AoA for late January, should my friend book right away?

[kollerbear]

A friend of mine just told me that she would like to plan a special trip for herself in late January. She's separating from her husband (amicably) and moving out in mid December, and since she hasn't been to Disney since the year it opened, she thought that a solo trip would be a nice way to celebrate this chapter of her life. I am trying to help her plan but I know that she doesn't have a big budget, but since she has such a great sense of whimsy I thought the AoA Little Mermaid rooms might be a good fit for her since they're such a good rate. She could wander through the resort and enjoy all the theming, and the food court is supposed to be very good.

My question is how urgent is it that she books her room soon if she wants the Little Mermaid rooms? I have no sense of the demand for them and how quickly they're filling up, if there's any common wisdom out there about this I'd be grateful to hear it. If it matters, her dates are flexible, late January to early February. If she wants to spend more and do POR, CSR, or CBR instead, I'd imagine she may have more time for availability, correct?

Also, I know it's maybe off topic for this board, but do people expect or hypothesize that there may be free dining for these dates? If anyone knows of any restaurants that are particularly nice for a solo dining reservation, I'd love to hear that, too. (i.e. restaurants in the parks-- I think navigating the parks alone will be a bit much for her as it is, so I don't want to send her all over the resorts since she may get a little flustered.)

Thanks for any advice! This trip is very different than what I'm used to planning.

 

[Aulika]

Hello !
You are a great friend helping her planning.
You should look at the rates that are published wednesday when the current disney visa cardholder only promotion is released to the general public.
I did 2 solo trips last year and i preferred site down meal to counter service. The waiters are very nice to single traveler. I only got excellent service. You can make ADR for one on disney website.
If there is a restaurant she really wants to dine at that as no availability for one, she should book for two online and have the reservation modified over the phone.
There is a section on the DIS dedicated to adult and solo travelers, more people may be able to help you aver there

 

[kollerbear]

Hello !
You are a great friend helping her planning.
You should look at the rates that are published wednesday when the current disney visa cardholder only promotion is released to the general public.
I did 2 solo trips last year and i preferred site down meal to counter service. The waiters are very nice to single traveler. I only got excellent service. You can make ADR for one on disney website.
If there is a restaurant she really wants to dine at that as no availability for one, she should book for two online and have the reservation modified over the phone.
There is a section on the DIS dedicated to adult and solo travelers, more people may be able to help you aver there

Thanks so much for that feedback about the dining, I didn't realize that the promotion was due to come out! I did a quick search on the DIS search but I was getting some odd results and I figured you all would know I tend to filter those kinds of posts out when I read since I'm not due to go back for a while myself. It's also great to know that the table service would be a good alternative for her. I will also post on the solo travel board, as well.

Mostly, I just wanted to get a sense of how people expect AoA to fill up first of all so that she doesn't miss that window. I don't want to make her feel stressed to book RIGHT NOW unless it's really justified. Anyone have any feedback on that?

 

[lustergirl]

I would book asap. It is a new resort and is filling I presume. You will have to come back and give a trip report. I am thinking of staying in one the single rooms but I hear they are so far away from the action. Also if I need the room in a suite option I would probably book a deluxe resort, they are pricing out cheaper if you get the discount.

Good Luck!!