How to do it all?

[joolz1910]

For those of you who have done it all; how did you do it??

I want to go back to WDW and stay onsite but I also want to visit Universal, Seaworld and Busch Gardens.

At the moment I am thinking about staying onsite at WDW for 8 nights and then staying at the new Cabana Bay hotel at Universal for 6 nights. Is it worth changing hotels, or do you just stay at WDW for the entire stay and drive to the others parks? Trying to work out the most cost-effective way for hotels and park tickets.

 

[WSussex]

Hi

Are you not driving?? I would personally say that staying on site is not the most cost effective - cheapest way is a car and a villa for sure!
This is our 8th trip and DIY is by far the cheapest way to do it!

Sx

 

[pascalstongue]

I agree. Stay offsite and hire a car if you want better value for money. Don't book via a travel agent. We saved thousands by DIY this year (for seven of us).

 

[wayneg]

You really need to know dates, time of year, is free dining available, any hotel discounts etc.
Last year we paid £117/nt at OKW with free DDP, that works out a similar price to staying offsite in a £30/nt cheap hotel, paying for food and parking etc.
This year they have increased onsite too much for me so back to offsite. I don't make any choices til I see all offers available.

 

[Wills Mom]

Almost all our trips have been offsite and we do DIY.
For example our upcoming trip from May 4th to 21st includes:
Indirect flights (Dublin - Gatwick - MCO)
3 bedroom private pool home for 17 nights
7 seater car hire for the duration
6 day Magic Your Way WDW tickets (we don't hop so the Ultimate is wasted on us)
3 days for the price of 2 Universal tickets
1 day at Seaworld (we won't have time for more)

There are 6 adults and a toddler and its breaking down to just over £1000 per person for everything above. We could have gotten a cheaper villa but I knew what I wanted so booked a nicer one. In the past I've gotten it for a good bit less but prices seem to be gone up since last time and the flights are the real killer!

 

[joolz1910]

I really want to stay onsite at WDW.
I will be driving.
I'm thinking about the last 2 weeks in August.
I would anticipate 3-4 days at Universal, 1 day at Busch Gardens and 1 day at Seaworld - the rest of the time would be Disney.

 

[scoobydooby]

Whatever you want, definitely price DIY and not just packages. I have yet to find a package that ever beats going DIY. I like to stay on Disney property so I look at their website weekly to keep on top of prices/offers. New deals tend to come out in April for the following year. Generally it has been free dining first, then money off hotels later in the year when free dining is withdrawn. For flights it seems to be you need to do one of three things; book very early (day they release them), very late (chance a late deal when they have empty seats), or again scan all the websites weekly and press pay when you find a price you're prepared to pay. I wish I was braver and did this latter thing but I'm not! Well, I do it, but only for observation purposes. I tend to book flights the day Virgin release them. Did not this year and its costs me a lot of money!

 

[wayneg]

Whatever you want, definitely price DIY and not just packages. I have yet to find a package that ever beats going DIY. I like to stay on Disney property so I look at their website weekly to keep on top of prices/offers. New deals tend to come out in April for the following year. Generally it has been free dining first, then money off hotels later in the year when free dining is withdrawn. For flights it seems to be you need to do one of three things; book very early (day they release them), very late (chance a late deal when they have empty seats), or again scan all the websites weekly and press pay when you find a price you're prepared to pay. I wish I was braver and did this latter thing but I'm not! Well, I do it, but only for observation purposes. I tend to book flights the day Virgin release them. Did not this year and its costs me a lot of money!

Never rule out a package especially if going in the near future, next month you can do a 2 week package with direct flights for £549pp less £10 Quidco.
http://www.thomson.co.uk/thomson/pa...&tuiAccomCode=046905&rating=3&dealFinder=yes&
Unfortunately in school hols its more difficult, last time I found a package cheaper than DIY was Xmas 2008. We paid less for a Virgin Holiday package than I could buy flight only, £560pp IIRC.

 

[joolz1910]

Whatever you want, definitely price DIY and not just packages. I have yet to find a package that ever beats going DIY. I like to stay on Disney property so I look at their website weekly to keep on top of prices/offers. New deals tend to come out in April for the following year. Generally it has been free dining first, then money off hotels later in the year when free dining is withdrawn. For flights it seems to be you need to do one of three things; book very early (day they release them), very late (chance a late deal when they have empty seats), or again scan all the websites weekly and press pay when you find a price you're prepared to pay. I wish I was braver and did this latter thing but I'm not! Well, I do it, but only for observation purposes. I tend to book flights the day Virgin release them. Did not this year and its costs me a lot of money!

I'm hoping to book again with Val Ramsay as she is a Travel Counsellor and booked my last trip to perfection. I was able to book flights with her 18 months out, the price was the same when the prices were released but I had peace of mind, rather than watching and waiting.

 

[ChipnDaleRule]

I understand the need to stay onsite,we only go away every other year so are willing to pay extra for the privilege.Three years ago we stayed at Disney first then did 5 nights at The Royal Pacific.We found 5 nights too many(three would of been more than enough) and also as good as The Royal Pacific was, it wasn't Disney,we should have done Universal first,for most of the stay we wished we were back at the Beach Club!.We didn't hire a car but got cabs to Sea World or used their shuttle bus.
Next year we plan to do the whole trip staying at Disney and if we decide to do Uni or SW we will get a cab.Last time it cost us about $30 each way.

 

[joolz1910]

I understand the need to stay onsite,we only go away every other year so are willing to pay extra for the privilege.Three years ago we stayed at Disney first then did 5 nights at The Royal Pacific.We found 5 nights too many(three would of been more than enough) and also as good as The Royal Pacific was, it wasn't Disney,we should have done Universal first,for most of the stay we wished we were back at the Beach Club!.We didn't hire a car but got cabs to Sea World or used their shuttle bus.
Next year we plan to do the whole trip staying at Disney and if we decide to do Uni or SW we will get a cab.Last time it cost us about $30 each way.

This is what I am wondering about - whether to just stay onsite at WDW for the entire stay. I want to experience the other parks but I am more interested in getting back to WDW. I suppose it depends on offers (like Wayne said) and whether free dining is offered when we want to go.

 

[scoobydooby]

I only visit in the school holidays, weeks either side of Xmas, Easter or August and have to plan my work leave months in advance. In these circumstances I can pretty much guarantee packages come out more expensive. Some of us do not have the luxury of flexibility which inevitably limits your ability to shop around and 'hold out' for deals.

 

[willeve]

Last trip we ventured to Universal for the first time, did a one night stay at RPR for the front-of-line pass and early access, all within our WDW stay. The benefits of staying at Universal were fab, but I probably wouldn't have needed more than a couple of nights personally. We had a car for the days we were away from Disney(Universal, Busch, shopping) which was more economical then loads of taxis for us.

 

[wayneg]

I only visit in the school holidays, weeks either side of Xmas, Easter or August and have to plan my work leave months in advance. In these circumstances I can pretty much guarantee packages come out more expensive. Some of us do not have the luxury of flexibility which inevitably limits your ability to shop around and 'hold out' for deals.

Just days either side can make a massive difference, this next trip we leave Easter Monday for 2 weeks, cost £450pp, if we had gone Fri, Sat or Sun it was another £200+pp.

 

[joolz1910]

I only visit in the school holidays, weeks either side of Xmas, Easter or August and have to plan my work leave months in advance. In these circumstances I can pretty much guarantee packages come out more expensive. Some of us do not have the luxury of flexibility which inevitably limits your ability to shop around and 'hold out' for deals.

I'm a teacher, so flexibility is out of the window for me I couldn't stand the pressure of waiting for the best deals - I am a wuss and far too indecisive. Val booked everything for me and held my hand. I don't believe I could have got my holiday any cheaper by going DIY (apart from cashback through Quidco) so I was happy to book it as a 'package'.

 

[joolz1910]

Last trip we ventured to Universal for the first time, did a one night stay at RPR for the front-of-line pass and early access, all within our WDW stay. The benefits of staying at Universal were fab, but I probably wouldn't have needed more than a couple of nights personally. We had a car for the days we were away from Disney(Universal, Busch, shopping) which was more economical then loads of taxis for us.

That sounds like a good plan. That way, I could have the Universal days during the holiday and not tagged on the end - plus we would get the Magical Express back to the airport.

 

[scoobydooby]

Just days either side can make a massive difference, this next trip we leave Easter Monday for 2 weeks, cost £450pp, if we had gone Fri, Sat or Sun it was another £200+pp.

I know. It frustrates me enormously! Can't/won't take the kids out of school for more than 2 days though.

 

[queendisney]

IMO I couldn't be bothered with changing hotel mid holiday. At the end of the day Seaworld and Universal really are only around the corner so to speak. I think the only time I would even consider booking a hotel at Universal is if we had to go at a peak time and this is just to get the front of line pass. Even then I would only book one night.

We also very rarely find a package cheaper but thats only because we like tobe booked well in advance, as Wayne said if you have the luxury of being able to 'just go' then there are bargins out there.

 

[joolz1910]

IMO I couldn't be bothered with changing hotel mid holiday. At the end of the day Seaworld and Universal really are only around the corner so to speak. I think the only time I would even consider booking a hotel at Universal is if we had to go at a peak time and this is just to get the front of line pass. Even then I would only book one night.

We also very rarely find a package cheaper but thats only because we like tobe booked well in advance, as Wayne said if you have the luxury of being able to 'just go' then there are bargins out there.

I think I will start dummy booking for an onsite stay at WDW and then, when the time comes, I will wait for a glitch to book a day or 2 at Universal.

Thank you Disers for making up my mind for me.

 

[torsie24]

We've only ever stayed on site.

We've also found a day at Universal has been plenty for us - it's been hectic but both times we've done both parks in a day.

We get the $99 ticket + Disney transfer deal from Dreams Unlimited. Works perfect. Although we won't be visiting US next time, might try Seaworld though.