few questions before ordering

[ido]

Hey,

First this board is amazing!
I spent hours browsing,
however the volume of information here confused me a little, so i hope you can straighten me up.
We're (two adults) planing a vacation on September for Disney and Universal and have couple of questions:

1. should we stay at one hotel the entire stay? or split the stay?

2. does dinning plan qualify for park day? or for hotel night?
(lets say we gonna stay 6 nights with 4 days tickets. the dinning plan will be for 4/6 days?)

3. can family members who live in Florida purchase residents tickets for us? not looking for hustles.. but if it is legit then why not?

4. other then Disney fast pass, is there any advantage for buying park tickets in advance?

5. following the last question, how you guys plan so much ahead? it seems like you have to spend more time planning the stay, then really experiencing it.
deciding which day to visit what park, choosing what and when to do attractions, dinning reservations, and probably more planing i'm missing.
don't you feel like it hurts the experience?

thanks a lot!

 

[sunnybunnies]

I am also new to this board. I have been to WDW three times in my lifetime, two of which were one-day MK only visits (seems like inexperience compared to many on this board). I have felt the way you do (amazed and confused) by the board... and I've had the same questions... so I thought "Why not throw my answers into the pot?".

1. We have stayed off-property in a condo (cheapest option with the most space for our family of 6). We have done split stays at hotels, including a Disney Springs hotel (for Extra Magic Hours). I would love to stay at a deluxe resort on property, but so far it has not been in our budget. Actually, there are a few I'd love to stay at and I would totally be open to a split stay in order to do that... some day.

2. We have never used the dining plan, but from what I understand it is tied to your resort/hotel stay, independent of park tickets. (So you can purchase the dining plan and never step foot in the parks.)

3. We have family members in FL who use resident tickets to visit WDW. From what I understand, all adults using FL resident passes need to show resident ID (like a license) in order to enter the park. So, if you have kids, technically your FL family members could bring *them* to the parks on FL tickets (like grandparents bringing their grandkids) but you (being a non-FL resident) could not because you would need to show FL ID.

4. I believe there is a small discount when purchasing tickets in advance.

5. People who plan ahead CAN spend more time planning than actually being in the parks the length of their stay, but they are usually people who enjoy the planning process. I love researching things and reading about other peoples' experiences on a forum. I've learned a LOT that way. Our most recent visit, a one-day MK trip. was SO MUCH MORE POSITIVE because of what I learned on the forum. We were able to do so much more in a less hectic way. We felt largely relaxed and had a great time. Our visit would have been completely different without that research. We would have missed out on a lot.

Cheers!

 

[themommy]

1. That’s personal preference. Most prefer to stay in one. Moving resorts can be a pain.

2. Dining plan is per night of your stay. It doesn’t matter if you ever step foot in a park or not.

3. No. They have to be staying in the room and show their Florida ID upon check in.

4. There is a small discount. Frankly, getting the fast passes is a HUGE reason to get them in advance.

5. It doesn’t hurt the experience at all. For a lot of us, planning is half the fun! Granted it can get dicey trying to figure some things out. Like you don’t have a clue 60 days ahead which park will have extra magic hours. It would be much easier to be able to do it last minute but, it is what it is and if you want to make sure you get what you want then you plan early. If you’re not picky about what you eat or ride you don’t have to plan at all. Either way most of us just enjoy the planning and make the best of it.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Welcome.
1- to stay in one hotel or split is completely up to you - there is really no right answer. If you are only there for a few days then I would not do a split stay. We do split stays when we stay 6 days or longer. The reason we do split stays is to split between staying near MK and EPCOT. It just makes it easier to get to the parks and gives you a different experience within one trip.

2 - the dining plan goes with the amount of night at your hotel stay. We do not do the dining plan - we did it once and it didn't save us money. I don't recommend it.

3 - You cannot be a non-FL resident and use resident tickets.

4 - You can purchase tickets other than Disney and save some money in advance. But fastpasses are truly the main reason to buy them in advance. Fastpasses are truly needed to go to DW especially during peak seasons. There are certain rides that you need FPs for in order not to have long waits.

5 - Yes DW requires a lot of planning especially for first time visitors. If you don't have certain restaurants that you must eat in then it is possible to go with the flow in terms of eating but not really for the rides. I wouldn't go without FPs. There are times we don't plan too many TS meals and just check the MDE app the day before or that morning and see what restaurant is available. The problem is MK - it is hard to get TS ADRs the day of. We actually enjoy the planning - it makes the trip feel longer. I do plan all trips we do not just Disney.

I hope that helps. Enjoy your trip!

 

[LovePug]

If you are doing half your trip at WDW and half your trip at Universal, I would stay onsite each and split the stay. If you are only shooting to Universal for a day, maybe not. If you stay at one of Universal's deluxe resorts, they are totally worth it for the benefits of walking to their parks and FOTL passes.

 

[ido]

thanks for sharing your thoughts and answers!

btw i enjoy the planning to, however every time after couple of hours i read info and tips i get confused and feel like i have to start over lol.
thus i get a bit frustrated.

thanks again!