Help with planning trip for 10+

[LisaZoe]

My sisters, brothers-in-law and I (plus assorted kids - adult and otherwise) recently decided to make a trip to DLR in May. I made the mistake of volunteering to check out prices. I did some preliminary checking of prices online but it's so hard to be sure I'm finding the best prices for 10+ people when most online sites won't go beyond 5-6 guests. Last time we went, it was just 3 adults and my DD. We stayed at the Carousel Inn which we liked for the convenience of location but otherwise just thought was OK.

We don't have exact dates yet because we all can be a little flexible to get the best price. We'd like to stay 8 nights so we have a full 7 days for the parks. The last time we had a chance to go with such a large group was 10+ years ago so we may not do a repeat again soon. I'd love to save everyone money if possible because that could mean some of the adult kids who aren't committed to the trip might be able to go. Any help, advice or tips I can get here will be greatly appreciated.

BTW - We'll most likely be flying so we won't have vehicles to get around when we're there so location is the big factor in choosing a motel.

Thanks!

 

[mareed]

I recommend the Howard Johnson. If you search here you should find plenty of info on it, and most if not all of it will be good. It's within walking distance, and is one of the few that close that have indoor corridors instead of external doors opening directly to a parking lot. They have an Entertainment card rate that's either $59 or $74, and I can personally recommend the $79 Premium Disney view room, as we've stayed there several times. I checked some random May dates (use promo code SD50) and it looks like it may be available for weekdays, but not weekends, so check individual days. Website is hojoanaheim.com.

 

[ORMom2Four]

I agree. The Howard Johnson is a great hotel option. We are also a large group going in May (me, my sister, both of our Dh's and 8 kids between us) The group of 12 of us have 3 rooms reserved there. We were able to get the Entertainment rate of $59/room/night + tax.

As far as flights, we have not yet booked. We keep checking the rates and they are still around $250/round trip per person to LAX. Too much! We are going to wait until they drop more. I notice you are also in Oregon. I assume you will fly out of PDX? We will just wait until they drop enough, and then call the airline once we figure out who has the best rate. We have been using www.farecompare.com to look at prices.

My family plans on going back within a year, so we will buy park hopper tickets in order to get one early entry day, and then change them to annual passes before they expire. My sister's family wants to do 3 days at Disney, a day at Universal and a day at Sea World. They are getting their tickets from Costco.

Even though we are staying close enough to walk, we are both renting mini vans. The price was not too much more than a shuttle, and we would like to have it so we can go shopping for snacks etc.,

Good luck with your planning, it sounds like you will have fun!

 

[Brady's Mom]

I agree. The Howard Johnson is a great hotel option. We are also a large group going in May (me, my sister, both of our Dh's and 8 kids between us) The group of 12 of us have 3 rooms reserved there. We were able to get the Entertainment rate of $59/room/night + tax.

As far as flights, we have not yet booked. We keep checking the rates and they are still around $250/round trip per person to LAX. Too much! We are going to wait until they drop more. I notice you are also in Oregon. I assume you will fly out of PDX? We will just wait until they drop enough, and then call the airline once we figure out who has the best rate. We have been using www.farecompare.com to look at prices.

My family plans on going back within a year, so we will buy park hopper tickets in order to get one early entry day, and then change them to annual passes before they expire. My sister's family wants to do 3 days at Disney, a day at Universal and a day at Sea World. They are getting their tickets from Costco.

Even though we are staying close enough to walk, we are both renting mini vans. The price was not too much more than a shuttle, and we would like to have it so we can go shopping for snacks etc.,

Good luck with your planning, it sounds like you will have fun!

Since you are renting mini vans and will be able to get around, have you considered flying into Burbank? I was the designated trip organizer for a party of 12 and checked all the airports around the area and Burbank saved us $100 per ticket. For just our family, not including anyone else in our group, that was 600 dollars. For us a substantial savings. We are also staying off site in Garden Grove. Didn't know about HoJo's before we booked through Getawaytoday. I don't know who flies out of Oregon, but I would check other airports.

 

[LisaZoe]

Thanks for the tips. I'll check the HoJo for available dates. I also hadn't considered not booking the flight until later. I always thought the sooner they were booked, the better chance there was to get a deal. The savings on shuttle is something I have considered. Last time there was 4 of us and a taxi was a better deal but a rental might actually work out this time. My DD and I would like to go to Sea World and possibly one other non-Disney attraction. Having a rental would make that more feasible since we wouldn't have to rely on bus schedules.

BTW - Yes, we'll fly out of PDX. In the past we've flown to SNA but I'll try checking other airports as well.

 

[Husker Mickey]

Last April we went with 22 people. Try checking getawaytoday.com for hotel deals. Call their phone number and see if they will shoot you a deal. Also, we call airlines directly and were able to get a group rate, not sure how many you had to have to get the rate. We numerous parties flying into Denver and then all of us flying from Denver to SNA. BTW - SNA is a great little airport and would highly recommend it. Hope some of this helps.

 

[ORMom2Four]

We really like SNA and would LOVE to fly into it, but have found that flying into LAX is cheaper. I never thought to see if the airline would give a group discount, that's a good idea.

Does anyone know....if you reserve a flight at one price, and you then notice the tickets are cheaper a few days (or weeks) later, can you get the difference back?

We have noticed that the prices are varying day to day, even hour to hour. Just yesterday there were flights in the next 4 weeks from PDX to LAX for $186 RT, and that included the taxes and fees. Now those flights are between $207-$227. That $20-$40 adds up when you are booking so many people!

Booking early is normally a good thing, but you don't want to book too early. If you go further out, like into June/July, the flights are $259. Seems like it's a big game! Trying to book at the right time to get the price you want.....

 

[cirquelovers]

We have done this two different ways. The first time we booked with Disney and had a good neighbor hotel,Candy Cane. We booked our flights separate since we were coming from all over. We got a better deal that way then booking everything separately. The package came with extra perks which was nice. We did not have a vehicle and we think it made it more expensive for us.
The next time we booked everything direct with the hotels and such. The Candy Cane actually gave us a discount because we booked 6 rooms, so it never hurts to call the hotel directly and ask! We had two vehicles in our party this time. It was nice to run to the store for snacks, water and such. It also made it so we could go to the Disney outlet store and go out to eat a little cheaper a couple of times.

We always fly out of PDX rather than EUG because it is cheaper and the flights don't have as many layovers if any. We also prefer to fly into SNA just for convenience and the fact that it's smaller and more manageable.