Sweet 16

[disneycheerleader]

Hey y'all. I am a 14 year old girl from Tampa. I am planning my sweet 16 and I am having it at Disney. I am wanting your opinion with resorts for our trip. We will need multiple rooms as my group alone will have at least six people and I will have extended family staying at the hotel with us. Anyways, what are your recommendations for hotels? Also are we eligible for group rates?

 

[ChasingLeslie]

What kind of budget are you working with...? Are you looking for value, moderate, or deluxe suggestions?

 

[disneycheerleader]

What kind of budget are you working with...? Are you looking for value, moderate, or deluxe suggestions?

More of value and moderate suggestions as this is a trip that i am saving up for by working and as a birthday present.

 

[margot31]

Best way to start I think to start is to go on the disney site and fill out the dates at least for 2016 to get an idea of how much you are looking for at a budget.

 

[disneycheerleader]

Best way to start I think to start is to go on the disney site and fill out the dates at least for 2016 to get an idea of how much you are looking for at a budget.

I am actually doing that right now. Is Fort Wilderness worth the prices?

 

[margot31]

I am actually doing that right now. Is Fort Wilderness worth the prices?

To me you should work with whats within your budget.

 

[disneycheerleader]

To me you should work with whats within your budget.

It is in budget but i was asking your opinion on it.

 

[margot31]

I am actually doing that right now. Is Fort Wilderness worth the prices?

Are you talking about the cabins?

 

[disneycheerleader]

Are you talking about the cabins?

Yes. Camping even in a cabin at Disney is my dream.

 

[Fizban]

So my suggestion to you would be this. Go do a pretend reservation including resort/dining/etc for each class. 1 for deluxe, 1 for mod, and 1 for value. Then go let dad know that you love him very much and each of these are a great choice. Then let him decide what he can afford.

 

[disneycheerleader]

So my suggestion to you would be this. Go do a pretend reservation including resort/dining/etc for each class. 1 for deluxe, 1 for mod, and 1 for value. Then go let dad know that you love him very much and each of these are a great choice. Then let him decide what he can afford.

I am doing that right now. I also need to clarify something. Please take my comments without offence. I am working for my trip and as of now i can afford a deluxe hotel. The present part is spending money for the trip. Thank you and have a nice day.

 

[Fizban]

Oh it was never taken nor meant as an offense. Just trying to make sure you look at all 3 levels and let the folks know what to expect. 6+ people is a big party so if its in your budget you may want to look into suites instead of rooms.

 

[disneycheerleader]

Oh it was never taken nor meant as an offense. Just trying to make sure you look at all 3 levels and let the folks know what to expect. 6+ people is a big party so if its in your budget you may want to look into suites instead of rooms.

Thank you so much.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

I think you underestimate just how expensive this trip will be, or you just have very generous parents.

You also have to consider what the members of your party are going to be okay with. I personally would stick to a value just to cut down on costs, or maybe consider a suite at All-Star Music. But is everyone okay with staying at a value? Or are there going to be other amenities that are must-haves for your travelling party?

 

[disneycheerleader]

I think you underestimate just how expensive this trip will be, or you just have very generous parents.

You also have to consider what the members of your party are going to be okay with. I personally would stick to a value just to cut down on costs, or maybe consider a suite at All-Star Music. But is everyone okay with staying at a value? Or are there going to be other amenities that are must-haves for your travelling party?

I actually meant a moderate hotel not deluxe. I have saved $6,000 dollars since my 12th birthday. I just got a job and will have an additional $6,000 this tome next year. I am sorry if I have come off as rude. I did not mean to do that and I dont want to burn my bridges especially with people do not know. I have worked out costs today and will have an additional $4,000 dollars after paying all needed expenses. I planned for five park days, 6 nights at The Cabins, and the deluxe dining plan for six people. It has come out to about $9,000. Is this reasonable?

 

[MermaidMommy]

You're not coming off as rude at all! I'm a mom with a 15 year-old daughter, and I'm really impressed that you're doing all the research and asking for help on these boards yourself. Not to mention that you're paying for the trip! Wow, way to go!

I don't have any experience with the cabins, so I'm afraid I can't help you with those. If the numbers don't add up for you for some reason, you also might want to look at the Little Mermaid Rooms at Art of Animation or the Royal Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside. Those are my daughter's two favorite rooms. AoA is a value, so it's not as luxurious as the more expensive hotels, but it's complete Disney immersion, very fun and colorful, which is good if you like that sort of thing. POR is a moderate, with an extra charge for the Royal Rooms, and is a very pretty, relaxing resort, with a completely different feel than AoA.

Please ask lots of questions, and don't worry about offending anyone. You'll get lots of varied opinions on the boards, so don't take anything personally! Good luck!

 

[happymommy]

First of all, that is amazing and wonderful that you've been able to save up what is a considerable amount for your age! You seem to have great savings discipline, which will serve you well into your adult life!

I just got back from Pop Century (value resort) with my daughter who is 16. It was just the two of us this trip, and we both loved the resort! The theming is super cute, and we didn't need additional amenities like room service or queen beds. Even if you have the money, you may not want to spend it all on one trip, so I'd say start at the value places, and go from there. That being said, the beds are double beds, so if you're sharing a bed keep that in mind.

You may also want to check out the Swan and Dolphin if you like the Epcot resort area. Swan has queen beds, Dolphin has doubles. I prefer the Swan, but you lose some of the Disney theming.

You may want to rethink deluxe dining, unless they offer free dining during your trip. We had free quick service dining, and still couldn't eat that many meals. We shared several times, since the portions are quite large! We ended up with 4 meal credits left over, and 2 snacks, so took home 14 bags of various candy as a result. It would have been a waste if we had paid probably. For free it was great, though.

If this is your first trip, I'd plan a couple of special meals, but sit down dining takes a bit of time out of your schedule. There are lots of good counter service places with nice choices as well.

 

[MermaidMommy]

Oh, I missed the part about Deluxe Dining Plan. I agree with happymommy, that I wouldn't do it. You'll see a lot of people come on the boards talking about how it was just too much food and ended up being too much time spent eating. We've done the regular dining plan before, and even that is a lot of food. With the deluxe plan, you really have to eat three table-service meals a day to get your money's worth, which takes up a lot of your day.

If you want to do a dining plan -- and they're really just about convenience, so they aren't a necessity -- I would do the regular plan, with one counter service, one table service, and one snack a day. Or, you can do the Quick Service plan, and pay for a special table service meal or tow out of pocket. We usually have breakfast in the room, with stuff we either bring from home or ship, like Pop-Tarts, protein or granola bars, etc.

Also, I think for 10 rooms or more you can contact group sales. They would be able to tell you about a discount.

If you want to post your details -- total budget, number of guests, and length of stay -- we can look at things more specifically for you.

 

[minnie mum]

I planned for five park days, 6 nights at The Cabins, and the deluxe dining plan for six people. It has come out to about $9,000. Is this reasonable?

This depends to a great extent on the dates of your trip, since room rates vary wildly according to which resort and which dates you are looking at. I will agree with the other posters that you seriously reconsider the idea of the deluxe dining plan. You really need to have 3 TS meals every day to make it worth the money, and wastes hours that you could be spending in the parks. The regular DDP is still a lot of food, and we've never saved money on it.

Besides the cost of your immediate group, there is the matter of the extended group that you said would be coming. Disney usually only does group bookings if you will be using a minimum of 10 rooms. You need to consider their budgets as well. Can they afford the Cabins or would they need to stay at another moderate or value resort. Would you be OK with everyone picking their own resort ( I'm assuming they will pay their own way).

Since I don't know your dates, I picked a week during regular season, 6 resort nights, 5 day base tickets and regular DDP and I came up with: Cabin's: $6,702. ASMU family suite: $6,884. AoA suite: $7,419. Two rooms at a value resort would be cheaper than any of these.