Hi all - Newbie questions!

[kizzabel]

HI all
Im over from the DLP boards and I've never been to WDW but sat down and did some maths and decided to start saving as I'd love to bring my kids - DH won't do long haul! I love DLP but it's always been a dream to go to WDW so its about time I started some serious saving
I have some silly newbie questions that I'd love your help with please.

Would May be an ok time of year to go? Whats typical weather wise? I was thinking of the last two weeks in May.

What would you budget a day for spends in $ (or €). I plan on paying for DDP to help keep budgets in check. I'd hope to go for 14 days.

How does luggage work long haul? It will be myself & DD10 and DS7 (when we travel). Do we pay for luggage as with European flights or is it included in the ticket price? Do the kids get hold luggage allowance or is it an add on? Whats the weight allowance? Gosh I'm not well traveled!!

Is it easy / expensive (travel wise) to leave WDW and go shopping?

Which hotels would you recommend onsite? We would have a small to medium budget.

I would love any tips or advice please. Kinda overwhelmed! Or maybe the name of a good guide book so I'm not on here annoying everyone!
Thanks
Kiz
X

 

[TinkerbellW]

Would May be an ok time of year to go? Whats typical weather wise? I was thinking of the last two weeks in May.

We travelled in May and the weather was hot but not too overwhelming, although the parks are a little busier (memorial day)

What would you budget a day for spends in $ (or €). I plan on paying for DDP to help keep budgets in check. I'd hope to go for 14 days.

Sorry can't help with this, never done the DDP

How does luggage work long haul? It will be myself & DD10 and DS7 (when we travel). Do we pay for luggage as with European flights or is it included in the ticket price? Do the kids get hold luggage allowance or is it an add on? Whats the weight allowance? Gosh I'm not well traveled!!

Not sure about the flights out of Ireland as we usually travel with Virgin Atlantic who allow 23kg each which is included - kids get the same as adults providing they are over 2 years old

Is it easy / expensive (travel wise) to leave WDW and go shopping?

I travel alone with kids and never hire a car so if we go off site we usually get the Mears Shuttle which is around $18 each return, but not sure about mall shopping

Which hotels would you recommend onsite? We would have a small to medium budget.

We have stayed at the All Stars resort hotels, POP Century and this year will be staying at Art of Animation - all value resorts. Never a complaint about any, all brilliantly themed for kids too. So much so that you can easily 'lose' time just looking around the resort.

Everyone on here is really friendly and can probably help out more than me, so just keep adding your questions.

 

[Elise79]

First to UK Trip Planning Board

May is a lovely time to go with the weather - its hot but the real summer humidity hasn't kicked in yet. The last week there is a bank holiday in the US as well as here so the crowds do increase.

I would do the sums before buying the DDP - it may not be cost effective. For example would you eat everything with every meal? You really need to do that and choose more expensive TS restaurants to break even.

Currently for 2014 bookings there is free dining offers for the moderate and deluxe resorts. It may be worth looking at if you want to stay onsite anyway.

If you have the DDP you will need to budget for tips for TS meals (18-20% of the pre-tax amount) plus any shopping you want to do.

Luggage on schedule long haul carriers will be included - usually 23kg per person over 2. If you look at charters like Thomson, Thomas Cook they charge for luggage.

We always hire a car (and wouldn't be without) however there are buses you can catch from outside DTD to the mall. However WDW itself is 47 sq miles so much larger than DLP.

As to which hotel - they are all very much similar in the categories (EG Values are all the same size rooms and no pools slides, Mods have slightly bigger rooms and a have a TS restaurant etc) just pick the one which the photos appeal to you the most. If you look at the resorts board there is an FAQ thread for each resort which will give you a feel for them.

 

[queendisney]

HI all
Hello and welcome
Im over from the DLP boards and I've never been to WDW but sat down and did some maths and decided to start saving as I'd love to bring my kids - DH won't do long haul! I love DLP but it's always been a dream to go to WDW so its about time I started some serious saving
I have some silly newbie questions that I'd love your help with please.
No silly questions over here, unless you ask who Mickey Mouse is?

Would May be an ok time of year to go? Whats typical weather wise? I was thinking of the last two weeks in May.
May is good. The first time we ever went was May time. Its great weather as the humidity hasn't kicked in big time and you don't need cardies etc in the evening, unless you go into a very cold AC restaurant

What would you budget a day for spends in $ (or €). I plan on paying for DDP to help keep budgets in check. I'd hope to go for 14 days.
well that's a hard one. If you are doing the DDP then its just bits and pieces..

How does luggage work long haul? It will be myself & DD10 and DS7 (when we travel). Do we pay for luggage as with European flights or is it included in the ticket price? Do the kids get hold luggage allowance or is it an add on? Whats the weight allowance? Gosh I'm not well traveled!!
Luggage allowance is normally around 23kg each included in the price for economy and you would each get it. obviously this depends on airline..but VA and BA (scheduled airlines) are normally free as is the food

Is it easy / expensive (travel wise) to leave WDW and go shopping?
I take it you're not hiring a car? If not, we never do either, you have the options of getting a cab, a Mears shuttle or a Lynx bus. Depending on what you are doing depends on what you do really. If you are going to say SeaWorld I'd catch the Lynx bus as its easy and cheap, if you are going to go to Universal/IOA I'd be more inclined to look into the Mears shuttle or a taxi. Shopping is easy on the Lynx as well. Having said all this it maybe easier if its just you and you children to get a cab everywhere for when you do want to go off site. If you are going for 2 weeks and its your first time, you may only go off resort a couple of times. You DO NOT need a car, especially if you are going to spend most of your time on the resort, its just an added expense. Its really very do-able without one. Many many many people do just that. If you are going to spend loads of times off resort then yes it may be easier for you but on your first trip with 2 children staying on resort then you'll be fine.

Which hotels would you recommend onsite? We would have a small to medium budget.
Well, if you are thinking of doing the DDP you may find it worth your while getting it for free when it comes up in a moderate resort. Its not often offered for free in a value resort and to pay for it you might as well go to a moderate. I would look to see which resort takes your fancy really, but would def say the Port Orleans French Quarter would be a great first choice because its lovely and compact and you have the option of using Port Orleans Riverside right next door (walking distance is a bit like the Cheyanne to New York at DLP)

I would love any tips or advice please. Kinda overwhelmed! Or maybe the name of a good guide book so I'm not on here annoying everyone!
Thanks
Kiz
X

Hope that helps..

 

[irisheyes123]

Hi and welcome to this side of the board . I can't help with the DDP or staying onsite as we stay offsite. As far as luggage they mostly offer 23 kgs each person . If you fly the direct flight with aerlingus you can opt to pay a deposit its 50% of the fare before taxes and then the rest 120 days before. Saves paying one big lump sum .

 

[kizzabel]

Wow thanks so much everyone for your fantastic replies
I did up some dummy bookings and found big differences between sites!

Which sites would you look at for hotels and tickets? Oh and can someone tell me how far out can I book? I tried two websites - one in $ and one in £ but both looked to be Disney websites and ones availability was only until end of December this year and the other was until December 2014.

I think I'll definately go for onsite because I think I'll be too bewildered with all the magic (and huge size compared to DLP) and with being on my own with the two kids I think it would just be easier. I also wouldn't be hiring a car. I think that would be just a panic attack waiting to happen!

Would I be better maybe only doing 10 days? Ugh but its Disney.. and its never good to do less days!
And if I scrapped getting DDP what you you budget per day?

Im off to look at the hotels FAQs and spend hours oogling at pics! I'm already loving the look of them all. So much different to DLP.
Going to do a dummy booking with Aer Lingus too! Thanks Irisheyes!

Thanks again for all the info and advice

 

[irisheyes123]

Wow thanks so much everyone for your fantastic replies
I did up some dummy bookings and found big differences between sites!

Which sites would you look at for hotels and tickets? Oh and can someone tell me how far out can I book? I tried two websites - one in $ and one in £ but both looked to be Disney websites and ones availability was only until end of December this year and the other was until December 2014.

I think I'll definately go for onsite because I think I'll be too bewildered with all the magic (and huge size compared to DLP) and with being on my own with the two kids I think it would just be easier. I also wouldn't be hiring a car. I think that would be just a panic attack waiting to happen!

Would I be better maybe only doing 10 days? Ugh but its Disney.. and its never good to do less days!
And if I scrapped getting DDP what you you budget per day?

Im off to look at the hotels FAQs and spend hours oogling at pics! I'm already loving the look of them all. So much different to DLP.
Going to do a dummy booking with Aer Lingus too! Thanks Irisheyes!

Thanks again for all the info and advice

I'd say it would be best to book with the uk site for your dates in may you would get free dining and a $200 gift card and will only have to pay a £150 deposit. That offer is on until July 1st.

 

[irisheyes123]

Depending on what type of hotel you want depends on the free dining you get qsdp is 2 quick counter service meals a snack credit per day per person and also a resort mug ( for soft drinks coffee ect) that's for moderate resorts. For delux resorts you would get disney dining plan 1 table service meal one counter service meal a snack credit and resort mug per person per day. Hope I'm not confusing you .

 

[OhanaSam]

Hi we just got back from our first trip last week and the weather was amazing! It rained twice the whole 2 weeks we were there and only for about half an hour each time. It wasn't overly busy until the last 3 days we were there and when we went to Universal we had less than a 5 minute wait for everything and Islands of adventure the longest wait was Harry Potter which was half an hour and same for Rip Saw Falls which was only because the rapid ride was broken down and it was boiling!! An added bonus of the end of May is Star Wars Weekend which was AMAZING!

We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter and loved it. It's quite small so the buses and pool were never packed, plus you have the boat to Downtown Disney. It's pretty much in the middle of everything too so it doesn't take long to get anywhere, I think Animal Kingdom took the longest and even that was only 15 minutes.

We're hopefully going back in 2015, if I get a job after my apprenticeship, and definitely going back in May and staying in POFQ. We'll be going for 3 weeks though because we felt 2 weeks wasn't enough to do everything and we want to do at least 2 of the Star Wars Weekends, plus if I get a job I'll be earning double what I am now

Happy planning!

 

[tinkerpea]

Def have a look at the value resorts as get are really well themed!
Pop and AOA are the newer ones and our boys favourites, we have bought the DDP and had it free, I'm in the camp of buy the DDP if you can't get it free as that way you have all your food budgeted for, your going to want to do at least 1or 2 themed TS meals or character meals and these when paying OOP can really add up!

When we 1st went with no plan our 2 wks spending money was nearly all used up on food alone where as if you have the DDP your only going to need around $50-dollars a day, we budget a $100 a day for a family of 5 when on the plan and always end up each day putting left over money into our spends kitty for anything we want when we go home

We have never needed a car and often go for 3 wks at a time, some like a car but we find the Disney transport to be perfect and then use the lynx or taxi to get to Walmart etc.

 

[MrRomance]

HI all
Im over from the DLP boards and I've never been to WDW but sat down and did some maths and decided to start saving as I'd love to bring my kids - DH won't do long haul! I love DLP but it's always been a dream to go to WDW so its about time I started some serious saving
I have some silly newbie questions that I'd love your help with please.

No such thing as silly questions, even seasoned WDW travellers have questions some times!! What I would say is that do not expect WDW to be ANYTHING like DLP. It is entirely different. We went to DLP in 2010, having been to WDW many times before. We HATED DLP, but I honestly believe that if you go to WDW before DLP, you don't find DLP up to scratch. Prepare for the time of your life at WDW!!!

Would May be an ok time of year to go? Whats typical weather wise? I was thinking of the last two weeks in May.

May is a pretty good time to go. It is hot, but the summer humidity isn't in full flow.

What would you budget a day for spends in $ (or €). I plan on paying for DDP to help keep budgets in check. I'd hope to go for 14 days.

If you are planning on getting the DDP, my suggestion would be to book a moderate or deluxe resort and get it for free. As others have pointed out, DDP may not be right for you, but some people prefer it just for the convenience of knowing that food is all taken care of ahead of time. My suggestion would be to look at Caribbean Beach for travel in 2014 as it is the cheapest moderate. If you want the full dining plan, then you want to look at Old Key West or Saratoga Springs.

How does luggage work long haul? It will be myself & DD10 and DS7 (when we travel). Do we pay for luggage as with European flights or is it included in the ticket price? Do the kids get hold luggage allowance or is it an add on? Whats the weight allowance? Gosh I'm not well traveled!!

Luggage on long haul is included if you travel scheduled. If you travel charter then you'll probably be charged. The only 2 scheduled airlines offering direct flights are BA and Virgin. If you're travelling from Ireland, Aer Lingus from Dublin goes direct too and has the added bonus of clearing US immigration in Dublin

Is it easy / expensive (travel wise) to leave WDW and go shopping?

Without a car, it's not easy but it is possible. Buses and shuttle services are available but I would honestly consider hiring a car to make life easier and cheaper

Which hotels would you recommend onsite? We would have a small to medium budget.

As I mentioned above, Caribbean Beach Resort for Moderate or Old Key West / Saratoga Springs for Deluxe.

I would love any tips or advice please. Kinda overwhelmed! Or maybe the name of a good guide book so I'm not on here annoying everyone!
Thanks
Kiz

A great book to get is the Unofficial Guide to Disney World by Sehlinger and Testa. You can get it on Amazon for about £10. It is a very comprehensive book and covers everything you'll need to know. I have always found that booking through Disney directly is the best option for on-site. Flights are always an unknown issue. Many people fly charter without any issues, but for me scheduled is the way to go. I usually book BA or Virgin flights direct when they have their flight sale

Answers in green!

 

[queendisney]

I would say you really need to do some number crunching as to if the DDP is worth buying if its not offered fee. I know that if we didn't get it free that we would never pay for it. We just don't eat that much food and it would be way cheaper for us to pay oop.
Another thing you need to consider is what plan you want. We stick with the free QSDP as we would rather just eat as and when we want to. Others love the next plan up, where you have a table service credit. This wouldn't suit our way of holiday-ing as I could never decide 6 months out what I want to eat and then plan to be in that park or resort on that date at that time. If you like the sound of that one you must also take into account that your daily spending is going to go up because of the service charge on your bill. We just don't plan our holiday around our food.

 

[scoobydooby]

I would say you really need to do some number crunching as to if the DDP is worth buying if its not offered fee. I know that if we didn't get it free that we would never pay for it. We just don't eat that much food and it would be way cheaper for us to pay oop.
Another thing you need to consider is what plan you want. We stick with the free QSDP as we would rather just eat as and when we want to. Others love the next plan up, where you have a table service credit. This wouldn't suit our way of holiday-ing as I could never decide 6 months out what I want to eat and then plan to be in that park or resort on that date at that time. If you like the sound of that one you must also take into account that your daily spending is going to go up because of the service charge on your bill. We just don't plan our holiday around our food.

It's good advice to consider how you will eat but not just in relation to if you will use the DDP or not. For example. If you definitely want a TS most days but tend to eat appetisers and deserts and sometimes skip the entree then the regular DDP is probably not for you unless it is free, but you'd still need to be planning and booking ADRs in advance to guarantee eating at your restaurants of choice. The one year we didn't get the DDP free (or upgrade the QS plan to the regular plan) I did just as much planning as we still ate at a Disney TS most days. It actually suited my food habits better because I love appetisers and can live without entrees. My DD is the same. My point is, it didn't take any less planning!

The point is also well made that the 'free' regular DDP is quite expensive when you factor in your daily tip. Still a lot less expensive than paying for it of course!

 

[juliebro]

Another good guide book is the Brits Guide to Orlando and Walt Disney World by Simon and Susan Venness.

We buy the new version every year.

 

[kizzabel]

Thanks again for all your help. I think this trip will be either May 15 or possibly 16. We have communion next May and a stay at DLP's DLH so 2014 is out for us.
I'm going to order an Unofficial Guide and I'll be able to work out approximate budgets then
I think Aer Lingus would be our best option as its direct and preclearance would mean I'm less likely to panic or muck things up! I'm known to make a mistake every time I'm in the airport!

POFQ looks beautiful and I love that its compact. It seems less daunting. I'll have a look at PORS too as I forgot it.
Is there.a FAQ for SSR? I couldn't find one but I was a bit information dazzled at that stage!
Thanks again
X

 

[Elise79]

Here you goSSR Thread

 

[kizzabel]

Thanks Elise :
I picked up the Unofficial 2013 Guide on eBay fairly reasonably. I had meant to ask if you'd favour it to the with kids version?
How far out could we book hotel/tickets?

 

[kizzabel]

Do you think its feasible to split the trip?
I was debating maybe doing the 1st week at AoA and 2nd at PORS or FQ. Too many options! I borrowed Kim Wiley's WDW with Kids from the library today. Loads to info to digest for the evening

 

[scoobydooby]

Do you think its feasible to split the trip?
I was debating maybe doing the 1st week at AoA and 2nd at PORS or FQ. Too many options! I borrowed Kim Wiley's WDW with Kids from the library today. Loads to info to digest for the evening

If you split the trip and free dining is offered, you will only qualify for the free dining if you pay for two lots of tickets (an unnecessary expense).

 

[kizzabel]

Id been thinking that would be the case and Id thought maybe AoA 1st week and POFQ 2nd week but I think two weeks at POFQ would probably be a better idea. The theming of AoA caught my eye though!

Which month is generally the cheapest and quietest month at WDW?