Family Vacation - Starting to Plan

pmsmith2032 · Jan 21, 2015

I am just beginning to research a possible vacation to Disney World this summer (probably mid June) and am looking for advice. Ideally we'd like to spend two or three days in Disney World (various parks) and 5 or 6 days at a beach location somewhere in Florida. We have two kids and aren't opposed to driving (from Illinois). We visited approximately 8 years ago and stayed outside the park. Any advice on discount plans, where to stay, places to see, sites to research, etc are greatly appreciated.

MandiC · Jan 21, 2015

I loved wdwprepschool . com when I was planning our first trip. Something that is likely different from 8 years ago is it seems you really have to plan ahead. Preferably at least 160 days ahead

if you want any dinner reservations at the popular character meals.

Where to stay depends on the family, we enjoy staying on-site and will continue to do so in the future. We enjoy the benefits of charging on the magic band (no carrying around credit cards/money/debit card), earlier fastpass+ selections, extra magic hours if you want, free parking at the parks if you choose to bring your own car/rent a car, ability to send souvenirs back to your room as you buy them in the parks so you don't have to carry them around, ect. Off site you will pretty much need a vehicle, whether you bring your own or rent one because the off-site shuttles do not run often, unless you are okay taking cabs to/from as needed. You will also need to factor $15 a day in parking at the parks.
As far as where if you choose on-site, there are LOTS of options and the best one for you really just depends on your family, your budget and your preferences. There seems to be a resort for everyone

Summer at Disney is busy, and hot. With 2 or 3 days you will have to decide whether to get park hopper tickets or skip some parks. Look at the crowd calanders and see which times/parks are best to visit on which days in June. You do save money the more days you visit the parks, the ticket prices get lower each day.
My family raves about Cocoa Beach, I haven't looked into it myself yet but might be something for you to check out

pmsmith2032 · Jan 21, 2015

Thanks! Is it a lot more expensive to stay on-site then off-site? When we visited years ago we stayed at a condominium off-site but we didn't research as much as we should have.

MandiC · Jan 21, 2015

If you stay at a value resort I don't think it is. I know when we looked for our trip last year I priced out Bonnet Creek, plus a rental car, plus parking fees and food and we wouldn't have saved enough money for it to be worth it from our trip with Resort, park tickets, and dining plan on site. We did stay during the stay-play-dine promotion and I am not sure how many 'deals' they run in the summer since that is a busy time whereas in February it is 'value season'. For me, the peace of mind of arriving in Orlando and not having to do anything or take out my wallet constantly was worth much more than we may have saved on site, so it is really kind of a personal decision. I know some people don't mind that, me, I'm used to all-inclusive when we vacation LOL

MandiC · Jan 21, 2015

and we stayed at a moderate resort last year ^

pmsmith2032 · Jan 21, 2015

Thanks! I'm in shock right now after looking at park ticket prices. Looks like easily over $1,000 for three day passes for a family of four? Am I missing something?

MandiC · Jan 21, 2015

Go to the Disney site and price out a package, for some reason I feel like it is less when you do it as a package. Also, Undercover Tourist offers lower park ticket prices (beware of where you buy tickets though). I know we could get a package for 6, with 6 days of park tickets, resort and dining plan for $5,000. When we went last February, without thinking of plane tickets we spent about $3,500 for my husband and I and our 2 daughters for resort, tickets, and dining plan

MandiC · Jan 21, 2015

^ and we did 6 days of park tickets then too

pmsmith2032 · Jan 21, 2015

Thanks. I checked and it's $1,000 for two days (with park hopper) and $1,355 for three days. Outrageous!

MandiC · Jan 21, 2015

It is definitely quite expensive, I think that is how they encourage people to do more along the lines of week long vacations because after you get to a few days it really isn't that much more for additional days. I know price was the deciding factor to just do Disney while we were down there rather than do Sea World/Universal/Busch that time, it was cheaper to do 6 days in the Disney parks than a few days in Disney parks and other parks the other days.

pixiegirl131415 · Jan 21, 2015

MandiC said:
It is definitely quite expensive, I think that is how they encourage people to do more along the lines of week long vacations because after you get to a few days it really isn't that much more for additional days. I know price was the deciding factor to just do Disney while we were down there rather than do Sea World/Universal/Busch that time, it was cheaper to do 6 days in the Disney parks than a few days in Disney parks and other parks the other days.

THIS. We will be going in the fall, and debated only doing 4 days at the parks instead of 5, but the difference in price was almost nothing for the 5th day.

pixiegirl131415 · Jan 21, 2015

Also, I haven't priced for the summer, but for when we are hoping to go in Nov, it really wasn't any cheaper to stay off-site, once you factor in parking, hidden "resort fees" etc. Plus then you don't have to deal with transportation and you get extra magic hours.

pmsmith2032 · Dec 1, 2015

It's been awhile so I figured I'd post again to try and get some advice. My wife and I are definitely taking our two kids (boy -will be 8 and daughter - 14) to Disney World this coming summer. My daughter has already been there once but this will be the first time for my son. My daughter likes roller coasters and probably Epcot. My son likes super heroes and sports (never been on a roller coaster before). Our tentative plan is as follows:

Drive from Chicago to Disney (probably broken up over two days with a stop in Atlanta?)
Stay at Disney for 3 days
Go to beach for 3 or 4 days (no idea where though)
Spend a night or two in Tennessee (near mountains)
Head home

Does this sound like a feasible plan? Where is the best place to research and get the cheapest prices?

Thanks!

lanejudy · Dec 1, 2015

There's very little in the way of discounts for 3-day tickets. Disney "front-loads" ticket pricing, making the first 3-4 days the most expensive ($100ish) and by the time you are adding 6-10 days it's only like $10 per day. The pricing structure encourages longer visits. Park hoppers also add to the price, so only purchase those if you are really sure you'll hop; in fact, you can wait to add it at the gate of the 2nd park once you decide.

As for resorts -- as previous posts indicate, crunch your numbers and make sure you are accounting for all factors (parking, resort fees, etc.). My family prefers onsite. I don't think resort discounts have been released yet for summer 2016 dates. Once they are, there is usually a room-only discount (if you opt to buy your tickets separately), and usually a package offer. Make sure the package offer is what you truly want/need -- sometimes it requires a certain length ticket or purchase of hoppers or dining plan, etc.

Enjoy your vacation!

Julylady · Dec 2, 2015

Disney wants you to spend your entire vacation at Walt Disney World, not just 3 days. Try pricing a trip where you stay at a Value or Moderate hotel for the entire vacation and include 5 or 6 day passes. The price might surprise you. In the past, we planned trips very similar to what you are planning. A few days in the Disney Parks, a day at Universal or Sea World, and then 2-3 nights in a beach hotel. We no longer do that type of trip as its just too expensive. Now, when we go to Orlando we either visit Walt Disney World OR Universal, but not both. And our beach vacations are now just stand alone beach vacations.

There are "perks" to staying on-property. The biggest one is the ability to make fast pass selections 60 days in advance instead of 30. But there is still value in staying in a vacation home or condo property, especially if you need the extra space. Check out Bonnet Creek....that place looks great to me! We have also rented vacation homes in the Emerald Island area and stayed at the Caribe Royale. Both were close to Disney.

Lastly, for a Disney vacation, planning more than 6 months ahead is pretty common. I would suggest that you nail down your plans sooner, not later.

I hope you have a fun time!

Family Vacation - Starting to Plan

pmsmith2032

Earning My Ears

MandiC

DIS Veteran

pmsmith2032

Earning My Ears

MandiC

DIS Veteran

MandiC

DIS Veteran

pmsmith2032

Earning My Ears

MandiC

DIS Veteran

MandiC

DIS Veteran

pmsmith2032

Earning My Ears

MandiC

DIS Veteran

pixiegirl131415

Faith, and trust, and pixie dust.

pixiegirl131415

Faith, and trust, and pixie dust.

pmsmith2032

Earning My Ears

lanejudy

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Julylady

DIS Veteran

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