FD has me confused about the best deal! Help!

[Lisa LSR]

Ok, so we have reservations for AoA/Lion King for 11/15 to 11/22; with the dining plan.

I was considering a split stay and staying at AKL 11/15-11/17 and then moving to AoA/LK for the remainder of our stay.

Now, with free dining, we face the dilemma of the upgrade cost for the dp at AoA, and no upgrade cost at AKL.

Which is the least expensive? Stick with AoA for the whole trip and pay the upgrade (two adults/one 11yo and one 8 yo)? Or split the stay and get the treat of two resorts for no greater cost? Or completely move to another resort?

I also considered a RO discount for the first leg of the trip at AKL, then use FD for the AoA.

I know that's confusing, but I need to figure this out before May 7th. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

 

[mommyof3princess27]

I dont know prices or anything but seems to me AKL would be more expensive then paying upgrade cost at AoA. But if u have to do RO for the first part then go with the cheapest option. What about a MOD?

 

[Wood Nymph]

Because free dining requires a ticket purchase you would most likely only be able to get FD at one resort. So if you wanted to stay a few days at AKL your food would be out of pocket. It might be a better value to get FD and stay at one resort the whole time. You really would need to crunch the numbers to see how it would work out.

 

[disney is my life]

Since as a PP mentioned you wouldn't be able to get free dining at both resorts if you were doing a split stay I just found the prices for staying the full trip at each resort. AKL is less expensive but not by much so I would say it would be up to which ever resort you like better.

Art of Animation
Art of Animation room with upgraded dining plan is a total of: $4082.55
Lion King room at AoA: $2304.01
4 7 Day Base tickets: $1364.49
Disney Dining Plan Upgrade: $414.05

Animal Kingdom Lodge
Animal Kingdom Lodge with Disney Dining Plan Total: $3980.14
Hotel Room (standard View) : $2615.65
Disney Dining Plan: $0
4 7 Day Base Tickets: $1364.49

Hope you Have a great trip! We went almost your exact dates last year (Nov 15-23) and it was a great time to go! Crowds were okay, weather was nice, and the Christmas decorations were up!

 

[Lisa LSR]

Thank you for doing the math for me! I tried, got confused and frustrated (I'm on the internet at the school I teach, and it is slooooow).

Still thinking that a room only discount at AKL (if available), with no dining plan, for Sat and Sun night, then AoA with free dp plus upgrade for the rest of the week may be the way to go.

Guess my travel agent can do some number crunching for me. I was trying to save her some work

Thank you for the great responses.