Back with more newbie Qs!

[kizzabel]

Morning all
I had this typed already but my phone had a bit of a fit and wouldn't post it :/

Well I'd originally thought we wouldn't get to visit WDW for the very 1st time until October 2016 but with a bit of budget tweaking we can go in 2015
We were looking at May or October for two weeks on-site in a moderate hotel. We are 2 adults 2 kids aged 6 and 9 at travel times.
We have four date options and Id love some advice on which would be best for lower crowds and temperatures - pasty white skinned girl alert!
Our options are
May 6-20 or 13-27
Oct 6-20 or 13-27

I'd be leaning towards October as my cousin is coming with and it would make it more doable for her financially - but May is still possible so im not ruling it out until we know whats on offer and if it were to be much quieter or cooler it would definitely be the better option.
When should May 15 and Oct 15 prices be out?

Also we've never been to America - where / who do we tip and how much? Is it a %? Do we tip at QS?

Also would $2500 be enough for tips and spends for two weeks (food will be taken care of with DDP) IYO for myself and the two kids?

Thanks in advance and sorry if I'm asking too much!
Kiz
X

 

[disneyholic family]

if you go in october, there's the chance that they'll offer free dining then..

 

[DisFanJen]

I will simply say two things.

Food & Wine Festival
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

October is a no brainer.

 

[micksn]

Hi, we've always gone in Jul/Aug so can't advise on when to go, but I would make sure you get free dining. In a moderate this will be CS dining, although you can upgrade to full dining plan at a cost. I would recommend OKW for full dining if it's on offer. (currently 35% off) You get full dining plan included so you can have all the character meals. The studios are also a bit bigger than a moderate room, but still have 2 queen size beds. They also have a small kitchen for toast etc It's also similar to POR/POFQ as you can get the boat to Down Town Disney. Although it's more than a moderate if you include the cost of upgrading to dining plan it actually costs less. (At least it does for 2014 when we're going )

 

[micksn]

OH sorry! Tips tend to be between 15-20% at table service meals and character buffets. In Disney Restaurants they put a recommended tip range on the bill. We tend to budget for about 20 dollars per meal. No tips in counter service!

 

[kizzabel]

if you go in october, there's the chance that they'll offer free dining then..

Is this never offered for May? Or just sometimes

Im going to have to separately quote the next two posts too - sorry my phone is outsmarting me!

 

[kizzabel]

I will simply say two things.

Food & Wine Festival
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

October is a no brainer.

Are the F&W and MNSSHP both ticket events? If so are they expensive? This F&W festival is drawing me in!!

 

[kizzabel]

Hi, we've always gone in Jul/Aug so can't advise on when to go, but I would make sure you get free dining. In a moderate this will be CS dining, although you can upgrade to full dining plan at a cost. I would recommend OKW for full dining if it's on offer. (currently 35% off) You get full dining plan included so you can have all the character meals. The studios are also a bit bigger than a moderate room, but still have 2 queen size beds. They also have a small kitchen for toast etc It's also similar to POR/POFQ as you can get the boat to Down Town Disney. Although it's more than a moderate if you include the cost of upgrading to dining plan it actually costs less. (At least it does for 2014 when we're going )

Thanks - OKW sounds perfect, I really like the whole look of the place from TAs pics. I was looking at that deal - you got a bargain. Hoping for similar with much crossing of fingers

Thanks for the tipping advice too. We can get a rough idea of expenses. Is tipping calculated on top of or before tax? I couldn't find much on this in the Unofficial Guide.

Also any idea when we could book? Sorry if this has been asked before and thanks again everyone

 

[DisFanJen]

Are the F&W and MNSSHP both ticket events? If so are they expensive? This F&W festival is drawing me in!!

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is a hard ticket event. But IMHO it's the best hard ticket event of the year. It has a great parade (Boo To You Parade) and a great version of wishes (Hallowishes) trick or treating, and it's the only time of the year that adults get to dress up in the Magic Kingdom.

F&W is free to get into with your Epcot park admission and what is is as a load of stalls in the World Showcase that, well, showcase different food from around the world. You do have to pay for the food (& wine ) but some of the items count as snack and QS credits I believe.

Here's a link to Disney's blurb about them:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/p...-events/mickeys-not-so-scary-halloween-party/

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/p...s/epcot-international-food-and-wine-festival/

Personally I think it's the best time of the year to go.

 

[kizzabel]

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is a hard ticket event. But IMHO it's the best hard ticket event of the year. It has a great parade (Boo To You Parade) and a great version of wishes (Hallowishes) trick or treating, and it's the only time of the year that adults get to dress up in the Magic Kingdom.

F&W is free to get into with your Epcot park admission and what is is as a load of stalls in the World Showcase that, well, showcase different food from around the world. You do have to pay for the food (& wine ) but some of the items count as snack and QS credits I believe.

Here's a link to Disney's blurb about them:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/magic-kingdom/special-events/mickeys-not-so-scary-halloween-party/

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/special-events/epcot-international-food-and-wine-festival/

Personally I think it's the best time of the year to go.

Thanks so much. I think I'm sold. Who doesn't love Halloween, dressing up and grazing on food and all in one trip. I'll have a good look at those links tomorrow and thanks for going to all that effort for me. There's so much to consider and take in - it kinda swamps me.

 

[DisFanJen]

Hey, it's a great bunch of people on here, especially in the UK forums so if you need any help I'm sure one of us would be happy to help out.

Oh...

Tipping is before Tax, I used to make the mistake of doing it on the after tax amount but when I started getting a TiW card I saw that the automatic calculation was before tax.

OKW, great place to stay, I've been there loads of times. I would suggest getting a hire car if you're staying there though as it's a bit more out of the way than some of the resorts.

 

[queendisney]

I will simply say two things.

Food & Wine Festival
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

October is a no brainer.

Yep this

 

[shell8558]

Free dining has been offered in May - we have gotten it 6 times.

 

[kizzabel]

Free dining has been offered in May - we have gotten it 6 times.

Great news. That will make our decision easier provided it comes up at all.

Still wondering when our dates would be released if anyone has any idea from historical offers or memory?

Does anyone know whether F&W or MNSSHP make the parks much busier?

 

[Donald Ducks wife]

Great news. That will make our decision easier provided it comes up at all.

Still wondering when our dates would be released if anyone has any idea from historical offers or memory?

Does anyone know whether F&W or MNSSHP make the parks much busier?

I booked October 2014 about 2 months ago
when we go in 2014, I will pick up some park maps etc for you, so you and the kids can plan

 

[kizzabel]

Ruth you are an angel!! Thank you so much! Ah so for October 15 I'd expect to be able to book in April/May next year, then maybe around Nov/Dec I'll see prices for May 15. Now just to be patient and wait

 

[Disneynutinlondon]

Does anyone know whether F&W or MNSSHP make the parks much busier?

The F&W definitely makes Epcot VERY busy in fact I would as far to say if you going during the F&W then avoid Epcot as the weekend as it's beyond heaving even worse than NYE and I speak from experience.

As for MNSSHP as it's a ticketed event Disney limit the numbers in the park so it's fantastic to go as there are little or no lines for the rides and it's a real pleasure to walk round MK

 

[MrRomance]

Morning all
I had this typed already but my phone had a bit of a fit and wouldn't post it :/

Well I'd originally thought we wouldn't get to visit WDW for the very 1st time until October 2016 but with a bit of budget tweaking we can go in 2015
We were looking at May or October for two weeks on-site in a moderate hotel. We are 2 adults 2 kids aged 6 and 9 at travel times.
We have four date options and Id love some advice on which would be best for lower crowds and temperatures - pasty white skinned girl alert!
Our options are
May 6-20 or 13-27
Oct 6-20 or 13-27

I'd be leaning towards October as my cousin is coming with and it would make it more doable for her financially - but May is still possible so im not ruling it out until we know whats on offer and if it were to be much quieter or cooler it would definitely be the better option.
When should May 15 and Oct 15 prices be out?

Also we've never been to America - where / who do we tip and how much? Is it a %? Do we tip at QS?

Also would $2500 be enough for tips and spends for two weeks (food will be taken care of with DDP) IYO for myself and the two kids?

Thanks in advance and sorry if I'm asking too much!
Kiz
X

My advice for the time of year would be to go in October rather than May. I think my reasoning has already been covered (Halloween, F & W etc.) so I won't rehash them, but we tend to go the last week of October into November because we get to see both Halloween & Christmas WDW!

If you stay at a moderate, you'll get the QSDP so you won't have any food tips to deal with. If you want to do any character meals with the kids they will not be included on your dining plan.

Spending money is a tough thing to pin down because it really depends on the type of person you are. Do you like to buy lots of trinkets? Would you want to shop for clothing which is a bit cheaper in FL? Are you planning on going to other parks?

$2500 is definitely doable, many people do it for less spends than that. For our October 2013 trip, we are taking about that amount, but we have most of our expenses covered (Hire Car, tickets for all of the other parks, photopass +, and we have the full DDP etc.)

There are lots of threads on here about tipping that you can get great information from, but a good general rule of thumb is that if someone provides you with an individual service, you tip them! You do not usually tip people who offer a general service (a bus driver for example) but someone taking your bags to your room, would be something you would tip.

Hope that helps!

 

[kizzabel]

... but we tend to go the last week of October into November because we get to see both Halloween & Christmas WDW!


There are lots of threads on here about tipping that you can get great information from, but a good general rule of thumb is that if someone provides you with an individual service, you tip them! You do not usually tip people who offer a general service (a bus driver for example) but someone taking your bags to your room, would be something you would tip.

Hope that helps!

Thank you! Would absolutely love to see both!! Are these a very busy or expensive two weeks to go though? That would be amazing plus it would cover my DDs birthday.
Great advice re: tipping, I'm going to do a search now

 

[flortlebap]

I would say the early dates in October are by far the best!

F&W is only really busy at weekends, we didn't notice high crowds in the week. But it's a while since I've been at that time of year and I believe it's busier now.