Ready to book or should we wait?

[Willowtrees]

Hello,

We are a family of four including our 2 sons who will be 6 and one turning 9 at our time of vacation in November/ December 2006. My 2 in-laws are also going.
We are planning to stay at the pop century - low cost - kids liked the pictures we saw online. We will have to have 2 rooms with 4 adults and 2 children.
We are planning on going from Nov 26 to Dec 6., buying 8 day passes including park hopper and the option for pleasure island, water parks, etc.
We have AAA.
SHould we book this now, or is it better to wait until a little closer? ANy other suggestions to do or not do would be very helpful - it is so hard to figure out the best decisions, such as dining plan, # of days etc. WE are also planning on Cirque de soleil and one day at Universal FLorida.
Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[bicker]

Welcome to The DIS!

Is this your first visit to Walt Disney World?

 

[Willowtrees]

Last time i was there was before children, in 1994 - it has been a while!

 

[dzneelvr]

Welcome! Your family sounds exactly like ours on the first trip many years ago so I had to respond. Here's some things to think about: with the number of your group, have you thought about one purchasing an annual pass? we do even though we go once a year, because with the AP, you can get discounts on rooms, shopping, park tickets, and the Dining Pass. Put a block of time for shopping at DTD--the huge Disney story there carries just about everything you'll see around the parks and you get a straight discount off your total with an AP. The Dining pass we get is the Disney Dining Express--a straight 20% off your bill--rather than the dining plan where you have to count points, menu choices, etc. Too much thinking for me ! I'd also think about how much you'll use the add on to the water parks. What we found is that our kids enjoyed the resort pool (we stay at ASMo), it's convenience (remember, you'll have to drag all your swim wear, clothes, etc. along when you go), and the weather just wasn't that conducive to taking a day at the water park. We haven't gotten a park hopper plus since that first trip and no regrets. When it comes down to either the parks or a water park--the parks win every time. My order of planning is resort room and flights about 6-7 months out. Then buying the AP, making dining ressies, and limo to/from the airport about 4-5 months out. You can always revise your resort ressie if a discount comes out (NEVER cancel and re-book). Seems to work for us over the years. By making the dining ressies, we know what park we'll be in for the day. You won't possibly do everything the first trip. Enjoy what you can do and use the information for your next trip. The one thing we did enjoy was to take the boat from MGM to EPCOT. That's not advertised alot but it gives you the look at Boardwalk and several of the resorts that you hear about but maybe don't know where they are. Have a wonderful time and have fun planning. www.allearsnet.com will give you a full account of every eaterys' menu items. be sure to check that website in planning. It's very detailed in all respects--will even post what attractions are in rehab.

 

[Willowtrees]

wow thanks - how much are annual passes? Also, with having my mother and father in law with us, my husband and I want to go to Pleasure Island one evening and leave my sons with them, and we want to do disney quest with everyone one time. Is it better to just pay for them seperately, rather than having the add on with tickets? You probably are right about the pools!

 

[DisneyBill]

wow thanks - how much are annual passes? Also, with having my mother and father in law with us, my husband and I want to go to Pleasure Island one evening and leave my sons with them, and we want to do disney quest with everyone one time. Is it better to just pay for them seperately, rather than having the add on with tickets? You probably are right about the pools!

I just checked disneyworld.com, and the AP just became $574 with tax. The 8 day expiring MYW ticket w/PH & Pluses is $292 from Ticketmania. The AP rate for value resorts currently (thru 4/13/06) is $35 off per night, per room. So, pretty quickly you can make-up that difference in ticket cost for one AP.

You can sign up for mousesaver.com's newsletter and save a few bucks further on MYW tix.

Also, with an AP you can purchase a DDE card ($50) and receive 20% discount off meals at most WDW restaurants, for 10, including alcohol. See http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/disc_dining.pdf

If you decide to purchase DQ or Waterpark tix individually, you can also get discounts from Ticketmania.

Lots of good information on these boards!!