This Vacation planning is making my head spin. Need Ideas/advice!

[livvylivvie]

Ok.... Soo We are planning a trip to Disney world This December. (2012) We will go for 2 weeks or so maybe a little longer. We are Driving and it is a 24 hour drive to florida for us. (and 24 hours home) We are meeting my husbands brother and his family there. My husband and his brother want to rent a house and we all stay together. and then purchase our Disney Tickets... (10 day, with hopper and water parks) (around $1600 for us) around $2000 for in laws) We havent booked yet.
Question- Is this a good way to go?
We are debating everything.. Do we stay in a rented house. Bonnet creek, On property. ... ? Where is the Cheapest place to book through... Basically we want to to this at a reasonable price... Although I have stipulated that I do NOT want to be cooking in a house. I am a stay at home mom, and I do that EVERYDAY! soo on my Vacation I would like to have a "Vacation" too. (reasonable ?) We can buddget meals into our vacation budget.
Sigh*... This vacation planning is making my head spin...
If by Chance Free Dinnng came up in December we would probably try to stay on site... buts that is a "what if."..

Any Suggestions? Advice? ...

Here is the Family break down. -

Hubby
Me
ds (5)
dd (3)

Inlaws
bro-in-Law
Sis-in-Law
Niece 1 (11yearsold)
Niece 2 (7 years old)
Nephew (4 years old)

 

[livvylivvie]

Oh yes... I am also Curious, Has anyone gone at this time of year? I hear it is CRAZY Busy!! Is this True??
any suggestions for this time of year would help too! thanks! Looking at around December 16 + Staying for 2 weeks.

 

[stsomewhere]

We have a surprise trip planned for just after Christmas. I hear it can be pretty crowded.

I do know that they do close some of the parks because they are filled to capacity. I have read that if you are a resort guest, that Disney guarantees admission to a park. It may be the park you want though.

Secondly, that is a long time to vacation with someone in the same house. I would choose separate hotel rooms just so you can have a break.
Plus, no chance to cook, make beds, etc.

 

[DisDaze]

Ok.... Soo We are planning a trip to Disney world This December. (2012) We will go for 2 weeks or so maybe a little longer. We are Driving and it is a 24 hour drive to florida for us. (and 24 hours home) We are meeting my husbands brother and his family there. My husband and his brother want to rent a house and we all stay together. and then purchase our Disney Tickets... (10 day, with hopper and water parks) (around $1600 for us) around $2000 for in laws) We havent booked yet.
Question- Is this a good way to go?
We are debating everything.. Do we stay in a rented house. Bonnet creek, On property. ... ? Where is the Cheapest place to book through... Basically we want to to this at a reasonable price... Although I have stipulated that I do NOT want to be cooking in a house. I am a stay at home mom, and I do that EVERYDAY! soo on my Vacation I would like to have a "Vacation" too. (reasonable ?) We can buddget meals into our vacation budget.
Sigh*... This vacation planning is making my head spin...
If by Chance Free Dinnng came up in December we would probably try to stay on site... buts that is a "what if."..

Any Suggestions? Advice? ...

Here is the Family break down. -

Hubby
Me
ds (5)
dd (3)

Inlaws
bro-in-Law
Sis-in-Law
Niece 1 (11yearsold)
Niece 2 (7 years old)
Nephew (4 years old)

The CRAZY Christmas crowds will start rolling in around December 19 and they will become totally insane by December 22/23 and will stay at or near capacity number until about January 3. I believe the Christmas/Holiday rates will also kick in around December 20. The Christmas/New Year's time frame is the single most busy and expensive week of the entire year at WDW. The resorts are known to close by noon because they are at capacity.

If you are planning 2 weeks in December I would suggest December 7 - 21, that will give you lower crowds, lower rates and, most likey, a free dining discount.

I'm also a stay-at-home Mom and I DO NOT cook on vacation. We have been to Disney in December 3 times and have been able to get the free dining discount - I actually can't imagine going back without it. The October - December free dining dates are usually released in the summer, late July or early August.

We have gone to Disney many times and I always just book through the Disney website. You can find any codes and discounts on this board and other Disney planning boards so I always just book and plan myself.

And also, I kind of agree what the other poster said, I would NOT want to spend 2 consecutive weeks in the same house with my in-laws - of course, all families are different, but that would not be a vacation for me ;-)

If you can not go any ealier than December 16, then yes, it will probably be much cheaper to stay off-site, but you will still have to prepare yourself for the large crowds.

 

[Cin]

If you want to take advantage of the free dining offer then you could get 2 rooms at a moderate resort (we loved French Quarter) and that would give you some privacy and space for your family with no cooking, no bed making, no commuting back and forth to WDW. Plus staying on property it's easier to hop on the bus and go back to the resort for a mid day nap and some playground time or pool time if it is warm enough for that. If a value resort fits your budget better, we also enjoyed All Star Music very much and Pop Century was also nice although I only stayed 1 night there.
I booked through WDW travel on line. It was very simple to do and very easy to make changes too when I needed to with just a phone call. You could use a Disney specialized travel agent too, but I haven't any personal experience with that. Free dining offers are usually announced in late July or early August if I remember right from previous years. You can still book now and have free dining applied if it comes out later by simply making a phone call and being patient while you wait for a cast member because a lot of other folks will be also doing the same.

 

[laceemouse]

People have the idea that if they stay in a condo or house they can eat there and save a ton of money. It usually work out fine for breakfast, you will eat that at the house for sure, but you will not want to haul everyone all the way back there for lunch and dinner. It just isn't going to happen. That being said, you will spend a ton of money on food in the parks, so getting the Disney dining plan is the biggest perk of staying onsite.

In the past several years free food has been announced in spring. It usually starts mid-August and goes just through September at first, but then they seem to always extend it to fall, winter, and even into the first few months of the new year. Free food is a great deal and will save you a ton of money.

I agree, the week between Christmas and New Years is crazy busy, but earlier than that in December is managable (not at all totally dead though, not anymore, the cat is out of the bag on that one!)

I am a travel agent and it is worth using one to help you plan if you decide to stay onsite (and it is free, no additional charge) There are a lot of special things going on during the holidays and some of them require planning way ahead, such as The Candlelight Processional at Epcot. Also, a travel agent can get each person's likes and dislikes and make a plan that everyone can agree with.

Love staying onsite myself, we stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter last December and it was perfect

 

[5stljayhawks]

Livvy-

We did these dates back in 2010 and had a great time. in fact our best day was christmas in the parks. also our last day in the parks. There is something to be onsite and taking advantage of extra magic hours...

we have never stayed offsite only at the Disney Fort Wilderness campground in an RV. from a cooking perspective, i would imagine ceral, danishes.. for breakfast. Then we mixed between brown bagging and eating out and going back to eat/nap, then back to parks. IMO - I would find it a big waste of time to leave for dinner offsite and then come back, unless you are park hopping. you are losing maybe 2-3 hours in the commute, the 1-2 hours for dinner(from getting out of the park to back in the park where you want to be.) Even stayin onsite it's maybe a 2-4 hours total.

You may also want to look at planning a down day in the middle and resting the feet, also if you are going to do the christmas party, this can provide a full day 5pm+/- till midnight in the parks. we usually stay up late the night before, sleep in, go swimming, visit resorts or visit down town disney before these type of nights.

Also think about how many meals you want in the parks lunch/dinners versus the time and cost savings.

with a whole herd of folks, the cost of onsite may be shared

 

[livvylivvie]

Thanks for the Replys! Great Advice and ideas.
And YIKES about the Crowds at christmas time! Shut down at Noon??!
Wow!
That is the Only available time for us to go. We don't really want to take my son out of school... and hubby has that time off... I wonder if there is a Touring plan for that time of year that helps??? this could get crazy!

 

[mommy2_3]

that does sound crazy!! we are also driving. actually im driving to iowa to pick up my BFF (im from Kansas) and then we are both driving to Orlando and hubby is flying to Orlando from where ever his job has him at. its going to be a 30+ hr drive for me. and i know what you mean about not wanting to cook im also a SAHM and the LAST thing i want to do on vaca. is cook!!

 

[DisneyStoryMania]

I wish you luck on your planning, i think a moderate resort around that time would be a safe bet, although the art of animation resort is opening in phases and will be open during your stay, those are family suites at a value classed resort. Just a couple suggestions....If you are trying to save money which everyone is....lol.....staying opn property has always in some way seemed to save us money.

Busy you bet your ears it will be busy it is like summer alot of tours, but there is ways to beat the crowds or at least make it a lil better on ya...I have two very important Disney words for ya>>>ROPE DROP<<<< This along with great planning will make it much easier on you and your family....

And if you stay on property you can take advantage of EMH which sometimes helps during the real busy seasons.....Best of Luck and Sounds like your in for a very magical vacation.......

 

[Fyrefly]

I think if it's your first time and especially around Christmas, you may want to stay on-site. You could order some breakfast stuff to the room from a delivery service like Garden Grocer if you want or bring down stuff. When I did it, I brought a disposable cereal bowl for each morning I was going to be there and some homemade muffins, then bought a half-gallon of milk at the resort to keep in our room fridge. We got the refillable mugs and worked out for our stay as long as we got two drinks a day (morning coffee/hot chocolate whatever and a drink in the evening when we got back) we came out ahead.

I think you'll be happier being able to rely on their transportation and not have to get in and out each day. Particularly for me when I was a newbie it was nice to not have to worry about driving. There's also the issue of capacity closings and being a resort guest at least gets you in SOMEWHERE which people have mentioned. And no chance that people will try and make you cook just because you're in a house.

But I do think you can save money on tickets.

Are you seriously going to go to a waterpark in December? I don't even think they were open when I was in early January. If you can't guarantee you're going to go to one, you can probably skip it and save money.

The other thing is, and I know I'll be opening up a can of worms here, is I don't think you need the park hoppers. If you're going for 10 days you can go to each park at least twice and two of them three times. And based on the time of year you're going, if parks are closing due to capacity and you try to hop, you might find yourself locked out of the park you want to go to and unable to get back into the one you left. So I don't see that as a good use for money. Also, if it's your first time, I think focusing on one park a day should be the limit of your planning so you don't go too crazy.

So yeah, tickets can be downsized and you can bring some simple breakfasts with you I think to help with the extra cost of staying onsite, and frankly I agree with other PP's. You aren't going to be able to leave at lunch because you may not get back in. You don't even WANT to cook. You're going to be buying the food anyway so you might as well get the perks of being onsite while you're at it.

 

[seashoreCM]

Renting a house often leads to a laid back lifestyle, where among other things you miss rope drop.

Or picture this:

It's been a marvelous day at the Magic Kingdom. Okay, maybe not quite that marvelous because all the fastpasses became sold out early and you ended up having to wait in line a lot. Anyway it's now about 5:30 and hubby thinks to himself, you'd all better be heading back to the house to cook dinner.

One of the kids pipes up, "Let's do Splash Mountain again!". You decide to take him up on that, heck, you're at MK now, why not enjoy it a little longer.

That and another ride later, you look at your watch and it's just a little past dinner time. Another kid points to Pecos Bill's and says, "Let's eat there!"

But hubby says, "We rented the house to save money on meals." You head for the exit. The kids look wistfuly at the Crystal Palace as you pass it.

It's after dark and after seven as you get off the monorail and head for your car. Now the kids are getting antsy. One of them suggests the Golden Corral buffet on 192. Again hubby says, "no".

You pull into your driveway at a quarter to eight. Now the kids are hungry while hubby and brother in law and sister in law argue about who is going to cook dinner. (Remember, you said you were not going to.)

Do you hold your kids hostage waiting for dinner? Or pick up the cell phone and, this time, despite hubby's turning his arguments towards you, dial out for pizza delivery?

**************

At least one water park will be open each day, weather permitting. Many northerners say they'll go swimming with temps in the 50's but for me it's gotta be well up in the 70's.