First time for Disney world for family of 5 help!

[cartoonvoice]

Hi!!

So I am booking a trip for my family, we have three DD's that are 3,4 &7 and we would like to go to Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Disney World. The trip will be the week of August 20th,2012
We are looking for budget saving tips for tickets, hotel, car reservations anything really? What are the best places you have found to stay? What are things we must see?

What are the Disney reward points? Are they only for disney credit cards?

THANK YOU FOR ANY HELP GIVEN!!

 

[thelionqueen]

How exciting your first trip!!

I consider myself a frugal spender, there are all sorts of ways to save money at WDW. It sounds like you are not including Animal Kingdom in your itinerary, or was that inadverently left out? Doesn't matter to me really, just an observation.

First thing I would do is figure out if you're staying on or off site. While staying onsite is incredibly important to some, it isn't to others. Staying offsite will definitely save you $. If you rent a timeshare that will give you more room and save the most. I've heard of Skyauction (never used it, but heard great things about it) and I'm currently using Vacation strategies to book Bonnet Creek Resort.

As far as park tickets go, there really are no huge savings except Undercover Tourist. I would also check out mousesavers.com for other money saving tips and sign up for their "hot deals" newsletter.

Rental cars and airline tickets are hit or miss. I check nearly everyday for rates to get the best one. I generally change my car rental reservation a few times before getting the best deal. Not sure if this is scientific, but from my personal experience..I look for rental cars and airfare Tuesday or Wednesdays..seems to be lower..could just be my imagination too though

I would also suggest a villa or timeshare with a full kitchen as that will save you money on food. Can hit Super Target or Wal-Mart and buy bottled waters, snacks and etc. Food @ WDW is ridiculously expensive and one expense I focus on cutting down as much as possible (easily $100-$200 per TS meal for a family of 5 depending on restaurant and menu).

Anything else?

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

You refer to going to a park called Disney World. I just wanted to clarify that there is no ONE park called Disney Word. I think what you are calling Disney World you mean Magic Kingdom.

Disney World has 4 parks. Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios. They also have 2 water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach.

One thing I will suggest since you have never been before and seem to not know much about anything yet is to buy the UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO DISNEY WITH KIDS 2012. You can order it off Amazon for about $12 and it has tons of valuable info for new Disney guests.

We have stayed on property and off property both. We only stayed ON property because we got a good FREE DINING promotion. If you don't get a really good 30% off room discount or free dining promo it is going to cheaper to stay off property.

You can stay in a value room for around $115 a night but for that kind of money you can go through VRBO or Villa Direct and rent a 3 or 4 bedroom house with a private pool and a game room for $100 a night or less.

You can also stay at the Quality Suites Lake Buena Vista for around $80 a night and it has a living room and a kitchen in it. It is located between Disney and the Universal parks which comes in handy if you plan on going to both.

I would suggest try not to overwhelm yourself. Take in little bits of info in small doses and spend a lot of time reading these boards and asking questions. Check out all the categories on the boards. The Theme Park board, the Budget board, the Community board. There is even boards for resorts and dining. Don't just confine yourself to one board on here.

As someone else suggested, eating at Disney can be expensive but the park quick service food is usually no more expensive than any public venue like a theme park or amusement park any where else. Kids meals at the counter service places are around $6 and adults can get a counter service meal for $7 or $8.

We have 5 in our party too and the problem with that is THIS...you can't stay in a normal 4 person room like others can. SO that limits where you can stay on property. In the value resorts you would have to get TWO regular rooms or a FAMILY SUITE that sleeps 6 and costs between $180 and $230 a night.

The vacation rental home can sleep about 10 and the Quality Suites sleeps 6.

There is a moderate hotel on property called the Port Orleans Riverside you can stay in with 5 ppl and it runs around $180 a night.

You can save a lot of money by renting the vacation rental home and making a trip to the grocery store and buying groceries for the week and eating breakfast and supper back at the house and only eating LUNCH in the parks.

That would require a car. So if you are not driving to WDW you would have to rent a car to stay off property but financially it still makes sense because you can get a rental car for a week for usually less than $200.

We always have a car because I do not like or will not ride the Disney buses. I like to be able to get in my own car and come and go as I please.

There is not a real good way to save money on tickets. If you are a member of AAA you can book your package through them and it will save you a few hundred dollars off what it would cost for you to book it yourself on the Disney website. But if you do that, it is like using a travel agent. The reservation belongs to them, not you. And to make any changes to it you have to go through them.

Here is a link to the WDW special offers page. Bookmark it and keep checking it weekly to see if they have any deals that apply to your travel dates. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-offers/

Here is a link to the Quality Suites Lake Buena Vista. If you join their Choice rewards program (free to join) you get discounted rates on the rooms. http://www.qualityinn.com/hotel-orl...&nchild3=&nadult4=&nchild4=&nadult5=&nchild5=

 

[Marionnette]

Hi!!

So I am booking a trip for my family, we have three DD's that are 3,4 &7 and we would like to go to Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Disney World. The trip will be the week of August 20th,2012
We are looking for budget saving tips for tickets, hotel, car reservations anything really? What are the best places you have found to stay? What are things we must see?

What are the Disney reward points? Are they only for disney credit cards?

THANK YOU FOR ANY HELP GIVEN!!

Mousesavers.com is one of my favorite websites for finding Disney World discounts. Sign up for the newletter. It comes out on the 15th of each month and usually includes a link to a secret discount page for Undercovertourist for tickets.

I know that a lot of people like to suggest that you stay offsite, but if you stay onsite, you will not have to rent a minivan (to the tune of $300+ for the week), pay to refill the tank (at $3.60 or more per gallon) or pay for parking (currently $14/day for cars). So, I suggest that you consider a Family Suite at the Allstar Music resort. If you apply the August-September room-only discount offer, you can get the room for under $1325, tax included. You would get a room for the adults, a connecting living area that coverts to beds for the kids, two bathrooms and a kitchenette for quick meals and snacks. Disney will transport you to and from the airport for free via their Magic Express and transportation around the entire resort would be free using their internal transportation system.

Then, buy your tickets online as soon as you can because there was a price increase on Sunday. Some of the online ticket sellers still have tickets available at the old prices. Get someone to email you the May Mousesavers newsletter so that you can get an added discount at UT.

Food discounts onsite are hard to come by unless you have a Tables in Wonderland card (for AP holders, DVC members or FL residents only). The best way to save would be to limit eating at the table service locations, share some meals at counter service places, place a grocery delivery order with Garden Grocer for in-room breakfast foods and snacks and finally, carry refillable water bottles that you can fill with ice in the morning and top off with water from the fountains or from the counter service restaurants during the day.

I don't know what you budget is, or whether any of this even fits into your expectations. Have fun planning but don't wait too long to firm up your plans.

 

[thelionqueen]

Mousesavers.com is one of my favorite websites for finding Disney World discounts. Sign up for the newletter. It comes out on the 15th of each month and usually includes a link to a secret discount page for Undercovertourist for tickets.

I know that a lot of people like to suggest that you stay offsite, but if you stay onsite, you will not have to rent a minivan (to the tune of $300+ for the week), pay to refill the tank (at $3.60 or more per gallon) or pay for parking (currently $14/day for cars). So, I suggest that you consider a Family Suite at the Allstar Music resort. If you apply the August-September room-only discount offer, you can get the room for under $1325, tax included. You would get a room for the adults, a connecting living area that coverts to beds for the kids, two bathrooms and a kitchenette for quick meals and snacks. Disney will transport you to and from the airport for free via their Magic Express and transportation around the entire resort would be free using their internal transportation system.

Then, buy your tickets online as soon as you can because there was a price increase on Sunday. Some of the online ticket sellers still have tickets available at the old prices. Get someone to email you the May Mousesavers newsletter so that you can get an added discount at UT.

Food discounts onsite are hard to come by unless you have a Tables in Wonderland card (for AP holders, DVC members or FL residents only). The best way to save would be to limit eating at the table service locations, share some meals at counter service places, place a grocery delivery order with Garden Grocer for in-room breakfast foods and snacks and finally, carry refillable water bottles that you can fill with ice in the morning and top off with water from the fountains or from the counter service restaurants during the day.

I don't know what you budget is, or whether any of this even fits into your expectations. Have fun planning but don't wait too long to firm up your plans.

You don't have to pay for parking when staying onsite, they give you a voucher to put in your windshield for free parking at the parks. You do have to pay for valet though if you go that route.

I totally agree about Mousesavers! It's a great resource for discounts and information, I'd head over there and check it out. I agree about sharing CS meals too. They do include a lot of food and 2 of us could easily share one meal and be full. Great advice about the water too!

 

[DisneyEater]

The very first thing I would do is see if any of the YES programs are still open for your 7-yo during the week you will be there. This program will give your 7-yo another fun activity and give your entire family a huge discount (like 30%-40%) on tickets. Put in all of your kids when you book and both adults. Only the oldest is old enough for the class, but you will all get the discount.

Here is a link

 

[tzeitel]

7 nights (I used your Aug 20th as start) at Port Orleans Riverside would be $1123 with the 20% off promo. 6 MYW day tickets would be $1318 through Disney or $1246.76 through Undercover Tourist and they give you an extra day so if you really get 7 days - sorry I deleted my Mousesaver newsletter or I would check for a better discount the YES program is a good way to go if it is not full for your dates.

I know a lot of ppl love staying offsite since it saves you money and give you more room to spread out. We are park ppl and spend very little time at the resort so we don't care about separate rooms/private pool/kitchen etc. so we always stay on property. For your first trip to WDW I would suggest staying on property - you have free r/t transportation to the airport, free transportation to the parks, don't have to worry about renting a car, driving around property or pay for parking.
If you are really on a budget and would like a kitchen then look off-site or maybe rent DVC points.

We do one day one park tickets (which is the quoted price), it would be $50 more per ticket to upgrade to park hopper and with little kids I don't think you would really hop - especially since it is your first trip.

We save on snacks by bringing our own - we fly Southwest which gives us 2free bags per person so we pack one suitcase full of snacks and breakfast stuff. We also buy some souveniers before we leave - the Disney Store has many great sales, dollar stores carry Disney merchandise so does Walmart and Target. I buy little things here and there and then give them to DD once we are at WDW - we still get some things at the parks though.

As for things to do - there is sooo much to do at WDW If you plan on dining on property I would suggest looking at menus and making ADRs - the more popular restaurants fill up 180 days in advance. There are some nice character meals if your little ones are into that, there is also the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique which does little princess makeovers. But you really don't have to spend more than the ticket price to have a great time!

Here is a link for menus -
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/disneydining.cfm

 

[tzeitel]

You don't have to pay for parking when staying onsite, they give you a voucher to put in your windshield for free parking at the parks.

She said you pay for parking if you do not stay on property

 

[Pea-n-Me]

So I am booking a trip for my family, we have three DD's that are 3,4 &7

Isn't the 3 yr old still allowed to stay (as the 5th) in a room for 4?

It'll be tight, but this is the last time you"ll get to do it. You might have to book while she's still 3. (I could be wrong but I thought this was allowed.)

Not sure about park ticket for 3 yr old and how that works (if she turns 4 before trip), but something to look into.

 

[wendow]

We are a family of 5 + a baby going to WDW for our first family trip in September. We really, really debated whether to stay onsite or offsite. We chose to stay onsite for many reasons but in the end, it is costing us more to do so. Some of our reasons were that we wanted to not have to rent a car or carry car seats. Trying to get 4 children through the airports with all our luggage and 2 car seats was just a hassle we wanted to avoid. We wanted the Magical Express and the conveniences that come with that. We wanted the whole Disney experience...all Disney, all the time. Who knows if we'll even like that? But it's our first and may be our only time to go, so we just wanted to feel like we completely immersed ourselves in it all. Something kind of silly, but I went to WDW a few times as a child. We always stayed offsite and while I had a blast, I clearly remember driving out and seeing the Disney hotels and thinking how neat that would be to get to stay *right* there.

Now, I will say again, it is costing us more to stay onsite so if budget is a really big deal, then offsite is the way to go. Bonnet Creek has some amazing rooms for very good prices. We've been saving for this trip for two years and have really cut costs to have this for our family. So, we wanted it to be very special and a real splurge

THings we are doing to cut our costs:

YES program--very nice savings on tickets. Only one of my dc can take a class while we are there but we all get cheap tix!

Food--mostly counter service meals and most will be shared. We'll have plenty of snacks too. We only have one TS meal scheduled at this point. We aren't big eaters so I'd rather have time in the parks playing than sitting and eating and my kids feel the same. We may add another TS meal but we may not. The TS meals are expensive!

Airfares--are high! But I'm watching constantly to see if they will drop. We are also going on a very early flight (way early for us) but it's saving us about $80-90 per person to do that.

Disney gift cards--I'm buying these when I can, when a promotion is offered and there are different promos on them at different times. These can be used to pay for souvenirs, park tix, room costs, dining, etc.

Room--We are doing a split-stay. We used a room-only discount for the first few days to stay at Port Orleans Riverside. This moderate will sleep 5 + baby (under 3). Then, we rented DVC points to move to a bigger room with a full kitchen for the last part of the stay. We are super excited about getting to stay in two different resorts

That is all I can think of at the moment! I've had so much fun planning this trip and finding ways to save. Hope you find ways to make it work for your family

 

[Marionnette]

You don't have to pay for parking when staying onsite, they give you a voucher to put in your windshield for free parking at the parks. You do have to pay for valet though if you go that route.

I totally agree about Mousesavers! It's a great resource for discounts and information, I'd head over there and check it out. I agree about sharing CS meals too. They do include a lot of food and 2 of us could easily share one meal and be full. Great advice about the water too!

If you re-read what I wrote, that is pretty much what I was saying.

 

[wendow]

Isn't the 3 yr old still allowed to stay (as the 5th) in a room for 4?

It'll be tight, but this is the last time you"ll get to do it. You might have to book while she's still 3. (I could be wrong but I thought this was allowed.)

Not sure about park ticket for 3 yr old and how that works (if she turns 4 before trip), but something to look into.

I think it's baby under 3 now that I think about it can stay as a 5th in a room for 4. I have a 3yo who will almost be 4 but not quite when we go. We are having to buy him a ticket.

 

[Marionnette]

Isn't the 3 yr old still allowed to stay (as the 5th) in a room for 4?

It'll be tight, but this is the last time you"ll get to do it. You might have to book while she's still 3. (I could be wrong but I thought this was allowed.)

Not sure about park ticket for 3 yr old and how that works (if she turns 4 before trip), but something to look into.

The 3yo is considered to be another person for the purpose of occupancy. Infants thru 2yo are not. A 3yo also must have a park ticket.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

OK, I didn't realize it was under 3.

Oh well, something for people with 2 year olds to think about!

 

[hops&dreams]

Check out:
Special offers Disney is currently offering: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-offers/

The First-timer-primer:
http://allears.net/ae/issue348.htm

You were wise to come and ask for advice on DIS boards... I hope we serve you well.

Also, feel free to PM me if you have questions... I LOVED planning our first trip 2 years ago. We went back earlier this year, and I'm dying to plan our next trip (but who knows when that will be?!?).

 

[thelionqueen]

She said you pay for parking if you do not stay on property

DUH on me! Thanks for pointing that out

 

[thelionqueen]

I agree with the suggestions to maybe splurge and stay onsite for your first trip to WDW. It can be overwhelming to try to figure out where you are and how to get there if you don't know the area. To stay onsite will definitely cost more $ but there are advantages to doing so that can save a lot of time and headache.

The difference between an onsite and offsite resort can be pretty substantial, so depending on your preferences I'd look into both options and see what is more important to your family.

Sorry about my incorrect reading of previous post..I was apparently not paying attention

 

[marriaga]

Excellent thread, thanks for all the advice....

 

[nichanda]

If you do choose to stay off property with a kitchen to save money on groceries and you don't want to have to rent a car, there is an airport transfer that you can book that gives you a free 30 min stop at a grocery store.

We booked it in March (the company is called Quick Silver ) and it was great. We stayed at the Holiday Inn WDW which has a good bus system to the parks (every 30 mins) and is 5 min walk to Downtown Disney, so really didn't want or need a car.

Mind you we only had a microwave, mini fridge (and the toaster I brought), but saved a ton of money making breakfast, snacks or quick meals in our room. We still ate at least one meal a day in the park, (sometimes two), but I'm so thankful that we got groceries on our way to our room.

 

[Sheaboys]

Isn't the 3 yr old still allowed to stay (as the 5th) in a room for 4?

It'll be tight, but this is the last time you"ll get to do it. You might have to book while she's still 3. (I could be wrong but I thought this was allowed.)

Not sure about park ticket for 3 yr old and how that works (if she turns 4 before trip), but something to look into.

Once your child turns 3, they are considered a paying child. You will need a room for 5, and pay for a park ticket.
We did Port Orleans Riverside, in 2005 when our boys were 7, 5 and 3. It was perfect, just enough room for sleeping and resting.

I would look into FREE dining promotions, or Pins for your dates.
Consider hitting all 4 parks, as Disney Studios has Toy Story, Monster Inc. Characters, CARs show, Playhouse Disney(although I think renamed), Phineas and Ferb characters, etc. The 4 parks are: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Disney Studios.