What Would You Do?

[danceintherain]

This is the first trip we're planning for Disney with an actual budget.

Last week ,DH comes to me and lets me know that he's deploying in a few months, and thinks it might be nice to take a vacation before he goes. I asked, where? He said, what about Disney?
My initial thought was that there was no way we'd be able to take a trip to Disney with only the $2000 we have in our vacation fund. Our trips usually cost twice that. The trip I was planning for December last year, and ended up canceling was going to cost 3 times that.

The next day, it occurred to me that I hadn't yet "budgeted" a reimbursement we got recently, and that I could take a week's worth of grocery and eating out budget to go towards the trip. (I have lurked on this board before)
So anyway...the new total is about $2900. We can definitely go for that amount of money, but we will have to sacrifice something we've grown accustomed to...

Initially, I figured that a Value resort would be our only option. But when the quote for that came back super low I had my TA check the Moderate resorts as well.

So, a room at CSR fits in the budget (yay value season and military discounts) but juuuust barely. It's about $400 more than Pop.
If we go with that option, then we won't be able to rent a car, and almost definitely will only get to eat 2 TS meals the entire trip.
Both of which are things I was planning on before I realized we had almost $1000 more in the budget.

As for the former, we've only had a car once for 2 days during our last trip. We really liked having it, but we should be fine taking Disney transport. We haven't gone with both kids yet though, and I'm not sure if that will change anything for us. I do know that it is nice to have a place to store the stroller over night outside of the room.

The latter is something we've never done. We usually eat a TS meal almost every day. However, without a rental car, and with two kids, I don't think we're going to want to be doing a lot of transfers between resorts, which is where most of the restaurants we haven't eaten at are. The only real exception is Epcot, but one of the meals I have planned is there. I also have a character meal at Hollywood & Vine planned. So I think that pretty well keeps us covered. We'll eat counter service for every other meal. I have around $40/person/night planned, and I think that will be plenty for our usual eating needs.

The reasons why I'm leaning towards CSR are that we have never stayed at a Value before, and this will be the first time we'll be staying anywhere with both kids. During our last trip, it was nice to have a curtain to put DS's bed behind, so we didn't have to be completely quiet and dark after he went to bed.
Also, we spend quite a bit of time in our room during our trips. DH requires a break every day (usually around 3 hours) and we have a full 'break' day planned for the middle of the trip (downside of AFS tickets is that they're only 4 days). DH loves just relaxing during our trips, but I'm usually too excited or too busy with the kids to have it be much of an option for me. It would be nice to have the CSR grounds to wander with the kids, and the nicer pool for those times as well.

I did ask DH, and he said that he'd rather stay at a moderate than have a rental car, but I haven't asked him about the food yet. Eating at Disney is one of his favorite things, but he doesn't like to talk about it. I'm also thinking it might be fun to surprise with the stay at CSR.

Anyway...which would you choose?
Pop Century with a rental car and more table service meals OR Coronado Springs with full Disney transportation and only 2 TS meals (unless I 'find' more money)?

Thanks for the input!

 

[Colleen27]

I'd go with Coronado.

Of all our trips to WDW we've never rented a car. We've had my van twice, on trips we drove down instead of flying, and still relied on Disney transportation for all our park days. Even with three kids, one in a stroller, that was fine. I'll take an air conditioned bus at a stop relatively close to the park gate over a long walk through a sea of concrete and metal to get into a hot car at the end of the day!

With a full break day, I think you'll appreciate the extra amenities of a moderate resort over a value. Not only is the pool nicer, CSR has a really cool playground area at the Dig Site that is suitable for a wide range of ages.

I would, however, work on "finding" more money for dining to do a few more TS meals. I think you'll find that with both kids you really appreciate being seated and waited on rather than doing the counter service hunt for a free table at every meal, and even if you don't bother going to resorts for meals you can still find at least one good option in each of the parks. Are there relatively painless places you could cut back at home to save a little more, like breaking a Starbucks habit or packing lunches instead of eating out a couple days a week? If so, I would. If not, I'd recommend taking the time to look over menus and read reviews on the dining board to get a feel for which counter service choices would be best for your family and your trip (ie the ones with plentiful seating, air conditioning if you're going when it is hot, better menus than the standard quick service fare, etc.) There's no shortage of good counter service locations if you take the time to look into it a bit.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I would go with Pop and get the rental and enjoy the extra meals...and since you're active duty, if you haven't used your free Seaworld tickets for the year, having a car to go there for your day off Disney might be really fun, especially with a 3 and 1 year old (the Happy Harbor is perfect for them) - it would be a nice, slower paced day, but one with lots of fun still packed in...

 

[fofinia]

I stayed at Pop on my last trip. Me and 3 kids. I was really surprised how tiny the room felt. I had stayed at All Star sports 13 years ago. I do not remember the rooms being that small. Must be bad memory. Pop gets such wonderful reviews on here I was excited to stay there. But seriously the bed was less than 2 feet inside the door. There was hardly any room to get the suitcases in. Not sure where you'd put a pack and play.

That said I prefer having my car. I don't enjoy buses. Not even disney buses. Not one little bit. So this would be a tough one for me.

Sorry I'm not helpful! But just a couple of considerations I noticed from my last trip.

 

[danceintherain]

Haha...just as I expected. Two completely different opinions.

I'd go with Coronado.

Of all our trips to WDW we've never rented a car. We've had my van twice, on trips we drove down instead of flying, and still relied on Disney transportation for all our park days. Even with three kids, one in a stroller, that was fine. I'll take an air conditioned bus at a stop relatively close to the park gate over a long walk through a sea of concrete and metal to get into a hot car at the end of the day!

With a full break day, I think you'll appreciate the extra amenities of a moderate resort over a value. Not only is the pool nicer, CSR has a really cool playground area at the Dig Site that is suitable for a wide range of ages.

I would, however, work on "finding" more money for dining to do a few more TS meals. I think you'll find that with both kids you really appreciate being seated and waited on rather than doing the counter service hunt for a free table at every meal, and even if you don't bother going to resorts for meals you can still find at least one good option in each of the parks. Are there relatively painless places you could cut back at home to save a little more, like breaking a Starbucks habit or packing lunches instead of eating out a couple days a week? If so, I would. If not, I'd recommend taking the time to look over menus and read reviews on the dining board to get a feel for which counter service choices would be best for your family and your trip (ie the ones with plentiful seating, air conditioning if you're going when it is hot, better menus than the standard quick service fare, etc.) There's no shortage of good counter service locations if you take the time to look into it a bit.

I forgot about the air conditioned bus thing. We haven't been during the hotter months in quite a while. This trip is in September.
We did like having the rental car for rope drop though. We got to park super close and then the car was very close when we left for our break. We would take the bus to the Magic Kingdom regardless.

I'm definitely working on 'finding' some more money. Pretty much every extra cent we don't spend this and next month will go into the trip fund. That's definitely motivation for me. More so than a hypothetical vacation in the future.
Our eating out expenses are probably the worst drain on our budget. That and fuel. We live about 2 hours from each of our parents, which is nice, but we need to cut back on how often we visit, and certainly stop driving two cars to get there. This month, my family had a reunion, and DH didn't want to take off the whole time I was going to be out there, so he drove separately. Then, he left halfway through the week to go home and check on the cat...
For August, we're already planning a trip to see his family this weekend (we haven't been out there in a while) then my baby sister, who I haven't seen since December is going to be at my Mom's house the following week, so I'm planning on taking the kids to spend time with her.

Eating out is easier. I've been doing better planning out my grocery shopping trips to make sure we have viable options for eating at home.

Anyway...definitely places to cut. We just have to stay focused.

I would go with Pop and get the rental and enjoy the extra meals...and since you're active duty, if you haven't used your free Seaworld tickets for the year, having a car to go there for your day off Disney might be really fun, especially with a 3 and 1 year old (the Happy Harbor is perfect for them) - it would be a nice, slower paced day, but one with lots of fun still packed in...

We haven't used our SeaWorld tickets, but I think we would need to add a day entirely to make it work. DH is very protective of his break time. Having a full rest day goes a long way in convincing him to get up for Rope Drop at all most of the other days. We do like being able to drive to the parks.

I did cave and tell DH my dilemma. He wants to stay at a Coronado Springs. Now he actually seems excited about the trip. Pop Century wasn't exciting him at all.

 

[Narnia_girl]

I'd go with Coronado also. Pop has full size beds which are a little tight if you are used to a Queen, and as you noted, the extra space in a room is nice.
And, like Colleen, I'd encourage you to find some extra money for that special meal or two. Do you Swagbuck? Or other app rewards? How about buying your Disney cards at Target to save 5%?
Finally, I just wanted to share my appreciation for your husband's service. Thank you!

 

[worm761]

We love CSR! It is one of our favorite resorts.

I would menu plan but be realistic about it. If you need to use prechopped veggies then buy them prechopped. Only you know how you cook and if you can with 2 kids that young. But definitely cut the eating out so often and every time you don't eat out move that money to your vacation fund.

Do you do Perk or Swagbucks? That might earn you a few gift cards between now and then. There's a thread here on the budget board about each of them.

 

[soonerfan2008]

Have you checked Shades of Green? The rooms are huge, especially for Disney, and the location is great. Also, the price is really reasonable, especially when you consider that you will not pay tax on the room (which is high). The onsite restaurants are as good as most chain sit down places, and the price is great. You also have a refrigerator and a microwave in the room.

 

[danceintherain]

I'd go with Coronado also. Pop has full size beds which are a little tight if you are used to a Queen, and as you noted, the extra space in a room is nice.
And, like Colleen, I'd encourage you to find some extra money for that special meal or two. Do you Swagbuck? Or other app rewards? How about buying your Disney cards at Target to save 5%?
Finally, I just wanted to share my appreciation for your husband's service. Thank you!

We're actually used to a King, but the baby may end up sleeping with at least one of us if she doesn't adjust well. Usually we have the space to put her in her own room. Sharing a room might be too much excitement for her.
I haven't used Swagbucks in a long time. I use Bing as my search engine, but that's usually only good for $5-10/month. I do intend to buy some Disney Gift Cards with my Red Card, but I'm not sure how many will be practical.

We love CSR! It is one of our favorite resorts.

I would menu plan but be realistic about it. If you need to use prechopped veggies then buy them prechopped. Only you know how you cook and if you can with 2 kids that young. But definitely cut the eating out so often and every time you don't eat out move that money to your vacation fund.

Do you do Perk or Swagbucks? That might earn you a few gift cards between now and then. There's a thread here on the budget board about each of them.

I definitely know not to make things too difficult for myself when cooking.
Even just tracking our spending more closely has been helpful. We use YNAB (YouNeedaBudget) and it's really helpful that we can both input transactions as we go. I just don't want to try to do too much at a time, because I know we'll give up. I think we should be able to devote at least an extra $100 from August. July ended up being pretty tight, so I wouldn't be able to contribute more without pulling from somewhere else.

Have you checked Shades of Green? The rooms are huge, especially for Disney, and the location is great. Also, the price is really reasonable, especially when you consider that you will not pay tax on the room (which is high). The onsite restaurants are as good as most chain sit down places, and the price is great. You also have a refrigerator and a microwave in the room.

Shades of Green was my first stop, but they're booked most of the week we'll be traveling. I would have to do a double split stay to stay there at all, and that doesn't sound pleasant to me. I like to move into a room and settle in for the duration. There is a possibility that something could open up at the 30 day mark, but I'm sure I'll be too excited about CSR at that point to switch.

 

[danceintherain]

I just noticed that my siggy still had DS at 3....he turned 5 today.
That's somewhere else I could divert money from. We're keeping the trip as a surprise for him, but I can allot him souvenir money from the birthday fund, since it ended up being less expensive than I originally anticipated.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

I thought years back SOG had a deal with the WDW that if SOG was full they'd get you a better rate then the standard military at the disney hotels (a rate that would be comparable as to what you'd pay at SOG). You might want to call SOG and just ask to book a room and when they tell you no availability ask about the rate at other hotels.

If your family would eat at T-Rex or Rainforest you could buy the gift cards on Raise.com right now they (check Landry card) are only 10% off but I have seen them up to 35% off. Don't discount the QS meals too much at Disney. I think they are decent meals.

 

[sdoll]

This is the first trip we're planning for Disney with an actual budget.

Last week ,DH comes to me and lets me know that he's deploying in a few months, and thinks it might be nice to take a vacation before he goes. I asked, where? He said, what about Disney?
My initial thought was that there was no way we'd be able to take a trip to Disney with only the $2000 we have in our vacation fund. Our trips usually cost twice that. The trip I was planning for December last year, and ended up canceling was going to cost 3 times that.

The next day, it occurred to me that I hadn't yet "budgeted" a reimbursement we got recently, and that I could take a week's worth of grocery and eating out budget to go towards the trip. (I have lurked on this board before)
So anyway...the new total is about $2900. We can definitely go for that amount of money, but we will have to sacrifice something we've grown accustomed to...

Initially, I figured that a Value resort would be our only option. But when the quote for that came back super low I had my TA check the Moderate resorts as well.

So, a room at CSR fits in the budget (yay value season and military discounts) but juuuust barely. It's about $400 more than Pop.
If we go with that option, then we won't be able to rent a car, and almost definitely will only get to eat 2 TS meals the entire trip.
Both of which are things I was planning on before I realized we had almost $1000 more in the budget.

As for the former, we've only had a car once for 2 days during our last trip. We really liked having it, but we should be fine taking Disney transport. We haven't gone with both kids yet though, and I'm not sure if that will change anything for us. I do know that it is nice to have a place to store the stroller over night outside of the room.

The latter is something we've never done. We usually eat a TS meal almost every day. However, without a rental car, and with two kids, I don't think we're going to want to be doing a lot of transfers between resorts, which is where most of the restaurants we haven't eaten at are. The only real exception is Epcot, but one of the meals I have planned is there. I also have a character meal at Hollywood & Vine planned. So I think that pretty well keeps us covered. We'll eat counter service for every other meal. I have around $40/person/night planned, and I think that will be plenty for our usual eating needs.

The reasons why I'm leaning towards CSR are that we have never stayed at a Value before, and this will be the first time we'll be staying anywhere with both kids. During our last trip, it was nice to have a curtain to put DS's bed behind, so we didn't have to be completely quiet and dark after he went to bed.
Also, we spend quite a bit of time in our room during our trips. DH requires a break every day (usually around 3 hours) and we have a full 'break' day planned for the middle of the trip (downside of AFS tickets is that they're only 4 days). DH loves just relaxing during our trips, but I'm usually too excited or too busy with the kids to have it be much of an option for me. It would be nice to have the CSR grounds to wander with the kids, and the nicer pool for those times as well.

I did ask DH, and he said that he'd rather stay at a moderate than have a rental car, but I haven't asked him about the food yet. Eating at Disney is one of his favorite things, but he doesn't like to talk about it. I'm also thinking it might be fun to surprise with the stay at CSR.

Anyway...which would you choose?
Pop Century with a rental car and more table service meals OR Coronado Springs with full Disney transportation and only 2 TS meals (unless I 'find' more money)?

Thanks for the input![/QUOTE

Have you considered staying off site? I know some people feel it's not disney but we love it! We have done both staying on and off property and hands down off property works best for us! I certainly,don't feel like we are missing any magic off site. The cost is so little compared to onsite and the extra space is so relaxing! We love bonnet creek and it is so close you are practically on property! Just my 2 cents. Sorry if it's way off your question!

 

[ceecee]

I would stay at CSR over POP, we did like POP when DD was younger she loved the themes. We like more room now! I wouldn't bother with the car and just use ME. Maybe check into the DDP with the savings on the car.

 

[danceintherain]

I thought years back SOG had a deal with the WDW that if SOG was full they'd get you a better rate then the standard military at the disney hotels (a rate that would be comparable as to what you'd pay at SOG). You might want to call SOG and just ask to book a room and when they tell you no availability ask about the rate at other hotels.

If your family would eat at T-Rex or Rainforest you could buy the gift cards on Raise.com right now they (check Landry card) are only 10% off but I have seen them up to 35% off. Don't discount the QS meals too much at Disney. I think they are decent meals.

The overflow rate for SoG is usually only a percentage off a Disney room. From what I understand, the Military Salute discounts are better than what it is. I think it may have been comparable to SoG rates in the past, but with how Disney has been raising prices so much every year for the past few years, and charging more for weekends and such, it's not comparable at all anymore. Also, since Disney changed their usual pattern this year, and extended the AFS discount rather than renew it, I have a feeling that they may be planning on discontinuing it. So it may be our last chance to take advantage of it. I don't expect SoG to get much more expensive any time soon.

I would stay at CSR over POP, we did like POP when DD was younger she loved the themes. We like more room now! I wouldn't bother with the car and just use ME. Maybe check into the DDP with the savings on the car.

The DDP is pretty much a wash for us. I was considering the QSP, but there's only a small chance it would actually save us any money (we would have to order the most expensive thing on the menu every time). It's more likely that we will save money without it. We usually order water with our meals (definitely going to be pushing this more with the heat in September anyway) and only order dessert occasionally. Most of the time we'd rather get dessert later, after our meal has settled a bit, which isn't an option with DP credits. I also will order off the kid's menu on occasion, if I prefer the offerings or am not hungry enough for an adult sized meal.

 

[danceintherain]

I forgot to add that I don't plan T-Rex or Rainforest Cafe during our trips, because we can eat at both when we go to visit my parents.

I do like QS at Disney. I think it will work well for us, and it will be nice to not have to worry about canceling at the last minute.

 

[LovesTimone]

This is the first trip we're planning for Disney with an actual budget.

Last week ,DH comes to me and lets me know that he's deploying in a few months, and thinks it might be nice to take a vacation before he goes. I asked, where? He said, what about Disney?
My initial thought was that there was no way we'd be able to take a trip to Disney with only the $2000 we have in our vacation fund. Our trips usually cost twice that. The trip I was planning for December last year, and ended up canceling was going to cost 3 times that.

The next day, it occurred to me that I hadn't yet "budgeted" a reimbursement we got recently, and that I could take a week's worth of grocery and eating out budget to go towards the trip. (I have lurked on this board before)
So anyway...the new total is about $2900. We can definitely go for that amount of money, but we will have to sacrifice something we've grown accustomed to...

Initially, I figured that a Value resort would be our only option. But when the quote for that came back super low I had my TA check the Moderate resorts as well.

So, a room at CSR fits in the budget (yay value season and military discounts) but juuuust barely. It's about $400 more than Pop.
If we go with that option, then we won't be able to rent a car, and almost definitely will only get to eat 2 TS meals the entire trip.
Both of which are things I was planning on before I realized we had almost $1000 more in the budget.

As for the former, we've only had a car once for 2 days during our last trip. We really liked having it, but we should be fine taking Disney transport. We haven't gone with both kids yet though, and I'm not sure if that will change anything for us. I do know that it is nice to have a place to store the stroller over night outside of the room.

The latter is something we've never done. We usually eat a TS meal almost every day. However, without a rental car, and with two kids, I don't think we're going to want to be doing a lot of transfers between resorts, which is where most of the restaurants we haven't eaten at are. The only real exception is Epcot, but one of the meals I have planned is there. I also have a character meal at Hollywood & Vine planned. So I think that pretty well keeps us covered. We'll eat counter service for every other meal. I have around $40/person/night planned, and I think that will be plenty for our usual eating needs.

The reasons why I'm leaning towards CSR are that we have never stayed at a Value before, and this will be the first time we'll be staying anywhere with both kids. During our last trip, it was nice to have a curtain to put DS's bed behind, so we didn't have to be completely quiet and dark after he went to bed.
Also, we spend quite a bit of time in our room during our trips. DH requires a break every day (usually around 3 hours) and we have a full 'break' day planned for the middle of the trip (downside of AFS tickets is that they're only 4 days). DH loves just relaxing during our trips, but I'm usually too excited or too busy with the kids to have it be much of an option for me. It would be nice to have the CSR grounds to wander with the kids, and the nicer pool for those times as well.

I did ask DH, and he said that he'd rather stay at a moderate than have a rental car, but I haven't asked him about the food yet. Eating at Disney is one of his favorite things, but he doesn't like to talk about it. I'm also thinking it might be fun to surprise with the stay at CSR.

Anyway...which would you choose?
Pop Century with a rental car and more table service meals OR Coronado Springs with full Disney transportation and only 2 TS meals (unless I 'find' more money)?

Thanks for the input!

Frist - Thank you to your DH for his service and to your family for supporting him. God bless you and yours.

I would go with the moderate resort and then work on adding TS meals. Skip the car.

I have a few thoughts,

Did you check the price on CBR - normally it is the on the lower end of pricing on the moderate scale, also I think that the kids pool at CBR is the best around ( just my thoughts). Also I thought that I read somewhere that the pool at CSR is under going a refurb? ( can anyone confirm), also this is a convention hotel and for me it does not have that Disney feel or theming.( again my thoughts). If there is a convention in play it is mass chaos at the food court and pool areas.

Have you thought about bring some breakfast items with you, pop tarts, cereal bars, muffins, even those small individual cereal bowls, you can buy milk and juice at the resort. Also some snacks while in the parks, you can save money here. Also you could check on Garden Grocer delivering, water, drinks, diapers so that's one less thing to worry about, do check what the minimum order is. Also this is less to have to deal with in the airport.

Try to cut back on eating out, and save this money towards another TS meal.

Go through all your clothing and the kids toys or baby items that you are no longer using, Kids to Kids give you cash for good kids items, also there are other like Plato's Closet for clothes, leaning more to the juniors sizes.

Have a garage sale, for every dollar you make that's closer to another TS meal.

Also Breakfast and Lunch are a bit more affordable that Dinner times. - When DD's were little, we would have something at the resort for breakfast, then a snack and then what we laughingly call "Linner" around 3:00 ish at a TS, then later if need we would split a couple of QS.

There are a lot of TS and QS meals that can be split, easily and be plenty to eat.

Hit the dollar store and clearance ( Target and Wal-Mart have had some good small stuff for travel) areas for toys, and other Disney items, T-shirts and such.

Have a magical time.

 

[danceintherain]

Frist - Thank you to your DH for his service and to your family for supporting him. God bless you and yours.

I would go with the moderate resort and then work on adding TS meals. Skip the car.

I have a few thoughts,

Did you check the price on CBR - normally it is the on the lower end of pricing on the moderate scale, also I think that the kids pool at CBR is the best around ( just my thoughts). Also I thought that I read somewhere that the pool at CSR is under going a refurb? ( can anyone confirm), also this is a convention hotel and for me it does not have that Disney feel or theming.( again my thoughts). If there is a convention in play it is mass chaos at the food court and pool areas.

Have you thought about bring some breakfast items with you, pop tarts, cereal bars, muffins, even those small individual cereal bowls, you can buy milk and juice at the resort. Also some snacks while in the parks, you can save money here. Also you could check on Garden Grocer delivering, water, drinks, diapers so that's one less thing to worry about, do check what the minimum order is. Also this is less to have to deal with in the airport.

Try to cut back on eating out, and save this money towards another TS meal.

Go through all your clothing and the kids toys or baby items that you are no longer using, Kids to Kids give you cash for good kids items, also there are other like Plato's Closet for clothes, leaning more to the juniors sizes.

Have a garage sale, for every dollar you make that's closer to another TS meal.

Also Breakfast and Lunch are a bit more affordable that Dinner times. - When DD's were little, we would have something at the resort for breakfast, then a snack and then what we laughingly call "Linner" around 3:00 ish at a TS, then later if need we would split a couple of QS.

There are a lot of TS and QS meals that can be split, easily and be plenty to eat.

Hit the dollar store and clearance ( Target and Wal-Mart have had some good small stuff for travel) areas for toys, and other Disney items, T-shirts and such.

Have a magical time.

Excellent suggestions!
I suppose to could have my TA check on CBR, but we've stayed there before, and I like to try somewhere new every time we go. Also, a quick check has only a Pirate room available with a discount. Usually the AFS availability is about the same as that for the other discounts Disney offers. It looks like it would actually be about $100 more expensive than our preferred room at CSR. Such a shame, because I think DS and DH would really love to stay in a Pirate themed room.
I didn't want preferred at CSR, I'd rather be closer to the pool, but it was all that was available.
DH looked up photos of CSR and was particularly impressed with the pool, so I think we'll be perfectly happy there.

ETA: We've already paid to check two bags for our flights. My estimate is that we'll only need about 1 1/2 bags for clothes, so half a bag will be whatever little extras I can squeeze in. I like to limit the amount of stuff I carry onto the plane. DH will probably have a backpack with a change of clothes for all of us, and maybe our swimsuits, and DS will have a backpack with activities for the plane.
I'm definitely planning on looking into Grocery delivery, especially water delivery.

 

[Praying Colonel]

I've stayed at both CSR and Pop--if those are your choices, I'd go with CSR. Rooms are bigger, beds are bigger and I really like the pool area. It's not as "in your face" with the Disney theming compared to Pop, but I like the Southwest beach theme.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

First, I'd go with CSR - we love it there!

Second, and this is probably not going to be a popular opinion here on the Budget Board, but I'd book a military room+dine package and put it on a Disney Visa to get 6 months no interest. When my husband has been deployed, we've always wound up doing pretty well financially - although his civilian salary is similar to his Army Reserve salary, he's not paying out health insurance or 401(k) contributions from his Army salary, plus we get BAH and BAS tax-free, so we actually make more money, net, than when he's employed at his regular civilian job. Knowing that, I'd be tempted to do a "buy now, pay later" option and know I could pay it off before the interest kicks in.

Oh, and I wouldn't worry about the rental car. We don't mind the buses.

 

[StitchBuddy]

We've stayed at CSR and personally if you can get one of the other moderate resorts I would. It is a beautiful resort, but it is a convention resort. The food options are limited and expensive compared to the others. The food court at the values have a large variety too.