Any booking gurus? Help with booking with Orbitz vs Disney directly!

[bemily]

I feel like a newbie since we havent been since 2008, and am getting overwhelmed with all the information...It is myself, my daughter (16) and son (12)...

If someone could answer some questions, I would be very appreciative!

*I find that the hotel is cheaper on Orbitz for our stay (Aug 10th-19th). If I purchase the hotel on Orbitz, can I still buy the dining plan and link park tickets as well? I am trying to decide between Art of Animation and Caribbean Beach Resort, and both are cheaper (AoA almost 1/2 the price than on the Disney site!)

*Where is the best price for park tickets? Orbitz is purchase 3-day park hopper, get 2 days free. I have a PIN code with Disney where if purchase 5-day ticket or more, I get the hopper portion free, but I am assuming I have to purchase the hotel from them as well? (forgot to ask) (Honestly, we have never hopped parks before and it isnt a necessity..We are pretty easy going and stick to 1 park a day...)

*Can I make ADRs now (knowing my dates), but not having my hotels in place yet?

Thanks so much!!

 

[Perditamarie]

Hopefully, I can help a little bit...just got back from a trip thru Expedia, and it was linked up perfectly.

* Cannot add dining plan unless you book directly thru Disney ...but check your plans to see if it is a value for you - it may be cheaper and more flexible to pay out of pocket. You have 3 Disney adults, so unless you really want the convenience of the DDP, the numbers may not make sense. You can check out menus on allears.net to run some price scenarios. I used Disney giftcards to pay for everything, and it worked great.

* Wherever you get your tix from, make sure you can get the tickets/ticket numbers ASAP so you can get them linked and fastpasses booked. This is a tedious, extra step.

* set up your MDE acct online so you can link your reservation and tix online and order your magic bands. Not familiar w/Orbitz, but assume it would be similar to Expedia. Their confirmation number showed up after a few days on their site, then I typed it into to MDE and was then able to order magic bands and link tickets and make ADRs.

I am sure someone will be along w/more info!!

 

[bemily]

Thank you Perditamarie!

I think I have to do a lot more reading...You can now BOOK fastpasses?? LOL I dont even know what MDE is...and to think I felt like such an expert 6 years ago too!

 

[Perditamarie]

It is a whole new ballgame now!!! Create a My Disney Experience account on
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/.

The MDE can "manage" your dining ADRs, fastpasses, reservations etc. Your room key, charging privileges, dining credits and park tickets are all stored on your magic band, which you can customize (colors) on MDE once you have a reservation. You basically need to plan your trip in advance!

There are no fast pass machines in the park...you book in advance or risk not getting any headliners. You get 3 fast passes for 1 park per day, and after using them, can book another at the parks, at a FP kiosk. These boards will catch you up tho!!

Happy planning!