Very frusterated and confused new guy here....Any and all help would be appreciated.

[kris77]

Hi guys....

So much information on this site...I'm not sure exactly where to go to find the information I need.

We are planning a Disney trip the last week of February 2016. 2 adults, a 6 yr old and a 2 yr old.

Our local airport offers cheap flights from here to Sanford sundays and thursdays...So for our first trip we are leaving on sunday, spending mon, tues, wed at the park and coming back thursday.

We have friends going the same week. They are staying at The Contemporary. We were thinking a little cheaper at Art of Animation.

I know i'm kinda late to the game for any discounts or anything, but can anybody shed a little light on what i should expect? Can i book this myself or should i go through an agency for my first trip? Character Dining probably pretty booked by now i'd say.

Just going through the disney site i'm looking at close to $4500 for the contemporary and around $3500 for Art of animation. Does this seem decent for a 5 day trip...2 travel days and 3 days at the park? Park Hopper passes and dining package. Seems high to me for some reason, but i literally have no idea what to expect!!!!

Any advice or ideas how to make this any cheaper???

 

[siskaren]

Well, first of all, do you really want to do a park hopper for just 3 days in the parks? And you'd probably save money by paying for meals out of pocket rather than using the dining plan. There are some deals available here:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-offers/

 

[jsrowdon]

As far as dinning reservations be booked up just keep checking on the ones you are interested in. Our last trip that we took at the end of of Oct. was kind of short notice, I started booking everything about 80 days prior to going. Almost all of the dinning reservations we wanted were not available when I first started checking but as our trip got closer things started opening up and by 2 weeks before we left I had every reservation that we were wanting and that included 3 character meals, one of them a fantasmic package at HS and dinner at BOG.

 

[samsteele]

Maybe also give yourself an idea of what a true value resort would cost for your group (eg price out POP Century . . . which is just across the bridge from AoA) and this would at least give you a base rate. You could then decide if the AoA suite is worth the extra $. I agree with the PP re the park hopper and the dining plan. For just a few days, the park hopper may not be a worthwhile expense. Also, given how young your children are, paying OOP (out of pocket) for your meals may be a better deal unless your heart is set on a number of $ character dining dinners.

 

[siskaren]

Did you price it out with the deluxe dining plan? Because that's what I just did, and $3500 is about what it comes out to, even with the room discount. Just knocking it down to the regular plan gets you down to $2900, and no dining plan is about $2300. (Taking off the park hopper saves another $160.) On the other hand, checking Pop Century, the Stay Play and Dine offer is available, and even with the park hopper, only costs $1900 with the regular dining plan. (Most people feel the deluxe plan is too much food.) Now, this is for a standard room, but a preferred room (which just means that it's closer to the main building, which is where the food court and the bus stop are) is just an additional $20 a night. (One reason for the big difference in price is that only suites were available with the discount at AoA, but with 2 adults and 2 small children, a regular room should be fine.)

 

[Magnetgirl25]

Since you are new at this and have not been there I would let a travel agent book your trip. That way you are getting the best possible deal. You need to make any dining reservations immed. though. good luck. All the stress in worth it. Disney is a wonderful vacation!!!

 

[AlwaysMouseTime]

If you work for a large company (or some even not so large) check and see if they have a discount program through a site like ticketsatwork or anything like that.
Also, AAA has discounts for members. A Travel Agent might be a great way for you to get started. I am very adept at booking travel, but for our last trip (our first trip as an entire family) I used a TA just so I didn't miss anything. She would have booked all my dining and fast passes as well but I preferred to do that myself. I felt like the Travel Agent made me feel more relaxed so I knew I wouldn't miss anything.

 

[samsteele]

If you work for a large company (or some even not so large) check and see if they have a discount program through a site like ticketsatwork or anything like that.
Also, AAA has discounts for members. A Travel Agent might be a great way for you to get started. I am very adept at booking travel, but for our last trip (our first trip as an entire family) I used a TA just so I didn't miss anything. She would have booked all my dining and fast passes as well but I preferred to do that myself. I felt like the Travel Agent made me feel more relaxed so I knew I wouldn't miss anything.

I've found that AAA/CAA (Canadian branch) no longer offer discounts as their special relationship with Disney ended about 2 yrs ago. The first to get hit were the Disney cruises. Then the parks/resorts. However, I definitely agree with the PPs suggestion to go with a TA for a first trip. They may well be on the ball and know of a recently released WDW discount that the OP can take advantage of. And planning a WDW vacation has become much, much more complicated since FP+ and the explosion in popularity of restaurant ADRs. Always a good idea to get help from a TA for the first trip or two!

 

[Emma's Dad]

Welcome to the DIS... looks like you've had a week or so to gather info, so I hope you are closer to a decision than when you started. If you need more info from a dad's perspective, feel free to visit us over at the Dad's page.