So confused.. please help!! XP

[theonlyisamu]

Alright, so I'm 17, and I was put in charge of planning the family's disney vacation. I was wondering if I could ask you guys for some help if its ok....


So:
We're planning to be going at about early to mid June at Pop century, but we want to save as much money as possible.

-Where do I find discounts? How can we save money? Any tips? Any promotions?
-What saves more $$$ (4/3 or free dining?)
-how do you get free dining? lol


-Where do you book your trip, through an agent or through the disney world website?

-We want to stay on property, but my dad is likely to book off property to save $$. Would the 4/3 deal/free dining save money if we stayed on property compared to if we stayed off property?

I really appreciate your help!!!

 

[CLR4321]

Alright, so I'm 17, and I was put in charge of planning the family's disney vacation. I was wondering if I could ask you guys for some help if its ok....


So:
We're planning to be going at about early to mid June at Pop century, but we want to save as much money as possible.

-Where do I find discounts? How can we save money? Any tips? Any promotions?
-What saves more $$$ (4/3 or free dining?)
-how do you get free dining? lol


-Where do you book your trip, through an agent or through the disney world website?

-We want to stay on property, but my dad is likely to book off property to save $$. Would the 4/3 deal/free dining save money if we stayed on property compared to if we stayed off property?

I really appreciate your help!!!

How fun to get to plan the family trip! I used to do that too when I was a teenager. In fact, I loved it so much I ended up becoming a travel agent.

As far as saving $$$, we would need to know a few things. Are you planning on eating out for every meal? Are you open to eating in the room to save $$? How many people are going (# of adults and ages of kids)?
The 4/3 deal will be going on when you are going. Free dining will not be.
I am a master of expense cutting for vacations.

 

[wilde_oscar]

a good starting point would be talking to a good travel agent. dreamsunlimtedtravel.com will give you free quotes, will work with you to get the most for your discount and specialize in disney vacations. They are also the primary sponser of these boards.

 

[theonlyisamu]

How fun to get to plan the family trip! I used to do that too when I was a teenager. In fact, I loved it so much I ended up becoming a travel agent.

As far as saving $$$, we would need to know a few things. Are you planning on eating out for every meal? Are you open to eating in the room to save $$? How many people are going (# of adults and ages of kids)?
The 4/3 deal will be going on when you are going. Free dining will not be.
I am a master of expense cutting for vacations.

Thanks for your help!
We're not turned off to eating in the room, but I think we'll be out all day so we don't think we can come back and eat. So I think we'll be eating out every meal.

My dad couldn't make it, so it'll be my mom (oooover 18 lol), me (17), and my sister (11).

 

[Halbleib1]

If you are going to go with the dining plan free dining is the best deal of the year for Pop Century but it is only available from August 16-October 3. Being that you want to go in June you would be better off booking the 4/3 deal. Although I think that promo is set to end March 30th when it is rumored that free dining is to be released to the public. So you need to book that very soon to get in on it. You will need a $200.00 deposit put down on any package. If you are booking a room only you will need to pay for one full nights room at the time of booking. But being that your vacation is coming up quickly keep in mind that you must pay off the whole package 45 days before you are due to arrive. Room only bookings I believe you pay any remaining money at checkin. If you do not want a table service meal every night disney offers a counter service plan now but the regular dining plan with the table service meals is only $10 more a night so well worth it. It all depends on what you are looking to do and how much you are willing to spend. You can get a price quote from Disney at disneyworld.com. Compare anything that a travel agent gives you with disney's website. Some travel agents will come up cheaper some will be the same and some may even be higher. It all depends.

For us we have always found staying on site more affordable than not just because of the inconvenience of getting there as well as the daily parking fee charged. If you stay on site and choose to drive to the parks parking is included. Most hotels are going to be around the same price as Pop per night. Maybe a little bit less expensive. Also if you stay on site you get the extra magic hours in the mornings and evenings. The mornings allow you to get in an hour early and the evenings allow you to stay in the parks up to three hours after reg. park closing. Might be a nice bonus with crowd levels higher in the summer months. Also esp. when it is hot it is nice to be able to go back to the room in the afternoon to rest and cool off before heading out to the parks again in the evenings. Staying off site usually takes too much time for this.

Also you did not say if you are flying or driving in. But if you are flying in Disney provides free Magical Express Service from the airport to your Disney World resort and back to the airport. So that would save you money from having to rent a car unless you were planning on going elsewhere while there and would need the car anyway. But if you decide to use Disney Magical Express it is a nice convenient service. We have used it three times now and never had any problems with it. We have always arrived at our resort within about 2 hours or less of landing at the airport. It also saves you from having to collect your bags at the airport on arrival as well. The only things you will have to worry about carrying are your carryons. On your return trip home if you fly certain airlines you can check your luggage right at the resort. If you do not than you will have to get your luggage loaded onto the bus and transport it through the airport to checkin yourself.

Enjoy your trip planning and feel free to ask any questions. We are always glad to help on these boards.

 

[4forMe]

Your best best is to get the 4/3 promotion which must be booked by March 29th. However, it appears from the Disney website that the promotion is not available from 6/7-6/25/09. I would suggest calling Disney CRO at 407-939-6244 A.S.A.P. so they can let you know if the promotion is available for the dates you want. If you can find dates that work for your family, you need to book this promotion soon as it ends in a couple of days.

Good luck with your trip planning!

 

[CLR4321]

Thanks for your help!
We're not turned off to eating in the room, but I think we'll be out all day so we don't think we can come back and eat. So I think we'll be eating out every meal.

My dad couldn't make it, so it'll be my mom (oooover 18 lol), me (17), and my sister (11).

Ok great. 3 people will fit just fine in a room at POP.
My #1 suggestion is to place an order with wegoshop.com. They are a shopping service. Buy breakfast food, drinks, bottled water, snacks, and stuff to make sandwiches or another quick meal. Bring stuff like granola bars, meal bars, raisins, trail mix, etc into the park with you everyday so you don't need to buy snacks inside the parks. Bring instant juice packets (like Crystal light) and water bottles for all 3 of you. You can get free water and then mix in the packets to make juice to drink in the parks.
#2: Sign up for one of the fridge/coffee maker swaps. You can find these listed on the Budget Board (sign up ASAP as the spaces do get filled). You can use the coffee maker to boil water for stuff like instant oatmeal, hot chocolate, etc.
#3: Shop ahead of time for things that you can bring with you. Bringing stuff from home saves money! We brought glow in the dark necklaces for my DS so we wouldn't need to hear him cry for the ones for sale there. Bring 1 large ziplock (with the zipper closure!) per day that you will be there plus 2-3 extras to pack snacks in incase they get squished (don't want a mess inside your backpack!). Of course bring a backpack to bring into the parks with you. You can take the backpack on the rides with no problems.
#4: Order kids meals for cheaper meals. Kids meals at most places are only $4.99, and are pretty substantial kids meals. If you are still hungry, eat some of the snacks you bring into the parks.
#5: Plan ahead what souvenirs you will buy or give each person a set allowance for them so you don't overspend on them.
#6: The 4/3 deal ends on March 29th! Book by then if you can!
#7: Fly on an airline that doesn't charge for checked bags. Southwest does not charge for them. Most airlines charge $15 per bag each way, it saved us $90.

Have fun on your trip!

 

[Halbleib1]

If the 4/3 deal is not available for the time you wanted in June is there any way you could go later in the year sometime between August 16- October 3 so that you could get free dining? That would be the most affordable for you in all likelyhood.

In case you do not know Disney considers anyone over the age of 10 as an adult.

 

[Halbleib1]

From the disneyworld website:

Buy 4 Get 3 Free
Offer valid for most Disney resorts at varying rates for stays most nights 4/27 - 5/18, 5/23 - 6/6, and 6/26 - 8/15/09 .

Sample 7 Night Package during Summer Season at a Value Resort as low as $1421 including 7 Day Theme Park tickets:



For a family of four in a standard room
For stays most nights between 5/23 - 6/6, 6/26 - 8/8/09
That's like paying $51 a night per person for this package
Total package savings of $450



When traveling between 4/19 - 6/15, 6/22 - 8/15/09 AND you stay at either Disney's Old Key West Resort or Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, you'll receive a $100 Disney Gift Card.




Studio rooms at Disney's Old Key West Resort and Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa have amenities such as a kitchenette with microwave, mini-refrigerator, wet bar and coffee maker. Ask about One- and two-bedroom villas for even more amenities like a well equipped kitchen, washer/dryer and whirlpool tub to make you feel right at home!



Prices based on 2 adults, 1 junior, and 1 child. The number of packages allocated for this offer is limited. Savings based on non-discounted price for a 7 night/7 day Magic Your Way Package. Tickets are for 1 Theme Park per day and must be used within 14 days of first use. See Important Details.

Book through March 29, 2009!