Wasabi girl,
I agree with the previous poster about doing things yourself, as you will find it to be much less expensive than booking through The Disney Travel Company. Disney has 2 ways of booking things, The Disney Travel Co, which is like a
travel agency, I believe they earn commission, they try to book everything for you, air, transfers, room, tickets etc. they require a significant deposit, and have severe regulations on refunds. Then there is disney's CRO - central reservations, there you can book room only, and tickets only- they don't try to push you into booking anything- they just give you the rates, you can give them any discount codes you find and they will tell you what is available. If you book through CRO a 1 night deposit is required, and can be refunded up to 5 days before check-in.
Most people on the dis, esp. on the budget board ;-) book through CRO -- you can use the codes found in your local paper, or on a site like mousesavers.com to try and find the best deal. They book their airfare separately, looking for the best deals through various sites or discount airlines like Southwest. If you are not getting a rental car there a variety of ways to get from the airport to the hotel, that depend largely on the size of your group when choosing the best one. Tickets can be purchased in advance, through your local
Disney Store, by phone or online. It really isn't too difficult, and there are plenty of people here to help you through, and answer questions. Most of us relish in the trip planning as much as we enjoy actually going!
You should probably decide what is most important to you, saving money, or having someone else take care of all the little details. If having someone else take care of all the arrangements so you don't have to worry is important to you, there are many wonderful travel agents ( some even help support these boards) who are throughly qualified to help you. The difference between choosing a
travel agent such as
Dreams Unlimited, or All Seasons Travel and choosing a local travel agent or
AAA is that DU and All Seasons are very very experienced with Disney trips and really know the ins and outs of everything disney. They will probably be able to get you the best deals, and can give you a lot of great advice if you have never been.
You might also want to really check out the gold package, and price out if it will be worth it (financially) since everyone in your room must sign on for the package. I think there have been many folks who found they could not eat, or do enough everyday to justify it financially.
for the where to start.. check out allearsnet.com mousesavers.com and the DU stuff on the main disboards page, also look into purchasing a Passporter - it is a really good disney guide book, that will help you plan.. I believe mousesavers.com has it cheaper than amazon.com
As for the when to start.. well thats hard to say, but start taking alook at prices for hotels, and airfare-- they will definately change by next november but you can start to get an idea. Most airlines won't have their fares out for 11/05 yet.
Sorry for the long post, but I hope the information was helpful! There is really a ton of info right here on the dis too!
--Heather
Also, after you come back from Disney you will know what you will do next time and what you will not do next time. Experience also counts for something. Good Luck!!!!!
