Couple of planning questions ... so confused!

[caribou47]

Planning our trip for December 08 ... we want to stay at the Poly because we have 2 small kids and quick access to MK is key. (Are there any moderate resorts with fast boat access to MK and Epcot we should look at? I just don't want to be on the bus for an hour at the end of the day!)

Here's what I can't figure out:

1) Am I better off getting a AAA rate for the hotel and then buying the park tix separately, or should I try to get it together as a package?

2) Realistically, will we use the Park Hopper option with two small kids? I can't decide if it's worth it. We'll definitely come back to the hotel midday for naps -- but will we have the energy to go back to the parks in the evening? Could we go back to the *same* park without Park Hopper?

3) From this board it looks like people reserve a room and then watch for codes to apply later ... is there a fee to call back and get a lower rate that way? Should I just go ahead and book something?

4) Are the quotes on the Disney official site pretty much the going rate, or should I be crusing Expedia (or somewhere else) to get the best deal? I get figures of around $2,500 for 5 nights at the Poly with 4-Day park tickets (for two adults, a 5-year old and a 2-year old) in December ... seems very, very steep!!!

Any guidance MUCH appreciated!!!! Thanks!

 

[Pakey]

Welcome do the disboards!!!

First of all, there are no moderate resorts with quick assess to anything. All mod resorts require bus transportation to every park. The deluxe resorts are considered deluxe for their location more so than for their amenities. If you are going to spend most of your time at MK and can afford it, I would definitely stay on the monorail loop then (Poly, GF, Contemporary).

Yes, you are better off booking through AAA for a room discount and getting your park tickets separately.

You can return to the same park after a nap. Park Hoppers may not be necessary but they are nice. If it's your first trip, you probably will be fine without them. When we take newbies, we usually don't do much hopping. However, Hollywood Studios is small without much for small children so if you are going to go there, be prepared that you may be done early. Perhaps that would be a day you spend the afternoon going to DTD or something. You will just have to be careful if you making dining reservations at park restaurants to book them at the park where you will be as you will not be allowed to hop to a park just for dining.

I can't answer your question about applying discount codes at a later date as we have never done that.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've just came back the 17th from our 40th visit. We like the WL, for 1: price 2: location 3: themeing 4: Cheapest of the deluxes in MK area.

We had AP's this trip but the AAA discounted rate was cheaper so we called CRO, and just booked a AAA room only for our stay. We never book packages, though the prices might be tempting, we've done the math and its cheaper to just buy what you're going to use as you go. We never use the free dining since we don't book packages and we know all the places we're going to eat and the prices, and with the size of meals at Disney, wife and I usually split the meal. As for the extras in a package, the water parks sya, we've haven't been to one in 4 years, we're just content enough to just use the resort pool, same for Disney Quest, we have no use for it and it also is in some packages.

Wilderness Lodge is a deluxe but off the monorail, a boat ride to the MK and FW plus a boat to CR to gain access to the monorail to visit other resorts and getting to EPCOT. The boat to the MK, about 15 minutes, nice quiet ride we've never waited for a boat. We like watching the EWP from the beach at WL every night too. The pool is really themed well, not real big but has a slide but no zero entry. There are 2 hot tubs and a kiddee pool there also. We always go in value season and not around peak holidays and its been very manageble as for guests and crowds around the resort. Since this is a deluxe, all rooms are under one roof, per se, no outside entryways.

 

[heatherlynn444]

just something i noticed and wanted to add. you said you dont want to be on the bus for an hour. The longest you would be on a bus is 25 minutes or so. thats how long it took to get form AKL to MK and DTD from what teh guide books tell you, but in reality it never took that long (or maybe we had crazy drivers!) so if you are worried about aht dont be! the bus rides are not that bad!

 

[cmonroe]

I'd say the odds of you returning to the parks are good in the evenings.
Having said that, you do not need park hoppers for that, just your hand stamped. But having the hoppers is a nice option if you say left the park because it was getting busy and wanted to try another park after naps.
Just a thought.

 

[brentalex]

I think you are better off with AAA and getting the tickets elsewhere. Unless there is some great deal like free dining ( will not be offered in Dec ), I have never found any advantage to a package. You can go to mousesavers.com and sign up for the newsletter. It comes out once a month and has a link to a discounted ticket dealer. You can save a few bucks.
If you make a reservation with Disney you can call back as often as you like to make changes to it. If you have a room only reservation and find out that there is a AAA discount you can get, you can have it applied with no charge to you.
The only time there is any money issue with a reservation change is if you have a room only reservation and want to change it to a package. Disney will cancel the room only reservation, refund the deposit you have paid and ask you for a new deposit.
I have never tried to price a room on Expedia or anyplace else, just Disney and AAA, but since the resorts have been pretty full lately, I would doubt that there is going to be a great deal to be had elsewhere.
I would also think that for the first trip and with little children, that you may not really need park hoppers. The other thing is, that if you are there and you decide you want to go to another park, you can upgrade the ticket at any time to become a park hopper. So don't spend the money unless you decide you need to.

 

[rwdavis2]

I would skip the Park Hopper option. My guess is you won't get to do the rides you really want to do at the second park. If you do afternoon naps then do the more popular rides in the morning and then do the less popular/shopping/site seeing when you go back.
Bob

 

[Va-bear]

We didnt use the "hopper" aspect of tickets until this year - my oldest is 8. Before that we did just what you said...went back to the hotel to rest and IF we went back we went to the same park as earlier. It is just too mcuh w/ litlte ones that age to "run" from park to park. Definately not worht the money in my opinion. (It was great this time w/ the older one!)

I agree with those saying stay at WL. We stayed there when ours were about the same ages as yours. They the boat ride to MK and Frot Wilderness. The buses elsewhere were very efficient! There rooms are MUCH less expensive than the poly - my oldest still considers it his fav too!

As for tix, I took the advice from the DIS budget boards, which is, if you ever plan to go back invest in NON_expiring 10 day tickets bought from Disney or a well known vendor (the costs savings wasnt that much to use a vendor when I did it, so I did it through Disney, for peace of mind.) We have/or will use those tix for 3 trips! (So we've avoided price increases over those trips.) To get the "package" (w/free dining) we wanted we would have to buy one day tix, so that got addded on to the 10 days we had (and they had water park/etc.) So we have stretched them to the max!

 

[Tinkaroo]

Don't forget - you can make upgrades to your tickets within 14 days of its first use! You could buy base tickets from an authorized ticket broker, and if you decide that you want to be able to park hop, you can take your tickets to any Guest Relations window at the theme parks or DTD, pay the fees for the park hopping option, and they will add it to your tickets instantly!

I agree - book a AAA room only reservation, and then just keep an eye out for other discounts. In December, though, unless you have an AP, the AAA discount is likely to be your only option.

 

[Aliceacc]

My 2 cents:

With 2 young kids (under 10?) You might want to consider the dining plan. If so, you'll need to book a package.

Talk to someone at AAA so that, at the minimum, you get the AAA discount.

I got park hoppers for our trip. That way, we can do the Magic Kingdom all day and still eat in the more varied Epcot restaurants at night. (and, staying at the Poly, both are just a monorail ride away.)

 

[caribou47]

This board is incredible! I can't believe how fast and informative and helpful those responses were, I'm so glad I posted. Thank you so much!

I was actually leaning toward WL as a place to stay, if we don't splurge on the Poly. It's a difference of about $100 a night at least, and it sounds like it's still pretty convenient to the parks. Small World Travel just made me a "courtesy reservation" there -- 5 nights with the AAA discount, plus the 4-day tickets separately, comes to $2,000. Still very expensive obviously but better than the Poly.

I never even thought of upgrading to Park Hopper at the parks -- that's a great idea, to wait and see if we need it. We probably won't -- since we can go back into the same park, if we had that much energy, we'd do that.

Thanks so much for this info. I'm sure I'll be back asking more questions. I've been to Disney many times growing up, and twice as an adult without kids -- but this is the first trip with little ones of my own. It's a little different but I'm so excited -- we've just been waiting for them to be "old enough"! From here on out I know we'll go every year without fail.

Thanks again!

 

[unbroken chain]

I love the Poly. The Poly is nice because you can either catch the monorail to the Magic Kingdom or can just walk to the monorail transfer station (the TTC) and catch a monorail to Epcot.

But, if you will spend most of your time at the Magic Kingdom, also consider the Contemporary. You can walk from the Contemporary right to the MK, or you can catch the monorail (which actually passes right through the inside of the hotel) and switch monorail trains at the TTC to get to Epcot. Also, the garden rooms at the Contemporary I think are cheaper than the Poly (however, the closest garden rooms are, I believe, now closed, so the available garden rooms may now be on the far side of the Contemporary from the MK)

Have fun!!!

 

[joelp]

We'll be going in Dec 2008, too!! Looks like we'll be at AKL (which will make the DW VERY happy!!)

We stayed at POFQ last May with DD-3.5 and it was great - so you may want to consider that, too. Small, quiet, and a pool you have to drag the kids out of kicking and screaming ... Fun boat ride to DTD ... And the bus service was good, too. We made it back from Epcot on our getaway day in 7 minutes!!

The AAA discount is pretty good (15-20% of the WDW room rate) - about the only thing I've seen better is some of those mysterious PIN discounts people have been talking about ... (and if I should happen to get one - Savannah View room here we come ... ...) If you book something, you can always "modify" it later if a deal pops up ...

With small kids the DDP is the way to go - where can you feed a kid for $10 a day? ... so consider a package. About the only way it doesn't make sense is if you are only (mostly) going to eat counter service meals ... and if you don't use up all those DDP Snack Credits, you can buy boxes of cookies and bags of candy to take home with you (for Christmas presents??? that'll bring a smile to the kid's eyes!! [and I gotta remember to do that myself ... BTW - the 2-year old will eat for free, so you will only have to pay for the 5-year old on the DDP ...

The key to WDW with small kids is taking that afternoon break for a nap (you'll need it, too!) - and also taking off a morning and evening here and there, also. I don't think you'll need Park Hoppers - just head back to the same park that night (you don't need a hopper to do that - and maybe plan around those parks that have evening EMH, too ...) ... and then hit the kid's favorite rides again ... (and "Again! again! again!" - be prepared to hear that a lot!!) Do not try to do it all - won't happen and you'll just kill yourselves trying...

Also, we didn't make any ADRs for Table Service restuarants for dinner - you never know what kind of condition the kids will be in ...! The only two meltdowns our DD-3.5 had was when we went back to a park at night (and one of those days, even though we went back for a nap, she played instead ... but after 1/2 hour of crying she was fine - there are so many things you can use to distract them - like Mickey ice cream bars ... and "There's gonna be Fireworks!!" ...) So unless they are overly tired ...

And don't forget to bring/rent bring a stroller!!

Any more questions?

 

[jamsmu]

First post for me! Thanks so much for this thread. Its been SO helpful. We'll be doing the trip in Sept--first time for our kids, ages 3 and 5. (darn it, DS3 will miss the free meals by 19 days!)

Anyway, question about AAA discount--it seems that's the best? So do I book directly through AAA and then continue calling for codes, or do I book direct through Disney and give my AAA number, and then continue calling for codes?

This being a Sept trip, we're hoping (err... counting on) the free meals being offered in April.

Sorry to hijack the thread!

 

[joelp]

Anyway, question about AAA discount--it seems that's the best? So do I book directly through AAA and then continue calling for codes, or do I book direct through Disney and give my AAA number, and then continue calling for codes?


Book through AAA and then keep calling for codes - and look for other discounts. You can modify the reservation later ...

So you may want to book ASAP for September to make sure you get the resort you want ...

 

[jamsmu]

Thanks Joel.

One more question. If I book now, through AAA, can I change my reserv later? ie can I change to a diff. resort if we change our minds?

 

[pepe of ohio]

We always call CRO, Disney, and ask for the AAA discount, they ask for our AAA number, then if there's any questions, changes or additions and codes, we can talk to a Disney representative. I've read too many posts of people that can't get in touch with their AAA agent, sick, on vacation or just plain not getting back to them. I'ld rather deal with the horse's head than other parts of his body, calling CRO, puts you in touch with everything on property for tickets, dining, reservations, shows.

 

[Aliceacc]

But, as I understand it, if you want a package (and the meal plan) as well as the AAA discount, you have to book it through AAA.

 

[hoosiergirl7]

Here's my .02

We are traveling in April and booked everything through AAA (room, airfare and tickets - park hoppers but no water parks). For our 7 day 6 night trip staying at the Wilderness Lodge we're paying $3400. We decided not to do the dining plan because we will not eat that much food. I'm trying to lose it, not gain it.

Anyhow, we chose WL for several reasons: 1. It was an affordable deluxe. 2. It's a short boat ride to either the MK or CR to hop on the monorail to Epcot. 3. All the rooms have balconies. This was a big plus for us as I don't want to be going to bed at the same time my DS is going to bed so that gives DH and I the option to sit on the balcony while he falls asleep.

We chose the park hoppers because I like the flexibility that if I want to go to another park after afternoon down time rather than going back to the same park I can. Sometimes I can be like a child and get bored easily (it's the Gemini can't sit still trait I carry ).

We took DS to WDW when he was a few months shy of 3 and having the park hoppers was a really good idea then and we're doing it again now. We just don't like being limited.

 

[joelp]

As far as I know, to get the AAA discount you have to book through AAA ... maybe WDW can only tell you what the cost is using the AAA rate ...?

I haven't had any problems with AAA - if the TA is out sick or whatever, they cover for each other ...

I know you can "modify" your reservation at anytime - for example, if a discount pops up that's applicable, they can apply the discount ...
You could also probably change room "type"or "tweak" the dates ...

As far as totally "changing" your reservation to a new resort - that would seem to me to be making a "new" reservation ... check with the TA or call WDW directly ...

The problem you would run into with any type of change (other than a new discount) is that room availability changes as time goes on ... so you may not be able to get what you want.

BTW - the DD just woke up and wants to say "hi" to you ...