Let the research and semi-newbie questions begin!

[Castillo Mom]

Just back from a wonderful first trip to WDW. Now all I can think of is how to get us back there. Eldest DS will be graduating high school in '07, so what better excuse to go back? The initial plan was to go on a cruise. Hey, why not make it a Disney Cruise? I thought maybe my son wouldn't want to because he'd be "too cool" by then. He said he'd love to go, you're never too cool to go to WDW.

This will be the beginning of many questions about DCL, and I'm sure you experienced cruises will have the answers I'm looking for. And here I thought my DISing days were over. Anyway, when combing a land/sea vacation, is it better to do a package or book both separately? Are you forced to get the UPH or can you get for instance a 7 day PH instead? Can you apply a discount to the land portion? Thanks in advance for your replies!

 

[kcashner]

The basic answer is that which is better depends on your desires. The land/sea package includes the UPH passes (rip off in my opinion.)

Ok, each ship category is tied to a resort level. So...if you book separately, you can move your resort level up or down as you desire. You can also buy Park Hopper Plus passes (we get them in advance at the Disney store). The UPH is fine if you will really use all the features and go to a park every day. However, we rarely arrive before 3 pm, so it is a waste of admission to do a park that day--we do a character dinner instead, preceeded by a trip to the pool. Ditto on departure day--we do a character breakfast, not in a park.

The land/sea includes DCL transfers. Depending on the number of people in your party, it may well be cheaper to do a private limo service. The other advantage of limo service is that it works on YOUR time schedule, not DCLs. The break even point is usually 3 adults.

The biggest advantage of the land/sea is that it is easy to book--saves work for your TA. However, there is never a cost advantage to you in booking the package. Each item in the package can be booked separately, and the cost is sometimes much less to do it that way--again, depending on the season, what specials WDW may be running, and what choices you make.

There's lots to learn here--ask questions. Happy learning.

 

[Castillo Mom]

Thanks for the quick reply Kcashner. Ok, so basically I'm going to have to do this the way I did our WDW trip. We did go with the UPH, but this time I'd like to try some down time at our resort. We loved the Beach Club, so I definitley would want to go back there, but I had forgotten about the ship category being tied to your resort. And you're right about the limo. There were 5 of us on our trip, and for a little more, we sprang for the limo.

I wouldn't go with a TA, I'd prefer to do everything myself the way I did this last time. Planning was half the fun and I saved a ton in the process.

Ok, I think I have a starting point now. Thanks again!