2009 Planning

[drakes]

Hello all,
in order to create another trip of a lifetime our family is planning now for next Jan 2009. Ok some of you will say we are crazy, but for us this is important and special, mostly to financially plan for it ( we do go overboard in the parks). Does anyone here know if how soon you can book?
I see others calling Disney direct to book room and passes etc.
Our trip we did as a package deal in 2007 as it was "cheaper " versus bookign everything separately (we also booked and planned withina 2 months time frame).
I would appreciate anyones advice on where to go to book and when to book. We wuld like to fly direct out of Pearson, if not direct out of Buffalo. ( why waste a day flying when you can be in the park )

ANY tips, and i mean any tips are greatly appreciated and I hope others will benefit too!

Thank you

 

[tgropp]

First of all, if you can fly out of Buffalo/Detroit it is cheaper for the airfare and taxes than just the taxes alone at Pearson. Big Savings. Then go to the mousesavers.com website and look for some codes for car rental. This past December I rented a Ford Tauras for 1 week for $142.00 including all taxes. They can also save you money by purchasing park tickets from "Undercovertourist" agency. Sign up for the monthly newsletter from mousesavers. They are always giving information on codes for hotels/cars and tickets. If you go to wdwinfo.com and go on the Dis boards, they have a forum where you can rent rooms from people who want to rent their points at resorts at WDW through their DVC memberships. It is cheaper than what Disney charges for their rooms and you can also add on the meal plan.

 

[Lollipop's Mom]

No, you are not crazy. I just booked a Jan '09 cruise to secure early dining and the room I wanted.

I usually book our annual January vacation (whereever we may be going...) in September.

I think it would be a great idea for you to look into renting DVC points. Go to the dvc rental page and get in touch with some people. Since you have a year to go, you will have great pick of availability. You can stay at a deluxe for the cost of a value/mod. I would have done it this past trip, but planned too late.
As for airfare, don't expect to see decent prices until about mid-Oct for January. I bought mine on southwest out of Seattle (we are in Vancouver area) for $300/ea in early Oct, and by early November the prices had gone down so much I had a $205 credit with southwest. So don't 'rush' into airfare. I might have to fly somewhere in March, and if I do I can use that credit, otherwise I am going to sell it on ebay.

I don't think you can book rooms for 2009 unti maybe August??? Not sure on that one, but look into renting DVC!

 

[SandraC]

We are going April 2009 and I'm already planning!

I book everything separately. We've been to WDW often, so we do "relaxed" WDW trips these days. We have done everything in the parks, so we tend to just do our fav things/rides/attractions/shows and try a couple of new things like renting sea raycer boats, a few days resting on the ocean and resort hopping. The rest of our time is spent swimming and having leisure time at the WDW resorts. We love taking in the atmosphere!

When our dollar was excellent, I bought my WDW tickets thru Undercover AND Universal Studio tickets. My WDW tickets are 10 day hopper plusses that don't expire. We have 3 plusses remaining on old tickets, so all together we have 10 WDW parks hoppers and 9 water park tickets. That will last us 3 to 4 trips over the next 10 years. Ticket prices only go up, so buying the WDW tickets now works perfect for us. I also bought us the $86 Universal Studio tickets that last 7 days...they do expire 7 days after first day of use.

My April 2009 ticket plan is to do 4 days at Universal Studios, 2 days at WDW water parks and 3 WDW park hopper days, plus rest in between park days. We will be staying at the beach [Atlantic side] for a couple days too.

So far, I'm thinking something like this:

*Arrive MCO, drive to beach
*Beach
*Morning at beach then drive to POP Century and rest
*Universal Studios
*Island of Adventure
*REST / TL
*AK/MK
*REST
*REST / BB
*DHS/Epcot....MAYBE BOOK DVC BC
*REST
*Universal Studios
*Island of Adventure
*REST
*MK and hop to other WDW parks
*Depart for Home

We like renting a car for freedom and it never costs too much.

We fly from Buffalo. We are EXCELLENT packers and only take carry-ons.

We grocery shop for breakkies, some lunches and fruits and veggies....saves time and money...WDW portions are too big for us so we share lots.