Hubby said I can book a girls only trip.. help me decide time and place!

[princessesintraining]

My husband gave me the go ahead to plan another Disney trip for our girls 8 & 5. My husband is not going, but my mom said she will go along for the ride. We did a Disney trip in Febraury 2012 and stayed at the wilderness lodge, which we loved. Would love to stay deluxe again and are looking at either August 17-24, middle of september or middle of october travel dates. Want to stay under $4000 and would consider the villas(renting points?): if this will help with the costs. I would prefer to do the dining plan out of convenience and park hoppers because last time they wanted to spend a lot of time at MK. Not planning on doing water parks. Will be flying but not considered that in price as husband might have enough miles to fly us for me. Thanks for any help!

[Alabama Minnie]

Not sure how many days to divide into that $4000 but I would consider the Poly or Contemporary and that way you would have two Queen beds and a nice daybed for all of you. They are also both on the monorail, especially if you like going to MK alot.

I do NOT recommend August. It is still VERY hot. Also have been many times late Sept. it is still warm but better and cheaper.

[princessesintraining]

It's 7 nights/8 days. I figure I travel day on each end, so 6 park days, but want to make sure we have some down time because last time it was commando style with my then 7 year old and my husband and 4 year old couldn't keep up, but that was a 5 park day trip. We could really go at anytime that isn't July or beginning of august, but I would have to pull the girls out of school (kindergartener & 3rd grader(A student)) We have 3 birthdays in October and my eldest has a birthday in middle of November, if that makes a difference. We just have to go the middle of some month, as my mom has to be at her job to do monthend.

[pepe of ohio]

Big fans of WL. We have done a studio, not that bad and I'm looking at Dave's Point Rental.. WL 8 nights studio..... 127 points needed and all his points rent for 13.00 a point so that's cheaper than the regular lodge, only no daily housekeeping.... Doesn't mean much for us but 1000.00 saving does... Check out his site... Good calculator for checking how many points needed at all the villas..

We like Sept/Oct in WDW, value season, low crowds but hot weather... It's Florida, we want the heat and sun, really enjoy the resort pool....we spend more time in the MK than any other park hence why staying at the WL is so avantagize fir us, love the boat!!

[mickeynut1]

Originally Posted by Alabama Minnie

I would consider the Poly or Contemporary and that way you would have two Queen beds and a nice daybed for all of you. They are also both on the monorail, especially if you like going to MK alot.

I do NOT recommend August. It is still VERY hot. Also have been many times late Sept. it is still warm but better and cheaper.

I agree, especially about the resort options . The Poly and CR are among the largest standard rooms of the deluxe resorts, with all rooms having a daybed.

We've never been in August, but have been twice the very end of September and once the tail end of October into November and the weather all 3 times were great (that's actually our favorite time of year to go). It's warm enough for swimming, but not too terribly hot for walking around the parks.

[princessesintraining]

Would June be any better crowd/ temperature wise? june 8 through 15 would go under their promotion. School lets out the 7th.

[nolanboys]

We've gone the first week in June. It was hot and by the end of the trip there was a noticeable increase in crowds. DH and I went in September. It was a little warm, but not bad. The parks were fairly empty. You do have to worry about hurricanes that time of year. We've been in October twice and love it. Weather is great. What about looking around Columbus Day so the girls only miss 4 days?

[owl0306]

deluxe with a day bed is your best option as all of you can have your own beds. I love YC and BWI.

[EagleScout]

To answer one of your original questions (when to go of the times you picked), September and October also have the advantage of the Halloween party if you want it (or the negative if you do not want it). I apologize if telling you stuff you already know, but starting in early september, with increasing frequency as getting toward oct 31, mk has a separate halloween "party" beginning at 7 pm until midnight (2-3 per week in sept, 3-4 per week in oct). They are a "hard ticket" event, meaning it is an extra admission - just a little less than a one-day pass (maybe 40-50 dollars). We took our 3 yo who loved it- obviously did not stay for whole thing (we are pretty lax on vaca, but not that lax). Especially during weekday parties in sept, the crowds are relatively light (mostly walk-on rides), and the parade was neat- which was the main reason we went. There are also lots of character signings, many unique for that event. Our son liked to see them, but could not be bothered to wait in the lines, so instead he (and we) preferred to just walk past them and wave and walk on rides. There is also a villains only stage show and two "dance parties" where kids can dance with characters. There is also trick-or-treating, but we did not bother with that, because many stations had lines, and we can get candy elsewhere, but i recognize some really like it, and a few of the stations had shorter lines. On the flip side, if you do not go, there is some curtailing of your mk hours, but only minimal. Have fun whatever you choose! One last piece of advice- i agree dave's point rental is great, but those start booking up at 11 mos prior to visit, and at 6-7 mos out can get going very fast, so prob want to start making plans.

[princessesintraining]

Thank you for all your help! Tomorrow I will be booking the Wilderness Lodge for Octber 5-12. We will be celebrating all 4 of our birthdays because October and the middle of november are very busy for us. Although renting a villa would be cheaper, I was a little afraid of not getting my money back if we couldn't make the trip. My mom's boyfriend has health issues, so I was a little concerned about that. We are definitely going to try and hit up the Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween and my sister said that Food and Wine is going on as well.

[jude&jonah]

Probably too late- but I totally vote Y & B club for a girls trip- especially during food & wine! Close to epcot for dining and drinking, walkable to the boardwalk, great pool since you're not doing watermarks and it's a decently hot time of year, and most importantly one you haven't done before! I personally try not to repeat Disney resorts if I can help it. Also, it's one of the more reasonable deluxes IMO- closer to the price of WL than the others.

WL IS my favorite- but again- I think it's fun to try out different places.

HAve a great trip with whatever you choose!!!

[tcordero]

Have you thought about Saratoga Springs? They have 2 bedrooms with 3 beds + sofa bed...very roomy and close to Downtown Disney!

[princessesintraining]

Ended up booking Wilderness Lodge Oct 5-12 to celebrate all our birthdays. Busy month for us! Hoping for some kind of discount or offer, so I can stay on budget, but I guess there is still plenty of time to save if there's not.