First time to Disney World

[supersally]

Hello, this is my first post on here and this also will be our first visit to Disney World!

We are planning on going from the 5th-12th January 2013. We are a family of 4 and I've received a quote from a travel agent for $3500 AUD for accommodation (room only) and 4 day park hopper tickets (including water parks) for the CBR.

I can't look this far in advance on the Disney website but this seems quite expensive (is it?). Allears.net (sorry I can't post the direct link being a newbie) shows that the most I would have paid this year at the same time is $179 per night and going by the Disney website the tickets should be $1483.56. Total being $2736.56. Am I forgetting anything to include or is the quote of $3.5K overpriced? I realise that the prices may go up next year but this is quite a big difference.

Also...

Is it worth having water park tickets for a January visit? I read that Blizzard Beach will be closed. Is it better to wait and see and buy Typhoon Lagoon tickets on the day if the weather is suitable?

We don't have much flexibility in the dates but it looks like the Marathon will be on the same time? Will this be too much of a problem?


Sorry for the mammoth first post!

 

[jujube]

Hi, welcome to the DIS!
Do you use disneyworld.com or is there an Australian site?
What are your kid's ages? That will determine whether they pay kids prices or adults prices for tickets. 3-9 pay children's prices and over 10 pay adult's prices.
I went to the disneyworld website to see what prices I could find but it is not allowing me to look that far ahead and neither is expedia.
I would not get water park tickets for January. The weather is very iffy. Once you arrive if you decide to visit a water park, you can buy tickets. Usually though, one of the water parks is being refurbished in January.
The marathons do not have a huge impact. Almost everyone here will tell you the secret to having an enjoyable stay is to get to the parks themselves 30-45 minutes before they open. This allows you 2-3 hours before most guests begin to arrive and you can get a lot accomplished.
I'd write another post asking if anyone knows if your dates have been released to travel agents yet.

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

Not sure if I would use a travel agent...but perhaps it is necessary in your part of the world?

If it is your FIRST visit... do you REALLY need Park hoppers? The parks are HUGE and there is SO much to do in each park...no need to waste time hopping. You have 8 days in WDW... that is a lot of time to see many things in each park.....I would suggest take 1 park per day....

Also January I personally would NOT plan a water park day.... too cold

You could scale your tickets down to basic Magic your way park tickets 1 park per day and save some money....

Have a magical visit!
Mary

 

[Sue M]

Why get only 4 day tickets for an 8 day visit? I would buy lenght of stay tickets. You won't see much in 4 days. WDW is huge. I agree, it's too iffy in Jan to buy Water Park tickets.

Not sure what travel agent you got a quote from, but there are many WDW travel companies that specialize in WDW travel. They are on the internet, look for the insignia on the web site that says they are an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. It costs you nothing for their great service. Esp. for a first time trip, you will need some guidance.

Another benefit of using a Travel Agent that specializes in WDW vacations it that they know when Disney puts out special promos: room discounts, or free dining and will automatically apply any promo to your reservation, saving you $

I used a TA my first 3 trips to WDW, and they were great. Now I know what to do, and have fun booking myself.

I just did a quick search on the WDW web site for 8 nights in Aug, because it has similar pricing to January. Both are Value season.
So for 2 people (you didn't say how many) at CBR, standard view, and 8 day park hoppers is $2030.46 USD.

Another helpful thing is to get a good WDW Guide book. There are 2 i like- WDW, The Unofficial Guide, and Passporter.

Have fun planning.

edit: sorry I do see you are a family of 4, So you can check dates in Aug to get a feel, and add in the childrens tickets, depending on the ages.
Another good web site is Mousesavers.com They have a chart of WDW hotel pricing, the price changes with what WDW season you go in- Value, regular, etc So you can check what season your dates are in - I think Value? Then look at different dates, like Aug 2012 for dates within the same travel WDW "season" and you'll get a fair idea of price.

 

[dazednconfused]

Hi there.
I don't live in the States either. In fact, I'm not too, too far from Australia! For my last 2 trips to WDW, I went through a travel agent from Dreams Unlimited. It saved me the hassle of making long distance (transcontinental really) phone calls. I have a 3rd trip planned for the end of this year and yes, I engaged the same travel agent this time round too. For my last trip in 09, I managed to get Free Dining, thanks to my travel agent.

Honestly, park hoppers may not be a good idea, especially if this will be your first visit. Like the others have said, there's so much to do and take in at each and every park. I find that it helps to visit the smaller parks (Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios) during our first few days there. That way, we don't miss much when jet-lag sets in later in the day and we just want to collapse. We are pretty much done with Animal Kingdom by 4p.m. or so, or right after the afternoon parade.

Since our trips are always at the end of the year, we do not visit the water parks. Too chilly on most days to be parading around in a swimsuit.

Whatever decision you end up making, enjoy the whole planning process! It's half the fun!

 

[mickeynut1]

I agree with the other posters about the hopper option. There is so much to do at all of the parks and since it's your first visit, you might find yourself staying in the same park all day. But if you get there and see that you do want to hop, you can always add it. The same thing goes for the water parks. The weather can be very iffy in January....it can be warm enough for the water parks, but it can also be too cold. I would wait until you get there to see what the weather is like before buying water park tickets. One thing I wanted to add regarding the cost is since the 2013 rates are not out yet, a room only reservation can be made now (as far as 499 days out), but it's quoted at the highest rate for 2012. This may be why it seems so high. If you book now, you will pay a deposit equal to 1 night's room rate + tax and then your ressie will be adjusted once the 2013 rates are released, which should be sometime this summer. The following year's rates usually come out in August, but this past summer the 2012 rates were out in early June. Good luck and happy planning .

 

[housetomouse]

Is it worth having water park tickets for a January visit? I read that Blizzard Beach will be closed. Is it better to wait and see and buy Typhoon Lagoon tickets on the day if the weather is suitable?

Welcome! I would wait on the water park tickets. We went in the spring and the weather was too cold for the water parks, so you just never know. You will likely get a good day for the water park, but I'd wait to buy the tickets, just in case.

 

[jujube]

OP, the other posters are right about the park hoppers for a first trip.
Remember though that if you decide not to get park hoppers, you cannot make dining reservations outside of the park you visit for that day. In other words, if you decide that on Tuesday you're going to Animal Kingdom, you cannot then go to Epcot for a meal on the same day unless you have park hopper tickets.

 

[DJ Disney Kid]

If your pricing stuff now on the wdw website your probably getting discounted rates. Once it gets closer to your trip, your travel agent will most likely get you a discounted room rate which should then match up to what your seeing for this year.

 

[solana131]

Hi there and welcome! I am going to have to disagree with just about everyone else above me on the parkhopper option. We just returned from our first trip and having the park hoppers really saved us. Not knowing much about the parks and what things your family will like and what they won't like makes it hard to plan a strict touring plan. We would spend the morning in one park, then hop over to a different one for the afternoon when our little guy got bored. And someone mentioned about the meals... well this should be mentioned again because if you plan on many sitdown meals it might be a problem. Say you have a character meal planned for Monday in Magic Kingdom and it rains and you decide to do Epcot instead since most of those rides are indoors. You can still keep your dining reservation if you have park hoppers and just jump back over to MK for the meal.

One of the best days we had was our last day where we just hopped to each park for a couple hours to hit what we had liked best all week. And one day we took the bus to Hollywood Studios then walked back to the monorail at Epcot. That was a great time too, because we got to see all the Boardwalk Area resorts on the way by, but we could not have done this without hopper passes.

Anyway....speaking as a first-timer just returned, if you can afford the hoppers, I would do it. It just makes planning (or not planning) so much easier. And as far as the water parks...I would wait. If you are staying onsite, their pools are amazing and most likely the kids would have just as much fun playing at the resort than going to a park. Especially at CBR (I think thats the one you said you got a quote of, right?) If the weather is nice, you can always add it later.

We got a quote from AAA travel and ended up saving almost $1000 doing it ourselves right through the Disney site. Disney Cast Members are so incredibly helpful. I am the type of person that has to do things myself to feel they are done right. After some nightmare trips planned through agencies, I have just learned to do it myself, but I certainly see the benefits of letting someone else worry about it all Whatever you decide, you are going to have a wonderful trip. And the DIS is the place to be for advice! Read all the trip reports and see what everyone else is doing to help pass the time til your trip.

 

[Missytara]

Rates for the following year do not get released until August of each year. So you are being quoted the highest rack rate for the season for 2013 currently.

When the new rates are released, the price will be adjusted accordingly.

Note, last year, the rates were released early in July.

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

Hi there and welcome! I am going to have to disagree with just about everyone else above me on the parkhopper option. We just returned from our first trip and having the park hoppers really saved us. Not knowing much about the parks and what things your family will like and what they won't like makes it hard to plan a strict touring plan. We would spend the morning in one park, then hop over to a different one for the afternoon when our little guy got bored. And someone mentioned about the meals... well this should be mentioned again because if you plan on many sitdown meals it might be a problem. Say you have a character meal planned for Monday in Magic Kingdom and it rains and you decide to do Epcot instead since most of those rides are indoors. You can still keep your dining reservation if you have park hoppers and just jump back over to MK for the meal.

One of the best days we had was our last day where we just hopped to each park for a couple hours to hit what we had liked best all week. And one day we took the bus to Hollywood Studios then walked back to the monorail at Epcot. That was a great time too, because we got to see all the Boardwalk Area resorts on the way by, but we could not have done this without hopper passes.

Anyway....speaking as a first-timer just returned, if you can afford the hoppers, I would do it. It just makes planning (or not planning) so much easier. And as far as the water parks...I would wait. If you are staying onsite, their pools are amazing and most likely the kids would have just as much fun playing at the resort than going to a park. Especially at CBR (I think thats the one you said you got a quote of, right?) If the weather is nice, you can always add it later.

We got a quote from AAA travel and ended up saving almost $1000 doing it ourselves right through the Disney site. Disney Cast Members are so incredibly helpful. I am the type of person that has to do things myself to feel they are done right. After some nightmare trips planned through agencies, I have just learned to do it myself, but I certainly see the benefits of letting someone else worry about it all Whatever you decide, you are going to have a wonderful trip. And the DIS is the place to be for advice! Read all the trip reports and see what everyone else is doing to help pass the time til your trip.

WOW! Really ?

 

[disneydivermom]

1st trip to Disney... let the games begin LOL .

Our first family vacation was in 2008 and we have been back at least once a year every year since.

If you are at WDW for 8 days I would not get a park pass for the day you arrive or the day you depart. Depending on your arrival time you could go to Down Town Disney or spend the day relaxing by the pool. Same for your departure date. I would get 6 days park passes or even 5 days and take a day off in the middle of your vacation. I would skip the waterparks in January. We were just there this January and we would NOT have gone to the waterparks due to the cool/cold weather (and I'm from Canada and use to snow and cold).

I would not get park hoppers. You will be busy enough and have SO much to see in your first trip you won't need to be hopping from park to park in the same day.

When we went as a group of 4 families the others talked us into hoppers so we could meet and see each other at the parks even though we were all at the same resort. The only day we used our hoppers was on the last day to go from park to resort to park to resort etc for Vinylmation trading. The hoppers were money not well spent.

Have a magical vacation .

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

For a first time visit I wouldn't get hoppers. We got them our first visit...but didn't use them. We'd stay all day at one park & by time we left we were way too tired to go to a different park.

I wouldn't get water park tickets either. We've gone the last 4 years in December & it usually is way too chilly to think about swimming when we are there.

Also, I'd get tickets for more than 4 days...that way you can visit the parks more. You might not want to do a full day each day...but you could do some of each park each day. The tickets get cheaper per day the more days you go.

You might want to check out the unoffical guide to Walt Disney book too...it is very helpful!

 

[sndral]

Do your 8 days include your travel days? I would get park tickets for each non travel day I was @ WDW. Personally I would also get hoppers, I love eating in the many restaurants in the countries in Epcot but don't want to spend all day there just because I have a meal planned there (I often eat at Epcot on DHS days, since the parks are so easy to move from one to the other and I don't like many of DHS's food choices.) Plus, I like the flexibility of changing my mind (too crowded at MK, I'll head over to AK, for example.) Hoppers are only another $50 something per ticket, so the more days tickets you have the less per day the hoppers cost.
CBR is a nice resort IMO, the main pool is top rate, plus each 'island' (grouping of room buildings) has a large quiet pool - so I wouldn't bother with the water park and more option (in Jan. one will be shut down for refurb, usually and it could be chilly.)
I've read that discounts offered to British visitors are different than those offered to US visitors, wonder if Australia is different as well.
Have fun planning.

 

[WickedDreamer]

Me and my sister just got back from our trip, we are from Australia, and spent 25 Jan- 13th of January in Disney, and we found the weather very warm for most of the time, probably around 28-30 degrees Celsius. We bought annual passes, but it would have been warm enough to use the water parks

 

[solana131]

WOW! Really ?

What's that supposed to mean? It is just my opinion and what we experienced last week. If you can stay all day long at one park that is wonderful....we couldn't, so we used the hoppers and it worked out great. To each his own I guess.

Do your 8 days include your travel days? I would get park tickets for each non travel day I was @ WDW. Personally I would also get hoppers, I love eating in the many restaurants in the countries in Epcot but don't want to spend all day there just because I have a meal planned there (I often eat at Epcot on DHS days, since the parks are so easy to move from one to the other and I don't like many of DHS's food choices.) Plus, I like the flexibility of changing my mind (too crowded at MK, I'll head over to AK, for example.) Hoppers are only another $50 something per ticket, so the more days tickets you have the less per day the hoppers cost.
CBR is a nice resort IMO, the main pool is top rate, plus each 'island' (grouping of room buildings) has a large quiet pool - so I wouldn't bother with the water park and more option (in Jan. one will be shut down for refurb, usually and it could be chilly.)
I've read that discounts offered to British visitors are different than those offered to US visitors, wonder if Australia is different as well.
Have fun planning.

Thank you! I was starting to feel a little dumped upon The meals were a big reason we got the hoppers too.

 

[kdawg8762]

WOW! Really ?

Wow, could you have been more rude to someone based on their opinion?

 

[solana131]

Wow, could you have been more rude to someone based on their opinion?

Thanks, but its all good. I take everything on here with a grain of salt. I think sometimes people that go every year, or lots of times anyway lose sight of how first timers tour the parks. And how overwhelming it can be on first timers. I just thought adding the park hoppers would give us more options and we could just go with the flow. Not worry so much about weather and times and meals. But it is for sure more money and that is something to consider. With young kids sometimes it is not possible to stay at one park all day.

 

[kdawg8762]

Its anything to do with PH or DDP. The people who don't like them, will slam anyone who does.