Budget Honeymoon - Is there such a thing?

[johnaalexis]

my sis did a 'budget' honeymoon a few years back- she picked what was important to her.... a free dining time (busy season) stayed at cheapest all stars, no hoppers, but they paid extra to upgrade to a fancy DDP, b/c they wanted to try the 3 TS a day. (they had fun but later decided it was way too much food) used SWA points to fly there,so all in a all a bargain honeymoon and they had a blast.If it were me, with the FD deal,I'd only upgrade to the 1ts per day plan doing this.

If we get free dining we would probably pay the difference to upgrade but I'm unsure with our travel dates if we would be in the FD window.

 

[robinb]

If we get free dining we would probably pay the difference to upgrade but I'm unsure with our travel dates if we would be in the FD window.

Unfortunately, Free Dining is historically blakced out for your week : https://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/

There is a thread about how to save money buying Gift Cards here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-gift-card-deals.2941964/ . I would set aside time to read that last 20 pages to get the gist of the current ways to save.

You may want to set some money aside to spend in November for your trip. Target has run a deal for the last 2-3 Christmas season where you get some kind of discount or bonus when you purchase Target gift cards. Last year, it was 10% off (talked about around page 1218 on the gift card thread) when you bought a Target GC up to $300. So, I bought $300 worth of Target gift cards for $270 and then when they were activated (the next day IIRC) I used those to buy Disney gift cards. It was an instant 10% off. I actually purchased thousands of dollars worth of gift cards to pay for my DVC dues and my December trip, but I could only do it in $300 chunks.

 

[johnaalexis]

Congrats! On the wedding!

My wife and I have been to disney a few times and love it there!

We have stayed at the Pop Century and we love it there but lately we have used the 3rd party DVC stores get into a moderate hotel for cheaper prices. The fell in love with Old Key West resort and we are going done in September this year. I don't know what your hotel will cost in 2018 but right now our room rate is $167 a night vs Pop at $147. It is a little more expensive but we loved that is was quieter there and they have hot tubs and they have a boat ride that you can take to Disney Springs. That is always nice on a clear night.

I know you said you were on a budget so the extra money for the other resorts may not be worth thou but it is something to think about as you are over a year away.

One word of wisdom that we have found over the years is there are always discounts on the hotels but not the tickets so we always book the hotel room only and buy tickets later. We do this to try to take advantage of the travel offers disney has. IE 25% off room rates for dates A to B. They do have special offer for packages as well but we always found this cheaper.

Another world of wisdom is watch your booking dates and plan everything to a T with plan A and Plan B. I always make sure I know I have be online at X oclock to get restaurants on this date and x oclock for fastpasses. Also when booking rank your restaurants 1-10 and book your must restaurants first regardless of which night they are on your trip. Or the hardest reservation 1st (which is usually O' Hana). Dont book day 1, day 2 etc. Book and fill it in. If you miss IE Sanaa on your first try usually it will open up but Ohana's may not.

As for a must do if you have never been it is the Halloween Party. It is worth the money because the magic kingdom is decorated in my favorite holiday and they have special shows, parades and fireworks. Although tickets are usually easy to get you are planning one of the busier times for the Halloween Party so if you want to go you should tickets as soon as they are on sale. This years Halloween night sold out fast. We have done the dessert party there too but it is not worth it and it eats up too much trick or treating time.

We have never tried the dining plan basically because 1. you can't get the free dining plan unless you buy the disney packages 2. We thought it was too expensive 3. We won't eat that much food.

I don't know how adventurous you are with food but these were our best restaurants;

Be our Guest or Cinderella's Castle @ 8am - Both are good breakfasts but they fun. You get into the park and you can enjoy a little lighter crowd after a breakfast. I like the castle better but my wife liked be our guest better
*Dinner is nice at the Be our Guest but I wouldn't do it is again. It took up too much park time.
Sanaa in AK resort- They have a bread service that is awesome and we had the lamb shank which was fell of the bone good.
Jiko in AK resort - One of the best meals had in property. We had apps, wine and fell meal. It was a great meal
California Grill - This is place that we went to watch the fireworks outside the park (BOOK EARLY FOR SEAT AT FIREWORK TIMES). This was a good meal better than anything in the parks but we found it is a bit expensive.
O'Hana's - Buffet and a good one and also a great place for fireworks too. Book early too for firework hours because you will need to wait for your reservations too. IE Fireworks at 9 book for 8-830
Trader Sam's is an excellent place for a drink but every hard to get into because it only seats like 20 people but the patio as the same meal with non of the atmosphere. The patio is good place to spend a night thou it is still very nice.
Italy's Tutto Gusto wine cellar in Epcot is a good place for a glass of wine and an app.
The food in Mexico is pretty good in the quick service and the restaurant.
Beaches and cream is a great place for milkshake or ice cream

My wife and I try a lot of the food and quick services. Usually because we attend the food and wine festival each year. We also like checking out the resorts. We have stopped in a patio for a bottle of wine and nachos on the broadwalk...excellent afternoon.

I would never till anyone not to do something at Disney because I think you need to try everyone at least once there because I may not like Tony's town square but it maybe your favorite. The only thing I would say about the restaurants is you need to make your own. If you walk by Rose and Crown in epcot stop in for drink and snack. You may love it and comeback for dinner on another night. My wife and I's best meal of all time was buying corn dog nuggests & fries at caseys and sitting to watch the fireworks.

Just remember it is your vacation enjoy it with your partner no matter where you are for dinner or walking around. You never know your best meal or memory maybe just sharing popcorn with your partner on the stairs of Cinderella's castle watching the parade!

Renting DVC points is something I have thought about but I have never know anyone to do it and the online articles I have read trying to explain it just leave me more confused. Renting DVC points just makes me nervous because I don't understand it and I have this weird travel fear that I'm going to get where I'm going and everything will just be all messed up, it's weird I know lol

Planning to a T is my specialty, I always have an A plan, a B plan. and sometimes a C plan!

With MNSSHP, I think it would be fun to do and as awesome as it would be to go on Halloween night We will probably go to one of the other nights. My Aunt really thinks we should go and has mentioned buying the tickets for us as a gift so I'll probably let her. Being such a close family member I could tell her what day I wanted and it be okay so it's a gift but not a surprise. Good to know about the dessert party!

I've heard good things about BOG & CRT but CRT appeals to me more simply because I've always been a Cinderella fan and not a huge Belle fan, she great just not my favorite. Tutto Gusto sound delicious, Italian is our favorite! I'm hoping Food & Wine will be going on when we are there the dates extend past our travel dates this year, hoping it'll be the same next year.

*Fingers Crossed* I'm trying to keep the planning to a minimum (as minimum as I can) just so we can enjoy ourselves and not be like "We have 3 min and 12 seconds for a bathroom break, GO!" I have seen these people and that's great if that's what works for you that just not us lol. So trying to plan a couple breakfast, and a couple dinner leaving lunch open for QS or whatever so we can Park Hop or take a nap etc. Some planning so we are lost or don't get what we want but not 10,000% structured to the second, a good middle ground or so I'm trying

 

[monorailsilver]

Congrats! My dh and I had a budget honeymoon...I think.

We spent 2 weeks in Hawaii. Yes on a budget: airfare RT was on FF miles. Car rental, back then it was coupons as online was up and coming (1999 when we were planning, 2000 when we got married), so we had money off on each island (probably close to $500 total). We stayed at one chain on all the islands so the 5th and 10th night were free. We stayed the last week in a condo (of the same chain) so we had breakfast and lunch in our room and only went out for dinner. We didn't do any shows and went at our own pace and saw what we wanted to see.

As far as you:

- Fun Resturants/Dinning that delicious but not Victoria & Albert level $$$, we do 1 splurg meal on our vacays: We pretty much like all food, on our honeymoon just because it was our honeymoon we didn't need to splurge (heck we just splurged for the first time in years $175 for 5 of us to eat at Fords Lobster in CT...yikes!!!!). Anyways, we don't need fine dining to have fun, as long as we are together, eating a hot dog or telling my dh I don't want x food and he gets it and me taking bites...well that is fun. You know, only order me 2 spring rolls when you order chinese. No I won't eat your food...get food, I eat 1/2 of his general tso chicken...sigh. Anyways, look at the menus and decide what you guys might like. There may be some fun things in the Springs to eat that you would enjoy.

- Disney things that everyone swears you need / need to do but really aren't worth it (It being price, time, etc.): T shirts/clothes in general. I find everything smaller then I'd like. We buy an ornament from every vacation we go on as well as a yearly family ornament. I will buy a mug/cup and maybe a pen or two from Disney. Next trip, I might splurge and buy something for the kitchen, but something I know I will use. I bought the Mickey egg shape things and never used them, well maybe for cookies. My thoughts on buying things are "Am I going to wear/use the socks/sneakers/hair tie/pot or is it just going to sit and collect dust?" I try not not to buy anything on impulse.

- Is the dinning plan really worth the extra money? I know it cost more now but will it really save the two of us, What's your experience? : never did it, don't plan on it. We have always saved but then again we don't do a lot of expensive dining. We are happy with a salad from the Sunshine food court or a burger or a hot dog, etc....We bring water vs buying water/soda in the park/for CS meals, much cheaper plus I can't constantly drink soda! I need my water!

- Best Character Breakfast? I've heard breakfast is cheaper and I'd like to do at least one : I have only done Ohana and I wasn't in Awe. That was in 2008. I prefer dinner over breakfast because "that is the only time my kids eat veggies on a disney vacation." OK not really but wait, maybe it's true...its vacation!

- MNSSHP, is it worth the extra $200 - $250?: Never done it, have no input, if you are on a budget, then no. Or if it is saved, can you spend it on a nicer dinner?

- Those making $$ off survey sites, I'm not having much luck with swagbucks, what other ones do you use? (Another suggestions in the side money theme are encouraged and welcome!): Well I was doing M points but that site just tanked. I did get at least $300 on there in the past 2 years. I also do quick rewards, sunshine rewards, my points, inbox dollars. I think that is it, plus swagbucks.

- Lastly, If you have any other words of wisdom, things we NEED to do or we DONT need to do, Please Tell Me!! I'm all Ears : What you need to do is enjoy your honeymoon. If you miss seeing something, its OK, because turn the corner and there is something else to see/do

 

[johnaalexis]

Unfortunately, Free Dining is historically blakced out for your week : https://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/

There is a thread about how to save money buying Gift Cards here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-gift-card-deals.2941964/ . I would set aside time to read that last 20 pages to get the gist of the current ways to save.

You may want to set some money aside to spend in November for your trip. Target has run a deal for the last 2-3 Christmas season where you get some kind of discount or bonus when you purchase Target gift cards. Last year, it was 10% off (talked about around page 1218 on the gift card thread) when you bought a Target GC up to $300. So, I bought $300 worth of Target gift cards for $270 and then when they were activated (the next day IIRC) I used those to buy Disney gift cards. It was an instant 10% off. I actually purchased thousands of dollars worth of gift cards to pay for my DVC dues and my December trip, but I could only do it in $300 chunks.

We are hoping to marry on Oct. 26th but the first meeting with the event coordinator at our venue of choice we could get was this Friday so If for whatever reason that date is booked we may have to bounce forward or back a week or two so, we probably won't get free dining but if we'd have to change our dates we might
Awesome! I will keep that in mad when people ask me what I want for Christmas So far the future Hubs a I both get paid weekly and I plan to get a Disney GC and put $10 on it every week, starting next week if I did this by myself it would be around $600 by our trip. Future hubs is going to do it with me too so that $600 each or about $1200 in GC. My boss suggested this to us, except she said Visa GC and I don't trust myself lol if we get a Disney GC that we can just use at Disney I'm much less likely to spend it before the trip.

 

[johnaalexis]

Congrats! My dh and I had a budget honeymoon...I think.

We spent 2 weeks in Hawaii. Yes on a budget: airfare RT was on FF miles. Car rental, back then it was coupons as online was up and coming (1999 when we were planning, 2000 when we got married), so we had money off on each island (probably close to $500 total). We stayed at one chain on all the islands so the 5th and 10th night were free. We stayed the last week in a condo (of the same chain) so we had breakfast and lunch in our room and only went out for dinner. We didn't do any shows and went at our own pace and saw what we wanted to see.

As far as you:

- Fun Resturants/Dinning that delicious but not Victoria & Albert level $$$, we do 1 splurg meal on our vacays: We pretty much like all food, on our honeymoon just because it was our honeymoon we didn't need to splurge (heck we just splurged for the first time in years $175 for 5 of us to eat at Fords Lobster in CT...yikes!!!!). Anyways, we don't need fine dining to have fun, as long as we are together, eating a hot dog or telling my dh I don't want x food and he gets it and me taking bites...well that is fun. You know, only order me 2 spring rolls when you order chinese. No I won't eat your food...get food, I eat 1/2 of his general tso chicken...sigh. Anyways, look at the menus and decide what you guys might like. There may be some fun things in the Springs to eat that you would enjoy.

- Disney things that everyone swears you need / need to do but really aren't worth it (It being price, time, etc.): T shirts/clothes in general. I find everything smaller then I'd like. We buy an ornament from every vacation we go on as well as a yearly family ornament. I will buy a mug/cup and maybe a pen or two from Disney. Next trip, I might splurge and buy something for the kitchen, but something I know I will use. I bought the Mickey egg shape things and never used them, well maybe for cookies. My thoughts on buying things are "Am I going to wear/use the socks/sneakers/hair tie/pot or is it just going to sit and collect dust?" I try not not to buy anything on impulse.

- Is the dinning plan really worth the extra money? I know it cost more now but will it really save the two of us, What's your experience? : never did it, don't plan on it. We have always saved but then again we don't do a lot of expensive dining. We are happy with a salad from the Sunshine food court or a burger or a hot dog, etc....We bring water vs buying water/soda in the park/for CS meals, much cheaper plus I can't constantly drink soda! I need my water!

- Best Character Breakfast? I've heard breakfast is cheaper and I'd like to do at least one : I have only done Ohana and I wasn't in Awe. That was in 2008. I prefer dinner over breakfast because "that is the only time my kids eat veggies on a disney vacation." OK not really but wait, maybe it's true...its vacation!

- MNSSHP, is it worth the extra $200 - $250?: Never done it, have no input, if you are on a budget, then no. Or if it is saved, can you spend it on a nicer dinner?

- Those making $$ off survey sites, I'm not having much luck with swagbucks, what other ones do you use? (Another suggestions in the side money theme are encouraged and welcome!): Well I was doing M points but that site just tanked. I did get at least $300 on there in the past 2 years. I also do quick rewards, sunshine rewards, my points, inbox dollars. I think that is it, plus swagbucks.

- Lastly, If you have any other words of wisdom, things we NEED to do or we DONT need to do, Please Tell Me!! I'm all Ears : What you need to do is enjoy your honeymoon. If you miss seeing something, its OK, because turn the corner and there is something else to see/do

I'm not big on souvenirs, I'm a Pin girl but I have a lot of pins from my previous Disney trips with my grandparents, and someone else told me to buy my Minnie ears off Etsy, where you can get a good price and sometimes get them custom made. Vacay Ornaments are also a tradition of ours, we get an ornament from the place we visit with the year on it. As for clothes, in my local area we recently has a store go out of business and I went in a found 3 cute Mickey and Minnie shirts, even a pair of Minnie bow slip on vans for dirt cheap (Shoes were $10 & Shirts were $2-$5). I've stashed them at the top of my closet until next year!

I'm pretty much decided against the dinning plan, the only person I've ever seen it work for is my cousin who has 3 kids and home schools so they go during free dining and with the kids she loves it but I don't think it's worth it for us.

Swagbucks is weird but I'm going to try my best to keep up with it, I'm almost at $25 now and that from 3 months of doing it once a week so even if I just get $50 from it by the time the trip rolls a round that's $50 more than I had

I want to just enjoy so I'm trying to keep my planning to minimum and keep a middle ground, we are planning to travel on Saturday and I want to not have any plans except maybe dinner on Sunday a resort or Disney Springs Day. Last year at Universal we flew in late and then got up the next day and went hard and by our last day we were super tired. We didn't really have a recoup day from travel and I'd like that this time around.

 

[johnaalexis]

AKL is great to visit, even if you don't end up eating a TS meal there. The Mara QS is very nice, and they have zebra domes to buy there, a la carte. Even Sanaa is nice at Kidani; the windows to the restaurant open up to their savanna there, so it's a unique experience. You really can't go wrong stopping at AKL for a meal.

Crystal Palace breakfast is actually probably my #2 character buffet. I love that it's RIGHT in the in the middle of a park... you don't waste precious park time schlepping out to a resort (although that can be fun). The Pooh characters aren't as easy to meet elsewhere, so that's also a plus. The puffed French toast and the breakfast pizza... I just pile my plate(s) high with those two things!

The best money-saving tip that I don't see mentioned often is that many things can be ordered a la carte, even if it's not apparent from the menu. We discovered this by accident on our honeymoon, actually. My wife decided she didn't want fries with her burger one time (why she couldn't just give them to me HELLO I'M RIGHT HERE!), and I was mad because I thought we would be paying the same price as we would for burger and fries. Turns out, there was a little discount on the receipt for not getting fries. At Pop... wife just wanted pasta, and didn't want the chicken with her Chicken Parmesan. Again, I'M RIGHT OVER HERE AND I LOVE THE CHICKEN PATTIES THEY USE, but DW knows best I guess, and it was a pretty cheap meal without the chicken. Also, the pizza from the food court is a LOT of food for the money. It's cheaper than two QS meals, and I'd say it's a lot more food than two QS meals. Sometimes people complain about the Disney pizza, but we have good stuff up here in Buffalo... I didn't mind it.

This might be a bad thing to say but, What's a Zebra Dome? You sound like my future hubs, he'd want the extras/leftovers too! But that a great thing to know, typically when we eat breakfast at home, I don't want a big lunch especially if we don't character breakfasts!

 

[monorailsilver]

I'm not big on souvenirs, I'm a Pin girl but I have a lot of pins from my previous Disney trips with my grandparents, and someone else told me to buy my Minnie ears off Etsy, where you can get a good price and sometimes get them custom made. Vacay Ornaments are also a tradition of ours, we get an ornament from the place we visit with the year on it. As for clothes, in my local area we recently has a store go out of business and I went in a found 3 cute Mickey and Minnie shirts, even a pair of Minnie bow slip on vans for dirt cheap (Shoes were $10 & Shirts were $2-$5). I've stashed them at the top of my closet until next year!

I'm pretty much decided against the dinning plan, the only person I've ever seen it work for is my cousin who has 3 kids and home schools so they go during free dining and with the kids she loves it but I don't think it's worth it for us.

Swagbucks is weird but I'm going to try my best to keep up with it, I'm almost at $25 now and that from 3 months of doing it once a week so even if I just get $50 from it by the time the trip rolls a round that's $50 more than I had

I want to just enjoy so I'm trying to keep my planning to minimum and keep a middle ground, we are planning to travel on Saturday and I want to not have any plans except maybe dinner on Sunday a resort or Disney Springs Day. Last year at Universal we flew in late and then got up the next day and went hard and by our last day we were super tired. We didn't really have a recoup day from travel and I'd like that this time around.

Good plan to relax! You will need it after the wedding/all the planning.

My kids are scavengers, they see a penny, etc... and pick it up and add it to the disney fund, it was more then I had before, so true!

Another budget option is to bring your own breakfast (and a few snacks). The first time dh and I did that, we were still dating, and wait maybe it was the trip in 1999 when he proposed because that was the first time I could convince him to stay at the Poly..OK that is besides the point. Anyways, we brought the oatmeal packets and disposable bowls/spoons and ate that for breakfast. We heated it up in the microwave in capt cooks (we have since progressed to requesting one since our son has food allergies and I can easily make him a rice krispie treat in our room) and some lady looked at us and asked where we got the oatmeal and we told her CT...and then we told her we brought it from home. She said that was a good idea. And ever since then we have brought breakfast-pop tarts, cereal, bagels, muffins, etc...

 

[johnaalexis]

Good plan to relax! You will need it after the wedding/all the planning.

My kids are scavengers, they see a penny, etc... and pick it up and add it to the disney fund, it was more then I had before, so true!

Another budget option is to bring your own breakfast (and a few snacks). The first time dh and I did that, we were still dating, and wait maybe it was the trip in 1999 when he proposed because that was the first time I could convince him to stay at the Poly..OK that is besides the point. Anyways, we brought the oatmeal packets and disposable bowls/spoons and ate that for breakfast. We heated it up in the microwave in capt cooks (we have since progressed to requesting one since our son has food allergies and I can easily make him a rice krispie treat in our room) and some lady looked at us and asked where we got the oatmeal and we told her CT...and then we told her we brought it from home. She said that was a good idea. And ever since then we have brought breakfast-pop tarts, cereal, bagels, muffins, etc...

Good idea! I'm not a breakfast person, and aside from a character breakfast or two we probably won't eat many sit down breakfasts. a drink & a pop tart/pasty to share etc. I've done many a trips where I pack cereal, pop tarts, popcorn, and other snack foods in my luggage (or his as he packs less). So its getting added to my tip list!

 

[Random Ninja]

Congrats! My DH and I just had our Disneymoon back in May and had such a fun time. What really made it special though was doing what we wanted, not what our family or friends thought we wanted to do. We stayed for 4 nights at the Wilderness Lodge with a Florida resident discount, our tickets were birthday presents, and we did get the dining plan as I wanted to splurge on a couple nice meals. We didn't go to the parks every day and just took it easy and slept in a couple time.

I think my favorite part was using our mini-golf passes that came with our package as we'd been trying for over two years to play but always got rained out. It started as a joke since our second date was to Animal Kingdom but we told some of the kids in our class that we went to play mini-golf..for 13 hours. We tried actually going to play mini-golf the next time we went but it took until our honeymoon to actually be able to.

Think about what you want to do and what will make you both happy. My DH does not like fine dining (his favorite food is noodles) so I knew a signature restaurant wouldn't be a good place to take him. We went to Hoop de Do Revue instead and really enjoyed the show..

 

[johnaalexis]

Congrats! My DH and I just had our Disneymoon back in May and had such a fun time. What really made it special though was doing what we wanted, not what our family or friends thought we wanted to do. We stayed for 4 nights at the Wilderness Lodge with a Florida resident discount, our tickets were birthday presents, and we did get the dining plan as I wanted to splurge on a couple nice meals. We didn't go to the parks every day and just took it easy and slept in a couple time.

I think my favorite part was using our mini-golf passes that came with our package as we'd been trying for over two years to play but always got rained out. It started as a joke since our second date was to Animal Kingdom but we told some of the kids in our class that we went to play mini-golf..for 13 hours. We tried actually going to play mini-golf the next time we went but it took until our honeymoon to actually be able to.

Think about what you want to do and what will make you both happy. My DH does not like fine dining (his favorite food is noodles) so I knew a signature restaurant wouldn't be a good place to take him. We went to Hoop de Do Revue instead and really enjoyed the show..

Future Hubs likes really any kind of food, Steak, Comfort food he isn't picky it's me that's picky. Our community in Kentucky isn't big by any means and has few eating-out opportunities that are your typically chain foods. So we do a "dress up dinner" as a treat because most dinners are with our families or us cooking at home in sweatpants. I really think Future Hubs does the "dress up dinner" for me because I like putting on a pretty dress and going to "fancier" meal, it make me feel special and since we only do it on vacations, its really special. We are budgeting about $100 for this meal excluding alcoholic beverages (We are not wine drinkers and future hub rarely has a beer w/ friends just not an "Us" thing), currently I'm looking at Flying Fish as our "dress up dinner" (still has a lot of time to change) but Hoop de Do Revue is blipping on my radar!

 

[disney144]

Don't let anyone talk you out of memory maker! We just got back from our (non-disney) honeymoon. We were gone for three weeks and have about 5 photos of both of us that aren't selfies.

 

[wdwfan51]

Congratulations on the upcoming wedding. You have gotten some great advice. My husband and I have been to Disney many times and we have the best times when we plan the least. No reservations for dining in this household. We book a lunch reservation in the morning for the park we decide to visit that day. We have gotten free dining a few times but would not pay for it. Too much food for us. We do try to book thru Davids or DVC rental We usually stay in a studio at Boardwalk for the price of a moderate. Plus you get a toaster, microwave, refrigerator and another sink so you can eat breakfast easily in the room. Can't beat the location for us. Walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. No bus on most days. Again congratulations and best wishes for a long and happy marriage.

 

[gillep]

Congratulations!!!!

If you want to eat some place with a nicer ambiance every now and again, but without spending a ton, I recommend checking out some of the lounges on property, Tutto Gusto in the Italy pavilion, La Cava in Mexico, Brown Derby in DHS or any of the resort restaurants with a lounge, don't worry about ordering a ton, just an app or a cheese plate, or dessert and relax with your new husband!

DH and I also love just walking around the different resorts and find it very romantic. On our very first trip we were walking around the Epcot resorts and fell in love with The Yacht Club, but both remarked that we could never afford to stay there, well about 10 years later we stayed there for the first time this past November!!!! It was pretty special to be hanging out there and remembering that conversation from so many years earlier and to reflect on how far we have come in all aspects of our lives.

We did the dining plan once and would not do it again, we can eat cheaper and better paying OOP.

 

[Cosmic]

This might be a bad thing to say but, What's a Zebra Dome? You sound like my future hubs, he'd want the extras/leftovers too! But that a great thing to know, typically when we eat breakfast at home, I don't want a big lunch especially if we don't character breakfasts!

It's a little hard to describe the zebra dome, so I'll link the recipe. Basically, it's chocolate and white chocolate and some coffee flavor that all has a Gamache kind of consistency on top of a little tiny sponge cake. I have definitely come back from the buffet with a plate of like 15 of them before.

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2009/06/23/recipe-bomas-zebra-domes/

 

[johnaalexis]

Don't let anyone talk you out of memory maker! We just got back from our (non-disney) honeymoon. We were gone for three weeks and have about 5 photos of both of us that aren't selfies.

I don't plan on it!

 

[johnaalexis]

Congratulations!!!!

If you want to eat some place with a nicer ambiance every now and again, but without spending a ton, I recommend checking out some of the lounges on property, Tutto Gusto in the Italy pavilion, La Cava in Mexico, Brown Derby in DHS or any of the resort restaurants with a lounge, don't worry about ordering a ton, just an app or a cheese plate, or dessert and relax with your new husband!

DH and I also love just walking around the different resorts and find it very romantic. On our very first trip we were walking around the Epcot resorts and fell in love with The Yacht Club, but both remarked that we could never afford to stay there, well about 10 years later we stayed there for the first time this past November!!!! It was pretty special to be hanging out there and remembering that conversation from so many years earlier and to reflect on how far we have come in all aspects of our lives.

We did the dining plan once and would not do it again, we can eat cheaper and better paying OOP.

I've heard good things about Tutto Gusto and we love Italian so we may have to make it a sure stop on our trip. Future Hubs wants to check out AKL so I was thinking of planning a Boma breakfast to ensure we go! Last year on our Universal trip leading up Future Hubs wants to see Cabana Bay & Sapphire Falls but we never went. We did get to see the Potofino Bay because we had a dinner reservation there So if I plan one meal at AKL I can guarantee he will get to see it. I'm leaning towards planning this on maybe Monday or Wednesday and then do a character breakfast at Crystal Palace on Monday or Wednesday. I.E. one planned breakfast on Monday nothing Tuesday another on Wednesday and then nothing. Maybe seven do one Monday & one Thursday - Space them out then do a Special dinner, maybe something with a fireworks view...?, Friday night before we leave. Just thoughts but I like them

 

[johnaalexis]

Congratulations on the upcoming wedding. You have gotten some great advice. My husband and I have been to Disney many times and we have the best times when we plan the least. No reservations for dining in this household. We book a lunch reservation in the morning for the park we decide to visit that day. We have gotten free dining a few times but would not pay for it. Too much food for us. We do try to book thru Davids or DVC rental We usually stay in a studio at Boardwalk for the price of a moderate. Plus you get a toaster, microwave, refrigerator and another sink so you can eat breakfast easily in the room. Can't beat the location for us. Walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. No bus on most days. Again congratulations and best wishes for a long and happy marriage.

I like the idea of booking reservations for lunch or dinner the morning of depending on what park you want to go to. There aren't really many places we "have to eat at" but the two I'd like I'm planning on breakfast for both. Future Hubs wants to go to AKL & I want a character breakfast. I'll keep this in mind, thanks! It's also nice because if you book something months in advance you may not want to eat that when it comes time. The flexibility but slight structure is appealing to me

Boardwalk sounds amazing! I've looked into renting DVC but every time I do, I end up more confused than before i started. I'm to afraid I'll mess something up to actually do it! Haha!

 

[LovesTimone]

- Fun Resturants/Dinning that delicious but not Victoria & Albert level $$$, we do 1 splurg meal on our vacays - For us Character meals, and we enjoy T-REX, Rain Forest and Planet Hollywood ( located at Disney Springs) for the fun factor. There is a lot of good food, and not necessarily TS meals.

- Disney things that everyone swears you need / need to do but really aren't worth it (It being price, time, etc.) - Park Hopper's are up for debate, I think that for a honeymooning couple it would be worth it, but I would skip the water parks for this trip and just use the resort pools. Mickey bars are a must....

- Is the dinning plan really worth the extra money? I know it cost more now but will it really save the two of us, What's your experience? For DH and I we like the dinning plan, and you could get lucky and get free dinning when you are visiting, if you want you could upgrade to DDP, which would give you TS entitlements which would be nice for you be able to enjoy with some more romantic meals. Having the meals paid for up front is really nice, knowing while you are enjoying it, its all paid for except for tips, and adult beverages.

- Best Character Breakfast? I've heard breakfast is cheaper and I'd like to do at least one - If you were going to do only one, I would either try for Tusker House (AK) or Chef Mickeys with the fab 5 (CR)

- MNSSHP, is it worth the extra $200 - $250? - For this trip not unless is super important I would skip it for this trip.

- Those making $$ off survey sites, I'm not having much luck with swagbucks, what other ones do you use? (Another suggestions in the side money theme are encouraged and welcome!)

- Lastly, If you have any other words of wisdom, things we NEED to do or we DONT need to do, Please Tell Me!! I'm all Ears [/QUOTE]

When planning, food is the one place you can really get outside of the box, and save a bit of cash. Sharing meals is a great way, at WDW we feel that the portion size is huge on a lot of the meals.

We love the appetizer for dinner option, and Disney is a great place for this and has some many interesting choice's, and you should be visiting during Food and Wine. So you can eat around the world.

I would plan on bring some stuff for the room, especially water, soda, chips, crackers and breakfast items, this will help you in the over all cost.

With your time frame, you and your fiancée could ask for Disney gift card for birthdays, Christmas, or for your shower, and any other gift giving occasions. My DD and Now SIL did this for their Mickeymoon, and they had about 18 months, they had right at 400.00 in gift card the day before the wedding and then they got more for the wedding, in a lot of the card, all in all they had about, 750.00 dollars in gift cards, and this paid for tips, adult beverages and some special souvenirs, and meals the that the DDP did not cover, they splurged on a couple of extra TS meals.

For me I would upgrade to a moderate resort, its your honeymoon after all you only get to do this once. But that's just me....

Congrat's and Pixie Dust away...

 

[quandrea]

It's funny you mentioned Boma & Jiko, Fiance was wanting to stay at AKL but.... we just can't afford it (His bosses boss stayed there an told him about it. He wanted a giraffe to wake him up . He's never been to Disney and I'm beyond excited to take him!) As a trade off, I told him we could do a meal at AKL possibly, breakfast or lunch so we would have a chance to see the animals and we would get to see the resort. We haven't decided on character meals yet, we want to do at least one or two but not sure where. I'll put Ohana on my list I'm currently stuck on Crystal Palace. Until I was 15 my grandparents took me to Disney ever year for my birthday and every year my grandfather and I did a special breakfast just He and I at the Crystal Palace. Shortly after my 15th birthday my grandfather got sick and we quit going to Disney due to his illness. He passed away last year and now that I'm going back for the first time since his passing, I want to go back to Crystal Palace as a way to keep our tradition going. Which is why I'm considering doing two character breakfast. The other's I'm thinking about are 1900 Park Fare, Tusker House, and Ohana.

As for the sprite thing... This is great! We are big water drinker (at least right now) I'm doing the whole diet-workout-water for the dress thing and furture hubs is kind of keeping up!

You may be able to afford AKL if you rent dvc points. David's is a rental site that sponsors this board. You have enough time to look into it since you are more than 11 months out. That would be a trip changing move!