ª"˜˜ª¤.¸Official Team August 2013 Thread!¸.¤ª˜˜"ª&#9733

[chuckinthechat]

Hi team August. My family is hoping to become members but will need free dining to make it this year. Have never been to disney. Couple of questions.

WNY ers: what flight prices would you grab onto? We never fly so not sure what a good deal is and want to grab something if I see it.

I have become obsessed with DIS board. Once in awhile I have ran across random posts where certified planners are offering great deals. Any special spot I could be checking for these? Thanks in advance for input!

I am coming from the same area and was able to get a great deal on direct flights through JetBlue. I would look there and southwest as they are generally cheaper then delta or any other carrier

 

[squirrel4569]

Are we nuts for even considering this?

So please tell me that the drive all the way down 95 with kids isnt' that bad. I survived the drive 2x in high school...on an bus...with the marching band...so I know how long it is. DH has also driven down multiple times with his parents...they never flew down.

You aren't nuts. With the price of airfare for a family of four there can be considerable cost savings by driving.

Our kids are a little older, 7 & 4, but they have been road warriors since birth since our family lives in Michigan and we're in Texas. 1200 miles each way. Oddly enough it's the same distance from here to Orlando so they are accustomed to it.

We have two iPads that we load up with movies, pack a cooler with drinks and snacks and level set the expectations of how long they will be in the car for. (You will have at least one nap and one big sleep before we get there)

We drive straight through and often leave as early as possible in the morning. If we can be on the road by about 5am or so then we can get there around 2am and crash out at the hotel and are ready to go for the morning. Splitting the drive seems like more headache for me personally. We've done that as well and the kids seem to get hyped up about being in the hotel and then they don't want to sleep and in turn we don't get the sleep we need so we're tired and cranky.

If the kids know they are going to Disney World that should help with the "are we there yet?" questions. Again, it goes back to setting the expectations for them. The younger one might be a bit more challenging in that regard, but the older one likely will be interested in the geography and where you are and such. Getting a paper map for him/her can be a cool thing for them to follow along on the trip.

One last piece of advice. Don't pack the car so full on the way down that you don't have room for stuff that you will bring back.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[shopn24seven]

I drove from NJ to Disney once....It wasn't that bad, we made it a 2 or 3 day trip. We had a baby with us, so we took our time.

I live in TX now, same amount of miles, give or take. It's just cheaper to drive IMO and less stress, to fly.
Just paid for airfare for around 120 per person. If I had a larger family, I would drive for sure.

 

[Murray29]

Hi team August. My family is hoping to become members but will need free dining to make it this year. Have never been to disney. Couple of questions.

WNY ers: what flight prices would you grab onto? We never fly so not sure what a good deal is and want to grab something if I see it.

I have become obsessed with DIS board. Once in awhile I have ran across random posts where certified planners are offering great deals. Any special spot I could be checking for these? Thanks in advance for input!

We will be in Disney August 15th - August 26th staying at YC. This will be our 1st deluxe stay, we've always done value for all of our past trips. We got an awesome deal through ***. The only reason we are doing Disney this summer is because of the cheap flights we got out of our little hometown airport in Western NY (did i mention we usually drive the 18-20 hour trip to WDW ~ my kiddoes do fine, I'm the tortured soul who struggles). We go out of ELM & got flights for$202 round trip. I've still been tracking the prices & they are currently at $222 for our exact dates. I usually use Kayak to track prices & get daily price updates. We often fly out of Rochester or Buffalo when we travel due to cheaper prices, but this time we lucked out. Good luck at finding flights!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

WNY ers: what flight prices would you grab onto? We never fly so not sure what a good deal is and want to grab something if I see it.

Our flight price for this August was $330 pp round trip out of Syracuse, NY. Both flights (there and back) are non-stop via Jetblue, so this price also includes our checked baggage, seat selection, onboard snacks, etc.

We paid slightly less last August ($868 for three tickets, again non-stops both directions from Syracuse on Jetblue), and slightly more for Christmas week out of Buffalo ($1100 for three round trip tickets, to Orlando via Airtran and home to Buffalo via Jetblue......non stops in both cases). This price included seat selection on Airtran but not baggage.

I did see Southwest and Airtran flights for August at $100 each way when the schedule was originally released, but am not sure if those are still available (though someone on the Canadian board just posted a few days ago that they snagged $89 pp each way flights on Southwest out of Buffalo....just not sure of when they were travelling). We are not fans of Southwest's open seating policy so we opted to pay a little more and fly our airline of choice.

Good luck on finding flights that work with your budget!!

 

[333disneymom]

Are we nuts for even considering this? We are booked for 8/25-8/30. I have not been able to find flights with the times we are looking for(arriving at Orlando before noon and leaving Orlando later than 8PM) for under $400 a person. Since we need 4 tickets, that's a lot of money.

We planned on taking the auto train. But now we think we are just going to drive....from NJ...with a 5 year old and a 2 year old.....and I'm starting to think we're insane.

DH does not want to drive straight through or drive overnight. The driving plan is leave super early in the morning on Friday Aug 23...like 5 AM. Pull the kids out of bed and toss them in the car(in their car seats of course!) still in their jammies. Hope and pray they fall back asleep. Stop around 10 or so to change the kids into clothes and grab a quick breakfast/early lunch at a rest stop or something. Hit the road and drive, stopping as needed for potty breaks.

Stop driving around dinner time. Stay overnight somewhere in one of the Carolinas(any suggestions for a good halfway point?)

Next morning, hit the road after breakfast, stopping once again as needed for breaks and lunch. DH estimates that we should be in Orlando by late afternoon. We are staying off site on Sat Aug 24(somewhere decent but cheap...around 80 or so for the night...once again any suggestions?) Rest up as needed and either go resort hopping or hit Downtown Disney for dinner before heading to bed for a good night's sleep.

Then on Sunday morning, wake up at the crack of dawn, drive to the Contemporary, and check in. Yes, I know our rooms won't be ready but we can still get our park tickets and head right to MK, right? And then during our midday break, then we can unpack all our stuff.

We'll be taking 2 days to drive home too.

We'll have plenty of snacks and drinks for the kids(and advil for me because the are we there yet questions are going to drive me nuts) for the drive. Plus an iPad along with a mount that attaches to the headrest so the kids can watch movies(planning on loading lots of Disney ones on there for them)

The longest car ride we're ever done with my older son was up to Boston when he was 2.5. We only needed to take 1 break both ways. With 2 kids, we're driven the 3 hours to Hershey. Took a break halfway for lunch and to visit a little train village display since they love trains on the way up. Drove straight home without any breaks. Both kids are good in the car. They were both awesome on a 6 hour flight this past year too.

So please tell me that the drive all the way down 95 with kids isnt' that bad. I survived the drive 2x in high school...on an bus...with the marching band...so I know how long it is. DH has also driven down multiple times with his parents...they never flew down.

I don't think you are crazy. Sounds like you have a solid plan. I would keep checking airline prices too as they change often. Not sure how close you are, but I keep seeing ads for Frontier airlines out of Trenton. Also, I would keep an eye on JetBlue, AirTran and Southwest. I don't live in Jersey, but have relatives that often use these airlines.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[lovingeire]

Are we nuts for even considering this? We are booked for 8/25-8/30. I have not been able to find flights with the times we are looking for(arriving at Orlando before noon and leaving Orlando later than 8PM) for under $400 a person. Since we need 4 tickets, that's a lot of money.

We planned on taking the auto train. But now we think we are just going to drive....from NJ...with a 5 year old and a 2 year old.....and I'm starting to think we're insane.

DH does not want to drive straight through or drive overnight. The driving plan is leave super early in the morning on Friday Aug 23...like 5 AM. Pull the kids out of bed and toss them in the car(in their car seats of course!) still in their jammies. Hope and pray they fall back asleep. Stop around 10 or so to change the kids into clothes and grab a quick breakfast/early lunch at a rest stop or something. Hit the road and drive, stopping as needed for potty breaks.

Stop driving around dinner time. Stay overnight somewhere in one of the Carolinas(any suggestions for a good halfway point?)

Next morning, hit the road after breakfast, stopping once again as needed for breaks and lunch. DH estimates that we should be in Orlando by late afternoon. We are staying off site on Sat Aug 24(somewhere decent but cheap...around 80 or so for the night...once again any suggestions?) Rest up as needed and either go resort hopping or hit Downtown Disney for dinner before heading to bed for a good night's sleep.

Then on Sunday morning, wake up at the crack of dawn, drive to the Contemporary, and check in. Yes, I know our rooms won't be ready but we can still get our park tickets and head right to MK, right? And then during our midday break, then we can unpack all our stuff.

We'll be taking 2 days to drive home too.

We'll have plenty of snacks and drinks for the kids(and advil for me because the are we there yet questions are going to drive me nuts) for the drive. Plus an iPad along with a mount that attaches to the headrest so the kids can watch movies(planning on loading lots of Disney ones on there for them)

The longest car ride we're ever done with my older son was up to Boston when he was 2.5. We only needed to take 1 break both ways. With 2 kids, we're driven the 3 hours to Hershey. Took a break halfway for lunch and to visit a little train village display since they love trains on the way up. Drove straight home without any breaks. Both kids are good in the car. They were both awesome on a 6 hour flight this past year too.

So please tell me that the drive all the way down 95 with kids isnt' that bad. I survived the drive 2x in high school...on an bus...with the marching band...so I know how long it is. DH has also driven down multiple times with his parents...they never flew down.

I think you'll be good to go. We just moved from NC and we normally would drive straight through, depending on when we would leave. We lived about two hours south of Raleigh so if possible I'd try to stop a few hours south of Raleigh, either near Fayetville or closer to the SC border if possible. Our two year old definitely got cranky by the end of our drive last time, however, with movies and snacks he was pretty happy for most of it. We also have what we have dubbed the "Magic CD", a Jewel Lullaby CD, that almost always puts him to sleep and we just pop that on when it's nap time and normally he goes to sleep! I also found it's important not to push lunch too late or he'll fall asleep before we break for lunch and then he won't get a real nap in, which makes the drive a wee bit harder! Good luck! I'm sure it'll be fine!

 

[kbender295]

Southern or northern NJ? Im driving w my two kids (14 and 6) because we are stopping to see friends / family along the way. DH is flying out of Whiteplains,NY for about $250. LGA in NYC was comparable.

 

[mrstomrice]

We have driven twice with the kids from the Philadelphia area. I would do it again if we couldn't get the right airfare. If you are hitting DC around rush hour, try to avoid it. I know we have bypassed it by leaving 95 around Wilmington DE and getting to Rt 13. It brings you back to 95 in VA, but I can't recall exactly where. We stopped around Wilson, NC. We still did not get to Disney until about 6 pm. The further you can make it day 1, the better. Microtel offers reasonable and decent hotel rooms. Be sure to stop at the Flordia welcome center along the way for a free cup of OJ!
Remember to shop Frontier Airlines out of Trenton and Spirit out of Atlantic City for decent airfare.

 

[msyjoa]

I live in TX now, same amount of miles, give or take. It's just cheaper to drive IMO and less stress, to fly.
Just paid for airfare for around 120 per person. If I had a larger family, I would drive for sure.

Wow, what airline did you find flights for 120 a person?? I thought I did decent at 325 a person, TX to FL.

 

[squirrel4569]

Wow, what airline did you find flights for 120 a person?? I thought I did decent at 325 a person, TX to FL.

$120/person is awesome. I got $167/person but partially paid with miles.

 

[squirrel4569]

One of the cool things about Disney is that it's really kind of a living thing. Sort of like Las Vegas that it's constantly changing and evolving and new things come and old things go away. It sounds like this year Disney is making a lot of changes.

In addition to the New Fantasyland stuff that came out at the end of last year they are adding in a Starbucks in each park, updating Downtown Disney, changing the coffee in the resort, pulling out Disney Channel Rocks & the Pixars Pals Parade at DHS, changing the characters at Play and Dine and the stories at Disney Jr Live, adding MyMagic+ and more.

What changes are you most excited about and what changes are you most disappointed to hear about?

 

[lovingeire]

One of the cool things about Disney is that it's really kind of a living thing. Sort of like Las Vegas that it's constantly changing and evolving and new things come and old things go away. It sounds like this year Disney is making a lot of changes.

In addition to the New Fantasyland stuff that came out at the end of last year they are adding in a Starbucks in each park, updating Downtown Disney, changing the coffee in the resort, pulling out Disney Channel Rocks & the Pixars Pals Parade at DHS, changing the characters at Play and Dine and the stories at Disney Jr Live, adding MyMagic+ and more.

What changes are you most excited about and what changes are you most disappointed to hear about?

Have they confirmed switching out Play and Dine characters? I would be excited about that.

My kids love the Pixar parade so I'm a little bummed about that. If I didn't have kids I'd only watch the MSEP so it's more for my kids sake that I'm sad.

I'm intrigued about Disney Springs and unsure of how I feel about Starbucks invading Disney, but I do love a Chai Latte!

 

[lovingeire]

After my first day of wearing the Skechers Go Walks yesterday I am in love. They are seriously like walking on a cloud. My feet were sad today that I wasn't wearing them while standing all day cooking for St. Paddys day! I am so excited to wear them at Disney! They are extremely lightweight and the top portion is super light and breathable. I think they're going to be great shoes for Disney! I am contemplating buying a second pair in a more muted color since I bought the bright lime ones because so far I love them that much! Just thought I'd offer my two cents!

 

[poohlover4life]

After my first day of wearing the Skechers Go Walks yesterday I am in love. They are seriously like walking on a cloud. My feet were sad today that I wasn't wearing them while standing all day cooking for St. Paddys day! I am so excited to wear them at Disney! They are extremely lightweight and the top portion is super light and breathable. I think they're going to be great shoes for Disney! I am contemplating buying a second pair in a more muted color since I bought the bright lime ones because so far I love them that much! Just thought I'd offer my two cents!

I'm so glad that i'm not the only one who thinks about shoes just for disney! I have these GREAT pair of champions that are so comfortable i bought two pairs. Then I thought, "I would love flip flops this comfy." then I found a pair of champion flip flops! They are aweseome! They feel like a sneaker when I walk but look like a casual flip flop with sun dresses, shorts, everything!
PS we are at the same lodge!!!

 

[Loreli]

As a child we drove from UpState NY by the Mass border to Chicago, all 18 hours in one day. My Dad was a stickler for spending the vacation time in Chicago not on the road.
We were plunked in the car in our PJs at 5 am and off we went. There were no IPads, videos, or any other entertainment, we just rode, and we made it through.
Kids are resilient, they will make it, but the Advil is a good idea.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

Hi team August. My family is hoping to become members but will need free dining to make it this year. Have never been to disney. Couple of questions.

WNY ers: what flight prices would you grab onto? We never fly so not sure what a good deal is and want to grab something if I see it.

I have become obsessed with DIS board. Once in awhile I have ran across random posts where certified planners are offering great deals. Any special spot I could be checking for these? Thanks in advance for input!

I hope you will be able to go as well! Hopefully there will be FD offered, or a room discount, but even without, there are ways to make the trip more affordable. What plans were you considering? As for planners, check out disney unlimited (there are links all over the DIS) and *** for deals right now. Also check with AAA, consider buying tix from UT, etc. Let us know what you were thinking about and maybe we can offer suggestions to help you get there!

Are we nuts for even considering this? We are booked for 8/25-8/30. I have not been able to find flights with the times we are looking for(arriving at Orlando before noon and leaving Orlando later than 8PM) for under $400 a person. Since we need 4 tickets, that's a lot of money.

We planned on taking the auto train. But now we think we are just going to drive....from NJ...with a 5 year old and a 2 year old.....and I'm starting to think we're insane.

DH does not want to drive straight through or drive overnight. The driving plan is leave super early in the morning on Friday Aug 23...like 5 AM. Pull the kids out of bed and toss them in the car(in their car seats of course!) still in their jammies. Hope and pray they fall back asleep. Stop around 10 or so to change the kids into clothes and grab a quick breakfast/early lunch at a rest stop or something. Hit the road and drive, stopping as needed for potty breaks.

Stop driving around dinner time. Stay overnight somewhere in one of the Carolinas(any suggestions for a good halfway point?)

Next morning, hit the road after breakfast, stopping once again as needed for breaks and lunch. DH estimates that we should be in Orlando by late afternoon. We are staying off site on Sat Aug 24(somewhere decent but cheap...around 80 or so for the night...once again any suggestions?) Rest up as needed and either go resort hopping or hit Downtown Disney for dinner before heading to bed for a good night's sleep.

Then on Sunday morning, wake up at the crack of dawn, drive to the Contemporary, and check in. Yes, I know our rooms won't be ready but we can still get our park tickets and head right to MK, right? And then during our midday break, then we can unpack all our stuff.

We'll be taking 2 days to drive home too.

We'll have plenty of snacks and drinks for the kids(and advil for me because the are we there yet questions are going to drive me nuts) for the drive. Plus an iPad along with a mount that attaches to the headrest so the kids can watch movies(planning on loading lots of Disney ones on there for them)

The longest car ride we're ever done with my older son was up to Boston when he was 2.5. We only needed to take 1 break both ways. With 2 kids, we're driven the 3 hours to Hershey. Took a break halfway for lunch and to visit a little train village display since they love trains on the way up. Drove straight home without any breaks. Both kids are good in the car. They were both awesome on a 6 hour flight this past year too.

So please tell me that the drive all the way down 95 with kids isnt' that bad. I survived the drive 2x in high school...on an bus...with the marching band...so I know how long it is. DH has also driven down multiple times with his parents...they never flew down.

While I am sure you will survive and all will be good, there may be other ways to go about this. Being that you have the flexibility of the days on either end of your trip, try searching flights for flexible dates. I just looked at JetBlue from JFK-MCO direct, for just about $300 a ticket. It would require you going down on Saturday afternoon, but being that you were already figuring in two nights at a hotel, you could just stay at the airport and then head over to the Contemporary first thing. If you are willing to stay cheap the night before your vacation ends, or one extra night after, you can play with flight times and get a much better rate.

We will be in Disney August 15th - August 26th staying at YC. This will be our 1st deluxe stay, we've always done value for all of our past trips. We got an awesome deal through ***. The only reason we are doing Disney this summer is because of the cheap flights we got out of our little hometown airport in Western NY (did i mention we usually drive the 18-20 hour trip to WDW ~ my kiddoes do fine, I'm the tortured soul who struggles). We go out of ELM & got flights for$202 round trip. I've still been tracking the prices & they are currently at $222 for our exact dates. I usually use Kayak to track prices & get daily price updates. We often fly out of Rochester or Buffalo when we travel due to cheaper prices, but this time we lucked out. Good luck at finding flights!

We will be at the BC around those dates too!

One of the cool things about Disney is that it's really kind of a living thing. Sort of like Las Vegas that it's constantly changing and evolving and new things come and old things go away. It sounds like this year Disney is making a lot of changes.

In addition to the New Fantasyland stuff that came out at the end of last year they are adding in a Starbucks in each park, updating Downtown Disney, changing the coffee in the resort, pulling out Disney Channel Rocks & the Pixars Pals Parade at DHS, changing the characters at Play and Dine and the stories at Disney Jr Live, adding MyMagic+ and more.

What changes are you most excited about and what changes are you most disappointed to hear about?

I agree...and I do love Disney for that. But sometimes I get nostalgic for the old. I am really looking forward to seeing the new FL, but I will miss riding Snow White...the same way I still miss riding Mr. Toad.

After my first day of wearing the Skechers Go Walks yesterday I am in love. They are seriously like walking on a cloud. My feet were sad today that I wasn't wearing them while standing all day cooking for St. Paddys day! I am so excited to wear them at Disney! They are extremely lightweight and the top portion is super light and breathable. I think they're going to be great shoes for Disney! I am contemplating buying a second pair in a more muted color since I bought the bright lime ones because so far I love them that much! Just thought I'd offer my two cents!

Thanks for the review!

 

[Team Bunch]

We are looking at 8/26-9/2 at pop. Need to go as cheap as possible. We have a 2 year old that will be 3 next year so trying to save $ before we have to buy tickets for her and upgrade to a bigger room. (we have 3 girls like you). I see right now southwest is offering a cc that if you spend $2000 in 1st couple months you get 2 free tickets, we don't use cc, but would for free tickets (just put package on it and pay it right off.) I looked at the *** deals that are being offered but they would still be more expensive than pop. Our only hope for this year would be free dining.

 

[MouseIsInTheHouse]

Are we nuts for even considering this? We are booked for 8/25-8/30. I have not been able to find flights with the times we are looking for(arriving at Orlando before noon and leaving Orlando later than 8PM) for under $400 a person. Since we need 4 tickets, that's a lot of money.

We planned on taking the auto train. But now we think we are just going to drive....from NJ...with a 5 year old and a 2 year old.....and I'm starting to think we're insane.

You are not insane at all... I am from Northern NJ. We did considered driving this summer for our trip as well because airfare was looking crazy high. We are a family of 5, so I hear you about the costs making or breaking the trip. I kept checking and found a great deal on JetBlue and booked all 5 of us for $249 PP round trip. If you are flexible with your dates and fly on a weekday, you might be able to get a better deal on your flights from Newark or Philly.

Here is what I suggest (if I may) - you might want to figure how many miles, and the cost of gas to go round trip based on your car's MPG. Consider the cost of food and lodging, to see where your break-even point is on the drive vs. fly decision. Watch the airlines websites - I don't know where you are in NJ, but if you are flying from Newark, your best shot will be JetBlue or United to Orlando. If the flight costs drop below your price point, book the flights... if not, drive and know that you made the best decision for you and your family.

For us, there are 5 of us, so driving down in a large SUV it would have been about $650 or so just for gas round trip, plus food stops for 3 teenagers and 2 adults and a hotel room for one night each way and we were easily in the area of $1100 - 1200 just to drive down and back. So watching like a hawk I was able to get round-trip flights at $1200 or so for all of us, saving us the time and aggravation for 4 days of driving time was worth it...

If you are flexible on your dates and/or your flight times, you might have better luck getting flights at more reasonable costs. Just thought I'd add my 2-cents on this since we had the same concerns and are from the same area.

Either way - you will enjoy your trip!

 

[lovingeire]

I'm so glad that i'm not the only one who thinks about shoes just for disney! I have these GREAT pair of champions that are so comfortable i bought two pairs. Then I thought, "I would love flip flops this comfy." then I found a pair of champion flip flops! They are aweseome! They feel like a sneaker when I walk but look like a casual flip flop with sun dresses, shorts, everything!
PS we are at the same lodge!!!

Clearly great minds think alike! Maybe we'll see you guys at the Lodge!