Planning a trip to WDW in Feb. 07 from Halifax

[djpositivek]

Hi All,

New member here... I'm in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Orlando/WDW in Feb. 07. Will be myself, my wife and our little girl who would be almost 1 when we go. My parents will be there vacationing with their 5th wheel. I plan on using Aeroplan miles for the flights and staying with my folks, either camping on their site or in the trailer, maybe a combination of both. Thinking about renting a car, so far I found a midsize at thrifty for $253 US. Oh I forgot to mention we plan on going for 10 - 11 days. Probably only do Disney for either 3 or 5 days.

Any tips you guys can give me for travelling with 1 year old girl would be appreciated. I will be scanning the boards for lots of useful info, and I thank you all in advance for that We don't have a lot of money, so trying to keep this vacation as cheap as possible.

Anybody know if the Disney Store in Halifax/Dartmouth sells passes to WDW ? I've been reading about the discounted tickets and might buy them there if they sell them.

 

[Charleyann]

The Disney store in the Mic Mac Mall sells disney tickets. I know this as I travel to and from the IWK from NB and stop there frequently. Have a great trip!

 

[amw]

Hi All,

New member here... I'm in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Orlando/WDW in Feb. 07. Will be myself, my wife and our little girl who would be almost 1 when we go. My parents will be there vacationing with their 5th wheel. I plan on using Aeroplan miles for the flights and staying with my folks, either camping on their site or in the trailer, maybe a combination of both. Thinking about renting a car, so far I found a midsize at thrifty for $253 US. Oh I forgot to mention we plan on going for 10 - 11 days. Probably only do Disney for either 3 or 5 days.

Any tips you guys can give me for travelling with 1 year old girl would be appreciated. I will be scanning the boards for lots of useful info, and I thank you all in advance for that We don't have a lot of money, so trying to keep this vacation as cheap as possible.

Anybody know if the Disney Store in Halifax/Dartmouth sells passes to WDW ? I've been reading about the discounted tickets and might buy them there if they sell them.

Welcome to the boards

Firstly, if you're using your aeroplan miles, book them now. You usually have to book the full year in advance to get the dates you want. Since you're only buying a few seats, I wouldn't be too worried. However, do this first. Be flexible if you can. If you leave mid-week to mid-week, you have better chances of getting the seats and flight times you want. Go to aeroplan.com to check what's available.

In regards to tickets, I think you can get WDW at any of the Disney stores. They may have to order them in for you. There was a post awhile back about Disney Canada reducing their prices to keep with the higher dollar price. For comparison's sake. Check out http://ticketmania.biz/shop/7_Day_Tickets.asp You do have to pay a slight shipping fee, but with our high dollar, you can sometimes get a better deal here.

Also, check out http://www.mousesavers.com/ for lots of tips for doing it on the cheap, as well as discount codes for car rentals, tickets, hotels, etc.

I travelled with an 18 month-old on my first trip to WDW with my girls. Bring your own stroller. It'll be much more handy for getting from car/bus to park. It's preferable to be a smaller model because you'll need to fold it up to ride the trams or trains.

Take it easy, and go at her speed. There's lots of things for that age. My DD loved all the shows, the parades, and the rides in Fantasyland. On that trip, we just did MK and MGM. I don't think there's much for that age at Epcot, and AK is good if you have an extra day. I liked MGM even though it's a small park. There still was Playhouse Disney, Little Mermaid Show, Beauty and Beast show, Muppets 3-D, and the little playground. Make sure to keep her well fed and well-hydrated and she should be good to go pretty much anywhere in her stroller. Take advantage of the Baby Centres at each park, and if you forget anything, they have baby supplies behind the counters of each store. Just ask. Mine lost her pacifier right before the parade, and I was able to get another at a souvenir shop at MGM.

For that trip, my older DD was 3 and it seems what they remember most is swimming at the hotel's pool and riding the monorail.

 

[murcor]

Welcome to Disboards!

I agree about booking your airline tickets as far in advance as possible. We have been using aeroplan miles for most of our trips and book the 356 days in advance to get the seats we want. (generally booking 4-5 seats)

I think you will have a great time camping with your folks, and doing disney a few days during your trip will be an equal balance.

Where in NS are you? Annapolis Valley here.

Have fun planning

Angela

 

[djpositivek]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll probably book soon but there seems to be quite a few options now. We're very flexible on dates and only need 2 seats. Our little girl doesn't need a seat. My wife will still be on leave and I can take my vacation anytime so we're looking at Jan - Feb sometime. I'm debating whether to use only 50,000 points or use 80,000 and fly first class (and get a bit better flight times). We have just over 80,000 so that would drain us if we go first class.

Still reading up about travelling with a little one. Also need to read up on Disney and all the wonderful attractions. I was at Disney but that was over 20 years ago when I was a young lad.

I'm living in Halifax but originally from Cape Breton, where my parents are still living.

 

[amw]

Still reading up about travelling with a little one. Also need to read up on Disney and all the wonderful attractions. I was at Disney but that was over 20 years ago when I was a young lad.

For more research, try:
http://www.allearsnet.com/index.html
It's an extensive site - ride descriptions and photos, hotel layouts and photos, restaurant menus! It'll keep you busy

Also, rather that buy guidebooks, take them out from your local library. They don't change all that much from year to year, and if you find one you particularly like, you can go and buy the latest one. Since you're going in eary 2007, wait until October and the 2007 guidebooks will be in stores. Here are the best guidebooks:
Birnbaum's Official Walt Disney World
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1423100514/701-3230897-9407501?v=glance&n=916520&s=gateway&v=glance
The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/047179032X/701-3230897-9407501?v=glance&n=916520&v=glance

 

[murcor]

I'm debating whether to use only 50,000 points or use 80,000 and fly first class (and get a bit better flight times). We have just over 80,000 so that would drain us if we go first class.

Ive done first class with my points and it was sooo nice said I would never go back to economy......

but, in reality I have never gone back to first class as I like to stretch my points as far as they will go, always planning my trip for the next year.

I am still envious of the first class passengers when I have to walk by them to find my little cramped seat with next to no service

Have fun planning

Angela

 

[Northstar]

About flying with Air Canada... you know about the terminal change in Toronto now? Because you're on a domestic flight into Toronto but you have an international flight out and you have to pre-clear customs and immigration, you will have to pick up all your baggage in Toronto, transport it and your baby to another terminal, then go through US preclearance there. Major PITA. Might be worth flying through Montreal if you can get a flight. Or maybe someone who's done this recently can fill us in on the details.

I don't think I'll ever be flying AC to Orlando again once Halifax gets its preclearance centre for the US, but then, I don't have tons of Aeroplan miles like you. Using miles is definitely worth the inconvenience of changing terminals, especially if you can go first class!

 

[coastgirl]

About flying with Air Canada... you know about the terminal change in Toronto now? Because you're on a domestic flight into Toronto but you have an international flight out and you have to pre-clear customs and immigration, you will have to pick up all your baggage in Toronto, transport it and your baby to another terminal, then go through US preclearance there. Major PITA. Might be worth flying through Montreal if you can get a flight. Or maybe someone who's done this recently can fill us in on the details.

I don't think I'll ever be flying AC to Orlando again once Halifax gets its preclearance centre for the US, but then, I don't have tons of Aeroplan miles like you. Using miles is definitely worth the inconvenience of changing terminals, especially if you can go first class!

I was just looking myself, Star Alliance Flts seem to be the only AP flt that avoid TO altogether...it really is a major PITA especially with little ones, car seats, etc. (We did it on AP pts in May.) We missed our final leg to Hfx b/c one of our car seats got mislaid in that pick-it-up-and-drop-it-off mess that is Customs in TO.

We went business on pts when ds was little, and it was much better with a lap child, gave me lots of room to hold him and nurse him, all the other stuff...However we never did econ with him as a lap child, it's so crowded, and even in business I found it uncomfortable and a bit scary to hold him tightly during take off and landing. (You are pulling some g's or whatever on landing especially, and I was *really* hanging on.) If you are travelling during an off-peak time you might try gate-checking your car seat, if they have an extra seat they might offer it to you for your little one. (More likely in econ than business.)

Little ones are sooo portable. You'll have a great time.

We've just decided we're going again in late Jan...

Oh, editing to add, mousesavers has good discount codes for rental cars I hear. We got a great rate in May from...Alamo I think. (Dh booked it, I think through the mousesavers rate.) "Mid size SUV" (a Jeep something, quite big enough thankyouverymuch) for under $200 for the week.

 

[tchan03]

Other than Disney theme parks, you could visit Disney resorts such as Grand Floridian, Polynesian resort (there's a little beach ) and boardwalk inn. The views are just beautiful there. Disney transportation is available for taking you from Disney's theme parks to these resorts( no extra charge).

Have fun planning!!

 

[djpositivek]

There are some air canada flights that avoid TO. The go from hali to Montreal and then on to Orlando. So taking one of these flights would be less hassle than going through Toronto ? I might go that route then. Flights leave really early (6:40 a.m. I think) but I figure we'll be excited and won't be able to sleep plus that would get us there earlier too.

I see that until Feb. 15th it's value season, I think we'll try to go before then in case we might want to stay at Disney for part of our stay. That is if I could find a REALLY good deal.

 

[djpositivek]

We booked using Aeroplan Miles leaving Halifax on Jan. 29th returning Feb. 8th. Going through Montreal on the way there and TO on the way back. Will be looking for cheap prices at one of the value resorts at Disney for 5 nights possibly. Rest of the time we'll be camping off site with my folks. Also might be able to get a deal on tickets, apprently my Dad has a Florida drivers license as they go there every winter. Will have to look into that...

 

[coastgirl]

Glad you got it booked! How exciting! You leave about the same time we arrive...The values are I think about $79 a night at that point. THere's a sale on for annual passholders, but it only saves $20/nt so not worth it to buy the AP on a short stay. I hear the Americans talk about AAA discounts; don't know if you are CAA members, but there might be a slight discount there. (We booked through CAA last May, but bought one AP which gave us better discounts than the CAA would've been.)

I don't know how the preclearance in Hfx will affect the TO thing (it should be in place by then), maybe we'll be able to arrive at the international terminal and not futz with the bags there... We are looking at doing 2 seats through Aeroplan and 2 through AirMiles; a pain to travel separately, but worth it if we can actually book decent points seats.

Anyway, congrats on getting the booking made, that's exciting!