Orlando - First WDW Visit

My family of 5 is taking their first WDW vacation June 7-13, 2006. We are probably staying at Port Orleans-Riverside (trundle bed). My kids are 5, 14 & 17. We live near Chicago & can only find flying rates out of O'Hare (Midway isn't posting that far ahead yet). Do I wait & book the whole package together or book the room & park tickets now & wait for airfares to go down?
I could use all the help I can get.

Generally, WDW packages of any sort are not a good deal. There have been a few exceptions - like when they were offering free dining plans. You should consult Mousesavers - www.mousesavers.com - to see what the current packages are and whether or not they're a good deal. They also link to reputable ticket brokers who offer special deals for Mousesavers' email newsletter subscribers.

Disboards.com is also a great reference site for WDW information. Have a great time!

My reply was going to be identical to candaceg. You will generally do better by booking hotel rooms, tickets and other items separately, and the disboards.com is a great resource. It will take a bit of work to pull it all together for the best rates, however, so just be prepared that you will need to put some time into it.

I would book your room now, at the best rate you can find, and keep an eye out for air fares. With the 'room only' option, I believe your cancellation timeframe is the most lenient, but be sure to check this out. It is something like 30 days in advance (or maybe less) that you can cancel a 'room only' reservation without a fee, but much longer (perhaps 90 days) for a package. Again, please check these facts and don't take my numbers as I don't have the precise rules in front of me.

At least that way you are sure to have a room reserved, but with the option to cancel if air fares don't work out. Also, if special room discounts are announced between now and your trip, you can often apply these to your existing reservation. There is a special forum at disboards.com under the Disney Resorts forum that follows codes and discounts.

The mousesavers tip is also excellent. We were just in Orlando two weeks ago and purchased our Disney tickets from Ticket Mania, using the Mousesavers offer, and it was an excellent discount over the gate price and the best rate we found anywhere. Just go to mousesavers.com and sign up for the email newsletter which is sent once per month.

In June be prepared for crowds and heat. Make good use of Fast Pass to minimize waiting times for rides. You may find that you might want to give your older kids some time to themselves as their interests will be very different from the 5-year old, depending on their maturity and your comfort level doing this. Again, disboards can give good advice on this (eg. you may want to all stay within the same park, but let the older kids go off on different rides, and keep in touch via cell phones).

Susan

another recommendation I can make is Kingdom Konsultants. They are a travel agency specializing strictly in WDW and Disneyland (with more of a focus on WDW). They post on the wdwmagic.com message boards.

Your better off using wdwinfo.com and mousesavers.com. I wouldn't waste my time with travel agencies - they are only going to sell you a package, which you may be able to beat on your own.

I highly recommend disboards.com for a BB that specializes in WDW and the way to get the best deal possible. There are some real experts out there!

If you plan on staying on-property, do everything separately (WDW resort/tickets/meal package, flights, car, etc.) You can reserve a WDW property and hold it for only a $200 deposit. You can get that all back if you cancel 45+days before scheduled arrival. After that, there's a sliding scale decreasing the refund the closer to "D"-day you get. That way, you can get what you want lined up, track deals, separately book airfare, etc. Check out the sights referenced. Also http://www.allearsnet.com

Look into a Chase Disney VISA. They also offer deals. 1% back as DisneyDollars to spend at Disney or on Disney stuff, and they often offer 6-months 0% financing of a Disney resort vacation. There are links to this affinity card all over the Disney resorts website.

I'm taking wife's entire family this December. I'll be poorer but richer.

The tip about the Disney Visa is a good one - you get all sorts of discounts and a photo session with characters.

I have to disagree about the Disney Visa. It's actually about average to poor as far as rewards go.

There are plenty of cards out there with better rewards, either miles or cashback. I believe the highest rated card is the SPG Amex.

Your better off using wdwinfo.com and mousesavers.com. I wouldn't waste my time with travel agencies - they are only going to sell you a package, which you may be able to beat on your own.

I wouldn't say that about this agency, only because I've dealt with them many times. They are dedicated strictly to Disney and don't do only packages.

another tip.. get at least one adult an annual pass. You'll be entitled to hotel room discounts of up to 50% with that. Depending on the rack rate of the room, you should be able to save a few hundred dollars that way.

I wouldn't say that about this agency, only because I've dealt with them many times. They are dedicated strictly to Disney and don't do only packages.
You live in MCO and deal with an agency?

You better get yourself to TheDis (disboards.com) and fast. You're missing out. I've found the agencies are good for super newbies, but they get the same deals that are listed on mousesavers.com. In other words, you can easily do it yourself with a little research.

BTW - the annual pass is only really worth it now if you plan on entering the parks more than 10 times. The hotel discounts are not nearly 50% any longer. During super low periods, the best I've seen is in the 30-40% range. I haven't seen a 50% discount in over 4 or 5 years - and yes, I'm a long time annual passholder.



The discounts aren't what they used to be any longer.

...and I doubt you'd be getting much of a room discount at all in June, anyway.

I always steer clear of the packages when I go to WDW...it's very easy to reserve everything yourself, and the cancellation policies are lenient enough to grab a room now, and then watch for airfare over the next couple of months.

You live in MCO and deal with an agency?

yup... for rooms only. I do occasional WDW weekends, and they've always been able to get me good rates. And they always do my DLR rooms for me.

You better get yourself to TheDis (disboards.com) and fast. You're missing out. I've found the agencies are good for super newbies, but they get the same deals that are listed on mousesavers.com. In other words, you can easily do it yourself with a little research.

I'm on the DIS, and I don't care much for it. I prefer wdwmagic.com. I don't particularly care for mousesavers though, especially since on some items, like car rental, I've found better rates through agencies and corporate rates.

BTW - the annual pass is only really worth it now if you plan on entering the parks more than 10 times. The hotel discounts are not nearly 50% any longer. During super low periods, the best I've seen is in the 30-40% range. I haven't seen a 50% discount in over 4 or 5 years - and yes, I'm a long time annual passholder.

so you're telling me that my paying $65/nt for All Star Movies with 20 minutes notice was not 50% off, yet the person whom I spoke to at the pool was paying over $130/nt? While the 50% is hard to come by, the AP discounts generally offset the purchase of the pass. Especially if you go around Xmas or Halloween, and ou can get the 25% off MNSSHP/MVMCP Tickets and the dining discounts offered with it.

The discounts aren't what they used to be any longer.

You won't get any argument with me on that one. I finally invested into Disney Dining this year... I gotta admit, the 50% off at PI is fun when friends are in town.

I have to disagree about the Disney Visa. It's actually about average to poor as far as rewards go.

There are plenty of cards out there with better rewards, either miles or cashback. I believe the highest rated card is the SPG Amex.

Actually, value is largely in the eye of the beholder.

I can get my wife to USE the Disney VISA instead of cash for many of her purchases. I get the float that way, paying 100% balance each month, so I am enjoying the benefit of my money for an additional 30-45 days rather than forking it over to a retailer.

My family enjoys watching our DisneyDollar balance grow, knowing we will spend all of it on our next trip to WDW. It is essentially a 1% cash back proposition, with occasional bonus cash back, with the major drawback being the relatively narrow opportunities to SPEND said cash back.

MY family actually even gets a kick out of the card graphics - the classic Mickey is pretty cool. And you'd be surprised the good it does an old codger to get a smile and a kind word from a pretty cashier merely becasue she thinks your CC is "kewl." And my wife thinks I got the Jag as a babe-magnet! Little does she know. ;)

I really don't need any more miles, as I accrue plenty via travel and Amex rewards. We don't use a lot of hotel nights non-business, other than WDW, so my Hotel poiunts tend also to be converted to miles.

And, they do offer frequent promotions only for cardholders, many of which are quite interesting. Plus, 6 months free financing of a WDW package is quite attractive when taking a long trip to WDW with a large group. I'm taking a group of 8 over Christmas/New Year's (pending the DL pilot situation :( ), but will not have to pay principal or interest on a spend of many thousands until May. My favorite mantra - make other people's money work for ME!

The "best" card is really dependent upon the indivdual's situation and needs.

As an aside...
The 14 and 17 yr. old will be fine, but the 5 yr old will be a bear if you run him/her through the ringer of going to parks every day (especially given the heat you will experience in June). A cranky 5 yr. old can ruin a day in a hertbeat... so in everyone's best interest, I'd consider making sure he/she has some downtime at the hotel pool or something like that.

We just returned from a week in Orlando. One day at the parks, one day at the hotel, one day at the parks, one day at the hotel, etc, etc, etc. Worked wonderfully.

About the credit card... it's no annual fee. So I have it and just use it when I'm at Disney to get the discounts. I use other cards for my daily expenses.

IF you are planning on renting a car - be sure and keep an eye on airfares to both Orlando AND Tampa - there's not a huge amount of difference in the drive time and with five air tickets it can be a great money saver.

yup... for rooms only. I do occasional WDW weekends, and they've always been able to get me good rates. And they always do my DLR rooms for me.
Disney doesn't give anything away to any travel agents. All this agency is getting you are the same rates available to the public. Mousesavers has the same deals. Plus, it's not even considered one of the biggies that deal with Disney.

I'm on the DIS, and I don't care much for it. I prefer wdwmagic.com. I don't particularly care for mousesavers though, especially since on some items, like car rental, I've found better rates through agencies and corporate rates.You don't have to like it, you have to get the info you need and there is a ton of it on DIS (disboards.com). I haven't found a better site with more members in years. I don't post much there, but I research it thoroughly before each trip. Again, you rent a car and you live in MCO?

so you're telling me that my paying $65/nt for All Star Movies with 20 minutes notice was not 50% off, yet the person whom I spoke to at the pool was paying over $130/nt? While the 50% is hard to come by, the AP discounts generally offset the purchase of the pass. Especially if you go around Xmas or Halloween, and ou can get the 25% off MNSSHP/MVMCP Tickets and the dining discounts offered with it.
Not anymore. To get the AP discount you have to reserve 90 or 120 days in advance. Right now, they are only guaranteeing the "lowest publicly available rate" to AP holders. The days of big discounts & AP codes are over. I have gone around Xmas and Halloween, and recently too. The discounts were nowhere near 50%. The dining discounts are limited to 10% at certain restaurants - many for lunch only, and the Halloween & Christmas party discounts are of neglible value to me. I'm not sure if the discount is 25% any longer. Also, many of these discounts are availble if you're a AAA member, such as for the tours.

The APs are very very expensive now. For the average family making that "special" trip, most, if not all, are not going to use the benefits. They are of more use to those of us who have gone frequently and will continue to go frequently, and still, with the 10 day admission payback, it may not be worth it to buy them for those who live out of state.

I just planned 2 vacations for co-workers - both came back raving. I didn't use an agency for either, they got the best deal available, and I got a gold star ;). One had gone the agency route, and I made them cancel everything and redid it myself at a savings of about $1000 for a family of four. They also did things the packages did not include.

That's what mousesavers & disboards can do for you.

you rent a car and you live in MCO?

Yup... when I go to Disneyland and Southern California :rolleyes:

but when I found out Enterprise in Orlando has C6 Corvettes, I did rent one for a few days of unadulterated fun on the back roads between WDW and Windermere

IF you are planning on renting a car - be sure and keep an eye on airfares to both Orlando AND Tampa - there's not a huge amount of difference in the drive time and with five air tickets it can be a great money saver.

Just be prepared for delays on I-4 during construction in Hillsborough and Polk Counties. Once you get to the Haines City exits it should be clear.