OT: Disney

[temery]

I'm trying to help someone book a Disney trip for January. His wife died unexpectedly, and we've raised money to send him, an adult child, and two kids, 5 and 7, to Disney.

The sister of a friend who is a "Disney Specialist" travel agent sent me these options (six days), which does not include travel:

Grand Floridian Resort
Outer building garden view room
$5356.66 with no meal plan
$6099.08 with Quick Service
$6369.06 with Plus Dining Plan


Polynesian Resort
Standard view room
$4687.27 with no meal plan
$5429.69 with Quick Service
$5699.67 with Plus Dining Plan


Contemporary Resort
Garden wing garden view room
$4453.27 with no meal plan
$5195.69 with Quick Service
$5465.67 with Plus Dining Plan

I have no idea if these are good prices or not. Bottom line: I'm using my credit card rewards points for flights, but the rest is a bit more than we've raised. Any suggestions for cutting the costs, but still staying on Disney grounds, which I'm told is ideal?

All suggestions are welcome. It'll be their first trip, and I've never been to Disney, so I have no knowledge of what they have to offer.

Thanks,

Tom

 

[rocklloyd]

All are good locations and in my opinion the top tier of what Disney has to offer on property. All are also on monorail line which is very important with 2 young children as it will allow the to shoot back and forth from park to hotel very easily especially for after hour events inside the park for park guests.

The prices are what I would expect. You could easily drop down to lower tier hotels and save a grand or more, but then you have the frustration of bussing to parks.

I'm not an expert on meal plans. never get them and always regret it because I feel like I spent more freelancing.

 

[upperdeck]

havent been there in a while but these are options off their site. some restrictions on dates i think. but still a huge difference in price.

Room & Ticket Package
6-night, 7-day vacation packages with tickets valid at all 4 theme parks, for as little as $93 per person, per day for a family of 4 staying at select Disney’s All-Star Resorts.
Total package price: $2,587*

Room, Ticket & Dine Package
6-night, 7-day vacation packages with the Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan and tickets valid at all 4 theme parks, for as little as $128 per person, per day for a family of 4 staying at select Disney’s All-Star Resorts.
Total package price: $3,581*

 

[CuseLegacy]

Bambrewer I know you were just there vacationing. Any suggestions.

 

[CarolinaCuse]

I recommend checking out: Back to the Mouse – Great family vacations on a budget…

It's a blog run by a friend of mine who travels to Disney ALOT. The blog was born out of a desire to keep costs manageable. You can contact him with questions and I am confident he will respond with recommendations. He's a good dude.

 

[Bambrewer]

Those are great locations but for me with kids that age I would stay away from those resorts. I for one was stressed just walking into the Floridian with my young child. I would suggest saving a lot of money and stay at one of the lesser espensive hotels like the wilderness lodge is where I was this past week. Much more kid friendly still just a 5 minute boat ride to the park or bus to the other parks. Those hotels you mentioned at least in my opinion are more for the adults. Deluxe dinning plan is the way to go... more than enough food and they won't have to worry about having to spend on food or snacks. If you have time I would look into booking thru davids. You can use other people's time share points to pay for the hotel. I paid 1700 for 8 days at the wilderness in a villa. Park tickets are what they are I would spend the extra on the hopper with water parks for kids that age so they can bounce around and see everything. If you have any questions let me know but tag me in the post because I never get over to this part of the page lol.

 

[Bambrewer]

The all star movies and other value resorts are a great way to save money but they have to take a bus to all parks from there and that is usually an hour each way from the value resorts. If money is an issue than yes a great choice because you still get all the extra hours by staying at a Disney resort on a budget but the lake hotels save huge time in traveling in side Disney

 

[JJReddawg]

Considering your looking to save money, I'd drop down to the "Moderate" level. The best two, in my opinion, are Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter. The Quick Service Dining Plan might also be the better option as the 180 day reservation window is already open for January table service restaurants and options MAY be scarce.

Another thing you may want to try, is renting Disney Vacation Club points ( Disney Vacation Club Points - DVC Rental Store or DVC Rentals from Davids Disney Vacation Club Point Rentals ). It's at least worth a look, as you can usually get a 1-Bedroom villa for a decent price (which includes a full kitchen). We used the DVC Rental Store last year for our trip and got an Animal Kingdom Lodge room overlooking the Savannah. My daughters loved being able to sit on the balcony and watch the animals. If you were to go this route, you can still add the dining plan, but would just have to purchase the tickets separately.

Regardless of which route you go, make sure to advise the family about the 60 day Fastpass Booking window.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

I've stayed at the All Star Resorts on most trips with my young kids. The bus rides are about 20 minutes, not an hour. They frequently have dining plan incentives (last August we got free dining with park hopper tickets). If they plan to be in the parks more than the hotel, and you don't want to break the bank, All Star Resorts are the way to go in my opinion.

 

[Bambrewer]

I've stayed at the All Star Resorts on most trips with my young kids. The bus rides are about 20 minutes, not an hour. They frequently have dining plan incentives (last August we got free dining with park hopper tickets). If they plan to be in the parks more than the hotel, and you don't want to break the bank, All Star Resorts are the way to go in my opinion.

20 minutes would be accurate I was including the extra walking to the bus stations and wait times for buses in that hour

 

[JSOrange97]

20 minutes would be accurate I was including the extra walking to the bus stations and wait times for buses in that hour

Definitely have to account for some extra time with the buses. I am definitely not a fan of Disney buses.

I will echo the same comment to look at renting DVC (timeshare) points. These are some great resorts and the extra space in the villas is great for families. You can also have groceries delivered (there are third party services that are very reliable.) Then again, we are biased as we bought into DVC in 2010 and absolutely love it!

 

[sufandu]

I'm trying to help someone book a Disney trip for January. His wife died unexpectedly, and we've raised money to send him, an adult child, and two kids, 5 and 7, to Disney.

The sister of a friend who is a "Disney Specialist" travel agent sent me these options (six days), which does not include travel:

Grand Floridian Resort
Outer building garden view room
$5356.66 with no meal plan
$6099.08 with Quick Service
$6369.06 with Plus Dining Plan


Polynesian Resort
Standard view room
$4687.27 with no meal plan
$5429.69 with Quick Service
$5699.67 with Plus Dining Plan


Contemporary Resort
Garden wing garden view room
$4453.27 with no meal plan
$5195.69 with Quick Service
$5465.67 with Plus Dining Plan

I have no idea if these are good prices or not. Bottom line: I'm using my credit card rewards points for flights, but the rest is a bit more than we've raised. Any suggestions for cutting the costs, but still staying on Disney grounds, which I'm told is ideal?

All suggestions are welcome. It'll be their first trip, and I've never been to Disney, so I have no knowledge of what they have to offer.

Thanks,

Tom

I'm not necessarily an expert, but my parents have been seasonal employees for Disney for over 10 years. The Disney Specialist must assume you have deep pockets. Those are some of the most expensive resorts. The allstar resorts are probably better suited for kids and would certainly be the least expensive. Art of Animation and Pop Century are also very kid oriented and a little more expensive but still considered "value" resorts. Priced just a bit below the the three you have above, I also really like Animal Kingdom Lodge where the animals come right up to the back of the resort and Wilderness lodge has my favorite pool with a cool waterfall feature.

I'm not sure what the price difference is for full packages but park admissions and meal plans would probably be the same, regardless of resort. One way to save a little money is to plan to spend a day or two at the resort. Depending on the age of the kids, spending all day at the parks can be exhausting, and taking one day to hang around the pool at the resort can be a nice break.

Regardless of where they stay, make sure they go online and reserve their fast passes in advance. January tends to be one of the quieter times of year after Christmas and before spring break season, but with all of the events like the Marathons and sporting events they schedule, it's busier than it was 10 years ago. The newest and most popular rides can have a really long standby wait. You can probably find lots of online suggestions about which rides/shows to use fast passes on and which would be a waste.

Here's a list of the resorts. It looks like they put them in order of price.
List of current Disney Resort Hotels | Walt Disney World Resort

Edit: Just noticed the age of the kids. A day off in the middle would probably be a good idea with a 5 and 7 year old.

Edit #2: If they fly into Orlando International and don't plan on leaving Disney property, they won't have to rent a car. Disney has shuttle service where you don't even have to pick up your bags at the airport. Disney will get them and take them straight to your room.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Our favorites were the Beach/Yacht Club and Wilderness Lodge. Tom, it would save some good $ if you downgraded from the luxury resorts you list. Kids won't notice at all since the luxury resorts are built to attract the adults, not kids. With the ages of those children, any resort other than the top ones would easily fit their needs.

Make sure they order their fast passes to escape the longest lines , and to reserve meals at attractions like the hoop Dee do review etc well ahead of their trip. Here's a good sample so they can reserve Meals with characters etc. Walt Disney World: Getting the most out of a trip (ages 5 to 8) | BabyCenter

Tom, you are doing a very nice thing for this family that they will always remember.

 

[Briancuse]

That's a really nice thing your doing Tom, I haven't been there in quite a few years, stayed at all 3 of those resorts, the Polynesian was probably my favorite.

 

[MadNY3]

Considering the tragedy to the family, I would say while it is a little more, it's worth being all-in on site.

Contemporary is anything but - very 1980s - but is more than solid. And the kids wouldn't appreciate the amenities to the Grand Floridian as much.

 

[OrangeHeel]

Disney vet here. Throwing all factors into play discussed above:

Beach (not Yacht Club). Short walk to Epcot. Short but nice boat ride to Studios. Short bus ride to the Kingdom ( or walk thorough Epcot to get to monorail). Great ice cream shop. Best pool at WDW. Right on the boardwalk leading to ESPN Club. Always my kids favorite place to stay & we have stayed in them all!

You must stay on property for the full experience & perks. All resort properties are clean and decent. However, All Star reminds me of Sovietologist era housing with pennants (stayed there). I've had two horrible ecoerienes at Port Orleans and it is too crowded.

Beach Club! And take them out of school! A once in a lifetime trip should not be defined by long lines. Easy to find least busy time in January.

PM me if you want more details & have s magical Disney day.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Disney vet here. Throwing all factors into play discussed above:

Beach (not Yacht Club). Short walk to Epcot. Short but nice boat ride to Studios. Short bus ride to the Kingdom ( or walk thorough Epcot to get to monorail). Great ice cream shop. Best pool at WDW. Right on the boardwalk leading to ESPN Club. Always my kids favorite place to stay & we have stayed in them all!

You must stay on property for the full experience & perks. All resort properties are clean and decent. However, All Star reminds me of Sovietologist era housing with pennants (stayed there). I've had two horrible ecoerienes at Port Orleans and it is too crowded.

Beach Club! And take them out of school! A once in a lifetime trip should not be defined by long lines. Easy to find least busy time in January.

PM me if you want more details & have s magical Disney day.

Beach Club was our family favorite too. When we went they used to have a great seafood/clambake at Cape May there. Expensive but tables full of crab legs, shrimp, clams etc - not too fancy for kids (but can they eat enough to cover the price is the question) , eaten in the restaurant but seated at picnic like tables covered with paper that the kids can doodle, draw on etc with plastic bibs. Watched the horrible SU-Arkansas game there , our kids had written 'SU rules' on each table and worked the room to get a pro SU crowd cheering at the bar tv. Long time ago but with the great pools, fun walk to Epcot to see the nightly fireworks etc - Beach Club was a memorable time. Kids wouldn't squawk having an off day to just enjoy all the water amenities etc there either.

Wilderness Lodge was our second favorite.

 

[Scooch]

I go to Disney World every year. Given the circumstances I suspect you'd like to make the trip as fun and stress free as possible. If that's the case, stay at the Polynesian. It's my family's favorite resort: very family friendly, great vibe, cool pool, good restaurants, and on the monorail.

Trust me, with a 5 and 7 year old in tow being on the monorail line is fantastic. I imagine they'll want to spend a lot of time in Magic Kingdom and it's a short, fun trip on the monorail to get there. Long waits for the busses with kids that age are awful. Avoid it. Plus the Polynesian is walking distance to the Transportation & Ticket Center where you can get the monorail to Epcot.