First Family Trip - lots of ???s

[MrsPinup]

Hi there! I am from California and a Disneyland vet. I have been to WDW twice, once as a child, and again a few years ago, solo, for the Princess Half. That was a whirl-wind of a trip and I didn't learn a whole lot. We are looking to take advantage of the room discount this Spring and go as a family. It is my DH, DS11, DS9, and DD who would be 8 months old.

Here are some questions I have:
1. Are there refrigerators at the All-Star Resorts?
2. Best ways to save money?
3. The ONE character meal we should do?
4. Should we go in May or wait until Fall (hoping that they offer the room discount plus the extra-day ticket again)?

Thanks!!!

 

[Perditamarie]

Here is my 2 cents:

* believe the values have small, cube looking fridges called coolers...check them out in room photos at http://allears.net/index.html

* to save money: Get a SW Credit Card w/50K free points for airfare...you and dh both. Bring non-perishables/order groceries to eat breakfast in your room, bring snacks, order water to be shipped to you at your resort. Use Magical Express and don't bother with a rental car and don't park hop.

* Love the character meal at Crystal Palace...has the best food at all meals and is located in a park, so interruption to park touring w/a lot of commuting is almost moot. The characters are appealing to older kids and have fun interactions with the whole family. Also like Norway for photo package, but it is all princesses, so, I bet the ds's won't care for that ... and would only do breakfast there to ensure everyone would enjoy the food.

* May is AWESOME!! Lower crowds, beautiful weather (warm not hot, not humid or rainy)

Happy planning

 

[amym2]

Unfortunately I've never eaten at CP because my kids have always had an aversion to Pooh and Friends (no idea why). I'd probably go for one with Mickey or Minnie, such as Tusker House at AK (which admittedly we have not done yet), Cape May Cafe breakfast, or Chef Mickey's. Honestly our kids (12 and 10) prefer other WDW meals over character meals... Boma, 'Ohana dinner, Whispering Canyon.

 

[nadira36]

Hi there! I am from California and a Disneyland vet. I have been to WDW twice, once as a child, and again a few years ago, solo, for the Princess Half. That was a whirl-wind of a trip and I didn't learn a whole lot. We are looking to take advantage of the room discount this Spring and go as a family. It is my DH, DS11, DS9, and DD who would be 8 months old.

Here are some questions I have:
1. Are there refrigerators at the All-Star Resorts?
you can request one at any resort. We've had them at both movies and pop
2. Best ways to save money?
It depends on where you spend money, spend less, save more for us, we get a gift card for each child at the start of the trip, that's their money. We buy a package deal to keep initial costs lower. But once we're there we don't spend a ton of money. Maybe $800 for gratuities, and all the extras for a week+ with a family of 5+
3. The ONE character meal we should do?
Depends on who your favourites are. I'd normally say Ohana, but I don't know how long it'll be around for. So I'd say Tusker house Breakfast, unless you won't be there before RD, then do their lunch (late). 1900 PF with cinderella and the Tremaines is great. Those Step sisters are hilarious!
4. Should we go in May or wait until Fall (hoping that they offer the room discount plus the extra-day ticket again)?
Personally, we go in fall and love it.There may be a different deal, but it'll likely be comparable. The first early fall special has already been released.

Thanks!!!

You're welcome

 

[MrsPinup]

Thank you! I didn't see the first fall deal when I was poking around the internet yesterday. My DH and I talked last night and I think we are going to go back to fall (our original plan) because it will give us more time to save (airfare especially!)

 

[nadira36]

yeah, airfare sucks - we're in Alberta, but got an good sale on airfare making it the lowest I've spent pp in over 10 years!

 

[MrsPinup]

yeah, airfare sucks - we're in Alberta, but got an good sale on airfare making it the lowest I've spent pp in over 10 years!

Nice! I am hoping to catch a great deal.

I have another question - if we didn't go with All Star Sports, what would be another great option (moderate, not expensive) for a hotel room? Again, we have two adults, two boys, and a 1 year old. Something that will not break the bank

 

[MandiC]

for a moderate resort I loved Port Orleans Riverside, that's really the only resort I have any experience with but it was lots of fun. They have an arcade, campfire with unlimited marshmallows for the kids , outdoor movie, ect

We went with two girls for our trip so the character meals we did were Cinderella's Table (all princesses but they did give little boys a sword with their wishing star), Akershus (again, all princesses, in fact pretty much the same princesses that were at Cinderella's Table), Tusker House (Mickey, Donald, Daisy and Goofy; the food was yummy for breakfast and you have to love a buffet where everyone can try new things and eat till they are full), and Hollywood & Vine (Disney Jr characters; DocMcStuffins, Handy Manny, Sofia the first and Jake; we did the buffet lunch)
I guess it all just depends on who your kids are most interested in.

 

[nadira36]

Nice! I am hoping to catch a great deal.

I have another question - if we didn't go with All Star Sports, what would be another great option (moderate, not expensive) for a hotel room? Again, we have two adults, two boys, and a 1 year old. Something that will not break the bank

We've stayed at CSR and are going to stay at POR this upcoming trip.

Both are lovely.

Watch for better specials closer to your trip time, we often find the difference between value and deluxe makes it worthwhile to upgrade all the way vs just to moderate.

This trip moderate is, so far better value than a value (suite) for us, but not much is needed to go deluxe.

Though we've stayed at all levels of resorts and have been perfectly happy at all of them.