Introducing my friends to WDW!

[DisMc]

When June 2012 comes around, I'll be graduating high school!

For most students graduating high school, they want to go on a "graduation trip" with their friends! Some popular places include Cuba, Cancun, and basically anywhere where students can relax on the beach. Although those places are nice, I'd rather celebrate my graduation at the place where dreams come true - WDW!

A few of my friends feel the same way, and I stepped up to plan most of the trip since I love planning. I am looking at going for 9-12 days and there would be 6-8 students on this trip.

Here are my questions:

1) Where should we stay? I preferably would like to stay on-site.

2) Should I rent DVC points?

3) What are some ways we can save money on this trip?

4) Do you have any additional ideas I should know about when planning this trip? If so, what are they?

5) When should we go to WDW?

I am so looking forward to hearing your ideas!

 

[iheartjacksparrow]

I'm kind of in the same situation as you! I have been bugging my friends to come to Disney forever now, and finally convinced them! 8 of us will be going in August staying at the Pop Century, we just planned this trip a week ago!!

Right now our trip is costing us $480 a person without airfare.
We are staying August 23-30, 8 days.
We have free dining, so don't have to worry about food, just tips.
8 day base tickets, will be upgrading to hoppers later, for an additional $40pp.

Here's what I would do if I was you..

I would go in August because rooms/rates are cheapest then. I would book threw Tripple A, because they give you room and ticket discounts.
If I was you I would look into staying in a Villa, because they are spacious and divided by 8 people are relativly cheap. We had to do Pop since it was so last minute, so it was cheap...but we wanted a Villa.

August also usually offers free dining, so you won't have to worry about paying for food.

I think I covered everything, but may be forgetting stuff. If you have any other questions just ask!!!

 

[PrincesCJM]

Will any parents be accompanying you on this trip or will you (or someone else) be 18 by the time you travel? I would imagine that the minimum check-in age is 18 but I do not know for sure. Before you get too far into the planning process, you will want to know the answer.

I would recommend staying on-site. Unless a parent is with you, you don't want to rent a car. Most, if not all rental companies, don't rent to someone under 21 and even then it's gonna cost you an arm and a leg. They prefer the driver to be 25+. I have heard awful things about off-site hotels and their shuttle service.

In addition, consider sleeping arrangements and the bathroom situation. Will your friends be comfortable sharing a bed with someone else? I'm assuming you are female (as am I) and I can say that I would want at least two bathrooms for 6-8 people - especially if we're talking about girls.

I would suggest watching the deals that come out over the next year or so during the possible travel times. Since I hope that all of you would be attending college in the fall, think about traveling during your spring break (before HS graduation) or during the summer.

 

[DisMc]

Yes, many of us would be 18.

 

[GRUMPY D]

I would call Disney and check on the age for room booking I know you have to be 20 to book rooms on a cruise , then with that many people I would rent dvc points and do a 2 bedroom that way you have 2 bathrooms , a washer - dryer , and a full size frig , check out the quick serve dinning plan ( about $34.00 a night per person ) we had it in may and I'm a big eater and I couldn't eat up all my meal credits ( it was just to much food ) , then just shop around for your plain and park tickets , if you fly in and out on a weekday ( like leave on a Tuesday and come back on a Tuesday ) fares are cheaper , south west and air trans are about the only nonstop servers , now when to go if you can do it the first three weeks of may are nice low croud levels and flowerand garden show at epcot , april has grad nights but croud levels are high , hope this helped and just keep asking qustens there are alot of people that will help you