So overwhelmed....resort help and dining

[twinboysmom]

I tried looking under what you suggested and nothing was popping up as available and that is when I called Disney and spoke with someone on the phone., I saw the 20% off thing a few hours ago. Since you have so much experience... when you book the room how do you do it... through Disney.com or a travel agent?? And, I am going to order our tickets through undercover tourist. Thanks for that info.... It is so helpful what you are doing- Thank you

I always just go through Disney. When you call on the phone ask about a discount.

 

[Mynamewastaken]

wahoo a little toying around and i just booked a garden view royal room at port orleans for 1,736!!!!!! thanks so much for all your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just paid the deposit!

 

[Mynamewastaken]

ahahah kept toying around and now seeing that if I went with a value one I would save 600.00 hmmmmmmmm

 

[mickeynut1]

wahoo a little toying around and i just booked a garden view royal room at port orleans for 1,736!!!!!! thanks so much for all your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just paid the deposit!

ahahah kept toying around and now seeing that if I went with a value one I would save 600.00 hmmmmmmmm

Just wanted to mention that POR has larger rooms, queen beds, double sinks, and a privacy curtain separating the vanity/bathroom area from the rest of the room; while the values have double beds, a single sink, and no curtain. If the extra cost is doable, I would stick with POR for those reasons. Plus you would be getting a "new" room .

 

[Mynamewastaken]

Yep, slept on it and we are sticking with POR. Sooo excited. I cannot thank you all enough for your help. I so appreciate it

 

[laura74]

POR is a great resort. Enjoy!

Have you decided about the dining plan yet? We always got it but our next trip we decided not to. It was a great value in 2007 when it was $37 per person and included appetizer and tip but it has gotten increasingly expensive and is now over $50 per person per day. The last couple of years we ordered the most expensive things on the menu just to make it worth the money and one can only eat so much steak. Also we don't usually eat dessert but did just because it was included.

Look at the menus at www.allears.net and see if a typical day's meals for you would add up to what you'd pay on the plan.

 

[pjhootch]

Glad you booked the room that will make you happy!

Now to the dining plan...

My advice is not to spend all that money. Granted, if you were going to do a lot of pricey table service restaurants and character meals (at least one per day) it would be a wash, or a small savings.

It seems you are quite budget conscious and you said both your kids are grazers. Under those circumstances, paying out of pocket will likely save you more money than paying up front for the dining plan.

I have the dining plan this year because of the free dining promotion, but we've never bothered with it before, with three kids- now all grown. My kids LIKE to eat, but even so, we've had a great time at Disney, without the dining plan, and with a small food budget. The kids shared meals, ate appetizers instead of entrees and we always (still do!) bring a fanny pack with granola bars, fruit snacks and some other little snack thing. Counter service restaurants will give you cups of water and there are water fountains in the park.

Have fun planning.

 

[Missytara]

I have to agree about the dining plan.

It was great when I took two younger friends last year and this year, we planned again - younger friends who wanted to feel like everything had already been paid for. I booked the most expensive places and a character meal.

For me, I mostly go solo and I eat at the bar, have a salad or soup and appetizer, because I love dessert! So the meal plan would't work for me on a solo trip.

 

[BYC]

If you can move your arrival date to Feb. 16, you could get free dining for your entire stay.

 

[rusty4]

Yep, slept on it and we are sticking with POR. Sooo excited. I cannot thank you all enough for your help. I so appreciate it

Great choice! We love POR!! Check out the website dedicated to the resort if you haven't already.

www.portorleans.org

Have fun!

 

[nkereina]

Agree, good choice with POR. Judging by the refurb schedule, Oak Manor should be just about complete with the royal rooms when you are there so I'd bet that's the building you will be in.

We did dining plan and liked it. We actually did deluxe dining first and found it to be too much so we are scaling back and doing regular dining next time and think it will work out just right. If we still find it to be too much, then we will do OOP the time after that! Depending on how you eat, the dining plan isn't necessarily a money saver - it's priced pretty comparable to what you'd probably pay OOP. So it's still a good deal, since you can pay for it ahead of time.

 

[sharadoc]

Have you looked at this website - **************.net - it's chock full of good info for first time visitors.

You need to do a LOT of reading between now and then. It will be busy, you'll be there around President's Day which gets VERY crowded. You'll need to know what you're doing to get the most out of your stay.

I agree with others, you picked a lovely resort. Have a great trip!

 

[Hooked On The Mouse]

I wouldn't completely discount the dining plan. With our young children we have found it is a very good way to see most of the characters while waiting for them at the comfort of your table, instead of sometimes uber-long lines in the park. We also found meal-time served as a nice break, so we didn't have to go back to the room to rest. And when we were done we already had our pictures and autographs with characters, so the rest of the day was all about rides. You will find that food is more expensive at WDW, whether you are on the dining plan or not. You can find actual menus at the Disney or allears.net and get a sense of what it might cost your family to eat. Then you can determine whether or not it saves you money to have dining or not. If you are happy eating quick service meals then it might be cheaper without.
At the character meals you are paying for the characters sometimes more than you are paying for the food, Cinderella's Royal Table being a good example of that.

 

[nkereina]

At the character meals you are paying for the characters sometimes more than you are paying for the food, Cinderella's Royal Table being a good example of that.

Another prime example - Ohana's character breakfast. It's all you can eat family style but the skillet they serve is just eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and waffles - for $25/adult Unless you're a massive Lilo & Stitch fan, this is one to skip.

 

[pjhootch]

Here is another thought about dining and meals. Most of the folks on this board get very excited about character meals and interactions. It is quite true that character meals can be a thrill for kids that want to get up close and meet the characters.

However, take into account your kid's personalities before you pay the money for character dining. The food itself can be pretty mediocre, and even when it is good, you pay a huge premium for the character meal.

Our kids were NOT shy when they were little, except with characters. It was like pulling teeth to get a picture of our twins with Mickey- back in the days when you could just stumble on him roaming around the park. When the lines and autograph signing started you couldn't pay them enough. Our kids just didn't want it, which made character meals a huge waste of money for us.

Now that our kids are grown, they get a charge out of it. Naturally, since it costs a fortune.

You'll never know until you get there, but you might make some guesses based upon how your kids react to getting close to Santa or Easter bunny characters.