What would you do?

[05ChristmasSurprise]

We are planning a trip down next November with friends. The friends have talked about going with us at this time and do not know we are planning to take them (our treat). So, they are essentially saving up for the trip right now, but are not going to have to pay for (at least) the majority of it.

DH originally said he wanted to do the whole gold package so they wouldn't have to worry about meals, but I reminded him that we seldom sat down for dinner when we went last year - that there was so much to do, we usually just grabbed counter service or weren't even hungry because we'd had a snack or a mickey bar .

I have to make a decision, both for my own (and DH's) sanity and because the deposit is due for the grand gathering, if we opt for that.

Here are our options so far:

Wilderness Lodge with Gold Package - make deposit now and hope they have a good "sale" price on this next fall (historically, they do for this time of year)
advantages:
no paying for food, disney toiletries, animal towels, (possibly), no worrying about saving up for meals, grand gatherings are all free (worth $1,000) etc.
disadvantages:
possibly may not use all the money we "paid" for in the gold package if we don't have sit-down meals and do perks every day, very expensive, wilderness lodge transportation has quirks, will not know how much it is going to cost until we get much closer.

Swan/Dolphin room only reservation, annual passes (and AP rate at S/D), we pay for special meals (grand gatherings, character breakfasts, candlelight processional, and thanksgiving dinner) then we each pay our own way for snacks/quick meals.
advantages:
more cost-friendly, can go back in summer of 06 "for free" - without park admission anyway, beautiful luxury hotel with comfy beds.
disadvantages:
have to pay for meals separately, our first time "onsite" at Disney and no mousekeeping (potential for towel animals, mickey calls, bedtime stories, etc).


Swan/Dolphin + silver package
Advantages: no worrying about dining out, we could use the wishes for the adult meals and pay for the kids separately
Disadvantages:
have to buy a package through disney and pay for the ultimate park hoppers and full rate for the hotel, no mousekeeping perks

_OR_
we could do a lesser resort (like POR) with the gold package or silver package and save more money, but if we are "doing it right" this trip...are we going to regret a moderate resort choice (or value?)

Thanks for any input!

 

[Brian Noble]

I'm with you---our family eats perhaps two sitdown meals every three days in the parks, and we don't play golf. At that rate, even a silver package plan would be more than overkill---we'd get no value from it, let alone gold.

If it were me, I'd book the WL room (or maybe rooms at the Grand Floridian, because I'd be "doing it right") and buy APs (to get the AP discounts), but not a package. Then I'd twist friends' arms until they accepted the fact that I was paying for "events".
Then, if the discounts don't come through, you can switch from a deluxe to a moderate resort.

If you don't think you can twist arms in this way, (or just don't want to) you could buy silver instead.

 

[Amirah95]

I'd go for the Swan/Dolphin Silver Package. It gives you and your guests options which are like gifts in a sense.

***Is mousekeeping important to you? If so, then I'd recommend you go with the Deluxe resort but bring it down to Silver to save you some money.

 

[hockey mom]

I would go for WL hands down. Pay for the rooms, and if you want some meals paid for pre pay for CP and buy a bunch of vouchers and give them to your friends. By the way this is a very generous gesture. Lucky friends

 

[frannn]

the meals, etc myself. You could figure out how much you would be spending on the meals in the package, and just save that much cash. That way, you have the option of eating all the heavy, sit down meals, but if you don't, you can spend the $ on a really nice souvenier. Or, you can buy the meal vouchers. Buying APs is a good idea as well. We buy APs every other year, and use them for two trips. We have only stayed at the value resorts this far, but only part of that is for monetary reasons. We just love the Disney theming of AS Movies for our DDs. I have been tempted to stay at a few of the moderates (we could've gotten some really great discounts with our APs), but in the end, we still opted for the Dalmations section of the AS Movies. We stay longer and spend more on souveniers! Maybe you could get a good AP discount on the WL...good luck!