Disneymoon in 2 hotels

[redoschi]

Hi!

I'm helping my cousin plan his Disneymoon for this holiday season.

Now that the Free Dining offer has shown up we're taking a new angle to their trip.

They would like to be in Orlando for about 14 days (doing all Disney parks, but also going to Universal, Sea World and outlet shopping) but don't have the budget to stay at a deluxe for the whole honeymoon.

The wedding will be in Brazil on Dec 18th. They are planning on getting a flight late on Dec 19th to arrive in the morning or afternoon of Dec 20th.

That would allow them to stay on a deluxe for 3 nights (hoping for a Room Only Discount!) and then transfer into a Moderate for the remaining 11 days using Free Dining (checking in on Dec 23rd, the last day of Free Dining).

Their resort choices right now are Animal Kingdom Lodge or Polynesian (with Wilderness Lodge as 3rd option) for the deluxe and Coronado Springs for moderate (because Port Orleans isn't part of the FD offer )

I've visited most of these resorts (just never been to Coronado), but never stayed on any deluxe or moderate (just values for me so far!). From these deluxes which do you think is best for a Honeymoon? What about Coronado Springs, is it a nice moderate for a honeymoon or Caribbean Beach would be better?

Another issue is with park tickets. They won't get 2 sets of tickets and the only set they'll get is with the Moderate because of the Dining plan. Is it possible for them to retrieve those tickets and magic bands and start using them before checking in to the second hotel? What about Dining plan? Would they be able to start using it on the morning of the 23rd before swapping hotels?

Any other tips for honeymooners like them?

Thanks!

 

[andeesings]

I don't know about the tickets- on the Free Dining board they SAY it's possibly to do the tickets early, but I'm not sure. But I DO know about the Dining Plan-- you will definitely not be able to activate that until your check in day on the 23rd.

As for honeymoon hotels, the Wilderness Lodge is my favorite deluxe property because of its manageable size and general ambiance but I know I'm in a minority!! It's really about theming. Pick whichever you like best!!!

 

[lurkyloo]

The Polynesian has a lot of construction going on this year, so they may prefer to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge or Wilderness Lodge instead. But the Poly does have the advantage of the monorail and being close to the action.

Coronado Springs is favored by many because it has nicer amenities and nicer rooms than the other Moderates due to its function as a convention hotel.

 

[Lorelei528]

I'm advising anyone who asks to not stay at The Poly until the construction is finished. Our fave resort is Animal Kingdom Lodge and we spent half of our wedding trip there (the other half at BoardWalk). We like to eat at Wilderness Lodge, but the theming we don't love.

As far as moderates go, Coronado Springs is supposed to be very nice, I've heard a lot of great things about it (as Carrie notes) but we've never stayed there. I have heard it's not quite as magical as other resorts due to the high business crowd there.

I'm not sure about the tickets either...but my gut feeling is "no". It sounds like the deluxe part as you said would be room only, and the moderate would be the package part? If so, they would not be able to pick up or use the tickets that came with the package until they check in to that part of their stay. Maybe look into buying tickets on Undercover Tourist for the days they're at the Deluxe as they have a slight discount?

 

[DisneyLassie01]

We are in a similar place for our honeymoon in October and decided to do two hotel split too.

8 nights Buena Vista Palace for modern rooms, DTD proximity and price.
Then 4 nights at Yacht Club for some class!

We had to do buena vista first because the offer gave tickets with a stay of 5 nights or more so if we wanted tickets for the first part of our holiday, we had to stay there on first day.

If we had yacht club first, we wouldn't have tickets til our 5th day.

(Hope this makes sense) I'm guessing your offer is similar.

 

[andeesings]

Ask the people on the Free Dining thread--- they seem to know, and seem to think you can pick up your tickets 2 or 3 days early...

 

[xtremer360]

I'll be on my honeymoon starting June 29th this year and my fiancée and I love Caribbean Beach.