September Trip for Four: Tickets, Hotel, and Plan

[RoboFlyer]

I currently have airline tickets to Orlando for me, my wife, my mother-in-law, and my four year old son. My son's birthday is in December, so he'll be inching up on 5 years old by the time we go. This will be all of their first trips to Disney whereas I've been multiple times. Currently, we have no tickets purchased or hotels booked, and while I have thoughts and ideas, I figured I'd toss it to the experts here and see if anyone had any insight.

We arrive in Orlando on Tuesday, September 15th at 9AM. We leave Tuesday, September 22nd at 6PM.

The plan for now is to stay on site at Disney from 9/15 - 9/19 and then from 9/20 - 9/22 stay on site at Universal (I'm an annual passholder there so my trips tend to be Universal focused and I try to squeeze in a day here and there at Disney as time/money/After Hours events permit.)

Right now I'm leaning towards a room at Pop Century because I'm interested in the Skyliner. I stayed at All-Star Movies by myself back in September and really enjoyed it but the Skyliner and dedicated resort bus are appealing. The multiple stops at all the All-Star Resort buses was a minor annoyance, but an annoyance nonetheless. The price is currently hovering just under $200 a night for a Tues-Sat four night stay but I wonder if it might get cheaper as the days get closer? Is Pop Century even the best value option based on my circumstances? Art of Animation LOOKS cool but doesn't seem to be worth the premium in my opinion.

For tickets, I think I'm leaning towards the 4-Park Magic ticket. I'd love to get some extra time in Magic Kingdom possibly on that Tuesday to get a head start but the price differential between 4-Park Magic and 5-Day (even with promos) is rather significant. Especially since best case scenario we wouldn't be walking into MK until around noon at the absolute earliest. Should I just purchase the 4-Park Magic Ticket and hope for the best using day 1 for maybe some downtime at the pool and Disney Springs?

I'm the type of person who likes to do EVERYTHING, but I know my family isn't. Plus you have a wildcard 4 year old whose stamina hasn't been tested this thoroughly yet in his life which is why I feel like it'd be great to split MK into two days. But obviously I'm trying to keep it budget conscious.

Other unknowns at this time are: park hours, Extra Magic Hours, and possible After Hours (where my wife and I could do MK on our own one evening with the MIL staying with my son) or Not So Scary Halloween Party events (which could be a fun add on one evening - maybe even that arrival Tuesday so the extra cost would make more sense?)

Am I just planning too granular too early? Do I need to wait another month or two? I just want to make sure I'm jumping on the best deals when I find them and like to have everything in order as soon as I can. With hotels, I can always cancel and rebook but tickets are pretty much locked in and I'm not sure I fully understand the cost to upgrade them if necessary if I purchase them from somewhere like Undercover Tourist.

Thanks in advance for your insight!

 

[Robo]

1. Right now I'm leaning towards a room at Pop Century... The price is currently hovering just under $200 a night for a Tues-Sat four night stay but I wonder if it might get cheaper as the days get closer?

2. Should I just purchase the 4-Park Magic Ticket and hope for the best using day 1 for maybe some downtime at the pool and Disney Springs?
3. Do I need to wait another month or two?...
4. tickets are pretty much locked in and I'm not sure I fully understand the cost to upgrade them if necessary if I purchase them from somewhere like Undercover Tourist.

1. Doesn't matter. If prices drop, you can simply re-book.
2. Sounds like that's what you want, so go for it. (You can always upgrade tickets... even during your trip.)
3. You can certainly book the resort now and then make changes if you want them.
4. No need to buy tickets (AT ALL) now.
No need to buy tickets util you are about 60 days out.
BUT... You MIGHT be looking at a ticket price increase... no way to know in advance.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I currently have airline tickets to Orlando for me, my wife, my mother-in-law, and my four year old son. My son's birthday is in December, so he'll be inching up on 5 years old by the time we go. This will be all of their first trips to Disney whereas I've been multiple times. Currently, we have no tickets purchased or hotels booked, and while I have thoughts and ideas, I figured I'd toss it to the experts here and see if anyone had any insight.

We arrive in Orlando on Tuesday, September 15th at 9AM. We leave Tuesday, September 22nd at 6PM.

The plan for now is to stay on site at Disney from 9/15 - 9/19 and then from 9/20 - 9/22 stay on site at Universal (I'm an annual passholder there so my trips tend to be Universal focused and I try to squeeze in a day here and there at Disney as time/money/After Hours events permit.)

Right now I'm leaning towards a room at Pop Century because I'm interested in the Skyliner. I stayed at All-Star Movies by myself back in September and really enjoyed it but the Skyliner and dedicated resort bus are appealing. The multiple stops at all the All-Star Resort buses was a minor annoyance, but an annoyance nonetheless. The price is currently hovering just under $200 a night for a Tues-Sat four night stay but I wonder if it might get cheaper as the days get closer? Is Pop Century even the best value option based on my circumstances? Art of Animation LOOKS cool but doesn't seem to be worth the premium in my opinion.

For tickets, I think I'm leaning towards the 4-Park Magic ticket. I'd love to get some extra time in Magic Kingdom possibly on that Tuesday to get a head start but the price differential between 4-Park Magic and 5-Day (even with promos) is rather significant. Especially since best case scenario we wouldn't be walking into MK until around noon at the absolute earliest. Should I just purchase the 4-Park Magic Ticket and hope for the best using day 1 for maybe some downtime at the pool and Disney Springs?

I'm the type of person who likes to do EVERYTHING, but I know my family isn't. Plus you have a wildcard 4 year old whose stamina hasn't been tested this thoroughly yet in his life which is why I feel like it'd be great to split MK into two days. But obviously I'm trying to keep it budget conscious.

Other unknowns at this time are: park hours, Extra Magic Hours, and possible After Hours (where my wife and I could do MK on our own one evening with the MIL staying with my son) or Not So Scary Halloween Party events (which could be a fun add on one evening - maybe even that arrival Tuesday so the extra cost would make more sense?)

Am I just planning too granular too early? Do I need to wait another month or two? I just want to make sure I'm jumping on the best deals when I find them and like to have everything in order as soon as I can. With hotels, I can always cancel and rebook but tickets are pretty much locked in and I'm not sure I fully understand the cost to upgrade them if necessary if I purchase them from somewhere like Undercover Tourist.

Thanks in advance for your insight!

I don't think it's too early to plan. If you are planning on staying onsite, your 180+10 ADR reservations will open mid-March, so I would try to get a general plan together if there are any special ADRs you'll want to book for your trip.

Pop vs. AoA LM - I would go with Pop. The rooms were recently refurbished and you'll get queen beds.

I would think more about how you would like to divvy up your days in the parks. If you think you will only visit one park each day, the Magic ticket is a good deal.

 

[2Lunds]

1. Doesn't matter. If prices drop, you can simply re-book.
2. Sounds like that's what you want, so go for it. (You can always upgrade tickets... even during your trip.)
3. You can certainly book the resort now and then make changes if you want them.
4. No need to buy tickets (AT ALL) now.
No need to buy tickets util you are about 60 days out.
BUT... You MIGHT be looking at a ticket price increase... no way to know in advance.

I second all of this. We are travelling Sept 9-16 and I booked in January - was able to snag some of the last room discounts (CBR). You only have to put down a small deposit to hold your reservation, and you can change/cancel right up to 30 days in advance. Book now to secure your room, then keep an eye on prices (maybe do a Google alert "Disney room discount" or some such) and if the rates go down, call and have them apply the discount.

Ticket increases usually drop in Feb/March so now is the time to book IMO

 

[Raya]

Not So Scary Halloween Party events (which could be a fun add on one evening - maybe even that arrival Tuesday so the extra cost would make more sense?)

I love Halloween. I go to MNSSHP every year. It's not worth the cost if you're going to be miserable.

So some questions: What time are you arriving on Tuesday? How will you be traveling? is your kid a night owl or does he have to go to bed strictly at 10?

Here's why I ask... if you drive and will arrive Tuesday at 6pm, having traveled for 12 hours, I wouldn't recommend it. If you're going to fly in, and have an early flight, along with a kid who will nap in the afternoon and stay up to midnight with no trouble - it could be a blast. Party tickets can get you into the park as early as 4pm. If you're arriving that morning/early afternoon, and can stay up late they're a great way to see MK.

 

[RoboFlyer]

I love Halloween. I go to MNSSHP every year. It's not worth the cost if you're going to be miserable.

So some questions: What time are you arriving on Tuesday? How will you be traveling? is your kid a night owl or does he have to go to bed strictly at 10?

Here's why I ask... if you drive and will arrive Tuesday at 6pm, having traveled for 12 hours, I wouldn't recommend it. If you're going to fly in, and have an early flight, along with a kid who will nap in the afternoon and stay up to midnight with no trouble - it could be a blast. Party tickets can get you into the park as early as 4pm. If you're arriving that morning/early afternoon, and can stay up late they're a great way to see MK.

So we are flying in - our flight lands at 10AM on Tuesday morning. I'm thinking best case scenario we are hopping off the Magical Express at noon at Pop Century. Given that our morning is shot at that point the options are either to hang out around the resort and/or Disney Springs for the rest of the day, or hope for a Not So Scary or After Hours even that night.

My son is pretty settled into his routine, but he has no problem staying up if necessary. I feel like it could be difficult to get him to take a mid-day nap but who knows what his priorities will be in 6 months. My bigger concern is that he's never been tested so much up to this point so I have no idea what his limits are. I think as long as he keeps going, he won't burn out but then I get concerned about the next morning.

I did go ahead and purchase the 4-Day Magic Tickets, so I'm locked in now. No going back.

So right now in an ideal scenario, not taking burn out into consideration, and the fact that no event dates have been posted yet, here's what I'm thinking:

Tuesday: Not So Scary Halloween Party if it's on this night
Wednesday: Later morning start at Epcot
Thursday: Magic Kingdom
Friday: Hollywood Studios (I almost just called this Rise of the Resistance, so you know where my head is at)
Saturday: Animal Kingdom

Undercover Tourist Crowd Calendar says Tues-Thurs are slow and Friday/Saturday are moderate. Obviously, this being Disney, "slow" doesn't mean much, but would it be more advantageous to change the order of parks to maximize crowd levels? My thinking was that Epcot is not an incredibly packed park unless we spend a significant amount of time around the world showcase so that one we could get a late start for.

If a late night event on Tuesday doesn't end up materializing, I'd probably start with an MK rope drop on Wednesday morning, followed by Hollywood, AK, and then Epcot.

My biggest priorities are:
As much time in MK as we can to experience as much of it as possible without it getting too overwhelming - while I have no problem racing from one ride to the next, that's not exactly my family's speed. Which is where the NSSHP comes in.

Rise of the Resistance - unknown what the situation will be in 7 months but hopefully it only gets easier and more reliable to get on with time. Rode it back in December and can't wait to get on it again.

Flight of Passage

Everything else varies on the priority level. Obviously Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway is super important but I feel like that won't be a big deal.

We're also not super concerned about dining reservations, but maybe we should be? That's always been outside my area of expertise and I don't think there's going to be a huge demand from my family to go to sit down restaurants.

Thanks again for your help everyone!

 

[Disneyfan754321]

If i have learned anything its go ahead and give Disney the deposit and buy your trip and tickets.
They are really good a changing things. With a possible ticket price change coming up it would be nice to lock the current price in. Disney hotels fill up fast you dont want to loose your spot.
My kids family prefers AOA over pop, i think because they dont get the theme but im not really sure. We have boys and they really wanted the cars suite we just could not do it.. but if you can its super cool. And would give you the privacy and a little extra space

Epcot- dont forget about all the new additioms this summer. Might be busier than you think.