WHY OH WHY is this so freaking COMPLICATED???

[acornell2]

I am trying to plan my family's first Disney trip, and I am very excited. However, the details are KILLING me!!! How does everyone else DO it???

We want to go the first 9 days of December (give or take a day). We are planning on getting 5 or 6 day park hopper passes. Also, we are looking at renting a house or condo, because hotels make me REALLY claustrophobic....having only 1 or 2 rooms to LIVE in for over a week....can't do it.

Now for my issues. Not many discount airlines have published rates for December yet, and I cannot imagine spending $1,200 (cheapest quote so far!) JUST on airfare for 2 adults and 2 kids! So my flight dates are still up in the air. I want to book lunch at Cinderella's castle and a package at BBBoutique for my daughter, but how do I know when to call or make reservations if I don't have flights booked yet? I am sooo confused!

I am a complete bargain hunter (by choice AND necessity!) so I can't imagine I would do better by going through a travel agent. I know how to use the internet, and what is a good deal. However, it all seems to be a train wreck waiting to happen so far! Based on the reservation guidelines, I should be able to call in less than a month to make lunch reservations. I have no idea how far in advance I can make Boutique reservations. Meanwhile I still have no solid flight plans set up to go by. Aaarrrrrgggghhhhh!!!!!

I feel like I have Disney Dementia!!! Any cures or potions to help me out???

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

Don't feel bad. I'm trying to plan a trip for 9 people - 1 is a wheelchair user with muscular dystrophy, 2 are diabetics, 1 is profoundly deaf, 3 of them have bi-polar disorder, and I have rheumatoid arthritis. I can hear the train coming now...

 

[4theloveofdisney]

Take a deep breath for starters - lol! Next, figure out where you are going to stay. Since you don't want to stay in a hotel room, have you considered renting DVC points so that you can stay on property in a condo-like dwelling or does that not appeal to you either? (You can find out everything you need to know about DVC rental right here on Disboards - just scroll down to that particular thread.)

Next, figure out your ticket situation for certain.

After that, try to start scheduling your ADR's. You can make them 180 days out. As far as the Boutique thingy, I don't know. I would call them and ask.

Lastly, if the whole airfare thing doesn't work out, can you drive??

Good luck and HTH!

 

[KimberlyC]

Renting a house or condo during that time frame shouldn't be a problem so I wouldn't worry about that first thing. Your ADR's you can do at 180 days and if that is important, I'd make that a priority. You have a basic time frame for when you are going, so I'd pick dates in the middle and select the ADR's you must have and work around those later.

I had my hotel and ADR's booked before booking airfare but it turned out there weren't any good discount rates to be had and I ended up having to pay close to what you were quoted anyway. I knew what I wanted but it was nice to have a TA to make my ADR's and changes for me (we added niece to our trip). It saved me a lot of time and I like that someone is there to answer any questions I might have.

 

[Punkin's Mom]

You're better off than you think - you've given yourself plenty of time to plan. First, get your airfare. That's the trickiest part of the equation. If you haven't gotten your airfare by the time your 180 day window opens, I would still make ADRs, knowing that you can always cancel or rescedule down the road. Beginning of December is not a very busy time of year - you can change ADRs around for quite awhile before places fill up. Check the CRT cancellation policy first, though, because you have to pay the whole balance up front.

Don't panic yet! This is still way early to be planning. You have plenty of time to work out the details.

 

[bexareaglecheryl]

Take it slow. When you first get into this Disney World planning thing it IS overwhelming. Take one detail at a time. Decide on the things that are most important to you and pursue those details/solve those problems first. It does take some time if you want to do it all and make the most of your money but it is do-able. I remember our first trip in Jan 2000. I felt like I would never learn enough to make a good decision. Four trips later and I feel like I'm pretty well informed. There's lot of information out there. Find a source you like and stick to it. Oh, too - have a great time. Half the fun IS planning. Try to enjoy it too.

 

[hockeyfan]

i agree with you! This is our first trip ( myself,DS22 and DSGF21,DD19 andDDBF 19) we leave in 9 days and planning was the hardest thing to do. Where to stay, eat, what type of tickets you need. We live in California and have annual passes to Disneyland and going there is a breeze. i finally gave up on the ADR's it is hard to know where you want to eat when you have never been to WDW, I booked Kona Cafe for the 1st night dinner and WC for breakfast the last day. Other than that we are going to wing it. We will eat at off time and maybe we will be able to get in at some of the another restaurants but we can't oh well! I was driving my family nuts and it was taking the fun out of the trip, so I fiqured food is just not that important. I got a good deal on airfare I booked about 6 months before the date we wanted to go. Paying 313.00 round trip (non-Stop) Lax to MCO. We will have a rental car so we can always eat off-site, I hope you have a wonderful vacation and don't get so stessed out it will all work out in the end i think the best part is just being there and seeing the joy on your children faces!!

Denise

If I wrong about the ADR's I will let you know when I get back on the 28th!

 

[Eeyore4me764]

I know at times it seems like it can be overwhelming. Take a deep breath and everything will work out and I am sure you and your family will have an awesome time. First week of December is a great time to Visit. Not too busy. My suggestions are these: Definately check this site. When I planned our first trip, I found so much information and various discount codes ect. that it really helped to save money. I got a Steno pad and wrote everything down. Including the dates of the trip and what I thought we might want to do, and the definite must dos. My DD wanted to go to Cinderella's castle as well so we booked the 180 days out during our block of time we were considering. You may have a specific day in mind that you would like to book, but it may not work when you call for the ressie...so you have to be flexible so have a few choices. (sometimes you may have to just take what is available during the time you will be there, which we had to do). You need to know what are the definites and what are the would be nice if we can do things are. I would book the house/condo with the preferred dates you would like to travel. You can find some really nice 3 bed homes with private pools not far from Disney. Some even have the private pools heated included. so search that out as well. Because of the time of year the weather could be cool. Now as far as the air, which I know sometimes feels like it can kill you......I checked very often the various sites. I also signed up with a couple of the sites to do a farewatcher. I entered all the info in and the price I wanted to pay for each ticket (within reason, i would like the tickets to be 50.00, but we know that won't happen..lol) then the site will email you when the ticket hits that price or lower. The other thing is I don't know where you are flying from....but if you were quoted 300.00 per ticket and are flying from CA, then that might not be such a bad price. I am going to disney next week and live in NC and I got what I think is an awesome price...115.00 roundtrip per person. I used to live in NJ and would never pay more than 180.00 roundtrip to Orlando. And I always got my tickets within a couple of dollars of that. (Also have to take into consideration the oil/gas prices now so that may affect the prices as well). Driving if its a consideration might work for you too then you don't have to rent a car there. I know its alot of information, hope wasn't too long winded, and I know you want everyone to be happy....but trust me...you are going to the happiest place on earth.... you all will have a great time!!! If you need any other help...let me know. Glad to help a fellow Dis'er.

 

[MyZoeJane]

You'll be just fine.

We are going September 30th - October 7th... and I have yet to worry about airfare. I've checked a few times, but Southwest doesn't even have dates that far intot he future yet... and I'm not worried. I don't have any park visits scheduled for the day we arrive and the day we leave. If there's time on the day we depart, we will just go to Downtown Disney.

Here's what Iw ould do if I were you:

Subscrie to TourguideMike or check out Touringplans.com ... you need to get a good idea as to what the projected crowd levels will be like while you are there and then choose your park days based on what's happening on those days. Want to see a fireworks show or a parade at a particular park? Be sure to pick and choose which parks you'll be at on which days first. Bear in mind that some parks can be easily visited in the morning and afternoon and then an evening can be spent at another park. (This makes parkhopper tickets CRUCIAL!) You can find park hours and info easily here on this board. I believe there's a Sticky thread with them.

Be sure to schedule downtime... or you wont enjoy yourselves. Park opening to a late night park close will be brutal without time to go back to the hotel and rest in between. ESPECIALLY if you're going with small children.

Once you know what parks you will be visiting on what days, THEN browse through the restaurants and select the ones that sound great to you. Then pick a second choice... and even a third choice for EACH reservation slot you hope to fill. Chances are, you'll get your first choice if you call at 180 days before the day you want to make the reservation. Be flexible with your meal times, and I suggest having meals EARLY... (dinner by 5:30pm or earlier, lunch by 11:45 or earlier)... you will beat a lot of crowds and that will leave the parks less crowded AFTER meals for you. If you plan to dine in nice restaurants, consider the dining plan. It easily pays for itself and then some. Check out the menus for the various restaurants and select what you might normally order and add it up! if it comes out to less than $38-ish dollars per day, then skip the dining plan. (Although the dining plan includes dessert and appetizer, so if you would not normally order those due to added cost, remember they are included in the dining plan along with the entrees!)

Once you have planned which parks to do on which days, and which restaurants to eat at on those days... THEN you get to plan your touring strategy. Some people enjoy not having one, but I recommend one. Last time we went we had a decent touring plan and it worked like a charm. Now I subscribe to TGM, and I am loving his tips. It's $19 well spent so far! (We'll know for sure when we get back from our trip!)

Anyhow, that's my $.02.

 

[PandaBear & Boo]

Sit down relax.....Now, you could go to a TA and get some brochures. Sometimes they offer good deals for flight and accomodations. Even if you don't use the TA you could just see what they have to offer. Sometimes talking to an expert helps in your planning. As for your ADR's you can call and reserve and if you change your mind you call and cancel. As long as you know the exact days you will be there then you will be fine. If you wait until you get closer to the day you want to leave you might find some cheaper flights. Now get a big glass of wine drink it slooowly. Breath and just keep saying it will all work out.....it will all work out. Good Luck and Have Fun!

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

Can planning get stressful? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes!!! I was able to accomplish everything I wanted to on our trip last week and the planning was what made the difference. Even though we didn't have bad crowds at all, the planning made the difference because of the little things like where to meet certain characters and good times to meet them. PhotoPass(another thing I learned about as part of the planning process) ended up saving my pictures since my pics didn't always turn out great, but the PhotoPass pics preserved priceless memories. You have a lot of time, so take a deep breath and enjoy it. Take a look at any Disney restaurants you want to eat at. Don't worry about what parks to hit which days yet as you're still a ways off.

 

[ougrad86]

Even if you can't schedule the flight yet, you know what days you will fly in and when you will leave. Leave those days open - no set plans, so that you can fly in whenever, settle in and either go to the park or maybe DTD or something.
I was frustrated with SW, waiting for the flights, and then I actually ended up getting cheaper tickets on Ted (discount airline of United). Didn't do it online, just used it as a guide, and when I made the reservations checked to see what they had and got it cheaper than online! Fuel prices are starting to inch down - hopefully when you can book the flight, the prices will be more relaxed then they will be now.
I planned everything before I got the flights. I knew I would pick those up 3 months out, so I planned everything else out with a SS, the Unofficial Guide and the DIS boards!
Good luck! Planning is lots of fun once you get organized .

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I hear ya. I'm in the process of planning our first trip and I'm scared! LOL! One airline tip. Can you fly into Orlando-Sanford for cheaper? We saved a lot of cash by doing so. We're taking Allegiant Air there for $229/RT. We have to spend $245 for transportation to the resort but we still saved around $400. Good luck with it all!

 

[1stWDWtrip]

Don't feel bad. I'm trying to plan a trip for 9 people - 1 is a wheelchair user with muscular dystrophy, 2 are diabetics, 1 is profoundly deaf, 3 of them have bi-polar disorder, and I have rheumatoid arthritis. I can hear the train coming now...

Wow, good luck to you. I am sure it will work out to be a wonderful trip!