5 Nights for 3 X2 or 7-8 Nights?

[Harold]

It seems as though Disney would like you to come for 5 nights and not a minute more or less i.e. no 7,8,9 day Parkhopper tickets, no 7,8,9 day meal plans, 5 nights for 3 promotions.... I guess they assume that you may have some available credit left on your Disney Visa or maybe the $20 you gave you kids?, any change guys? on day 4 and that you will be out of money by day 6, and need you to go home and make some more, "no loitering!"

I was just wondering for those of us who think that 7-10 days lets you avoid the manic speed-walking blitzkrieg through the park and actually meander, saunter, stroll and occasionally loiter while still riding IJA 3,4... 77 times. At least in my opinion, it affords you the guilt free decision of getting to or leaving the park early, sometimes in the middle of the day to enjoy the pool, evening story time at the GCH, the Gospel Brunch at the HOB, not getting up at 6am to get to a character breakfast then to the front of the line when the gates open, running your 6 year old so hard that after a 40 minute wait for a waterside table at the Blue Bayou he goes face down asleep in his plate after being seated, and has to be carried back to the GCH (asleep) through the Fantasmic crowd, actually appreciating the small details in the parks...

Anyway, my question is has anyone ever booked two consecutive 3 nights for 5 instead of 7 or 8? If so, how did it price out?

Thanks.

 

[specialks]

Just a note that the PH passes typically phase out around 6 days because at that point it is cheaper to purchase an AP. Longer passes are available to those overseas because I have heard about Aussies using them.

I have seen a 4th night free promo from DLR which would make an 8 day trip a good deal.

 

[Harold]

Just a note that the PH passes typically phase out around 6 days because at that point it is cheaper to purchase an AP. Longer passes are available to those overseas because I have heard about Aussies using them.

I have seen a 4th night free promo from DLR which would make an 8 day trip a good deal.

For a longer trip the AP does make sense however, you can no longer book online as a package, you have to do hotel only which eliminates the meal plan option, Early Entry, Morning Madness and the hotel cost is nearly that of the package. Is a way around this I am unaware of.

4th night free would also be a good option, I am wondering if anyone has actually priced and/or done this or the 3 for 5 x2 as an alternative to AP/Hotel only?

 

[DisneyMomma81]

The Dining Plan at DLR is worthless IMO ~ I loved our *Free* Dining Plan @ WDW last year but there's no need for it at DLR, you won't save $$ using it ~ to budget or prepay for meals I use *character* meal vouchers and put $$ on Disney gift cards. 3-4 days at DLR is plenty for us, we like to visit 2 times a year at least *we visited quite a bit more than that last year!

ETA ~ we never do a package, it's always cheaper *in my experiences* to book things seperately, I book my hotel(s) *staying at 2 different ones next month* directly with the hotel or www.priceline.com. I buy our PHs from a 3rd party *for the last 2 years we've had APs, but not this year, we'd need the Premium AP since we're visitng 4th of July weekend and Thanksgiving weekend when all other APs are blocked ~ two 3 day PHs *our July PH is 5 days!* will be cheaper *and come with a MM* than a Premium AP*, for July I used LMT ~ and got a really good deal. I book airfare on my own ~ www.jetblue.com

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Hmmmm ~ does anyone else smell a troll, maybe from the WDW board.....

 

[Homemom]

... on day 4 and that you will be out of money by day 6, and need you to go home and make some more, "no loitering!"

My guess is it's because there are 2 parks vs 4 at WDW and you are within walking distance and actually able to park hop so no bus rides. Therfore you don't need as many days to do it all.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

My guess is it's because there are 2 parks vs 4 at WDW and you are within walking distance and actually able to park hop so no bus rides. Therfore you don't need as many days to do it all.

Exactly ~ DLR is so much easier to "do" you need far fewer days.

 

[Harold]

The Dining Plan at DLR is worthless IMO

The Dining Plan changes the question "what was the total?", to "how many vouchers", PRICELESS!

 

[plutorules]

It seems as though Disney would like you to come for 5 nights and not a minute more or less i.e. no 7,8,9 day Parkhopper tickets, no 7,8,9 day meal plans, 5 nights for 3 promotions.... I guess they assume that you may have some available credit left on your Disney Visa or maybe the $20 you gave you kids?, any change guys? on day 4 and that you will be out of money by day 6, and need you to go home and make some more, "no loitering!"

I was just wondering for those of us who think that 7-10 days lets you avoid the manic speed-walking blitzkrieg through the park and actually meander, saunter, stroll and occasionally loiter while still riding IJA 3,4... 77 times. At least in my opinion, it affords you the guilt free decision of getting to or leaving the park early, sometimes in the middle of the day to enjoy the pool, evening story time at the GCH, the Gospel Brunch at the HOB, not getting up at 6am to get to a character breakfast then to the front of the line when the gates open, running your 6 year old so hard that after a 40 minute wait for a waterside table at the Blue Bayou he goes face down asleep in his plate after being seated, and has to be carried back to the GCH (asleep) through the Fantasmic crowd, actually appreciating the small details in the parks...

Anyway, my question is has anyone ever booked two consecutive 3 nights for 5 instead of 7 or 8? If so, how did it price out?

Thanks.

We just did 8 days, and did the 4 days get 2 free parkhoppers. It worked out pretty well for us because we had 2 non-disney park days. We also did the meal vouchers, and the most days you can buy those for is 6 as well. But we used them over the 8 days and it was fine.

The other 2 days we went to an Angels game, and we booked through greyline tours a legoland day (for the boys) and Knots berry farm (for the girls). So it still felt laid back and not so "have to do everything right now". In fact, every park day had us getting there around 9, eating lunch in the park, back for swimming by 2, and back to the park after dinner somewhere. It was a very nice pace.

Shawn in AK

 

[DaisyLuvr]

There is a way around it all, but you have to call Disney Travel Directly. They will be more than happy to sell you a 6 day park hopper package and add on days at your hotel. This is the best way to make your money a value. OR if you want the free character call you need to book the 6 for 4 deal online (this one is a little harder to find, but it is avaliable) and you book it online. Then (which this may be cheaper anyway) If you have a Disney Visa you can get a free $100 - $200 giftcard for a simple 2 night hotel stay, call and ask about the offer (you should have gotten an email the other day about it, otherwise check the Disney Rewards Site) and then you can get the perks of both offers.
As for the dining plan it's not my preferance, we have tried both and find that putting the food money onto a Disney Gift Card works better for us, but you CAN order the dining plan without the package. You just have to call the Walt Disney Travel Company. I just took a group and they were more than happy to sell us meal vouchers for the kiddos Just keep calling till you get what you need, yes it can be a pain, but if you are looking to spend money, they will help you! ;-)
If you have any other questions feel free to PM me and ask. I have gone around and round to get all the deals I can, which has sometimes included booking two different hotels for the same stay period!
Oh and as for the park pass, get the 6 day and upgrade once you are onsite! I did this last year and it was SOOOO Worth it!

 

[bumbershoot]

The Dining Plan changes the question "what was the total?", to "how many vouchers", PRICELESS!

No, not priceless. Price, um, full. As in, pretty much the exact same amount as you would pay out of pocket.

But if you get, or upgrade to, an AP, then you get a *discount* on the food.


We had a trip in '07 back when they did sell 7 day tickets. Got a package, stayed at PPH for the package, then upgraded our tickets and moved over to HoJo and had another few days! It was great fun.

If you're staying onsite, you'll have access to AP rates if you have an AP, and sometimes they can be most excellent. If staying onsite, that gives you Magic Mornings every MM of your stay, including check in and out, if those days are MMs. It isn't linked to your ticket (though you do need to have valid admission) when you stay onsite.

MTTMM...meh. Not worth paying extra for. And please note that we were the ToonTown "family of the day" for that, so it's not like we had a negative time in there. It just isn't that special.

But you could absolutely book a package and also room-only, upgrading to an AP for the later part of your trip.