Trying to plan next vacation

[tlhbdm]

Ok here is my situation.

DH and I got married two months ago and went on a week long Disneymoon and stayed at the Contemporary in a theme park view room. It was amazing and I love Disney World, I can't wait to go back but DH and I really don't know where we want to go on our next vacation.

Little bit of background. DH and I are celebrating some pretty important events this year so we would like to take a vacation. I am turning 21 in September (yes I'm young to be married but we love each other and we know we are soul mates), our 1st year anniversary is December 7, and DH gets vacation time this year for the first time ever and it expires December 31. So in that case we need to decide when we want to go. Our options are Sept. 28-October 3, October 8-15, December 6-13. Those dates are a little flexible but not really. We need your help in deciding whether we should go to an All-inclusive, on a cruise, or to WDW, or to Disneyland.

Thank you!

 

[rentayenta]

Congrats!


I would go for December, Disney is pure magic during the holidays.


I am a little confused by the "all-inclusive" option.

 

[tlhbdm]

Instead of doing Disney.

 

[vicceja]

I think first week of December would be perfect and magical plus you would still be able to swim and see the beautiful decorations. Have Fun!

 

[overit]

Ok, I may be wrong but I think you're asking for other destinations other then WDW right? If so, here's some options, the Gran Lido resort in Negril, Jamaica. It's one of the super all inclusives, October I believe is low season, affordable. I went there last year and the weather was great, a couple days there were rainshowers in the late afternoon, but ended quickly. I LOVED it there!!!
Oh, you have the option of prude or nude side, I'd say go with the prude side, the beach is MUCH nicer...and the nude side are people you wouldn't really want to see nude anyway lol. The sister resort Hedonism II is across the street, and though it had a lovely theme, the beach was small, and an awful lot of swinger type people came around late at night-eeekkk. To do: the swimming with the horses, snorkeling, canopy tours and a must see would be Rick's cafe.

Also, more expensive but great was Bermuda (we stayed at the Fairmont princess), the beauty there is unbeatable. Try renting mopeds for the day and check out some of the cave tours. Word of advice though they drive on the opposite side of the road, so take the first 30min driving really slow until you get used to it. We had a blast doing that, oh and remember sunscreen when riding the mopeds and best to wear something w/out a lot of straps (or tuck your bathing suit straps in the shirt) or else you'll end of with a very uneven striped sunburn like I did lol. A beatiful beach to visit is Horseshoe Bay, oh my gosh, just wonderful. The have little caves, rock formations, pink sand...it will leave you breathless. The prices are higher though, quite expensive-I went in Sept and it was beatiful!!!!

Comparing for example Bermuda or Negril, too different things, I really liked the people in Jamaica MUCH more, what awesome service and friendliness, and they REALLY know how to party lol-the shows and dancing were non-stop, high energy, dance till you drop nights. Bermuda on the other hand doesn't have too much of a night life, people really don't dance there it seems...it took my friend and I an hr on the dance floor alone before we could get people to join us...and we were warned that the nightlife is definately not very exciting. But as far as relaxation, beauty, it's awesome.


FOr best value all inclusives try Playa del Carmen (an hr south of Cancun)...much more laid back then Cancun and they tons of wonderful resorts and a great value compared to other carribean destinations. Lots to do, the Tulum ruins, Xcaret (an eco-park really nice), and the beaches are wonderful!!! THey dont' compare to Negril or Bermuda but it has it's own charm and the prices are a LOT cheaper also.

Aruba was very nice as well, they have all inclusives there. Baby beach is nice to visit, rent a jeep and go around the island. It's more of a dessert island, but the people are very nice (they all speak more then 3-4 languages), the weather great, the beaches superb also.

My advice is try to book hotels that are at the furthest end of the strip, or furthest from "town"...as the beaches are much wider, nicer and less crowded.

There are many destinations, it depends on what you're looking for....what kind of things do you like to do?
ONce you narrow down the list to say 3-4 destinations check out virtualtourist.com and type in the destination to get a feel for what it offers, best seasons to travel, places to see, etc....then check out tripadvisor.com and plug in some hotel names to get advice, pics etc of the different hotel/resort list.

Hope this helps, and yeah I work in the travel industry and am in the know LOL

 

[tlhbdm]

Thank you so much overit. We are still trying to decide if we want to do Disney, an All-inclusive, or a cruise. I think I am going to post a poll at the beginning of this and reword it.

 

[ssawka]

Thank you so much overit. We are still trying to decide if we want to do Disney, an All-inclusive, or a cruise. I think I am going to post a poll at the beginning of this and reword it.

How about a Disney Cruise? That would cover two of your choices.

 

[tlhbdm]

ssawka that is definitely a possibility. We really don't know how much we want to spend though. I keep watching the TV program on Travel Channel about the DCL and I want to go on it so bad. The other thing is I'm not a person who likes to sit in a swimming pool all day (mainly because I am allergic to chlorine) so WDW is the perfect vacation spot for me but my parents want us to go to other spots to decide what we like better so I am wanting to maybe do all-inclusive or a cruise. I have been on a cruise before but DH has not.

 

[Chipmunk89]

First of all, CONGRATS on your recent wedding!!! Don't worry about being too young. DH and I were very young too. He was 19 and me 21. We just celebrated our 15th anniversary on 1/27.

As for where to go, I enjoy WDW. I'm not a sit around the pool person. But if you want something different, Mexico is nice and not that expensive. We did an all-inclusive years ago at Jack Tar, an adult only resort. (No kids then.) We also enjoyed the ruins, and especially Xcharet. Absolutely beautiful.

Congrats again. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourselves no matter where you go.

 

[HunnyPots]

ssawka that is definitely a possibility. We really don't know how much we want to spend though. I keep watching the TV program on Travel Channel about the DCL and I want to go on it so bad. The other thing is I'm not a person who likes to sit in a swimming pool all day (mainly because I am allergic to chlorine) so WDW is the perfect vacation spot for me but my parents want us to go to other spots to decide what we like better so I am wanting to maybe do all-inclusive or a cruise. I have been on a cruise before but DH has not.

So, are your parents paying for this trip? No? Then go wherever you want!

You've seen the parks at Christmas, right? Then how about October?
I personally would love to go to disney at halloween, but then I love halloween more than most people I think.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[C U AT DISNEY]

I would be going back to DisneyWorld.. I've been to DisneyLand and it's so small I wouldn't go back.. I was there when I was about 7 and I have no idea what the California Adventure looks like but everybody says It's pretty good.


James

 

[Pakey]

Our children are in your age group and although they like Disneyworld and Disneyland, they much prefer going to places like Jamaica to all inclusives (they are young married couples without children).

I would think that if you have the opportunity to try different things, you should do that before you decide that one place is better than others to vacation. You may be like our sons who found that Disney is great but there are greater places too.

Of course, I'm writing this as I think about myself. I've travelled to several places, including Europe and Hawaii, and I like WDW better than anywhere else.

 

[STEAMBOAT209]

Disney World has many options whether it be daytime or evening events. There are many clubs at DTD for the evening night life. Dining, you have from the low to exclusive dining options depending on how much you want to be pampered. DW and I usually take one trip per year just for us without the kids and grandkids so we can enjoy the fine dining. Good luck with you decision and wherever you decide, have a great time.

 

[LoraJ]

I would go to an all-inclusive or on a cruise. Since your DH has such limited vacation, I would try out other places.

As mentioned above, there are some great All-inclusives in Mexico. Before deciding on a resort, check out reviews on tripadvisor.com. If you want to do a cruise, head over to cruisecritic.com. One good thing about the cruise is that you get to see some different places, and if you really like one of them, you can plan to go back for a vacation someday.

 

[Jacklynn]

My husband and I are still newlyweds... at least I consider us still that, (Married since May). And we are young as well, I am 20 and he is 22. Just thought I would throw that in there. We are going to Disney for our one year anniversary/graduating college trip. My husband has never been to Disney. If I were you I would go on an all-inclusive trip this time instead. I love Disney, but you just went, and you do not have kids yet. It might be harder to go on a alone trip to an all-inclusive beach type resort once you have kids (assuming that you will, I dk your situation though). But you can always go back to Disney with kids!

So my vote is to go on an all-inclusive trip now, and go back to Disney later

 

[Disneydd2]

The all inclusive trip sounds tempting, but how can you beat spending time at Disney. The December dates sound good because you get the feel/magic of holiday Disney without the Christmas crowds.

 

[nicolita3]

My vote would be to go on a disney cruise. Sounds like fun and it would be different than going to disneyworld.

 

[apulk]

I would do the all-inclusive or a cruise. My wife and I (20 years married now) did WDW for our honeymoon and the next two years of vacation. Then kids started coming along -- so we did more Disney vacations. We did other small things in between with the kids (including a short 3 day Disney cruise) but it wasn't until this past September and our 20th anniversary that we were able to get away on our own again (without kids) and something else. We did a Caribbean cruise (non-disney -- not as nice but saved a lot of $$$$) and loved it.

 

[tlhbdm]

We are leaning more towards WDW because A. the superbowl commercial (and I don't like the Giants no offense to anyone) made me cry and want to go to WDW and B. Disney World is on TV all night but the DCL show is also going to be on again.

I am so confused. DH really wants to do something we have never done together, which would defintely put WDW out but we'll see what happens. Is it really busy during Thanksgiving?

 

[BCV2002]

How about a Disney Cruise? That would cover two of your choices.

I second that. It was the best trip, and this is coming from someone who's been to WDW over 20 times!