Someone help me make a case to justify a forth night!

[BusySpeechMom]

OR help me think through it. This is the situation... We ORIGINALLY booked the Polynesian for 4 nights. My husband had a fit about the $380 so he said only 3 nights ($1152 for 3 nights or $1532 for 4 nights). The DVC broker said it was not a big deal to cut the forth night. I have not received a new contract reflecting the change however. I have been crunching numbers for dining, etc. and it dawned on me that we can only get quick service dining for the number of nights we stay (3 nights). We are buying park hopper for 4 days because we want to spend all day at the park the day we check out. When we checkout Sunday morning we will throw the luggage in the car and scoot to the Magic Kingdom until 9 or 10 pm. The plan is for us to jump in the car and stay at a Hampton Inn in Orlando to sleep for the night and then drive home Monday early. The more I think about it the more I honestly think we should just stay the forth night at the Polynesian. We are saving $380 at Disney by only staying 3 nights but Hampton Inn will run us $120 I'm guessing? So it comes down to $260 savings.
Then there is the reasoning for Quick Service Dinning. Since the kids are both 12 we will have to buy for four adults. Should we get it or not? Hmmmm
Thank you for helping!

 

[Marionnette]

OR help me think through it. This is the situation... We ORIGINALLY booked the Polynesian for 4 nights. My husband had a fit about the $380 so he said only 3 nights ($1152 for 3 nights or $1532 for 4 nights). The DVC broker said it was not a big deal to cut the forth night. I have not received a new contract reflecting the change however. I have been crunching numbers for dining, etc. and it dawned on me that we can only get quick service dining for the number of nights we stay (3 nights). We are buying park hopper for 4 days because we want to spend all day at the park the day we check out. When we checkout Sunday morning we will throw the luggage in the car and scoot to the Magic Kingdom until 9 or 10 pm. The plan is for us to jump in the car and stay at a Hampton Inn in Orlando to sleep for the night and then drive home Monday early. The more I think about it the more I honestly think we should just stay the forth night at the Polynesian. We are saving $380 at Disney by only staying 3 nights but Hampton Inn will run us $120 I'm guessing? So it comes down to $260 savings.
Then there is the reasoning for Quick Service Dinning. Since the kids are both 12 we will have to buy for four adults. Should we get it or not? Hmmmm
Thank you for helping!

Adding QS dining for 4 Disney adults for a 4th night will cost you another $171.36 to the cost. Personally, I don't see the value of the QSDP (or any DDP) when you're paying OOP. I'd skip it entirely, but that's just me.

I'd stick with the plan to spend the last night at the Hampton Inn or another budget-level hotel. You're only going to use it to sleep and shower before you hit the road.

 

[Hikergirl]

To stay the 4th night you could drop the quick service plan all together. The savings there could pay for that 4th night. The dining plan is nice for convenience but it isn't always a money saver. Have you checked the menus and prices, you can get a good idea of what you would spend OOP versus using the plan.
I'm all for saving money, as much as I can, so my vote would be to stay at the hampton inn on the last night since you aren't using the room for anything other than sleeping.

 

[BusySpeechMom]

Thank you for the replies! I think I will just leave it as it is with just 3 nights. You both make good points! He even said if we only stay 3 nights we can spend that money on extras. We won't have to be stressing about penny pinching.
I did look at our tentative schedule and the menu prices. I estimated $521.50 for 3 meals a day (except our first day....no breakfast at Disney.) for 4 days. That does not include snacks but we aren't snackers. If we did 4 days of quick services it would cost $685.44 and that is not cover 3 meals a day. It is not an option anyway but it's interesting to break it down.
Thank you again for your help!

 

[Hikergirl]

We never do 3 meals a day when we are there, or anywhere really. I always bring or buy stuff for breakfast in the room. It saves some money but mostly for us, it saves time.

 

[S. C.]

And doesn't Hampton give you a free Breakfast?

Googled:

• Free, hot breakfast served daily with fresh-baked waffles and hearty oatmeal with toppings

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I'll be the lone voice that says I'd stay all four nights at the Poly.

I would not want to end my vacation by schlepping myself and luggage to another hotel/location after being in MK until 9-10 and knowing that I had to be up early for a drive home.

That can be a tough time to get out of Disney property in a reasonable amount of time. How far is the Hampton Inn from Disney?

For me, the convenience of being able to pop back to my room on the monorail after a full day before the drive would be well worth the extra $$ for me.

I would pay OOP as opposed to the dining plan because I just don't eat the way the quick service plan (or really even the regular plan is set up).

 

[Jaime4004]

I would either stay the 4 nights at poly (because I really hate packing up and switching hotels on vacation) or if cost was an issue, i'd just do 4 nights at a moderate instead. I'd only do the dining plan if the 12 yr olds are huge eaters. My 12 yr old is a very light eater so it's not worth it at all for her...

 

[NewRVLady]

If you are penny pinching-there are codes right now 25-30% off
I would NEVER spend that much on a hotel there-and I have gone 20 plus times
My limit is $250-275its mostly AKL or WL
last trip we scored 40% off the Yacht club
BUT I also love the Swan ( and dolphin)

 

[manning]

Thank you for the replies! I think I will just leave it as it is with just 3 nights. You both make good points! He even said if we only stay 3 nights we can spend that money on extras. We won't have to be stressing about penny pinching.
I did look at our tentative schedule and the menu prices. I estimated $521.50 for 3 meals a day (except our first day....no breakfast at Disney.) for 4 days. That does not include snacks but we aren't snackers. If we did 4 days of quick services it would cost $685.44 and that is not cover 3 meals a day. It is not an option anyway but it's interesting to break it down.
Thank you again for your help!

Agreed. The FOURTH night doesn't make sense.

 

[BusySpeechMom]

Hi! Sorry for all the confusion. Planning has been all over the place. Our total budget is $3000. And time available is one full week. We have 3 nights at the Polynesian booked through a DVC broker. $1,000. Thursday through Sunday. It is paid for and confirmed now.
On Monday in the mail we received the Summer Storybook offer out of the blue. I have never received a code, so clearly I was giddy as a school girl! The code is for 10-30% off rooms with 6 day park hopper. So now we are thinking of doing a split stay. 2 nights at Pop (Tuesday and Wednesday night) and then moving to the Polynesian for the last 3 nights. Using the promotion, two nights at Pop would be $1500 (includes 6 days of tickets). So now we are looking at approximately $2500 for 5 night split stay and 6 day tickets for 4 adults (the kids are 12 years old).

 

[robinb]

Hi! Sorry for all the confusion. Planning has been all over the place. Our total budget is $3000. And time available is one full week. We have 3 nights at the Polynesian booked through a DVC broker. $1,000. Thursday through Sunday. It is paid for and confirmed now.
On Monday in the mail we received the Summer Storybook offer out of the blue. I have never received a code, so clearly I was giddy as a school girl! The code is for 10-30% off rooms with 6 day park hopper. So now we are thinking of doing a split stay. 2 nights at Pop (Tuesday and Wednesday night) and then moving to the Polynesian for the last 3 nights. Using the promotion, two nights at Pop would be $1500 (includes 6 days of tickets). So now we are looking at approximately $2500 for 5 night split stay and 6 day tickets for 4 adults (the kids are 12 years old).

I would go with that instead of the 4th night at the Poly.

ETA, can you add a day at Pop (Thursday) and shift your Poly stay to be Friday-Monday? I would think the Pop stay would be close to the cost of the Hampton Inn and the Poly shouldn't change (2 weekend nights an 1 weekday night). You won't need to change hotels twice.

 

[Clawdya]

Lol, I read the title wrong, at first I thought you meant fortnight not fourth night. That is a huge difference. Anyway, I agree with FairestOfThemAll37 and Jaime4004 above.

 

[NewRVLady]

I know I AM a resort snob....but I COULD nOT go from a Deluxe to a budget-too depressing
I would rather do a Moderate

 

[BusySpeechMom]

UPDATE! I just added 2 nights to Pop using the offer code (plus 6 park hopper). It will be a split stay... 2 nights at Pop and 3 nights at Polynesian. I am excited and feeling a little proud that I was willing to think outside the box to make this work. We have never used a points broker and never had a good fortune of getting a offer code. Woohoo!

 

[katie111]

Awesome! Have a great trip!!

 

[Marionnette]

UPDATE! I just added 2 nights to Pop using the offer code (plus 6 park hopper). It will be a split stay... 2 nights at Pop and 3 nights at Polynesian. I am excited and feeling a little proud that I was willing to think outside the box to make this work. We have never used a points broker and never had a good fortune of getting a offer code. Woohoo!

This sounds like a good compromise. Doing Pop first and then the Poly is an excellent idea.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

We are doing a split stay too next trip staying at Pop first. Planning to go commando the first few nights at pop, then take it at a more leisurely pace once we move over to akl to enjoy what the resort has to offer. I think your kids will definitely get that wow factor staying at pop first then moving over to the Poly! Enjoy.

 

[Marionnette]

We are doing a split stay too next trip staying at Pop first. Planning to go commando the first few nights at pop, then take it at a more leisurely pace once we move over to akl to enjoy what the resort has to offer. I think your kids will definitely get that wow factor staying at pop first then moving over to the Poly! Enjoy.

OMG! I don't think that you meant that the way that I read it!

 

[momof2gr8kids]

OMG! I don't think that you meant that the way that I read it!

ROFL...Just about spit my coffee out. LOL. No..meant commando style touring. LOL We'll at least wear loin cloths at AKL. Ha Ha.