April or May

[BALAMAV]

OK. I checked the price for April 28th to May 5th and May 5th to May12th. The prices are the same. So I figured the spring breaks are over. Is that true. I helped someone plan a trip 2 years ago in late April. We thought that all spring breaks were over but the east coast schools had a late break. Does anyone know when the very latest breaks are. We can go both week so it doesn't matter. I want the least amount of crowds. We went the first week of May 2 years ago. Great time but it is Grad weekend the first weekend of May. Some one posted that the last week of April is also a good time. We would leave to come home Sat. May 5th so grad night would not effect us. If you guys think we should go the first week of May. I thought that Sat May 5th we would do Discovery Cove so grad night would not be an issue. We would do something else that night. We would have the package start May 6th. Sun. Anyway any suggestions would be great.

Thanks Brenda

 

[bdtracey]

My wife and I were there from May 2 to May 12 this year and we thought it was great. The biggest benefit was that there were only 2 of us so we could kinda fly by the seat of our pants. The grad nights really didn't affect us too much and all of the grad students travelled in such large groups that they were easy to avoid. Most of the students rolled out of bed after we did and travelled through the parks fairly slowly. The one thing that really made our trip easy was the Touring Plans that we found in the back of the Unofficial Guide, you can get sample ones at the Unofficial Guide's website (I can't enter in the URL because I don't have enough posts). We honestly were going against traffic the entire time we were there. We had to wait in line longer for food than we did for rides. I think our longest wait for a ride was 15 minutes. We're going back again at the start of May next year. What we noticed was that the parks were getting busier near the end of our trip. Also, I would strongly suggest avoiding extra magic hours unless you get in early, do your stuff and get out around 10 or 10:30. Extra magic hour evenings are even worse. We did Epcot at night and it was brutal because everyone thinks that they're going to do EMH's but they bail out after about 1/2 an hour. Let me know if you want any other info. May works perfect for my wife and I because that is when my off-season at work starts. Again, working around the grad nights and the grad students is relatively simple you just need to be a little flexible.

 

[BALAMAV]

Thanks for the info. I do have a few questions for ya. What about the fact that they close the parks early for the kids? Did you feel jipped that they close the parks early. I also noticed you stayed at the PorFQ. We are staying there for the first time. What do you think of it? We have only stayed deluxe. We are going to go to Discovery Cove so we need to save money on the resort. Dicovery Cove is very exspensive. Got to save where I can.

Thanks again,

Brenda

 

[bdtracey]

Thanks for the info. I do have a few questions for ya. What about the fact that they close the parks early for the kids? Did you feel jipped that they close the parks early. I also noticed you stayed at the PorFQ. We are staying there for the first time. What do you think of it? We have only stayed deluxe. We are going to go to Discovery Cove so we need to save money on the resort. Dicovery Cove is very exspensive. Got to save where I can.

Thanks again,

Brenda

We didn't really feel jipped at all because they only close the MK at around 7 pm. It's not every park that's shut down early. We haven't stayed at POFQ yet, that's coming up next year. From what I've seen it looks great but I can only really compare it to ASSp. We ate at some of the deluxe resorts but even on an engineer's salary we can't afford to stay at a deluxe resort. I wish we could stay at a deluxe resort but our mentality is that we're only really sleeping there. I think the only difference you'll notice is that the moderates don't have the little perks that the deluxes have. What i'm hoping for is it doesn't feel as budget as ASSp. I got the feeling near the end of our stay that some people at ASSp took out a second mortgage on their house to pay for their trip. It's awful to say but both my wife and I got that feeling. I'm hoping POFQ is nice because we're looking for something a little more tranquil than the value resorts. I'm excited about the boat ride to downtown disney!

 

[lklasing]

Just a little off topic - when do you have for Grad Nights? According to the crowd calendar at touringplans.com, they are April 20-21 and April 27-28. I'm going to be there with my family May 2-6 (which includes the first weekend in May) so I'm very interested in the Grad Night thing. My best judgment is that we will be missing it, but if you have any different information, I'd love to hear it!

 

[bdtracey]

I saw their dates on there as well which is great for us too because we'll be there from April 29 to May 11. Although when we were there this past May there was a grad weekend May 5 and May 6. Hopefully that's not the case again this year but like I said earlier they're easy enough to miss. I'd be curious to see how many people actually avoid MK altoghether that day because you can basically get everything done before the grad night starts.

 

[kribit]

If I had a choice, I would go the firt week in May. DH and I went the week of Easter one year as a 2nd honeymoon and it was packed (derr). We still had a wonderful time and the weather was surprisingly good, but if you have flexibility I would go in May because a lot of schools are still in session.

Ummm...but I forgot about grad nights. Not sure when this takes place, I'll have to check. That is probably not the "best" time to go to MK.

 

[kribit]

Just re-read your last question about school breaks.

Yes, last year Mass break was 3rd week of April and New Hampshire was 4th. Don't quote me, my kids are still pre-school aged, but I'm pretty sure that is accurate.

Good luck

 

[BALAMAV]

Sorry I haven't replied yet. I just got on computer a little bit ago.

LKLASING: The Grad night thing. I guess I just figured that it was always the first weekend in May. It has been the last few years. I haven't seen it in writing. So if it is in April that is great. I would prefer to go in May. Thanks for the info.

BDTRACEY: We stayed at the Poly the first time we went. We saved for 14 months to go on that trip. I figured it would be our only trip. My hubby had never been there and wasn't thrilled about going. So I thought we should do it up big. I had been to Disney about 7 times as a child and young adult. But had never stayed on site and only ever went to 1 to 2 parks. So the Poly was my dream. I am so glad we did. We loved it even my hubby. He still complains about going. But I have been able to get him back 1 other time. We did the Land/Sea cruise. Which was awsome. We saved 18 months for that trip. So now I am spoiled. This will be out last trip for at least 10 years. We have a camper now and want to do the "OUT WEST" trip. But it will take us probably 3 trips to do all we want. Anyway I am sorry I thought you had been to POFQ but I see in your post you will be there in 2007.

POFQ look very quite thats why I want to go. We are going 9 days. Staying off property for 3 nights and at the POFQ for 6 nights. But I think we will only do 5 days at the parks. I want to relax a a bit and enjoy the resort. I also want to resort hop. I want to see all the resorts. I just think they all have their special things about them.

Thanks for all the info. I think the first week of May it is.

Brenda

 

[BALAMAV]

KRIBIT:

I thought so. I don't want to be anywhere near Disney for any spring break. If you hear for sure will you let me know.

Thanks Brenda

 

[bdtracey]

BALAMAV:

I just graduated from University in May and my folks were nice enough to give my wife and I airline points to go anywhere in North America. It has always been my wife's dream to go to WDW, at first I wasn't sure if I'd like it or not so I sort of mulled it over. Over last Christmas I actually thought of where I wanted to go because it was my parents gift to me for surviving University. I really couldn't think of anywhere in particular that I wanted to go so I thought WDW would be alright because at least my wife wanted to go. We did some research, read some books and finally decided that it was the best idea. We booked our tickets and then I started studying the Unofficial Guide. I tell ya, there is a lot of good info in there that I would have never thought of...making room requests for one! I'm definitely going to re-read it to write down all of the tips because I forgot to ask the check-in guy last time if he could upgrade our room at no cost. Apparently they'll do that for you sometimes if you're REALLY nice.

I'm still waiting for my price quote from my CAA (they're like AAA) agent. I called her a week ago and she doesn't have any pricing yet, but I figure the hotels/dining plan/tickets will cost us close to $3200 USD, I'm hoping that my agent can get it under $3000. My wife and I also think that this will be our last trip for a while because we're talking about having kids in the near future and I don't really want to take a baby to WDW...unless I can convince my mother-in-law to come with us The one thing that we missed out on this past trip and will miss out on again are the Star Wars weekends. I'm a total Star Wars geek but I'd rather be at the parks while they're quiet than to watch a parade.

I can't wait to go! It's going to be a LONG winter but at least I'll have something to do to pass the time other than skiing.

 

[BALAMAV]

bdtracey:

I have priced out a few things for our trip. ME DH and 2 DD 9 and 11. May 5th through May 12th. POFQ 6 nights 7 days waterview, tickets with park hopper and going to waterparks (kids love to swim) and dining package $3559.77. My sister an her hubby and her DS 4 and DD 2 are going and I came up with $2670.12 Same stuff as above.My mom and dad are going. Same as above but no kids I came up with $2330.38. I got all these quotes from the Disney web site. So I am sure your price should be under $3000 if you are staying the same amount of days. We are driving to save some more money. Even with the gas prices it is cheaper to drive. Unless closer they come up with cheaper seats around $150 a piece. Then maybe we would fly. Anyway this website makes the waiting easier and fun. I learned so much on these boards before our first trip. We had an awsome time.

Thanks Brenda

 

[kribit]

and let you guys know for sure, but it's definately alternating weeks.

We did go the week NH was on break and it was WALL TO WALL people. Never again at that time...

 

[kribit]

NH is on vacation the 4th week of April through the 29th
MA is on vacation the 3rd week of April

Looks like may be safe if you left on the 30th.

 

[newholidayx2]

oops I just booked for the 22-27th

 

[bdtracey]

We're departing here in Canada on April 29th and it takes a solid day to travel for us. We're leaving at 630am and we'll arrive in orlando at 330pm if everything goes on schedule. We wont be doing a park that day, most likely catch up on some zzz's or resort hop and just relax. We'll be coming off of busy season in my line of work and we'll probably need to just chill for the rest of that day. Plus on top of that I'm not the best person when it comes to flying. I'm not terrified but I just don't really like doing it. Our first day will be april 30 and right now I'm planning on doing Crystal Palace for breakfast to get us in super early!

 

[8 Ears]

We live in Maine and our April Vacation is the 3rd week of April. This is when we are planning on going , know it is going to be busy but I am a teacher so it limits my time frames. Hope this helps on your planning

 

[BALAMAV]

These dates help alot. I have a few weeks to play with. So I can easily change my days. I think we will arrive May 3rd stay off site till Sun. Do a few odds and ends. Go to Discovery Cove Sat. May 5th. Have dinner that night at DTD. Then check into POFQ on Sun. That way we won't have to worry about Grad nights and leaving the parks early. We will stay Sun. to Sat then head home. We have been to Disney enough now that we will do the things we love. Do all the new attractions and actually relax and enjoy the resort. I can hardly wait.

Thanks for all the help. Brenda

 

[disneyfan61]

I live in NH. Our school vacation is always the last week of April.

 

[BALAMAV]

disneyfan61:

I noticed you are going to POFQ in 2007. What made you decide on that resort? The more I research I do. The more I fall in love with it. Believe me that is a big deal. I am a Poly girl through and through But It seems like it has some of the same feel. Not theming of course, but the foliage of the plants, the differant buildings, the walkways to get around the resort. I am in the process of deciding which building to request. I have heard and I had a CM on the phone tell me. The best way to get your request met is when you make your first ressie. She told me that the room assigners look at the date as to when you make your first request. She said they generally go by that. If I made a ressie and a request in May and someone else made the same ressie and request for the same date but made their ressie in June. You are more likely to get yours. I know you can always make a request later. I know you are not guarantee any request. I have had it met once and not met another. But it can't hurt to put it in when you make you 1st ressie. Plus I heard some of the resorts are not taking phone request or faxes. Looks like building 2 or 5 are good ones for us.

Thanks again Brenda