Book a plan or plan it myself?

[toraptorfan]

Hi, My first time posting and I've never been to Disney. Now my kids are 7 & 14 and I feel it's now or never to enjoy it with them. Here's my question:

I was hoping to go at the end of August for a week and I know last year there was the dining plan special offered (I have CAA and I see the postings here) However, I feel I would go nuts there an entire week and would prefer to be off-site, maybe at a house/condo/villa where we could do our own cooking, have a pool and go to other places. I think 3-4 days would be enough Disney for me. (sorry! My husband & I do not like crowds. We'll do it for the kids, but at the end of the day I think having somewhere private to go back to: our own pool, bbq, space is would make it more bearable. I know we sound anti-social but the thought of crowds all day, & at restaurants & at the room/pool, doesn't appeal to us. We like to have private family time as well. A home base to explore from at our leisure.
Is it more economical to bite the bullet and purchase the special (or any other plan) or put together my own itinerary? Thoughts?
Also I imagine flying out of Buffalo is the way to go? I checked AirTrans and it came to around $800 for 4. Is this a good price?
So far I found a house for about $800 Cdn a week. I'd have to research how much the following are: (does anyone have approximates?) i'll look but thought I'd ask.
1. car rental
2. disney passes

Does this sound about right? things I'm missing? i don't travel much so i may be ignorant in my assessment. I haven't totally ruled out a plan, but if i can manage it economically, i'd prefer not to. And I'm a planner, so I don't mind lots of research!
I apologize if I sound negative, but I don't go on rides and the crowds at Wonderland are the only thing I have to compare to and they drive me insane!

Thanks! all the info available is overwhelming that's for sure!

 

[kg66]

Hi, My first time posting and I've never been to Disney. Now my kids are 7 & 14 and I feel it's now or never to enjoy it with them. Here's my question:

I was hoping to go at the end of August for a week and I know last year there was the dining plan special offered (I have CAA and I see the postings here) However, I feel I would go nuts there an entire week and would prefer to be off-site, maybe at a house/condo/villa where we could do our own cooking, have a pool and go to other places. I think 3-4 days would be enough Disney for me. (sorry! My husband & I do not like crowds. We'll do it for the kids, but at the end of the day I think having somewhere private to go back to: our own pool, bbq, space is would make it more bearable. I know we sound anti-social but the thought of crowds all day, & at restaurants & at the room/pool, doesn't appeal to us. We like to have private family time as well. A home base to explore from at our leisure.
Is it more economical to bite the bullet and purchase the special (or any other plan) or put together my own itinerary? Thoughts?
Also I imagine flying out of Buffalo is the way to go? I checked AirTrans and it came to around $800 for 4. Is this a good price?
So far I found a house for about $800 Cdn a week. I'd have to research how much the following are: (does anyone have approximates?) i'll look but thought I'd ask.
1. car rental
2. disney passes

Does this sound about right? things I'm missing? i don't travel much so i may be ignorant in my assessment. I haven't totally ruled out a plan, but if i can manage it economically, i'd prefer not to. And I'm a planner, so I don't mind lots of research!
I apologize if I sound negative, but I don't go on rides and the crowds at Wonderland are the only thing I have to compare to and they drive me insane!

Thanks! all the info available is overwhelming that's for sure!

So far no news if they will for sure offer Free Dining again this fall, but if they do, it's so worth it! Not having to budget all week for meals! If you don't like big crowds, beware, kids are out of school then and crowds will be big. As a rule I like to pay under $800 for flights so you're on the right track with what you have found. When we rented a house 2 years ago it was $1500/week for us to rent with another family. It had 5 bedrooms. So that was $750/family, oops actually that was for 10 days. And as for passes, that year we used Kissimmee Guest Services, and they were wonderful. When we picked them up they had lots of free goodies for the kids and for us in a gift bag. Prices were just a bit cheaper than when I booked with Disney on a pkg. As for research, this is the place! Just ask away, anyone here will gladly help you!
Good luck!

 

[rewok]

Welcome toraptorfan! Everyone here will be happy to help. I won't repeat the advice I already gave you, and I think you'll find folks on these boards prejudiced about staying on-site, more so with Free Dining thrown in.

If you chose not to stay on-site, you can save a little bit (5-10$ max) buying at UndercoverTourist through the special link in the Mousesaver newsletter. You have to subscribe, or someone here you forward it if you wish.

rewok (from RFD)

 

[mermaid&cinderella]

DH and I also are not big crowd fans but one reason we stay on site is that we can get into the park early and leave early b/c we are right around the corner. We then spend teh afternoon by the pool which is never very busy. I am one of those people that love to stay onsite, just so much more magical. Also with free dining why not?
I just found a seat sale out of Pearson, $1000 for the 3 of us, that is the cheapest I have ever flewn and think its a great deal for Pearson.
Alot of peopel drive to Buffalo to get a cheaper flight but for us the conveience of a 30 min drive to the airport is for a couple hundred dollars.
Just my 2 cents! Have fun planning

 

[A&Bmama]

Not sure if you realize that once you pay for 3 or 4 days at disney it is next to nothing to add on more days. You pay $75.00pp for the first day, $3pp for the 5th day If you do decide to stay offsite I would suggest that you go to your closest Disney Store and buy your park tickets there. They offer them at par. If you do choose to stay onsite with a free dining package you will need to buy at least one days tickets from disney (at $75.00 USD + tax pp) to receive the dining.

I just picked up the price list from the Halifax store and it is as follows:

Canadian dollars with tax included:

Base tickets:

Please note that anyone 10 and over is considered an adult

3 day adult: 225.78
3 day child: 190.64

5 day adult: 236.43
5 day child: 199.16

7 day adult: 242.82
7 day adult: 205.55

If you would like to add Park hopper (visit 2 or more parks same day) option to your tickets it will cost a flat $50.00 + 6.5 % tax per person regardless of the number of days on your ticket. Water Park fun and more option will also cost $50.00 + tax PP. You can choose add both options to your tickets.