Started planning for next summer! Need some advice.

Wow Mel those are fantastic! Thank you so much. I think ill do the reveal to them at the start of next August, maybe ill make it a multi day thing. The prize at the end will definitely be your coupons!

I posted a thread on the resorts boards asking why people choose the more expensive resorts over the others. In my mind I was largely thinking we would just be sleeping there and grabbing some breakfast to go. Sue mentioned seeing the fireworks from her hotel and my initial reaction was to think "why wouldnt you be at a park?" But, after giving it some thought it would be great. There are at least 3 nights we wont be at parks and likely a number of others were my kids wont make it until closing time. I also think there is one or two nights that the halloween party is going on at MK and it would be awesome to see those fireworks without having to attend the party.

I asked this on the other thread but I'll ask it here too. On the 20th the online reservations for next year will be available on Disney's website. Im tempted to book asap. Is this a common thing? Do you need to get in really early in order to get the best reservations? Are the prices generally more expensive or a better deal if you are booking this early?

Thanks again for the help!
 
Pretty damn excited right now!

Just booked the family and I in for the Beach Club Resort for 2 weeks at the end of august and start of September for 2018. Got the 10 day passes with park hopper and waterparks! Did I mention I am excited? We are hoping they offer the free dining for this period too later on that we can jump on. Looks like its been offered for this time since at least 2014. Fingers crossed.

Thank you all for your help in this thread and especially to Mel for the awesome coupons! Next big days are February 27 for ADR followed by June 26th for Fastpass+ Im going to drive myself crazy waiting.

Rob
 
Hello Disboards!

My name is Rob. My family and I live in Calgary and I am planning our first trip to WDW for the end of next summer. Five of us will be travelling; My wife and I, our two children (7 and 9 at time of travel), and grandma! Ill lay out the potential plans I have so far and then I have a few questions I hope someone will be able to help with.

We intend to fly out the last Saturday, August 25th, stay over labour day weekend, and return on Saturday Sept 8th. We will be flying those days for the following reasons:
-Westjet flies direct on Saturdays
-We have 2 Westjet rewards mastercards and therefor 2 pools of points to draw from as well as two of the 99 dollar companion flights
-All signs point towards those dates being low crowd days
-My kids will only miss the first week of school as opposed to missing 2 weeks later in the year (mid summer crowds are not a thing for us)

With these dates in mind we will have 13 days outside of travel days. We will be buying 10 day park hopper + passes which leaves us with 3 days to fill (or relax).

We intend to stay at the Art of Animation but are more than open to suggestion to other suggestions. The most important features of the hotel for us are sleeping comfort, a decent place to buy breakfast/lunch foods, a decent pool for those off days.

Unless something drastic happens we dont plan to use a travel agent. I will take care of booking our dining reservations and fast pass + as well as the usual travel bookings.

So my questions are (some might seem obvious but I'm asking to reassure)

1. If we book our room and buy our passes as early as possible and a deal comes up (like the 25% off ticket prices deal for Canadians that I just missed) am I able to contact Disney and get the deal? Or would I have to cancel my current reservations or get the tickets refunded and then rebook/repurchase in order to get the discount?

2. I noticed a transportation option in the Disney website menus when making a reservation. Is this simply transportation from hotel to park or is this transportation from the Orlando airport to WDW? What is the best way to get from the airport to the hotel reliably?

3. When I purchase the tickets are the directly entered into the mydisney experience? Perhaps a better way to ask is... is the disney website login and mydisney experience the same thing?

4. I took a look at the chart under the ticket faq but was still confused. How easy is it to add a couple days to the 10 day pass, how expensive (ballpark), and how do I go about doing it?

5. Who makes the best itinerary spreadsheets?

6. Whats everyone's favorite dining experiences? I will be booking asap so I should be able to reserve anywhere. Are the meal and fireworks combos worth while?

Thank you for your time and advice! It probably seems silly to be obsessing 14 months in advance but it keeps me motivated. We traveled to Disneyland last year and made the mistake of telling our kids 8 months before hand. This time we are going to keep it a surprise but I want to make sure I have done everything that I can do to make the trip the best possible experience for everyone!
Hello Disboards!

My name is Rob. My family and I live in Calgary and I am planning our first trip to WDW for the end of next summer. Five of us will be travelling; My wife and I, our two children (7 and 9 at time of travel), and grandma! Ill lay out the potential plans I have so far and then I have a few questions I hope someone will be able to help with.

We intend to fly out the last Saturday, August 25th, stay over labour day weekend, and return on Saturday Sept 8th. We will be flying those days for the following reasons:
-Westjet flies direct on Saturdays
-We have 2 Westjet rewards mastercards and therefor 2 pools of points to draw from as well as two of the 99 dollar companion flights
-All signs point towards those dates being low crowd days
-My kids will only miss the first week of school as opposed to missing 2 weeks later in the year (mid summer crowds are not a thing for us)

With these dates in mind we will have 13 days outside of travel days. We will be buying 10 day park hopper + passes which leaves us with 3 days to fill (or relax).

We intend to stay at the Art of Animation but are more than open to suggestion to other suggestions. The most important features of the hotel for us are sleeping comfort, a decent place to buy breakfast/lunch foods, a decent pool for those off days.

Unless something drastic happens we dont plan to use a travel agent. I will take care of booking our dining reservations and fast pass + as well as the usual travel bookings.

So my questions are (some might seem obvious but I'm asking to reassure)

1. If we book our room and buy our passes as early as possible and a deal comes up (like the 25% off ticket prices deal for Canadians that I just missed) am I able to contact Disney and get the deal? Or would I have to cancel my current reservations or get the tickets refunded and then rebook/repurchase in order to get the discount?

2. I noticed a transportation option in the Disney website menus when making a reservation. Is this simply transportation from hotel to park or is this transportation from the Orlando airport to WDW? What is the best way to get from the airport to the hotel reliably?

3. When I purchase the tickets are the directly entered into the mydisney experience? Perhaps a better way to ask is... is the disney website login and mydisney experience the same thing?

4. I took a look at the chart under the ticket faq but was still confused. How easy is it to add a couple days to the 10 day pass, how expensive (ballpark), and how do I go about doing it?

5. Who makes the best itinerary spreadsheets?

6. Whats everyone's favorite dining experiences? I will be booking asap so I should be able to reserve anywhere. Are the meal and fireworks combos worth while?

Thank you for your time and advice! It probably seems silly to be obsessing 14 months in advance but it keeps me motivated. We traveled to Disneyland last year and made the mistake of telling our kids 8 months before hand. This time we are going to keep it a surprise but I want to make sure I have done everything that I can do to make the trip the best possible experience for everyone!

Hi Rob...First Trip with the family...Fantastic!!!!....My first family trip was in 2010 my wife and my boys were 5 (turning 6) and 11...I'd like to suggest staying at The Fort Wilderness Cabins..we have done it 3 times!!!...I believe it might be cheaper than staying at AOA. Check prices on Disney Experience I punched in your dates and I believe you might get the cabins about $1000 less....that's right "LESS"...the cabins fit 6 adults and 2 kids comfortably...Great resort for families..very rustic but homey cabins...has a kitchen to stock to save on dinners or lunches...FANTASTIC restauraunt Trails End on the resort...all you can eat buffet..good price. 2 great pools for your kids..main pool has a big slide...then there is another pool "the quiet pool" near the cabins...Chip n Dale Campfire entertainment (phot op) and movies for the kids every night..roast marshmellows and watch the movie...Pony rides for the kids, was $5 back in 2010. Resort is just across the Seven Seas Lagoon to the entrance to the Magic Kingdom..Boat ride is 10 minute ride..Great for the end of the night, while TONS OF PEOPLE ARE MAKING IT TO THE MONO RAILS OR BUSES...you will just get on your boat and head back to the Fort. Your questions...1. You might be able to get a reduction in your price, IF they are not fully booked..you may have to cancel and rebook to get discount and then you might lose you reservation..if you find a discount , call ASAP AND ASK. 2. TRANSPORATION...you book that when you book your trip...Disney Bus from airport to your resort...cost extra but worth it I've heard. 3. Put everything they send you into your Disney Experience and get the app on your phone...you can keep track of all your plans on it...Fast Passes and Reservations..It helped me alot. 4. Just check when you book your trip of the cost of your park passes..maybe 10 is the limit they charge?? 5. Disney Experience has your daily plans listed..you can just print out your plans on your computer before you leave and keep them in a binder..thats what I did...plus all your dinning reservation numbers in case of any mix ups on Disney's part...plus you'll have it on your phone. 6..For kids..I suggest The Crystal Palace..expensive but the kids will love it...Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eyore and Pigles walk around for photo ops...food is great and its all you can eat...Keep and eye out for Free Dinning Dates for when you are going. Enjoy and I hope all this info was some help.
 


Pretty damn excited right now!

Just booked the family and I in for the Beach Club Resort for 2 weeks at the end of august and start of September for 2018. Got the 10 day passes with park hopper and waterparks! Did I mention I am excited? We are hoping they offer the free dining for this period too later on that we can jump on. Looks like its been offered for this time since at least 2014. Fingers crossed.

Thank you all for your help in this thread and especially to Mel for the awesome coupons! Next big days are February 27 for ADR followed by June 26th for Fastpass+ Im going to drive myself crazy waiting.

Rob
Love BC! We had a fireworks view from our room and didn't know it until our last night when we happened to be in our room packing o_O Be sure to put in a room request on your res for a full balcony. The water parks are awesome! You won't have any trouble filling free time.
Do go over to the BC Thread and tell Dee I sent you :upsidedow Full of great people with loads of info.
 
Ill try to keep this thread updated, unless I start up a pre-trip report thread at some point.

I have been hard at it with research. Not fun at all planning a Disney trip :rolleyes1 right?!? (sarcasm) I had a budget sit down with DG and I've been working 60+ hour weeks so we will have a bit more to work with than we thought. We booked our 2 weeks at the beach club during the tradition free dining period. We intend to upgrade to the DxDp! I created a thread in the dining plan forum regarding ADRs. I am going to try to get us into around 8 signature dining experiences. Everything from Yachtsmen to Hoop Dee Doo!:ccat:
The thread really drove home the fact that I should be taking advantage of the park hoppers and deluxe park location. So we are going to split our days between a far park (ak and mk) and a near park (epcot and dhs).

@TJLLWDW1 We looked at the cabins. I had seen it suggested to rent a golf cart while there because it is very spread out. I was very much considering this an option (and including the cart rental as part of the per night stay). The reason we ended up doing Beach Club, besides the increased budget we saw, was the upgrade from free QS DDP to regular DDP. That $1000 dollar savings would be used up in upgrading to this plan. That being said, I think I may consider a cabin for the trip after this one as I would like to bring my older step children. It would than have to be either cabins or dvc.

Question for any other Alberta people - How are the steaks at Yachtsman? I rarely order steak (no pun intended) when out for dinner abroad because our steak is so killer back home on my BBQ. I hope Yachtsman can blow my mind.

In fact, since my brain is in ADR mode currently, here is my list of signatures we will hopefully be enjoying: Yachtsman, Tiffins, California Grill, Hollywood Brown Derby, Jiko, BOATHOUSE, Monsieur Paul, Hoop Dee Doo, Artist Point, Flying Fish, Cinderella Castle

Which means we will not be eating at: Citricos, Narcoosee, Le Cellier, the Spirit of Aloha, Paddlefish, or Morimoto. (not including non dining plan restaurants)

Would you guys swap out any of those? Maybe Morimoto of Paddlefish over Boathouse on our Disney springs day? I have a day at Ohana, would you swap in a signature instead? If you had to do a lunch at a signature, which would you do?

@sue I am on the guest list for the beach club thread! That thread is dangerous, makes me want to stay at club level... hmmmm maybe if I sell one of the kids??
 
Ill try to keep this thread updated, unless I start up a pre-trip report thread at some point.

I have been hard at it with research. Not fun at all planning a Disney trip :rolleyes1 right?!? (sarcasm) I had a budget sit down with DG and I've been working 60+ hour weeks so we will have a bit more to work with than we thought. We booked our 2 weeks at the beach club during the tradition free dining period. We intend to upgrade to the DxDp! I created a thread in the dining plan forum regarding ADRs. I am going to try to get us into around 8 signature dining experiences. Everything from Yachtsmen to Hoop Dee Doo!:ccat:
The thread really drove home the fact that I should be taking advantage of the park hoppers and deluxe park location. So we are going to split our days between a far park (ak and mk) and a near park (epcot and dhs).

@TJLLWDW1 We looked at the cabins. I had seen it suggested to rent a golf cart while there because it is very spread out. I was very much considering this an option (and including the cart rental as part of the per night stay). The reason we ended up doing Beach Club, besides the increased budget we saw, was the upgrade from free QS DDP to regular DDP. That $1000 dollar savings would be used up in upgrading to this plan. That being said, I think I may consider a cabin for the trip after this one as I would like to bring my older step children. It would than have to be either cabins or dvc.

Question for any other Alberta people - How are the steaks at Yachtsman? I rarely order steak (no pun intended) when out for dinner abroad because our steak is so killer back home on my BBQ. I hope Yachtsman can blow my mind.

In fact, since my brain is in ADR mode currently, here is my list of signatures we will hopefully be enjoying: Yachtsman, Tiffins, California Grill, Hollywood Brown Derby, Jiko, BOATHOUSE, Monsieur Paul, Hoop Dee Doo, Artist Point, Flying Fish, Cinderella Castle

Which means we will not be eating at: Citricos, Narcoosee, Le Cellier, the Spirit of Aloha, Paddlefish, or Morimoto. (not including non dining plan restaurants)

Would you guys swap out any of those? Maybe Morimoto of Paddlefish over Boathouse on our Disney springs day? I have a day at Ohana, would you swap in a signature instead? If you had to do a lunch at a signature, which would you do?

@sue I am on the guest list for the beach club thread! That thread is dangerous, makes me want to stay at club level... hmmmm maybe if I sell one of the kids??
CL is addicting lol maybe if you ditch DxDdp and book CL instead? :duck: Just saying..... personally imo DxDdp is ALOT of food. If you did 1 signature and 1 regular TS a day, that's taking a lot of time out of park time. When we stay CL we never get a DDP, we book a late lunch ADR at whatever restaurant we want and the rest enjoy the eats in the CL. Good breakfast spread, and in the evening lots of appies, wine, beer(American water) lol, then there's desserts and cordials. Eating a late lunch, we find the appies are enough to satisfy us.

P.S. I know I'm just from BC, but I enjoyed Yachtsman very much. :upsidedow
 


I agree with SueM about too much food and too much time spent getting to ADRs on Deluxe DP. I've never been during that time of year but friends that have said it was so hot and muggy they didn't feel like eating much and kids didn't want to leave the pool or waterpark as much.
The regular DP imo is a lot of food. Unless your kids are foodies they won't care if they are doing a signature or a regular restaurant. They'd probably be happier with some character buffets. You can still pool your credits to do some signatures and pay oop for a couple extra if you need it.
Yes FD is usually on for that time of year. There's also an agency that has agency exclusive magical labour day specials that may be cheaper than FD for you. Not allowed to mention on the boards but Google is your friend.

Welcome to the boards and enjoy planning!
 
Hi Mom of two great kids!

I was worried about the food thing myself. I actually made a post in the dining forums and whittled down the plans for dining. We will still likely do the DxDp because it works out to "worth" while around 40 dollars a day per person for us to make it worth while and I want to eat at a lot of the signature restaurants. I have made plans to make sure we are not travelling too much for these (IE we do a "far" park AK/MK for half a day and a "close" park Epcot/DHS for the other half and I make sure the dinner is in the evening park or nearby our hotel). I will also likely make use of Uber or the Minnie Vans for some things like Hoop Dee Doo and maybe water parks. We have a number of eats in mind for the kids too, like la trattoria el forno, cindys castle, ohana etc. My daughter LOVES being what she calls "fancy" so she will be in 100% for the signature stuff, even if she ends up only getting chicken anyways!

Regarding the too much food sentiment:
- I dont intend to force everyone to slam an appetizer, entree, desert into themselves every meal. I also dont intend to encourage people to order the most expensive items. Just eat what you want. With 5 of us it wont be hard to make it worth while monetarily even if you factor in a 25% off our room into the math.
- Doing a lot of signature dining we aren't doing many 3 meal days - most days will be coffee/fruit/juice in our room for breakfast followed by a lunch and a signature dinner (I actually have a few days with double signatures). Lunch around 11:30 and dinner around 6:30 seems reasonable to me.
- I am one of those dads that gets anxious and frustrated when we eat out and my kids make very little attempt to eat what they have ordered. The dining plan sort of alleviates this for me. The food is just a credit (or 2) and if they dont eat it than no big deal. I know this may not make sense but its how my brain seems to work

**Incoming math**
The upgrade for the DxDp from FD is around 2110 for us or 151(rounded) a day for the family. That makes $30.14 per person per day.
If you add in the lost opportunity cost of not taking a 25% discount on our room its 272 per day for the family or ~$55 per person per day.

For example say we eat a lunch at 50's Diner and I order fried cheese (9), fried chicken (21), no sugar cheese cake (6), and a peanut butter and jelly milkshake (7) = $43

Than we eat at flying fish that evening and I order the seafood tour appetizer (19), the Wagyu Filet (55), panna cotta (10), and an Old Fashioned (12.50) = $96.50

That a lot of food but I am a big eater and with 7 hours separating the meals I wont have a problem and it totals to $139.50. Alone, without even factoring in snack credits or the refillable mug, i've made up 2 and a half days of value.

DM and DG will likely eat less so say they each total ~100. That would bring the total for adults to ~$340 for the day.

(Im continuing for my own curiosity as I've never bothered adding up the kids food)

Lunch at 50's - Veggies(3) + Salmon(11) + Free Desert + Milk Shake (7) = $21
Dinner at FF - Fruit(5) + FishnChips(16) + random dessert (10) + beverage(not listed but lets say 4) = $35

Total for the kids, again ignoring the resort mug and snacks = $56 for one or a rounded total of $110 for the two goof balls.

Family total for the day would be $450 buckaroos! :earboy2: Easily over the total we would need, even including the lost opportunity cost of the room savings.
I know we could go and not eat in this fashion (do garden grocer more, qs lunches and such) but I am trying to make sure everyone has some considerations for trip. The fancy meals are mostly for DM and myself. That being said, my kids will definitely remember eating on the TOP of contemporary or in Cinderella Castle, or at the Hoop Dee Doo review!

**more math for my own curiosity**
I have a day planned without a signature restaurant and a water park meal. Im curious how it comes out monetarily. Trattoria Al Forno for breakfast early - Typhoon Lagoon food for lunch, late dinner at Ohana.

Adult - TAF ($34 + coffee... wait who am I kidding, a bloody mary 10.25 = 44.25) + TL (turkey sammy 10.50 and a beer 7.50 = 18) + Ohana (46 dinner + say 10 for a drink since I dont see them listed = $56) for a total of $118.25
Child - TAF($20 and some lemonade 4 = 24) + TL (chicken strips 9.30 + frozen lemonade 4.30 = 13.60) + Ohana(26) = $63.60

Ill round down DM and DG again to ~100 for an adult total of ~$320 and a rounded down total for the children of ~$120.

Making a family total for the day of $440! Well above the required $272 and it again does not include any snacks or anything.

OK, long post long but that's my thinking with the dining plan.
 

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