Tentatively planning a trip the last week of August - lots of questions!

[mvazul]

Hi, everyone!!

I hope I'm posting in the right spot. If not, please move it to the appropriate board.

Okay, I am trying to plan an all girl trip for myself, my mom and my sister for the last week of August. We would arrive on Saturday, August 25th, and leave Thursday, August 30th. This will be my mother's first trip to WDW. I think my sister has been once, but only to the Magic Kingdom for a couple hours (she was in Orlando on business). This will be the first time for any of us to stay on property.

I am planning to make all of the arrangements except their airfare. We need to fly from 3 different airports. Should I go through disneyworld.com, AAA, call Disney direct or go through a travel agent. Whichever way I do it, I need to be able to make a deposit and pay on it over the next couple months. Can Disney send the ME stuff to three different addresses?

Do any of you have any pictures of the rooms at All Star Music? How are their suites? Do any of you have pictures of the suites? We will not be spending too much time in the room - just to sleep and get showered. Would a standard room be enough room for us? I was thinking about doing a moderate, but I really like the cost of a value. Would you recommend one value over another? We just want/need clean, comfortable and affordable. Do they have internet connection in the room? If so, is it high speed or dial-up? Do they have wireless capabilities?

I have been seeing rumors about free DDP if booked during a certain time period. Have any of these rumors been confirmed or denied? If they are offering it, how would we get it? Do we just book during their timeline and it is automatically included? If they are not offering it, we will not get the DDP, but we will still go to WDW at the time I mentioned. The free DDP isn't a deal breaker for us, but it would be icing on the cake!!

The only two times I have been there, DH and I traveled with no plans or expectations. The first time, we only had time to do MK. On our last trip, we did Epcot and MK. This trip, the three of us will do all four parks. Is there anything I should get for my mother and sister to help them get prepared for the trip? Is there anything I should get for myself to make the planning easier?

How are the crowds the last week of August? I wanted to go the middle of September or the first week of December, but my sister was just accepted into a doctorate program and will be in school those times. I don't want to go any earlier, because I know it will definitely be very crowded.

Also, if something happens that they can't go, can I change my reservations from 3 adults to 2 adults and 2 cildren? Actually, I think it would be 3 adults and 1 child (DS will be 13 then and DD will still be 5). I'm hoping that doesn't happen, but in case it does, I would like to take DH and the kids instead. DH said he's so happy to know they are my "backup plan"!!

Okay, I know I have more questions, but that's all I can think of for now. I would appreciate any help you can give me. TIA!!

~M

 

[smilechaser]

If they are unfimiliar with disney and you are looking for something to get them I would buy them all the passporter book. It is great! It will explain everything disney. You can buy them at passporter.com , tell Jennifer 'smilechaser' sent you!

 

[mvazul]

If they are unfimiliar with disney and you are looking for something to get them I would buy them all the passporter book. It is great! It will explain everything disney. You can buy them at passporter.com , tell Jennifer 'smilechaser' sent you!

Thank you very much! I also have a planning DVD to give to each of them. I had ordered one about a month before DH, the kids and I even started planning our trip in January. It came about a month after we returned. Then, a week later, I received another one. So, they will each have one to watch and won't have to share!

Thank you, again!

 

[Bob P]

Crowds in late August are very manageable.

Free dining has not been announced, and there is no guarantee it will be made available to the general public this year. Keep watching these boards and you'll know if and when it is announced.

For more info on ASMU, go here:

http://allearsnet.com/acc/faq_asm.htm

or here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1072409


or head over to the resorts board and search for "All-Star Music."

 

[mvazul]

Crowds in late August are very manageable.

Free dining has not been announced, and there is no guarantee it will be made available to the general public this year. Keep watching these boards and you'll know if and when it is announced.

For more info on ASMU, go here:

http://allearsnet.com/acc/faq_asm.htm

or here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1072409


or head over to the resorts board and search for "All-Star Music."

Thank you for the help and the links. I was thinking about doing a moderate instead of a value, but now I see there really isn't much difference in the size of the room or beds.

Thank you, again!

 

[macraven]

like one of the posters said, try allears for pics.

i know they have the family suites pics up for music all stars.
if you have that many in your travel group, you might be fine with the family suite.

 

[Hope73]

How fun for the tree of you. I just went this sep wiht my aunt, mom and my 3 kids it was so good for us all to be together.

I am a big moderate hotel person. It is worth the extra 40 per nite. The food courts at mods are beautifful and youget dishes verses paper.

Busses are also less corwded.

I would do the dining plan, as three adults you can go to some very nice restaurants.

There are lots of pics ot the properties if you go to thehome page on the site and them look under the hotesl.

 

[dsnymomof4]

Wow-that's a lot of questions - I can answer some! We've been to Disney that last week in Aug in 2004 & 2006, last year with the free dining. I would recommend Pop - it's clean, fun, and bigger than the All Stars. Plus, you don't have to share the bus with another resort. You can book your reservation now, then if free dining comes out, call and have them change to free dining. I have gone through AAA once, but now just do everything myself, either online or calling CRO. I don't think they would have a problem with changing people in the room. Definitely make your dining plans right away as they fill up quickly. You should try to have an idea of what parks you'll visit on each day. After that, you can plan as much or as little as you want. Check out the park hours, EMH schedules to help you with your planning. Yes, the planning DVD will be nice for them to get excited about the trip. I'm not sure about ME sending the stuff to 3 different addresses - I guess you could ask. If not, just mail it to them when you get it. Good luck with your planning!

 

[mvazul]

like one of the posters said, try allears for pics.

i know they have the family suites pics up for music all stars.
if you have that many in your travel group, you might be fine with the family suite.

Thank you, mac!!

 

[mvazul]

How fun for the tree of you. I just went this sep wiht my aunt, mom and my 3 kids it was so good for us all to be together.

I am a big moderate hotel person. It is worth the extra 40 per nite. The food courts at mods are beautifful and youget dishes verses paper.

Busses are also less corwded.

I would do the dining plan, as three adults you can go to some very nice restaurants.

There are lots of pics ot the properties if you go to thehome page on the site and them look under the hotesl.

Thank you for the tips!! I am still debating about the DDP. Obviously, if it's free, we will use it. However, if it's not, it really adds alot to the cost of our trip. I'm not sure we would spend that much on food?

Thank you, again!!

 

[mvazul]

Wow-that's a lot of questions - I can answer some! We've been to Disney that last week in Aug in 2004 & 2006, last year with the free dining. I would recommend Pop - it's clean, fun, and bigger than the All Stars. Plus, you don't have to share the bus with another resort. You can book your reservation now, then if free dining comes out, call and have them change to free dining. I have gone through AAA once, but now just do everything myself, either online or calling CRO. I don't think they would have a problem with changing people in the room. Definitely make your dining plans right away as they fill up quickly. You should try to have an idea of what parks you'll visit on each day. After that, you can plan as much or as little as you want. Check out the park hours, EMH schedules to help you with your planning. Yes, the planning DVD will be nice for them to get excited about the trip. I'm not sure about ME sending the stuff to 3 different addresses - I guess you could ask. If not, just mail it to them when you get it. Good luck with your planning!

I warned you I had alot of questions!!

Thank you for the tip on POP! I think that is one I did not look into. I think we will definitely do a value, because we will not be spending too much time in the room. I had also thought about looking to stay off-site, but I really like the idea of not having to rent a car. We are only doing Disney and don't need a car for anything else.

I wasn't planning to make reservations for dining. I thought we could just wing it. Is there any restaurant in particular that you would recommend for three adult women? I don't like or eat seafood, but I know my mom likes it and I think my sister does. I was looking at Whispering Canyon (I think that's the name). I think that would be a blast for us to do. We love to have a good time when it's just the three of us. (We have been kicked out of stores before for laughing too loud!! )

Thank you, again!! You have answered alot of my questions!!

 

[MariaEllerºoº]

The Dining Plan is definitely worth every penny! Go to www.allearsnet.com to look at each and every menu at each park and each resort. Get an idea of where you would like to eat and determine how much money you would spend on food. Cheap fast food (lunch) is going to cost about $10 and the cheapest sit down meal is going to cost about $40. With the DDP each person gets 1 snack, 1 counter service and 1 full service meal each night of your stay. The rumor on Free Dining is that it may be offered for dates Aug 26 - Sept 22nd this year. Keep your eyes peeled to these boards, www.wdwinfo.com, www.mousesavers.com, www.allearsnet.com as well as Disney's site. Be sure to also sign up for newsletters at each site to be emailed to you.

Buy yourself a Passporter! I've been to Disney 48 times and absolutely love it! In the back of the book they have pages where you can write down confirmation numbers, reservations, numbers to resort, airline info, places to put receipts, etc.... www.passporter.com You can order it online and save 30% when you become a member of the site.

 

[MariaEllerºoº]

Definitely stay on-site! The convenience alone is worth it and you really won't find many places off-site that's much cheaper than the Value's. Then you add in the cost of a rental car if you were to stay off-site which makes it even more worthwhile to stay on property.

Whispering Canyon is a lot of fun. Another really fun restaurant with good food is 50's Prime Time Cafe in MGM! Le Cellier in Epcot gets rave reviews and I'm anxious to try this one this summer.

My favorites: Epcot: Marrakesh Restaurant, Coral Reef, Rose n Crown Pub, France for pastries, bread and cheese, Kringla Bakeri in Norway for heavenly pastries...

MGM: 50's Prime Time Cafe
AK: Tusker House
MK: Columbia Harbor House, Cosmic Ray's, Cinderella's Royal Table, Crystal Palace

AKL: Boma's
Poly: Kona Cafe and 'Ohana
BC & YC: Beaches n Cream
Contemporary: Caliafornia Grill
FW Campground: Trail's End Buffet...best all you can eat breakfast!


I'm sure I have many others but I'm now hungry and have to fix myself a snack. LOL

 

[MommaTinkerbell]

Glad to hear you are excited....All Girls....I envy you! I have never planned a trip before either...but let me tell you......travel agent is the way to go. I will glad to share my TA with you if you PM me later. (Not sure if i can post her info or not). She has been wonderful I have not made 1 single call to disney....the best part.....she didn't cost me 1 extra $. She is "employed" by disney to book trips. She had all the inside details for dining and will keep track of any deals that come available. If a better deals is offered..she will get you that deal. She would be wonderful to use since there will be several different people/addresses and flights to deal with! I just received our "special magical" disney package in the mail today......and MAN was it full of extra goodies and surprises! My daughter and I were dancing with joy!! Good luck and if you are interested...just PM.