Oh my gosh...so excited...and overwhelmed...

[EliseC]

Wow, I am completely overwhelmed (and insanely excited) about our trip to WDW in March 2006. We went this past year but it was very 'last minute' and we didn't do much planning-at all. So, this (next) year I want to do it right. I am going to start lurking but I do have a couple of questions right away. Oh, and I will be travelling with a 4 year old and a 1 year old.

1) I know that March is typically quite busy, are there every specials during that time?
2) Is it better to book my trip myself online? What is the cheapest way of doing this? Is it better to book through a travel agent?
3) Is the meal plan 'worth it'?
4) We stayed at All-Star Sports last time and weren't overly impressed. We realized that it was 'value' resort and didn't expect much. This year we would like to stay somewhere 'moderate'. Any suggestions?
5) Is there childcare at any of the resorts that can be trusted? My husband and I would like to do a night of drinking/dancing at Downtown Disney but are very leery of having a stranger watch the kids.

Anything else would be of great help! Thanks!!!

~Elise

 

[byoung]

POR or POFQ Both are very niece.

 

[Mommy Poppins]

You will have to use one of the outside childcare organizaations since youi have a 1 year old. The on-site childcare only takes children starting at 4 who are potty-trained. I've read good things about Fairy Godmothers and Kids Nite Out on these boards. If you do a search or a question regarding childcare you should come up with some ideas.

 

[tb3kids]

Elise C

<Insanely excited> is the best way to go! I was overwhelmed too last March when I tried to begin planning our families first trip to the world for 10/22 -10/28.

Try using Small World Travel Agency. Our agent was wonderful. She got us a PS at CRT Princess Breakfast! She also made all of our PS at other busy popular restaurants.
The tough decision is where to stay.
Read the UG and allears.com ...We picked the Poly, a splurge but we have 3 kids one which is four. Close proximity to MK,& Epcot and great pools was a priority too.
The Dining Plan was the way to go for us. For a family it covers most of your
needs. My ds is 12, dd is 9, and dd is almost 5. You can also use it to pay for character meals.
Good Luck !!!!

 

[Kaiya]

1) I know that March is typically quite busy, are there every specials during that time?
Last year we booked at Port Orleans Riverside for $119/night. Great deal and well worth it- its a great resort. Beautiful grounds, great pools, nice rooms and family friendly.
2) Is it better to book my trip myself online? What is the cheapest way of doing this? Is it better to book through a travel agent?
We booked our trip online - airfare and hotel separately. Check the travel discount sites for airfare - best deals.
3) Is the meal plan 'worth it'?
Don't know about the meal plan but if you check mousesavers.com you will get a good idea of the best way to plan. Overall, you need to be more specific about the places you eat and to get the best value you often need to choose the more expensive meals on the menu.
4) We stayed at All-Star Sports last time and weren't overly impressed. We realized that it was 'value' resort and didn't expect much. This year we would like to stay somewhere 'moderate'. Any suggestions?
POR is so beautiful and has great pools. Easy to get around and never more than 10 minute wait for buses when we were there last March (05)
5) Is there childcare at any of the resorts that can be trusted? My husband and I would like to do a night of drinking/dancing at Downtown Disney but are very leery of having a stranger watch the kids.
Sorry - don't know about the daycare but it looks like others have a better idea.

Enjoy your trip - the moderates are worth the extra cost!

 

[Andrea]

congrats.. i am not a big help but hope you have fun planning

 

[cillakat]

definitely definitely get thee _The Unoffficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2006_

it's fabulous. like others said, you'll have to use an inroom sitter, personally i'd go with fairy godmothers.

also personally, i'd save the $$ and stay offsite if it was my $$ being spent (we go as a big group and FIL pays).

there's another area of the boards that really focuses heavily on codes and there's really almost always something

katherine in atl

 

[indigoxtreme]

POFQ is a wonderful place we stayed there this Sept. Had 6 of us in 2 connecting rooms. 1 bus stop and first on Small compact and really a great place. See the resort sticky below. The dining plan is very much worth the money. at 35.oo or I think 36 in 2006 per night per adult and 10.00 per child. Very nice for Table meals and counter services meals as well as character dining etc. We did it in Sept (we got the free plan) and we are going to do again in February/March trip. Hope you have a great time.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=530340

 

[Chrissi242]

What are fairy godmothers??

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

It's a childcare business that offers care to WDW guests (and others offsite too I'm sure). As far as booking the trip yourself or through a TA, I would say do it yourself. If you go through a TA and then decide you want to make changes, you have to wait for them to do it, you can't touch your own reservation, WDW can't look it up for you either. There are several places you can look for discount codes, one being here on the DIS on the top of the resorts board, and the others that I use are www.mousesavers.com and also www.allearsnet.com As far as resorts go, the only moderate resort I've ever stayed in was Caribbean Beach Resort, and we didn't really care for it. It just was way to spread out for our tastes, we usually stay at All Star Movies when at a value, but here recently all of our trips have been to the Wilderness Lodge. The dining plan is definately worth it if you plan to do several table service meals while on vacation, if you do mostly fast food then it's not for you. Hope you guys have a great trip, and happy planning!

Oh yeah, and Welcome to the DIS!