January Trip - Many Questions!

have2getaway

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We are planning a return trip this January and planning to stay again at the Polynesian. It will be me, DH and our triplet boys, who will be age 9. Our last trip in 2017, we stayed at the Poly for week and loved it. This year, we do plan to visit Universal for a day or 2. Here’s my questions:

We have an older son, who is 16, who MAY decide to joins us for a couple days at the end of the trip. Max capacity at Poly is 5. What should we do? Reserve another room there for the one or two nights he might come, or do another reservation altogether at a different resort? We really aren’t thrilled at the thought of moving, but the cost of two rooms at the poly is a lot. Another thought I had was to try to rent 2 adjoining Poly studios, provided we could even secure them this late. What would you suggest?

We wanted to wait for Star Wars to open for our return trip, but our younger boys will be 10 in March and it will cost more to bring them. We wanted to do the Disney Dining Plan again, experience more character meals, and experience Universal while it was more cost effective to do so. We were also concerned Star Was would bring insane crowds and possibly increased prices. Are we smart to go this Jan. before the prices and crowds increase?

We were also considering getting an annual pass so that we could return to go to Star Wars when it opens within a year after our trip. Are others considering doing this? A few things are holding us back from buying the AP. One is the cost. We would pay the same for our boys, essentially giving up any benefit from traveling with them at age 9. The second is that we use our Disney Visa to build up rewards that we put towards the cost of our trip. One year doesn’t allow for as much earned rewards. Finally, we would miss other new attractions opening after Star Wars, like Tron, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc. We know we will want to return and see these.

Finally, We have been toying with the idea of DVC for a while and have been really on the fence about it, but honestly don’t see us going to Disney frequently enough to make it worth it. That said, we spent over 7k on our first trip and will be spending at least that on a second trip. A third trip would see us spending about the cost to buy some points. Of course, our trip costs include everything and a DVC purchase would only cover the room cost, and perhaps not even every year depending on how many points we buy. We love the Polynesian and we really enjoy being on the dining plan, but just don’t see either being affordable in the long run once our children are over 10. Have others gone back and forth about DVC simply to try to save on the room portion of the trip?

So much to think about and consider. Sorry for the long rant and long list of questions. it’s just so sad and frustrating! I remember when I first took my older son to Disney. We didn’t stay at the Poly, and we were a smaller party, but we stayed at Coronado Springs and got ‘true’ free dining. our whole trip with airfare was $2,000. That was just 11 years ago! What is happening? Why has it become so insanely expensive and such a major planning production to visit Disney?
 
Stay where you can sleep 6.

One choice would be to rent from a DVC broker and
you can see if you like the accommodations.
 
Why has it become so insanely expensive and such a major planning production to visit Disney?
because you are staying at a Deluxe resort and buying the dining plan with 5 or 6 people. Things can be done a lot less expensively, but that's up to you.
 
because you are staying at a Deluxe resort and buying the dining plan with 5 or 6 people. Things can be done a lot less expensively, but that's up to you.

Agreed! The first time we stayed at the Poly we didn’t think we would ever stay there again. We called it our one and only trip to Disney—so we went all out. My husband had never been (my older son is his Step-son), and he didn’t expect to enjoy the vacation as much as he did. I am willing to stay at a Moderate or off-site, as I have before, but the Poly spoiled my husband in terms of transportation, and he doesn’t want to stay anywhere else, even for a cost savings. I’m in the group who would rather go more frequently and stay somewhere less expensive.
 

What character meals are 9 year old boys going to care about? I'd choose to eat somewhere else and meet the character separately if they want. Kids meals at WDW are one of the few things that are a good value for the $.
 
What character meals are 9 year old boys going to care about? I'd choose to eat somewhere else and meet the character separately if they want. Kids meals at WDW are one of the few things that are a good value for the $.

Well, they loved all the character meals we did when we went 2 years ago, but you do have a point. On this trip, they will be nearly 10, and probably won’t care as much about a character meal. Is the quick service dining plan worth the cost?
 
I would try to rent a two bedroom at a deluxe from DVC. We used dvcrental store.
We booked our January 2017 trip in June of 2016 and got a confirmation the next day. We booked AKL.

There is a DVC thread here that can help you if you want to become an owner.
 
We are planning a return trip this January and planning to stay again at the Polynesian. It will be me, DH and our triplet boys, who will be age 9. Our last trip in 2017, we stayed at the Poly for week and loved it. This year, we do plan to visit Universal for a day or 2. Here’s my questions:

We have an older son, who is 16, who MAY decide to joins us for a couple days at the end of the trip. Max capacity at Poly is 5. What should we do? Reserve another room there for the one or two nights he might come, or do another reservation altogether at a different resort? We really aren’t thrilled at the thought of moving, but the cost of two rooms at the poly is a lot. Another thought I had was to try to rent 2 adjoining Poly studios, provided we could even secure them this late. What would you suggest?

We wanted to wait for Star Wars to open for our return trip, but our younger boys will be 10 in March and it will cost more to bring them. We wanted to do the Disney Dining Plan again, experience more character meals, and experience Universal while it was more cost effective to do so. We were also concerned Star Was would bring insane crowds and possibly increased prices. Are we smart to go this Jan. before the prices and crowds increase?

We were also considering getting an annual pass so that we could return to go to Star Wars when it opens within a year after our trip. Are others considering doing this? A few things are holding us back from buying the AP. One is the cost. We would pay the same for our boys, essentially giving up any benefit from traveling with them at age 9. The second is that we use our Disney Visa to build up rewards that we put towards the cost of our trip. One year doesn’t allow for as much earned rewards. Finally, we would miss other new attractions opening after Star Wars, like Tron, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc. We know we will want to return and see these.

Finally, We have been toying with the idea of DVC for a while and have been really on the fence about it, but honestly don’t see us going to Disney frequently enough to make it worth it. That said, we spent over 7k on our first trip and will be spending at least that on a second trip. A third trip would see us spending about the cost to buy some points. Of course, our trip costs include everything and a DVC purchase would only cover the room cost, and perhaps not even every year depending on how many points we buy. We love the Polynesian and we really enjoy being on the dining plan, but just don’t see either being affordable in the long run once our children are over 10. Have others gone back and forth about DVC simply to try to save on the room portion of the trip?

So much to think about and consider. Sorry for the long rant and long list of questions. it’s just so sad and frustrating! I remember when I first took my older son to Disney. We didn’t stay happening? Why has it become so insanely expensive and such a major planning production to visit Disney?

Would you consider skipping any kind of dining plan and book club level instead? We found the CL food was plenty for our grandkids and us at breakfast and fine for dinner with fill-ins from Captain Cooks, pizza delivery etc.

Maybe you could double book for now...the Poly and another resort that holds 6, then cancel the one you don’t need. Room only reservations can be cancelled *I think* up to 5 days before arrival.
 
Would you consider skipping any kind of dining plan and book club level instead? We found the CL food was plenty for our grandkids and us at breakfast and fine for dinner with fill-ins from Captain Cooks, pizza delivery etc.

Maybe you could double book for now...the Poly and another resort that holds 6, then cancel the one you don’t need. Room only reservations can be cancelled *I think* up to 5 days before arrival.

Thank you for suggesting both of these. We have/are considering club level, but are waiting to see what the rate will be for next year. We are booked for a room, but are hoping for a better rate once packages are released.

We have also considered booking a second reservation and canceling. It’s not looking likely our older son will join us this trip. The Disney ship has sailed for him right now, but I suspect he will want to go once Star Wars opens. For him, he’s an Honors student in high school and really can’t afford to miss school. We offered to go over a break, but he wasn’t too interested until he saw the new Star Wars Land opening. We’ve been able to swing a trip about every 2 years and thought 2019 and then 2021 made a lot of sense to optimize on all the new things available for the anniversary year. By that time, he will be in college, and would be able to go with us on a Jan. trip if he wants to.
 

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