First Trip Booked! What do you think of Price?

[Trip 2 Disney]

I just booked our first trip to Disney through WDW travel company It is a 8 day trip for 2 adults & a 13 yo for mid May of this year. Total price including taxes & fees $3,039 includes:

• round trip air fair
• 8 MYW Base Tickets
• Accomodations at All-Star Music
• Dining plan
• Trip Insurance

This is my first time planning a Disney trip & would like to know how well I did. Recommendations on how I can do better are welcome.

 

[carlnix30]

I just booked our first trip to Disney through WDW travel company It is a 8 day trip for 2 adults & a 13 yo for mid May of this year. Total price including taxes & fees $3,039 includes:

• round trip air fair
• 8 MYW Base Tickets
• Accomodations at All-Star Music
• Dining plan
• Trip Insurance

This is my first time planning a Disney trip & would like to know how well I did. Recommendations on how I can do better are welcome.

Well it all depends on where your flying from. Did you tell them to use the special offer...? If you do not ask they will not apply it. Using your figures flying from Philadelphia my price comes to 2500. I didn't have your dates but I just inputed 13may to 22 may. If you didn't ask about the special offer you can call them back and ask them to apply it. No cost to you.

 

[Trip 2 Disney]

Well it all depends on where your flying from. Did you tell them to use the special offer...? If you do not ask they will not apply it. Using your figures flying from Philadelphia my price comes to 2500. I didn't have your dates but I just inputed 13may to 22 may. If you didn't ask about the special offer you can call them back and ask them to apply it. No cost to you.

We are flying from Ohio and we did use a pin for 35% off value resorts. We saved around $300+ on the cost of our room. Our flight came out to $184 per person round trip. I think the main thing i'm debating is the cost of the dining plan which is almost $1000 for a week. But I have been told on this board and by others who have visited WDW that eating can get expensive especially if we plan on doing character meals (which we will be doing).

 

[carlnix30]

We are flying from Ohio and we did use a pin for 35% off value resorts. We saved around $300+ on the cost of our room. Our flight came out to $184 per person round trip. I think the main thing i'm debating is the cost of the dining plan which is almost $1000 for a week. But I have been told on this board and by others who have visited WDW that eating can get expensive especially if we plan on doing character meals (which we will be doing).

we have three teen monsters. we have used deluxe dining, regular dining, and quick service. I can tell you that we prefer the quick service dining. deluxe dining in my opinion is a definate waste unless you want to be stressed over how many meals you have and where you can use them etc. our kids never wanted to eat breakfast, our trip was 8 days so if you do the math heres how it breaks down.

deluxe dining is 3 meals per person per day and 2 snacks so that is a total of 72 meals for 3 guests. and 48 snacks. which could be fries or soda popcorn etc. if just your teen doesnt eat breakfast that is 8 meals that are not used.

you can figure $45 per person for sit down meals. sound like a lot but after 4 or five days you will not want any more sit down meals. it eats into your park and touring time. and can be quite frustrating.

everyone when they get the dining plan, at first is so relaxed that the meals are paid for. then comes the "did we eat that meal?" gotta eat.. we paid for it


with the regular dining we found we still did not use all the meal credits. each table service meal costs you at least 1.5 hours of time. also making reservations for each one means you have to be in that park at that location at that time. its hard!

if I were you I would get the quick service dining and pay out of pocket for the character meals. you will still have meals and snacks left before you leave and you have the flexibility to eat counter service whenever you feel hungry. which if you guys are like us.. wont be as much as you expect.


i forgot to ask.. are you renting a car or are you planning on using disney transportation for your trips to parks everyday?

congratulations on your first trip to the world! your gonna love it!

 

[Trip 2 Disney]

we have three teen monsters. we have used deluxe dining, regular dining, and quick service. I can tell you that we prefer the quick service dining. deluxe dining in my opinion is a definate waste unless you want to be stressed over how many meals you have and where you can use them etc. our kids never wanted to eat breakfast, our trip was 8 days so if you do the math heres how it breaks down.

deluxe dining is 3 meals per person per day and 2 snacks so that is a total of 72 meals for 3 guests. and 48 snacks. which could be fries or soda popcorn etc. if just your teen doesnt eat breakfast that is 8 meals that are not used.

you can figure $45 per person for sit down meals. sound like a lot but after 4 or five days you will not want any more sit down meals. it eats into your park and touring time. and can be quite frustrating.

everyone when they get the dining plan, at first is so relaxed that the meals are paid for. then it comes the "did we eat that meal?" gotta eat.. we paid for it


with the regular dining we found we still did not use all the meal credits. each table service meal costs you at least 1.5 hours of time. also making reservations for each one means you have to be in that park at that location at that time. its hard!

if I were you I would get the quick service dining and pay out of pocket for the character meals. you will still have meals and snacks left before you leave and you have the flexibility to eat counter service whenever you feel hungry. which if you guys are like us.. wont be as much as you expect.


i forgot to ask.. are you renting a car or are you planning on using disney transportation for your trips to parks everyday?

congratulations on your first trip to the world! your gonna love it!

Thanks for the overview of the dining plan.

When we booked the vacation we asked for quotes for quick service and regular dining (1 quick service, 1 table service & 1 snack). The quick service was $231 cheaper than the dining plan. So if I figure $45 pp for table service for 3 to eat 2 table services that comes out to $270. Which is $39 more than the price difference between the quick service & reg dining plan. In this case the dining plan would be a better option money wise. But for greater flexibility the quick service would be a better option because I wouldn't be restricted to a particular park and dining time.

We will be using Disney transportation our entire trip but would consider renting a car if needed.

 

[carlnix30]

Thanks for the overview of the dining plan.

When we booked the vacation we asked for quotes for quick service and regular dining (1 quick service, 1 table service & 1 snack). The quick service was $231 cheaper than the dining plan. So if I figure $45 pp for table service for 3 to eat 2 table services that comes out to $270. Which is $39 more than the price difference between the quick service & reg dining plan. In this case the dining plan would be a better option money wise. But for greater flexibility the quick service would be a better option because I wouldn't be restricted to a particular park and dining time.

We will be using Disney transportation our entire trip but would consider renting a car if needed.

boy have I been long in the tooth!

very confusing isnt it? I am the planning maniac and I am the type of guy that wants everything set in stone. Disney is not condusive to my personality traits.

The reason I am asking is advance dining reservations does require you to be at a park at a specific time.. you have made dining reservations? I hope so that will determine the park you need to be in for that day, unless you have park hopper option on your tickets then that will be the park you are destined to be in for that day. with that said the buses to and from the parks at all star are frequent but they are crowded be ready for that especially at lunch and at the end of the day at the parks. plan at least an hour travel to and from the parks so that you do not miss your ADR. If you have not made your advance dining reservation I would suggest that you look over the restaraunts and decide where you are going to eat and schedule your dining reservations at 1-407-wdw-dine ASAP it is really hard to get into some of the restaraunts. if you have a teen that like american food I would suggest the crystal palace.. yum and they have buffet. I hope that I have not overwhelmed you.. any questions I am sure I or others on here can be helpful.

 

[Trip 2 Disney]

boy have I been long in the tooth!

very confusing isnt it? I am the planning maniac and I am the type of guy that wants everything set in stone. Disney is not condusive to my personality traits.

The reason I am asking is advance dining reservations does require you to be at a park at a specific time.. you have made dining reservations? I hope so that will determine the park you need to be in for that day, unless you have park hopper option on your tickets then that will be the park you are destined to be in for that day. with that said the buses to and from the parks at all star are frequent but they are crowded be ready for that especially at lunch and at the end of the day at the parks. plan at least an hour travel to and from the parks so that you do not miss your ADR. If you have not made your advance dining reservation I would suggest that you look over the restaraunts and decide where you are going to eat and schedule your dining reservations at 1-407-wdw-dine ASAP it is really hard to get into some of the restaraunts. if you have a teen that like american food I would suggest the crystal palace.. yum and they have buffet. I hope that I have not overwhelmed you.. any questions I am sure I or others on here can be helpful.

Your information has been very helpful. It is a lot to think about but i'm up for the challenge and not feeling overwhelmed yet. I'm in the processing of booking my ADRs online now. It's a little challenging to decide the day and time because I have not mapped out which parks I want to do on each day. I have a lot of work to do! I will definitely post again when I have more questions.

Thanks again for responding to my post.

 

[lmillercrew]

We are flying from Ohio and we did use a pin for 35% off value resorts. We saved around $300+ on the cost of our room. Our flight came out to $184 per person round trip. I think the main thing i'm debating is the cost of the dining plan which is almost $1000 for a week. But I have been told on this board and by others who have visited WDW that eating can get expensive especially if we plan on doing character meals (which we will be doing).

We're flying out of Detroit in Aug and we paid $149 p/p. $1000 on food seems INSANE! I guess it really depends on the experience that you want to have. I've been told that the DP gives you SO much food. You should go to allearsnet.com and price out the places that you think that you will eat and see if you will spend that much. There may be days where you don't want to take the time to sit down for 1 1/2 hrs to eat. We go very inexpensively on food. I pack snacks, breakfast items, and lunch items and we only eat out once a day, just too much food sometimes. I'm planning on having water delivered from gardengrocer.com to help save on the cost of water. Anyway, just my two cents worth.

 

[Trip 2 Disney]

We're flying out of Detroit in Aug and we paid $149 p/p. $1000 on food seems INSANE! I guess it really depends on the experience that you want to have. I've been told that the DP gives you SO much food. You should go to allearsnet.com and price out the places that you think that you will eat and see if you will spend that much. There may be days where you don't want to take the time to sit down for 1 1/2 hrs to eat. We go very inexpensively on food. I pack snacks, breakfast items, and lunch items and we only eat out once a day, just too much food sometimes. I'm planning on having water delivered from gardengrocer.com to help save on the cost of water. Anyway, just my two cents worth.

Thanks! I will visit allearsnet to price out our meals and see which what the best option would be. I agree $1000 is INSANE.

 

[Disneys Billpayer]

You did well!! There will always be people to cite better deals.........however I will just go ahead and tell you that it will be the best 3 Grand you ever spent if you create the kind of memories most people who post here have and return to do so year after year.
Have a great time!!

 

[lmillercrew]

Thanks! I will visit allearsnet to price out our meals and see which what the best option would be. I agree $1000 is INSANE.

Let us know what the price comparison is. I'm curious.

 

[Coasterdad]

Greetings!

In preparation for our upcoming trip in June, I put together a very detailed excel spreadsheet containing 10 days worth of dining for our family of 4 to match the basic dining plan. For the comparison, I selected actual menu items for each of our party based on the allowable meals.

The cost for all the meals came to about $2340 while the cost of 4 adults on the basic dining plan is $1840. This is a savings of $500! However, if you skip more than a couple table service meals for quick service meals the savings will quickly disappear.

It is a great relief to know all your meals are paid for but keep in mind tips for table service meals are NOT included in the Disney Dining Plan unless otherwise noted. Our upcoming trip will be the 2nd we have taken using the basic dining plan. The first time, during October of 2007, the tips for table service meals were included in the cost of the plan. During the October 2007 trip we had no trouble eating enough! Just in case you were wondering, this cost from my excel spreadsheet came to $360.

ADR! ADR! ADR! (Advanced Diner Reservations)

We did not make any Advanced Diner Reservations the last time and even though it was a pretty slow time of the season we did have some trouble getting into Table Service Meals. It took a few days until we realized we could go to Town Hall, for example in the Magic Kingdom, and find out what restaurants had seating available however this was usually at lunch. You loose some of the value of the meal plan if you use your Table Service meal at lunch instead of dinner.

Some research online will aid in finding which venue offers the best value for your meal plan credits (applies more to snacks & quick service meals). There are some great values out there to be found!

I hope this helps.

Coasterdad