Complete Beginner!

[disneynewbie2010]

Hi All
I am planning on going to WDW Sept 2010 for our honeymoon
we have never been before so am quite nervous about booking as we want it be right!
I have been looking at the moderate resorts as i would rather stay here and save a bit of money to put towards spending etc, have noticed the WDW site has free dining at the moment. Im just looking for some tips really on who to book with etc!
All help muchily appreciated

 

[~Piglet~]

Hi, I am sure you will be happy wherever you choose to stay

We are currently planning for May 2010, although there are not many prices out yet for May to compare. At the moment, it is working out cheaper for us to book flights / hotel etc separately rather than as a package. It depends on the level of organising you want to do yourself too!

 

[Shooby doo]

To begin with welcome On this years offer the moderates were only Quick sevice Plan but you can pay to upgrade this,I say this years because when we stayed it was Basic DDP.The QSDDP is basically 2 counter service meals,2 snacks per day & a refillable resort mug each.The Basic DDP is 1 Table Service (sit down)meal,1 Counter sevice & a snack per day & the Deluxe DDP is more food than you can shake a stick at! this years offer had Basic DDP at OKW & SSR & as far as value for money went (IMO) this was the better offer. If you are happy to eat off-site then the Quick plan is good,there are plenty of good restaurants within 5-10 mins drive,but if you plan on eating at WDW alot then I would strongly advise the Basic as Disney prices are alot more than what you would expect to pay off-site.
We booked Direct with Disney UK because they had the best deal at the time but most operators offer it so it's worth shopping around.
I'm sure that you know this but just in case Free DDP needs to be booked as a package ie. Hotel,Passes & DDP. If you do go for Basic it is strongly advisable to make ADR's if you don't want to be stuck to being at specific locations at specific times then this isn't a good option for you! & finally Free DDP is normally only offered between stays from Mid Aug to end of Sept.
HTH SD

 

[rpbert1]

I am visiting WDW next August 2010, have not been for 4 years , as we prefer Universal, but thought about doing WDW for a bit of a change.
Been looking on Disney site for a while mulling over the DDP, checked a lot of prices for this year, and decided to book Wilderness Lodge for 2 weeks with 2 week tickets, as prices seemed to be quite good. So we get 14TS meals and 14 CS and 14 snacks, which is excellent, so planning a few Character meals we fancy doing along with probably HDDR and SofA, and the rest TS meals. Quite a lot of food involved with this so will do a few CS at parks a few times.
Was going to go back to POFQ as we quite liked it, but i had to pay a bit extra to get the DDP with TS meals and Wilderness Lodge worked out to be just about £500 more for 2 weeks so went with it

 

[Tillybud]

we're planning our first trip to WDW in 2010 also and I have to admit I'm a bit daunted by the task, want to get it right dh has complained at the length of time I'm spending doing my research but it's important !!! I was slightly confused by some of the abbreviations but I think I'm understanding them all now. Can I ask, if you book a package which has the disney dining plan, do you need to pre-book where you eat or is this just advisable if you have a preference ? I have so much to learn

 

[orangetiggs]

i would def book it all seperately, we saved around £800 by doing it all seperately and with the help on this board you will get some good prices

We booked last year for this aug with free dining and I'm tempted to book for next year as its free dining again as this will save loads

We paid to upgrade to the 1 table service meal a day plan but I think next year we will try the counter service plan that is free

Flights with the like of Virgin Atlantic and BA come our 336 days in advance and we got out flights with virgin around oct/nov last year for 317 each from gatwick

We did our car hire through usrentacar.co.uk and got a good deal with them

You will get most questions answered here

Congrats on honeymooning in WDW, we got married there last year and honeymooned there and it was fantastic

 

[rpbert1]

we're planning our first trip to WDW in 2010 also and I have to admit I'm a bit daunted by the task, want to get it right dh has complained at the length of time I'm spending doing my research but it's important !!! I was slightly confused by some of the abbreviations but I think I'm understanding them all now. Can I ask, if you book a package which has the disney dining plan, do you need to pre-book where you eat or is this just advisable if you have a preference ? I have so much to learn

Most definetly need to book your dining, when we where last at Disney i booked all my restaurants, did not have the DDP, but cancelled a couple on the day as i knew we would not be going.

 

[Cinderella]

Hi, Good choice - we also spent part of our honeymoon in WDW in October 2006. Definitely do plenty of research before you book. They have released free dining dates for next year earlier than usual, so I'm betting there will be even more discounts to come.

I think that it is £5 per person per day to upgrade to the basic dining plan if you're staying at a moderate resort and the extra is well worth it.

And as others have mentioned, do make your restaurant reservations well in advance.

We always book flights, hotel etc seperately and it works out far cheaper.

 

[Shooby doo]

Tillybud I would highly recommend making ADR's for the popular restaurants if you want peak times,just be aware that an ADR is not a reservation but more like your name goes to the top of the waiting list from your time.In most of our dates we waited no more than 15 mins.It is a major pain planning your eating so far out & not everything goes to plan when you get there!We managed to change a few of ours whilst staying because the times didn't suit but for the really popular ones I would book a time & stick to it.
SD

 

[Haworthfamily]

Hi Welcome and happy planning.
How exciting!
Everyone on here is great and so helpful ask all the questions you like!

Sarah X

 

[starrysky]

We too went to WDW for our honeymoon and you will have a fantastic time.

It was my DH first time there so he had no idea what to expect either.

Get your self an unofficial guide book and have a look at that its got lots of tips in it. Most books shops have it in the travel section.

Have a look at all the menus for the different places on a site like www.allears.net so that you know what each one has to offer. We have chosen the counter service plan as we are not really to bothered about spending time having sit down meals when we could grab something and keep going. Best idea is cost it out roughly according to what you normally eat each day and how much it would all cost. If one plan would work out better value even if you need to pay a little extra then do that one.

Make sure to ask at guest relations for the honeymoon buttons.

Discuss with your future DH what rides etc you really want to do and then plan from there.

Above all relax and have fun there are people on here that have gone for years and still don't see everything. Remember you are on honeymoon not army trainning. Plus its always a good excuse to go back again.

 

[disneynewbie2010]

thank you for all your replies, i will keep an eye out for all offers and hopefully get the right one im so excited!!! only got another 17 months to go!!!!!!!!

 

[~Piglet~]

Make sure to ask at guest relations for the honeymoon buttons

That sounds like a good souvenir can you get them at any resort?

We are getting married in Orlando next year (sadly not at Disney) and will probably stay at the Pop again.

 

[starrysky]

That sounds like a good souvenir can you get them at any resort?

We are getting married in Orlando next year (sadly not at Disney) and will probably stay at the Pop again.

We got ours at the town hall in MK but I have heard of people getting them at the resorts. Just ask at check in.

 

[aaronandterri]

ohh a newbie with a wedding to plan.....be gentle poeple

i would love to be organising something like that...lol, whenever my friends who are disney newbies start making noises about booking i go into planning overdrive for them...lol they think im nuts!

 

[UKDEB]

Congratulations on your forthcoming nuptials and a very warm welcome to The DIS . You've certainly come to the right place, as you can probably already tell from the helpful replies you've received. Hang around here, post away with your questions and I guarantee you'll get to make the most of your special trip.

Have you bought a guidebook yet?