Booking today - alittle advice please

[momxx5]

Okay I have ressies on 24hr hold until I can make a final decsion.

7/5 Ft. Wilderness cabins - 2 adult, 5 children(ages 10,9,7,5 & 2) for July 26th through Aug 2nd = $3,037.46 includes tax and insurance

Now, where the dilema comes into play....
XOA room only code for same dates = $1,202.00
5 day PH plus for whole family = 1,492.17
total = 2,694.17(all tax included)


So we would save $343.39 by doing the ressies separate from the tickets. But with the package we would have more flexibility, insurance and Disney Quest included(never done before but boys want to try it).

So what do you "experts" think?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[travellady]

If I understand this correctly, you save by booking seperately and getting park hopper plus passes. Our park hopper plus passes include Disney Quest so you'll have that with the money saving option.

Regarding insurance, I wouldn't be concerned with getting that if you book seperately. You have until 4 (or is it 5?) days before arriving to cancel room ressies and get your deposit back. I get insrurance only in rare cases - like an upcoming cruise were taking but that's because I have to cancel 60 days out or risk losing money.

It sounds like the XOA room only code is the better option for your family - I go for saving money anytime.

 

[momxx5]

The CM I spoke to was really pushing for the package deal. He said that the waterparks are included in the PH+ but not Disney Quest.

 

[travellady]

You know, I just checked and your right - I could have sworn when I bought mine Disneyquest was included but just checked Mousesavers.com and saw they it wasn't listed as a Plus feature.

Here are the current Disneyquest rates:
DisneyQuest - $33.02 Adults (10 and older); $26.63 Children (3-9)

So, if I'm doing my math correctly, you'd still save some by buying seperate DisneyQuest admissions. But, not if you plan on visiting DisneyQuest a second time that trip.

 

[momxx5]

Bump - any thoughts?

 

[KELLY]

I don't have any advice but I'm in the same sort of situation. We have to book the 7 for 5 deal by june 28th but I'm afraid there will be a dicount code for room only reservations. But right know the 7 for 5 is the best deal no matter how you look at it. I hope there are some room only codes for September there wasn't any last year but will see. I have just a room only booked right know. KELLY

 

[LuvTigger]

I think most of us would book separately for a WDW trip, but there are more attractive packages now than there used to be.

If you feel the convenience of a package including the flexibility of possibly going to Disney Quest more than once would justify the extra cost, and if it is within your means, I could understand that. I usually book a package when I go to Disneyland.

The other thing about the package is that you're staying for 7 nights, so you could go to the parks each of those days if you wanted to, whereas the 5 day hopper would be more limiting.

I guess you first need to determine if the extra $350 is within your means (for some people it could make or break the trip), and second, whether than $350 is worth the added convenience of being able to go to all the parks for 2 extra days (plus having unlimited access to Disney Quest and the water parks)? If your answer is "yes" to those questions, then it sounds like the package is the way to go for you.

(However, I would check to see what the cancellation policy is and what it would cost without the insurance. Unless you really feel you need the insurance, maybe that would lower the cost?)

 

[momxx5]

Thanks for the replies - please keep the advice coming.

Throwing something into the mix....

-We cannot use the UPH on our last day and possibly only the evening of our 1st day(that's a big maybe). We could book a room only rate on the front of our package and then probably take advantage of the first day UPH. But the again that would add more $$ to the whole thing.

The $350 is not a deal breaker. But it would be nice to save that money, haha save - I mean spend it on something else - nice dinners out, that extra photo on Main Street, etc. DH is out of the country on business so I cannot talk to him about it. He e-mailed earlier today - "book the Disney trip - FAST!". I know he would probably go with the package because he has no clue how to do it separately and he would be worried that we'd somehow miss out on something by not doing the package - using wrong tickets on wrong day. I am the one who would rather save the money.

Sorry for being a pain today.

 

[swilphil]

I'd book it separately. If you go through a travel agent, you might be able to get the same rate with the code and pay a little extra for insurance.

Also Park Hopper plus passes never expire, but I'm not sure if that's true with the UPH passes. My understanding is that those of for length of stay only. What if there is really bad weather or someone gets sick? That's why I really like the Park Hoppers. You also can buy them in advance through various brokers and save a little. We bought 4 day park hoppers from the local disney store and saved some money. I know they had 5 and 6 Park Hopper Plus passes too, but I'm not sure about 4 days if you want to knock off one of those other days.

 

[momxx5]

Well, still no luck in talking to DH yet.

Any more opinions?

Thanks

 

[goofy4tink]

We did DQ last Dec. It was just myself and dd, 10. She had always wanted to check it out, so we did. Now, it's no big deal for her. I wouldn't think that the 2 younger ones would be all that interested in DQ. So, one adult could take the 3 older kids and the other adult could do something fun with the little ones.

I like doing it all piece by piece. I have used packages in the past. But, if you aren't going to be going into a park on your last day and maybe not on your first day, then you have now paid for 2 days of park admission you won't be using. I would get the 5 day PH+s. If you aren't going to go to the parks on your first or last day, then you should be all set. You could do a water park or two on the days that you aren't in a park. If you arrive on the 26 and do no park, and leave on the 2nd and do no park...you have 6 days left for parks/water parks. 5 days in the parks and the 6th for DQ/water parks. That's what I would do.

 

[lisareniff]

Originally posted by swilphil
Also Park Hopper plus passes never expire, but I'm not sure if that's true with the UPH passes. My understanding is that those of for length of stay only. What if there is really bad weather or someone gets sick? That's why I really like the Park Hoppers.

Someone always gets sick!!! or for one reason or another shouldn't go to the parks that day. With the park hopper plus those days are not wasted. The tickets are not linked to a specific person so anyone can use them on the next trip.

We were there for 6.5 days an used 5 days on a PHP. We had two sleep-in/pool/golf/nice dinner days in the middle of our trip. Although not having to segment the days into park or resort would be nice with the UPH.

 

[kelscross]

I would do things separately. If you aren't going to the parks the first or last day.

Additionally, if you get the UPH passes for even the little ones just for the advantage of Disney Quest, IMHO I think DQ is definately not for little ones. We went last year to check it out since we got the 7/4 package and it came with it. It is cool, but there was absolutely nothing my girls could do. (They were 2 at the time).

It should still save you money by doing things separately and buying DQ for the ones that are able to do the things in there.

Have fun!!

 

[iloveeeyore]

I really love the flexibility of the UPH. If you want to hang out at the pool most of the day, you can still go to WS for dinner...or you can sleep in one morning and not feel like you're "wasting a day" of park admission by going to the parks later...or you can go to EMH for a few hours one morning, go back to your hotel pool or a water park, and not feel any pressure to return to a park to get your $$ worth. Is the flexibility worth that $$ for your family, only you can decide. No matter what you choose, you're going to WDW!!! Yipppee for you!

 

[donac]

There is so much to do at FW that you may not even have time for DQ. We did the 5 day plus the last two times we were down there. The first time the 5 days turned into 7 because of the plusses. We did Sun, Mon and Tues park hopping. Wed we spent the entire day at BB and then bacck to FW for dinner at the campsite and then a movie and campfire in FW. Thurs and FRi we were hoping again and then on Sat we went to TL and spent a good part of the day and ended with dinner at TE in FW.

If you play your cards right you can get a full 7 days out of a 5 day plus.

Dona

 

[Mic]

momxx5-
As the mother of 4, I am used to breaking everything down just like you did, and weighing all my options. This is what I would do if I was in your shoes, based on the info you provided.

Accomodations: Book room-only with code for July check-ins: $1202
Tickets: Based on my experience(as a recovering commando-park-tourist), you will likely wear yourself out doing 5 days in the parks with a 5 and 2-year-old. My advice would be to order 4-day PLUS tickets from ticketmania(join Mousesavers for free to get the special link). They offer free shipping, and you have time to do this before your trip. This ticket offers 4 park days AND 1 waterpark day(essentially 5 days). I'm not allowed to post a link, but the total for 3 adult/3 children's tickets is $1200. You can also order Disneyquest tickets from them as well, for a total of $120. You could do 4 park days,1 waterpark day, and a DQ day for $1320 total(6 days). I would not make any plans for check-in/check-out days: I've tried to in the past with little success! If you still think you will need the 5-day hopper-plus tickets, the total through Ticketmania is $1410 for 6 tickets, but I would not advise trying to do DQ if you are spending 5 days in the parks. For a total of $2522, you can do everything you want to, a savings of $515.46 over Disney's package. While I can appreciate the convenience and flexibility of the package, I feel you would be paying for something you couln't get the full value of with kids as young as yours. Good luck with your decision!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

momxx5 - If UPH's are what you want, you may still be able to save booking separately. You can book a room-only with the code, then purchase UPH's at check-in which allows you to drop your first and/or last day off. You can only do this at check-in.

So, you save on your room, you save on the UPH's, and you still get unlimited access to all parks, water parks, and Disney Quest!

Edited to add: I priced this out for your family, and it looks like, even dropping first and last day, you come out about the same as the pkg. So, I would have to agree with mic, booking room only and discounted PH's would be your best bet. We never get the insurance, the cancellation policy with room-only is really good, and the insurance has a lot of restrictions anyway.

Good luck, and have fun!

 

[momxx5]

A big THANK YOU for everyone's input.

We booked(and paid for) the 7/5 deal. I finally talked to DH and he said that he would have a better time not worrying about what we were going to do on what day. He said this is his only "vacation" from the world and he wants to relax and enjoy himself and not have to worry about buying another ticket because we felt like hitting a park after spending the day at a waterpark. We did the FTP last year and we did do a lot of hopping.

Like Iloveeeyore said "how much is flexibility worth?" DH said its worth every penny.

Although I would like to save $$$, I am okay with the decision. I told him that it would make me feel better if we hit a park in the evening of our arrival. He was all for that.

Okay, not to start making some PSs. I booked Chef Mickey's and PSB Breakfast last week.

Thanks again! I cannot wait to tell the children.
We are going to WDW !

 

[WIDisneyFan]

Your husband sounds a lot like me - we have usually done a package knowing that it was not necessarily the best deal but still a good one, just to keep things simple ! Have a wonderful trip

 

[stacie_d]

We were in a very similiar delimma, and for the first time ever, we opted for the package deal.