I have done the impossible with my trip

[jaw62901]

I first wanted to thank everyone who has helped me out by answering my question here and in the chat room this 3 weeks or so.

I basically took a piece of advice here and a piece there to come up with my final reservation.

When I sat down today and relooked at my budget for the year, I was able to find a few extra dollars that I can put towards my WDW trip in December.

My main objective was to put together a trip that I will remember for a long time and that I would really enjoy since I am going by myself, and I think I have it here. The reason I am so pleased with these plans, is because I thought that I would have to split my time between a value and a moderate or even stay the whole time at a value resort. I never thought that the numbers would work out in my favor, but they did

Here it is:

Dec 26 to Dec 30 (4 nights) at CBR, Standard non-smoking room, Jamaica building (request only) , for $820.64 ($205.16 a night).

Dec 30 to Jan 3 (4 nights) at AKL {Savannah room non-smoking room, }, for $1828.60 ($457.15 a night).

Budget Line: Food $520, Souveniors $300, Theme park pass $393, Airfare $400, Resort, $2649.24. = $4262.24.

I haven't bought an airplane ticket yet so the $400 is just what I have budgeted. Also the $393 for the theme park pass is also just a budget figure and wanted to figure high.

Now before you guys look at the total and faint, and ask if I am crazy, remember this is during holiday season, and since it is 9 months until I go, there are no codes out for this time yet. So I am sure that the resort amount will go down.

Also, I only plan on going to the park probably 5 or 6 out of the 8 days and spend the rest of the time chilling out at the resorts so that is why I am going with AKL the last four days.

So please let me know what you all think, I know that this is expensive, but I believe that this is going to be the vacation of a life time that I wanted.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Jason!

It feels good to have a plan finally in place, doesn't it?

And like you said - you are getting what you want and this price is the worst possible scenario - because you could get the cost lowered between now and then.

Have fun planning.. what is going on New Years Eve? any plans on where you will be that night?

>>^..^<<

 

[Bill From PA]

Two items strike me as odd. If you're not doing more than 6 park days, why $393 for park passes? I've bought 7 Day Hopper Plus tix on the 'net the last two trips for $305 and I just found a site that has them for $298. Also, if you haven't already paid for airfare, I'd think you could do better than $400 from just about any US airport to MCO, coach, of course. I suppose it's a matter of personal taste, but I wouldn't pay big bucks to step up from a moderate to a luxury resort. PO/Riverside is where we stayed in 2001 for $99 a night in March. We're 'Park Commandos', and the room is just a place to recover to us, sounds to me like you'll be getting your money's worth out of AKL. Have a great trip!


Bill From PA

 

[dansyr]

Good for you!!!!
Akl will be a blast. Never been to CBR so you'll have to let me know all about it.
Chances are if you keep an eye on airline prices too...you will be able to save some money on that also.
You are so lucky to be able to go during the holiday season....it will be especially magical !!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

When all is said and done I think you'll spend about half of that. Your resort expense is going to go way down, and your airfare won't be that much either.

 

[jaw62901]

Your responses are wonderful. On all of my figures and budget information, I used what I was able to get off of Disney's web site for the resorts so that is why they are high.

The other figures (airfare, TP pass) are both figured higher than what I will probably have to pay.

I shot high on everything to make sure that it fit under my budget which it did.

It will be interesting to see what savings if anything I can get on the resort.

 

[BrianD]

Well, I have to say that you may end up paying those resort prices because during the week between Christmas & New Years there are usually no discounts what so ever because it is a very popular time to go to WDW.

However, I think you have put together a fantastic looking vacation, that you will never forget. Congratulations on getting it all worked out! But alas, your work is just beginning! There's much more planning to be done, so enjoy it as you prepare for a magical trip!

 

[BCV23]

I agree with Brian. It looks like a fantastic plan but I doubt if prices will go down unless you tweak things a bit. From our area even airline tickets are high during that time unless you travel on12/25 or 1/1.

If you can check into a resort by 12/25 you can usually save a lot with AP rates although as you know you'll have to wait for the actual deal. By the same token resort rates with codes or AP go way down on 1/1 or 1/2. If you can tweak your dates so you're not checking in at a Disney property between 12/26 & 12/31 you'll be more likely to save a bundle. At any rate...happy planning!

 

[milmore104]

Jason, I did a little looking and found right on the WDW site itself that you could stay at the AKL your entire tirp for $3340. This includes your passes and ground transportation. Just a heads up.

 

[Hillbeans]

W$W!! Maybe it's just me, but $457 a night for the AKL seems awfully expensive. I know it's during peak time, but that's a whole lot of money for a room!

I guess it's just the budgeting mom in me who sees those figures and has a mini-stroke.

I'm sure you'll have a great time.

 

[WDW2000]

I have never seen rates for AKL that high, and would have a hard time paying that much for those rooms no matter what the holiday. 400+ for NYE is justified- that I can see being high, but for the other 3 days, I would think that price would be lower. I agree with the previous poster, it might be cheaper to put you entire stay at a Deluxe Resort in a package that includes Park Admission.

 

[XStAnt]

It must feel great to finally have your plans set. It looks like you'll have a great vacation. Once you start planning it's real easy to look for extra money to stay at a moderate/deluxe instead of a value.

I'm sure your airfare and ticket costs will be less. You may wish to do a 6 day PHP. This way you could get your 5-6 park days, and still have plus options to do a water park on a non-park day or PI at night.

I don't think your resort rate will drop since it is holiday season. Although they seem high I don't think Disney has any discount codes for that time. If you could arrive a few days earlier you might save a bundle since it's value or regular season and there would probably be a code for that time as well. If you have to go on those dates, see if there is a AAA discount for that time, or maybe the new Disney Visa will have a small discount. Every little bit helps.

Don't forget to make PS at any restaurants you want to eat at. And if you want a great experience I recommend seeing the Cirque show. It's expensive, but worth the money (if you can find a few more dollars )

You picked some great resorts and I'm sure you'll have the vacation of a lifetime.

Have fun.

 

[dimimi]

I think your trip looks great! My only suggestion would be to budget more money for souveniers, there are a lot of nice things to buy there! I would agree that you should be able to get better airfare. Are you sure you don't have any frequent flyer miles. I also thought you were traveling alone, if so, you could use priceline.com to find cheaper tickets. Have a great trip!

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Definetly check out and check back in on January 1, you'll save a bundle! And, don't think discounts have ever been released for 12/26-12/31 check-ins. Here is a link with historical discounts: http://www.mousesavers.com/faq.html#codetrends

Have a great trip! We went for NYE a couple years ago and had a great time!

 

[MJames41]

Thanks Cali for the link! Great info.

I also would suggest that it is not likely the prices for the rooms will go down for the times you are looking for. If you could have 2 days worth of movement though, it could save you huge (check in on the 28th instead of 26th at CBR, so you will pay the same price, but check in to AKL on the 1st and save at least $100 per night, possibly as much as $300 per night)

 

[susy]

If you check in on the 25th you may be able to save a ton of money (more than half) and split your stay between two deluxes!
I remember that the 25th was the cutoff this past year. It was a huge difference, too! You are talking going from value season rates discounted to holiday rack rate!

 

[BuzzMe]

I agree with Susy. We checked into the GF last year on Christmas day. We paid $210 per night for a GV room.