Newbie - October trip, ?'s and concerns, long post

[MadFF]

Hello all!
I was told about this forum from some folks over on the Open Roads forum. I am "Tvov" on that forum. Anyway....

We are in the initial planning stages for a trip to Fort Wilderness in mid-October 2008. We will be driving down from Connecticut with our 21' TT, being pulled by a F250 7.3PSD. This will be our fifth season with the TT, so we are well used to it and camping in general. It will be me, wife, son (13) and daughter (11). We are hoping (and assuming) we will be making reservations before the end of this month (January).

The last week we have been perusing this and other forums about info and tips on WDW and Fort Wilderness. I am sure many of my questions have been covered before, but I am having trouble sifting through everything! Apologies in advance for repeat questions, and Thanks in advance for responses. If people just want to leave links where I might find more info, that is fine.

Frankly, we are quickly becoming overwhelmed and a bit frustrated with the mass of information available about Disney World. We were going to fly down and stay at a Disney resort hotel, but from descriptions of FW we want to camp there now.

I will try to make a short story long here:

We are planning on leaving early on a Saturday (3-4 AMish) for a two day drive. Stay at a hotel somewhere midway, preferably with a pool for the kids to work off steam from the trip. I don't really see sleeping in a rest stop or parking lot with the whole family. Get to FW sometime Sunday afternoon or hopefully no later than early evening. People have been telling me it is about 20 hours drive time, I am figuring at 24+ hours to include breaks every few hours.

We would stay at FW Sunday night through Friday night, leaving early Saturday morning for the drive home. Again, stay at a hotel at a midway point, arriving home Sunday afternoon sometime.

Food: Right now, we are kind of figuring on bringing basic stuff for simple breakfasts at the camper and snacks. Then doing a Disney Dining Plan for lunches and dinners. Seeing as how this is a rare trip for us, the wife and I aren't really planning on spending time at the camper cooking.

Activities: Magic your way pass, with one day at water park (or parks, ? more than one?).

That's it in a nutshell.

Travel: I would be interested in comments from people who have made a similar trip with a family. We have a portable DVD player for the truck, and the obligatory handheld Nintendo games.
Also, how about tips for a decent Hotel, preferably with pool, at a good halfway point down the coast? If it was just my son and I, I would consider just overnighting it in a parking lot in the TT somewhere along the highway, but the wife is not interested in doing that! (lol) Plus, we figure on giving the kids a break from the drive. Also, the return trip... Should we plan on the same hotel or maybe try a different one? We are not really interested in "setting up" at a campground for an overnight, but if one is easily accessible along our way, maybe.

Food. Does that sound like a decent plan using the DDP that includes one TS meal, one CS meal, and one "snack"? Planning on breakfast at the camper? Also, from what I've been reading, should we make reservations for EVERY "table service" meal?? These forums make it sound like we will never get a seat without year-in-advance reservations. We want to enjoy Disney, hopefully not checking the time every 1/2 hour so we won't be late for our next meal. We DO want to see the Hoop-Dee-Do Review, and will make reservations for that. Speaking of which, what would be a good day / time for that? Right now, we don't know which other places we should eat at. I don't think we need to see many "character" meals, my son especially is not interested in that. My daughter, though, would probably get a kick out of a "Princess" meal thing. I was just reading another thread extolling the pleasures of going with the Deluxe dining plan, not worrying about meals at all. I am so confused!

Activities: Does the Magic your way Pass cover all activities and rides? We still have to look more into that, but once we are in DW, what should we expect to pay extra for to see and / or ride?

Discounts: We have AAA, and have heard about discounts with a AAA membership, but on a quick perusal of their website I didn't see anything about Disney in October or how or if we can reserve through them. How do AAA discounts work? We are not members of any other organization that I know of that would have discounts available.

I will have more questions, and I am getting as much info as possible... But sheesh, all we want to do is have some fun at Disney World, something we probably won't do again for years! -- If we get the chance to do it again. We want to have a good experience, but with all these advance reservations, planning, warnings, recommendations, good stuff, bad stuff... It is making us nervous.

Thanks again for any responses, and I will be pestering you all with more questions I am sure.


(P.S. I just re-read my post, I didn't think it would be this long! Sorry!)

[Rhonda]

Hi! Welcome to the DIS!! :yay:

I can answer a few of your questions:

Park Tickets: The Magic Your Way pass will get you into the 4 Disney parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Disney Hollywood Studios) and all the rides/shows that are in them. You can go into one park each day. If you buy the Park Hopper option on the tickets, it will allow you to hop from park to park within the same day. If you add the Water Parks Fun & More option, that will allow you entrance into the two waterparks (Typhoon Lagoon & Blizzard Beach), and DisneyQuest, and Pleasure Island. If you are only planning on going to one waterpark, one time, then it's cheaper to just pay your way in, instead of adding the option to your tickets.

Dining: You do not need to make dining reservations for every meal. But, as some of the more popular restaurants do fill up in advance, it's probably good to have some reservations. Especially if there is a restaurant that you definitely want to go to! This is especially true for character meals. If you want to eat at Chef Mickey's, or a Princess meal, then you should have advance reservations. Restaurants begin taking reservations 180 days in advance. But, if you're flexible on the times you eat, and aren't picky about which restaurant you're eating at, then you should be able to walk up someplace.

FW does offer AAA discounts at certain times of the year. They don't offer it online though, so you will need to either call CRO to make the reservation, or go through a Disney Specialist travel agent (coincidentally, I am an agent with Dreams Unlimited Travel--the TA that sponsors this board! ;) I would be happy to help you plan your trip!)

You're going to have a wonderful time!! :goodvibes

[BigDaddyRog]

I've sugessted this to several folks...and I'll swear by it...if you only make ONE reservation...make every attempt to reserve a dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table inside of the castle. If at all possible, try to reserve it about 45 minutes to a half hour before the nights fireworks display, and ask if you can have a table with a view of the outside carousel. If all goes right, the fireworks will start right around the end of your entree, begining of dessert....it will be an experience that even your son will remember forever, and the daughter gets a free 8x10 and 5 3x5s with Cinderella taken before you are seated. The fairy godmother does a a little skit during the meal, and some of the mice from Cinderella are roaming the tables. This will cost you 2 table service meals, but may very likely be the highlight of the entire trip...even for your son, and the food is exquisite(order the prime rib, it was the best I've ever had in my life!!!)

[PolynesianPixie]

Hello all!
I was told about this forum from some folks over on the Open Roads forum. I am "Tvov" on that forum. Anyway....

Welcome!!!!

We are in the initial planning stages for a trip to Fort Wilderness in mid-October 2008. We will be driving down from Connecticut with our 21' TT, being pulled by a F250 7.3PSD. This will be our fifth season with the TT, so we are well used to it and camping in general. It will be me, wife, son (13) and daughter (11). We are hoping (and assuming) we will be making reservations before the end of this month (January).

The last week we have been perusing this and other forums about info and tips on WDW and Fort Wilderness. I am sure many of my questions have been covered before, but I am having trouble sifting through everything! Apologies in advance for repeat questions, and Thanks in advance for responses. If people just want to leave links where I might find more info, that is fine.

Frankly, we are quickly becoming overwhelmed and a bit frustrated with the mass of information available about Disney World. We were going to fly down and stay at a Disney resort hotel, but from descriptions of FW we want to camp there now.

Relax! This is your vacation! WDW is full of many things to do and see and experience. There is no way you can do it all, so don't even try. Pick the things you want to do most and enjoy! I'll try to simplify a few things for you.....

I will try to make a short story long here:

We are planning on leaving early on a Saturday (3-4 AMish) for a two day drive. Stay at a hotel somewhere midway, preferably with a pool for the kids to work off steam from the trip. I don't really see sleeping in a rest stop or parking lot with the whole family. Get to FW sometime Sunday afternoon or hopefully no later than early evening. People have been telling me it is about 20 hours drive time, I am figuring at 24+ hours to include breaks every few hours.

We would stay at FW Sunday night through Friday night, leaving early Saturday morning for the drive home. Again, stay at a hotel at a midway point, arriving home Sunday afternoon sometime.

Food: Right now, we are kind of figuring on bringing basic stuff for simple breakfasts at the camper and snacks. Then doing a Disney Dining Plan for lunches and dinners. Seeing as how this is a rare trip for us, the wife and I aren't really planning on spending time at the camper cooking.

Activities: Magic your way pass, with one day at water park (or parks, ? more than one?).

That's it in a nutshell.

Travel: I would be interested in comments from people who have made a similar trip with a family. We have a portable DVD player for the truck, and the obligatory handheld Nintendo games.

We recently made a very similar trip. Leaving early was one of the best things we did, as the kids slept a good bit in the car. I also plan little surprises spaced out along the way like Disney themed games, coloring books, hair accessories (check out the dollar store). This last trip I purchased Pirates of the Carribean on DVD and kept it a surprise until we were on the road.
Also, how about tips for a decent Hotel, preferably with pool, at a good halfway point down the coast? If it was just my son and I, I would consider just overnighting it in a parking lot in the TT somewhere along the highway, but the wife is not interested in doing that! (lol) Plus, we figure on giving the kids a break from the drive. Also, the return trip... Should we plan on the same hotel or maybe try a different one? We are not really interested in "setting up" at a campground for an overnight, but if one is easily accessible along our way, maybe.

There is a nice Holiday Inn right off I 95 in Florence, SC with an indoor pool. It is a little more than half way, but it may be better to get the bulk of the driving done the first day.

Food. Does that sound like a decent plan using the DDP that includes one TS meal, one CS meal, and one "snack"? Planning on breakfast at the camper? Also, from what I've been reading, should we make reservations for EVERY "table service" meal?? These forums make it sound like we will never get a seat without year-in-advance reservations. We want to enjoy Disney, hopefully not checking the time every 1/2 hour so we won't be late for our next meal. We DO want to see the Hoop-Dee-Do Review, and will make reservations for that. Speaking of which, what would be a good day / time for that? Right now, we don't know which other places we should eat at. I don't think we need to see many "character" meals, my son especially is not interested in that. My daughter, though, would probably get a kick out of a "Princess" meal thing. I was just reading another thread extolling the pleasures of going with the Deluxe dining plan, not worrying about meals at all. I am so confused!

I wouldn't go with the DDP~it is way too much food. The regular plan is plenty, especially when you can have snacks and pop tarts in the camper! Make ressies 180 days out for the really important meals. With Hoop de doo, you get a better table the earlier you book.

Activities: Does the Magic your way Pass cover all activities and rides? We still have to look more into that, but once we are in DW, what should we expect to pay extra for to see and / or ride?

Everything is included in the park tickets

Discounts: We have AAA, and have heard about discounts with a AAA membership, but on a quick perusal of their website I didn't see anything about Disney in October or how or if we can reserve through them. How do AAA discounts work? We are not members of any other organization that I know of that would have discounts available.
AAA is offering some nice discounts right now if you book in January
I will have more questions, and I am getting as much info as possible... But sheesh, all we want to do is have some fun at Disney World, something we probably won't do again for years! -- If we get the chance to do it again. We want to have a good experience, but with all these advance reservations, planning, warnings, recommendations, good stuff, bad stuff... It is making us nervous.

Thanks again for any responses, and I will be pestering you all with more questions I am sure.
pester away!:goodvibes

(P.S. I just re-read my post, I didn't think it would be this long! Sorry!)
:yay:

[pooh4me]

I would suggest a guide book. The one I recommend is The "Passporter", you can find out about it at www.passporter.com . It has full descriptions of all the parks,rides, tickets and resorts. I have used it for years. It also has pockets to keep all your info in and record where you were each day and what you did for reference, when you return home. Keep reading and asking questions on here.:disrocks: you will have a lot of answers. Fort Wilderness is great and you will find yourself wanting to return. Have a great trip.

[lawnspecialties]

I'll chime in with my standard suggestion.

If you don't have a copy of "The Next Exit", get it before you go. You can probably get it from Amazon or I think even Camping World. It is the best thing in the world for interstate traveling; especially if you're pulling a TT. Not only does it tell you everything at each exit, but the places listed in red are considered RV accessible.:thumbsup2

[lawnspecialties]

I'll chime in with my standard suggestion.

If you don't have a copy of "The Next Exit", get it before you go. You can probably get it from Amazon or I think even Camping World. It is the best thing in the world for interstate traveling; especially if you're pulling a TT. Not only does it tell you everything at each exit, but the places listed in red are considered RV accessible.:thumbsup2

I just checked Amazon and CampingWorld. CampingWorld has The Next Exit 2008 for about $14.

[ntsammy5]

Welcome. I'll chime in on the Dining Plan. Like PP (polynesianpixie) says, the deluxe plan is way too much food and your entire vacation would probably have to be planned around it. We've done the regular DDP before and I contend that that's too much food too and your vacation tends to center around eating. The way things have been lately, you do have to make reservations (aka ADRs) 180 days in advance to get into popular places which includes almost everything. My suggestion is to skip DDP completely, make reservations for a couple of must do restaurants (I love LeCellier) and play the rest by ear. If you plan too many meals you'll find your whole trip ruled by food. Just my opinion. BTW the reason we did the DDP in the first place was because it was free when we went. A really good deal. Also they have made changes to DDP in 2008 that make it much less attractive than it was. Again just my opinion. Good luck

[LarryJ]

Hello all!
I was told about this forum from some folks over on the Open Roads forum. I am "Tvov" on that forum. Anyway....

We are in the initial planning stages for a trip to Fort Wilderness in mid-October 2008. We will be driving down from Connecticut with our 21' TT, being pulled by a F250 7.3PSD. This will be our fifth season with the TT, so we are well used to it and camping in general. It will be me, wife, son (13) and daughter (11). We are hoping (and assuming) we will be making reservations before the end of this month (January).

The last week we have been perusing this and other forums about info and tips on WDW and Fort Wilderness. I am sure many of my questions have been covered before, but I am having trouble sifting through everything! Apologies in advance for repeat questions, and Thanks in advance for responses. If people just want to leave links where I might find more info, that is fine.

Frankly, we are quickly becoming overwhelmed and a bit frustrated with the mass of information available about Disney World. We were going to fly down and stay at a Disney resort hotel, but from descriptions of FW we want to camp there now.

I will try to make a short story long here:

We are planning on leaving early on a Saturday (3-4 AMish) for a two day drive. Stay at a hotel somewhere midway, preferably with a pool for the kids to work off steam from the trip. I don't really see sleeping in a rest stop or parking lot with the whole family. Get to FW sometime Sunday afternoon or hopefully no later than early evening. People have been telling me it is about 20 hours drive time, I am figuring at 24+ hours to include breaks every few hours.

We would stay at FW Sunday night through Friday night, leaving early Saturday morning for the drive home. Again, stay at a hotel at a midway point, arriving home Sunday afternoon sometime.

Food: Right now, we are kind of figuring on bringing basic stuff for simple breakfasts at the camper and snacks. Then doing a Disney Dining Plan for lunches and dinners. Seeing as how this is a rare trip for us, the wife and I aren't really planning on spending time at the camper cooking.

Activities: Magic your way pass, with one day at water park (or parks, ? more than one?).

That's it in a nutshell.

Travel: I would be interested in comments from people who have made a similar trip with a family. We have a portable DVD player for the truck, and the obligatory handheld Nintendo games.
Also, how about tips for a decent Hotel, preferably with pool, at a good halfway point down the coast? If it was just my son and I, I would consider just overnighting it in a parking lot in the TT somewhere along the highway, but the wife is not interested in doing that! (lol) Plus, we figure on giving the kids a break from the drive. Also, the return trip... Should we plan on the same hotel or maybe try a different one? We are not really interested in "setting up" at a campground for an overnight, but if one is easily accessible along our way, maybe.

Food. Does that sound like a decent plan using the DDP that includes one TS meal, one CS meal, and one "snack"? Planning on breakfast at the camper? Also, from what I've been reading, should we make reservations for EVERY "table service" meal?? These forums make it sound like we will never get a seat without year-in-advance reservations. We want to enjoy Disney, hopefully not checking the time every 1/2 hour so we won't be late for our next meal. We DO want to see the Hoop-Dee-Do Review, and will make reservations for that. Speaking of which, what would be a good day / time for that? Right now, we don't know which other places we should eat at. I don't think we need to see many "character" meals, my son especially is not interested in that. My daughter, though, would probably get a kick out of a "Princess" meal thing. I was just reading another thread extolling the pleasures of going with the Deluxe dining plan, not worrying about meals at all. I am so confused!

Activities: Does the Magic your way Pass cover all activities and rides? We still have to look more into that, but once we are in DW, what should we expect to pay extra for to see and / or ride?

Discounts: We have AAA, and have heard about discounts with a AAA membership, but on a quick perusal of their website I didn't see anything about Disney in October or how or if we can reserve through them. How do AAA discounts work? We are not members of any other organization that I know of that would have discounts available.

I will have more questions, and I am getting as much info as possible... But sheesh, all we want to do is have some fun at Disney World, something we probably won't do again for years! -- If we get the chance to do it again. We want to have a good experience, but with all these advance reservations, planning, warnings, recommendations, good stuff, bad stuff... It is making us nervous.

Thanks again for any responses, and I will be pestering you all with more questions I am sure.


(P.S. I just re-read my post, I didn't think it would be this long! Sorry!)

I'm going to go against the grain and first say if you're going camping forget the hotel/motels and stay at a KOA and cook once you leave home. The hassle of towing a trailer and trying to stay at a motel is just too hard. Camping and cooking simple meals thought out ahead of time saves the big $$$. I would skip any sort of dining plans except for the DDE but that is only for AP holders. I would recommend looking at spending two nights gettting to FW and arriving at FW NLT than around 1pm to get settled in and then plan maybe on a dinner at TE.

Larry

[PolynesianPixie]

Welcome. I'll chime in on the Dining Plan. Like PP (polynesianpixie) says, the deluxe plan is way too much food and your entire vacation would probably have to be planned around it.

I feel so honored that I now have an internet nickname :lovestruc even if it does sound like toilet talk.

[TheFlame]

My best advice, Do the MNSSHP (Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party) while you are there. We went this past Oct. and it was the most fun I have ever had at Disney or anywhere else for that matter!:dance3:

You have to purchase a separate ticket to the party but it is beyond worth it!!!!!!!!:cool1: I don't know when they go on sale. Check WDW website under special events.

You don't want to do the dining plan if you are camping. It is not worth the money considering the money you can save by eating breakfast at the camper, packing snacks and eating a sandwich or soup when you get back from the parks. There is nothing like being at WDW with your own bed and your own kitchen!!!!!!:thumbsup2 In Oct. the parks generally (give or take an hour) close at ....MK-9pm, AK-6pm, MGM-8pm and Epcot-9pm (except of course EMH days or the days that the MNSSHP is on). This was early enough for our family to eat a late dinner or even come back early and cook on the grill! I planned each day's meals based on what park we went to that day. We did go to Chef Mickey's for dinner, it is THE BEST CM in our opinion with the exception of the Crystal Palace for breakfast. This was our first meal at the Crystal Palace and it turned out to be the best meal we had anywhere on property! I don't like breakfast but I can honestly say it was fabulous!!!!!!!!! Make ADR at the Crystal Palace for 1 hour before the park opens so you can have main street to yourself with no one but your family in your pictures in front of the castle.:lovestruc

Buy a guidebook. I have the Passporter (not that fond of it) and the Unofficial Guide to WDW (love it!) I have bought Birnbaum's(SP??) in the past but I like the Unofficial Guide the best. I also have tons of pages that I copied off of the internet from Disney info sites. BUT, the best and most informative info came from these great people on the DISboard!:hug:

There are many ticket brokers online and we bought our tickets from a great one that had free shipping and specials with free days added. We saved so much money (we purchased them before the price increase this past Aug.)that we traded our 10 day park hopper with no expiry tickets for annual passes the day we arrived and they even refunded us $24!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:scared1: They gave us credit for the price of our ticket based on the gate price. The people on the phone at WDW ticket offices told us they would but I didn't believe it until I saw it!!!!! Now that we have AP we are going back 1/19/08-1/26/08 with an AP discount and hope to use the passes one last time in Aug. or Sept.:cheer2:

If you have ????'s PM me. I hope I have been of some help!

Have a wonderful trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:flower3:

[seabee]

I have to agree with The Flame. We were there this past Oct. and the halloween party was AWESOME. We are going back Oct. 18-26th and we will be doing the party again.

Traveling down will be fine. We did it with our 32' toyhauler from Maine. We did it in 28 hours or so. We did stop at truckstops, and we will be again. Easy in and out. To be honest I thought I would hate it, but I didn't. My kids were 8/6 and they were fine. We have a DVD player in the car, and load up on activity books. We try to do most of the driving the first day, and take it easy the next. We tried a different way this time on the way down so I can't really help with a 1/2 way stop.

Dining-We don't usually get the dining plan. I find it is too much food. Although it is changing this year. If you want to do sit downs every day, do it. If not, don't bother. If you don't care about characters, may I suggest Le Cellier in Canada. We ate there this last trip and loved it. And I gotta go with Big Daddy Rog-eating at the castle is nice. I also suggest reservations. Then you are gauranteed your seat.

My best advice I can give you is don't go nuts trying to get everything in. We have been a few times, and this last time we went with a family that had never been. I went nuts trying to get as much in to our trip for them to enjoy, that it wasn't much fun for me. This next trip, we are deciding what we absolutely MUST do, and then the rest I am not worrying about. We will just take our time and take in all the sights. That is my favorite part anyway. Oh, one thing we enjoyed, watching the fireworks at MK from the fort's beach. You don't hear the music, but it is relaxing.

I'm noticing that I am going on and on. If you have any questions about going in Oct. or traveling from the NE or whatever feel free to PM. I won't bore the rest of you with my ramblings. I get carried away.:rolleyes1

Oh, check out www.mousesavers.com they have great deals on tickets. They only send the newsletter out on the 15th of every month. If you are interested in the ticket prices I can give them to you. Get the planning video, and a guidebook. Watch the video, read the book and just enjoy! You will have a blast!

[MadFF]

Thanks!
Thank you for all the great replies, especially since I am sure all this is repeat stuff for all you folks.

Hitting campgrounds on the way down: We have been thinking about this, but three things -- We just want to get to Disney, we really don't want to set up and take down just for an overnight at a campground, and time. Time -- as it is, we will only have 5 days on the ground at Disney. Due to work and school, we can't take off more days for the trip.

The Holiday Inn mentioned earlier looks about perfect. On their website they even state they have room for RVs. My truck and TT (21') are really about the same size as a Class A, and I am experienced with towing, so there shouldn't be any problem parking the TT in the parking lot. The location of the hotel looks great... we get most of the driving out of the way the first day, and should be able to arrive at FW early afternoon, if not sooner. As for leaving the next Saturday, by using the same (or similar) hotel, we don't have to leave the campground until as late as 9:00AM. That way, we aren't starting up my 7.3 diesel at 3:00AM to get an early start! (Even I admit my diesel is loud! and I do my best to not run it at campgrounds when not necessary).

Food: Yes, we could save more money by cooking meals at our camper, but wife and I don't think we are really going to want to. We will have the camper stocked with basic foodstuff, but beyond that we want to explore Disney, not really spend time cooking at the campsite. Maybe, if we are able to, the next time we make the trip we will plan on cooking more.

After I said that: When we make reservations for FW, do we have to also add in the Disney Dining Plan right away? Or can we add it later? We may end up changing our minds about the DDP, and go with more cooking at the TT as we learn more here.

We have to look into the Halloween thing, that sounds like fun.

My son has his own "way" about things, and a "character" or show dinner really won't work with him. But I think my wife and daughter would love something like Cinderella's Royal Table and definitely the Hoop-Dee-Do.

Oh, I forgot to mention. My wife and I have both been to Disney World, back in our teens in high school. Like, 25+ years ago (!!). Obviously it has changed a lot!

Thanks again!

[PolynesianPixie]

After I said that: When we make reservations for FW, do we have to also add in the Disney Dining Plan right away? Or can we add it later? We may end up changing our minds about the DDP, and go with more cooking at the TT as we learn more here.



You can add it on :)

The only difference is that if you do NOT have the DP when you make ressies for things like Hoop-Dee-Doo, you will have to pay for it at the time of booking.

[clkelley]

Also, a thing about AAA discounts.

If you want the dining plan and a package, then you need to call a AAA office to make your reservations. They are the only place to offer AAA discounts on a "package".

If you decide to book everything separately, then the Disney reservation center can give you a AAA discount on the site alone.

The reason we are cautioning you on the dining plan is this. If you are not willing to make reservations for every sit down meal for every table service credit that you have, then you "may" run into the problem of having extra table service credits at the end of your trip and not being able to use them because you couldn't get into a restaurant or didn't want to wait and gave up and had counter service.

If you don't have the dining plan, then if you can't get into a sit down restaurant on a particular day/evening, then you can still go to counter service somewhere and not lose anything.

Also, consider this, during October there is something called the "Food & Wine Festival" at Epcot. There are all these booths in Epcot that have sample size portions of food from all over the world that run from $2 - $5 each. I spent many afternoons strolling those booths having my meal just be getting several samples. If I had been on the dining plan, I wouldn't have been able to do that because I also had to eat this big sit down meal every day.

[clkelley]

Thanks!
We have been thinking about this, but three things -- We just want to get to Disney, we really don't want to set up and take down just for an overnight at a campground, and time.

You mention you have a travel trailer. There are many campgrounds along the interstate that have level pullthroughs where you could just pull in, plug in the electric for the AC and go to bed. Don't worry about water or sewer hookups, just use the bath house at the campground.

That's what I did on my October trip to WDW. I pulled into a KOA right off of I-75 about 10:30pm, plugged in my electric, took a shower at the bath house, and went to bed. The next morning, about 6:30 am I got dressed, had my yogurt, banana, and juice for breakfast, disconnected my electric, and was on the road again by 7:30 am.

The sites were nice and level and I didn't even mess with levelers or stabilizers.

[clkelley]

On more tip on your drive home.

You mentioned you'd probably pull out the last morning about 9am and start driving home. It always seems to take me longer to pack up than I think I do, and it's "really" hard to force myself to leave Disney property when driving and I invariably stretched it too long and got home really late.

So what I started doing is checking out the day before. You can pack up and then park your rig in what they call the "overflow" lot. Then spend the rest of the day in the parks and attractions, dinner somewhere, etc. You can even go back to your rig in the overflow lot for a nap. When you are done for the day, then pick up your rig and drive an hour or so North. Then stop at a pull-through campground or hotel. Then the next morning, you can get on the road really easy and no chance of running into the trap of "doing one more thing" at WDW that last morning.

[DznyRulz]

Welcome fellow Dis'er! I'm glad you found your way over here from rv.net. More information about camping and WDW than you can shake a stick at. I'll post here what I posted on the rv.net thread about the AAA discount.

...discounts are given for AAA and annual pass holders. The discounts can be 10% or 15% during value season (funny, I got 20.03% for my next trip in August, value season. Not complaining though.). The number of discounts available per month is limited. You don't specify when you would like to visit the Fort but in value season with the AAA discount a full hookup site is $42.30, including tax. If you do decide to make a reservation at the Fort and would like to get a AAA discount but one isn't available (ask for any available discounts when you call the Central Reservation Office, 407-W-disney), book your dates anyway. You can call back later to check for an available discount and have the difference applied to your credit card.

[TheFlame]

I agree with clkelley, the Food and Wine Festival is just another reason to avoid the DDP. That was awesome! We don't drink but there was so much food to sample we got full at the first 3 countries!!! Alot of the things you can get are favorite dishes from the popular rest. around The World at Epcot! So much fun and good prices!:cool1:

[LarryJ]

You mention you have a travel trailer. There are many campgrounds along the interstate that have level pullthroughs where you could just pull in, plug in the electric for the AC and go to bed. Don't worry about water or sewer hookups, just use the bath house at the campground.

That's what I did on my October trip to WDW. I pulled into a KOA right off of I-75 about 10:30pm, plugged in my electric, took a shower at the bath house, and went to bed. The next morning, about 6:30 am I got dressed, had my yogurt, banana, and juice for breakfast, disconnected my electric, and was on the road again by 7:30 am.

The sites were nice and level and I didn't even mess with levelers or stabilizers.

That's what we often do just for one night, no sewer just elec and sometimes water and I put the tongue jack down to just reduce the "bouncing some" and call it done .... 10 min max to set up. You will spend 3 times that lugging stuff from the Car/Trailer to the room and then running out to the trailer for a snack or something you forgot. Then add another 30 min reloading the stuff from the motel room to the trailer/car. Also, depending on what motel you stay at they may or maynot have a restaurant within walking distance and lugging a trailer to any restaurant is a big hassle.

Larry

[auntie]

Hi, and Welcome to the camping boards of the Dis! We live in NY(Long Island) and have driven to Disney many times. The time you are leaving home sounds good. We did find that leaving that early..we drove about 12 hours or so, getting us to South Carolina.(past the South of the Border..which is awful..don't stop there what ever you do!) We were still were able to find a hotel and enjoy a nice dinner, and the kids would use the hotel pool. If you stop later than that, you are going to find it more difficult, as everyone else who doesn't have a reservation is also stopping around dinner time off of I-95. If you have a reservation I suppose that's less of a concern. We would leave the hotel early in the am..around 6 and make it to Disney by dinner. We have yet to take our travel trailer to FW. I do have friends who have done so, and they stop at campground right off of I-95...that is close to the interstate. Might be around Florence...not sure. They do not unhook. They simply do as others here have suggested. They just plugged in for the electric had dinner and let the kids swim. It was an easy in and out pull through the next morning. If we were pulling the tt, I think that would be easier than unpacking it to go into the hotel...but that's me. I will try to find out which campground they stayed in and post it back here.
As far as the dining plan...we lOVED it! DO IT!:yay: We have visited Disney since the early 90's. We never added a dining plan. Last year was the first time. We found it to be very convenient and enjoyed eating in restaurants we might never have tried otherwise. Looking at the ages of your kids, I'm thinking that a character breakfast might be fun..but other than that, I'd really try some of the Epcot restaurants. My son was 15 for our last trip, and he tried foods he ordinarily wouldn't have because we had the plan and he didn't feel as though he was wasting money if he didn't like it. We ate in Mexico..which was fun, and outdoor night time market..only you are inside. There is also a boat ride in the exhibit that was cute. We also LOVED LeCellier in Cananda. We couldn't get dinner reservations, but ate there for lunch. Everyone loved it. Great steaks. I think even if we were to camp we would likely add the plan as it's a vacation for everyone. We usually eat at least one table service meal a day anyway, and the plan suited that very well. You can still eat your breakfast at the camper, and use your counter service meal for when you are at the parks, and make a reservation for a nice dinner for the evenings. ADR's are NOT that big of deal My advice to you is to make them. What are you talking about..making 4 reservations for dinner? Not exactly tough..you'd do that at home. Make the reservations whether you add the dining plan or not. This way you know you have a reservation somewhere. If for any reason you don't want to go or want to make other plans..just cancel it. Not a big deal, really. Good luck with your trip, and the planning.

[MadFF]

auntie,
It takes you 12 hours to go from South Carolina to DW? From looking at online directions, it is saying more like 6 hours. I am assuming the online directions are not taking into account such things as traffic.

Yes, about the "vacation for everyone", lol. That is what we are thinking about with cooking at the camper. It might be nicer not to worry about making dinner back at the camper when we've been running around all day.

About a campground during the drive, we are thinking it just would be nice to have a hotel to relax at, and get dinner either at the hotel or nearby. And let the kids work off steam in a pool. The Holiday Inn that was mentioned earlier states on its website that they have room for RVs.

Thanks again for all the great responses. We are going to make reservations at FW, we are just going back and forth about the dining plan. But we have time for that. Lots to think about, and thanks to you folks for calming me down a bit about the planning!

[auntie]

No we drive from NY...a good twelve hours and get most of the way through South Carolina. Then we get to Disney following day. Depending on what time we leave the in the am...we've gotten to WDW in the afternoon....to dinner time. We always say we're going to leave early, but frankly usually we're pretty tired from the first part of the trip and leaving at 4:00 in the morning. We usually have a nice breakfast and then hit the road. We're not as rushed. The trip usually takes us about 20 driving hours...however you want to break it up.
The trip home..is the longest 20 hours...always seems to be quicker going down, when you are looking forward to vacations. Seems to drag on forever on the way back!;) I'm thinking it might take more time towing.

[MadFF]

Well, we should have plenty of time for trip. Everyone I've talked to says about 20 hours, even pulling a TT. Of course, it is always easy to say: "We'll leave at 3:00AM"... it is another thing to actually be pulling out of the driveway at 3AM!

[MadFF]

Made reservations! Went through AAA and got a discount. Requested Loop 1500. We did go with the basic Dining Plan. If this all works out, in the future when (!) we return we might try it without the dining plan.

Looks like my sister and BIL will meet us down there. They are trying to figure out which resort hotel to stay in.

I will be making reservations for Cinderella's Table and Hoop-Dee-Do Review. Any opinions on which nights and/or times are better for those? We are thinking of Cinderella's Table on Monday for 7:30PM (if I have the times correct), and Hoop-Dee-Do for Tuesday at 7PM (ish). I am figuring on doing the event dinners early in the week, later on we might just want to get back to the camper and sleep! lol

Thanks for all the help and suggestions!

[auntie]

Sounds like a great trip! If I remember correctly if you see the Hoop Dee Doo for the 7:00 pm show, you should be able to stroll over to the beach/marina area and watch the Electric Water Pagent on Bay Lake. Nice way to end the eveing.;)