A few planning questions

[cableguynoe]

We're planning a trip for 2025 and have been reading these forums like crazy. As you might imagine, we're a bit overwhelmed.
A little background:
Wife and I have been to WDW 5 times. The last time being in 2012, before kids. Those trips were amazing and easy. Super easy!
Wow is traveling for 4 expensive! This will be our first time flying with the kids! (we're in CAL, so have done Disneyland plenty)

Anyway, i was looking at booking through Costco. Any advantage to booking directly thought Disney?

Also, is booking a bundle package better than doing everything separately? Flights, tickets, hotel, etc?

Those are a few of the initial things I'm struggling with before even getting into all the other details.

Appreciate any feedback!

 

[lanejudy]

Yes, you can book through Costco. I'm not aware of any particular "advantage" to booking through Costco vs directly through Disney (The Walt Disney Travel Company) other than if you have changes in dates or questions about your reservation you will need to go through Costco as the travel agent.

As to a package vs booking components separately -- price it out both ways. Consider the deposit required and final payment dates, which vary based on the type of booking. I'm not sure how airfare mixes in with that.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

It’s usually cheaper to get everything separately but as pp said, price everything out both ways. You can usually get good deals on tickets through reputable third party sellers

 

[BarlowFamily]

We're planning a trip for 2025 and have been reading these forums like crazy. As you might imagine, we're a bit overwhelmed.
A little background:
Wife and I have been to WDW 5 times. The last time being in 2012, before kids. Those trips were amazing and easy. Super easy!
Wow is traveling for 4 expensive! This will be our first time flying with the kids! (we're in CAL, so have done Disneyland plenty)

Anyway, i was looking at booking through Costco. Any advantage to booking directly thought Disney?

Also, is booking a bundle package better than doing everything separately? Flights, tickets, hotel, etc?

Those are a few of the initial things I'm struggling with before even getting into all the other details.

Appreciate any feedback!

We also experienced WDW years ago without kids and after 10 years came back with our son. That first trip just the two of us in 2009 was so different from our first of many trips with the little guy in 2019 (he was 4 at the time). WDW is definitely not as easy as it was. Crowds, prices and the number of things to understand and "master" has increased over the years. You can make 2025 an amazing trip though! Starting your planning now is a great sign.

We haven't booked a WDW trip through Costco. We did book our third (out of 5) Disney cruises through Costco. It was simple enough. We did it to get the 2% shop card rebate. We haven't done it again, probably because I prefer to book and do the planning myself. There are tons of Disney travel agents out there. Disney pays them directly, so there's no extra charge to book through them (or Costco) if you wanted an agent's help and expertise. A friend of mine got a great deal on a Costco bundle (staying offsite at a Marriott Vacation Club) with flight and rental car and had a really nice trip. She'd do it again that way.

The only bundling we have done on trips is adding the Dining Plan. Not every trip. I'm not against it though. We get military tickets on base and so never need a bundle that includes tickets. I agree with the idea above to price everything out and compare both ways.

There will be pros and cons to every single aspect of your trip planning. You know your family. Look at your options and base your decision on your particular family. The big pieces are your first steps- when to go in 2025? for how long? where would you like to stay?

I'm a SoCal native myself, Disneyland is near and dear to my heart. You can skip a few West Coast repeats at WDW. Especially Buzz (Disneyland's is far superior)

 

[cableguynoe]

We also experienced WDW years ago without kids and after 10 years came back with our son. That first trip just the two of us in 2009 was so different from our first of many trips with the little guy in 2019 (he was 4 at the time). WDW is definitely not as easy as it was. Crowds, prices and the number of things to understand and "master" has increased over the years. You can make 2025 an amazing trip though! Starting your planning now is a great sign.

We haven't booked a WDW trip through Costco. We did book our third (out of 5) Disney cruises through Costco. It was simple enough. We did it to get the 2% shop card rebate. We haven't done it again, probably because I prefer to book and do the planning myself. There are tons of Disney travel agents out there. Disney pays them directly, so there's no extra charge to book through them (or Costco) if you wanted an agent's help and expertise. A friend of mine got a great deal on a Costco bundle (staying offsite at a Marriott Vacation Club) with flight and rental car and had a really nice trip. She'd do it again that way.

The only bundling we have done on trips is adding the Dining Plan. Not every trip. I'm not against it though. We get military tickets on base and so never need a bundle that includes tickets. I agree with the idea above to price everything out and compare both ways.

There will be pros and cons to every single aspect of your trip planning. You know your family. Look at your options and base your decision on your particular family. The big pieces are your first steps- when to go in 2025? for how long? where would you like to stay?

I'm a SoCal native myself, Disneyland is near and dear to my heart. You can skip a few West Coast repeats at WDW. Especially Buzz (Disneyland's is far superior)

Thanks for the great advice! 2009 was also one of the years we were there before kids!
For what it's worth, we're leaning toward booking things separately. But of course with a little over a year, that could change.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

Do not book thru Costco too soon or you could possible miss out on a vacation package that Disney itself is offering! If you are looking at more than a year from now, start pricing out ala carte and see the differences.

 

[nighttowll]

The only advantage I see to a package is if you think you will want the dining plan, it can only be booked as part of a package. You can’t add it later if you do everything separately.

 

[Mouse Tracker]

I don't know anything about booking through Costco.

Excluding airfare, I look at a pricing a WDW trip individually (resort, tickets with 3rd party vendors) vs package (Disney) and see what the actual savings are. Is there enough savings that IF there were a problem and NOT getting help directly from Disney worth it?

 

[Mouse Tracker]

Don't forget about transportation to your resort from airport.
Mears Connect fits the need for us.

 

[Hubalorian]

We're planning a trip for 2025 and have been reading these forums like crazy. As you might imagine, we're a bit overwhelmed.
A little background:
Wife and I have been to WDW 5 times. The last time being in 2012, before kids. Those trips were amazing and easy. Super easy!
Wow is traveling for 4 expensive! This will be our first time flying with the kids! (we're in CAL, so have done Disneyland plenty)

Anyway, i was looking at booking through Costco. Any advantage to booking directly thought Disney?

Also, is booking a bundle package better than doing everything separately? Flights, tickets, hotel, etc?

Those are a few of the initial things I'm struggling with before even getting into all the other details.

Appreciate any feedback!

You can always book through Costco but if I was going through a third party I’d go with an actually travel agent so they’d be getting up at 6 am to get all my dinning reservations but that’s just me.

Flights might be cheaper depending on airline and time of year plus if you stay on property or not is a factor too. Please keep asking questions, we on this forum enjoy being helpful! Happy planning