First trip to WDW October 2021

[emerald3582]

Technically, it's my 2nd trip but my first trip was almost 30 years ago and all I remember is a Viking ship in Epcot. DH, DD16 and DD14 constantly make fun of me for my obsessive trip planning and budgeting. Currently in the works: Disneyland October 2020, Princess Mexican Riviera cruise March 2021, and WDW October 2021. Preliminary plans have also been made for DD graduation trip 2022 Best Roller Coasters in the USA and DD graduation trip 2023 Japan. And yes, I have spreadsheets for all of these. Specifically, for WDW:

6-day Park Hopper from an authorized reseller or use my RedCard with Disney
Accommodations: Off property, Hilton Orlando LBV in DS. On property, I'm considering renting DVC for BWV or BCV. If not, then CBR through Disney so I can add the QS plan. We're not much for TS and can do that on our resort day and use our extra QS for breakfast at BOG.
Transportation: Off property, rental car. If staying at DVC, maybe a rental car. If at CBR, resort transportation and possibly rental car.
Food: Off property, $1600 food allowance. On property, QS plan.

Plan A: Arrive Sat, spend Su-F at parks, return Sat
Plan B: Red eye Fri, spend Sa-F at parks with a mid week rest/resort day, return Sat

Questions to ask in other forums or maybe get answers here:
Is it really worth getting a rental car if you're staying on property? We're only doing WDW.
BWI or BCV? I like the location of BWI better for Epcot and DHS. Proximity to theme pool is better too. However, SAB is supposedly the best.

To be continued...

 

[absolutmey]

Hello. we're considering an Oct/Nov 2021 trip as well.

Just my opinion, of course, but as it stands now (and Disney could totally change stuff within the next year) I find that I don't even want to look at my car when I have it while staying on-site. I really enjoy being "in the bubble", using the transports provided, and being driven/lifted/ferried everywhere I think it's a nice perk to staying on-site. Plus, there's the added expense of having your car there and paying to park it for a week, per night.

 

[huggybuff]

Is it really worth getting a rental car if you're staying on property? We're only doing WDW.

I've done it both ways. I preferred not having the rental car and just using the buses (I haven't been since they installed the skyliner). I found that even when I had the rental car available I still used the buses on those trips more than the car. That being said, if you end up staying at CBR you may want a car because I believe that that resort has the most internal bus stops , maybe 8? At the end of a long night you just want to get to your room sometimes without stopping at every section before you finally get to yours. And obviously you cut down on transportation time to/from places like Disney Springs, Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, assuming you're at CBR.

I see you're planning Disneyland for this October. I'm hoping for November. I don't think it's looking too promising at this point.

 

[emerald3582]

OP Update:

Dates: I moved our trip up to June 5-June 13, Sat-Sun, so we can have a full 7 days. As much as I'd like to see WDW for the 1st week of the 50th anniversary, I'm not a crowd person.

Resort: I finally chose CBR with a request for middle buildings in Aruba or Jamaica so we can be somewhat close to OPR and either skyliner.

Transportation: I've also decided not to rent a car and plan on using buses or Uber to get to MK or AK. I've also read that we could take the skyliner to HS and then bus to MK as the skyliner drops off right by the buses.

Dining: I've read that it's really hard to get full value out of the dining plans, so I'm going to do an experiment. I'm going to buy the value of a QS plan in Disney gift cards and use them instead. If I don't use it all, I'll still be able to use them at Disneyland especially if I have to push back my October 2020 DLR trip to October 2021.

 

[absolutmey]

OP Update:

Dates: I moved our trip up to June 5-June 13, Sat-Sun, so we can have a full 7 days. As much as I'd like to see WDW for the 1st week of the 50th anniversary, I'm not a crowd person.

Resort: I finally chose CBR with a request for middle buildings in Aruba or Jamaica so we can be somewhat close to OPR and either skyliner.

Transportation: I've also decided not to rent a car and plan on using buses or Uber to get to MK or AK. I've also read that we could take the skyliner to HS and then bus to MK as the skyliner drops off right by the buses.

You're going to love the ease and convenience of the Skyliner.