Haven't been to WDW in 6 years, where do I start?

[talulabelle]

Hi Everyone!!!
My family has been to WDW 4 times, but have not been in 6 years. I have a 5 year old who has never been and I desperately want to take another family trip for his sake since he is a great age for it. The reason we haven't been in 6 years is because the economy took a hard hit on us in that time. I have 5 kids total and planning a trip for 7 people isn't cheap! So many things have changed since weve been there and I haven't even been on the DIS in probably 5 years. I used to love coming here to plan and dream, but at some point the dreams never seemed to be able to become reality. I have enough SW RR points saved up for airfare (providing we go at an affordable time) since I haven't touched them in 6 years! So that is covered. We have only stayed on property once and that was about 12 years ago. I would love to be able to be on property (even in a value if possible) but I'm afraid we have just been priced out of that. Last time we went there wasnt the whole magic band thing...so I know nothing about that or planning for fast passes. Would like to try to go around Thanksgiving - is that a mistake? is it just insanely busy then? I know I'm rambling, I just am in beginning stages of planning and havent done this in so long , I do'nt know where to start. I need to do it on a tight budget. Any tips are appreciated.

 

[Marionnette]

Hi Everyone!!!
My family has been to WDW 4 times, but have not been in 6 years. I have a 5 year old who has never been and I desperately want to take another family trip for his sake since he is a great age for it. The reason we haven't been in 6 years is because the economy took a hard hit on us in that time. I have 5 kids total and planning a trip for 7 people isn't cheap! So many things have changed since weve been there and I haven't even been on the DIS in probably 5 years. I used to love coming here to plan and dream, but at some point the dreams never seemed to be able to become reality. I have enough SW RR points saved up for airfare (providing we go at an affordable time) since I haven't touched them in 6 years! So that is covered. We have only stayed on property once and that was about 12 years ago. I would love to be able to be on property (even in a value if possible) but I'm afraid we have just been priced out of that. Last time we went there wasnt the whole magic band thing...so I know nothing about that or planning for fast passes. Would like to try to go around Thanksgiving - is that a mistake? is it just insanely busy then? I know I'm rambling, I just am in beginning stages of planning and havent done this in so long , I do'nt know where to start. I need to do it on a tight budget. Any tips are appreciated.

Thanksgiving time is not an inexpensive time to visit. Resort rates are higher with fewer discounts. Airfare is more expensive, even with RR points. Parks are more crowded but at least ticket prices are the same. Park hours will be longer.

The Magic Bands are used to unlock your resort room door, access the pool if it is fenced, enter the parks, access your Fastpasses and make purchases which you charge back to your room. If you are staying offsite (referred to as day guests), it is not necessary to have a Magic Band. Your park ticket will still get you in the gate and accesses your Fastpasses. Onsite guests get MBs for free. Day guests can purchase them and link their tickets to them.

With seven people all over the age of 2, you will need either 2 rooms or a family suiThere are also DVC 2-bedroom villas that will accommodate your family, but even renting a reservation from a DVC member for your stay would be pricey. The upside would be that your villa will have a full kitchen and a washer/dryer right in the unit. Keep in mind that connecting rooms at a Value Resort are not guaranteed by Disney and if they cannot accommodate your request, one adult would need to stay in each room.

Disney provides an online account and free companion app for your planning. You'll see it referred to as MDE (My Disney Experience) on these boards. You can link your tickets there. You can also make and change Fastpass reservations & ADRs from it and keep track of them. The best way to learn about it is to create an account and play with it. Onsite guests can make their FP+ 60 days prior to arrival and ADRs 180+10 days in advance. Day guests must wait until exactly 180 days prior to the day on which they intend to eat in order to make an ADR and cannot make FP+ reservations until 30 days prior to their visit.

There's a lot more to it, but this can be a start. I recommend reading thru the TPAS forum for details on most of the recent changes. There are quite a few threads pinned at the top of the first page which can get you up to speed on the new generation of Fastpasses and how MBs work.

 

[SharonZ]

I think first you need to determine a budget for accommodations, park tickets and food. You may be able to determine very quickly whether onsite is practical for your family. Marionnette gave you some good ideas, and I agree that your choice of "around" Thanksgiving probably isn't the best time of year for an economical Disney visit. Have you priced airfare, you may be shocked. Start out slow in the planning process, don't overwhelm yourself.

 

[FireflyTrance]

My guess is that it will require A LOT of Southwest points to go around Thanksgiving time. We generally fly using miles/points as well, but the amount of points needed goes up like crazy during Holiday times. Because of that I have never gone near Thanksgiving or Christmas. Do your kids get any other weeks during the year that might work well?


I would suggest looking into renting a 2 bedroom villa with DVC. For renting DVC, the earlier the better. If you do that the Magic Bands will be included. Alternatively you could try to get connecting rooms at a value resort such as Pop Century. The cheapest would probably be staying offsite. You won’t get Magic Bands, but Magic Bands aren’t actually required.

 

[Darcy03231]

OP, we're a large family when everyone travels and I've run the numbers every which way and we always end up staying offsite when its all of us. Last trip we were 6 during the week and 8 on the weekends (local friends joined us). I rented a 4 bedroom/2 bathroom private pool home for $100/night, inclusive of all taxes and fees through VRBO. Even adding in renting a minivan and parking, we came out much less expensive than we would have had we stayed on-site.

This also gave us the flexibility to eat meals in. There was a Walmart on the corner of the development and we could go in and get pizza/salad or rotisserie chicken/salad for a lot less and in a lot less time than eating out. I also bought a $20 crock pot (which I left behind) and did some crockpot meals.

Tickets will be your biggest expense. With a large group I wouldn't bother with park hoppers and you can save some money there.

We went the first week of December once and while it wasn't "slow," the crowds were light to moderate for most things. We also were able to see all the Christmas decorations.

Good luck with your planning.

 

[talulabelle]

Thanks everyone for all of your suggestions so far...definately a lot to think about...finding a good time to go is hard for us as I have children in 5 different schools at the moment. (2 in college and the rest in the public school system) we are on 3 different school system caledars and 4 of the kids have sport and club commitments during school. I was thinking thanksgiving would be the only chuck of time when everyone is off at same time , but am now realizing it wont be affordable for flights etc. Even in the summer we dont have a full week when everyone could go because of club sports and the oldest 3 have jobs. The oldest 2 will be working full time internship with no vacation time. After Christmas is our only other chunk of time and I know that will be expensive too. Presidents day everyone is off, but that is only 3 days.. I know that offsite is most affordable for large families...and we stayed off site our last 3 trips. We stayed on site once for our first trip (with dining plan when it was first rolled out years ago and you got a ton for your money back then!) and I gotta say, that ruined me. even though we have had some really nice trips since then, its just not the same as being immersed in the Disney World. I really wish I could figure out a way...

 

[mi*vida*loca]

If your older kids have been and two are in college and schedules are so crazy have you thought about taking your youngest or the younger 3 only?

My son has been more times than DD and he's going for his senior trip so DD and I are doing a mother/daughter trip a few months after his senior trip.

Just a thought.

 

[MEM]

Renting DVC points for a week at the least expensive resort - Old Key West - could run you anywhere from $2500 to $4500+ for the week for a two bedroom villa. I know you could do much better off-site. We are DVC members and I prepare at least two meals a day in the villa to save money. If you stayed off-site in a house, ate breakfast and dinner there and either packed a lunch for the parks or ate quick service you could save a bundle. Personally I will never go again during Christmas and New Year's - I can't imagine Thanksgiving is any better.

 

[dixie47]

Renting DVC points for a week at the least expensive resort - Old Key West - could run you anywhere from $2500 to $4500+ for the week for a two bedroom villa. I know you could do much better off-site. We are DVC members and I prepare at least two meals a day in the villa to save money. If you stayed off-site in a house, ate breakfast and dinner there and either packed a lunch for the parks or ate quick service you could save a bundle. Personally I will never go again during Christmas and New Year's - I can't imagine Thanksgiving is any better.

Maybe consider flying older children down individually for the few days they can join you?

 

[advfhorn]

I took 8 of us in 2013 with 4 teens (ages 14, 15, 16, 18), and a 6 year old, my husband and I and my MIL.
- having teens I should have done counter service only meal plan and paid out of pocket for any sit down meals we did.
- The hopper passes for the teens was a good choice, it was a waste of $ for the adults and our youngest (then 6).
pros:
-we let the teens (ages 14-18) go off on their own, with cell phone contact, and their magic bands. They left the hotel early in the AM together without us, skipped breakfast and moved fast and did the parks faster.
- I flew the teens home earlier than us and my father picked them up at the airport and stayed with them a few days until we flew home. (In High School they missed a lot more work than the younger kids did, and they could do the parks faster).
- the teens would come and find us mid-day and they ate a few sit downs with us

If I had to do it again I would split the teens into their own reservation (bc I had an 18 yr old int he group). if you don't you can put one parent in their group. I would have gotten them counter service only meal plan with hopper passes. For the younger child and adults I would build the trip at a slower pace. If the older kids need more to do maybe send them to a waterpark for the day. We stayed in a cabin in the fort and I booked one tent site. Another idea is two rooms at a value resort asking for an a joining room.

 

[elaine amj]

I found that even for a large group (I have 7-9 people on my next trip), free dining at a Value is the best deal for me - even after number crunching cheap offsite villas. Especially since I would need a car rental and have to pay for parking. Christmas could even manageable with free dining (usually they offer it up until Dec 21 or so) and I was surprised to find relatively affordable Christmas flights for Dec 24 on Southwest one year.

On a tight budget, you're really looking at getting things aligned just so - good flight prices and good prices for accommodations. Since SW has free cancellations, I would book your flights first (or refundable accommodations). Just start plotting something out. The tickets are a pretty fixed cost with only small discounts available. It would be worth it to set up a Disney Vacation Account NOW (just load it with $10) so if you are able to go, you could load discounted Disney gift cards into it and then use it to buy your tickets. If you end up with a much better deal through a non-Disney reseller and stay offsite, then just close your DVA and ask for a refund (it acts like a bank account). This way, you get your wheels in motion.

Most things are fully refundable so just book something that could possibly work and try to get everything else to fall in place. If it doesn't, cancel it and move on to your next possible dates.

I would suggest:
1. Decide if you are willing to deal with crowds. Your dates will be insanely busy no matter which way you swing it since you can only go on school holidays (like the majority of folks). I've done Christmas week and with a lot of planning (and super early mornings), it was very manageable. It will also help if you are willing to be creative with your dates. For me, the cheapest is to fly out Friday night or Saturday morning and fly home on Tuesday or Wednesday (although because of work/school, we typically fly home Monday). Flying home

2. CHOOSE a week, any week. Looks like your choices are Thanksgiving or Christmas. SW releases Nov/Dec flights on May 18. At that point, you can figure out which week is better for flights. Then JUST BOOK. You can always cancel after if necessary.

3. After you book your flights, time to look at accommodations. Since you know your dates, you can search for rates. Consider everything. Villa, condo, even a cheap hotel offsite. Also look at onsite - hopefully free dining is announced. Since you have older kids in the mix, 2 rooms at a Value (hopefully connecting) would be your best bet. You can even consider upgrading one room's dining plan and sharing the credits with the whole family.

Now you have the info to start putting a solid budget and plan together.

I do like PPs suggestion of flying the older ones separately for a shorter time to help schedules mesh better.

 

[Dakota731]

When do southwest points rise during Christmas? This is our first time using points and I didn't know that. We are going Dec 16-23

 

[Marionnette]

When do southwest points rise during Christmas? This is our first time using points and I didn't know that. We are going Dec 16-23

Christmas is on a Monday this year. That means that people traveling home to see family will crowd the airports beginning on Friday 12/22. You can expect your airfare to be pretty high on 12/23 based on that and the fact that you're traveling on a Saturday, which is always more expensive for vacation destinations anyway. Your 12/16 date should not be excessively high but it will still be more pricey than if you were flying on 12/12, 12/13, or 12/14. Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday flights tend to be cheaper.