First-timer! Longer stay vs. deluxe resort - WWYD?

[a742246]

Whew, 9 days. You guys are gonna have a blast! We've been crossing our fingers that we end up picking dates that a few discounts or free dining happen to fall on. We may have to steal that November week. It sounds perfect, and I didn't know they decorated that early!


I like your thinking!



We're actually not bringing the baby. It's sort of the last "just us" trip for awhile.



I think we're actually considering trying to add in a "cool down" day to check out some of the non-park offerings.
It'd be great to check out DS and the BW!
We plan to fly and take the Express to the resort. If we did Uni or DC, we'd probably take an Uber or taxi.

You can rent cars at the Swan and Dolphin and Disney Car Rental Center by MK.

 

[quandrea]

I’d go option two. You will really enjoy a deluxe. Being that it’s a special trip, might as well splurge.

I’d definitely nix Universal. Passes are really expensive for a split stay. Personally, I find Universal to be exceedingly overrated. The HP areas are well done, but beyond that, they are not special parks. That money saved could go far to creating a great trip. Have fun.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

I would go deluxe. We did a 5 day at GF in 2013 and it was probably to best we ever took.

 

[dhardawa]

I’d dump Discovery Cove and plan 5 days at Disney and stay at a moderate. I don’t find the deluxes to be worth the money. I’d definitely rather have time in the parks over a room.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

I would pick a longer stay in a cheaper room, drop the Universal and Discovery Cove days and add extra park days. As first timers you will be wowed by everything. Taking the time to enjoy the parks at a more leisurely pace, watching the shows in the countries in world showcase, taking time out to visit some of the resorts and the special things there (like fireworks from the Poly beach, or watching the entertainment around the boardwalk, or listening to the piano player at Port Orleans Riverside). These are all the things that are extra from the parks that wow you.

Then put that extra money you saved from not buying Uni and Discovery Cove tickets this trip towards your next trip which you'll be planning before you even leave!

 

[Klayfish]

I'm cheap...without a doubt I'd go for the less expensive lodging and longer stay. It's just my opinion, but I think the "deluxe" resorts are a huge waste of money. Even if I had a money tree, no way would I pay $800 a night or whatever it is to stay in a deluxe. I'd spend a fraction of that and rent a luxury condo, which would be better in every way...IMO.

 

[Hikergirl]

I'm cheap...without a doubt I'd go for the less expensive lodging and longer stay. It's just my opinion, but I think the "deluxe" resorts are a huge waste of money. Even if I had a money tree, no way would I pay $800 a night or whatever it is to stay in a deluxe. I'd spend a fraction of that and rent a luxury condo, which would be better in every way...IMO.

Not all rooms at deluxes are that much. Dh and I spent $237 a night for a studio villa at Boardwalk in Sept of 2016. I know time of year makes a difference but it is possible to not spend a fortune and still stay at a deluxe resort.
For me a deluxe is worth the extra cost, the amenities and location is what I am paying for. I want more than a food court and I don't want to have to take a bus to everywhere I want to go. I definitely wouldn't pay $800 a night, or even $500 but those things are worth paying more than a value or mod IMO.

 

[Miffy]

Hey, guys! Long time lurker here, but my DW and I are finally taking the plunge! We're fanatics but could never afford the World until now, so we'd love to be "WOW-ed." We're kind of stuck on a couple options and were really hoping to get something of a vote from the community on which might offer the best experience!

We are looking to go some time in October-November to avoid the high holiday crowds.
Our budget is ~$5,000 and we are currently exploring the two paths below.

Which might you recommend for two first-timers?

1) Longer stay + cheaper room
• 4 days WDW
• 1 Universal (Harry Potter)
• 1 Discovery Cove
• 7 nights at value/moderate resort (AoA, Riverside, etc)

2) Disney + best resort
• 4 days WDW
• 5 nights at a deluxe (ALK - Arusha, Poly, etc)
• Better transportation (monorail)

Some notes:
• We don't plan on doing WDW parks for longer than 4 days.
• We plan to bring most of our own meals w/ a couple nice dinners there, so no need for a dining plan.
• This is sort of a very late babymoon (due this month!), so it will probably be our biggest trip for awhile. (We are not bringing the baby.)
• I considered DVC rentals, but I wasn't sure about the 8-9 month timeframe and non-refundability.

Thank you guys for any feedback! We're super excited!

You've never been to WDW before? Or you've never stayed onsite before?

If you've never been to WDW before, take your entire trip at WDW. Ditch Universal and Discovery Cove and do them on a later trip. WDW is HUGE. And there's way way way more than 4 days' worth of stuff to do in the parks.

You should be able to get 7 nights at a couple of the deluxes (AKL and SSR come to mind first--and, btw, the Poly is much more expensive than AKL) for around $300/night, maybe a bit more. But you have to keep an eye out for discounts. It's too early yet for the Oct/Nov discounts. Check out mousesavers.com for historical listings of when discounts are typically offered.

In case you didn't realize this, Arusha is one of the savannas at AKL, not a separate resort. Animal Kingdom Lodge has two separate lodges--the main lodge (AKL--also called Jambo House) and Animal Kingdom Villas (called Kidani Village), which is the DVC property.

The downside of a DVC rental, IMO, is that you are stuck with your booking. If you have to change or cancel, you've paid for it and you won't get a refund. I realize that some DVC rental sites have different policies, but for the most part, you pay for the entire trip upfront and there's a no-cancellation policy. Even though, yes, you could buy trip insurance, it's possible that your reason for cancelling wouldn't fall under the trip-cancellation clauses. These are the things that keep me from trying this out. I know lots of other DISers love doing this, but I've had a couple of trips that had to be rearranged, and because I was booked through Disney, the whole thing was easy to do.

I'm going to suggest hotels I don't stay at now: the Swan and Dolphin. Check them out. They're on the Boardwalk area, on Disney property, but they're not Disney hotels. You lose a couple of the Disney perks (like the Magical Express from the airport), but they're significantly cheaper than the Disney deluxes and a lot of DISboarders love these places. Another option for you--to keep costs down and luxury up--would be one of the Disney Springs hotels, which now participate in the 60-day FP+ window, which is nice. Check out mousesavers.com and use their links to check out rates at these hotels. You wouldn't be in the Disney bubble, per se, but you'd be very close to it.

 

[hsmamato2]

It will be just us. The baby will be with family.



We may be able to to stretch to 8 nights and add "cool down" day. Our main draw to Uni is the HP experience, so I don't know about 2 days. The DW also wasn't too keen on having to bounce between hotels in the middle (WDW to USO).



Yeah, from friends and family we've spoken to along w/ personal research, 1 park/day seems very doable. This is pretty much our dilemma as well: does a base World + Uni/DC experience trump a more immersive World one?

The Uni onsite hotels are really nice..... but you can also just stay onsite at disney,and uber over. If you're going to split it, I'd stay onsite at Uni first,then move over to disney onsite, cheaper hotel of course(I voted #1) and enjoy. BTW I don't consider AoA 'cheap'. I would stay Pop,and walk over to AoA to see the sights lol to save $$$

 

[hsmamato2]

Although I'll echo some others here...first time stay, only 7 days.... if you really want to save $, skip the Uni part of it. But it isn't difficult to stay at Disney and uber to Uni, it's about 20 minutes up the road.

 

[bradyh]

1) You've never been to WDW before? Or you've never stayed onsite before?
...
2) Check out mousesavers.com for historical listings of when discounts are typically offered.
...
3) In case you didn't realize this, Arusha is one of the savannas at AKL, not a separate resort. Animal Kingdom Lodge has two separate lodges--the main lodge (AKL--also called Jambo House) and Animal Kingdom Villas (called Kidani Village), which is the DVC property.
...
4) The downside of a DVC rental, IMO, is that you are stuck with your booking.
...
5) I'm going to suggest hotels I don't stay at now: the Swan and Dolphin. Check them out.

1) Yep, never been period. XD

2) We love them! Been using them a lot. Looking like mid-November is a great time.

3) Apologies for my confusing OP, but I was more referencing the specific Arusha rooms. I know there are cheaper Savannah rooms, but Arusha seems to be the main/biggest one, so we figured if we do decide to splurge, then, ya know, splurge!

4) Yeah, initially I loved the concept of booking villas for a fraction (best of both worlds), but being nailed to those dates isn't the greatest.

5) Thanks for the suggestions! We might need the Express. Do you know if they still grant early ADR and FP perks?

 

[Miffy]

1) Yep, never been period. XD

2) We love them! Been using them a lot. Looking like mid-November is a great time.

3) Apologies for my confusing OP, but I was more referencing the specific Arusha rooms. I know there are cheaper Savannah rooms, but Arusha seems to be the main/biggest one, so we figured if we do decide to splurge, then, ya know, splurge!

4) Yeah, initially I loved the concept of booking villas for a fraction (best of both worlds), but being nailed to those dates isn't the greatest.

5) Thanks for the suggestions! We might need the Express. Do you know if they still grant early ADR and FP perks?

1) Wow! Never been! You are in for such a treat! Awesome!
2) Yes, mid-November, before Thanksgiving, is a great time. Just don't run into Thanksgiving week. Or go the week after.
3) Arusha is a beautiful savanna, but, really, all the savannas are beautiful. Personally, I wouldn't care which savanna.
4) Yeah. I understand.
5) I'm not sure about the Swolphin's FP+ perks, especially since there've been some changes lately. Someone else will have to chime in there. As far as ADRs go, I'm pretty sure that 180 days is the window for everyone, no matter where you're staying. Magical Express is a nice perk, but if your hotel bill is significantly lower than it would otherwise be, Uber from the airport and back is not terrifically expensive. Just something to think about.

 

[bradyh]

1) Wow! Never been! You are in for such a treat! Awesome!
2) Yes, mid-November, before Thanksgiving, is a great time. Just don't run into Thanksgiving week. Or go the week after.
3) Arusha is a beautiful savanna, but, really, all the savannas are beautiful. Personally, I wouldn't care which savanna.
4) Yeah. I understand.
5) I'm not sure about the Swolphin's FP+ perks, especially since there've been some changes lately. Someone else will have to chime in there. As far as ADRs go, I'm pretty sure that 180 days is the window for everyone, no matter where you're staying. Magical Express is a nice perk, but if your hotel bill is significantly lower than it would otherwise be, Uber from the airport and back is not terrifically expensive. Just something to think about.

Haha, thanks for all the replies! Yeah, we're really excited for November w/ the (hopefully) smaller crowds and Christmas decorations going up.

Love the Swolphin amalgamation.

 

[Colleen27]

I’d definitely nix Universal. Passes are really expensive for a split stay. Personally, I find Universal to be exceedingly overrated. The HP areas are well done, but beyond that, they are not special parks. That money saved could go far to creating a great trip. Have fun.

I’d dump Discovery Cove and plan 5 days at Disney and stay at a moderate. I don’t find the deluxes to be worth the money. I’d definitely rather have time in the parks over a room.

It is interesting how differently we all see these things. I'd definitely want to keep both those experiences, because with an infant it will be many years before doing either one is really a viable option for a family trip. Especially if more kids are in the plans for the future. Sharing those fun experiences would be a higher priority to me, if I were traveling with just DH during that 'baby' stage of life, than sharing a nicer room at the end of our days in the Disney parks. Because it'll be a long time before that baby is big enough to enjoy the Harry Potter attractions, and seeing things for the first time is more fun when you're doing it together than when you're baby-swapping so both parents can ride.

 

[quandrea]

It is interesting how differently we all see these things. I'd definitely want to keep both those experiences, because with an infant it will be many years before doing either one is really a viable option for a family trip. Especially if more kids are in the plans for the future. Sharing those fun experiences would be a higher priority to me, if I were traveling with just DH during that 'baby' stage of life, than sharing a nicer room at the end of our days in the Disney parks. Because it'll be a long time before that baby is big enough to enjoy the Harry Potter attractions, and seeing things for the first time is more fun when you're doing it together than when you're baby-swapping so both parents can ride.

I hear what you are saying. I think I’m biased. I just don’t see the huge appeal for Universal. Way too expensive for the product, whereas I really enjoy the deluxe resorts for their ambiance, dining, entertainment value, etc. Universal left me feeling really ripped off.

 

[StageTek]

My first trip was a long stay (10 days) at a value (ASMo). In the following years I have stayed at moderates (CBR & POFQ) on my shorter stays. I found that the first rip was ALL about the parks. Later trips have been about also enjoying the resorts.

Might be a good way to go. Go value and stay longer this trip. When you return you can check out the Deluxe...

 

[robinb]

I voted longer stay, cheaper resort.

If it were between 10 days or 14 days i would go with deluxe. Since it’s between 5 or 7 I’ll go with longer stay.

I would stick to 7 days with the entire time at WDW. Especially for a first timer. I would only ever do both parks (WDW and universal) if we were staying for 10 or more days. I would completely skip discovery cove too.

I agree. OP, as a first-timer I don't think you quite understand the depth and breadth of WDW. 4 days is simply not enough time and I wouldn't muddy the water with other non-Disney parks.

I would also reconsider renting DVC points, although October/November traditionally books up fast because of the Food and Wine festival. Right not you are limited to Old Key West, Saratoga Springs and Animal Kingdom for a week. BUT you can stay in a savanna view studio at AKL-Kidani for only 111 points or $1,665 at $15 per point. I used 10/13-10/20 as my dates. POR is $1,953 for the same dates. Yes, you have issues with cancelling but you might be able to find a DVC member who is flexible. A studio has a microwave, toaster and refrigerator for the food you're planing to bring with you.

 

[bradyh]

I voted longer stay, cheaper resort.

I agree. OP, as a first-timer I don't think you quite understand the depth and breadth of WDW. 4 days is simply not enough time and I wouldn't muddy the water with other non-Disney parks.

I would also reconsider renting DVC points, although October/November traditionally books up fast because of the Food and Wine festival. Right not you are limited to Old Key West, Saratoga Springs and Animal Kingdom for a week. BUT you can stay in a savanna view studio at AKL-Kidani for only 111 points or $1,665 at $15 per point. I used 10/13-10/20 as my dates. POR is $1,953 for the same dates. Yes, you have issues with cancelling but you might be able to find a DVC member who is flexible. A studio has a microwave, toaster and refrigerator for the food you're planing to bring with you.

Thanks for the honest feedback! We're actually re-considering doing 5 park days to have a "makeup" day. I think we both know we won't be able to get to everything, but with a good itinerary and plan, we should be able to hit the majority of our top picks. We're not able to do a super long, 9+ day stay with a young one waiting at home for us! XD

Regarding DVC, that's actually not too bad. I'm pretty new to DVC, so I'd love to know where you were able to quickly check availability on those dates and how you hit $15 (direct owner price?). I didn't care for David's and while the Rental Store offers a cancellation option (albeit for +$1.75/point), most DVC companies seem set at $16-$18/point.

 

[robinb]

Thanks for the honest feedback! We're actually re-considering doing 5 park days to have a "makeup" day. I think we both know we won't be able to get to everything, but with a good itinerary and plan, we should be able to hit the majority of our top picks. We're not able to do a super long, 9+ day stay with a young one waiting at home for us! XD

Regarding DVC, that's actually not too bad. I'm pretty new to DVC, so I'd love to know where you were able to quickly check availability on those dates and how you hit $15 (direct owner price?). I didn't care for David's and while the Rental Store offers a cancellation option (albeit for +$1.75/point), most DVC companies seem set at $16-$18/point.

I'm a DVC member so I checked availability on the DVC website. Non-members are not allowed to check availability.

There is a rent/trade board here, make sure to read the "sticky" thread. People on the other DVC boards are pretty helpful.
https://www.disboards.com/forums/dvc-rent-trade.29/

You can read the posts on the board and contact the dvc renters for their cancellation policy. For instance, when I rent out points I usually allow renters to cancel for a fee but only if I can find someone else to rent their reservation at the same price. Each DVC member is different.

 

[bradyh]

I'm a DVC member so I checked availability on the DVC website. Non-members are not allowed to check availability.

There is a rent/trade board here, make sure to read the "sticky" thread. People on the other DVC boards are pretty helpful.
https://www.disboards.com/forums/dvc-rent-trade.29/

You can read the posts on the board and contact the dvc renters for their cancellation policy. For instance, when I rent out points I usually allow renters to cancel for a fee but only if I can find someone else to rent their reservation at the same price. Each DVC member is different.

Well that makes sense! I'll check the DVC boards out! We're actually looking to avoid the FW festival by going closer to mid-Nov, so maybe that'll help us snag something! Thanks again!