Back from Disney World - 1st Trip!!! Want to go back!

[fitislandgirl]

My family and I just got back from our first trip to Disney World We went Aug 31st - Sept 9th and stayed at the Coronado Springs. We had an amazing time!! We took advantage of the free dining offer when we booked our trip! We are looking to definitely go again in 2012. Can anyone tell me if the free dining is offered every year at the same time of year?

When is the best time to find flight deals? We live in Prince Edward Island. We flew out of Halifax this time but would love to fly out of Ch'town if we can get a good deal.

I'm definitely a Disney addict now LOL.

 

[chimo2u]

There is a Canadian Free Dining deal on the website right now, where Canadians can book up to dates into end Sept 2012....I've booked FD with that deal for a POLY Stay next Sept 29 - Oct 4 (WDW) then moving over to Universal/IOA Oct 4-7, 2012....We have come to LOVE Universal/IOA after our first time trying it last yr. and I always tack a few days on for that now too! Hope you are able to get in on the FD deal ...Glad you had such an amazing trip, Disney is sure good at making you want to come back again and again!
Marie

 

[fitislandgirl]

Thank you so much for this information! I'm going to do some digging online and see what kind of a deal I can come up with. The Coronado Springs was beautiful but we barely spent any time there. We were at the parks most of the time. I'm wondering if we would be better off staying at a Value Resort next time and saving some money!

The Polynesian resort looked beautiful. I hope you enjoy your stay! We didn't get near Universal Studios this trip. We plan on seeing it next trip A year is going to seem like such a long time to wait but it gives me time to save $$ lol.

 

[dancin Disney style]

You can't count on any certain deal to be available yearly....it can change at any time. They often will use an offer a few times before moving on to something else. FD has been offered in a few different forms from mid August until the end of Sept since 2005. Historically, this has never happened before. The longest any other promo has run has been 3 years.

So if you think you will go again next year book it now. You can get your deposit back any time up to the 45 day mark without penalty.

As far as the resort level.....we stay at the values when we are planning to spend a lot of time in the parks and the mods when we are planning more of an R&R trip. If you are not going to spend time at the rest and enjoy the amenities then why pay more for a higher resort level. The value level resorts are a lot of fun and have a much more Disney feel.

 

[fitislandgirl]

Thank you! If I put a deposit on the trip now and a better deal comes out, can I have them adjust it?

 

[dancin Disney style]

Thank you! If I put a deposit on the trip now and a better deal comes out, can I have them adjust it?

Yes

 

[caisland]

Thank you so much for this information! I'm going to do some digging online and see what kind of a deal I can come up with. The Coronado Springs was beautiful but we barely spent any time there. We were at the parks most of the time. I'm wondering if we would be better off staying at a Value Resort next time and saving some money!

The Polynesian resort looked beautiful. I hope you enjoy your stay! We didn't get near Universal Studios this trip. We plan on seeing it next trip A year is going to seem like such a long time to wait but it gives me time to save $$ lol.

Hi, You can get a little cheaper with the value but not much.

If you want the regular dining plan with one table service and you stay at a value you have pay to upgrade from the quick servce plan to the regular. This costs about $16 per day per adult so if you happen to have 4 over the age of ten (adult) thats $64/day. It bacame about $330 for us to stay at a mod instead of Pop century for next August for 14 nights. Fewer in your party means the difference increases.

 

[fitislandgirl]

Thanks everyone!

I contacted our travel agent this morning (we booked through CAA) and the price difference to stay at a moderate vs value was just a little over $300. I am leaning towards staying at Port Orleans resort - Riverside - Alligator Bayou after the recommendation of a co-worker who is making his second stay in 2 weeks to this resort. His family loves it!

Is it too soon to start counting down the days? Wishing for Christmas to pass, spring and skip ahead to August 2012 already?

 

[DisneyFreak06]

Hello fellow Islander!

It's hard when the Disney addiction begins, isn't it? Good luck on the planning! We've been able to fly out of Charlottetown in the summer for as low as $500 pp. I'm usually happy with anything under $600 though. To fly out of Halifax, I'd have to save at least $100 pp, but if it's just me, it's got to be at least $200 to make it worth my time!

Happy planning!

 

[fitislandgirl]

It definitely is hard! We are addicted My husband and I made our reservation for Port Orleans - Riverside for next year already lol. We are going Aug 30th - Sept 8th. Hoping we can get a good seat sale out of Ch'town and save driving to Halifax and staying out of a hotel. There will be 4 of us going so if it's a big money savings we will do it again. It would just be nice to have the flight straight from Ch'town.

At the same time my husband has also suggested taking a few extra days - heading to Quebec to "see the sites" and flying out of Montreal. Men!

Is it too soon to count the days until August 2012?

 

[Sue M]

We also booked free dining at POR for next August It's our fav moderate resort. We were there this past Aug, and prefer The Mansion section. They are currently in the process of refirbishing all the rooms. We were lucky enough to get one of the new rooms, and they are beautiful, with queen beds.
http://allears.net/acc/g_dxl.htm You can see the pics here.

 

[dis_guy]

Is it too soon to count the days until August 2012?

No.

Have fun planning!

 

[fitislandgirl]

Very pretty!

We also booked free dining at POR for next August It's our fav moderate resort. We were there this past Aug, and prefer The Mansion section. They are currently in the process of refirbishing all the rooms. We were lucky enough to get one of the new rooms, and they are beautiful, with queen beds.
http://allears.net/acc/g_dxl.htm You can see the pics here.

 

[fitislandgirl]

No.

Have fun planning!

Thank you Dis Guy

 

[Celidh]

It definitely is hard! We are addicted My husband and I made our reservation for Port Orleans - Riverside for next year already lol. We are going Aug 30th - Sept 8th. Hoping we can get a good seat sale out of Ch'town and save driving to Halifax and staying out of a hotel. There will be 4 of us going so if it's a big money savings we will do it again. It would just be nice to have the flight straight from Ch'town.

At the same time my husband has also suggested taking a few extra days - heading to Quebec to "see the sites" and flying out of Montreal. Men!

Is it too soon to count the days until August 2012?

Nope not too soon. We were at WDW almost the same time as you, August 29-September 8. I live about an hour from Halifax. We stayed at the Quality Inn near the airport the night before we left as our flight was an early morning one. Our TA got us a rate of $159(I think their website said 185 for the room) for a suite that had 2 rooms, two queen beds and a pull out couch. It was a nice room, had lots of space for us and was clean. With that rate was also included free parking. So, it saved us $ since we parked for free instead of using the park n fly. Not sure what the current rate is for that, I think its over $10 per day so it is like getting our room for less than $50.00. Made it worthwhile for us for sure. Also, if we hadn't been leaving so early in the morning, breakfast was also included in the room price and of course a shuttle to the airport and back. We were also able to have them store a suitcase for us in their dry storage that had our clothes that we wore the previous day. I had packed a separate bag for the hotel so my kids didn't get into their packed suitcase for Disney.

So, my point is, if you decide to drive to Halifax and need to stay overnight, this is a good option in my opinion.

Oh yeah, we miss the World too. I don't think we can go next year but my partner and I are hoping for a trip in 2013 with just the two of us. We stayed at POP this time around as there were 6 of us and we needed two rooms but the next trip will most likely be Coronado Springs. The kids don't like that idea but a vacation without the kids would do me a world of good. If I can plan for 2013, then you can certainly plan for 2012.

Any comments about CS for just adults would be appreciated.

 

[fitislandgirl]

Hi there!

For the trip we just got back from we did just that! We took the ferry to Halifax and stayed at the Quality Inn. The staff and manager there were excellent! When the manager heard the kids were going to Disney he took them aside, put on Mickey ears and gave them Disney dollars. This completely kickstarted our excitement to Disney! I was really impressed. We also had an early flight and appreciated the park and fly, transportation and free breakfast. You are 100% right when you say the cost for the room pretty much pays for itself when you take all those factors into account. We didn't have a big fancy room like you did but it was still nice. Two double beds and a corner room on the 6th floor. Nice and quiet! If we don't get a big price savings flying out of Ch'town we will do the exact same thing next year. It gives me a reason to stop at Costco and stock up on my Detour protein bars before I go. I packed some of those for Disney as well.

My husband are considering looking into a babysitting service for a night when we go this time so we can check out downtown Disney or one of the theme parks alone. The kids got tired this last trip and there were a few times they just wanted to stay put and rest. We kept wanting to go, go, go. It looks like the night life could be a lot of fun so I'd like to check it out for an evening next time we are there.

I hope you have a great trip in 2013! How old are your kids? I need to start figuring out Christmas budgeting for the trip next year as well. My kids are 9 and 6 (girl and boy). They are big into video games and such. I need to keep us on a firm budget so we can make it to Disney again next year.

Nope not too soon. We were at WDW almost the same time as you, August 29-September 8. I live about an hour from Halifax. We stayed at the Quality Inn near the airport the night before we left as our flight was an early morning one. Our TA got us a rate of $159(I think their website said 185 for the room) for a suite that had 2 rooms, two queen beds and a pull out couch. It was a nice room, had lots of space for us and was clean. With that rate was also included free parking. So, it saved us $ since we parked for free instead of using the park n fly. Not sure what the current rate is for that, I think its over $10 per day so it is like getting our room for less than $50.00. Made it worthwhile for us for sure. Also, if we hadn't been leaving so early in the morning, breakfast was also included in the room price and of course a shuttle to the airport and back. We were also able to have them store a suitcase for us in their dry storage that had our clothes that we wore the previous day. I had packed a separate bag for the hotel so my kids didn't get into their packed suitcase for Disney.

So, my point is, if you decide to drive to Halifax and need to stay overnight, this is a good option in my opinion.

Oh yeah, we miss the World too. I don't think we can go next year but my partner and I are hoping for a trip in 2013 with just the two of us. We stayed at POP this time around as there were 6 of us and we needed two rooms but the next trip will most likely be Coronado Springs. The kids don't like that idea but a vacation without the kids would do me a world of good. If I can plan for 2013, then you can certainly plan for 2012.

Any comments about CS for just adults would be appreciated.

 

[fitislandgirl]

Okay I'm looking at all the posts and now I can't decide if we want to stay in Alligator Bayou or go for the mansion lol

 

[Celidh]

Hi there!

For the trip we just got back from we did just that! We took the ferry to Halifax and stayed at the Quality Inn. The staff and manager there were excellent! When the manager heard the kids were going to Disney he took them aside, put on Mickey ears and gave them Disney dollars. This completely kickstarted our excitement to Disney! I was really impressed. We also had an early flight and appreciated the park and fly, transportation and free breakfast. You are 100% right when you say the cost for the room pretty much pays for itself when you take all those factors into account. We didn't have a big fancy room like you did but it was still nice. Two double beds and a corner room on the 6th floor. Nice and quiet! If we don't get a big price savings flying out of Ch'town we will do the exact same thing next year. It gives me a reason to stop at Costco and stock up on my Detour protein bars before I go. I packed some of those for Disney as well.

My husband are considering looking into a babysitting service for a night when we go this time so we can check out downtown Disney or one of the theme parks alone. The kids got tired this last trip and there were a few times they just wanted to stay put and rest. We kept wanting to go, go, go. It looks like the night life could be a lot of fun so I'd like to check it out for an evening next time we are there.

I hope you have a great trip in 2013! How old are your kids? I need to start figuring out Christmas budgeting for the trip next year as well. My kids are 9 and 6 (girl and boy). They are big into video games and such. I need to keep us on a firm budget so we can make it to Disney again next year.

Who needs a reason to go to Costco?!?

My kids were the same, they got tired. They were glad to go home by the end of the trip. The only reason we had the suite is because there are 5 of us. We can no longer stay in a normal room. We used to take the kids to Halifax for the night just for fun to a motel with a pool. They enjoyed it but now that we need a more expensive room, it doesn't work out. Many of the hotels I checked in Halifax can't accommodate 5 people unless you book two rooms and that is too expensive for a night in the city just for the fun of it.

I have two boys, 11 and 14 and a girl, 8. The boys like video games too. It is getting harder to find stuff for them for Christmas since they are no longer into toys so much, at least the boys.

We want the next trip to be just my partner and I for the reasons you mentioned and my partners bday. I think it will be a totally different trip and we will see different things. I know it will be less hassle than trying to keep track of 6 people. My mom went with us this trip. We won't be waiting as much.

I want to go back tomorrow!

 

[fitislandgirl]

My mom and brother came on this last trip with us. There were 6 of us staying in the room but we didn't get a suite I wish someone had mentioned that to us. Thank goodness our kids were small. 3 to a bed - it was quite cozy!

This next family trip will be nice - just our family of 4. Too much drama taking my mom and brother this past trip.

I agree - no one needs an excuse to shop at Costco. I just have a hard time not spending too much every time I go!

I'm not much for rides but I have to say - I went on a lot more than I expected to. I wasn't brave enough to go down Splash Mountain. The drop at the end looked terrifying. I plan on doing it next year though. Something to look forward to!

I hope you and your partner have a great time when you go. Maybe we will see you there! We were actually looking into the Disney Vacation Club (not heavily). We were invited to a meeting but never attended after someone told us it's nearly $20k upfront. Too steep for us!

I'm taking part in the Terry Fox event this afternoon. The weather is beautiful for it today on PEI. Hope you are having a great day.

Kimmy

Who needs a reason to go to Costco?!?

My kids were the same, they got tired. They were glad to go home by the end of the trip. The only reason we had the suite is because there are 5 of us. We can no longer stay in a normal room. We used to take the kids to Halifax for the night just for fun to a motel with a pool. They enjoyed it but now that we need a more expensive room, it doesn't work out. Many of the hotels I checked in Halifax can't accommodate 5 people unless you book two rooms and that is too expensive for a night in the city just for the fun of it.

I have two boys, 11 and 14 and a girl, 8. The boys like video games too. It is getting harder to find stuff for them for Christmas since they are no longer into toys so much, at least the boys.

We want the next trip to be just my partner and I for the reasons you mentioned and my partners bday. I think it will be a totally different trip and we will see different things. I know it will be less hassle than trying to keep track of 6 people. My mom went with us this trip. We won't be waiting as much.

I want to go back tomorrow!

 

[Susan595]

We are heading to Coronado in about 3 weeks its our first disney trip for all 3 of us, dd is 7 and we promised her ages ago when she was 7 (heighth wise for rides) we'd take her, she called us on it and therefore off we go ! Can you tell me what you loved about this resort and or disliked? I did some pretty major research before I choose a resort and this one I fell in love with, that's not saying IF I could have saved some money and switched I wouldn't have, alas my dates of OCt 15-22 are sold out and no discounts available that's ok though I never knew what a pin even was before coming here, so I just keep pretending I'm in the dark now lol