Newbie here with lots of questions

[zachnlucy]

Hi all. I haven't been to WDW in over 10 years (they were building the Tower of Terror last time I was there), but we used to go a couple of times a month when I was a FL resident, had an annual pass and always stayed at the Contemporary.

We're now planning a 4/06 trip for 7 nights (My husband and I, along with 3 kids ages 9, 9 and 11). It looks like we're probably going to be staying in a moderate unless someone here can tell me about great discounts. Now to the questions:

1. AKL (deluxe I know) can sleep 5 in the deluxe queen, right? IS that the only deluxe resort that will sleep 5?

2. Am I right in that Orleans Riverside is the only moderate that will sleep 5?

3. Does the monorail stop at any resorts other than deluxe?

4. Where are the best places to look for discounts? We're pretty flexible about April, just wanted to go while it was still cool and not wall-to-wall people.

Thanks for listending.

Cindy

 

[sharonW]

Hi, I think all deluxe resorts sleep five. Two queen beds and a couch/bed.
Contemporary, Polynesian are the only two monorail resorts. Stayed at the POR last dec, two double beds in the room. Might be able to ask for a cot.
Mousesavers is a great discount source. I have used it many times and have saved quite a bit of $$$. Good luck and have fun planning.....thats half the fun!!

 

[zachnlucy]

Thanks for the quick reply. Funny you should mention mousesavers, I was just there looking around. It looks like the website doesn't actually offer any tickets or discounts, but refers to Small World. Is this right?

 

[byoung]

Welcome to the DIS

 

[sharonW]

Try getting a quote from MouseEar vacations. Mousesavers seems to only have discounted rates for Fl residents so far. Keep checking the site. It may be a bit early for discounted codes for April 2006. I got a better rate from mousesavers site then from Small World travel a few years ago. Good Luck!!

 

[CA Disney Fans]

Welcome to our DIS family.

 

[Minniespal]

Welcome to the Dis

 

[Disney Dee]

Welcome, hope you let the Dis help you plan your trip!

 

[zachnlucy]

Just received my quote from mousesavers -- the same price I could get from the WDW site. Anyone have a website addy for MouseEar Vacations? I can't find them. Oops, nevermind. Just realized I was googling mouse ears, not mouse ear.

 

[JustHereToHelp]

It's funny some of the idea's you people come up with. Heres the skinny. . . The absolute cheapest resort that will accomodate your family is the Port Orleans Riverside as it like all other value and moderates have 2 doubles in the rooms but Riverside has a trundle mattress that is 35" by 65" that is designed for kids up to age nine, keep this in mind if you have taller children. The Least expensive deluxe that will accomodate five is, in contradiction to popular belief, the Contemporary. Their standard wing room will have 2 queens and a day bed which are being newly remodeled to be even larger. These rooms have also been the first selected to be upgraded to the new deluxe standard room format with, and keep this hush hush as I'm not sure if this has been released or not, plasma tv's in the rooms. The room at the Contemporary will not have a balcony but if you request a ground floor and get it you'll have a patio. These are right by the pool but no spectacular views. As far as dicounts go the only things that are available to the general public will always, and I do mean ALWAYS, posted on disneyworld.com and in your local paper in the travel section. These are not very consistent and are NOT AVAILABLE if not posted as described above. The type of discounts that are available year round are for AAA members, Passholders, and FL residents. Look into passholder benefits as they extend way beyond room rates and for goodness sakes DONT GO THROUGH A TRAVEL AGENT! Sometimes the people answering the phones for Disney directly are as informative and friends as someone like me, wink wink, and with more info these are the people who can truly help you get the most magic from your stay. Post any other questions you might have.

Orlando resident since 1989, we don't count our stays ;-). Heck my prom was at the Yacht Club.

 

[zachnlucy]

I think we've decided on the Contemporary. My first pair of kids are grown now and I now have three (ages 9, 9 and 11) who've never been to WDW, so I thought we'd just blow them away with the Contemporary, which I loved in the past because it's so easy to get from there to MK, EPCOT, hoop de doo, and the luau. I know we'll have to take the bus to AK and MGM. Next question:

Other than view and location, is there any other difference between a tower and a garden room?

 

[JustHereToHelp]

Yes, anything that would say wing room no matter the view are not in the main building where the monorail goes through. The price, as I'm sure you'll find on your own, is another big difference. Also tower rooms have balconies as where wings do not, however wing ground level rooms do have patios.

 

[zachnlucy]

What about room sizes (tower v garden)?

 

[DeLaMer]

2. Am I right in that Orleans Riverside is the only moderate that will sleep 5?


Cindy

Can I jump right in and answer a question?

We are a family of five too with similar ages. We've gotten adjoining rooms Carribean Beach, and were very comfortable. It saved us a bit of money over one deluxe room.

 

[zachnlucy]

Can I jump right in and answer a question?

We are a family of five too with similar ages. We've gotten adjoining rooms Carribean Beach, and were very comfortable. It saved us a bit of money over one deluxe room.

My main concern is transportation. We've decided not to rent a car and I don't want to waste a lot of time waiting. What kind of transportation is available at Caribbean Beach? How are the wait times?

 

[Unregistered]

Carribean Beach has bus transportation. We had our car, but took the bus to Magic Kingdom on one of the days. The bus stop was convenient to our building. We waited only about 5 minutes for the bus. It was a little crowded, and it seemed to take longer than it does in a car to get there, but it was nice and relaxing to have someone else do the driving that day!

 

[DeLaMer]

Carribean Beach has bus transportation. We had our car, but took the bus to Magic Kingdom on one of the days. The bus stop was convenient to our building. We waited only about 5 minutes for the bus. It was a little crowded, and it seemed to take longer than it does in a car to get there, but it was nice and relaxing to have someone else do the driving that day!

That above post was me. Still figuring out how to use these boards