Too early to start planning?

[Pickles516]

Hey y’all Apologies if this is the wrong subforum for this!

I’m planning to take my family of six (DW, 3DS’s, DD, and myself) to WDW in 2023. I’ve been weighing all sorts of different options for every aspect of the trip, and came up with a rough budget of $10k. Exact travel dates haven’t been decided yet, but I know possible travel windows (I’m a teacher, so it would be over the summer or during one of our breaks).

My question is this, am I jumping the gun with all this research? Is it worth conferring with a Disney travel agent yet?(I don’t want to waste their time as I know their commission pays out *after* travel, and I’m sure they took a big hit from covid). Is there anything I *should* be doing to scratch the planning itch? Anything that’s a waste of time to even research this far out?
Appreciating any and all guidance. Thank you!

 

[ShannyMcB]

If you are planning on a package its actually a good time to start planning given when packages are released. Now is a good time to research hotels, decide on how many park days etc. And lingering on the boards never hurts, you can get a lot of great tips here.
In regards to travel agents we worked with dreams unlimited (connected to these boards) and the experience was so good we have already booked a trip for next summer. I contacted dreams in fall of 2019 for a trip summer 2021. After filling out the survey with when we wanted to travel we were put on a list for contact when packages were released. Working with the agent made life a lot easier especially with the craziness of changing procedures, hotel and restaurant reopening etc.

 

[Pickles516]

If you are planning on a package its actually a good time to start planning given when packages are released. Now is a good time to research hotels, decide on how many park days etc. And lingering on the boards never hurts, you can get a lot of great tips here.
In regards to travel agents we worked with dreams unlimited (connected to these boards) and the experience was so good we have already booked a trip for next summer. I contacted dreams in fall of 2019 for a trip summer 2021. After filling out the survey with when we wanted to travel we were put on a list for contact when packages were released. Working with the agent made life a lot easier especially with the craziness of changing procedures, hotel and restaurant reopening etc.

Thanks for the advice! Do you have any idea if there’s any flexibility if we were trying to rent DVC points through a dreams unlimited agent? For example, if I knew I wanted to travel during February break 2023 (around the 2nd into 3rd week of February), but the specific dates could shift by a couple of days, would I be able to adjust that when I got my official school calendar (I would likely get the calendar in June of 22)?

 

[kwdw]

DVC rentals can happen 11 months in advance - but if you want to book by renting points - I'd be 100% confident of my dates or be 100% confident in my ability to get my money back. It can be very hard to move dates and even if you can cancel - you may have to book lodging a different way - you might not get a DVC rental for your perfect dates. Check the policies of the "group" middle-manning that rental for you, or if directly with an owner to know exactly what you are getting into. If you haven't - read the rent/trade boards. I would have a "knowledge" of how you are going to try to rent those points in advance of that 11 month mark and your plan to do that - but they really can't actually do a booking until that mark. Unless you are working directly with a friend owner who is personally willing to help you, I personally don't think anyone booking rental DVC via rental should be working with the approach of changing the dates as an option.

So - in that sense - it's not too early to LEARN about DVC rental. I'm not sure I'd actually contact one of the agencies that serve as a middleman quite this early.

To scratch the planning itch - definitely not too early to be learning by reading this discussion board! When I had never planned a trip myself - I bought one of the books - and I read that. With the changes Disney is making all the time now, books will get dated quickly in some places, but I still think there's a lot of value to find in one of those if you like an organized learning reference.

 

[Pickles516]

DVC rentals can happen 11 months in advance - but if you want to book by renting points - I'd be 100% confident of my dates or be 100% confident in my ability to get my money back. It can be very hard to move dates and even if you can cancel - you may have to book lodging a different way - you might not get a DVC rental for your perfect dates. Check the policies of the "group" middle-manning that rental for you, or if directly with an owner to know exactly what you are getting into. If you haven't - read the rent/trade boards. I would have a "knowledge" of how you are going to try to rent those points in advance of that 11 month mark and your plan to do that - but they really can't actually do a booking until that mark. Unless you are working directly with a friend owner who is personally willing to help you, I personally don't think anyone booking rental DVC via rental should be working with the approach of changing the dates as an option.

So - in that sense - it's not too early to LEARN about DVC rental. I'm not sure I'd actually contact one of the agencies that serve as a middleman quite this early.

To scratch the planning itch - definitely not too early to be learning by reading this discussion board! When I had never planned a trip myself - I bought one of the books - and I read that. With the changes Disney is making all the time now, books will get dated quickly in some places, but I still think there's a lot of value to find in one of those if you like an organized learning reference.

This is great input, thank you!

 

[kmsimone]

If you do your research I am not sure you need an agent. You can find all the planning info you need on these boards. Agree with Pickles on using the DVC rent/trade boards. I have sold points many times on the boards and it is a much easier transaction when you know exactly what you are looking for. Depending on time of year you may need to rent from an owner in your resort of choice (11 month window vs. 7 month). Also agree that it is never too early to start. Back in the day our go to was the Unofficial Guide but this interactive website is much better for answering any questions. I have know a few that tried this trip with no real planning, YIKES.

 

[Pickles516]

If you do your research I am not sure you need an agent. You can find all the planning info you need on these boards. Agree with Pickles on using the DVC rent/trade boards. I have sold points many times on the boards and it is a much easier transaction when you know exactly what you are looking for. Depending on time of year you may need to rent from an owner in your resort of choice (11 month window vs. 7 month). Also agree that it is never too early to start. Back in the day our go to was the Unofficial Guide but this interactive website is much better for answering any questions. I have know a few that tried this trip with no real planning, YIKES.

The main draw of the agent for me is booking dining reservations honestly.

 

[Shellyred8]

One thing I would recommend is to buy your park tickets as early as possible. As soon as you know your dates and as soon as Disney opens up ticket sales for those dates, I would buy my tickets. Disney rarely (if ever) reduces ticket prices, but they do raise their prices on a regular basis. I would also check out some of the reputable WDW Authorized ticket resale websites. You can save a small chunk of change by purchasing through them instead of through Disney. Sometimes they also have sales where you can save an additional small amount (like black friday deals and things like that).

Another thing to consider is purchasing Disney Gift Cards ahead of time, if you can find them with discounts. For example, if you have a Target Red Card, you can buy Disney gift cards and get 5% off. I like to grab a couple at a time when I go to Target to help spread out the cost.

Happy planning!