Disney resort without park tickets questions

[peanut520]

Hi all! I'm planning a our first trip back to Disney after a messy divorce (sorry TMI) for dd8 and I. Obviously things have changed and I have to look at the most economical was to do this trip.

Can any fellow dis'er help me with a few questions since I've been out of the game for a few years. I can only go during 12/26-12/31(or 1/1 if my budget allows). I know it's the most expensive and the craziness time of the year since we used to go 12/19-12/26 annually. I've previously just booke the stay, play and dine or free dining from Disney because the dates worked with the discounts and her winter vacation.

If I book room a room though Disney and add tickets (5 day park hoppers) purchased via my company at a discount,
1. Will I get access to fast passes at 60 days out like I would if I booked through disney vacations?
2. Can I add dining?
3. Can I add an extra day to the 5 day park hoppers that I can purchase?

Thanks!

 

[loves to dive]

I can't answer your questions since I have an AP but I would suggest you possibly rethink adding the dining plan. If you are trying to save money, that is not always the way to go. Many meals at WDW are easily shared, especially at the TS restaurants so you could buy and adult meal and your little girl could share with you. Also, I find most of the time if I want to eat QS, a child's meal is more than enough for me so there is that possibility. Another possibility is if you don't drink soft drinks (which I don't) you can get free water everywhere, which will save you money and won't really seem like you are even trying.

 

[peanut520]

Thanks. We have always shared meals with dd and I've learned over the past few trips that it was easier and cheaper to get bottle water as our drink AND ice water. We drink the ice water with our meal, put what we don't finish into our hydro flasks, and bring the the bottled water with us to refill so we don't have to wait in lines to get free water. This also saves us from shipping as much water down.

 

[buzz1fan]

I called and booked room and dine. We are only staying 2 nights and online to book this you need a 2 day park ticket. So I booked on the phone 2 night stay and added dining plan.
I can purchase my ticket on my MDE app and book fast passes 60'days out I believe.

So yes you can book dining with resort stay and get fast passes

 

[peanut520]

I called and booked room and dine. We are only staying 2 nights and online to book this you need a 2 day park ticket. So I booked on the phone 2 night stay and added dining plan.
I can purchase my ticket on my MDE app and book fast passes 60'days out I believe.

So yes you can book dining with resort stay and get fast passes

Thanks, i thought you could but I wasn't sure. I could save a few hundred dollars by separating the components but I wanted to be sure.

Do you get magic bands without booking the tickets and room together?

 

[MermaidMommy]

Thanks, i thought you could but I wasn't sure. I could save a few hundred dollars by separating the components but I wanted to be sure.

Do you get magic bands without booking the tickets and room together?

You'll get magic bands as long as you're staying at a Disney resort, no matter what.

Since you're looking to be as frugal as possible, make sure you check out renting DVC points to see if it might be a better value for you.

Also, booking your hotels through Orbitz/Expedia/Cheaptickets will often net you Disney's discounts plus a 15-20% savings code on top of it. So, definitely take a look at their rates, too. You'll have to wait a bit for the holiday rates to come out, so keep an eye on the boards to know when they'll be released.

 

[DisBuckMan]

Since you're looking to be as frugal as possible, make sure you check out renting DVC points to see if it might be a better value for you.

The time the OP is looking at is during Premier Season for DVC....the most expensive. Even the cheapest (pointwise) studios at SSR, OKW, and AKV are going to be 20 points per night (M-Th) and 23 ppn on Fri/Sat. I'm not even including the value studios at AKV, as they will be nothing more than a pipe dream for that week for anyone looking to rent.

Regardless, renting DVC is far from being one of the more frugal ways to do Disney at Christmas time.

 

[purple figment]

.
I can only go during 12/26-12/31(or 1/1 if my budget allows). I know it's the most expensive and the craziness time of the year since we used to go 12/19-12/26 annually. I've previously just booke the stay, play and dine or free dining from Disney because the dates worked with the discounts and her winter vacation.

If I book room a room though Disney and add tickets (5 day park hoppers) purchased via my company at a discount,
1. Will I get access to fast passes at 60 days out like I would if I booked through disney vacations?
2. Can I add dining?
3. Can I add an extra day to the 5 day park hoppers that I can purchase?

Thanks!

1. Yes, you will be able to book FP+ at 60 days because you will have a room booked at a Disney owned resort. You will need to have the park tickets on your MDE account in order to book the FPs and you will be able to book FPs for the number of days on your tickets.
2. You will have to call to book a ticketless package if you want to add a paid dining plan to your resort reservation. It cannot be booked online and it will follow all the rules of a package (deposit, final payment date, cancellation & change fees). With an arrival date of 12/26 it is unlikely there will be any package specials (e.g. stay, play & dine or free dining).
If you book a room through a third party wholeseller such as Expedia, Orbitz, etc. you will not be able to add a dining plan because it can only be booked through Disney or an authorized travel agency.
3. Yes, you will be able to add a 6th day to the tickets as long as they are standard Magic Your Way tickets, but only after you arrive at DW so you would not be able to make FP+ choices for the 6th day until then.

 

[peanut520]

The time the OP is looking at is during Premier Season for DVC....the most expensive. Even the cheapest (pointwise) studios at SSR, OKW, and AKV are going to be 20 points per night (M-Th) and 23 ppn on Fri/Sat. I'm not even including the value studios at AKV, as they will be nothing more than a pipe dream for that week for anyone looking to rent.

Regardless, renting DVC is far from being one of the more frugal ways to do Disney at Christmas time.

Thanks. Every time I priced out point it didn't work out better since I planned on staying at all star sports.

 

[peanut520]

1. Yes, you will be able to book FP+ at 60 days because you will have a room booked at a Disney owned resort. You will need to have the park tickets on your MDE account in order to book the FPs and you will be able to book FPs for the number of days on your tickets.
2. You will have to call to book a ticketless package if you want to add a paid dining plan to your resort reservation. It cannot be booked online and it will follow all the rules of a package (deposit, final payment date, cancellation & change fees). With an arrival date of 12/26 it is unlikely there will be any package specials (e.g. stay, play & dine or free dining).
If you book a room through a third party wholeseller such as Expedia, Orbitz, etc. you will not be able to add a dining plan because it can only be booked through Disney or an authorized travel agency.
3. Yes, you will be able to add a 6th day to the tickets as long as they are standard Magic Your Way tickets, but only after you arrive at DW so you would not be able to make FP+ choices for the 6th day until then.

Thank you for all the info! I figured there wouldn't be any package discounts so I thought it would be cheaper to peice it together for less than booking straight through Disney. This might be doable if air fair comes down.

I'm not sure about ticket types. They are listed as 5 day park hoppers. Worse case we have a mini golf or Disney springs day on arrival or departure day.