Where to begin?!?
Family of 5 (10,11,12yo) heading down for their first time. We want to do +/-7days at WDW and +/-2 at Universal. We want to stay onsite to take advantage of the extra hours - but where onsite? The number of variables is staggering. So much so, I don't know where to start. Do I get one non-residential annual pass (heard you got free parking and discounts on food and lodging)?
It just depends on where you want to stay (and when) and budget. We were a family of 5 when I was a kid and we'd always stay at the Caribbean Beach Resort because they had the most space. They have two Queen Beds and the rooms for 5 have a pull down bed which is really handy. It's currently under construction but that looks to be wrapping up for the main projects by the end of 2018 so it shouldn't be as intrusive as it has been for the last year or so. The price right now is in a pretty sweet spot (read: still expensive but not as expensive as it will be soon) because it's bound to skyrocket once they open the Skyliner which will give the resort direct access to Hollywood Studios. So I recommend CBR if you're going anytime after probably late November/December 2018. They're going to have a new Food Court/Gift shop/Check-in area so it should be really nice. Also they're Table-Service restaurant is going to be the Little Mermaid themed called "Sebastian's Bistro" which I just think is so cute.
You can also try renting DVC points which many people say works out to be cheaper for them. You get all the same benefits of staying onsite but for less money. I've never seen it work out cheaper for our party so we've never done it that way but it's probably because we go during high volume times so the prices are higher.
Universal isn't that far and Ubers can be mostly inexpensive from Disney there but you'd have to pay that four times - to get there and get back for two days so that's just something to keep in mind. If you bring your own car or rent one that's less of a worry but you'll have to pay for parking at the Disney resorts now. Parking is complimentary at the parks but not at the resorts anymore. You'd also have to pay for parking at Universal for the two days. It might be more economical to do a split stay and do all of Disney at once staying on site and then do all of Universal staying somewhere on site (or close by) to make your days there a little easier. They have a bunch of new resorts and their most value resort is very nice so you can't go wrong staying on site at Universal for a few days. Staying close by instead of onsite at Universal is a great option because there are plenty of hotels that have free shuttles to and from Universal so that could save some money there. I really LOVE Universal so you should definitely try and visit there as well if you have time because it is so much fun.
Meal Plans?! Do I go with the meal plan instead? If so which? Having not had one before, I don't know how much we would need as there may be a chance we skip a meal do to the excitement of the day and opportunity to ride more rides.. (who knows?!?) Do I bundle everything? air/lodging/food/both park tickets?
This is a point of contention I've noticed here a lot. Most people say that it's not worth it but I mostly disagree. I do think it's worth it purely for convenience on a personal level but on a more general level if you're looking to do a lot of sit-down meals this is a deal that cannot be beat. We did ONE sit down meal for 3 adults and one toddler in Hollywood Studios last summer and it was almost $200 and we didn't even order the most expensive menu item - in fact we tried to order the least expensive menu item - and we didn't get any desert or soft drinks. So if you want to do a sit-down meal every night of your trip I think the Meal Plan absolutely pays for itself a good 80% of the time. Maybe the Quick-Service plan isn't as good of a value but the regular mid-tier one definitely is. Some people aren't big eaters and that's okay but my toddler niece can shovel her two snack credits and everyone else's in her mouth and still have the gall to say she's hungry 20 minutes later. And she's barely 25 pounds don't ask where she puts it because we do not know.
The next point of contention is whether the "Free Dining" promotion really is a good deal. If you book during a certain window (usually April through July) you can snag the coveted "Free Dining" promotion which allows you to receive one of the dining plans for free based off of which Hotel you're staying at. Value Resorts and Moderate resorts get the Quick Service plan (2 QS [entree and beverage], 2S) and Deluxe resorts get the regular plan (1 QS [entree and beverage], 1 TS [entree plus dessert and beverage *alcohol now included for those over 21], 2 S). Certain resorts or rooms are usually excluded like the Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation and there are date restrictions. But generally if you're open to staying at a different or less POPular resort and you have flexible dates (i.e. don't buy airfare until after you have a FD reservation) you can snag the FD without having to stay up all night the night before release waiting for it to drop. Though, it is quite fun and you can make lots of new friends while waiting so you should absolutely do it that way the first time ahahahaha
Real talk: it may not be a good deal for some folks and that's valid but it seems to be a pretty great deal for most folks and that's why there's threads dedicated to watching and waiting for information on the next year's release.
For my group the free dining promotion is fantastic based on the number of people in our party and what we want to do with those credits. For smaller parties of 2 or 3 it is probably not as good of deal, but for larger parties I feel like there's no way to go wrong with free dining. You can upgrade your free plan for a reduced fee to any other dining plan that you think will suit your needs too which is a nice bonus. A lot of people complain about it being too much food but that's something that you'd have to decide for yourself. If the 3 kids are getting kids meals as they'd be required to do on 2 out of the 3 plans) the portions are much more normal human sized and should be enough for them without being too much. Also, you get 2 meals day on 2 out of the 3 of the dining plans, so you're definitely skipping at least one meal and using your snack credits to make up for it.
Not to mention that think it is a deal in general because we did ONE Quick Service lunch at Magic Kingdom for 5 people and it was JUST shy of $100 dollars. ONE meal. That, again, was NOT us picking the most expensive menu item available. Theme park food prices are outrageous and the sticker shock is not an enjoyable experience. Not having to worry about prices while at the restaurant is a liberating feeling - everyone just gets what they think looks good. You just have to keep track of your credits and for us that not only works well but saves us money in the long run with how big our group is.
I stayed up all night the night before the promotion was released and snagged a CBR reservation during prime Christmas season with FD within the first 20 minutes it was live for the exact same price I would've paid to stay at All Star Movies and paid OOP for meals (everyone on here recommends researching the menus and pricing out what your party will eat and it's so annoying and time consuming but mostly worth it to compare if the FD will work for you or not). So to us it was worth paying "rack rate" for the room since it's a much nicer resort where we will definitely be more comfortable. Turns out there was a lot of availability at CBR since a lot of folks were put off by the construction so I didn't need to stay up all night to book at the first minute. There was still availability for two weeks afterward for my dates but not everyone is that lucky (especially those wanting to visit in September and November) so that is why folks pull the all-nighter.
We're going to upgrade our Quick Service FD plan to the regular plan because we like to take a break and sit-down for a real meal every night. Doing that gives us time to re-group, rest our legs, fend off the tired/cranky kids, and just chill for a second out of the madness and crowds. so paying the $200 upgrade fee is more than worth it - 10 sit down meals for the price of one? Sold. Also, we really don't like to survive off of a hot dog/cheeseburger/chicken tender/french fry diet for longer than 2 days so having a time to sit down and eat literally anything else that is hopefully even a smidge healthier is something we really appreciate.
Basically you really just have to weigh all your options. Which is annoying advice but unfortunately true. I personally think the FD promotion is the BEST deal out there for families and larger parties but that's just my opinion. I've seen folks say they had 8+ people in their party and would've wasted money on the DP, so take everything with a grain of salt and find what is going to work best for your family. It's definitely overwhelming and hard to wade through all the info at first but it's totally worth the headaches when you have a final plan that you feel good about. Plus, you'll be a WDW expert by the time your trip is planned which is fun. I quite like being the WDW expert in my family and friend group ahahaha
Fast Passes?! which when and where? No clue which ride they will really want and which we 'must' get fast passes for if we ever want a chance to ride that ride?
This one is also hard because you aren't sure of what they'll even want to ride but the safest way to plan fastpass selections is to mostly choose the most popular attractions that everyone is tall enough for. That's because waits for these rides can be super duper long so you don't want to "waste" your fastpass on a ride that had a very short wait anyway. There are a bunch of sites that list all the attractions in each park and their popularity so that can help you decide which ones would be the "best use". You can also look into what the ride consists of once you've narrowed it down some so you know how "scary" or "tame" it is -
youtube is usually a pretty good place for that. I think the biggest thing is to make sure that the kids will be okay with riding it before committing to the FP. I know I for one hate the Tower of Terror in HS but it used to be listed as one of the best FP uses because the lines would be sooooo long. So even though something is listed as a good use of the FP you'll want to be sure that it's something that all the kids will be alright getting on. Because then THAT is a waste of a FP you know? I'd rather FP something with a shorter wait time than go on something I really would prefer not to. Sorry - that didn't sound as helpful reading it back as it did in my head.
EDIT: Additionally, I've seen a lot of folks say that the Room Only deals are better than Free Dining and while it may be true I have never seen that be true. I checked the RO deals for my dates once they were released and they were abysmal. Supposedly it was 20% off but it barely took anything off. It was maybe $100 cheaper than our FD reservation, that includes DINING, just for the room. Could've been because we have to go during certain dates that the discount wasn't really applied (time of year, probably) but I wouldn't trust that the RO deal is a better deal than FD
isney will NOT guarantee that they'll adjoin
