East Coast and WDW Nov/Dec 2014

[FireflyFi]

Travel experts, a little help, please! I'm looking at a trip for late next year through a few cities on the east coast, finishing with a couple of weeks in Orlando.

A bit of background - I visited WDW and USO for a week (combined) in late June 2012 with friends (along with NY, NOLA, and Vegas). Our limited time at the parks gave me just enough of a taste to know that I desperately wanted to return for a longer stint I couldn't swing the funds to go back in 2013 (but did manage to get to Japan for two weeks, including Tokyo Disneyland for four and a half days!) and so always planned to return in 2014. It's now getting close to when I need to start locking things in, so I'm trying to firm up my plans, but I still have a few questions. This is where your vast knowledge comes in

Originally, the plan was to go late October to November, but then PAX Melbourne was announced for this time, so I had to push back. After my experience in the busy summer of the Orlando parks, my priorities were to go in a quiet time where I wouldn't melt...! I don't really want to go before PAX, so the first two weeks of December are looking the best.

So this is what I'm thinking:

17-28 November Boston, Newport, Philadelphia, Washington.
29 Nov - 12 December Orlando

So, I'd be interested to hear your opinions of this plan, specifically around the following questions:

How should I split the days between Boston, Newport, etc? I started with a rough guide of 3 days each, but now I'm thinking it would be best to do 4 at Boston, 2 at Newport, 2 at Philadelphia and then 4 at Washington. I'm probably going to catch trains between these cities, and I don't mind getting them at the end of the day to maximise touring times.

With these dates, I'll be in Washington during Thanksgiving. What has been your experience touring on this day? Are places open? I'm thinking it might not be such a bad thing to be in Washington, as there may be areas to go that are always open (parks, etc)...?

And I'll also be in Orlando on the weekend after Thanksgiving, which is supposed to be quite busy at the parks. I'm thinking of spending the first four days (29/11-2/12) at Universal and stay onsite so I can get the FOTL passes. I'm assuming it'll be easier to handle the busier crowds with this perk. Would you agree?

Lastly, I was originally going to stay offsite and save some cash, and hire a car to get around. I was always planning on travelling alone, so accommodation costs can be significant...then I had a friend ask if she could come. Unfortunately, this friend won't know if she can definitely afford to for at least a few months. So, the complication is by having someone else come along, we would be committed to each other's plans, which can be quite different, especially when it comes to hours at the park vs relaxing at a resort. If we were at a park with a car and one of us wanted to return to the resort, we would be stuck. Add in the uncertainty of FP's for offsiters, and I've since decided to go back to staying onsite.

I'm hoping to rent DVC points (hence the 'urgency' in finalising plans...!). If I'm staying somewhere for a week or more, I like good access to a washing machine. And if I'm staying with someone else for that long, I like at least one separate room. So I think I'm going to try and book in a one bedroom (hopefully BWV). This will mean the accommodation costs will be *very* significant, especially if my friend never makes it and I have to bear them all myself but I should be able to make it (I'll just have to bring back a few less stuffed toys hehe). I don't really have any specific questions on this section, just added to give you the full picture...or at least as much as I've planned so far!...but if you have any feedback, please let me know

So there it is, I'd be very grateful if you have any opinions or insights

 

[mindy32]

I think giving the extra day to Washington sounds good, I'm yet to go but many people have said that they loved it and theres lots to see and do. I don't know enough about your other choices to comment sorry!

The time of year you're looking at is when we went last year and it was perfect for us. We arrived in Orlando on the 30th Nov but Thanksgiving fell about a week prior so we missed the extra crowds. We did however end up in Magic Kingdom the day of the Christmas parade taping and it was very busy but not an issue.

Plan to stay onsite sounds great. I loved onsite and I think in your situation it's a good option to make sure u can use buses etc to get around if you each want to go different ways. Less pressure to please one another that way.

 

[FireflyFi]

Thanks for the response, Mindy. I was beginning to think no one had visited around that time. I might go and put the same questions on the general boards to get some more advice. Glad to hear you had a nice quiet time while you were there! Thanks for the mention of the Christmas parade taping - I hadn't even considered that.

As an update, my friend has decided to pull out. It was good of her to do so at an early point, so I could make plans and be sure of what I need to book. I have assured her that this won't be the last time I'm going to WDW lol

So, that resolves that offsite / onsite dilemma...problem is, I've spent so much time looking at onsite DVC places that I have myself convinced that's the only way to go! but now that it's just me, I'll book a studio - no in room washer / dryer and no spa, but a huge cost saving!

 

[dabecs]

We went in November (to WDW, then Washington then NYC) my trip report is in my signature Hope it gives you a few ideas, if you want to know anything specific just ask...

We loved the time of year so much we are heading back in Oct/Nov 2014 - going over earlier so we can celebrate Halloween

 

[Sugarglider]

I went to WDW in 2012 at pretty much the same dates as you. I arrived just after thanksgiving, staying at SSR on points and AKL on AP discount.
The timing in Orlando is fabulous that time of year - weather and crowds are great.
Even though you want to rent DVC points, a 1 bedroom is double the cost of a studio and there is still only a max of 2 ppl. You could halve that accommodation cost if you were willing to take a studio and use the communial laundry.
Note that the 1st week of Dec is Value week for the DVC and is the peak week of the year. Make sure you have lined up your points for the 11 month day, the agent/owner is ready to book the whole stay for you on the opening! My agent was 1 day late in 2012 and all that was left was SSR & OKW. I stayed at SSR but always thought I could have stayed across the road at the DTD Neighbour hotels at a fraction of the cost.
In 2011, i booked on a UK Disney deal that got OKW at half price and was able to afford a 1 bedrm there. HUGE apmt!
Last 3 yrs in a row - Traveljigsaw gave me the cheapest price for my hire car - from Alamo.
have fun!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Definitely stay onsite at Universal to get front of line passes. Next year will be very exciting with the opening of the Harry Potter expansion, but I expect the crowds to be pretty heavy for a long time afterwards.

Have you considered a split DVC stay. We did 5 nights BWV followed by 6 nights AKV (Jambo) and it was wonderful to try out 2 such very different places. Swapping resorts was so easy as Disney moved all our bags while we enjoyed the parks. In saying that, Sugarglider's info about this being value Week is interesting. You might not have the flexibility to try out different resorts. If staying in DVC is important to you, it sounds like it might be worthwhile considering restructuring your whole holiday so you do WDW at the start. I loved AK Jambo house so much, I would happily restructure a whole trip if it meant the difference between staying there again or not.

 

[FireflyFi]

We went in November (to WDW, then Washington then NYC) my trip report is in my signature Hope it gives you a few ideas, if you want to know anything specific just ask...

We loved the time of year so much we are heading back in Oct/Nov 2014 - going over earlier so we can celebrate Halloween

Wowwwww....! I've just finished reading your trip report. Sounds like you had an amazing time. I can't believe how many rides you managed to go on! The crowds must have been really low to do so many.

I also can't believe how many times you went on RNR - while I was there my friends wanted to go on ToT, but I'm not one for drops so I went on RNR instead...by myself...! I always get a bit nervous before getting on a new ride, and when you walk through the line just near where you get on, and you can see how fast the car takes off...well, I was about ready to turn around and leave. But then there were a couple of kids behind me who were about 10, and one of them was trying to chicken out and the other was telling her to buck up, that it's not that bad. So I thought if 10 year olds can find the courage to ride, I should too so I rode, and it was ahhhhhmazing, but my legs were seriously shaking after I got off. There's no way I could ride it more than once I day hahaha

Your photos of NY make me really miss the place. I was originally going to stop there, but replaced a few days there with a couple of days in Newport. I figured by the time I get there, it would have been just two years since I was last there, so I should try somewhere new. But geez, it's hard not to reconsider - especially with your photos of snow in Central Park - how magical!

I'm curious about how much you saw of the Thanksgiving Parade?

 

[FireflyFi]

I went to WDW in 2012 at pretty much the same dates as you. I arrived just after thanksgiving, staying at SSR on points and AKL on AP discount.
The timing in Orlando is fabulous that time of year - weather and crowds are great.

Excellent although I have read a few reports from this year saying that the first two weeks of December really weren't that quiet. Too many people trying to take advantage?

Even though you want to rent DVC points, a 1 bedroom is double the cost of a studio and there is still only a max of 2 ppl. You could halve that accommodation cost if you were willing to take a studio and use the communial laundry.

Yeah, I eventually convinced myself that an hour or so sitting in a laundry room (or hopefully at a pool or something nearby) was a reasonable sacrifice for about $1.5k

Note that the 1st week of Dec is Value week for the DVC and is the peak week of the year. Make sure you have lined up your points for the 11 month day, the agent/owner is ready to book the whole stay for you on the opening! My agent was 1 day late in 2012 and all that was left was SSR & OKW. I stayed at SSR but always thought I could have stayed across the road at the DTD Neighbour hotels at a fraction of the cost.

Thanks for this tip! I sent off a couple of requests last night, which is a few days before the 11 month window, so fingers crossed! I have a few preferences on where I would like to stay, but I'm not too worried if they don't come through. There are so many great options on places to stay in and around WDW.

In 2011, i booked on a UK Disney deal that got OKW at half price and was able to afford a 1 bedrm there. HUGE apmt!
Last 3 yrs in a row - Traveljigsaw gave me the cheapest price for my hire car - from Alamo.
have fun!

Ahhh, another thing to look into! Thanks again

 

[FireflyFi]

Definitely stay onsite at Universal to get front of line passes. Next year will be very exciting with the opening of the Harry Potter expansion, but I expect the crowds to be pretty heavy for a long time afterwards.

Have you considered a split DVC stay. We did 5 nights BWV followed by 6 nights AKV (Jambo) and it was wonderful to try out 2 such very different places. Swapping resorts was so easy as Disney moved all our bags while we enjoyed the parks. In saying that, Sugarglider's info about this being value Week is interesting. You might not have the flexibility to try out different resorts. If staying in DVC is important to you, it sounds like it might be worthwhile considering restructuring your whole holiday so you do WDW at the start. I loved AK Jambo house so much, I would happily restructure a whole trip if it meant the difference between staying there again or not.

Talking about restructuring the trip - I have read reports from people saying they always put Universal at the end of their trip, because they would miss the FOTL passes too much if the went Universal to Disney rather than Disney to Universal. Something I hadn't considered. When we went in 2012 it was just a coincidence that we did it in that order.

I still think, if Thanksgiving weekend is going to be the worst for crowds, it makes better sense to have the best...protection?...against them hehe so that's FOTL at Universal.

I wouldn't mind doing a split stay - and your combination sounds just about perfect! I'll just have to wait and see what comes up from any rentals.

 

[dabecs]

Wowwwww....! I've just finished reading your trip report. Sounds like you had an amazing time. I can't believe how many rides you managed to go on! The crowds must have been really low to do so many. I also can't believe how many times you went on RNR - while I was there my friends wanted to go on ToT, but I'm not one for drops so I went on RNR instead...by myself...! I always get a bit nervous before getting on a new ride, and when you walk through the line just near where you get on, and you can see how fast the car takes off...well, I was about ready to turn around and leave. But then there were a couple of kids behind me who were about 10, and one of them was trying to chicken out and the other was telling her to buck up, that it's not that bad. So I thought if 10 year olds can find the courage to ride, I should too so I rode, and it was ahhhhhmazing, but my legs were seriously shaking after I got off. There's no way I could ride it more than once I day hahaha Your photos of NY make me really miss the place. I was originally going to stop there, but replaced a few days there with a couple of days in Newport. I figured by the time I get there, it would have been just two years since I was last there, so I should try somewhere new. But geez, it's hard not to reconsider - especially with your photos of snow in Central Park - how magical! I'm curious about how much you saw of the Thanksgiving Parade?

We loved RNR and ToT - we went on both multiple times in a day I actually found RNR less scary because you are so well strapped in. ToT there is nowhere to grab onto!

For the Thanksgiving parade we were able to see the balloons but not the bands etc that are at ground level. To do that you would need to be there at 5:30am or something ridiculous like that! I was happy to just walk along the back of the crowds and see the balloons going between the buildings

 

[FireflyFi]

We loved RNR and ToT - we went on both multiple times in a day I actually found RNR less scary because you are so well strapped in. ToT there is nowhere to grab onto!

hehe, yeah my friends told me as much! One of them was paranoid that the other was going to accidentally let her seatbelt go with a bump of her elbow that wouldn't be able to happen...right??

For the Thanksgiving parade we were able to see the balloons but not the bands etc that are at ground level. To do that you would need to be there at 5:30am or something ridiculous like that! I was happy to just walk along the back of the crowds and see the balloons going between the buildings

Sounds like fun! Not so much the crowds and the super early start, but still, a cool experience. I bet your girls loved it