How far in advance to book WDW??

[MrsMiggans]

Hi all,

I am new to the Dis Board and have a few questions.

I would like to take the family to WDW next year (2012)during the first 2 weeks of December (as this appears to be the lowest crowd time). I have started to do some research regarding accommodation and have contact the following 2 travel services:

1. Small Wonders Vacations
2. Dreams Unlimited

They have put together some packages with accommodation, tickets, dining plan etc. My main questions regarding this are:

1. Which one of the above services is better or more reliable?
2. Should I book this far in advance for accommodation?
3. What happens if Disney lowers the price of accommodation for that period or I get a pincode or there is another special offer, can I have that applied to my booking?

Sorry for all of the questions but with a family of 6, with 4 kids 7 and under I need to make sure that I get all the info/discounts if possible.

Thanks in advance

 

[battymum]

It is never too early to book, Dreams Unlimited comes highly recommended on these boards -
Disney has a great cancellation policy (full refund up until 45 days out I think) and if any further discounts come out Dreams Unlimited will automatically apply them.

Book it !!, then it will feel real!!

 

[aussietravellers]

I have never heard of small wonders, so I would go with Dreams Unlimited.

We have always used Magical Journeys and they have been fantastic.

I agree with Battymum, it's never too early too book.

If you book with a good TA, then your TA should look out for specials or cheaper options for your current booking and apply them to your booking for you. You can email your TA with the pincode too if you get one and they can apply it to your booking. It is possible to add the discounts as they become available closer to the time, provided they are availale for your hotel/room/package. But if something becomes available at another resort and is not available for yours, you can change too. The only thing you can't change (it needs to be rebooked) is if you want to change from a room only booking to a package booking.

PS... to the boards

 

[PrincessInOz]

Welcome to the Boards.

Dreams Unlimited is a company owned by the person who started the DisBoards, which is why it comes 'highly recommended'. Having said that, by all accounts, they seem to provide a good service.

My recommendation is to go with the TA that you connect with. It is a highly personal choice and you can't go wrong if you like the TA and think they'll look after you.

I use Small World Vacations (which is recommended by AllEars) ....haven't heard about Small Wonders Vacation.

 

[perthgirl]

I have used both Small world and Dreams unlimited and both have been terrific. The real benefit is they apply the discounts for you, book dining etc all on US time which is quite an advantage when things like free dining come along. This time we booked Universal with them and they changed things around for us easily when WDW offered free dining. Saved us (family of 3) hundreds. I could have done it myself, but it would have left less time for Disboards lurking!

 

[OziJo]

Dreams Unlimited were great for us. They gave us a heads up on free dining, booked our ADR's, applied a discount to our room only accommodation after we booked and led me here to the DIS

It's fun to do all the research yourself but it's also great to have someone to contact if you have any question. People here are good for that as well.

 

[Travel Mum]

Yep, another vote for Dreams Unlimited - I booked with Michele and she was fantastic!

 

[MrsMiggans]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the recommendations and suggestions. I have been in touch with Kelly at Dreams Unlimited and she has been nothing but helpful (considering I have asked her a million of questions).

The thing now is deciding on the accommodation - All Star Music or Port Orleans Riverside and then waiting patiently for a decent airfare to be released...oh and totally convincing hubby that we can afford and do!

Any ideas when Qantas or V Australian have seasonally reduced their airfares?

Thanks again

 

[battymum]

You wont have any regrets using Dreams Unlimited -

As for your accomodation options, with your family you will need two rooms - we stayed at Pop Century with two interconnecting rooms - it was fantastic - although I have heard that Disney does not guarantee interconnecting rooms and you could end up with adjacent rooms (no door inbetween) which would not work for your children.

You could try the cabins at Fort Wilderness i think they sleep 6 or the new Art of Animation resort

Obvously it depends on your budget, whichever way you go, every Disney resort is awesome!!!

 

[perthgirl]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the recommendations and suggestions. I have been in touch with Kelly at Dreams Unlimited and she has been nothing but helpful (considering I have asked her a million of questions).

The thing now is deciding on the accommodation - All Star Music or Port Orleans Riverside and then waiting patiently for a decent airfare to be released...oh and totally convincing hubby that we can afford and do!

Any ideas when Qantas or V Australian have seasonally reduced their airfares?

Thanks again

We went to a Flight Centre expo in Feb and got amazing fares with V. took a bit of mucking around because different agents said different things but we got there in the end. Ended up with Premium economy home from LA for less than if we had book regular economy outside of the epo. Oh I should have said, we are going in Dec at a time when fares are not usually discounted

 

[ExcitedSam]

Where can you find out when these Expo's are on in your city? If I'm in the Mall today I'll go and ask, but is there somewhere on the website etc..?

 

[perthgirl]

Where can you find out when these Expo's are on in your city? If I'm in the Mall today I'll go and ask, but is there somewhere on the website etc..?

Flight Centre advertises them in the weekend papers. This week they are advertising an expo for Europe.