planning my first trip on my own!

[kayleigh83]

Eee!! I have been a Disboards fiend the last couple days (among other sites!) as I take some first serious steps towards planning a trip to DLR!! I have been twice, but both times I was a child so none of the planning was my job - just the having fun part!

This time around, I'm working on planning a trip for next summer for myself and my boyfriend, who has never been! I might from time to time post questions either in this thread or around the boards.. wherever seems more appropriate!

My tentative plan is late July (could correspond with my boyfriend's birthday July 24 so that would be fun, also our 5 yr dating anniversary is early July..) or early August... I want to do 5 days park hopping, 6 nights total... possibly wanting to do two dedicated travel days. So that would make day 1 travel to, days 2-6 in parks and day 7 travel home.

Right now the hotel I'm looking at the most seriously is Tropicana Inn & Suites - I like the proximity to the park, and the fact that even though it's listed as "moderate" the pricing (at least right now) seems better than a lot of the economy hotels that are practically right next to it. I'm also liking it because it has continental breakfast, good way to save money on food costs there.

I was actually surprised because when I got a current quote for the dates I'm thinking of going on Disneyland's site for tickets and hotel room, it was about $1518 but when I checked the hotel's website for room quotes and Flight Centre's website for tickets, it only worked out to $1269! Big difference!

Any other tips you can offer for someone (Canadian) who is not a first time visitor but a first time trip planner? I know most of the tips for the park itself but the travel planning/logistics is where I need advice! Anything would help!!

 

[sonnyjane]

The price of booking a room and buying your tickets separately is almost always cheaper than booking the package through Disney, which you found by looking it up on Tropicana's site. I'd just go ahead and buy your tickets online and book Tropicana directly if that's the hotel you choose. I have stayed there before (in February of this year) and liked it. They had a fridge and microwave in the room and a nice flat-screen tv. They have since imposed a new parking fee but you don't mention if you will have a car or not.

 

[kayleigh83]

Hey sonnyjane! Thanks for the reply! No, we won't have a car - we'll be flying in and taking a shuttle to/from the airport!

Another reason I'm leaning away from Disney's booking is it seems near impossible to get an airline quote... no matter what dates I put and what airport I choose, it always says it wasn't able to find any flights. Is this normal? I tried all airports, anytime for flights and dates ranging from next month, to three months out, to six months out... is there something wrong with their site?

In any case, I'll probably use expedia.ca anyways!

 

[sonnyjane]

Oh, I can't help with the airfare part. I live within driving distance so I've never flown or used their site. I'm sure you can probably book cheaper elsewhere anyway, so no harm done

It's good that you won't have a car - you'll save enough for a decent dinner out by not having that extra expense for the week.

 

[kayleigh83]

Good to know!! I want as much extra money as possible to enjoy a less strict budget on food, and of course some souvenirs!

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

I'm not surprised by the price difference between Disney and booking directly. The Good Neighbor Hotel thing is nice and all, but ultimately Disney wants you to stay on their property, so i think they do try to get you a good rate elsewhere, but they don't try very hard, if that makes sense .

 

[kayleigh83]

Strangely enough, I hadn't thought of it that way!! But you have a good point!! But sorry Disney, it's still double the price to stay at your hotel soo... not on this budget!!

I think my overall goal is fairly reasonable - 2 adults, and I want the overall cost to be at or around $3000 for everything - airfare, hotel, park tickets, food, souvenirs... I think it's manageable! Airfare is what kills you!