Sept / Oct 2011

[kylieh]

Kylieh,
Great to know you will be at WDW for Halloween as well..... Does everyone dress up?
We have never done Halloween and looking forward to it.

I can't wait to dress up. We were at DL in 2008 at Halloween time but decided to skip the party, can't remember why, though it was all decorated and we have lots of pics with pumpkins. DD also went to a Halloween party at her dance school. But that's as far as it's got for us.

So this year will be our first dress up. From the photos I've seen most the kids dress up and a lot, but not all the adults do. DH isn't convinced on the dressing up part, so when DD said she now wants to be Vanessa and it would be really good if her dad could be Dr D (Vanessa's dad) DH is almost convinced now he has to do it. hehehehe.

Originally she was going to be a ghost bride or but somehow she changed her mind, and the new plan will be a lot easier! Don't have to add a lot to the bag either. And DD can't really back out now as her Nan has started to cut the pattern out for the shirt.

I'm planning to run the WDW Wine and Dine Half Marathon is celebration of a quite scary "noughty" birthday this year.

Hi Bondgirl. Great to see you. Half-Marathon. Wow that's good. I can't run half-kilometer, so that is really cool!!

 

[bondgirl]

Thanks for the welcomes guys. Nice to 'meet' you all.
It's nice to know that there are people in Australia who are as into all this as my family is.

 

[hellosue]

Thanks for the welcomes guys. Nice to 'meet' you all.
It's nice to know that there are people in Australia who are as into all this as my family is.

Yeah, non Disney fans just don't get why we are so excited about going to Disney World....


Became a Shareholder of Disney today so might be able to claim as tax deduction!!!

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Thanks for the welcomes guys. Nice to 'meet' you all.
It's nice to know that there are people in Australia who are as into all this as my family is.

Welcome to the boards.
Obsessed with Disney would be the word in our house

 

[AussieMumma]

Hi everyone. I'm finally starting to organise our next USA trip. We've had the airfares booked for a few weeks but life has gotten in the way of doing anything else!
We fly out of Brisbane on the 26th Sep and are doing Chicago, New York and Orlando and then fly out of LA on the 21st October.
This is my fourth trip to the US and my dh and kids third. It's our first time to Chicago, NY and Orlando though so very exciting!!

I'm after your opinions on whether to stay in a Disney hotel or not. Does it save you alot of time travel wise? I'd probably be happy to spend the extra $$ to save travel time so we can have as much time in the parks as possible.
Our only issue is trying to get rooms to fit us, we have four kids so need 2 bedroom suites or inter-connecting rooms.

 

[battymum]

You will get many conflicting answers as to whether to stay on site or not - we are family of five and have booked connecting rooms at Pop Century, this was the best value on site resort for us, I think it was about 300pn for both rooms, but we booked when there was a free dining offer on, so for our $300 we get one table service meal and one quick service meal and a snack for everyone in our party.

Staying on site also gives you access to Magical Express transportation from airport to hotel.

Rooms at Disney typically have 2 double beds in each room, so two of your kids will have to share.....

There is also an abundance of off site villas and condos which have a lot more room and are generally cheaper - you will need to hire a car though and pay for parking.

 

[AussieMumma]

The kids are used to sharing beds on holidays so that's not an issue.
Our original plan was to stay in a villa at Windsor Hills and rent a car for our entire stay (rather then just the non Disneyworld part) but then I started to think that what we saved in not hiring a car for the 7 days (we would hire a Suburban so quite pricey) we could put that towards staying onsite and save ourselves a bit of time as well.

There's probably no chance of the free dining option coming up again before October is there? We only started planning this holiday a couple of months ago so didn't realise how far ahead you had to book!

 

[Tara2004]

We are planing to stay at Disneyworld late october to earily November. I have 2 kids. (7 & 4 years)

What is the best out of the budget hotels in Disneyworld? Whats the quality like, and do the rooms look tired and worn out from heavy use?

Is there a good hotels which is self contained out side of Disney, but close by? Or even one thats got a shuttle bus to disney?

Any help would be fantastic.

 

[austraveler]

The kids are used to sharing beds on holidays so that's not an issue.
Our original plan was to stay in a villa at Windsor Hills and rent a car for our entire stay (rather then just the non Disneyworld part) but then I started to think that what we saved in not hiring a car for the 7 days (we would hire a Suburban so quite pricey) we could put that towards staying onsite and save ourselves a bit of time as well.

There's probably no chance of the free dining option coming up again before October is there? We only started planning this holiday a couple of months ago so didn't realise how far ahead you had to book!

We booked interconnecting rooms (family of 5) and loved staying on property. I felt like we were flying such a long distance that we wanted the full "magic of disney" experience. The resorts were like being at the parks. We maximised park time too and were able to drop back to the room for a swim and a rest and then venture back out in the evening. There are complaints left right and centre about the busses but we thought they were great.

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Hi everyone. I'm finally starting to organise our next USA trip. We've had the airfares booked for a few weeks but life has gotten in the way of doing anything else!
We fly out of Brisbane on the 26th Sep and are doing Chicago, New York and Orlando and then fly out of LA on the 21st October.
This is my fourth trip to the US and my dh and kids third. It's our first time to Chicago, NY and Orlando though so very exciting!!

I'm after your opinions on whether to stay in a Disney hotel or not. Does it save you alot of time travel wise? I'd probably be happy to spend the extra $$ to save travel time so we can have as much time in the parks as possible.
Our only issue is trying to get rooms to fit us, we have four kids so need 2 bedroom suites or inter-connecting rooms.

Welcome we also have 4 kids and we ended up booking 2 rooms at POP they are meant to be interconnecting but we haven't stayed yet so cant tell you we got them both for $150.40 Aus a night but we are there in August a friend of our stayed there recently and said to me the best way to describe them is they are like a basic Comfort Inn room I was happy with that as we will be in the parks anyway.
Happy planning

 

[AussieMumma]

Sorry to sound dumb but POP is which hotel?
Next question is if we decide to stay in a Disney hotel who should we book through? I have been told to book either directly with Disney World reservations or through a USA travel agent rather then an Australian one. Do you all agree with this?
And should we wait and see if any deals come up since we still have 5 months or should we just book now to guarantee a room?

Then a question about off site accommodation. Are there any places that have regular shuttle buses to Disney World? And by regular I mean every 15 minutes.

I tell you what, walking 10 minutes to Disneyland just seems so easy right about now! But I (and the whole family) really really can't wait to go to Disney World

Thanks everyone for your help so far.

 

[AussieMumma]

Pop Century Resort, I worked it out!!

 

[Oz-kateer]

Next question is if we decide to stay in a Disney hotel who should we book through? I have been told to book either directly with Disney World reservations or through a USA travel agent rather then an Australian one. Do you all agree with this?
And should we wait and see if any deals come up since we still have 5 months or should we just book now to guarantee a room?

YES YES YES book either direct with Disney or via a USA based travel agent.

I can personally recommend Dreams Unlimited (have used them several times) but there are a few others around, others will have other recommendations.

The good thing about using a USA based Travel Agent is that you can make a booking now, pay a US$200 deposit within the week, and this will secure your booking.

You then have to pay the balance of the amount owing 45 days out from your arrival date. You can "pay it off" by instalments at any time. I do this - I book a year out and then divide the cost by 10 and pay monthly. Almost painless.

If any better deals come up between when you book and when your booking is completely finalised (45 days out from your arrival date) then they will automatically swap you over to the better deal. So you don't have to wait and/or gamble on getting a better deal. You're not locked in.

And if it all falls in a heap and you can't go, as long as you cancel at least 45 days out you get a full refund. If you cancel less than 45 days out, you can still get a refund, but I think they hang on to a few hundred dollars penalty fee. It varies slightly.

It's by far the fairest travel deal I've ever come across. I wish the airlines did it!!!!

 

[hellosue]

Pop Century Resort, I worked it out!!

Hi AussieMumma,

Welcome to the forum, although I have never been to DW before I quickly learnt that Disney Agents in US do a lot for no cost to you.... I use Magic For Less (Deb Chambers) others you Dreams Unlimited and another Company I just cant remember. Everyone is different and has there likes and dislikes.... My Disney Agent booked all my Advanced Dining Reservations ADR's and Special Events while I was sleeping plus she booked all my Universal/Seaworld acc. as well so worth it....

We are Staying at POP Century (12 nights Sept 17-29) which is one of the Value Hotels and because it is the newest it has its own transport to the theme parks (not sharing with other value hotels). We didn't get Free Dining but only paid approx USD68 per night.

By staying at a Disney Hotel you can take advantage of Magic hours am and pm.

Also you are right in time to celebrate Halloween (MNSSHP), they tell me it is awesome!!!

 

[battymum]

I think the thing you have to think about is where you are going to eat, there are no kitchen facilities at Pop Century resort,(not even a fridge, unless you pay extra), so you will have to be buying every meal, which can get pricey for six people. You can get some grocerys delivered such as snacks and drinks, but it would be hard to make a meal. You can also purchase a dining plan - again, pricey for six, and kids over 9 are classed as adults.

A lot of people also say that you can get better and cheaper meals off site.

For me, it was no question that we would be staying off-site and catering for ourselves with a few meals paid for out of pocket. Then the free dining offer came up, I crunched the numbers and I am very happy with that deal, not sure if it will come up again.

I have to say I am happy that we are staying on site for the whole experience,although I am pretty sure we will only be sleeping at the resort. If it was a trade off between paying $200 + per meal, or only eating fast food for every meal then I would choose off-site everytime.

Most people on here book through dreamsunlimitedtravel.com, an online travel agency, you will probably find a link on these boards, if you book through them, they keep an eye out for further discounts and will apply them to your booking.

As I said, I havent yet been, so am no expert, this is what I have learnt from six months of reading these boards, hope it helps!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Kylieh,
Great to know you will be at WDW for Halloween as well..... Does everyone dress up?We have never done Halloween and looking forward to it......

I did two MNSSHP last year. At both parties, I would say about 60% of the people dressed up and the others got a Disney shirt to put on. The ones that dressed up were FANTASTIC!

 

[PrincessInOz]

We are planing to stay at Disneyworld late october to earily November. I have 2 kids. (7 & 4 years)

What is the best out of the budget hotels in Disneyworld? Whats the quality like, and do the rooms look tired and worn out from heavy use?

Is there a good hotels which is self contained out side of Disney, but close by? Or even one thats got a shuttle bus to disney?

Any help would be fantastic.

Welcome to the boards!

POP is the favourite value hotel; but plenty of the Americans stay at the All Stars.

There are a number of hotels that advertise shuttle buses to Disney but to the best of my knowledge, none of them are really regular....most of them run on an hourly schedule.

If you decide to stay off-site, you are probably going to want to have the freedom of your own rental so that you can come and go as you please.

 

[battymum]

hey, why am I paying $150per night, per room? , when you guys are only paying $70

I never really got a full breakup, our total for the 2 rooms, 5 adults, eight nights was 3634 including the park tickets, I think we paid extra for a preferred room (whatever that is...and upgrade to regular dining plan)

Free dining, not so free, is it......I still think it is pretty good value, we paid that sort of money last year at the Gold Coast, and there was no food involved.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Sorry to sound dumb but POP is which hotel?
Next question is if we decide to stay in a Disney hotel who should we book through? I have been told to book either directly with Disney World reservations or through a USA travel agent rather then an Australian one. Do you all agree with this?
And should we wait and see if any deals come up since we still have 5 months or should we just book now to guarantee a room?

Then a question about off site accommodation. Are there any places that have regular shuttle buses to Disney World? And by regular I mean every 15 minutes.

I tell you what, walking 10 minutes to Disneyland just seems so easy right about now! But I (and the whole family) really really can't wait to go to Disney World

Thanks everyone for your help so far.

The US travel agents will charge the same price as going through the Disney website. The Australian TAs will charge like a wounded bull.

I've used SmallWorld Vacations and have been very happy with their service.

 

[PrincessInOz]

hey, why am I paying $150per night, per room? , when you guys are only paying $70

I never really got a full breakup, our total for the 2 rooms, 5 adults, eight nights was 3634 including the park tickets, I think we paid extra for a preferred room (whatever that is...and upgrade to regular dining plan)

Free dining, not so free, is it......I still think it is pretty good value, we paid that sort of money last year at the Gold Coast, and there was no food involved.

Free dining does come at a cost.....the cost of a room at full rack rate. You really have to do your homework when it comes to Disney Fuzzy Maths. Depending on the offer and how you eat and how many in your travel party, it may actually be cheaper to take the room only discount and put the savings towards food.

FWIW - I did a full accounting of my trip in May last year where:
a) I stayed for 5 nights at POR with the 30% room only discount and paid for the QSDP. On the QSDP and assuming that we would have eaten as much food as was served, we probably saved 25% on food. The deal clincher was the refillable mug, which we used well at POR.
b) I then stayed for 5 nights at BCV with the 45% room only discount; no dining plan. We paid OOP for all meals. This one is harder to compare because we decided to do a few more TS restaurants; given that we were paying OOP. We probably paid about $200 more for food than if we had purchased the regular DP.

If I compared the cost of food for 2 adults and 1 child plus the room only discount to the price it would have cost me IF Free Dining were available at full room rate, in both instances...it was cheaper for me to use the room only discount than to take FD option on full rack rate; particularly at the Deluxe resort.