Help Needed! PLEASE!

[Ginat105]

I am so so new at this and am so lost. We are supposed to join some friends and their children at Disney World in Dec. 13-19th. They are flying out of Kansas City on Midwest. They are staying at the Post Orleans-Riverside. I do believe that they got the hopper pass.

As far as us...we have an 9 yr old daughter. Or she will be 9 at the time of travel. We can fly out of Omaha or Kansas City. I guess my question is; do we book a big package or buy all of this separate? What is this hotel like? I would prefer to stay near them but will be up to some different ideas. What are the must for a family like us. What tickets to we buy or not buy.

Gosh...I am so sorry! Just want to make sure that we do this correct.

Thanks!

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

I'm not going to be much help on your questions but I just wanted to say welcome! My family lives in Council Bluffs.

 

[Lilolvr]

It depends on if you like to handle everything yourself or want someone to do it for you. I've always found it cheaper to book everything myself and don't mind having to track all the info.

 

[ArielRae]

Welcome !
I would recommend for tickets that you get that Magic your way hopper with the plus option. You said you are planning on hanging out with friends and this ticket will allow you to hang out with them no matter what your plans or their plans are. You will have the plus and hopper option for those days you are without your friends and want to do your own thing. Also if you find you don't use all your tickets you can buy the no experation while on your trip so you can use it for a later trip. You always need an excuse to go back and unused tickets are great for that.

 

[wilde_oscar]

POR (port orleans riverside) is a moderate resort, and considered to be very quiet and very pretty setting.

Would you want to stay next to them? some families travel well together, some do not, different ages, different interests, you might want to plan to come together for some meals, or have options for meeting up, but having the ability to opt out might become important.

When it comes to booking separate vs. a package... it depends on your price sensitivity, and how well you can work a deal vs. one stop shopping, one phone call if anything goes wrong.

ticket prices are regulated by disney, there is no such thing as deep discount tickets, you can use ticket brokers to save some, but it is not a lot... room discounts vary by season and resort. flights you are tied to the airline.

We have had great luck booking packages, and I can relate a situation where having a package comes in handy... what if something happens? one morning on the last trip i forgot my room key (which is also your park ticket) at the hotel. i did not panic, I went to guest services, they looked me up, they printed a new ticket, and off I went, the whole thing took maybe 4 min. if i were not on a package, and everything linked together in the big magic computer, i would have to go back to the hotel to get the tickets.

It is little things like that, that make getting a package worth it to me.

 

[ChelleinNC]

I am so so new at this and am so lost. We are supposed to join some friends and their children at Disney World in Dec. 13-19th. They are flying out of Kansas City on Midwest. They are staying at the Post Orleans-Riverside. I do believe that they got the hopper pass.

As far as us...we have an 9 yr old daughter. Or she will be 9 at the time of travel. We can fly out of Omaha or Kansas City. I guess my question is; do we book a big package or buy all of this separate? What is this hotel like? I would prefer to stay near them but will be up to some different ideas. What are the must for a family like us. What tickets to we buy or not buy.

Gosh...I am so sorry! Just want to make sure that we do this correct.

Thanks!

Welcome to the Dis! You picked a good place to find answers

Planning your first Disney trip can be overwhelming, take some time to read about the different resorts:http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/Resorts/resortmain1.htm

Port Orleans Riverside --commonly referred to as POR here on the disboards-- is what Disney calls a "moderate" hotel. Where you'll want to stay will depend on your budget, and if you prefer to be close to your friends.

For ticket info: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/tickets.htm

Park Hopper tickets allow you to visit more than 1 park on the same day--Magic Kingdom (MK) in the morning and Epcot in the afternoon. Non-Hopper tickets would be only 1 park per day.

This link is about planning your Disney vacation: http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-world-vacation.htm

In the past, I've always done better getting everything seperately. A package is probably easier, but may cost a little more. I suggest getting a quote from Dreams Unlimited: http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com

Do some reading, and come back and ask as many questions as you need to. You'll find all sorts of people to help

 

[Taja]

My thought would be to book the airline separately from the Disney stuff.

Do you belong to AAA? You might be able to get a room discount, depending on availability at your resorts for your travel dates. You don't have to have it when you book (or didn't last year!), but you will need it when you check in.

The easiest way to book the Disney portion would be to contact a Disney certified travel agency, such as Dreams Unlimited, which is a site sponsor. I haven't worked with them, but have heard good things. I'm too much of a control freak to work with a TA very well! *LOL*

As previous posters suggested, decide if you want to stay near your friends at the resort, what your budget is, and go from there.

 

[dawgfan]

You have penty of time to put all this together. My advise would be to :

1) Buy a book on Walt Disney World and read it cover to cover. Why...I have a friend who was taking his kid to WDW. He bought a book and began to "study". I thought he was crazy and told him so. I assumed that any vacation that is as intensive as to need a "study guide" was more work than vacation. He advised me that in WDW time is money and planning is directly tied to the overall enjoyment of the trip. In short WDW is too big to just wander through aimlessly hoping that you saw everything that was worth seeing. "Knowing the area" prior to going will ensure that you hit the rides and attractions that are best suited for you and your family.

2) Get the WDW planning video ordered to your house. This is more for you 9 year old than for you but will also help you. The video make things come to life for the kids and they can then put in their "two cents worth" on what they want to do and see. It will also add to the enjoyment for you as you watch the video with your child.

3) Buy you tickets and hotel seperately...or at least I always do. Someone already said on here that the discounts for tickets and such are all but dried up for most time periods. You can expect that the time period of your visit will not be discounted. The only real reason to get a package to me is dining being added and tied to the package. You will need to research as to whether dining "add on's" will be good for you (again buy a book or study things on the Dis for details). Typically package deals benefit the seller greatly and the buyer only in small ways. The biggest package benefit to the buyer is convenience. I think most folks simply get overwhelmed with the whole planning thing in WDW and give up. They go with the package deal just to fall back on. You will be going in December. I doubt you will use the water parks. The park hopper would be the best choice but I do not think you need the plus features in the Park Hopper Plus. Just get the Park Hopper. This will give you the freedom to move from one park to the next in a single day instead of being tied to a single park per day of visit as the base ticket requires. You will want to leave MK for instance and go to Epcot or MGM the same day to do other things or eat.

4) Get in shape. Walk and tone up. WDW is big and there is a great deal of ground to cover. There will be plenty of walking. Get some good shoes and get to walking.

 

[HopperFan]

Agree on buying a book and ordering the DVD

Then do your homework on the costs of a package vs doing it yourself. Depending on the trip, we have done better sometimes one way, sometimes the other. Look for any possible discounts, Codes, AAA, wholesale clubs....and make sure you price with airline tickets and without.....I would think often you can do better booking that apart.

Do you want the Dining Plan, if so you need to book a package via Disney.

On to the resort and your friends.......
We have gone often "with" others and most times have NOT stayed in the same resort. Only downside I see is if you want to hang at pool and swim together......but we always solved that by meeting at water park. Your time of year this may not be a factor.

Love POR, but would be very happy elsewhere as well. Find your budget ! Look at resorts in your budget and decide where you want to stay. They picked theirs, you decide if POR or somewhere else is good for you.

Suggest your meeting times at parks NOT be first thing in am. Pick a location and a time more like 10-11am. That way if anyone oversleeps or takes long breakfast you don't hold up the other. This always helped us. Have often done several rides before meeting up, or having a character breakfast when they just wanted a quick one at food court.

I would suggest hoppers so that in case they want an extra morning at a different park than you.........split up and meet back at another park. Just allows you more flexibility in seeing more, repeating something you liked, catching a night show while not spending the day at that park.....

Plan a couple special sit down meals together and get your ADRs for the total number of people to insure sitting together.

Take some time for yourselves as a family

 

[Lori77]

Hi! I am in Omaha! I would be happy to help you plan! Feel free to PM me!
I would suggest to fly out of KC because Omaha is usually between $AA60-$100 per person more unless there is a large airfare sale. Keep checking Southwest, as they are the lowest usually.

As far as a hotel- POR is nice and is spacious, the rooms are bigger than at a Value Resort. POP is our favorite Value, which is less room, but cheaper in price. Just like all the other comments, check out the DVD guide or by a book guide. I like Birnbaum's or Tour Guide Mike. Then you can see pictures, read about the restaurants, etc.

The tickets would depend on your budget and what you plan on doing. I would encourage you and the other party to decide on things that you will do together and schedule those (ADR's) then find things that you will be doing on your own. You can figure then if you will need to have the Park Hopper or Water Park options on your tickets. If you plan on going back, then I would recommend to by the no-expiration ticket. If you are not, then I wouldn't spend the extra $ for that option.

Hope this helps! You'll love to see WDW decorated for the holidays!!!!

 

[Aliceacc]

Hi!

This may help get you started: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1715551

 

[Wendybird55]

Hi,

Everyone has offered great suggestions and it can be overwhelming. Yes, you want to get a guide book and read up on things. As far a booking - Disney has a strong hold on it's pricing and though you can find better deals and discounts, it can be tough or sometimes not that big a savings as you would like.

If I were you, I would go online to Disney's offical website (disney.go.com) to the travel section where you can book trips online. You don't have to book your trip here but it gives you the tools to pick dates and hotels and options, etc. and you can do some easy price comparison. You can check the pricing of POR to other resorts. You can add different dining or ticket options plus different room options. It explains the different options. Once you find the resort and package you want you will get the price and then you can compare. You can check with a travel agent or AAA (if you're a member). If you want to look around you can see if you can find the same package for a lower price. Then based on the price difference you can decide of you want to book thru Disney or not. You can book online -or (what I prefer) call 1-800-W-DISNEY and book with an agent.

It all depends on how much you like to plan and research. By calling Disney direct - it's one stop shopping - you get your hotel, tickets, meal plan (if you want) and transportation to and from airport all in one shot. In general it's the quickest and easiet way to book. If you enjoy making the plans yourself and researching for the best value then I would do it that way.

First and foremost you need to read up on the various otions avilable when going to disney and decide what is best for you and your family.
Enjoy!
Wendybird

 

[Reginak]

If it were me, I would want to stay at POR with my friends. You can hang out during the day together; travel to dinner or the parks together; the kids could swim or play together or you can get some quiet time in your own room. If you don't want to spend time together then why go. Now, if one of their family members has a tendency to be a pest then request a room on the other side of the resort. This will slow them down a bit.

If you decide to stay somewhere else, then first decide how much you want to spend: there are really only three price catagories: Value - $82/night, Moderate - $149/night, Deluxe - start at $225/night (POR is a moderate). This is without taxes and you can pay more to be closer to certain things like the main building or a water view. Once you decide which price range then look at the resorts in that category. You, of course, get more options such as monorail or boats to the parks depending on how much you pay and the difference is worth the extra money; it just comes down to how much you feel comfortable spending.

During the first three weeks of December, all of the parks close between 5:00 and 7:00 PM except for the world showcase at Epcot and a few nights of extra-magic hours (where a park stays open a few hours later for resort guests only); so you will probably want the park hopper option added to you park tickets. In December we always would eat dinner at Epcot or a resort after a day in the MK or one of the other parks.

I would book a package with WDW except for airfare. Don't pay it off until just before your trip and watch for better rates. (As soon as Disney has all of your money then they don't let you make changes to the reservation except anything the increases the price.) If you spot a cheaper rate then change the reservation. Consider watching for an Annual Pass discount: these can be as steep as 40% off and only one of you per room will need to change your ticket to a pass to get the discount; just make sure that you are still saving money.

Start watching for airfare now; you are traveling at a busy time since schools will be breaking for Christmas that week. Grab the first good rate that you see - it may be your only chance.

Finally, in June or July you can start looking at dining reservations. Just ask for more help anytime that you need it.

We love helping anyone with a Disney question.
Regina