Frustrated!

[Moonstorm]

My mom and grandma would not feel comfortable rooming with my DH's mom and vice versa. They've only met once b/c of the distance. (my family is in Pa and his in in Oh)
So, I suppose IO need to know all the rates and discounts and pick which is best, choosing between AAA and whichever else I see =/

 

[maxiesmom]

Ok, take a deep breath, inhale, exhale.
Yep planning a trip to the mouseworld can be exhausting. Since you already know where you want to stay, you are going to have to do a little detective work to get the best prices. Get quotes from AAA, disney and mouseworld. Everyone will give you quotes for free.
I got a old marble notebook that my kids used and made columns and notes.
Remember post your questions here on the dis, the folks here have tons of experience, I guarantee you some one while be able to help with your details.
How do you think I got 1,000 post, I ask some of the goofiest questions

Everything eliza61 said!

Plus, you made a comment about having adjoining rooms. Do you realize that adjoining/connecting rooms are NOT guaranteed? Disney will note it as a request, but they will not guarantee that you will receive them.

Also, you mention staying at the Poly or the Contemporary. Both are good choices for larger families with young ones. Of the 2 resorts, the Contemporary does have larger rooms. Also, the toilet is in a seperate room. Which is nice when you have multiple adults sharing the same space.

 

[Mcbruns]

Reading???!! I am in the Lehigh Valley!!!!!!

Moonstorm --
If you look up AA Reading Berks on Yahoo or google you will find them. They have a separate Travel agency number. Ask for Jennifer Kopicki. She is their main Disney gal and can give you a no obligation quote. Like I mentioned before, we have never had any problems with them (we've used them 3 times now). Hope that helps.

 

[clownchk]

based on your family dynamics(3 adults, 2 kids, one infant), I think AS Music Family suites may be the way to go for you, your kids and your MIL, they sleep 6 comfortably. Your MOm and Grandma may stay at the same resort, in a cheaper room though.

POR may be a bit cheaper, but with a trundle bed and a porta crib, the room would get very cramped.

Ft Widerness cabins would defiantely offer the most room!!

I'm not 100% sure if any of the monorail resorts can sleep more than 4 + an infant in a room.

HTH!!

 

[tblmom]

Hi - I am the "Disney Expert" in our family. Right now I'm planning a trip for 13 of us for this fall. Keep in mind my info is for 2007, so I'm not sure how much will change.

First of all to take advantage of Magical Express from the airport, you need to have a reservation in your name. I'm not sure how this would work for your MIL. We tried to book 2 connecting rooms in my name to share with my parents and couldn't because we are driving(from CT) and my parents are flying.
Also- any groups over 8 people qualify for Grand Gatherings. This will help coordinate any ADR and other plans you make. I was also told that all grand gathering rooms get assigned first so you have a greater likelyhood of getting connecting rooms. Make sure you say CONNECTING - some CM's don't know the difference between connecting and adjoining.
I priced everything out by package and room only and there was no difference in price for us. Disney gave me the AAA discount for the room without having to use a AAA TA.
Even if you don't all book from the same place you can still add everyone to GG - Just register for the number and everyone making a reservation can use it. If you book your rooms now and they don't have the AAA rates, they can adjust them later - we had to do this.
It can be overwhelming planning for everyone, but I have a blast doing it! Good Luck!!!!!!

 

[fan_of_small_world]

We weren't even members so we had to join too. I registered on line for an agent to get a Disney price quote to me and the agent the had contact me was wonderful.

Did you have to join just to get a quote?

I know someone who is an AAA agent, and I asked her when I was planning our trip to pull together a quote for what I wanted. I did not have to be a member to get the quote, but perhaps it was because she knew me.

As it turned out, the AAA package would have only saved us about $50 after adding in the cost of membership. Also, I actually like being in full control of our plans. For me, then, it wasn't worth the $50 in savings if it meant I'd have to go through an agent every time I wanted to make a change (and I made quite a few!). While I know that agents can be great for a lot of people, I love doing all of the research and planning, so I prefer doing it on my own. My best resources were the DIS, Mousesavers, the UoG book (best travel guide out there, IMHO), and the UoG website.

We flew out of Philly, so I can give you some advice if your mom and grandmom are going out of there. Also, you mentioned not wanting to fly with young children. That was my reason TO fly, lol! We used to live near Chicago, and I much preferred flying with the kids when they were very little compared to a 14-hour drive. We did price out flying versus flying for our trip to WDW last fall, and the cost savings was pretty small, so we saved our sanity and flew SW.

Good luck in planning (it's addicting!), and feel free to PM me if you like!

 

[gwcollins71]

Did you have to join just to get a quote?

I know someone who is an AAA agent, and I asked her when I was planning our trip to pull together a quote for what I wanted. I did not have to be a member to get the quote, but perhaps it was because she knew me.

I didn't have to join to get the quote, just to get the savings. She reworked the quote a couple times for us as I tweaked what I wanted.

However, I do agree that it's hard not being hands on. I've always done all the planning for myself before. I'm coming to terms with not making changes at all hours of the night. I think the savings is worth it - but only because I know exactly what I want.

I also agree with you. Flying is the way to go w/ young kids. I can barely see my daughter behaving for 2 hours, let alone 14.

Gretchen