HELP! Today is day one of planning our trip, I'm out of the loop!

[moopdog]

We travel to WDW about every 3-5 years. Our last trip will was Jan of 2013, and our next will be Feb or March of 2017. And EVERYTHING has changed. I thought I knew my way around planning a Disney trip - nope! I'm a fish out of water. Please point me to the right board to harass with my many questions. For now, I am mostly wondering...
1) do they still offer Stay, play & Dine in the early part of the year and when can I expect that announcement?
2) if they do NOT do that, we are considering staying off-site and want to know the best area to be in. We would love an affordable place that has 2 bedrooms, shuttles to the parks, and does not have to be "kid friendly", as my kids will be 16 and 14 and we don't really need a pre-school geared resort. We may actually add a day or to two Universal for the first time ever, so keep that in mind.

Thanks~!~

 

[Lvsdisney]

This is a good site to check out historical offers. I don't think the usually offer free dining in March, but it can always change.

I've heard good things about Wyndham Bonnet Creek. It's technically on Disney property and they offer 2 bedrooms with full kitchens. Though I think you have to pay for the shuttle?

I also would look into renting DVC points. DVC villas offer either a kitchenette (studio) or full kitchen (1 & 2 bedrooms) and they're Disney resorts so you have Magical Express and Disney transportation included. Check the DVC forum on these boards.

 

[Marionnette]

We travel to WDW about every 3-5 years. Our last trip will was Jan of 2013, and our next will be Feb or March of 2017. And EVERYTHING has changed. I thought I knew my way around planning a Disney trip - nope! I'm a fish out of water. Please point me to the right board to harass with my many questions. For now, I am mostly wondering...
1) do they still offer Stay, play & Dine in the early part of the year and when can I expect that announcement?
2) if they do NOT do that, we are considering staying off-site and want to know the best area to be in. We would love an affordable place that has 2 bedrooms, shuttles to the parks, and does not have to be "kid friendly", as my kids will be 16 and 14 and we don't really need a pre-school geared resort. We may actually add a day or to two Universal for the first time ever, so keep that in mind.

Thanks~!~

1. Yes, SP&D has been offered in the past year in Jan.-early March. That's not a guarantee that it will be offered again in 2017 (or with the same benefits as in the past) but you can always hope. It was announced in late Sept. 2015 for Jan. 2016. You might want to watch the Codes and Rates subforum on the Resorts Board to keep an eye out for the announcement. They rarely get posted here anymore.
2. If visiting Universal is on your radar, you might want to consider staying one night at one of their resorts for the free FOTL access on both your check-in and check-out days.
3. Check the Orlando Hotels & Attractions Forum for info. regarding your offsite choices. WBC gets great reviews but there are down sides when it comes to transportation to the parks. Staying onsite would give your teens a little more freedom to go to the parks on their own vs. being offsite and relying on the condo's transportation.

 

[kace08]

Mousesavers.com has a few suggestions for hotels. You may want to consider Sheraton Vistana Villages for off site lodging.

 

[moopdog]

1. Yes, SP&D has been offered in the past year in Jan.-early March. That's not a guarantee that it will be offered again in 2017 (or with the same benefits as in the past) but you can always hope. It was announced in late Sept. 2015 for Jan. 2016. You might want to watch the Codes and Rates subforum on the Resorts Board to keep an eye out for the announcement. They rarely get posted here anymore.
2. If visiting Universal is on your radar, you might want to consider staying one night at one of their resorts for the free FOTL access on both your check-in and check-out days.
3. Check the Orlando Hotels & Attractions Forum for info. regarding your offsite choices. WBC gets great reviews but there are down sides when it comes to transportation to the parks. Staying onsite would give your teens a little more freedom to go to the parks on their own vs. being offsite and relying on the condo's transportation.

This is a good site to check out historical offers. I don't think the usually offer free dining in March, but it can always change.

I've heard good things about Wyndham Bonnet Creek. It's technically on Disney property and they offer 2 bedrooms with full kitchens. Though I think you have to pay for the shuttle?

I also would look into renting DVC points. DVC villas offer either a kitchenette (studio) or full kitchen (1 & 2 bedrooms) and they're Disney resorts so you have Magical Express and Disney transportation included. Check the DVC forum on these boards.

We actually did rent DVC points about 10 years ago at Old Key West and LOVED it. I thought I saw someone recently say that you can get 'free dining' now with point rentals. But when I go looking for verification of that, all I see is comments saying you CANNOT get the Free Dining offer when using DVC points. Anyone know which is correct?

 

[moopdog]

One other thing... I was pretty sure that early March (3/3-3/11) was value. Not the case, from what I'm seeing though when pricing things out. There used to be a little calendar chart thing that would show you the different seasons (value, holiday, premium, etc.) and correlating dates. Does that still exist?

 

[brittanidp]

We actually did rent DVC points about 10 years ago at Old Key West and LOVED it. I thought I saw someone recently say that you can get 'free dining' now with point rentals. But when I go looking for verification of that, all I see is comments saying you CANNOT get the Free Dining offer when using DVC points. Anyone know which is correct?

Nope, you need a Disney resort package booked thru Disney for free dining. You can add the dining plan to a rental reservation, but it will be at full price

 

[Marionnette]

One other thing... I was pretty sure that early March (3/3-3/11) was value. Not the case, from what I'm seeing though when pricing things out. There used to be a little calendar chart thing that would show you the different seasons (value, holiday, premium, etc.) and correlating dates. Does that still exist?

The seasons are different for each resort level and there are a lot more "seasons" now than there used to be. March is spring break time for a lot of schools, so it won't be "value season" at any resort. When it comes to renting points, DVC seasons are very different from hotel room seasons.

I don't recall seeing a chart with ALL of the seasons for ALL of the resorts on a single page, however if you go to Mousesavers and take a look at the rack rates for the resort(s) that you're interested in, you will see the different "seasons" listed there.
http://www.mousesavers.com/2017-disney-world-room-rates-season-dates/

We actually did rent DVC points about 10 years ago at Old Key West and LOVED it. I thought I saw someone recently say that you can get 'free dining' now with point rentals. But when I go looking for verification of that, all I see is comments saying you CANNOT get the Free Dining offer when using DVC points. Anyone know which is correct?

If you're staying on points, you cannot get *free* dining. But, you can have the dining plan added to your room by the owner. Since they will have to pay for it in full at the time that they add it, you would have to pay them for it when you ask them to add it on.

 

[MermaidMommy]

Discounts for your trip will likely be released sometime around October, if it follows the usual pattern.

Last year, the Stay, Play, and Dine discount was less, in many instances, than just getting a room only discount. So, be sure you price the various discounts before you settle on SPD.

Additionally, you can book through Orbitz or Cheaptickets and usually get an additional 15% off of Disney's discounts. There's currently a promo code for 15% that runs through December, (but you'd need to wait until Disney releases the discounts sometime this fall to book).

If you decide to look at Bonnet Creek, be sure to check them out on VRBO.com. Cheaper than booking direct.