Help--haven't been to WDW in 20 yrs!!

[baileysgm]

My DD 28 and DGD 5 and I(DGM 58) are going to WDW in May 2004. We're thinking about doing the Disney Visa deal where kids are free with the Dream Maker Package. Need info on which resort is best for getting to all the parks. Also, main question-- is the gold plan worth the money? Would we really spend $340 per day for food and fun? We've been crusing on the Magic for the past 2 years, so we haven't been totally without Disney. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[GoofyB]

I think you'd have to sit down to EVERY meal and eat a lot to make the Gold plan pay off. But if you're not with little kids and want to go to some of the nicer places, it may work out.

We find staying in one of the Epcot resorts is the most convenient, as you can walk (or take a quick boat ride) to either Epcot or MGM. The Disney transporation from these resorts was always pretty regular and we took the bus to MK or AK. But when we stayed at Port Orleans, we found we had to wait so long either coming or going for the buses that we just used our rental car to get to the other parks. Parking's free for resort guests, so that wasn't an issue. the Port Orleans resorts themselves were great -- beautiful and very reasonable; it was just the transporation problem.

Have fun!

 

[swilphil]

I don't know if the Visa Kids are Free deal is worth the money if you are only taking one child. I agree with GoofyB that Epcot resorts are great places. We always get rooms and tickets separately because we don't go to the parks every day. We also have stayed at the Dolphin, which is in the Epcot area, but is a lot cheaper than the other Deluxes there. They have some great discount rates. I would also think the MK monorail resorts would be nice to stay at, but they are more expensive.

 

[baileysgm]

Thanks, guys. I agree that the Gold Plan is probably not worth it. After reading some of these posts, I was thinking about the Contemporary or the Poly (we stayed at the Contemporary on our other visit-MK and Epcot were the only parks!). I was thinking about splurging on a concierge room, thinking that we could get at least get bkfst included and snacks, etc. Are they too far away from AK, MGM and the water parks. Does the monorail only go between those two resorts and Epcot still? I really appreciate all your help. DGM will only be 6, but I'd like the trip to be special for her--it will be hard to beat the "Mickey Mouse Boat". By the way, what are mousesavers?

 

[RebeccaLovesDisney]

I don't think the monorail resorts are too far away from some of the other parks. Really, no resort is going to be close to every park. Yes, the monorail only goes to MK and Epcot (from the monorail resorts and TTC). Being on the monorail is very special!!

The "mousesavers" you are referring to is a website: www.mousesavers.com. It lists several money-saving ideas for trips to WDW and will post resort discount codes when they are released by Disney. There haven't been many room-only codes released by Disney lately, as they seem to be promoting their packages more, but you never know. Definitely check it out.

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

We have found that the Poly, specifically the buildings on the TTC side, has the most convenient transportation. For example, the last 2 times we stayed there we were on the concierge level and those stays were in the Hawaii and Tahiti buidings. It was VERY easy to walk over to the TTC to catch the direct Epcot monorail, instead of having to transfer from the resort monorail to the Epcot one. So essentially (to quote Selinger) the Poly is the only resort to be directly connected to 2 parks by monorail.

Having said that I also have to comment on concierge. We haved enjoyed our stays at Poly conc. I know some have been less than impressed, and the truth of it is we had one incidence of poor service from a CM there. BUT it did not ruin our stay or prevent us from wanting to return. We did think it was worth the money (we stayed on an AP rate and then the FTP) and the food was great, so convenient for the drinks.

I have to advocate taking the "book everything separately" route as opposed to the packages. I just think it is more cost effective. Although we did take advantage of the FTP, that was a GREAT deal. The Visa package is not a very good deal. Look over mousesavers and determine what the prices for room-only and hopper tix are and compare to the package rates. Also make sure what type of tix you need. Don't buy UPHs if you are not going to water parks, DQ, PI, etc.

I would also look into the Swan/Dolphin, true deluxe resorts that offer some really good rates and direct transport to Epcot and the Studios. That could really lower your costs!

 

[kiahrah]

Stay at an EPCOT Resort
My husband and I are both fans of the Boardwalk - we love it there! Plus - it is pretty close to everything - and a quick bus trip away (don't get me wrong everything is a quick bustrip away onsite). We love being able to take a boat back and forth to MGM - you can also take it to EPCOT - or that is a quick little walk. Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom are a quick bus trip - and buses move around fast! The rooms are fun and the pool is like Coney Island with clowns and everything. We loved it a lot!

Packages
We love the whole ide aof the packages - having meals included and such - because then when we get on-site we don't have to worry about spending the money - we just get to do what we want and have it come out of one of our packages - i.e. two meals or three meals a day - tours, fireworks, etc.

Have FUN!
You will have a GREAT time!

 

[Steamboat Girlie]

Just a few thoughts.......
We are a MK family, so staying on the monorail made sense for us on several of our trips. However, we did stay at the Swan last year and absolutely loved it. It was so close to EPCOT and MGM. The buses to MK were very prompt too.
I recommend doing room-only ressies, only because it's very easy to change them. For instance, we are staying at WL in Jan. and were supposed to pay 188.00 per night, but after learning of a specific code discount, was able to get 121.00 per night, with ease. I'm not sure how easy it is to change packages around, and if you can call to see if there are lower rates as your trip gets closer.
Hope this helps.

 

[HaleyB]

Have you been to mousesavers.com yet? She has a whole section on the 'plans' and how much you need to use to make them worth while. She also has lots of other great info.

 

[baileysgm]

You are all terrific!! I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the insight and experience of the people on this board, and mousavers helped alot too(seems like the news is not great now for discount rates.)The cruise boards also helped give us spectacular trips and enabled us to the get the most our of our time both on the ship and in port. We have done both the Eastern and Western so I'm here to offer any help I might be able to give. One more question are the Swan and Dolphin "real" Disney resorts? I saw where they were available on hotwire, which seems hard to believe. I'm also a nurse and the rates looked really good with that discount. The reason I'm asking is that when I started looking for rooms through the Disney site, I didn't see them listed as options(may have overlooked them). Okay, I lied one more question--what package gives 2 meals a day? That might be ideal for us, I also like the idea of not having to worry about eating. That's one of the reasons I liked cruising so much. THANKS AGAIN EVERYBODY!

 

[Mercy]

If you are a nurse, I would definitely take advantage of the nurse's discount at the Swan/Dolphin (I prefer the Dolphin). They are deluxe resorts and are beautiful, and in a teriffic location! No, they are not officially "disney" resorts, but they are in the heart of disney property. There is plenty of information about the Swan/Dolphin on this site, since they have become very popular, mainly because of the discounted rates they offer. I would definitely check them out. We are staying at the Dolphin next August with an Entertainment rate.

Also I think the Silver plan is the one that gives you 2 meals a day, not sure though.