Advice on planning our own trip

[Hadjii]

Hi,
We're going to attempt to book our own trip for the first time. Have always chickened out in the past and ended up using our travel agent. But we keep reading how much cheaper it is to do it yourself. We are looking for 11/30 thru 12/7. Two adults and two children. We would prefer a moderate resort (POR is our favorite) with park hoppers. We would be flying from Providence RI to Orlando.
Does anyone have any advice on getting the best prices for this trip?? Where do we start?? Help!! Thanks so much. - Nancy

 

[travelin' tigger]

Here's my tips for saving money:

Resorts - if you have AAA, there's discounted rooms at all the resorts. But book early as only a certain amount are put aside for AAA members.

Airfare - most of my trips out of PVD via SWA have been $115 RT, but the most I've paid was $175 RT which is still a bargain.

Tickets - I have used Ticketmania, but sign-up for Mary's newsletter and get some great discounts available only thru the newsletter - link here:
http://www.mousesavers.com/newsletter.html

Transportation - Sign up for ME (Magical Express). When you make your reservation, get free transportation to and from the airport.

Food - I usually do breakfast in the room (breakfast bar), make lunch my sit-down meal and have a light counter-service dinner. Also bring a filter bottle (Brita or such) as bottled water really adds up!!!


HTH!!!

 

[EthansMom]

Call CRO at 407-W-DISNEY for reservations. Ask for the AAA rate. (If you can get the AAA rate, at Moderate prices, you'll save money even if you need to get the AAA membership.) You may have difficulty getting POR for those dates as Pop Warner Football is having overflow into POR the week of 12/7, so you may need to be flexible about your resort.

Southwest has lots of availability for flights for your dates for $59 each way for a total of $541.60. Go to http://www.southwest.com.

Check out the discounted park tickets at http://www.ticketmania.com.

I hope this helps!

 

[KTSMOM]

I second checking out www.mousesavers.com for deals. They have great info. I also suggest that you call a travel agent and just compare notes. We've used a travel agent the last two times and have gotten better deals. I was able to add the free dining plan to our upcoming trip even after I had already book with my travel agent. They are supposed to be flexible.
Good luck!

 

[buzz2400]

I always book my own. I first check mousesavers.com for any discounts. and of course this forum. If you know what airlines go out of your airport, you can check prices online with those. if you call disney to get a room only, ask if there is a pin number attached to your name (or any other adult in the party). they won't offer this information unless you ask. Also if you have AAA ask if they have any discounted rooms with aaa. If you are going to rent a car make sure you use the codes on mousesavers.com. Finally the cheapest price for tickets seem to be ticketmania. com. this is where I bought my last tickets. I love booking my own trip because it is like the thrill of the hunt to find the cheapest prices.