Need some trip planning expertise, please!

[DisneyKim4Life]

I thought I was a Disney World trip planning guru, but I was proven wrong!

Of the 10ish trips I've done in the past, I've always travelled and started park hopping/using the dining plan on Day 1. This year in an effort to reduce the exhaustion as a result of traveling early, we're planning on flying in the afternoon before we want to start park hopping/using the dining plan and head to Downtown Disney for some shopping and dinner at a counter service restaurant out of pocket. We'd like to stay at Pop Century this first night (as well as the remainder of the trip). When booking the vacation package, do I need to book a room only reservation for the first day and a 2nd reservation for the package (including park hopper/dining plan) for the remainder of the vacation...or can I book it as one reservation with the # of park hopper days/dining plan days we want knowing that we won't start using it until the following day?

Thank you for helping!

 

[Marionnette]

I thought I was a Disney World trip planning guru, but I was proven wrong!

Of the 10ish trips I've done in the past, I've always travelled and started park hopping/using the dining plan on Day 1. This year in an effort to reduce the exhaustion as a result of traveling early, we're planning on flying in the afternoon before we want to start park hopping/using the dining plan and head to Downtown Disney for some shopping and dinner at a counter service restaurant out of pocket. We'd like to stay at Pop Century this first night (as well as the remainder of the trip). When booking the vacation package, do I need to book a room only reservation for the first day and a 2nd reservation for the package (including park hopper/dining plan) for the remainder of the vacation...or can I book it as one reservation with the # of park hopper days/dining plan days we want knowing that we won't start using it until the following day?

Thank you for helping!

When you book a package, you can choose the number of park days on your tickets but you have to pay for the dining plan for each night of your stay. It's up to you as to whether you think it's worth having to check out and check back in (which is what you have to do if you do a room-only + package, even if you don't have to change rooms). You wouldn't have access to your dining plan credits the first night if you do that, which might be another negative in your eyes.

 

[lauradis]

Depending on what the price of the dinning package and your party size, I would just do this as one package.

What is afternoon arrival time? you could get lucky check in to hotel and have a room waiting for you, rest a little, lay around the pool, grab counter service at the resort, then head off to downtown disney for couple of hours, stop for a light snack in dtd.

Its a great plan to not hit the ground running if your travel partners aren't commando

 

[rlovew]

Unless you really don't want to get unpacked and want the chance of having to move morning 1- I would book it as 1 package. You could then use a CS credit in DTD and still have an extra TS credit for later in the trip for a signature dining or a day with a breakfast and dinner TS together. You can make your park tickets 1 day less than you are traveling if you choose. On the other hand if you are leaving later in the day on the last day you could use your last TS credit for a breakfast that day if you don't use it during the rest of the trip.