Disney World sometime next year -- best deals, how to prep?

Quote from Hudsnhawke : I think u have to weigh the pro's cons off staying on-sight vs off. Personally I prefer to stay on property. There are so many tips, tricks. I also buy throughout the year at BJ's Disney gift cards (I'm sure this also is at Costco etc.) at a discount and safe them to use during the trip for souvernerirs, etc it's like a extra bonus I give myself. Also I love the Disney cc which is great. Also if you as a Florida resident there are sometimes special packages for Florida residents and I'm not sure if they still have this but they used to have a discount for Florida residents annual pass. Hmm, also if your family is the type theat doesn't go to different parks on the same day, for instance if you just spend thr day at magic kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood (MGM) studios, animal etc than you dont need the park hopper. And check out allears.net Good luck, I'm going on Disney cruise in nov.

I agree with the allears.net - they have some great videos of the hotels and reviews of restaurants.

I would urge you to NOT get the park hopper for your first visit. We purchased a park hopper for the whole group and never used it - once. Now that I have been there and understand how things work, I would definitely consider purchasing it. But for your first visit I would stick to one park a day and enjoy it. Spending your time park hopping (waiting for buses and transfers) is not how I would want to spend my first visit.

Also there are great character meals at the resorts - you don't need a park hopper to go to the Polynesian, Beach Club or the Contemporary resort - they have some great character meals, like Chef Mickey's and O'hana.

You might want to price out things without a package as well. We rented a deluxe resort through an online DVC points renter (Davids). We got 5 nights for $625 at the animal kingdom. The same room through disney would have been about $300 per night. We then were able to buy tickets from mousesavers.com link for $700 (2 adults and a child). Add on the regular meal plan for $615, it came out to just under $2000 for a family of 4 (one is under 2), deluxe resort, and the meal plan. Can't beat that in my book. We are going February 2013.

In my experience you save a lot of money staying off-site, and get much better accommodations for your money. This is especially true for families of 5 or more. Personally I hate the idea of shuttle busses for anything, and don't want to eat out 3 meals a day, so having a full condo and just having cereal for breakfast and some simple dinners after the parks is the ideal for us. We absolutely love Universal so we'd want a rental car anyway. Even when you add in the rental car cost and parking fees for every park, staying offsite is still way less for our family. We are soon headed to Orange Lake Resort for the 3rd time. I'll post how it goes!

Deals change often keep checking mouse savers also if you are Military HUGE discounts available!! They sell discount tickets at our base in the park and recreational center.

Quote from acadburn : Deals change often keep checking mouse savers also if you are Military HUGE discounts available!! They sell discount tickets at our base in the park and recreational center.

Disney also have Shades of Green (Disney onsite hotel) - it's for military families only. Supposedly they give great deals when they stay here.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_...orida.html

Quote from StarNova : I agree with the allears.net - they have some great videos of the hotels and reviews of restaurants. I would urge you to NOT get the park hopper for your first visit. We purchased a park hopper for the whole group and never used it - once. Now that I have been there and understand how things work, I would definitely consider purchasing it. But for your first visit I would stick to one park a day and enjoy it. Spending your time park hopping (waiting for buses and transfers) is not how I would want to spend my first visit. Also there are great character meals at the resorts - you don't need a park hopper to go to the Polynesian, Beach Club or the Contemporary resort - they have some great character meals, like Chef Mickey's and O'hana.

Ditto on the park hoppers.. We have purchased them in the past and not used them. Too much trouble to switch parks, especially with little ones in my experience. All of the extra walking to the gate, getting on monorail/tram/bus/ boat/etc. The only time we ever used them was to go to a different park for the nightly show. It is much easier to me to just devote one day to each park I plan to visit.

Quote from clawmachine : In my experience you save a lot of money staying off-site, and get much better accommodations for your money. This is especially true for families of 5 or more. Personally I hate the idea of shuttle busses for anything, and don't want to eat out 3 meals a day, so having a full condo and just having cereal for breakfast and some simple dinners after the parks is the ideal for us. We absolutely love Universal so we'd want a rental car anyway. Even when you add in the rental car cost and parking fees for every park, staying offsite is still way less for our family. We are soon headed to Orange Lake Resort for the 3rd time. I'll post how it goes!

I agree 100%. I have friends who like staying on property. They spend more for a family of 4 than we do for 6 and we are much more comfortable.

I don't like dealing with the buses at all. Especially with little kids. Having to take the kids out of the stroller, unload all the crap, fold it up, get on the bus, and reload it all back up is alot of work. Besides, I don't like waiting for the buses when it is hot and I don't like the thought of not being able to just leave anytime I want to. Our hotel actually had shuttles to the parks this trip and we had planned on using them to save on parking, but at the last minute, DH decided we should drive. He was afraid we would get out of the park late and end up missing the last bus.

We just got back last night from our 5th or 6th trip..

This trip my oldest didn't go.. We were a family of 5 (4 adults price wise, and 1 child) We stayed 5 nights.. did 3 park days (2 at universal and 1 at magic kingdom)

Universal tickets were just over 600.00
disney tickets were 300.00
2 bedroom/2 bath suite (slept 10- we were thinking inlaws may come) 370.00
Meals - less than 280.00 and 120.00 of that was a nice meal at Rainforest cafe for 120.00
parking - 45.00
grocery store- 20.00

under 1500.00 for 4 adults and 1 child..

I think it is all about what you like. I don't care about trying alot of fancy places to eat.. if you do, then paying extra for disney property and doing the dining plan is a good deal. We either stay at a condo and do our own breakfast or like this time we find a hotel with a hot and cold breakfast bar for free.. We take bottled water and snacks into the park each day (granola bars, crackers, peanuts, etc) we typically eat one meal in the park around 2-3 pm.. Then we either grab something quick after we leave, or just eat back at the condo/hotel. Honestly we were so tired most nights when we left that we really just wanted something to drink and a light snack. We came back and had popcorn, fruit, sandwich, etc. and were content with that, a nice shower, and comfy bed.

Who have you used in the past to rent a Disney vacation condo? Did anyone rent directly from an owner? Thanks!

Quote from StarNova : Who have you used in the past to rent a Disney vacation condo? Did anyone rent directly from an owner? Thanks!

I have used vrbo twice and been pleased each time.

I know everyone HATES timeshare deals, but the past 2 times we went to Disney, we did this (family of 4). We had hotel for 4 nights (waterpark on site, free breakfasts, full kitchen & shuttle transportation to disney), 2 days at disney parks (we did magic kingdom & hollywood studios last time) and 1 day at typhoon lagoon for under $600. I don't think my wallet or my patience could handle a full week of disney - don't think the kids (DS is 7 & DD is 5)could handle it either - it is a lot of walking & crowds. You just have to keep saying no for 90 minutes, but I am a pro at saying no! I can say no all day long to my kiddos! DH & I just ogt bakc from cruise by ourselves, so already planning for Disney with kids next summer.

Quote from bigauditone : I know everyone HATES timeshare deals, but the past 2 times we went to Disney, we did this (family of 4). We had hotel for 4 nights (waterpark on site, free breakfasts, full kitchen & shuttle transportation to disney), 2 days at disney parks (we did magic kingdom & hollywood studios last time) and 1 day at typhoon lagoon for under $600. I don't think my wallet or my patience could handle a full week of disney - don't think the kids (DS is 7 & DD is 5)could handle it either - it is a lot of walking & crowds. You just have to keep saying no for 90 minutes, but I am a pro at saying no! I can say no all day long to my kiddos! DH & I just ogt bakc from cruise by ourselves, so already planning for Disney with kids next summer.

Nice deal! We have never done one at Disney, although the Westgate people stopped me when we were at Universal Studios and offered me 75.00 to come the next day and listen to them.. plus a free breakfast. DH said no way. He hates them and told me it wasn't worth 75.00
we have done the time share tours many times in Pigeon Forge TN for show tickets, etc.. I don't hate it as bad as DH. I can easily sit and say no for 2 hours too!

Definitely check out disboards.com. Also sign up for email newsletters now to start understanding the lingo and what is going on, plus keeping track of the planned ride and attraction closures. Check out Allears.net, they have great weekly newsletters. Happy planning!

Quote from tiger0 : Hi All, Looking for some advice from the deal gurus here who have been to Disney World. Planning to go with the kids and grandmas next year sometime (probably spring), but never been there before. Any general advice you can give if we're looking to save coin but still have a full Disney experience? Any things I can do now in prep (like getting a Disney credit card, saving up reward points for Disney giftcards, etc.) to maximize savings? And if we're planning to go for 5-6 days, can anyone give a ballpark idea how much we should expect it to cost us (planning to visit all the parks)? Any and all advice much appreciated! Thanks, tiger0

This thread had alot of great info..

Anyone know of an RCI resort that has free shuttle to and from the park?

Quote from tiger0 : Hi All, Looking for some advice from the deal gurus here who have been to Disney World. Planning to go with the kids and grandmas next year sometime (probably spring), but never been there before. Any general advice you can give if we're looking to save coin but still have a full Disney experience? Any things I can do now in prep (like getting a Disney credit card, saving up reward points for Disney giftcards, etc.) to maximize savings? And if we're planning to go for 5-6 days, can anyone give a ballpark idea how much we should expect it to cost us (planning to visit all the parks)? Any and all advice much appreciated! Thanks, tiger0

www.ourcheapdisneyvacation.com I found to be super helpful of one couple's experience visiting disney.

Super super important to your overall experience!!
Line management!!!! You can seriously wait like 90 minutes for a ride if you don't plan things out right. Ourcheapdisneyvacation site recommends tour guide mike. We followed their lead and spent minimal time waiting in lines.

Good luck, Disney can be amazing if done correctly.