Is anyone planning (have planned) a trip REALLY far in advance?

[clancy3]

I just booked our room at the DLH!! So excited! I hope this school year goes by quickly (my hubby and I are both teachers)...

Has anyone else booked their vacation?

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

I just booked our room at the DLH!! So excited! I hope this school year goes by quickly (my hubby and I are both teachers)...

Has anyone else booked their vacation?

hehe we're taking my mom who is a teacher. Hence our dates in the summer (otherwise I'd avoid it!)

I booked! I'm nervous as heck..my credit card exp two days before our trip. I booked it on there. Our CC company said there wouldn't be a problem. When I get my new one I may call the hotel and ask them to change my exp date.

 

[Hawleys]

You sure can You're added

I looooove JetBlue. I do hate that you can't look up flights so early. We're not flying this time, but last time I was DYING to look up pricing!

Sounds like a really fun trip! Lots of Disneyland Newbies (assuming your nieces haven't been, of course)!!

Thanks for adding me!

I've never flown JetBlue. Happy to hear that you like it. Everyone on the trip will be newbies except my wife and I. My parents and the three kids have never been to ANY Disney park.

It is going to be so much fun to play vacation planner and tour guide.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Thanks for adding me!

I've never flown JetBlue. Happy to hear that you like it. Everyone on the trip will be newbies except my wife and I. My parents and the three kids have never been to ANY Disney park.

It is going to be so much fun to play vacation planner and tour guide.

Awww that's gonna be SO much fun. You get to 'see' it all through their eyes!

But yeah Jet Blue. High recommendations from me. Larger seats (so you're not on top of your neighbor).. tv's for free...LOVE them Oh AND no checked bag fee (at least for now..they're one of the last ones who don't)

 

[Hawleys]

Have you checked Virgin America? I doubt they have their schedule yet, but I do know they service Boston and San Diego. Although I am not positive they service from Boston to San Diego

I have flown with them several times and love them.

Just went and checked Virgin America. They do fly to Boston to San Diego but not direct, only through LA, darn it.

Have you ever flown Virgin America? Getting on the plane is like stepping into a club. There are pink lights outlining the cabin and techno music playing. It's a trip.

 

[StrawberryTink]

Me and the DH are in WDW from Oct 28 to Nov 11 2011. And we started planning back in October 2010. It was amazing. A year to countdown. All the planning and research. I mean we've never been to WDW so it was amazing to get into the spirit and see what things were available. We looked at every hotel and all the restaurants etc.

I think its a fab thing to do. Thne when you come to book, you'll be fully informed and be mega excited. Plus along the way you might find hidden treasures that given a less amount of time, you might never have found!! Even if its just tips and all the way along to discounts and special offers.

Hope you have as much fun planning as we did.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Me and the DH are in WDW from Oct 28 to Nov 11 2011. And we started planning back in October 2010. It was amazing. A year to countdown. All the planning and research. I mean we've never been to WDW so it was amazing to get into the spirit and see what things were available. We looked at every hotel and all the restaurants etc.

I think its a fab thing to do. Thne when you come to book, you'll be fully informed and be mega excited. Plus along the way you might find hidden treasures that given a less amount of time, you might never have found!! Even if its just tips and all the way along to discounts and special offers.

Hope you have as much fun planning as we did.

This is true. I was able to point out hidden and dorky info to my DH. He was probably so annoyed HAHAHAH But it was fun to know so many hidden things. A trip like this is an even bigger deal for you!

 

[PinkBudgie]

Yeah I'll be surprised when we're actually in the car too

and ROFL That's like..the antisurprise SURPRISE! GET A JOB! hehe

Yeah, surprise- welcome to the real world!

I just booked our room at the DLH!! So excited! I hope this school year goes by quickly (my hubby and I are both teachers)...

Has anyone else booked their vacation?

We don't book our summer trip until sometime after Jan. Usually around Feb or March. So, I'm waiting until then. We are both teachers too. When I have a hard day, I think about an upcoming trip.

hehe we're taking my mom who is a teacher. Hence our dates in the summer (otherwise I'd avoid it!)

We think summer is a great time to visit! It can be crowded but that has never gotten in the way of ride time. This past July we didn't wait longer than 15 min for anything except for TSMM which is always long. We know which rides have shorter lines at which times. That and good use of FPs lets us get a lot done in one day. The hours are longer, most attractions are up and running, and I love being at DLR during warmer days.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

We think summer is a great time to visit! It can be crowded but that has never gotten in the way of ride time. This past July we didn't wait longer than 15 min for anything except for TSMM which is always long. We know which rides have shorter lines at which times. That and good use of FPs lets us get a lot done in one day. The hours are longer, most attractions are up and running, and I love being at DLR during warmer days.

Oh good. I've only been during spring break time and once at Christmas. Heat is no issue for us (We get pretty hot here) but we worried about crowds. We did see that our hotel has a lower rate the first week of June but the next week JUMPS way up. So hopefully we're not gonna be 'gradnite'd' out.

 

[sophies*mom]

We are planning on using our tax return money to pay for our trip. I'm sure there's something to be said about spending money you don't have yet, but oh well!

 

[kayleigh83]

We are planning on using our tax return money to pay for our trip. I'm sure there's something to be said about spending money you don't have yet, but oh well!

That's what I'm doing too!! I will still have to save up a little money but tax return will be a huge chunk of it!! LOL

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

It's looking like we're doing ALL tax return ROFL. And really I SHOULD put that money on a few debt things but...disneyland

 

[spiderdust]

I haven't read through all fifteen pages yet, so I don't know if this has been mentioned (including possibly mentioning it myself & then forgetting ), but we typically save up for a Disney trip by loading money onto a gift card whenever we set aside money for the trip out of our budget. You can load up to $1500 per card and they can be used in the restaurants, in the shops, to buy tickets, and even to pay for hotels on the property.

 

[ixadorexpink]

Haven't read all the pages but when does hotel booking and great deals for hotels start for 2012?

 

[LizfromOz]

We just really don't have a choice but to give ourselves a year to save. Rather than put it all on a credit card (which I'd rather do HAHA) we're going to try to save cold hard cash.

I'm seeing that there's no way to reserve a room yet anywhere..and I assume I'll have to wait to buy tickets too?

THE LIST!!

2012

January

February
poohbear2

March
wvnative
kkmcan

April
sophies*mom
RuthieT

May
Sjwillia

June
Emmersisthemommy 1-10th
meljensmom
alivingxerox
kkmcan
Hawleys

July
PinkBudgie
mabdallah
andee2000??
clancy3

August
dizneekrazee
kayleigh83
jennbunn

September
Misskitty3 27th-Oct 3rd
RuthieT
aleighc1

October
kkmcan
TigerlilyAJ
tinkermomma
AmberHeartsDisney

November

December
*Seanaci*
DLovinFam
PandaDis

Unknown 2012
rentayenta (WDW)

2013

rentayenta
LizfromOz
dizneekrazee (WDW)

BEYOOONNNDDDD

spiderdust
PinkBudgie
BELLEDOZER (WDW)

We have changed our dates to September 2012 - 4 months sooner!!!


Still another 12 months away though

Oh well, at least I have Disboards to keep me company.

 

[PinkBudgie]

It's looking like we're doing ALL tax return ROFL. And really I SHOULD put that money on a few debt things but...disneyland

Not us. Last tax season we owed $3000! Mostly because we didn't realize that our 17 year old boys wouldn't fall under the child tax credit anymore. While we try to avoid owing that much, we try hard to keep it so that we get a very small refund because that means it was our money the government got to keep for free.

We move money from checking into our savings as we can to save up money. If an emergency ever came up and we couldn't go to DLR or WDW, at least we'd still have the money. I'd worry about putting it on gift cards.

As for when new deals are released... never when I'm going... Anyway, from what I've seen, they seem to release deals a few months in advance. But they have never worked out for me, so I can't say for exactly sure.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Added LizfromOz

Yeah Pink, we actually couldn't survive if we owed. For me, I don't look at it as giving them free money (tho if it ever becomes shifty, I'll be keeping it instead) I look at it as a savings account I can't touch. Not being able to touch it is key here haha. I don't claim all the kids so by the time we get our return it's been fairly healthy. I'm sorta irritated FOR you that 17 year olds don't count for the child tax credit tho.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Haven't read all the pages but when does hotel booking and great deals for hotels start for 2012?

You can start booking hotels now. Disney's site already ;ets you book 2012 packages and most Good Neighbors allow you to book up to 500 days in advance, so most of 2012 is covered.
The bummer is the deals. I am debating whether to book with Disney to be sure to get the hotel room(s) I want, but I'll still have to spend Jan 2012 (AAA/CAA Disney Month) and summer 2012 looking for deals and depending on Disney's change policy to allow me to take advantage of any price savings. It seems like two months out from one's trip is when bulk dealers like Expedia, hotels that have rooms to spare, and Disney itself start to offer the biggest deals--but maybe not for the exact dates or room types you want.
I feel like I'm in a big game of chicken--and the opening of Carsland complicates it all because I fear a huge crush of demand when the general populace realizes it's open.
Any tips for someone like me who is itching to book but fears paying much more than necessary by booking at prices this far out?
I might even buy 7-day Park Hopper tickets from Flight Centre today if they can give me the deal I want for Oct 2012, so our 2 adults and 2 kids can get in for $828.

AJ

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Most places will allow you to change to the new rate. It's just good customer service. I'd book now to ensure your spot and then keep looking at prices. If they go lower, call up and ask for the new rate.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Been a while since I checked on this thread. Everyone still around or has the wait killed us all?