Tell me about June and budget stuff

[Kamy04]

My DH and 2 DSs and I went to WDW last May (2-9th). I thought it was our once in a lifetime trip....but I converted them!

My DSs were 6 and almost 3. They talk about it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. They watch videos of the rides before bed, lol.

So now DH and I are trying to see if we can make a way to get back while they are still around this age.

The catch is that I teach and I cannot take the days off this year. We also need to have a shorter trip. 4 park days? 5? They really loved MK last time and that is where my little DS (who will have just turned 4 and is tiny) can do the most. We didn't do AK last time but want to this time for Pandora.

We were thinking about early June (2nd or 3rd week). What is June like? Early May was pretty perfect. Are we going to die in the heat? My DH hates heat, but we managed fine in May by taking a mid-day break (which we would still do this year). I think I remember reading here the crowds have been pretty low in June the past few years? I realize the (potential) opening of TSL may change that.

Last year we also went compliments of a gift from my mom after she passed away. We stayed Moderate, did the Dining Plan, etc. This year we are trying to figure out a way to make it work, so we need to be budget conscious. Are we going to be disappointed at a Value after staying Moderate before? We are thinking of tickets through Undercover Tourist, still with a Park Hopper because that flexibility with a mid-day break is nice. Also no Dining Plan this time since we would not do as many character meals (still probably 1-2).

So...June? Advice? Should we do it? lol. We need to decide because our ADR date would be soon!!!

 

[Indio]

There's not much difference in the weather from May to June. 2nd week of June is a great time as all schools aren't out yet. We love the values. The theming is great and for us, we just don't spend that much time at the resorts. Even when we've stayed Moderate or Deluxe, we just don't use the amenities except the pool. I think you'll have a great time at the resort. Also, we never use the dining plan as we don't do character meals and the cost has just never really worked out for us for our style of dining. Have Fun!!

 

[GillianP1301]

If heat is a concern then the earlier in June the better because you are approaching summer weather at that point.

As far as value vs moderate, I honestly did not find that big a difference in the rooms themselves other than the size of bed and being only a double at a value, which can be a really deal breaker for some. But room size is not that different. I also find the values feel busier/louder in the common areas than the moderates do, but I think that is offset by some of the amazing theming in the values that little ones in particular enjoy. If saving some money is priority, then go ahead with a value, you won't be disappointed.

I also wanted note about the park hopper because you commented that you liked them for the flexibility of the mid day break. You can still take a mid day break without a hopper and return to the same park you were at in the morning. That may be a way to save some money as well. Unless you really want to be doing multiple parks in one day, you don't absolutely have to have the hopper.

 

[shellyj]

I haven't traveled in June, but I have stayed in a Value after 4 or 5 deluxe stays, and I actually loved it. We stayed at ASMusic and would definitely say there again if we couldn't rent DVC points for a deluxe we really like (a DVC 2 bedroom is usually the best deal for our big travel group).
We always get our tickets from UT or Tickets at Work, whoever has the best deal at the time.
The times we've done the dining plan, we've absolutely hated it. We found that we save money and really enjoy the flexibility of paying oop. We splurge on the meals we really want and never felt like we were skimping.
I think if you are like us and spend most of your time in the parks, maybe hopping in the pool a couple of times, the resort and eating out aren't nearly as important as they would be on other types of vacations. You'll have a blast!

 

[Miffy]

Check out ParkSavers for your hoppers. Sometimes their prices are better than UT.

 

[anniemae]

Early June is great. Many schools are not out until the end of June. Weather is good, not as hot and rainy as mid to late summer.

Many people love the value resorts. You aren't really in the rooms much anyway. We are thinking about trying pop century next trip. I have heard great things about it.

 

[absolutmey]

following along. We're going the first week in June. We've only ever been in the fall, so I'm not sure what to expect either as far as weather and crowds go.

 

[KenHutch]

I have never stayed at a Value (4 trips all moderate) but I do one day of resort hopping every trip and from the grounds, buildings etc most look very nice and several friends swear on Music for staying and saving some money. And I hope early June is as nice as I have been told we are going there from June 3rd to the 13th, can't go any earlier as my daughter has some college interviews set up for the last week in May.

 

[Hootch]

Our trip straddled the second and third week of June this past summer. The second week was a little quieter than the third. But the MK stayed open later an hour later in week three. We tried Memorial weekend once when it was early. A lot of other people had the same idea.

The heat can be bad, but we usually take a break in the afternoon and head back to the parks. You can head back and swim or rest. I like changing clothes before going back. We drive so luggage is not an issue.

We have stayed at deluxe, moderate and value. For the last few trips we have stayed at POFQ because of the size. We did All Star Movies once when we had a family get together at the beach later. I would not hesitate to stay there. There are other, newer options that give you a lot of options.

Mousesavers has a list of the discount releases for recent years. You may or may not be able to get something good.

https://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#2017

The Swan and Dolphin resorts usually have teacher discounts. I have no experience with this, but it might help.

 

[Meridagal]

We went mid June and that was fine. We stayed at riverside 5nights/6day with dining for less than $2900. My family is a family of 4 my son is under 3 so that helped the price. If you book cheap the website or work with dreams because Disney releases deals.

 

[heidijanesmith]

We have gone mid-late June the last few years now and I also do not tolerate the heat very well. To me May was lovely, lower humidity and temps. June has higher humidity and temps with more rain.

DH loves the heat and doing to WDW in June, so I deal with it. I think the earlier in June you go the better, heat wise, crowd wise and humidity wise.

 

[Klayfish]

We go in June a lot. Yes, it's hot, but it's Florida in summer so that's expected. T-storms...lots of them. You may go 7 days without a single one, but then you may have 5 days in a row with them. It could be raining in MK and sunny in AK.

Crowds aren't bad at all. Pretty easy. We can get FP+ for pretty much any ride in the park same day, except Pandora.

Budget. Well, where do you live? Can you drive down? If so, I'd highly recommend considering offsite and to whatever extent you can and/or are willing to, pack your own food. That's what we do, and we literally spend a fraction of what people who stay onsite do. Saving all that money allows us to take longer trips.

 

[disneyvoice]

June is great - especially early June! We took trips in June, July, and October this year. The crowds during our June trip were by far the lightest (and we were there the end of June right before July 4). Early June is typically hot and humid but because the crowds are lighter I don't think it feels as bad as when it is super packed AND hot and humid.

You will have no problem adjusting to a Value Resort. The Values and Moderates have essentially the same room design, the room decor is just a bit "louder" at the Values but I actually think that is great when you have little ones. When my son was the age of your kids he LOVED staying at All Star Movies and All Star Music. My DH and I typically stay at Deluxe resorts during our couple only trips but we have no problem adjusting back to All Star Music when we go with our son who is now a teenager (we like to stay in the Family Suite at All Star Music when we travel with our son - we get a private room and our son gets a whole other room and bathroom to himself so he can stay up late and watch TV or stay later at he parks and not wake us up when he gets back after they close). I also really like the food courts at the Value Resorts. While they are crowded and chaotic (not my favorite part) I think they have much more variety then the quick service places at the moderate and deluxe resorts. We typically don't eat many meals at the quick service places at the resorts when we go now but when are son was young we ate there quite a bit - it was just a lot more convenient for us.

You will be fine without the dining plan. We only did it once because we LOST a LOT of money on it. We had something like 12 snack credits and 6 quick service meals left over after our week long trip. There were times our son didn't like any of the options on the kids menu so we ended up paying out of pocket for him to get something he liked. If you are planning to mainly do quick service meals just make sure you eat at "off" times - ex. we always skip breakfast since we aren't breakfast eaters but then we eat lunch at 11:00.

 

[d-train]

We did a June trip last year - bridged the 2nd and 3rd weeks. The weather was quite hot - not as bad as mid to late summer, but still upper 90s.
The crowd did increase from the 2nd to the 3rd week, but was still manageable with planning. Didn't wait more than 15 minutes anywhere.

We have done both mod and value - not much difference. If it is just a place to hit the pool in the afternoon, and rest your head, you will not notice the difference. Still just a motel either way. Wish there was a more tangible difference. Such a jump from mod to anything higher...

We never do the dining plan - waste of money. Just plan ahead to budget what you will need. If you make your ADRs, you will have a general idea of what it will cost. Plan some extra cash for extra ice creams in the heat - so worth it! ;-)

 

[GeneralTso]

Y'all just made me feel so much better about our trip the first week of June!
We typically go in fall for F&W, Halloween to Xmas changeover. It's perfect.

 

[MinnieMSue]

Early June is great crowd wise. We almost always stay value resort and have no issues there. We never do dining plan. We eat what we want when we want and don’t like feeling like we need to order the most expensive whatever to not lose money on dining plan. We don’t drink soda most of the time and usually just get water. We definitely save money by not getting dining plan (especially since we have outgrown character meals). That being said we do order what we feel like and just pay for it. We don’t order cheapest stuff cause we don’t have dining plan.

 

[kniquy]

Early June would be a good time to go with many schools (at least in New England) still in session.

Look into buying discount disney gift cards from target using the target red card/debit. It saves 5% so better than nothing and you can buy a bunch a head and use that as your "dining plan".

One thing you mentioned

We need to decide because our ADR date would be soon!!!

you can book reservations even if you do not have a resort reservation, you can only book exactly at the 180 day mark so you would need to book each day.

 

[jgleason]

We had the same problem when planning our family trip. We decided on the June 18-22. We went with AOA resort, little mermaid room. We are driving down from NY, so will be saving on the cost of a flight. Budget was pretty good with dining plan and memory maker.