$5,000 budget

[Raenstoirm]

Ok, so my dh and i are taking our disneymoon in April and despite my ticker, we have not booked just yet. We are planning on going for around 10 days. Our "logistical budget" is $5000. When I say logistical, I mean food, air travel, hotel, and tickets. "Stuff" will go above that. We can stay on the monorail for about that, or for $2000 less, stay at a moderate. Or maybe stay at one of each and switch mid trip?
For those that do that, how do you actually do the switch since busses don't go from resort to resort. Taxi maybe?

We have stayed at moderates and monorail hotels before, but we are thinking maybe GF. Neither of us has ever stayed there. Although, can we justify the extra 2 grand just to stay there? Is it really worth it?

Decisions, decisions!!! And we need to book soon before everything fills up and we are stuck where they have room!

 

[WDWMom]

I personally don't think any room is worth the extra 2 grand. We have stayed at both POR and CBR. Both are great resorts but I prefer POR (or Dixie Landings as we still call it )

Unless you are going to be going to the MK every day or nearly everyday, I would save your money and stick with a moderate. We belong to DVC and have pool hopped everywhere. The pools at all the mods are super nice. Bus transportation is great getting to and from places.

There's my opinion. I'm sure the are others that are different.

 

[DisneyIsTerrific]

Normally, I wouldn't want to spent that extra money and would suggest staying at a moderate (our favorite is Coronado Springs), but since it is your disneymoon I think splurging is called for and staying at the Grand Floridian would make it all the more special.

 

[hopemax]

Have you considered a split stay? For our honeymoon we spent 5 nights at French Quarter, and 4 nights in a Honeymoon Room at the Wilderness Lodge. One of those nights we were upgraded to the Yellowstone Suite (heaven!) so it turned out to be a very special treat. But that way, on the days you run yourself ragged at the parks you haven't payed extra for the privilege. But have a couple days to take it easy and really pamper yourself. The bell services will assist with transferring your luggage. You just have them pick up your stuff when you leave one resort, go about your day like any other, and have it delivered to the room at the second. It's a breeze.

 

[Raenstoirm]

Thanks for all the thoughts! And Hope I didn't know that is how it worked. I think we might just do that. Was it really that easy to do?

 

[hopemax]

Yep, call bell services, tell them to send your bags to X resort. Check in at new resort, call bell services to deliver your bags. You end up doing some extra tipping, but that's it.

 

[Lisa]

Very easy to switch resorts. We did it in Aug. from AKL to YC. We just gave our bags to the bell hop at AKL then picked it up later that day at the YC bell hop after doing AK.

We love PO FQ for a moderate. If you need a recommendation for a moderate. It's cozy, has a jacuzzi, and the food court.

 

[party of 3]

we did the split stay last year and loved it. we are hoping to do it again next year. i have a ticker but like you i have not booked anything yet. we did PO riverside for 5 days and the Poly for 5 days. I just LOVED the Poly! it was heaven to me. we watched wishes from the poly pool at midnight on our last night there and it was just magical!!!!! i love that memory. i'll NEVER forget it!

 

[Raenstoirm]

We are thinking about the staying at the Wilderness Lodge. It looks fun and really "Disney" in the pics and neither of us has ever stayed there. GF doesn't really look "Disney" if that makes sense.

DH is not interested in switch resorts half way, simply because he doesn't want to have to pack and unpack twice during our stay. It makes sense, since he tends to spread out and has stuff everywhere by day 2.

 

[rlovew]

We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge for a romantic weekend and loved it. It is not Disney in the way that the All Stars scream Disney but it has subtle Disney throughout it. It is also beautiful.

Rebecca

 

[Raenstoirm]

I have never seen the all stars before, although they look really cool from the pics. With all the times my DH and I have been to Disney together and as children, we have only stayed in 5 resorts (Swan, Poly, Contemporary-and only with a Kingdom view-DH requires it to stay there, Caribbean Beach, and PO Riverside). We really are creatures of habit. So we are trying to branch out a bit and try a new resort.

 

[ilovemickeymost]

We've split stayed several times. Stay at the moderate 1st & then switch to GF for the 2nd 1/2. That way you leave on the higher end of your trip. Our next trip we're doing value for 5 days & CB pirate room for 3 days. Enjoy your Disneymoon.

 

[ilovemickeymost]

We are thinking about the staying at the Wilderness Lodge. It looks fun and really "Disney" in the pics and neither of us has ever stayed there. GF doesn't really look "Disney" if that makes sense.

DH is not interested in switch resorts half way, simply because he doesn't want to have to pack and unpack twice during our stay. It makes sense, since he tends to spread out and has stuff everywhere by day 2.

FQ was very romantic & AKL w/ a savannah view was too. Waking up every morning & sitting on your balcony having coffee & watching the zebras & giraffes. Fantastic.

 

[MomOf2DisneyKids]

we've stayed at WL 3 times
once was a split stay AllStar Movies to WL
and once was a split Pop to WL.

the split stay is super easy! no problems!

have fun!

 

[calanniebu]

What about renting DVC points? We've rented points at the Boardwalk for both of our WDW stays. You get a deluxe for the price of a mod. We've stayed Sun (or Monday) through Friday to get the most bang for your points buck. You could do that for the first half and then change to the GF for the weekend. We've gone in Sept and Oct and paid between $700 and $800 for 4 or 5 nights. Check out the DVC Rental Board.

 

[Raenstoirm]

With the Disney deal in early 2009, we ended up booking at WL with a courtyard view (supposedly the best) for just over $2000. It nearly halved the the original cost! That means we will end up bringing money back home. Who could complain about that?

 

[rlovew]

With the Disney deal in early 2009, we ended up booking at WL with a courtyard view (supposedly the best) for just over $2000. It nearly halved the the original cost! That means we will end up bringing money back home. Who could complain about that?

Will you bring it home or use it for souvinears?

Rebecca

 

[JandJ]

We honeymooned (and were married at) WL - you will love it! Congrats on the great deal too!