when to book for Nov. 2010

[my3sonstx]

hi everyone,
can someone tell me if the same rules apply for booking the resorts and campsites. I want to make sure I get a site for Thanksgiving 2010. Also, can someone give me a suggestion about food. Do you prefer to get dining plan when camping?

 

[becky1960]

I would book right away, I have read where some are not getting booking's around Halloween and the first of Nov. Call and then if they say no, go online, I called for Halloween and no luck but got it online

 

[BradyBz12]

can someone tell me if the same rules apply for booking the resorts and campsites.

Same rules apply. Definitely book Thanksgiving as soon as that window opens. It's one of the hardest ressies to get at the fort in my experience!

can someone give me a suggestion about food. Do you prefer to get dining plan when camping?

Definitely pros and cons to DDP that are specific to every family. I'd encourage you price out the plan and check the menus to see if it's worth it for you - in terms of food and $$.

IMO the answer depends on a few things....

- What are you camping in? (do you have an easy-to-stock/use kitchen setup?)

- How much do you like to cook on vacation?

- How do you and your family eat? (quantity/type?)

- Budget

The last 2 are the big determining factors for us as to whether the dining plan is worth it or not.

We camp in a hybrid TT and I enjoy cooking - even on vacation. Although I do feel more like I'm ON vacation if I don't have to cook.

We did the DDP twice while camping. We enjoyed it very much because it gave us the opportunity to try out a lot of TS restaurants we probably never would have otherwise. We kept track, and had many TS meals that would have cost us $100-$200 out of pocket, which made the DDP a major deal for us!

We dropped the DDP when they changed it to no longer include the appetizer or gratuity. No longer made sense for us budget-wise, and we actually enjoy appetizers more than desserts.

2 other factors that clinched the deal...

- Having to make so many ADRs in advance and needing to plan so much of our days around meals

- Too much food!
DH and I are very good eaters and enjoy dining, but we had a bunch of desserts stacked up in the camper fridge. Both years we used the DDP we also found that we had a bunch of QS meals left at the end of the trip. We still came out ahead of the game $$ wise, but the last time we did the DDP (2007) we almost felt like we were stuffing ourselves because we didn't want to waste anything.

This last trip (Dec'08) we skipped the DDP. We really enjoyed the freedom to eat what we wanted when we wanted it. We made just a couple of ADRs early - to places we knew for sure we didn't want to miss - and winged it the rest of the time. We don't mind QS meals (especially the nicer places in WS) and cooked easy meals at the camper that I'd planned ahead for.

We were able to get TS meals with little to no wait during the week at DTD, and the find of the trip was the Kona Sushi Bar - which was a walk up every time, had great sushi and where you can order off the regular Kona Cafe menu too! We ate there at least 3 times.

We were able to eat well (including a few very nice dinners at our favorite places) and still average only about $30-40 total per day for food the entire 3 weeks we were there. Which is what we were shooting for, and which also allowed us to add another week to our trip.

 

[Shan-man]

Just so you know, you can book site-only reservations 499 days from your departure date by calling CRO (not online). 499 days from Thanksgiving 2010 is July 7, this year so calculate your call date off of that (or go here to calculate your own date).

 

[stacktester]

We have gone the past 5 Thanksgiving weekends and I usually book at least a year out. I think for last year I booked in Sept. of 07. That weekend is really nice. Bring clothes for all seasons. In 06 I brought warm clothes because it was cold all week then it got hot and all I had was jeans and long sleeves. The decorations are up at the resorts and parks not to mention the many sites done up.

 

[CampingBandit]

The above post nailed it, lots of specifics and details, nice job!... Basically what kind of vacation do you want out of the trip? Do you want to cook?

BTW, I made my ressie (going this Nov. 21) in October '08, online. By January the end of the week Thanksgiving dates were full.

We had the DP last March Spring Break (we stayed at Allstar Music-Family Suite). We had cereal some days in our room, or counter service breakfasts. Our Table Services meals were either dinner or lunch, about half/half.

I personally would not do the dining plan again, even if I wasn't camping. It really didn't work for our family (tastes, ages, etc). We probably saved money with it, but honestly, it wasn't worth the aggrevation.

That time of year will be busy, so you'll have to make ADR's well ahead of time, and then you are comitting yourself to a scheduled itinerary based on where your reservation is on that day. That was too structured for us.

Don't get me wrong, it had its pluses too. We never would have tried some of the more elegant restaurants if we hadn't had the plan, we would have stuck to counter meals. We had some very nice meals and got to visit resorts by way of their restaurants. So it can be ideal for some, it just depends on what you are looking for.

My three kids, hubby included, are very picky. Many of the "american" menu items didn't appeal to them, and my 10yo daughter at the time was forced to order from the adult menu, even if she just wanted a hot dog or mac n' cheese. So for kids who have more mature tastes, they would do better. Every family is unique so you have to decide for you. Allears.net and they post the menus for each restaurant, that is very helpful to decide where you want to go. Keep in mind that not every restaurant is on the dining plan.

With camping, since we can do meals in our TT, I think it's more cost effective for us to not do the dining plan. Since I wasn't such a fan, it's a no brainer for me.

But like I said, some people love it and trying the new experiences. Had I paid attention to the prices at some of the places we dined at, I doubt we would have eaten there if we were paying out of pocket, know what I mean? I kind of recall the menu prices at one of the GF resort restaurants and commenting to hubby there was no way we'd eat here if we weren't on the DP. (We're just cheap I guess.)

 

[BradyBz12]

By January the end of the week Thanksgiving dates were full.

Yep - this happened to us last year. We were originally planning Thanksgiving week as our first week, but when I tried to book it in January, everything was full. I tried daily for a few months and then gave up. We ended up moving everything forward a week.

I booked this year's trip 498 days ahead of time.

 

[my3sonstx]

wow, thank you guys for all your great info!