OK,who wants to plan or help me plan this trip??

[mickey's minnie]

I have to say this is the most well thought out Disney place I have ever been!! I have never been and my children have never been.I have always wanted to go and my children every time they see a Disney movie, Ad,Commercial,or any thing Disney related have always said Mom can we go there?well I always tell them yes when we get the money we will go!!Well guess what ?? we will have the money to go in November of 2003 !!!It will be myself 40,my DD Skylar who at the time will be 14,myDS Logan who at the time will be12, my DD Azya who will be 8at the time we go and will turn 9 while we are there and my DD Mayson who will be 5 at the time we go.I want to go november 10th til November17th.Azya's Birthday will be on the 16th so want to do cinderella's castle on that day eighter breakfast or lunch!!I think we will stay at HIFS as I have heard so many nice things about them and I think it will fit our budjet.other than that I have no Idea where to start with passes to the parks where to eat etc.....any and all help is appriciated thanks in advance,I will have tons of questions I'm sure.......I am going to try to kep this a secret from them also,I'm geting stuff all the time from resorts and such they keep asking where it is coming from?? I tell them I entered a contest and they kep sending me stuff ....LOL sorry so long winded but hey we are almost 365 days out ............

 

[travelitis]

The first thing I'd suggest you do is get or check out at the library, both the Birnbaum's Official Guide and the Unofficial Guide.

HIFS is certainly a great option, but there are many good options. Renting a home might cost the same as HIFS. I considered staying there, but there were so many places that had better rates. You might want to keep an open mind and make a reservation at HIFS but then do some comparing.

www.mousesavers.com has good info. on saving money.
www.wdwig.com - one of the best Disney sites on the net

Good luck keeping it a secret! Your kids are going to be so thrilled!

 

[3kidsdisney]

We just returned from our first disney trip and looking on this web site and the others mentioned helped me alot. I would also check out flight prices and see when you can get a good rate. We bought out disney 4 day passes at AAA and got a really good price. Buying and paying for those in advance, helped us alot. Then we justed needed to save for the rest. Good luck and have fun. These web sites are really the best source of info.

 

[sharona77]

I'm going for the first time in January, and today I bought the Unofficial guide to disney for $11.xx, normal price $16.99. I can't wait till it comes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be checking out your replies to get ideas too!

 

[bridgettesmom]

Don't forget that you can buy your hoppers ahead of time(maybe 1 each month) and that might be easier on your budget.Have fun planning and I wish you all a Great Time!!

 

[susy]

Isn't there a discount when you buy passes in advance?

with kids those ages, can I recommned the All Star Movies? You can get two rooms (two bathrooms can come in handy) and in value season, you can usually find great discounts!

If you do stay at HIFS you will need a rental car, so factor that in to you cost, but then you would not need transportation to and from the airport. If you are driving down, then no problem! HIFS would be great because of the free breakfasts, but there is nothign like ONSITE!!!

 

[riggins]

I'd recommend that you look into renting DVC points and staying in 2-bedroom. With a family as large as yours, the 485 square feet at HIFS is likely to get small very quickly!! We've rented points twice and it have been a great way to save money and stay in larger accomodations. If you don't know about this, you can check out mousesavers.com (its near the end of the section on Saving on WDW Accomodations) or the FAQ section of the DVC Rent/Trade board here on the disboards. Essentially, you rent points from DVC members who can't use theirs this year. Points typically rent for $9-10/point. You can find out how many points each night of your stay on wdwinfo.com. For example, during your stay, you can get a 2 bedroom at OKW for 24 points per night Sun-Thurs. At the going rate, you'll spend $216-240 per night (the rack rate is $479!!). You'll get 1,333 square feet, 1 king, 2 queens, pull out sofa, jacuzzi, full kitchen, full laundry room, and all the perks of staying on-site. If you compare this to the HIFS, you're getting a lot more for your money. If you compare what you will save by using WDW transportation, your full kitchen, and laundry, you may find this is even less than HIFS.

The only downside is that Friday and Saturday are a lot more points (56 for 2 bedroom at OKW). However, you could take advantage of this and try out the HIFS or other off-site hotel and spend your weekend at SeaWorld, USO, and IOA. If you stay at one of Universal's hotels those nights, you get the perk of going through their "no wait" lines reserved for their hotel guests.

Good luck with your planning. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[lmmollohan]

You never really said if your driving or flying but either way I have to recommend skyauction.com for your lodging needs. You can get a 2 or even 3 bedroom condo for soooo much less than any hotel. You will have to wait until closer to your trip to bid on something but you can always make reservations somewhere and than cancel them after you confirm a condo.

We had a 7 night trip booked for the first week of December at HIFS at what we thought was a great price. We then discovered skyauction and were able to win a week in a 2 bedroom condo for so much less that we decided to make it a 2 week trip and bid on another week and won. We are paying less for 2 weeks than we were for one and have a full kitchen, 2 baths and access to vb, 10 swimming pools, tennis and organized activities.

Keep reading these posts...you'll find a lot of great stuff.

Good luck and have fun.

Lisa

 

[mickey's minnie]

Thank you everybody for your responses,I have been looking into the different things that you have recommended,We will be flying so we will probebly get the tiffany service to and from the airport.My then 5 year old wants to see the "Beach"so 1 day we will be doing that.any recomondations for goood beaches close to the world?? and where can I get an Itenirery to print out I think that would help me LOL thanks again everybody and keep the Ideas coming

 

[MichelleC]

We're renting a 3BR, 2ba home with pool, washer/dryer, the works for $600 for 7 nights. You'll need a car, but you can get great car rental deals.

Good luck!

Michelle

 

[mickey's minnie]

at HIFS and she was nice enough to book us a kidsuite for the 7 days for $935.51 I have decided to stay here because the price makes sense to me.free breakfast all days for all of us,free lunch and dinner for the 3 younger ones. Skylar will be 14 at the time so will be considered an adult so will have to pay for lunch and dinner for me and her.I don't think we will be eating much lunches there as we will be taking food with us and doing a grocery stop from the airport.Kelly also assured me that if any rates or codes came out for a cheaper rate she would let me know!!this room comes with a coffee maker,microwave & a fridge

question 1,do you think this is a good rate?
quesion 2,do they supply coffee?
question 3,how is the transpotation from HIFS to the parks?
I'm like so stoked because I have something concrete to build on now!!about the parks!!!LOL you are all so great I see now why you all get so excited at planning once you make a reservation it's like!!! this is so cool thanks for all the help!!