Semi-Newbie Seeking Vacation Advice

[Acctingchick]

Hello Everyone,

First I want to thank everyone here for being such amazingly helpful Disney planners. I have been a lurker for about 2 years now and can honestly say I learn new things daily when I visit. Having shamelessly buttered you gals/guys up I was hoping for some help with a decision I am trying to make regarding my disney planning. LOL

I am finally getting my family to agree to return after two years and I think I have a date all picked out Sept 17 (MY Birthday btw) thru Sept 24. Herein lies my question. Because I want to wait until free dining in announced would it be better to try to book a room only reservation now to get my resort i want and add on everything else later or should I wait until the offer I want (free Dining) is announced before making any reservations? I am unsure what to do waiting seems like the wrong thing to do but booking now seems to early. HELP! Please. I know someone here will be able to help me decide. I thank you guys so much for the advice.

 

[johnsonmatt3]

i would book early. Then make the dining reservations. If you plan to dine with cinderella at the castle book 180 days in advance. they book extremely fast. But again, book your room so you know that you have a room and you are already guarenteed (dont know if thats how you spell it) the dining reservations.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We always book as soon as we can, room only, only one night deposit required and we rather have the room discount more than a dining plan. Gives us a long time to chase codes and discounts and compare what's the best deal, and we can cancel 5 days before checking in for a full refund. The way things book up, I'd rather have a secure reservation than waiting to get nothing or a second choise resort. Better safe than sorry, and easy to convert!

 

[Mrs D]

Hello Everyone,

First I want to thank everyone here for being such amazingly helpful Disney planners. I have been a lurker for about 2 years now and can honestly say I learn new things daily when I visit. Having shamelessly buttered you gals/guys up I was hoping for some help with a decision I am trying to make regarding my disney planning. LOL

I am finally getting my family to agree to return after two years and I think I have a date all picked out Sept 17 (MY Birthday btw) thru Sept 24. Herein lies my question. Because I want to wait until free dining in announced would it be better to try to book a room only reservation now to get my resort i want and add on everything else later or should I wait until the offer I want (free Dining) is announced before making any reservations? I am unsure what to do waiting seems like the wrong thing to do but booking now seems to early. HELP! Please. I know someone here will be able to help me decide. I thank you guys so much for the advice.

There are always 2 schools of thought on this.
1. Book what you want and change it if a better discount comes out.
2. If you book a room, Disney doesn't feel the sting of empty rooms and therefore offers less discounts.

I will tell you that Disney is emailing PIN codes to specific people with free dining for your dates (just booked mine today ).
Here is what I would do if I were looking for a free dining offer:
* Register with the Disney website making sure I accept to receive any kind of communication from Disney.
* I would price out several various vacations/rooms quotes and save them. You can save up to 5. I would do different dates, different resorts, some rooms only, some packages with tickets and dining.
* I would make sure to check my spam box frequently and if I received an email from Disney I would add them to my contacts list.
* I would call to get a price quote or two and while they are looking me up in the system ask if I have any PIN codes associated with my name or anyone in my family or who I would be traveling with.
It worked for me this year and in 2009 as well!

HTH!

 

[Metro West]

 

[Disn3y]

Welcome to the DIS!

 

[johnsonmatt3]

You should also plan on what your going to do there before you actually get there. If you spend time deciding on what to do while your there then that can get to be a real time waster.

 

[johnsonmatt3]

I dont know of a cheaper way of staying at disney other than a disney hotel. After all the costs add up, using a disney hotel is cheaper, even the cheapest hotel, once you add up the entrance fee and all. I would suggest chef mickeys in contemprary resort for a meal, it needs a reservation though. I will send a link right after this post that will send you to a disney website where you can customize FREE maps of all the parks. you can put your favorites in one list but no matter what it will have all the rides and resteraunts in lists and where they are on the maps.

Here is the site for the maps.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/w...cid=TC|12599|disney world maps||S||3456520944

 

[lovetoscrap]

Hello Everyone,
HELP! Please. I know someone here will be able to help me decide. I thank you guys so much for the advice.

Make sure that you check our Codes and Rates board (a subforum of the Resorts Board) for all the latest news and rumors. Often you will find out there a day or so in advance when Free Dining will be announced. If I am planning trip I try to check in there a few times a day.

Also, realize that Disney only blocks off a specific number of rooms at each resort for their promotions. So even if you make a room only reservation at the resort of your choice that may not mean that you can just add the promotion to it. The number of rooms for that resort may already be sold out for the promotional offer. That is why you may see that there is room availability for a room only reservation but none if you are booking the promotion. The best way to insure you get the resort you want is to call ASAP when the booking opens. Some people get complacent and think "Well, I already have the room booked, so I can just add the promotion when I get time" and by then it is too late and you have to choose another location on property.

 

[lovetoscrap]

Can anyone suggest some good things to do when you do decide to go? I went to Disneyland about 20 years ago but I'd like to plan another holiday there. What are some good restaurants to try out and can anybody suggest a good hotel other than the Disney hotel? I spend a lot of time in Canada with my relatives but I'm looking for an escape from the cold!

Welcome! You may want to start your own thread for your questions to get the most input, but the best way to get the information you want is to spend time reading our boards. Our restaurant board is chock full of recommendations of where to eat with lots of information on every restaurant, and we have a forum for Orlando Hotels that you can look through for recommendations.

And be sure to check out our information site: www.wdwinfo.com --- there you can find menus for every restaurant (including prices) and photos and details for all the resorts/parks/attractions. It is really the best place to start to learn about everything Disney.