hello and please help !

[princessjodiebo]

well after much deliberation over the past month my wonderful husband has agreed to let me go back home to wdw and to take our 2 kids my daughter beth who will be 13 and max who will be 9
i have read these boards non stop for 2 or 3 weeks now and thought now was the time to join as planning this holiday seems to be a minefield !!
i went to orlando when i was 18 and when i return it will be 15 years since that visit

anyway enough rambling - i have a few questions i want to ask

we can only go for a week next year due to my husbands work and have decided to stay at a moderate resort as they are offering a free dining plan which will help us budget any reccomendations for first time resort hotel guests

complete orlando have been mentioned several times but we want to go late september or early oct next year and when i check on the website their prices only go up to sept but no flight prices if i ring them will they be able to give me a quote ??

also whats the difference between booking with disney us or disney uk ??
is it worth holdong out and doing flights and accomodiation seperately or should we go for a package with virgin ??

sorry for all the questions but i really want to get this right !! to all of the members i would like to already say thankyou your posts have been so useful i look forward to reading them every day

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Hi! Welcome to the DIS!!

I'm sure I have seen people mention having quotes for next October from CO already, so you should be able to get one if you call them tomorrow. You could always email tonight if you want to feel you have done something, and they will get in touch tomorrow - they have answered all my emails really promptly!

Disney UK seem to have more offers than USA, and also get them on their website sooner. I'm sure someone mentioned last week that they still haven't got free dining for this year on offer in the US, and we already have it for next year. Plus there is the exchange rate to take into account - not so good at the minute! I know a lot of people were booking with the US a couple of years ago when the exchange rate was good.

A lot of people will tell you all the savings you can make through booking independently . . . I'm a bit of a package fan to be honest, for ease, but then I do get 10% off with Virgin, which helps. However this year we have booked fly-drive (flights and car) with Virgin, and everything else with Disney - not sure if that counts as independent or not!!!

Moderate resorts - we LOVE Port Orleans French Quarter. One of the smallest Disney hotels so easier to get around, really pretty, and peaceful. Lovely pool for your child. It always seems a really good location to us though, the furthest park is a 10 minute drive away. Didn't like Caribbean Beach - too spread out. We will probably go back to POFQ next year, but also considering Coronado Springs as it has a gym (if thats a concern at all?!!!).

Hope that helps a bit!

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Hi and Welcome.

In addition, the prices can vary so much between the hotel prices on the US and UK websites.
I have looked for some time, comparing prices at some of the resorts and generally they are cheaper on the UK site.
It isn't just a £ v $ scenario, the prices in many cases are different.
In addition with the $ rate so poor that's also worth bearing in mind too.


We always used to book fly drive's with Virgin, but accomodation seperate, this year everything is booked seperatley as you can save some money that way, especially at peak times of the year.
However, it can depend on when you go, and what difference the cost is.

There are good deals to be had on hotels, car rental, theme park tickets etc , it's usually just a matter of shopping around, and daft as is it sounds just being in the right place at the right time.

 

[Clare D]

Hi and firstly welcome to the DIS
To answer your questions
1. At the moderates you receive the Counter Service dining plan, it maybe that if you keep checking Walt Disney's UK site they soon offer the discount for OKW and SSR (Old Key West and Saratoga Springs) like this year. These resorts this year are slightly more expensive than the moderates but include the Table Service dining plan which then makes them cheaper than the mods. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and this was great for us. There is boat transport to Downtown Disney and a great pool with slide which my oldest DS loved. We also walked through Port Orleans French Quarter which also looked great.

2. Give Complete Orlando a call and check out their prices. We used Disney Direct (the UK not the US site) last year and their prices are online for September/October next year. Some people on here have booked with them but as yet I haven't seen that anybody has had a completed trip with them yet.

3. The difference between Disney US and Disney UK is that on the UK site you pay in £ and the other in $.

4. We have found Disney pretty expensive to be honest and that is including a free upgrade on the car hire and a discount as we are FVC members. I would do your homework and price it up separately. The flights usually come out usually 11 months before your departure. We do tend to book with Virgin Atlantic for our flights though and the total holiday is still cheaper than Virgin holidays. Also if you still book with Virgin Atlantic you can still take advantage of the Downtown Disney check in (for your flight home) it is $10 per person but well worth it. It is free for Virgin Holiday guests.

Check out this site for car hire deals. We tend to use US Car Hire and book a 7 seater for 2 adults and 2 kids but I would rather have a bit more room.

I hope this helps but should you have any questions just give a shout

 

[princessjodiebo]

thankyou so much for the advice

i think i will give complete orlando a ring at the moment i am being quoted £2855 for the 4 of us for a week with flights and then on top of that the passes which i think were around £875 for the 4 of us

when i checked complete orlando based on this year it was around £1500 for hotel and passes

just concerned about booking it seperately incase when the flights go on sale they are more than we bargained for

will keep you posted how i get on

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Be careful with your passes as you can save money by shopping around, depending on what parks you are wishing to visit.
Nobody on here would want anyone paying over the odds for anything, if you have any more questions feel free to post them.

 

[Pegasus928]

Hi and welcome to the Dis. You will find us a friendly bunch who are more than willing to help with advise and tips for every aspect of your holiday.
I normally do a thread that provides the park ticket prices from the most popular vendors used by the users of this forum.
I haven't managed to update it for a couple of weeks as I am currently working off shore and the internet connection is too slow for any 'proper' surfing.
My most recent thread is HERE and although the prices may be a £ or 2 out it will give you an idea of what you can get.
I know what you mean regarding flights - it is a bit of a gamble knowing when to buy them, and hoping that you get the best deal. Try to have an idea of what you are happy to pay and get them if anything comes close. If you really want to save a few pounds on you flight then consider going indirect. Lots of people on here have done it and most claim that it is never as bad as they expected - so much so that I am giving it serious consideration for our next trip.

 

[LeeDolling]

Hi and firstly welcome to the DIS
To answer your questions
1. At the moderates you receive the Counter Service dining plan, it maybe that if you keep checking Walt Disney's UK site they soon offer the discount for OKW and SSR (Old Key West and Saratoga Springs) like this year. These resorts this year are slightly more expensive than the moderates but include the Table Service dining plan which then makes them cheaper than the mods. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and this was great for us. There is boat transport to Downtown Disney and a great pool with slide which my oldest DS loved. We also walked through Port Orleans French Quarter which also looked great.

2. Give Complete Orlando a call and check out their prices. We used Disney Direct (the UK not the US site) last year and their prices are online for September/October next year. Some people on here have booked with them but as yet I haven't seen that anybody has had a completed trip with them yet.

I haven't checked myself but I am sure I read on another thread that Complete Orlando are already offering OKW/SSR with reduced room rates and the DDP (table service) for 2011. I could be wrong though.

 

[princessjodiebo]

thankyou so so much for all your replies i am sitting here with my husband and he cant believe how much info i have already got from here !!


am i right in thinking that i dont have to book my tickets to get free dining ??

i really want the disney dining plan but i was under the impression that you had to order your tickets and hotel accomodation to get that as i said am a bit new to all of this lol !!

also its disneys 40th next year and if they do decide to do anything special next october we will be out there for it
i was wondering would we still be able to get into the parks or would they have special tickets on sale ??

i am going to ring complete orlando after finishing my cuppa so will let you know how i get on its soooo exciting !!!

hope everyone is having a great weekend so far !

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

thankyou so so much for all your replies i am sitting here with my husband and he cant believe how much info i have already got from here !!


am i right in thinking that i dont have to book my tickets to get free dining ??

i really want the disney dining plan but i was under the impression that you had to order your tickets and hotel accomodation to get that as i said am a bit new to all of this lol !!

also its disneys 40th next year and if they do decide to do anything special next october we will be out there for it
i was wondering would we still be able to get into the parks or would they have special tickets on sale ??

i am going to ring complete orlando after finishing my cuppa so will let you know how i get on its soooo exciting !!!

hope everyone is having a great weekend so far !

Hi again!

Yes, to get the dining plan you have to have disney tickeys for the whole of your hotel stay. You also have to have the DDP plan for the whole of your hotel stay. ALSO, you HAVE to buy them all from the same place - so hotel, tickets and DDP all from Virgin, OR all Disney, OR all from CO etc. You can't buy cheap park tickets from a random website, and still be able to get the dining plan! I made that mistake once!

 

[LeeDolling]

thankyou so so much for all your replies i am sitting here with my husband and he cant believe how much info i have already got from here !!

People here love to help its why I read the forums all the time even if I don't post much.

am i right in thinking that i dont have to book my tickets to get free dining ??

I booked for OKW this sept last year and I had to buy the accomadation and 14 day tickets (for the price of 7) at the same time to qualify for the free DDP through Disney UK. I haven't checked complete Orlando for 2011 (or 2010 for that matter).

i really want the disney dining plan but i was under the impression that you had to order your tickets and hotel accomodation to get that as i said am a bit new to all of this lol !!

See above, and being new to it just makes it more fun to be honest, just ask lots of questions and people will help.

also its disneys 40th next year and if they do decide to do anything special next october we will be out there for it
i was wondering would we still be able to get into the parks or would they have special tickets on sale ??

I am sure someone more knowledgable than me will pick up this question, but I personally don't see why it would be any different than it is now.

i am going to ring complete orlando after finishing my cuppa so will let you know how i get on its soooo exciting !!!

Good luck and fingers crossed.

hope everyone is having a great weekend so far !

Thanks, hopefully pending your call yours will get even better

 

[princessjodiebo]

welll...................

i didnt get a chance to ring complete orlando yesterday as we were too busy taking advantage of the glorious weather so i dropped them an email and they replied very promptly this morning

they gave me a total cost for the accomodation for the 4 of us for £716

and the tickets were slightly more than virgin and disney uk they came out at £230 for me dh and dd and £205 for ds

i just went on to disney uks website and it was coming out nearly a hundred pounds more though i did have to alter the departure date by a few days not sure if that had anything to do with it

complete orlando said that the flights werent available as i suspected til 11 months before

the only thing is they said they could book my accomodation only if i sorted out the flights myself
i get the impression that they were saying that i wouldnt be able to add flights on with them in 11 months is this true ?? has anyone else had this at all ?

so tempted to just go for it i have really fallen in love with port orleans and once i know its booked i know then i would save and save

any thoughts ??

hope everyone had a good weekend
i intend to be browsing on the forum most of hte night as i have badly hurt my foot and also our oven is broken so i cant cook anyway hurrah !!

 

[JACKIE153]

Hi I booked with complete orlando a couple of weeks ago staying at Port Orleans Riverside next October and upgraded from the Quick Service Dining Plan to the Dining Plan, we are a family of 3, 2 adults and DS who will be 9 by the time we travel next year, we paid 1400 for 2 weeks accommodation and £203 upgrade to Dining Plan, Disney Tickets for 2 weeks were the same as yours for 1 week as they are on offer at the moment.

We can either get them to add flights to our accommodation and make it a package in November when the flights are released or we can book them ourselves.

 

[princessjodiebo]

thats great to know jackie the email was a bit confusingly worded !!

have a friend in virgin cabin crew who said he might be able to help so am leaving it a week til i meet up for coffee and see what he can do

just wanna go so badly still i like my ticker and i know with everything inbetween now and going that hopefully the time will fly by !

so you think its worth upgrading the disney dining plan ?

can you use them for breakfast and is the breakfast a buffet ?

if you cant use the vouchers roughly how much is it ??

 

[WiganTony]

is it worth holdong out and doing flights and accomodiation seperately or should we go for a package with virgin ??

If you are planning on booking flights separately, it may be worth seting up a flight notification on Kayak which will e-mail you with the price for your selected flights on a daily basis.

 

[Clare D]

so you think its worth upgrading the disney dining plan ?
can you use them for breakfast and is the breakfast a buffet ?
if you cant use the vouchers roughly how much is it ??

We upgraded last year from Counter Service to Dining Plan and it worked really well for us. Yes you have to book at the majority of restaurants but having a proper meal rather than walk up food (counter service) gave us much more choice.

It is up to you how you use the credits too. Most days we had counter service breakfast at POR and then table service usually in the park that day.

Some days we did character breakfast (using the table service credit) and then counter service or on others just counter service or just table service. It's really flexible depending on what works for you.

If you do decide to upgrade ask CO for the prices for the deluxe as they include the Table Service dining plan already. For us it is cheaper (in August) to stay at the AKL than POR if we upgrade.