Planning a FEB 2012 trip....need help please?

[aoffhaus]

I am seriously overwhelmed with all the information that I am finding on this board. It is all very useful, but I just really need to know where to begin. We are going Feb 25th through March 3rd. I am super excited to be taking my parents, husband and my little boy with me. I guess what I would like to know what your opinions are on off site versus on site. I love the idea of us staying in a place with two rooms and a common living area...so we can discuss the events of the day together. Does anyone have any suggestions? Also is it necessary to make dinner reservations before you get there? I am seeing that alot on these boards. Thanks so much...and any suggestions on websites or reading materials that I should get would be great!

 

[stargazertechie]

I am seriously overwhelmed with all the information that I am finding on this board. It is all very useful, but I just really need to know where to begin. We are going Feb 25th through March 3rd. I am super excited to be taking my parents, husband and my little boy with me. I guess what I would like to know what your opinions are on off site versus on site. I love the idea of us staying in a place with two rooms and a common living area...so we can discuss the events of the day together. Does anyone have any suggestions? Also is it necessary to make dinner reservations before you get there? I am seeing that alot on these boards. Thanks so much...and any suggestions on websites or reading materials that I should get would be great!

Honestly, I prefer on-site. You've got extra magic hours which are great that time of year since park hours are shorter! You could look into renting Disney Vacation Club points- they run around $12 a point (sometimes more, sometimes less from a private individual). You don't get daily housekeeping, but it would allow you to get a 2-bedroom for the price of a disney value or moderate resort.

Dining Reservations are a MUST. You *could* eat at counter service restaurants all day, but the only way to really guarantee a sit-down meal is to book ahead of time.

For books- I prefer The Unofficial Guide. It's an awesome book for first-timers and veterans alike!

As for websites- you already found it!

 

[danceintherain]

Your options on property with two bedrooms and a common living area are limited and expensive. You would need to stay in a 2BR Villa.

On vs. Off really depends on your budget and what you expect from your hotel. We prefer on, because we enjoy being encompassed by Disney the entire time. We like to be able to take Magical Express from the airport and Disney transportation the entire trip. We also like the proximity, and the option of Extra Magic Hours to increase the amount of time we can spend in the parks. We take midday breaks and this is the easiest way for us to do that.

Others prefer off, because it is less expensive for more space.

Here's a link to a helpful comparison: http://allears.net/acc/onoff.htm

Restaurant reservations are advised for any time of year, especially if you want to eat during peak times at popular restaurants. During Value season (where most of February falls) it isn't quite as necessary, and there will likely be places that are taking walk ups throughout the day, but if you want to eat at a particular places, it is best to make ADRs, so you know you'll get to eat there. Since this is a first time visit, I definitely recommend you make at least some. In most cases, you can cancel at the last minute, if you decide you don't want to eat somewhere on a particular day. Some places don't have this option, such as Cinderella's Royal Table in the Castle, but you'll be hard-pressed to get in to eat here without an ADR, so if you want to eat here, you should make an ADR and keep it.

 

[StitchSpawn]

Your are very smart to be going during a value season at WDW. I would highly suggest you stay on site, Disney has worked very very hard at making there
buses more convenient for guests than driving or staying at an off-site hotel and using off-site buses. Also, you get EMH staying on site, which normally wouldn't be useful
during Peak seasons, but since you are going during a value season, they might be. Stay on-site. I would never stay off-site.

If you want 2 bedrooms, I would suggest doing either of the following:

1. Getting two adjoining rooms at any Disney resort. When you call and book your vacation, ask that the two rooms you book be adjoining. If you take this
route, I would pay the intial down payment on the rooms, which is equal to one night's stay. As February approaches, watch for discounts on rooms that you
would qualify for. When you see one, call WDW back and ask them to adjust your reservations to include this discount. If a better discount becomes available,
you can always call back and re-adjust your price again. A February-March discount will not become available until January-February. Even if a discount
isn't available your entire stay, if a discount is available for even part (a few days) of your stay, you can have that discount applied for those nights.

2. The other options would include getting a Suite with enough space for all of you. Watch for discounts like above. All discounts for regular rooms should generally also apply for suites.
Prices for Suites will be more expensive, but depending on how much it would cost you to get two adjoining rooms, a suite may actually be cheaper for your party.

3. Book a Villa via DVC rental system. I cannot go into this process much because it is a bit more complicated. However, you have the time to read up on it and decide if
this is something you want to do. I suggest picking Disney World Discount Guide, by Beth Haworth. This guide gives you the most information about the DVC rental
system, and lots of other very valuable information. I will going with my family to wDW October 9-15, and staying at the SSR, in a 2 bedroom Villa. Disney's Rack Rate for staying at this
resort during this time and at this resort is $4624 + 12.5%tax. Through the DVC rental process, we were able to book the 2 bedroom Villa at $2092...amazing, I know. This process takes more
effort and negotation. You will not be able to cancel your reservations or alter them, nor will you receive any refund for cancelling. You will most likely have to pay in full or at least half at time of booking your reservation.
That's the price you pay for a good deal. Note: Don't pay more than $11pp. We got $10 for a regular season. You shouldn't have to pay for for a value season.(I know that doesn't make sense now, but it will later.)

It isn't necessary to book dinner reservations, but I highly recomend it. If you don't like being bogged down by reservations, keep 2 things in mind:
1. Only special dining events and character meals require you put cc info down and/or pay @ time of booking, all others you can be a no-show, w/o any penalty
if you decide once your there that you don't want to go.
2. Disney usually won't let you book two reservations around the same time-frame (they know you can't be in two places at once). But if you use the online booking system,
Disney separates accounts via your email (since people have the same names and share phone#), but if you have more than one email, you can make multiple reservations in the same
time-frame using different email addresses. This will give you different restaurants and times to choose from while on vacation. Give you more choices. You'll just be a no-show to your other resvations
and receive no penalty (for non-character or special dining events). I have like a million reservations everywhere on our upcoming vacation. Keep in mind, since ppl like me know this trick, reservations go faster. We hog them.
Don't hate

Last Suggestion: Don't EVER EVER listen to UnderCover Tourist. They always have incorrect information and there IPHONE APP SUCKS!
I suggest this site for Crowd Calendar, keep in mind, your trip is to far away from anyone predicting crowd levels.

www.easywdw.com

And you'd be stupid for paying full prices for tickets. Find discounts. There will be one somewhere.

Enjoy your trip.

Oh, and your little boy will LOVE Toy Story Mania at HS. SUggest planning on taking him 3 times. Also Action! Stunt Show and Star Tours.

MK: Pirates of the Carribean, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger SPin (2-3x)

 

[danceintherain]

Please don't take the PPs advice and make multiple reservations you don't intend on keeping. If you do, at least take the time to call and cancel. This will open up the table for someone else.

 

[StitchSpawn]

They don't "keep" a table for regular reservations. They just jump your party to the front of line of the wait list, and ONLY once you show up. If you don't show up, they don't put you on their list! So, you don't take a table away from anyone.

For character meals and dining events, they do expect you to show up, because you already paid or there is a penalty fee for not showing and they do prepare a table. But I didn't reccomend making multiple reservations for those.

 

[saysay]

We traveled to WDW with my MIL - Me, DH, DD and we needed the space of 2 rooms also. Onsite was just too expensive for us for the type of room we wanted. We ended up renting a timeshare unit at Wyndham Bonnet Creek which is inside the WDW gate and next to Carribean beach. We drove the first year so didn't need magical express and the second year we went we flew and husband wanted a car so we rented one. You do have to pay for parking at the parks if you are not staying in a disney resort which was $14 a day, not sure if they raised it. The buses from the Wyndham do not run as frequently, but they do have free buses to all the parks. We used it our first trip, but decided we liked having our car this past trip to leave the parks without having to wait.

I LOVE the Wyndham. Its so nice - close to the parks VERY short drive, 5 pools, 2 lazy rivers, activities on site, full condo set up with stocked kitchen and washer dryer. Its newer also so its nice and not worn down. I found it on VBRO and both years have stayed for less than $100 per night total for a 2bedroom 2 bath unit. There are a couple threads on here to get more info and pictures. The Wyndham is a timeshare but you do NOT have to go to a presentation when you rent from a timeshare owner. Yes they ask you to go, but we have always said no with no problem.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2739937 is the thread on the Orlando Board for info if you are interested.

You don't get extra magic hours, but we didn't ever seem to miss it esp with a 3 or 4 year old.

The time you are going is I believe during the princess 1/2 marathon weekend. Parks will be open as usual, just letting you know its an event for about 16,000 runners I think...races are early before parks open. Its a great time to go crowd wise at the parks. Registration just opened for it today so people will start to be looking for rooms.

Good luck with your planning and have a great trip.... the good thing about WDW so many options on places to stay offsite or onsight!

 

[danceintherain]

They don't "keep" a table for regular reservations. They just jump your party to the front of line of the wait list, and ONLY once you show up. If you don't show up, they don't put you on their list! So, you don't take a table away from anyone.

For character meals and dining events, they do expect you to show up, because you already paid or there is a penalty fee for not showing and they do prepare a table. But I didn't reccomend making multiple reservations for those.

Maybe you're right, and I suppose eventually the space will be filled by someone. However, if someone walks up to a restaurant at Noon and asks for a table, the CM usually looks up available ADRs in the system. If there aren't any, the person gets turned away. I've seen it happen. If someone calls and cancels their ADR, it becomes available for someone else. Basically, it allows the CMs to better accommodate walk ups on a first come, first serve basis. Obviously, any of the walk up people could have made their own ADRs, but sometimes it isn't a possibility.
It really isn't that big of a deal to make the phone call to cancel the ADR. You could even do it while waiting to be seated for the one you keep.

 

[aheaviside]

I think it depends on several factors: how much you want to spend, how old your little boy is and will he need naps/breaks, and how much the convenience factor means to you.

We went in May with 2 kids under 4 and were staying far offsite (25-30 min) drive with relatives. I will never stay that far away again and am actually staying on a monorail resort, the contemporary, in Feb. We couldn't leave for breaks as it was too far to return. Our kids started breaking down around 2 or 3 each day, wouldn't nap in the stroller and we had to call it a day.

Where will you be spending most days? If the MK, think about how long it takes to drive there, park, take the parking tram to TTC, take monorail and then walk into the park. It can eat up alot of time.

I am nervous about 4 of us staying in 1 room but we are going to do it in Feb. for the convenience factor. If it doesn't work out, I'm probably going to check out Bay lake towers at the Contemporary for our next trip. Maybe BLT would be a good option for you.