ok now we are thinking of going to wdw in 2007.....

[janejakelibbyemma]

we have looked into renting a villa, but to be honest i think i would prefer to stay in a hotel, we have looked at all stars resort, now is it best booking direct or going with a travel agent? friends swear by travel city direct, but i like to shop around, maybe i should pop over to the other board, but that just baffles me, this is smaller and i am sure you can help me.
jane

 

[Cyrano]

Jane I've not been to WDW but hopeful of our first trip in 2007 also.
I'm sure others will come in and offer their thoughts.
Don't be hesitant about popping in to UK Trip Planning or Comms boards as you'll be well looked after by Karen, Alan, Tim, Simon or Kaylee, Sue and Mandy.

 

[wideeyes]

The UK wdw board is very good and they is always people willing to give advice, with a range of experience from staying in villas, hotels and tour operators. I would recommend that you "pop" over there as I find it a valuable source.
Good luck with your planning.

 

[janejakelibbyemma]

i have just posted over there, but its a huge board and i was lsot, but i am sure they will be friendly like you.

 

[alyssa810]

We do most of our booking directly through the different Disney websites. They seem to be pretty easy to use, and we haven't had any issues with the numerous trips we've booked. We have booked our 2 DL trips through the AAA auto club, which gives a decent package, but I'm not sure if you have anything like that where you are. We also booked our DLP trip through their website if that does anything for you. you might want to talk to travel agent to see what kind of package they can get for you and compare it with what you might be able to get on your own dealing directly with Disney.

Good luck!

 

[Emmo]

We went in 2000 and 2001 in November, both times with Virgin and we stayed on I-Drive in a hotel but as there was just two of us it worked out cheaper than a Villa and we don't hire a car just for the two of us and as I don't drive it wouldn't be fun for Matt. In June 2005 we went for Honeymoon and we went wth Travel city Direct as Virgin was too expensive that time of year and we got a beautiful room at the Sheraton World at the bottom of I-drive for the price of a quality Inn. If you need any help or have any questions PM me and I'll try to help! Also I recommend buying the 'Brits Guide to WDW' by Simon Veness, It's a great book to use when planning, ir just a good read if you're missing Disney!

 

[Ware Bears]

i have just posted over there, but its a huge board and i was lsot, but i am sure they will be friendly like you.

They are very friendly and helpful over there, you will see quite a few of us over there too!

I also recommend the Brits Guide. It was absolutely invaluable for my first trip to WDW and it was from reading it that I discovered the DIS!

 

[andy6326]

We went in 2005 with Travel City Direct and it was cheaper than DIY. Began to get a bit nervous as it approached due to lots of horror stories, however here's our summary

Flight over fine - small delay which we nearly made up for in flight. Plane fine, a little older than eg Virgin, so no seat back TVs but legroom good, plenty of food and drink, helpful staff.

Car Hire arrangements fine

Small glitch at booking - had not got details right for son's girlfriend. Disney were great at sorting it out, providing temporary tickets etc.

Would definitely recommend staying on property. You don't realise the size of the place - you could easily be 30 miles out in a rental villa. But being on-site transportation etc is excellent. No real need to hire car, but I really enjoyed driving in the U.S. so would hire again.

We stayed All Star Movies - room fine larger than our travelinn but other than that quite like a travel inn with usual brilliant Disney theming. Did begin to feel a bit like a holiday camp at the end. Next time we plan to stay in the Contemporary as you can walk to MK. If you can afford I'd say its worth upgrading to one of the monorail resorts but not to one of the moderates.

On way back - long delay (8 hrs) but some people had been bumped from previous night. Travel City dealt with it fine. Let us know from the start gave meal vouchers. However, this is where they fall down. As they have a small fleet if one goes wrong you're stuffed. Unlike a bigger operator that has another plane to draft in.

On balance - although we don't have a TCD horror story, next time I'd DIY - book hotel etc. with Disney direct and flights prob with Virgin


Hope this helps

If you want to ask any other qs about booking, restaurants etc. let us know - know what you mean about size of WDW boards

A

 

[wideeyes]

hi As you have young children, It maybe something to considor while chooseing the flight how well they cater for children. For example virgin have seatback tvs and a special kids menu, I also think first choice are meant to be very good.

 

[wilki32]

We've been 5 times and I'm hoping that DW will be hooked again after our DLP trip.
We've been with Virgin twice, travel city and the last 2 times DIY, flew with united airlines and have stayed in villas, condos and onsite.
If you do need any info don't be afraid to ask, it's what I do best, talking about Disney

 

[cannp123165]

When we went in February we flew with Virgin, and booked our hotel direct through Disney on their website (this included the Disney Magical Express coach from the airport to our hotel). We stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort, which was beautiful!!!

Caroline