Brand New to WDW!

[pattyyc]

I know you've probably answered these questions before so maybe you can just direct me to the best place/threads to start!

1) My budget is around $3000 (without air). What resorts (on-site vs. off) are my best bets?

2) I have 2 fairly picky boys re: dining. Is the Dining plan really worth it? How do you find out about free DP? I'm going in October, do I need to wait until April, when they possibly give away free DP, to book?

3) I may have access to my in-laws RCI vacation membership for an off-site suite. Would you recommend staying on-site (even though it may be more expensive) for our first (and maybe only) time going?

4) Who should I book through? I noticed some people on this forum talking about a suite at the Value resorts and that was not an option through the Disney Website booking! Do I save money booking on the Website?

5) How do I find out about Kid-friendly restaurants?

I can tell I have a lot of reading to do! Any help is appreciated.

Patty

 

[Lilolvr]

You don't say how many nights but Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge and Coronado Springs Resort are a few good ones.

Kid Friendly restaurants
http://www.allearsnet.com/din/rest_kid.htm

 

[dseth]

IMHO that is a pretty decent size budget. I think you could look at a moderate or deluxe for about 6 nights for that price. If you decide to stay longer and go value (my personal choice) Pop can't be beat!! Staying at the RCI would cut your cost but staying on property has sooo many benefits. Shipping to your room, free parking (if you have a car) and not to mention extra magic hours. Allearsnet.com is a fantastic place to start. Get a good book; Birnbaums is decent but slanted of course to make Disney look it's best. I like Passporter myself it does a great job of keeping things organized for you plus you get good honest information. Also keep an eye out for discounts on mousesavers.com (this site too) depending on the time of the year you travel it can save you a bundle. We (2 adults a 16yr old and a 9 yr old) did 9 nights at Pop (prefered room) with the dining plan, 10 day park hopper ticket with water park option for around $2600. Keep in mind we did this in September with a free dining offer. Don't get overwhelmed!! Take it in small doses. There is so much good information out there. Start with your dates, then decide where you want to stay as long as you figure out where you want to eat by 180 days out you should be golden

 

[BYC]

Can you post how many in your party, and what ages?

 

[Sleeping Becca]

I would play around with quotes from the Disney Website for the days of your vacation to get an idea of how much a stay at a particular resort will cost. Visit allears.net to look at pictures of the various resorts and read about them.

When you have narrowed down your choices, get quotes from other travel agencies and give disney a call and get a quote from them, ask if free dining is being offered, ask if there are any discounts available for the resort during your stay. If you are a member of AAA inquire about a AAA discount. (If you are lazy like me, I just call and book through Disney, and give them the money that they ask for) This year is the first year I will be using a travel agent so I will just pay her what she asks.

I don't know anything about free dining because I visit exclusively in summer. The only way I would get the 2008 dining plan is if it were free.

There are tons of kid friendly restaurants, character meals are a must, with little ones (and some big ones). The website mentioned above has the menus of all of the restaurants.

Onsite verses offsite. I have done both and onsite wins handsdown! I love the Disney Resorts they are amazing!

Good Luck and happy planning.

 

[Bugsmom73]

Welcome. Ages would be helpful and number of people in your party. If your boys don't share a bed. Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom lodge have rooms with bunkbeds. 3000 is a very doable budget. I like the dining plan b/c then I don't have to worry about budgeting money for food.

 

[skipperkim]

Free dining hasn't been offered in Oct in the past. (Unless you started your vacation on the day before free dining ended. It's my understanding that Disney will no longer be allowing that option.) You would need to reserve a room with the free dining code, when it comes out. I'm a picky eater, and have found many great places to dine at WDW. Be sure to check out:

www.allearsnet.com

www.mousesavers.com

They both have newsletters you can and should subscribe to. It keeps you up to date on discounts and rehabs.

Personally I would recommend staying onsite as well. We always get up early, hit the parks then head back to the resort for a nap and a swim. Then early evening, when those who have been there all day leave, we stay and enjoy the park. Keep in mind that if you choose to use WDW transportation park closing tends to be . My favorite way around that is to linger in the parks by shopping. Buses always run 2 hrs past closing.

If you want a quick escape, there are other options. Walk to a nearby resort and pickup the DTD then back to your resort.

 

[emmsmama]

When do they typically offer free dining? Just September? Is it usually crazy during free dining time? I want to plan a WDW vaca when the crowds are low, but free dining would help a lot with saving $$.

 

[Booyakasha]

I honestly think your best bet is spend some time and do some reading on this site. You ask a lot of questions about a lot of different subjects and will get a lot of different opinions. When you do your reading you will at least have some direction and will be better able to figure out what people are throwing at you.

B.

 

[rie'smom]

Do your boys like the outdoors? If so, I'd say either the Animal Kingdom Lodge or the Fort Widerness cabins. This is the laout of the cabins:

 

[angiejg]

Hi! I can tell you from my experience that staying on Disney property is the way to go. Keep in mind though that I've never stayed off property. On our first trip our kids were 4 and 9 and we stayed at the Polynesian. There is nothing like being able to hop on the monorail then be at Magic Kingdom! And the extra magic hours are great and only available if you stay on property.

I'm not sure how old your boys are, but we loved the atmosphere at Sci Fi Dine In at MGM. The food is not great, but the place is awesome! We also enjoyed Pizza Planet there for counter service.

At Epcot we ate at Coral Reef and sat right by the tank and watched the divers. They interacted with the kids. Fun!

We ate at the castle at MK, which is great, although your boys might not think so!

You MUST do Chef Mickey's! It was our favorite. The character meals really get you in the Disney mood and it's a great chance to have one on one time with the characters and get their autographs.

Another great character meal is Ohana's at the Polynesian.

Overall I'm sure we spent more than we had to, but we have great memories of a fabulous vacation. This next time we go we aren't staying at the Poly and won't do the sit down meals, but for the first time I say go for it!

I hope that helps some!

Angie

 

[cara loves the poly]

I know you've probably answered these questions before so maybe you can just direct me to the best place/threads to start!

1) My budget is around $3000 (without air). What resorts (on-site vs. off) are my best bets?

2) I have 2 fairly picky boys re: dining. Is the Dining plan really worth it? How do you find out about free DP? I'm going in October, do I need to wait until April, when they possibly give away free DP, to book?

3) I may have access to my in-laws RCI vacation membership for an off-site suite. Would you recommend staying on-site (even though it may be more expensive) for our first (and maybe only) time going?

4) Who should I book through? I noticed some people on this forum talking about a suite at the Value resorts and that was not an option through the Disney Website booking! Do I save money booking on the Website?

5) How do I find out about Kid-friendly restaurants?

I can tell I have a lot of reading to do! Any help is appreciated.

Patty

There are sticky's at the top of this page for all of the Disney Resorts. Check them out! Happy reading!!!

 

[cara loves the poly]

The deluxe resorts are the Yacht and Beach Clubs, Polynesian, Contemporary, Grand Floridian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge. I think i got them all!

 

[Atchley]

We have a family of 4. 3 adults (technically) and 1 child

For around 3000.00 we got:

7 nights at CBR
6 day tickets (No park hopper, no water parks, and expiration dates apply)
We are on the DDP.

Not too bad of price I think for all that for one week. (Price jumped for us about 400 this year since DD turned 10 and is now technically an adult for tickets and DDP)

Just look into the options you will use. If you only plan on doing one park a day (we just don't have enough time to park hop) then you probably don't need park hopper options. We plan on using up all of our days, so we don't need No Expiration option. We are happy using the resort pools and just don't think that we need to spend the extra money for the water parks and Disney Quest. It saves us a little.

We do "splurge" and stay at a moderate instead of the values--not that the values are bad by any means. The moderates just seem to have more of a resort type fell to them and (I think) are a little more relaxing. One day I hope to take that next big jump and stay at the deluxes, but until then, I'm perfectly fine with the moderates.

Just make sure to do all your research. You have already discovered the absolute best place to do that. Just make sure to read up a lot and ask any questions that you might have. If your spending this much money, you want to make sure that you have the best time possible!

Have Fun Planning!

 

[pattyyc]

My boys will be 8 and 10 when we go. I got a lot of good information here and will look into the websites and reading a LOT more from these boards. Again, thank you all for your replies!

Patty

 

[Buzz2001]

My boys will be 8 and 10 when we go. I got a lot of good information here and will look into the websites and reading a LOT more from these boards. Again, thank you all for your replies!

Patty

CSR is a good choice. Your boys will love the main pool and slide. Check out my CSR website below for pics and info.

 

[rangermom]

I would call Disney and get quotes if you can not get it on the website. I have found it hard to find suites on the website. Sometimes I find them sometimes I don't. (It's probably me).

Anywho, I booked my May trip through WDTC, and it worked out well, but had I do it over again I probably would have shopped around to other certified agents. Sometimes you can get more free stuff and they are up to date on most discount codes. I was luck and got a 40% off resort code in the mail so I got:

8 days/ seven nights at CBR
8 day park hopper (2 adults, 2 kids)
DDP

For $2900, so $3000 is very doable.

PS Sign up for every Disney mailing promotion possible. I get updates and codes periodically.

 

[angiejg]

I might add that the dining plan was worth it for us because we did a lot of character and sit down meals which would have added up to much more.

Good luck!
Angie

 

[guelde96]

When do they typically offer free dining? Just September? Is it usually crazy during free dining time? I want to plan a WDW vaca when the crowds are low, but free dining would help a lot with saving $$.

We went during free dining this past September. They offered a bounceback for this September. The crowds were not bad. Certainly not low crowds like you hear. I would compare crowds to beginning of March. Worse at Epcot for Food and Wine Festival. I personally would not do Free dining again in September. The weather was horribly HOT and HUMID. So much more than I could have ever expected. I would pay the extra for the comfort of nicer weather. I did here this year was an extremely hot September. ADR's are a must this time of year if you want into specific restaurants.

 

[crazytp93]

I know you've probably answered these questions before so maybe you can just direct me to the best place/threads to start!

1) My budget is around $3000 (without air). What resorts (on-site vs. off) are my best bets? Stay on site for your first trip. Port Orleans Riverside is a great resort which I reccomend.

2) I have 2 fairly picky boys re: dining. Is the Dining plan really worth it? How do you find out about free DP? I'm going in October, do I need to wait until April, when they possibly give away free DP, to book? I am 14 years old, and some of the time I could not even finish a quick service meal on the Dining Plan. If you get free dining though, go for it.

3) I may have access to my in-laws RCI vacation membership for an off-site suite. Would you recommend staying on-site (even though it may be more expensive) for our first (and maybe only) time going? Like I said before, on site is your best bet for the first trip...

4) Who should I book through? I noticed some people on this forum talking about a suite at the Value resorts and that was not an option through the Disney Website booking! Do I save money booking on the Website?Compare rates.

5) How do I find out about Kid-friendly restaurants? Some kid friendly restaurants are Chef Mickeys, Toy Story, and of course character breafasts and meals.