$Christmas at Disney$

[DancingMinnie]

So we have just decided to plan a trip to Disney for Christmas & New Years...very last minute, have had some hard times recently and just want to get away for the holidays. The major problem here is how expensive everything (esp. the room rate!) are. I know there are so many people on this board that are spending Christmas & New Years at Disney and we were just wondering some of the tricks you used to keep costs down. We are most likely driving and we have always stayed at Coronado Springs but other moderates are definitely an option. We do not have any specific dates set but know we would like to arrive in time for Christmas and leave the day after New Years but are very much flexible due to prices. Thanks in advance...can't wait to hear all your great ideas!!

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

The holiday season is the most expensive time to visit WDW. There are no room discounts for the week before Christmas running through New Year's. The only package discount that you'll find is Free Dining, which ends on 12/17 but if you arrive on or before that day, you will have the QSDP or the DDP for free for your entire stay as long as you buy at least 1-day MYW passes. Of course the rooms still go for the rack rate!

I'm not sure whether your vacation dates are flexible or not, but if you can visit during the early weeks of December you will get to see all of the holiday decorations and lighter crowds. Plus it's value season and rooms are at their least expensive of the year.

If you absolutely have to travel during Christmas week, you might want to investigate the possibility of renting DVC points. At this late date, there may be no new rooms available thru DVC but you might find someone with a reservation already in place that they cannot keep and need to sell.

 

[DancingMinnie]

Oh yeah, we definitely realize this is the most expensive time. We are going to go no matter what for Christmas and New Years we are just hoping there are some ways to save money. I didn't even think about renting DVC points but that is a great idea. Where would I go to see if there is anything available for Christmas week?

 

[mareed]

It looks to me like XMAS week at a Disney moderate is $219 + tax per night, so $240! That's just ridiculous to me, so I'd recommend renting a condo or townhome from a place like Windsor Hills that's very close to WDW. You can probably find something for around $100/night, I'd guess. Even taking into account needing to pay $12/day for parking, you come out so much better cost-wise and the extra space really is wonderful! We stay offsite mostly with an occasional onsite stay, so I do know how it is to visit WDW both ways!

If you're interested in finding a great deal on a wonderful place offsite, then check out the "Orlando Hotels & Attractions" board here. We love having separate bedrooms, bathroooms, and a kitchen for having a quick, easy, cheap breakfast before heading out in the morning.

Some of my general tips for keeping costs down are to have quick breakfast in the room/condo and to have a table-service lunch in the parks as your big meal of the day. Lunch is cheaper than dinner at most restaurants.

 

[dvcgirl]

I know that you said that you've had some tough times and want to get away for the holidays. It sounds like you have your heart set on visiting Disney at that time, but boy, I'd think long and hard about that. This is the busiest week of the year at Disney. I know that there are many here who can offer strategies to get you on the most rides and help you to avoid the crowds. But all that I can say is that it won't be a particularly stress-free vacation.

 

[DancingMinnie]

Yes, I understand that crowds will be busy..it will be expensive..etc. We have been to Disney many times for the holidays but we aren't the kind of people to lay around by a pool all day. This is one of the many reasons we obviously love Disney and CHOOSE it as the destination for the holidays. I guess I was just looking for little ideas to save money here and there....thanks though.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

Check the DVC-Rent/Trade Forum for info. about renting DVC points. Make sure that you read the forum rules in the sticky before you post. The rules on that board are more stringent than the other forums on the DIS.

If you're willing to stay offsite, you might find a vacation home of condo that is more affordable.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

A reminder to everyone that the DIS has a travel agency sponsor that makes these boards possible. Please do not post links to other travel agents. It's not fair to our paying sponsor to give free advertising to their competitors.

 

[Evans Family]

I second the offsite idea. A great place to look for houses is www.vrbo.com. It is Vacation Rentals by Owner and you rent directly from the owner.

 

[Kay1]

We're going for a week starting Christmas day, just as we do every year. When looking for a place to stay, I plugged in dates on various travel sites and found plenty of affordable rooms. I also put in a request on the Windsor Hills site and got so many responses there was no way I could reply to all of them.

We ended up renting a 3/2 at Windsor Hills for a total of $890 for the week, and that includes tax. We'll save by eating some lunches in the theme parks and more dinners off site and in the condo. We'll eat more TS than CS because it's so busy it can be hard to find a table at CS restaurants.

 

[DancingMinnie]

Thanks for everyones great ideas! I think we will probably be staying at one of the moderates just because we have started staying on-site about 8 years ago and have never looked back! Between the moderates anyone have any suggestions as to which one has the best decorations, activities, etc.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

All resorts have trees in the lobby and themed wreaths in the hallways off the lobby. And of course the food courts and gift shops will be decked out to get in the spirit.

I think that the deluxe resorts have more elaborate decorations just based on the size and available space in their lobbies. The value resorts are the least themed.

Port Orleans has the carriage rides all year round. During the holidays it can be very festive. POFQ incorporates the Mardi Gras theme into the decor while POR goes for Southern Style.

CSR melds their Southwestern motif with the holidays with many hints at Christmas in Mexico throughout the lobby and main entrance. Lots of poinsettias.

I've never seen CBR during the holidays, so I cannot comment on their decorations.

 

[jacksmom]

Thanks for everyones great ideas! I think we will probably be staying at one of the moderates just because we have started staying on-site about 8 years ago and have never looked back! Between the moderates anyone have any suggestions as to which one has the best decorations, activities, etc.

Hi! We are going 12-18 thru 12-26! And are planning on staying at CSR! It will be our first moderate (we usually do Deluxe or DVC) and we are wondering about the Christmas decor also! For us this is an "extra trip" this year D/t buying PAP's in July! We are also trying to make it a "budget" trip! Just wondering if anyone has any pics to share of the moderates decked out for the Holidays??

 

[dclfun]

I would try to plan a stay beginning on 12/17 to take advantage of the FD offer. Also, I know you have stayed at CSR before so you are aware that the food court prices there are higher ( but the food is wonderful!) than the other resorts. To me, all the resorts at Disney are beautiful for the holidays so it just depends on the type of themeing you prefer. If possible, I would agree with checking out the DVC rent/trade board. It might be difficult at this late date to get a holiday week ressie, but if you can swing a stay at OKW at least you'll have a microwave and toaster in addition to the fridge and coffeemaker and a 1 bedroom villa will give you a HUGE space and full kitchen. If you can't get FD, then being able to prepare some meals may even out the costs somewhat...that is *if* you want to prepare some meals. During that week it's so crowded that the one time we did brave the crowds we wanted to head back to the resorts to get away from the stress of it all and didn't mind preparing a simple meal. Also, check out possible discounts from the Swan or Dolphin- sometimes they have great promos and you'd still be on property.---Kathy

 

[Pixieflip]

... we were just wondering some of the tricks you used to keep costs down...

Theme park tickets and lodging prices are what they are, can't really save there. But travel to and from, dining, souvenirs, etc, those you can rearrange.

-Driving is our plan, too. We save over $1000 by driving our family of 6.
-We pack homemade ham sandwiches for the drive down. Way healthier and cheaper than fast food. Maybe there's something you could plan like that.
-We stay in a hotel (the drive is 24 hours for us!) once each way. This time we have a free night each way from points accumulated! Yeah!
-If you can do breakfast in the room everyday and bedtime snacks, too, plus take your own water bottles and snacks into the park if you can. The food in the parks is a budget killer. Having a supply of food in the room saves large amounts of money.
-I'm making a few shirts for the kids from the Creative DISigns board, that takes away some of the "need" for new clothes at the parks.
-Do your kids know about the trip? Can they start their own savings for souvenirs? My kids save all year and I spend nothing on that for them, it's their money and when it's gone, it's gone.
-We're going Dec. 26th to January 8, so we consider the trip their main Christmas gift! That saves a ton off the Christmas shopping budget, we just apply it to the trip budget.
-Some have suggested trading pins off ebay, I think a bundle of those would be a great stocking stuffer.
-As are all the travel games, new DVD's for the trip, etc. Go see the cool threads on the Creative DISigns board on travel games to print at home, super cheap gift.

I'll keep thinking, but so far these are some of my plans for this Christmas!

 

[verygfy]

We booked an extra budget friendly trip for this December and a little bit later than we normally do when we go at the Holidays Dec. 14-18th. I did rent DVC points about 2 months ago, but I tried to add the 18th and nothing was available. Saved a bundle of money this way 1 BR at BWV for $180 per night. And you can add the DDP with renting DVC which always saves us money. As for other ways to save both of the kids have been saving up for souveniers and along the way I have been picking up items to put together a stocking for them at the hotel. I got tinkerbell crayons and a coloring book for .99 (Party City), a cinderella doll for $8 (Target), a pirate bandanna for my DS for .49(Party City), I bought a bunch of pins off of e-bay for pin trading $1 a piece. We are only doing 2 parks this trip to save on tickets. The other reason I picked the DVC was because the hotels all have community halls with activities for the kids that are about $4 a piece so that avoids the need to do DQ and other activities (remember I said this was a budget friendly trip). I will also go to Costco before we leave (driving to save money) and buy muffins to eat for breakfast before we go to the parks to avoid spending more money.

As for the decorations for the moderates I am a huge POR fan, they decorate with the tree and the garland all around. I really don't think you can go wrong with decorations at Disney. We have a small Mickey tree that I take along and put in the room. I have thought about doing a few of the DISigner ideas myself to make the room a little bit more Christmasy.

I hope this gives you a few ideas.

 

[jiminy14]

We have visited WDW every Christmas-New Year's week for the past several years. It is expensive and it is extremely crowded. We are DVC members and usually split our vacation between a moderate and a DVC resort. Last year we stayed at POR and the most expensive nights were Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. I think we paid $249/night plus tax. There are never any room discounts during this time and you will pay a premium for Friday and Saturday nights.
The best advice I can give you is to take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours if you are staying on property. Magic Kingdom will sometimes be open until 3:00 AM in the morning. We really like the evening EMH because the parks become more manageable later at night.
Keep in mind that Disney adds a "surcharge" to all of its buffets and character meals during this time. Last year the surcharge was $4/person. That adds almost another $20 per family of four when you figure in tax and gratuity.
To save money, we eat breakfast in the room, split meals at lunch and eat off property for dinner. Sweet Tomatoes recently opened a restaurant in the Crossroads shopping center where an adult buffet costs less than $10. if you sign-up for their e-mails, they will send you BOGO coupons.

 

[cjnix29]

Good thing you are staying on property. For those of you that suggested off site...need to remember that the holidays are one time for sure that there is a real possibility of the parks only being open to resort guests! Have a great trip!

 

[jiminy14]

Good thing you are staying on property. For those of you that suggested off site...need to remember that the holidays are one time for sure that there is a real possibility of the parks only being open to resort guests! Have a great trip!

Excellent point. The Magic Kingdom closed around 10 AM on New Year's Eve last year and EPCOT and the Studios were closed by early afternoon (Animal Kingdom does not stay open late for New Year's Eve).
Another concern is the traffic congestion at this time of the year. Traffic is unbelievable and you should allow extra time to get anywhere in the World.

 

[phins_jazy]

We're going over christmas this year. Our first time so I can't give you any first hand experience. What we're doing is staying offsite renting a house. I know this isn't an option for you but it works for our family. We'll also be eating at the house for breakfast. We'll pack lunch in a cooler and eat one meal a day at the parks. For our souvies, we'll have a car and plan to hit the disney outlet stores for any good deals. We'll only be making a few ADR's so hopefully we'll be able to eat onsite christmas eve and christmas day at chef mickeys or crystal palace. Yes, it will be crazy but get there at rope drop and do your favorites then take a break and relax when the parks get to be too crazy. Enjoy your trip!!

Oh, I almost forgot. Make sure to visit all the resorts on the monorail to check out the wonderful christmas decorations.