Is it to early to start planning Aug-Sep 2009

[pdmedic]

Well might as well get this started. We are looking at being in disney Aug 30 through Sep 8 of this year. Looks like I know where our tax refund will be going plus any extra money we come across.

How will we get there? -At this point looks like we are planning to drive.
Where will we stay? -Probably one of the All Stars
Will we get free dining?
So where will we eat?
What special things will we plan?
Can we find a fridge swap or photopass share in our time frame?


The cast of charachters for this trip is:

Me I'll be 32 soon been to WDW once 2 years ago with DW and her whole family -I don't recommend that.
My wife who will be 30 and been to WDW a few times.
Our son who will be 8 and it will be his second trip.

 

[dogodisney]

No.....It's never to early to start planning a Disney trip. Last year I started planning our Sept. trip in January.
I am already planning our trip in Dec.

 

[dogodisney]

Oh, I forgot to add.....

Happy Planning!

 

[starnightstarsky2000]

Hey now DH I wanna to say about us going back. After all I was the one who decided the dates. And you were off on my age btw LOL.

 

[lirija]

OK, it is definitely not too early to plan, and congrats on going back. It will be so fun with just the 3 of you to explore as you desire. Big groups can be fun, but you can't exactly turn on a dime. How far of a drive will it be for you? We could drive, but I just bought tickets from Southwest at $59 each way per seat which makes driving more expensive once you add up gas, tolls, food along the way and parking.

Are you planning on booking the trip yourself? I use a TA from Small World Vacations...same price, but it saves me the hassle. I am a crazy planner and control freak, but when it comes to the actual booking and calling for ADRs, I'd rather not be on the phone long distance on my tab...not sure why Disney never provides a toll-free number but my TA doesn't charge me for her service, and she has even gotten me a cheaper deal by constantly looking for better deals even after we are almost fully paid.

I would start taking notes on the various All Stars and figuring out what building you want to be in so that you can note this in your reservation. If you intend to drive, I hear it can be a hike to the parking lots depending on what building you are in. Are you planning to drive to the parks, or will you use Disney buses? This also matters, as I hear All-Star Sports has the best bus stops: first to pick up and drop off. Buses will be packed so it might matter how you plan on getting around.

I hope you get free dining, like we did last Aug/Sep..it was awesome! I enjoyed all our ADRs because I ready the menus as well as the reviews. Be careful with the reviews thought....some people will have very different tastes and if you can't read between the lines of their review, you might pass up a good place just because many posters have bland palates.

One of the first things I do it set up a planning spreadsheet with various tabs. One for restaurant choices (table as well as counter), one for park hours and crowd levels, one for special activities and one for a basic schedule (with flexible options built in).

I could go on, but I am sure others will have good tips. Enjoy!

 

[pdmedic]

A quick review also shows that POP Century may be a hotel choice for us the cost looks to be about the same. Off to do some checking on POP Century reviews. Last time we stayed at All-Star Sports.

 

[pdmedic]

Well we think we have our first choices for ADR's would appreciate any comments you may have.

Day 1. Mama Melrose Fantasmic Package -Dinner if possible may move based on schedule. Our son loved the fantasmic show last time and we thought this would be a great kick off to the trip. A repeat from our last trip but it was good and the package is nice for a spot to sit and watch the show.

Day 2. Chefs de France -Dinner

Day 3. Boma -Dinner

Day 4. Crystal Palace -Dinner -My wife is a huge Winnie the Pooh fan (mainly piglet) and really wants to do this one.

Day 5. Le Cellier Steakhouse Dinner -We really enjoyed this last time so it's one of the few we are repeating from our last trip. My wife just informed me it will be her fourth time there so I guess it's a tradition for her family.

Day 6. Chip and Dale Harvest Feast at the Garden Grill -Dinner -We also plan to do the behind the seeds tour on this day and thought it would be a nice way to cap that off.

Day 7. Restaurant Marrakesh -Dinner

Day 8. O'Hana Best Friends Breakfast -Breakfast

Day 9. Coral Reef -Dinner - A repeat from the last trip but requested by our son and hopefully we can get a table closer to the tank this time.

Day 10. Whispering Canyon -Lunch -This will be the last meal of the trip at Disney we think especially if we are able to find a flight.

 

[pdmedic]

Well looks like we have a change of plans in the dining reservations already looking for something to possibly replace restraunt marrakesh.

Out of curiousity can anyone who has used small world travel chime in with how it went. Last time we did all the stuff ourselves but I'm wondering if it worth it to use them especially in wanting to watch for discounts such as free dining.

Thanks
Travis ::cop:

 

[pdmedic]

Well we have our Reservation confirmation number. Ended up going with Pop Century and through Small World Vacations with Tracy Desjardin as our agent.

 

[pdmedic]

Things still may change depending on if free dining happens. This will be the first time we have used Small World Vacations but so far it seems like a good deal.

Travis ::cop:

 

[pdmedic]

Well so far we have gotten a 40% off room rate pin that is saving us about $300 but hopefully we will get free dining either in a pin or they will offer it to the public hopefully. We also ordered our trading pins got a total of 210 pins for $254 or 1.21 per pin which beats $7.00 per pin plus at the park for trading pins. Also ended up with a XM radio for the trip down to Florida so we don't have to look for a station everywhere.

 

[pdmedic]

Well we got free dining but I'm not feeling the best about it. I called Disney earlier to see if I had the PIN code on my account since I have seen so many people have it without notification. The agent I spoke with said I didn't have the PIN but that he would go ahead and apply the code for the dates we wanted. I let him know that I had a reservation through Small World Travel and he advised that he couldn't put the code on it but gave me a hold for 10 days with the same dates. I e-mailed my travel agent to see if they could apply the code and they called Disney and spoke with guest services and e-mailed me back that they were honoring the code but the employee was being disciplined for giving us the offer as well as double booking us. I just called Disney and they said the employee will be talked too about the correct procedure in the future but that the employee was not in any great trouble. I don't know we ended up with the free dining on the reservation but it's kind of hard to feel good about it at the moment.