Booked my trip but didn't do Disney Dining

k8Davies

K8Davies
Joined
May 20, 2010
So my trip was booked last night, can I get a Whoop Whoop!!! party:

But after all my research, waiting and watching for Disney Dining to come out in the end I didn't book a trip with it included.

Why? I hear you say, well even though food on my last trip was the most costly out of pocket expense and I would have loved to have preloaded that expenses, it wasn't meant to be. (Although might get a preloaded credit card just for our food)

To be fair it's mostly down to me, even though I was pretty flexible with my dates, I was not flexible with what area I wanted to stay in or flights.

So I definitely wanted to stay in and around the boardwalk area and I need to be able to fly Premium Economy , this is mainly due to the fact my son as ASD so having the extra space on the flight is a must and the freedom with being able to walk to two parks really helps.

So when I could get the flights at a reasonable price, I couldn't seem to get either the boardwalk or the Yacht or Beach Club. So we're going back to the Dolphin and saving around £650 per person (that was on some preliminary research and prices may vary lol :laughing:)

so if I can keep my food bill below - rough estimate with exchange rates - $200 a day I should break even.

I know that seems a lot but considering on our last trip our Chef Mickey bill was around $170, we might have to put in a few more off site eats our plan.
 
Yay! Congrats to you :goodvibes

Prices seem to be crazy expensive and even though we was going to bite the bullet and book, something has come up on the plans for next year which is going to be very costly so I'm having to sacrifice my holiday :mad:. Not happy but it's something I have to put up with :charac2::sad1:
 
That's really interesting. I've been looking at the same area and like you, both mine have ASD, youngest only recently fully diagnosed. Their needs heavily influence how we choose our resort. My heart sank when I saw what the prices were when they were released and I've been checking daily. What I haven't done is check Swan and Dolphin. I'll do that now. Was also looking at Saratoga Springs since the massive price increase as at least we could walk to Disney Springs. But I just can't convince myself that resort would be the right fit for us. We enjoyed POR, stuck to the quiet pool, but didn't use the resort in the evenings and I was hoping we could have a relaxing stroll around the Boardwalk or walk to Epcot to eat and get back to the room easily when we need to instead of crowded bus journeys - we don't hire a car.

I will carry on investigating but as it stands now, 2018 is not looking as hopefully holiday wise for us sadly
 
Oh No @Tash87 well I hope it's been sacrificed for something fun.

@AcrossthePondNic on our last trip we were debating between Saratoga or the boardwalk area, but now we've been to the Dolphin and my little one loved it, seem like the perfect place to go back to, even though I would have liked to stay one of the other resortsin that area.

It works for us as the boardwalk area, due to there being no roads and very high barriers to the water, he can roam about relatively freely which is fantastic, as road sense isn't his strong point yet.

Although he's slightly obsessed with the red chairs the have out. So every time we headed past that area we needed to let him explore around them for a bit to avoid a melt down - but when we were in a rush we did go the other way around past the Yacht and Beach club :).

The location is great as I love the fact you can walk between both parks (Will Caveat though as, I went in November (next trip January) so the walk was lovely, but that might not be the same case in the August sun :crazy2: ) and you're right it does give you the option on an evening of quickly popping over to Epcot to explore and eat.

The other good thing is, if you don't fancy going to Epcot or a full sit down, is with the food cart (can't remember what it's called) the Bakery, Ample hills and the pizza window you can always get a lot of stuff to go (oh and Joe's Margaritas for when you just have too).
 
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Thanks, I'm definitely doing some research into Swan and Dolphin and Saratoga. When you stayed there, what 'Disney perks' do you still get and what if any, did you not get and found that you missed?
 
When you stayed there, what 'Disney perks' do you still get and what if any, did you not get and found that you missed?

Well you get the EMH, the Disney Shopping package delivery back to the hotel and the free transport - so you do get most of the perks you get with other Disney resorts.

The only major thing are you can't get the dining or have everything connected to your magic band the same way you can in the Disney resort.

Also when there is a conference on it can come across as a very business hotel with all the delegates in their suits and your in your shorts and T-shirts lol

But I do think for the saving you make compared to the other resorts in the Boardwalk area, the trade off is worth it.
 
Thanks. Sounds good. I'm assuming you can still link fast passes etc with your magic band but just not purchases? Which we didn't use much anyway because you can quickly lose track of your spending. I'm struggling to get a price at the moment, we're looking at August as it's the only time we can go. I'm going to have to be patient.
 


I can now say we are giving up our holiday to pay towards my step-daughters wedding :lovestruc. I couldn't say on pp cause her future hubby came and asked for my husbands blessing before he proposed.....so sweet! The first thing my hubby said was " bang goes your holiday!" :mad: It's all so very exciting but it keeps hitting me, no WDW next year.

Anyway back to your fab news!

Do I remember right that this will be your last holiday before your little one starts school? If so, good on you for making the most of a' cheaper ' trip before school holiday price hikes.

Sounds like a perfect resort for your little one and somewhere he's relatively used to :)
 
Wow @Tash87 if there's any reason to give up a Disney Holiday a Wedding is great excuse - That is so nice and I'm sure it will be a fantastic event and you'll all have oddles of fun.

Yep it's our last trip before the dreaded School Holiday restrictions (Dun Dun Dahh) so we might have to wait a bit longer between trips.

Although saying that I really want to go after Star Wars land has opened (Currently says it's 2019 but I'm thinking it'll probably be more 2020) so I'd better start saving for my next trip now, while paying off my current trip lol :rotfl2:
 
We are all very excited about the wedding :goodvibes. I have however told my daughter that she WILL be getting married IN WDW....hubby said we need to start saving now ( she is nearly 8 ) :laughing:

The price rise of Uni tickets really doesn't help. My 2 little ones LOVE universal & IoA so it's a must for us. That's added £1000+ onto our holiday :mad:

Let's face it, we all find a way to afford a WDW trip - even in school holidays :rolleyes:
 

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