First Family Vacation help!!

[badblackpug]

Thank you for the tips it's alot to consider maybe I should reconsider lets see how this goes didnt even consider staying onsite just thought it made more sense offsite but the transportation would be a major factor, would the Disney agents help me plan this?

Yes. If you are thinking regular hotel rooms, I would try www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com They are Disney specialized travel agents and are always very helpful. They will make your ADRs for you, too. If a discount comes up after you book, they will apply it to your package.

Because my immediate family is large, we rent DVC points, and stay in a villa. It's another thing to look into.

Actually I find DW transportation very easy to use and very convenient. Even with 4 kids, including a toddler and an infant, we always use it. We have never rented a car, and we don't stay at a monorail resort either. If you are an on site guest you can use Magical Express (ME) from the airport. They collect your luggage for you, and deliver it to your hotel room. They take you directly to your hotel in a bus. ME is free to on site guests.

We looked into renting a van, but the cost is ridiculous. We need 3 rows because of the car seats, and then we would have to schlep the car seats through the airport, too.

Check out the transportation boards.

 

[Rylee]

Thank you for the tips it's alot to consider maybe I should reconsider lets see how this goes didnt even consider staying onsite just thought it made more sense offsite but the transportation would be a major factor, would the Disney agents help me plan this?

No need to reconsider! With a little thought and planning... it will be great!

You can plan this yourself, with the help of the Disney CM's. Or, you qualify for a Grand Gathering, and can book through this service.

I don't know a lot about Grand Gatherings. A few years ago, we were involved in planning one but it was sort of a pain, because every time we tried to make a dinner reservation, they automatically assumed it was for all 12 of us. On that trip, we wanted 2 or 3 reservations for only 6 people, and she kept saying, "But you're a Grand Gathering of 12." I'm sure it could have been worked out but we found it easier to leave the "Grand Gathering" part out of it. They will make arrangements for all you rooms to be located closely together, so that's a good thing. Also, I do know there are some activities/meals that are only open to Grand Gathering but some seemed a little expensive and not everyone was willing to pay extra for these. Although, you don't have to book any of these extras.

Anyway, Disney has not released the prices for next year, yet. (Should be soon, usually in Aug.) So it probably won't do any good to call before they are release as the will possibly quote you the highest price, although I hear once prices are released your rate will be adjusted.

Meanwhile, if you haven't already...
Sign up and make an account at the WDW site and have your family members do the same... maybe you'll get a pin code you can use.
Order the free planning DVD.
Watch this site and WDW site for discounts to become available over the next few months.

Thinking of convenience and every one's wallet, I would...

Fly
Use Magical Express to and from WDW and the airport.
Use Disney transportation around the World.
Stay at a Value or Moderate resort, unless they are offering a great discount, % off, or if everyone decides they want to go "all out" on accommodations for this vacation. I think you would need 3 rooms, (Your Mom can share with someone) or if you're interested, maybe 2 rooms and a family suite at ASMusic.
*Everyone has their own confirmation number and makes their own payments directly to Disney.
Base tickets... saves $ and time spent "hopping" around.
Decide if the Dining Plan works for this trip or if everyone would rather pay out-of-pocket.
DP or not, make a few Advance Dining Reservations for a couple of special meals together.

 

[Happiest mommy]

If I were to stay onsite I would love a monorail hotel which would you guys recomend? and do the packages include airfare?

 

[michael's mom]

If I were to stay onsite I would love a monorail hotel which would you guys recomend? and do the packages include airfare?

Disney can book your airfare for you...but I would venture to guess the prices are pretty high. I've never done that though, so I'm not sure. As far as the monorail resort, they are beautiful and convenient. And with that comes price. They are pretty costly. If that's within your budget though, go for it. I doubt you'd be unhappy.

Even if you do book your airfare seperately, you can still take advantage of Disney's Magical Express transportation from the airport to your resort.

Good luck!

 

[4forMe]

If I were to stay onsite I would love a monorail hotel which would you guys recomend? and do the packages include airfare?

The monorail hotels are all wonderful choices and a matter of personal preference. I love the theming at the Polynesian. However, for our last family trip we stayed at Bay Lake Towers. After staying there, I would always choose the Contemporary over the Polynesian. Although the Polynesian has the volcano slide in their pool, the pool area there is just too small to accomodate all the guests IMHO. My kids loved the pool area at the Contemporary (they preferred it over the Bay Lake Towers pool). It is much more spread out, they have water cannons, splash pad, nice pool slide and hot tubs (there are no hot tubs at the Polynesian).

I preferred the Contemporary for the fact that you can walk to the Magic Kingdom in less than 10 minutes - no waiting in line for the monorail.

I also believe that the rooms at the Contemporary are cheapest among the three monorail resorts.

The advantages of staying at the Polynesian are:
- the theming
- the room size (I believe the rooms are the largest)
- convenient access to both Magic Kingdom and Epcot

I suggest you take a look at the resort forum. Each monorail hotel has their own thread where people post pics, reviews, etc. If you had specific questions about a particular resort, that would be a great place to start.

Good luck planning your trip!

 

[Rylee]

To give you an idea...

Disney has "seasons" for pricing their resorts... Value, Regular, Peak, Holiday. Value season rates for 2010 -
Values - start at $82
Moderates - start at $149
Deluxe - start at $240

I think the month of May, falls during Regular season.

Like I mentioned before, Disney should announce the 2011 rates, sometime in August. (Soon, since tomorrow is August 1. Summer is flying by.)

And, NO, I would not book my airfare through Disney.

 

[michael's mom]

To give you an idea...

Disney has "seasons" for pricing their resorts... Value, Regular, Peak, Holiday. Value season rates for 2010 -
Values - start at $82
Moderates - start at $149
Deluxe - start at $240

I think the month of May, falls during Regular season.

Like I mentioned before, Disney should announce the 2011 rates, sometime in August. (Soon, since tomorrow is August 1. Summer is flying by.)

And, NO, I would not book my airfare through Disney.

I already have my room rates for 2011. They haven't released them online yet, but they are available for booking. They have not however, released ticket and dining prices yet. But, you can add them later with relative ease. You don't even have to cancel and re-book anymore. I'm pretty sure that May is Regular season too.

 

[Rylee]

I already have my room rates for 2011. They haven't released them online yet, but they are available for booking. They have not however, released ticket and dining prices yet. But, you can add them later with relative ease. You don't even have to cancel and re-book anymore. I'm pretty sure that May is Regular season too.

Oh, so room rates are out for 2011? Hadn't heard that.

 

[michael's mom]

Oh, so room rates are out for 2011? Hadn't heard that.

Yeah, I called 7/21 and booked. You have to call, they're not online yet (at least as of yesterday). They just don't have meal and ticket plans yet.

We're traveling at Easter time (I know, terrible time, but my sister's getting married there and chose that time because I'm on break that week from work). The rates were pretty high for the pirate room at CBR but we're going to make this a big trip for DS as we're hoping it'll be his last as a singleton However, we just learned this weekend that with the wedding being booked, we get a great discounted rate that'll save us a few hundred dollars.

 

[gillenkl]

I recommend you join www.tourguidemike.com - it does cost around $20 but it's a wealth of information. Some people like it and some don't - personally I wouldn't make plans without him.

 

[Happiest mommy]

Thank you all this will definetly be a challenge, but I'm kind of rethinking it because already some family members are telling me if I can wait till Tax refund season to give me the money, my idea was for them to give it to me weekly starting August (the reason is a long story and its the only way of them being able to pay for trip) let's see what happens

 

[michael's mom]

Thank you all this will definetly be a challenge, but I'm kind of rethinking it because already some family members are telling me if I can wait till Tax refund season to give me the money, my idea was for them to give it to me weekly starting August (the reason is a long story and its the only way of them being able to pay for trip) let's see what happens

You can book the trip for everyone but they would be responsible for paying it themselves (and 45 days before you arrive). I booked the trip for my family last year and it was 5 rooms total I believe, but I never paid a dime for anyone else's reservation. Each family would have their own reservation number and they were responsible for putting the down payment (they gave me cc numbers for that) and then they paid the deposit.

All I did was remind them a few weeks before the due date that the final payment was due. I also booked all of the ADR's and planned which parks we'd be going to and when.

So, if you plan the trip for sometime next spring, they should have time to get their returns back before needing to make the final payment (so all they'd need beforehand would be either one nights stay if you're booking a room only reservation, or, $200 if booking a package).

Good luck!

 

[michael's mom]

I originally forgot when you were going. You definitely have time to do this trip if you still want to do it. We're checking in on 4/13 and my final payment is due 2/27. So, checking in a month later would have your final payment due around the end of March.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/pscalc/dispscalc.html

The link above is for dining reservations, but if you plug in your arrival date and either add 15 days to the 30 day booking option or subtract 15 from the 60 day booking option, you'll have a good sense of when your final payment would be before booking.

 

[Rylee]

Thank you all this will definetly be a challenge, but I'm kind of rethinking it because already some family members are telling me if I can wait till Tax refund season to give me the money, my idea was for them to give it to me weekly starting August (the reason is a long story and its the only way of them being able to pay for trip) let's see what happens

Hey, if you want to go... GO! Book a trip for yourself, DH, your DD's and maybe take your Mom, too.

When the time comes, if the others can go... great, if not... maybe they'll be able to go on the next trip.

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[michael's mom]

Hey, if you want to go... GO! Book a trip for yourself, DH, your DD's and maybe take your Mom, too.

When the time comes, if the others can go... great, if not... maybe they'll be able to go on the next trip.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Well said