need help with disney plans asap

[jaw62901]

I need some assistance with my trip. I know that this is a long, long, long way off, but as quickyly as this year has gone, it will be September in no time at all. I want to travel to Orlando Dec 26 2003 thru Jan 3 2004. I have read a few posts and various sites that talk about how they just love going to Disney World between Christmas and New Years, but being very busy during this time, and I thought this would be kind of fun. I want to stay at the Disney All-Star Sports Resort, but am afraid that if I wait until September, they will be all filled up. I really couldn't find any good airfare deals so I was going to wait a while to purchase it. Anyways, I was wondering how far in advance should I make my vacation reservations. I am kind of new to this and wanted to get a good start on planing my trip. Any information on to where people like to stay and things like that would be great.

Thanks

Jason

ps. t-270 days and counting

 

[sgtdisney]

If your plans are to be at Disney World the week after Christmas, I would call and make the reservations right away. That is the most busy week of the year and I have a feeling accomodations book up fast. You will have to pay one nights deposit if I remember correctly. (It has been years since I paid cash for a room at Disney World as we are DVC members.) That deposit would be fully refundable if your plans change up until a couple of days before arrival. Once you have your room set you can start your search for airfare but it may be a little soon for that. Maybe in a couple of months they will have airfares out for that time period. I was at WDW many years ago over that week (New Years Eve 1985) and was at MK for New Years eve. It was really fun. However, it was beyond crowded. The New Years eve entertainment and fireworks made it worth it though. Good Luck.

 

[jaw62901]

Thanks for your reply. WDW website says that you have to pay $200 at time of reservation and the rest would be due 45 day prior to trip (Nov 10 or 11). The nice thing is that each month I can get on the WDW website make a payment. My plan is by the time Sept 15 rolls around, I will have the hotel and airfare all paid for. This way I can go into the holiday season, not dreading having to pay for the trip.

Thanks again

Jason

T-270 days and counting

 

[mom_rules]

Be careful who you make ressies through (for now at least). There are different cancellation policies. WDTC -you pay in full at 45 days and can get charged to cancel or change a ressie. CRO are less strick. The online booking goes throught WDTC and requires a $200 deposit- CRO usually one nights deposit but can cancel or change up to 5 days before arrival. I thought I read that all will be changing soon and CRO will no longer exist. Perhaps someone can clarify/confirm.

 

[jaw62901]

Mom_rules,

Thanks for the information. I think I will be going through Dreams Unlimited Travel since lots of people on this site gave it outstanding reviews. DU's policy seems to be the same as WDW cancelations can be made up to 45 days (nov. 11 in my case) with out penalty. I guess that I will have to worry about this if I do use them if I have to change something after Nov 11.

Thanks,

Jason

t-269 and counting

 

[jel0511]

One other note, if you really plan on flying out of 12/26 and returning on 1/3, I'd start checking airfare NOW. Those are very popular dates to travel with families who have children in school. A lot of those flights book up VERY quickly, especially the popular times. Also, with these most popular dates to travel, the discounts are few and far between. Sometimes, the early bird gets the worm on airline flights booked around holidays. Unless Southwest is in your market, I'd start looking at airfare now. Get an idea on what the cheapest is from your city and then add $100 to that figure. For a Christmas flight, if you can find anything within your price range, and on the flights you want, I'd book it. If you wait until September to purchase your flights, you could find yourself shut out of the most popular flight times.

 

[jaw62901]

Thanks for your information. I was actually going to just wait a couple of weeks to see what pops up. It looks like from peoples resposes that the hotel reservation is more important right now than the airfare reservation.

Thanks,

Jason

 

[S. C.]

Another vote for DU.....they are great. This is my first time of booking with them and I am very happy with their service. A few days ago before i knew that there was a knew code out, it was already in my e-mail that they had changed my ressie to the new code and saved me even more money. I am going thru them this year for my disney cruise and for WDW.