliminating the dining plan.

 

This is the "rack rate" with no discounts added. Those will come later. Disney generally has free dining at that time of year, so that would save you quite a bit. Keep in mind that staying in a value resort would get you the "Quick Service" dining plan for free. You would have to pay to upgrade to the regular dining plan. Worth it in my mind, but my kiddos are older and eat more.

 

I would also budget in money to take your girls to the "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique" and your son to the "Pirates' League" (if he's into that). The girls would love it, I'm sure.

 

If you let me know more specific things you want to do and the type of food your kids enjoy....I can recommend restaurants for each day, too. :lol: And yes....I know I'm pathetic. :D

[DawnM]

I would think of looking at renting DVC points if you want to stay on property. I priced it out recently and a 1 bedroom condo at Animal Kingdom was going to be about $1,500 for the 7 day period of time. There are some that are less expensive.

 

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/RentTrade-FAQ.htm

 

You might also hit the homeschool days period of time. It is late Sept or early Oct. 5 day hoppers with 5 vouchers for DisneyQuest and/or the waterparks is $180pp.

 

If you get a condo, you can have a lot of your own food.

 

Now, I do Disney CHEAP and if you want info on that I can email it to you. Even if you don't do it as cheaply as we do, you might get an idea or two from it.

 

Dawn

[DianeW88]

Yep, between me and Dawn, we have got you covered, no matter which end of the Disney spectrum you want to be on. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[----]

.

[DianeW88]

By eating dinner out once, I'm assuming you mean only once at a sit-down, table service restaurant, right?

 

Based on that, I would suggest that you might enjoy a character meal. I recommend Crystal Palace (we love breakfast there). It's a Winnie-the-Pooh character dining experience. The food is good and it's a very pretty restaurant.

 

If your dd's are into princesses, I would choose the character meal at Akershus in Norway (Epcot) over the Cinderella castle experience (overrated and waaaay too expensive). Or else the dinner at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian resort. Cinderella, Prince Charming, and best of all....the stepsisters and their mother...are the characters for that one. The stepsisters alone are worth going for. They're hysterical!!

 

If your kids aren't into the life-size characters (or get scared by them), they might enjoy seeing Remy make his appearance at Les Chefs de France (Epcot) for lunch. He's so cute and he comes out on a cheese tray with his handler to chat with each table. He's interactive and squeaks and you want to scoop him up and take him home. :D

 

If you want a non-character experience, we love Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom for lunch. It's our first day must-do. Cosmic Ray's in Tomorrowland is an awesome choice for counter service and the portions are so huge, you can easily share an entree. The bakery on Main Street is great for breakfast, although the cinnamon rolls do violate the "don't eat anything bigger than your head" rule. You also can't miss the Dole Whip at Aloha Isle in Adventureland. So yummy!

 

50s Prime Time Cafe in Hollywood Studios is also fun. Like stepping back in time. The wait staff interacts with your family and "scolds" kiddos for not eating their veggies or putting their elbows on the table. The PB&J milkshake there is TO DIE FOR.

 

In Animal Kingdom, Tusker House has a character buffet with Donald and his friends for breakfast and lunch. Yak & Yeti is a sit-down restaurant in that park that we enjoy, and Flame Tree Barbeque is a great counter service restaurant with large portions.

 

In Epcot (besides the places I mentioned), Sunshine Seasons in the Land pavillion is an awesome counter service. There is something for everyone there. We also like the bakery in Norway for sandwiches and their school bread and cloudberry horn treats. Don't miss Karamel Kuche in Germany. So much goodness to snack on. Love the chocolate dipped, sea salt topped caramels.

 

I'm sure I'll think of more! :D

[DawnM]

Oh, Ok.....did you get both emails?

 

I know I didn't talk about renting DVC points in there because it was my cheap trips, but that is an option we have done before. We got a studio at Old Key West for $99 per night S-Th. I think the points have changed a bit since we did that. I really want to do Animal Kingdom next time though if we can at all swing it.

 

Dawn

 

 

You did email me all that info, yesterday, I think. :D It's been very helpful, and a lot easier to understand than the disboards.

[Melabella]

September is a great time to go to Disney (other than the humidity). It's cheaper and less crowded. Early March can be okay, but it will be a bit more expensive than September.

 

My suggestion is to stay at Port Orleans Riverside. They have rooms in the Alligator Bayou section which sleep 5. You could stay 10 nights with 10 day base (no park hoppers or water parks) tickets for $3407.15. For $281 more you can get a Preferred (close to the main building and busses) or River View room. I do not recommend park hoppers for first time visitors and longer stays anyway. If your family isn't big on swimming, the resort pool and slide should suffice. I cannot imagine free dining not being available next September. That leaves you $1600 for travel and souveneirs.

 

A pp suggested the Art of Animation suite. While those suites will accomodate the size of your family, they are the same price or more than the moderate hotels and you only are eligible for Quick Service dining if the free dining promotion is offered. In fact, in years past the family suites at the All Star Music resort were excluded from the free dining promo. That is why I recommend Riverside. You also won't qualify for the Free Dining promotion if you rent DVC. We've had trips where we had very Disney meals, too, but, if you choose the right places, the dining will add a lot of fun and memories to your trip.

 

If you PM me, I will be glad to recommend Disney restauraunts (I've been to nearly all of them) and some other fun things for your family! And, I really will plan your whole trip for you. I have access to the crowd calendar and will be glad to help you with that once you settle on your dates.

Edited January 9, 2012 by Melabella

[acurtis75]

I am no Disney expert but here are a few ideas that worked for us.

 

We rented a 4 bedroom 3 bathroom condo on homeaway.com for around $600 per week. We always prefer a house or condo so we can cook some meals and have more bathroom space.

 

Also, I don't know if your dates are flexible but if you go during homeschool days there are significant discounts. We are going next month. The 5 days tickets for 3 people were almost $800 but we signed dd up for one $28 homeschool class and got th same exact tickets at a discount for $500.

[DianeW88]

September is a great time to go to Disney (other than the humidity). It's cheaper and less crowded. Early March can be okay, but it will be a bit more expensive than September.

 

My suggestion is to stay at Port Orleans Riverside. They have rooms in the Alligator Bayou section which sleep 5. You could stay 10 nights with 10 day base (no park hoppers or water parks) tickets for $3407.15. For $281 more you can get a Preferred (close to the main building and busses) or River View room. I do not recommend park hoppers for first time visitors and longer stays anyway. If your family isn't big on swimming, the resort pool and slide should suffice. I cannot imagine free dining not being available next September. That leaves you $1600 for travel and souveneirs.

 

I love POR!! I thought they were phasing out the trundle rooms there over the course of 2011 to make room for queen beds in each room and the new "royal-themed" rooms? Are they still available with the optional trundle? Because if they are then, yes....that would be my first choice. The pools are nicer at the moderate resorts.

 

Fort Wilderness cabins are also fun and sleep six...but the pools aren't that fabulous. However they do have full-size kitchens in each one. Probably not necessary with free dining, but the convenience for breakfast and snacks is nice.

[Melabella]

I love POR!! I thought they were phasing out the trundle rooms there over the course of 2011 to make room for queen beds in each room and the new "royal-themed" rooms? Are they still available with the optional trundle? Because if they are then, yes....that would be my first choice. The pools are nicer at the moderate resorts.

 

Fort Wilderness cabins are also fun and sleep six...but the pools aren't that fabulous. However they do have full-size kitchens in each one. Probably not necessary with free dining, but the convenience for breakfast and snacks is nice.

 

 

The trundles are disappearing with the refurbishment, but there is going to be a bench that turns into a bed instead. It will still be a small bed, like the trundle, meant for a child under 10.

 

There's a picture here if you scroll down to the Tues, Nov. 15th entry.

 

Hope that helps!

[DianeW88]

Oh, those are really cute!! Too small for my 11 yo ds though. And definitely too small for my teens! :lol: It would probably work perfectly for the OP's 3 year old, though.

[----]

.

[DianeW88]

I've seen kids of all ages in life jackets. No one will even blink. Tell her not to worry.

[Krista in LA]

I've only been to Disney twice, so I know nothing compared to the others. However, I just wanted to say if you can get the free dining, it is wonderful! The first time we went, we didn't have free dining so we skimped by having breakfast in the room, sharing lunches, taking snacks in with us. It worked out fine, but I hated having to worry about spending the money for food at the park. This past time, we had free dining and even with the two quick serve meals and two snacks a day, we had so much food! I really liked being able to stop and get a snack or drink without worrying about how much it cost. My nephew is only 2 so he didn't get a meal plan but we still had plenty of food for him. The night before we left, we bought so many snacks to take home with us because we still had points left over. And they will let you spend one meal to get 3 snacks if you want too.

 

Have a great time!

[katilac]

I like to use the online reservations tool at Disney. Just go to Parks and Travel, and you can enter the number of people you have, dates, resort and ticket choices. You can change the variables to see how it affects your price.

 

You can actually book there, which I do, but you can also just use it to gain information.

 

I will warn you that it's insanely hot in September. Wait till later in the month if you can, and if you could squeak into October, even better. We're used to heat (Louisiana), and we've done the hot months, but I don't think I would anymore. The difference in how you feel, and how much time you have to spend inside resting, is pretty marked. In a cooler month, the parks aren't open as long, but you can get just as much done (you move faster when not in a heat-induced stupor, lol).

 

We have always gotten the free dining package, but I would pay for it if we had to. It's so nice to let the kids have whatever treats they want, and not think twice about it - in general, to not think about the food issue at all. There are good choices on the quick service plan, but if this is likely to be a rare trip, I'd probably do table service for character and experience meals.

 

Doing a sample booking the way I would plan it, I come up with $4,323 at POR for 7 nights, 8 days, base tickets (no hopping), meal plan (1 table, 1 quick service, 1 snack). Change to quick service dining, and it's $3,838. You could also book 2 rooms at a value resort.

[annabanana1992]

Have any of you regular DWD goers noticed a lot of change in price over the last few years? We went to DWD (family of 5) four years ago for 8 days - Park hopper, dining plan, Beach Club resort, Princess parties - the whole enchilada so to speak.

 

I have a reservation right now for 5 days with free dining at the Beach Club w/ Park Hopper (no extras included) and it is costing several thousand more than the previous trip. Obviously one should expect prices to go up on 4 years, I was just surprised how much. We went to Maui for 8 days cheaper than this including airfare!

[katilac]

Have any of you regular DWD goers noticed a lot of change in price over the last few years? We went to DWD (family of 5) four years ago for 8 days - Park hopper, dining plan, Beach Club resort, Princess parties - the whole enchilada so to speak.

 

I have a reservation right now for 5 days with free dining at the Beach Club w/ Park Hopper (no extras included) and it is costing several thousand more than the previous trip. Obviously one should expect prices to go up on 4 years, I was just surprised how much. We went to Maui for 8 days cheaper than this including airfare!

 

Wow, definitely not. Are you going at a different time of year? That does make a huge difference.

 

We are going on our 5th trip since 2006 this month, and it has gone from about $1,500 for four people to $1,900 this year, always value season at a value resort. About 25% increase, and somewhere in there, my 2 kids went from juniors to adults, so that's part of it. We have never done park hoppers - maybe those have gone up in price? You can fiddle around with a lot of variables at Disney online, and maybe see if one factor is increasing the price.