Is there an Disney package that does NOT include hotel?

[krisko]

I used to go to disney 5 times a year when we lived in Florida and now I'm in Georgia and haven't been in 6 years or so. I guess we got burned out but now we're looking to go in February.

We're going for 5 nights or so between 2/19 and 2/26. I'm staying at a friend's 3 br condo so I figure that will save me a ton of money. I'm hoping to book an all inclusive pkg with a 4 day park hopper ticket including meals at quick restaurants and the nicer restaurants as well. Some kind of souveniers or other bonus would be nice too.

I've surfed the WDW site and seen the Magic Your Way package but that includes lodging. My brother lives in Orlando, could he pick up park hoppers for me at a resident discount? I appreciate the help!

 

[bicker]

The Dining Plan is only offered as part of a package with a resort hotel (or folks staying at DVC resorts on points). Sorry.

 

[rlovew]

There are no packages without lodging- they try and get you to stay on property. You will have to pay for your meals out of pocket but you can purchase Disney gift cards to put money aside for them.

As far as tickets are concerned- resident tickets can only be used by residents- if your brother buys them they will only give vouchers and you will have to show a valid FL ID to get them changed into tickets. You can however use the discount brokers to get tickets at a discounted rate. I know there are a few out there.

 

[Missytara]

I used to go to disney 5 times a year when we lived in Florida and now I'm in Georgia and haven't been in 6 years or so. I guess we got burned out but now we're looking to go in February.

We're going for 5 nights or so between 2/19 and 2/26. I'm staying at a friend's 3 br condo so I figure that will save me a ton of money. I'm hoping to book an all inclusive pkg with a 4 day park hopper ticket including meals at quick restaurants and the nicer restaurants as well. Some kind of souveniers or other bonus would be nice too.

I've surfed the WDW site and seen the Magic Your Way package but that includes lodging. My brother lives in Orlando, could he pick up park hoppers for me at a resident discount? I appreciate the help!

Tickets and the dining plan are only offered as a package with the resorts or DVC.

You can purchase tickets at a place like undercover tourist, which offers a bit of a discount.

Tickets are non-transferrable, so you cannot have a FL resident buy a ticket and then transfer it to you.

Sorry about your luck.

 

[krisko]

Wow, thanks for the quick responses.

Are the disney packages so good that I should stay on property? Obviously it would make things easier.

Or am I better off keeping my lodging, getting brokered tickets and eating off property?

 

[TDC Nala]

Nope, sorry. You can't get a dining plan at WDW unless you stay at a Disney-operated resort.

Are you more interested in time, money or food? The food will likely be better and cheaper if you eat off property, but you will lose park time. Seeing as your lodging is free, unless you want all possible time in the parks, go with what you have.

 

[Missytara]

Wow, thanks for the quick responses.

Are the disney packages so good that I should stay on property? Obviously it would make things easier.

Or am I better off keeping my lodging, getting brokered tickets and eating off property?

You can run the numbers on Disney's website and see if it works for you.

But I will say,y ou are not going to find a package that justifies not staying free at someone's house nearby. You will still be saving a lot of money on lodging. Most of the people that want to justify staying on-site are renting a place or staying at a hotel off-site.

 

[mjkacmom]

You are better off with free lodging. I believe that is a popular week, and you will have to pay for the dining plan. Even during free dining, the room rates are at their highest.

 

[krisko]

You are better off with free lodging. I believe that is a popular week, and you will have to pay for the dining plan. Even during free dining, the room rates are at their highest.

So I can get the dining plan seperate from a lodging and ticket package?

 

[bicker]

Wow, thanks for the quick responses.

Are the disney packages so good that I should stay on property? Obviously it would make things easier.

Or am I better off keeping my lodging, getting brokered tickets and eating off property?

Staying at a Disney resort affords many guests a personal gratification that is not available off-property. If you're just looking for a place to sleep, then you probably won't benefit much from staying on-property. If you're looking to really immerse yourself in the Disney experience, and you're ready to do your part to enjoy the magic that many on-property guests enjoy when they stay on-site, then it will be well-worth the additional money you spend to stay on-site.

The Dining Plan, though, is not really a reason to stay on-site (except perhaps when "free" dining is offered). As the prices are this year and next, the Dining Plan offers some folks a better value, and other folks a lesser value. YMMV, but on average it's basically a wash, at best, imho. (In previous years, it was a better value, perhaps.) So my personal preference would be to just set-aside the amount of money that the Dining Plan would cost, and just use that for paying for restaurant meals, and such, and whatever is left at the end is money saved.

So I can get the dining plan seperate from a lodging and ticket package?

No. As mentioned earlier, you cannot.

 

[TDC Nala]

So I can get the dining plan seperate from a lodging and ticket package?

All guests (except DVC members) who wish to get a dining plan must purchase a package including at least their lodging at a Disney-operated resort. There are a couple of ticketless options for annual passholders and those eligible for military discounted packages; they don't have to buy tickets to add a dining plan to a lodging package.

If you don't fit the exceptions, the only way to get a dining plan is book a package reservation at a Disney resort including at least one-day tickets for all party members.

"Free dining" is a promotion offered by WDW to fill rooms in slower times. When this promotion is active, you still have to book a package with lodging, paying full rack rate for the room, and a minimum of 2 day tickets instead of 1, but they will throw in the dining plan for free (which dining plan depends on the level of resort you book).

There isn't currently an active free dining promotion available to the general public, the last one expired on Monday.

 

[krisko]

All guests (except DVC members) who wish to get a dining plan must purchase a package including at least their lodging at a Disney-operated resort.

This could be an option...I have a friend that is a DVC member. I wonder if he would sell me his points.

 

[Missytara]

So I can get the dining plan seperate from a lodging and ticket package?

No, again the dining plan is part of a package.

What this poster is referring to is a discount that is known as free dining. It is offered several times a year, as part of a package, but you aren't really getting it completely for free - you are paying full rate for the room.

And when you are talking about Christmas week, which is the highest attendance week all year, you are going to pay top dollar for a room, which would not offset the cost of the free dining.

 

[mjkacmom]

This could be an option...I have a friend that is a DVC member. I wonder if he would sell me his points.

If he sold you his points, then you could stay on property, and get the dining plan, but it will cost you more than staying at a value, and maybe even more than a moderate (we rented points for a 2 bedroom, and it was a little more than 2 moderates).

 

[TDC Nala]

This could be an option...I have a friend that is a DVC member. I wonder if he would sell me his points.

You may rent points from a member. The member will need to book the room and add the dining plan for you. The plan must be paid for when you add it to the reservation - so you will have to pay your friend for the plan. DVC Member Services will only deal with the member, so you can't call and pay for it yourself, unless you try setting up something like a conference call with the member and Member Services. Ticket purchase would not be required, so you could get your tickets from anywhere. That time of year though, you are looking at peak point amounts for lodging.

I'm not a dining plan fan, I guess that's why I can't imagine giving up free lodging for the dining plan. You should also, should you decide you must have the dining plan, start looking for table service restaurant reservations as soon as possible if you want anything that's in the least popular, or even anything inside a theme park. President's Day week is bound to be busy.

 

[krisko]

Good points all...I'll keep the free lodging. Does anybody know where I can get the cheapest tickets online (broker?)?

 

[chartle]

This could be an option...I have a friend that is a DVC member. I wonder if he would sell me his points.

As other have said you can do this but it still going to cost more than getting free lodging.

While its possible to save some money with the dining plan its not enough to justify paying for an onsite room versus an off site free room.

Even free dining is not free since you have to pay rack rate for the room.

 

[chartle]

Good points all...I'll keep the free lodging. Does anybody know where I can get the cheapest tickets online (broker?)?

It depends sometimes Under Cover Tourist will be cheaper than others some times not.

The thing to realize is that the discount is only going to be maybe 6 to 7% not the huge discounts some local parks have like bring in a pop can and get $5 off a $30 ticket.

 

[bicker]

I'd obtaining tickets only from Disney, from an authorized reseller (such as the one that chartle mentioned in the message above this one), or from an authorized travel agent. I've read too many reports of people being ripped off by other sources, and it is a violation of the terms and condition of the tickets for non-authorized sources to sell them.

 

[krisko]

That 'undercover' site is pretty helpful...I'm liking that kid's eat free card and the ticket prices are reasonable.

Why is it that Universal is literally half price of disney? I really like Universal but wanted to go back to WDW just because we haven't been there in a long time.