Newbie here. Where to start? Help!

[mom2twinz]

Hi there. My name is Kim and I am a newbie to this forum. I am interested in booking a Disney package for late 2009 for a family of 7. My husband, myself, a 16 year old, 12 year old, 9 year old and 2 year old twins. I have NO idea where to start. Can you book a package paying a deposit and make payment throughout the year or must it all be paid up front? I know with cruising we pay a deposit and the balance is due 60 days prior to travel. With this many people, what are the best deals and the best times of year to go? Please help!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Hi there. My name is Kim and I am a newbie to this forum. I am interested in booking a Disney package for late 2009 for a family of 7. My husband, myself, a 16 year old, 12 year old, 9 year old and 2 year old twins. I have NO idea where to start. Can you book a package paying a deposit and make payment throughout the year or must it all be paid up front? I know with cruising we pay a deposit and the balance is due 60 days prior to travel. With this many people, what are the best deals and the best times of year to go? Please help!

First of all Welcome to the Disboards!

All you have to put down to book a package is $200.00. You will not have to pay off the balance until 45 days before your trip. If you are looking at booking for late next year, you need to book by early Spring. You can start making your Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) at 180 days out from the arrival date of your trip. And I do highly recommend making your ADRs 180 days out. That way you can get reservations at all of the popular restaurants, especially the character meals.

Will your twins be 2 years old when you travel next year or will they turn 3 by then? I ask that because children under the age of 3 are free and do not count in the number of occupants in a resort room.

The "best deal" we have ever gotten would be the free dining offer that Disney offers each fall on Magic Your Way packages booked for late August through September. We are a family of six and it saved us over $1,400.00 last fall. The fall free dining offer usually comes open for bookings in early April. Also, we actually got very lucky this year too. We are Disney Visa holders and last month, Disney Visa sent out a code offer for free dining dates for this coming December. So, we are going this year Dec. 14 - 22, 7 people (Me, DH, DD 12, DS 9, DD 7, DD 6 and DMIL) for 8 nights, basic dining (free), 8 day hoppers with 2 connecting rooms at Pop Century for $3,270.00.
Also, if you watch the codes and rates board here on the DIS, it has discount codes all of the time.

We are a family of 6 (7 this trip because we are taking my Mother-in-law) and we like to travel in the off season for cheaper rates and lower crowds. The best value for our family is to get two connecting rooms at one of the Value resorts. All-Star Movies and Pop are our favorite. I subscribe to touringplans.com, which is the companion website to The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. They have a crowd calender that tells you which days to visit which parks for the lowest crowds. It is the best $7.95 I have spent all year. It just makes my planning so easy. Just look up a good week on the crowd calender - it tells me which park to visit on which day. Then, knowing which park I will be in, I can pick which restaurant we want to eat at which will be in the vicinity of the park or resort area we will be in that day.

If you want more specific help, just ask. There is a ton of info here on these boards.

 

[Metro West]

 

[tiggerfan1]

to the DIS boards!!!

 

[LivinInTheCastle]

Welcome to the dis! They are a zillion threads on here, post anytime, people around here are very helpful.

 

[PrincessBetsy]

Welcome to the Disboards!! You will love it here, everyone is so kind and helpful. My favorite times to go to WDW are around April, July, and Christmas. I guess the best time for your family to travel depends on whether or not you feel comfortable taking your children out of school. I would recommend it, thus you could go during the off-season, when it is much cheaper and less crowded. Just read around the forums and you will learn tons of information!! If you have any other questions feel free to pm me.

 

[magicaldisney]