MilesBuzz! - How to Use Miles for Disney World

Besides actually flying thereis there anyway to us FF Miles for Disney World.


IE Hotels, Rent-A-Car, Park Admission etc

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Howardform:
Besides actually flying thereis there anyway to us FF Miles for Disney World.


IE Hotels, Rent-A-Car, Park Admission etc</font>

I believe that you can redeem Hilton Honors point for park admission. There was a brief mention of this about a week ago before Hilotn increased the amount of points needed for awrard stays. If you are to search its around the 31 of May.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Howardform:
Besides actually flying there, is there anyway to us FF Miles for Disney World?


Hotels, Rent-A-Car, Park Admission etc</font>

Here's the HHonors link:

http://www.hilton.com/en/hhonors/rewards/entertainment.jhtml#walt_disney_world®_resort_rewa rds_

Starwood points will get you into the Dolphin or Swan hotel.

Unless you have lots of HHonors to burn I don't think the conversion ratio is very good for the park hopper passes.

For reasons that I don't want to get into (and lack of cash at the time), my wife and I decided to go to Disney for a week. We flew 1st class on AA, stayed at the dolphin and bought the 7-day ultimate park hopper.

Booking the entire trip on AAvacations.com, I was able to fund the entire excursion with miles. Now, I know the purists will cringe when I say this, but, the conversion rate from mi/$ was horrible.

The bottom line is, I got a vacation which would have cost ~$6000 for $300.

$300 being the cost of drinks and misc food purchases inside the park.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Goldfishhh:
For reasons that I don't want to get into (and lack of cash at the time), my wife and I decided to go to Disney for a week. We flew 1st class on AA, stayed at the dolphin and bought the 7-day ultimate park hopper.

Booking the entire trip on AAvacations.com, I was able to fund the entire excursion with miles. Now, I know the purists will cringe when I say this, but, the conversion rate from mi/$ was horrible.

The bottom line is, I got a vacation which would have cost ~$6000 for $300.

$300 being the cost of drinks and misc food purchases inside the park.</font>

The quest for miles and points is to make vacations more comfortable and affordable.

Hope you had a great time http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Goldfishhh:
For reasons that I don't want to get into (and lack of cash at the time), my wife and I decided to go to Disney for a week. We flew 1st class on AA, stayed at the dolphin and bought the 7-day ultimate park hopper.

Booking the entire trip on AAvacations.com, I was able to fund the entire excursion with miles. Now, I know the purists will cringe when I say this, but, the conversion rate from mi/$ was horrible.

The bottom line is, I got a vacation which would have cost ~$6000 for $300.

$300 being the cost of drinks and misc food purchases inside the park.</font>

May we ask how many miles? I wouldn't mind copying your idea if it is within my realm of available miles.

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AA, Onepass, Skymiles, Hhonors Gold, Starwood Gold

i booked the same vacation and we are going next week !

Hilton hotel in downtown disney - teen award
100,000pts
Contiential Airlines
70,000 pts
Disney tickets thru Hilton honors
65,000 pts per ticket

i have more hilton honors pts than i know what to do with !

http://www.marriottrewards.com/awards/theme.asp

-David

I booked a WDW trip for myself and 12 members of my family. We stayed at the Hyatt Grand Cypress Resort. It is right next to WDW and is a destination unto itself. We all flew first class. The total cost was:

6 first class UAL tickets - 240K UAL miles
5 voluntary bump tickets - free
2 people drove (gas) - $40
3 suites for 8 nights - 432K Hyatt pts
3 Crown Victorias 7 days - 9900 Hertz pts
3 Crown Victorias 1 day - $200
3 WDW 4 day park hopper tx- 195K Hilton pts
2 WDW 4 day park hopper tx- $400
6 WDW 5 day park hopper tx- $1,500
2 WDW 7 day park hopper tx- $600
meals (approx) - $2,000

Total cash out of pocket approx $5,000 or $385 per person. Majority of that was the park tickets.

Spending 8 days with loved ones in the most magical place in the world - priceless!

good luck on your planning. I would suggest you obtain a book on planning a WDW vacation. There is alot to see and the time flies. I read 3 different guides and mapped out my time in the parks in order to maximize my visit. Some of my family members winged it and some planned.

It truly was a trip of a lifetime.

I found this post on smarterliving.com and linked over. I have used my Hilton points for park hopper passes to Disney several times. Perhaps the $/points ratio isn't the highest, but since we visit WDW (Walt Disney World) frequently, it is the very best use of our points. FYI, the pass you receive is called a 4-day Park Hopper Plus Pass. That means you can hop from park to park on the same day and it only uses up that one day on the ticket. Plus, you get a 1 time 'plus' benefit which you can use for a day at the waterparks or a night at Pleasure Island. This is an extra and if you take a day for the waterparks you actually get 5 days of usage out of your ticket. There is also a little known fact where you can trade up on your ticket. What do I mean by that? On arrival at WDW you can take your ticket to Guest Services at the entrance and trade your 4-day pass for a 5, 6, or 7-day pass for the difference in price of the value of the 4-day ticket. You can also trade it in for an Annual Pass for the price difference. An annual pass pays for itself with 8 visits, so if you're thinking of an extended trip it is worth the extra money. Also, if you were planning on coming back again the following year, if you would come back a week or two sooner than the first trip, you could still use your AP and it's like a free trip inside the parks. An AP also has free 'park' parking, so you save $7 a day in fees if you drive yourself or use a rental car. I agree with the poster who said to research your Disney trip before you go. There is so much to learn and know to save money and make the most of your time. Two great places to start are www.mousesavers.com (http://www.mousesavers.com) and www.wdwig.com. (http://www.wdwig.com.) You will find discounts and codes on each, information about making PS's (Priority Seating reservations) for popular restaurants and tips for just about everything you can think of in and around the parks, from the best hotels to coupons for restaurants. On the second site are specific menu listings for all the WDW restaurants, so you know which ones you want to try and how much you'll spend.

I have also used my HHonors points for free car rentals when at Disney. Orlando is one of the few places where hotels don't offer shuttels to and from the airport. There are pay-shuttels, buses and limo service, but we always rent a car. Even if you don't use it but for to-and-fro of the airports, it can equal or save you on the amount of a shuttle or limo.

Hope this helped some, and check out those sites. You will be surprised at the 'dedication' of many WDW travelers.

star

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by star:
You will be surprised at the 'dedication' of many WDW travelers.</font>

My parents are WDW fiends (even without seven grandchildren, they just like the place, go figure, starting with buying property nearby in 1971). The dedication and care with which they are on the lookout for the best "deal" is far above that they put into their own financial and personal affairs, which involve issues of much more importance. I think WDW Inc. is on to people like that, and actually designs this "sniffing the best deal" process to get people to think they've stumbled upon a bargain, making them feel even better about WDW.

Personally, I haven't cared for the place since the onset of puberty, which was before EPCOT was even open. I don't think I'd even go there for free. The joke I tell my parents (which they don't find funny) is: "Enter this contest! Second prize: Two weeks in WDW! First prize: One week in WDW!"

I inherited this dedication trait, but I apply it much bigger and important questions, like how to fly up in the front in CX/BA/SQ as often as possible, and how to stay at MO's, Peninsulas, and Park Hyatts (et. al), both done best when someone else is paying.

A bit off topic but if you want to find people who are crazy for Disney check out the following bulletin board. They know more tips and tricks about the place than you could ever imagine.

www.disboards.com (http://www.disboards.com)