First time decision - split stay YC/Poly or all BC + free dining?

[Babsy]

Be aware:

Love split stays, but changes to how you can make FP+ means that you may lose a large part of the onsite, longer stay advantage when you change resorts. I would be careful making any decisions about where to stay that involves moving more than once, for sure.

End of August, FP+ may not be as important as a busier time, but it is still something to consider.

Also, take the time and do the math to decide whether the dining plan will save you money over a room discount and paying OOP. Dining is very expensive in WDW - it is worth taking the time to decide what works best for your family.

 

[Karebear]

@Micharlotte When you do character meals with your Disney "adults", when on the dining plan, do you have sticker shock on the tip? I am going back forth on this one. If we go to the BC with the DDP, then I will definitely book some character buffet meals. Paying around $50/each for us to do that isn't something I was likely going to do, if I were paying OOP. So I could see us definitely getting value out of the DDP, in that it does free us up to do some experiences we wouldn't otherwise do. But then on the flip-side, if we do those expensive buffets, we also have to leave a big tip, and that's money that we wouldn't have been spending. It's a conundrum!

I'm surprised that people say the pool at the Poly isn't great. I can see that it would feel like a step down after Stormalong Bay. And even though I totally feel what @DisneyWishes14 says, "Nothing screams "I'm at WDW!" more than checking into the Poly and then walking out to the beach and seeing Cinderella's castle (and seeing the fireworks from there at night!)", I'm wondering if we can experience that same thrill by just visiting the Poly, watching the fireworks from there one night? So today, I'm leaning heavily towards BC with DDP. Yesterday, I was thinking split stay. Ugh. I need to decide, because I'll have to start making ADRs soon, and I want to do it on the reservation that I'm keeping.

Sent you a private message

 

[Nancyg56]

I try not to think of the tip as tip, I think of it as the total cost of the meal. Lol we are a family of 3 so it’s not as bad for us, but last year my sister came with us so 3 adult beverages and 4 meals. The total cost of those meals was unbelievable! I would never pay for them out of pocket so for us it’s a bargain as just the tip. We are also Canadian so our meals would be almost $500! I set a total trip budget and include tips as well.

I look at the gratuity as part of the cost of dining as well. I am not going to get into The Who "tip" discussion other than to say that when you buy the plan, the tax is included, so it is already paid for. I know that this is not an apples to apples comparison, but since nothing included on the plan does not gets an additional tax added, i look at it as a wash. If you look at the tax added to every snack, every CS meal nad the TS meals you would purchase, vs the tip on the TS meals, and no tax on DDP food, its close enough for me.

I htink the real question to ask is if a family enjoys booked TS meals. Some folks will stress of the "appointments" and others like me like the structure built in.

 

[terri33inne]

For a first time trip, and possibly a 'one & done' I would not want to switch resorts. As for the pool... do you plan on spending a lot of time at the pools? Are you planning on doing park open to park closing days, or taking mid-day breaks with downtime at the resort? I would probably also drop the 2 water park days. We just got back from 9 days, only went to the 4 parks, and still didn't feel like we did all that we wanted. We however are not commando touring family, and spend down time at the resort.

 

[marchingstar]

Be aware:

Love split stays, but changes to how you can make FP+ means that you may lose a large part of the onsite, longer stay advantage when you change resorts. I would be careful making any decisions about where to stay that involves moving more than once, for sure.

End of August, FP+ may not be as important as a busier time, but it is still something to consider.

Also, take the time and do the math to decide whether the dining plan will save you money over a room discount and paying OOP. Dining is very expensive in WDW - it is worth taking the time to decide what works best for your family.

oh good point—i hadn’t thought about the affect of the new FP+ rules. this is something i’ll have to keep in mind

 

[mkh531]

Also keep in mind that in Florida, in August, it is incredibly hot. Anything that limits your movement is ideal so stay at one hotel and make it the hotel with the best pools....the Beach Club!