Dying To see August 2008 Quotes/discounts

[Reilly]

Im brand spanking new to all of this..........But am very much looking forward to attend my first trip to Disney in August 2008 with my entire family (husband & 2 kids ages 8 and 14, mother-in-law, my mother, my brother, sister-in-law her husband and 3 children ages 3,5,9) Should be exciting! I booked my room at the contemporary in the tower with a magic kingdom view. Now I just wish they would come out with the package prices. I have been calmly waiting since last year but.......
I'm hoping for some sort of discount even if it happens to be the right time of year and possibly there might be free dining. That would be nice! I'm currently looking at a $7,000 dollar price tag just for my family of 4 between my room/package with dining and airfare & spending money. How do people get to go so often with prices like this? I need to know the killer secrets!!!
Help!!!
New Disney fan who needs help with the INs and OUTs.
Thanks

 

[wishiwereindisney]

welcome to the disboards! the rates for 2008 aren't out yet and any special packages that come out for august won't be out until closer to next summer. BUT in the past they have offered free dining for later in august. you can go on mousesavers.com to see what has historically been offered in that time period. hope that helps!

 

[5fordisney]

Hi! Congratulations on your first trip to Disney! You will have such a great time! We are planning an August 2008 trip also! I agree, the cost is ridiculous. Our trip will be about $7000 too. This will only be the second time that we are "splurging" and getting a package onsite. I'm a stay-at-home mom and we count pennys everyday so that I can be home. But my husband is big into creating memories for the kids. We can't go every year b/c of the cost and we will save for 2-3 years for the one trip, but we think it's worth it. Just some food for thought, we have 3 children so we are limited in where we can stay. We are not a deluxe price range family but did consider the Contemporary just to say we'd been at a deluxe. The difference in August between there and POR (which also sleeps 5) is almost $120 a night (around $145 vs. $259). We want to stay for 10 days so that's around a $1200 difference for the week. We stayed at POR last time and thought is was beautiful. We also found that we were never in the room nor used any of the ammenities. We had ADRs everywhere but the hotel. We swam in the pool once just for about an hour. We left our room early in the mornings and came back maybe to change for dinner and then to sleep. We would def. be a value room family if they slept 5! Everyone is looking for different things in vacations, but POR is something to consider if you are looking to bring the cost down slightly.
Wherever you sleep, the trip is magical! What a great entire family memory you are creating! Take lots of pics and have fun!

 

[IcePrincess467]

First of all welcome and congrats on your upcoming trip to the most magical place in the world DH & I are in the planning stages of our 3rd trip to the world, and our 1st trip staying onsite with the DDP I am very excited! We are going to stay at a value resort because I feel that with the amount of time we actually spend in the room its just not worth the extra money, I'd rather spend that money on some disney stuff I think chosing a value resort would definetly drop your costs quite a bit (you have a premium room with a castle view and all...but honestly how often are you going to spend in your room looking at the castle? Or will you be on Main Street USA looking at the castle!

Anyways, have fun with the planning stages. I just finished my first draft of my ADR's and suggested times that I want so once the 180 day mark rolls around I'll be on the phone!!

 

[TripTime]

I have to agree that staying in a value resort would drop your cost significantly. I have always stayed in these and value for Disney is still nicer than most hotels. We also eat breakfast in room to cut down on one meal. We don't eat table service meals and choose counter services that give the biggest bang for the buck. We also carry small snacks into park with us to help cut down the hunger pains. Keep an eye out for special codes or AAA rates.