Disneyworld Help

I just saw an episode on , I think it was on Travel network. It was called Disney on a Dime??? At any rate, it was full of info on how to save big at Disney!!! You might go online and research the Travel Channel episodes. Sorry this is all I've got but I hope it's enough to get you in the right direction...

I just did this too about a week ago, you can change where you stay and that helps. I had 2 adults and 1 child, and it was about 1900. This was with airfair. Try to play with the settings and be flexible with the dates.

If you call Leah or Robin my travel agent they have been to disney college and are disney vaction planners and there are some really good deals right now. The phone number is: 1-800-221-6775 or local number is ###-###-####
They can really save you money.

What everyone else has said I agree with. Also, Southwest Airlines often runs specials. I just checked and if you go in the middle of May (that's just the dates I put in), you can stay for a week and only pay for 4 nights. If you stay at one of the All-Star Resorts it would be just under $1,300 which (if I'm reading it right) includes airfare, the hotel, and tickets. Even the nicer resorts at the park were listed for WAY less than $4000. Only problem with Southwest is they only book tickets about 6 months in advance. Staying offsite is another option and hotels in Kissimmee are nice but to stay at the park for $1300...Now I want to go! Have a great time!!

Around Sept. Walt Disney offers meal deal plans for free as part of the package. That is worth taking advantage. Unfortunately Disney is expensive! You could stay off of the resort but its worth staying because of the free transportation and it saves a lot of time. You don't get to go everyday so you want all the time you can get. When you say end of year are referring to the fall or December? Prices will be higher in Dec. If you go in August- Nov. before THanksgiving a lot cheaper. The best time to go is after the week of labor day. THe crowds are less and we had minimal wait which is important with little ones. I would recommend looking into the value resorts. I prefer the newest one pop century because there is only one bus stop at the motel and it doesn't stop at any other hotels which saves a lot of time. The other value motels are right next one another and the buses stop at all stops it takes forever to catch a bus and to get off. I recommend the park hopper pass as well. If you go to a park that is really busy then you can jump to another one or finish a park in half the day and go to another for a character dinning and a firework show. Plan in advance! If you want character dinning or dinner at sit down restaurants you must have reservations! You can call the dinning hot line and as soon as you book you have 180 days before your arrival to book. Don't quote on the 180 being exact number but it is something to that nature. People book as soon as they possibly can. The most popular is at Cinderella's castle. I know you have a boy but its still pretty cool to do if you can. If you have any questions about anything Disney email me. I might be able to help. My family loves Disney! Good luck!

A.,
I would first and foremost read - "The Unofficial Guide to WDW". It is a huge book, but read from cover to cover. Buy one at the bookstore for 2009 to get the most up to date info.

After reading the book, you will have an idea of where you can safe money. We took our son last year, he had just turned five. We stayed for one week on Disney property and did everything we could do and did not spend $4000.

Go to the discussion boards recommended and see about discounts on tickets, etc.

The more research you do, the better your time will be and the more accurate expences you will have.

Have a great time,
L.

I did a lot of searching for our vacation we plan to take in May to Disney World. Southwest Airlines has some great packages. I will be saving over $1400 by using them and not going through Disney. Best wishes!

When at the end of the year are you wanting to go? If it's during the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays (i.e. when kids are out of school) expect to pay an extremely high rate. The best time to go during this time of the year would be the 3 weeks in between Turkey Day and Christmas. You'll still get the holiday cheer at the park, but it won't be nearly as crowded and the rates will be reasonable.

You could always stay off property. But, with a 4yo I would suggest staying on. That way, it will be more convenient for you to return to the room in the middle of the day for a nap and resting. Then you can return easily later in the day.

Try the value resorts, such as Pop Century or one of the All-Star resorts. They offer the best rate, often $99 per night or less during the off season. Pay the few extra bucks and get the park hopper pass. That way you can visit more than one park a day if you want to go back to a park and visit more of it.

Also, I know it may seem like a lot of extra expense initially, but getting a package with a food plan can actually save you some bucks. Typically a burger, fries, and a drink is going to run you $10 per person per meal. If you are ok eating this every meal, then you're ok. But, if you would like to dine is some of the table service restaurants, you are better off with the meal plan. The table service restaurants run about $20pp for just the entre. That doesn't include drink, appetizer, dessert, if you want one.

We went in 2001 without meal plan, and grew very weary of eating same thing day in, day out trying to save money. We went again in 2007 for our honeymoon (actually familymoon since extended family went too) and got the meal plan. It was so much better. We got to eat in the table service restaurants w/o guilt of spending too much money because it was already paid for.

I've never been to any Disney park but I would greatly suggest you visit www.themeparkinsider.com They have SO many nice people that are so incredibly knowledgable too! that will bend over backwards to help anyone have a great time at Disney or any other park, they really know what they're talking about because they've been just about everywhere & are also super friendly & they don't EVER make fun of someone for asking a question that may've been asked before. I visit the website ALL the time! They can also help you find a good but less expensive hotel if you need it. They have a discussion board that DOES have 'threads' devoted to "how to do Disney" even on a budget & even how to do it all in one day! Sorry I couldn't be more helpful on that but definitly visit this website, you will find out ALL KINDS of info there! If not, just ask any of the members directly that seem to know a lot (like the board moderator) or start your own thread about it. No one will think anything of it, just ask! Also, where do you live? Can you drive there instead? If you can at all drive there, it may be cheaper than flying & renting a car or you can try www.priceline.com where you can name your own price but be sure to keep in mind, w/that option, you have no control over your hotel or flight times/airline, they do sometimes have cheaper airfare w/o the name your own price option anyway or you can try www.hotwire.com they usually have cheaper airfair & accomodations. There are several websites that offer discounted airfare & hotel or try the airline & hotel websites themselves--they can be even cheaper sometimes w/specials. One thing I've noticed though when I ck pricing, I sometimes find it cheaper to use more than one website to make my reservations. Like using www.orbitz.com to plan my fight & www.hotels.com for the hotel. Sometimes 'package' deals cost more than they appear to when you add it all up. I also do a "mock" reservation in that I search different websites for my pricing & either write that info down for comparison or keep the windows open on the computer, then go through the motions like I'm purchasing a ticket to see what the total cost will be & then add that to the hotel & rental car amounts & voila, I know how much I'll need for my travel. Plus I also add in what it may cost to eat (i.e. eating on the dollar menu is what I do...$2-$3 for a meal at Wendy's is a lot cheaper than a restaurant or eating at the park for example). I usually eat before I goto the park & try to sneak cracker packets in or something small & light to snack on during the day to tide me over til I can eat after leaving the park. I don't know if Disney allows food to be brought in, that's something you can ask on the themeparkinsider.com website I suggested. Also, if you can, try to plan your trip on "off-days" like during the week when less people might visit the park & when most people don't usually fly (if you're flying, that is) like on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday or even during "school days" when kids are in school, like during the springtime or fall, it can be less crowded at some parks during those times. Also, sometimes during the "off season" prices are cheaper for air & hotel. Like during March, April, June, Sept., Oct. or November may be thought of as not during the "tourist season" may get you cheaper pricing too. Sometimes you just hafta go on days you hadn't planned on to save a bit. If do a lot of research, you should be able to plan your trip closer to what you can afford. It may also be considerably cheaper to stay at another hotel in the area rather than the resort if you're on a budget. I don't know if you were planning to stay at the resort but you were but it just cuts big into your budget, perhaps staying one night at the resort would be in your budget then staying the rest of the time in a different hotel nearby. Check & see if they offer discounts for certain days of the week & stay at the resort on one of those days instead. Sometimes tourist spots charge more on the weekends. When I travel, I also check out the area online to see what hotels are near the attraction I'm visiting. www.hotels.com usually has area maps w/the hotels so you can see what's close to the park or has an option on some hotel or travel websites to type in a local attraction you want to goto or stay near. Also always check out reviews of the hotels, www.tripadvisor.com is great for that plus most hotel websites or travel websites have that option if someone has left a review for a certain hotel, you can probably type in just "Orlando, FL hotel reviews" for that area. Looks CAN be deceiving in that one may look great in the photos but can be a real dump when you get there or may be in a bad area. That has really helped me on my travels! Sometimes you may hafta stay like maybe 15 minutes away to get a less expensive hotel but it's worth it in the long run just to have a short drive to save a bit if your on a budget like I usually am. I hope these suggestions help & best of luck on the trip & have a great time!

The commercial others mentioned that is running now also said you would get $200 spending money.

I've been going to the World for the last 25 years. I always buy Birbaum's official guide. It has some great tips. Right now Disney is offering buy 3 nights get 4 free. I haven't really looked into it as we own a vacation time share. We usally stay one night on the Park just because. We have stayed in almost all the Diseny resorts though. All are good. The more you pay the better the hotel. Ex. Animal, Contempary, in the bathroom you have a real glass to drink from. The meduim hotels (Cornado, Beach) has styrafoam, The All Stars, Pop Century they are plastic. We usually stay in the lower price. The All Stars Resorts are the "Motel 6" of Disney. Depends on when you go, rooms are between $80 to 100 a night. They have the BEST food courts though. The pools are nice too. All are theme, which is fun. (Stay in Movies, you son will like swimming in the piano shaped pool.) You could also get rooms off the park, but then you would have to drive or rent a car. On the park they have the bus system, boats, momorail to get you everywhere in the World,which are good. (Takes time, but no driving) this way you don't have to deal with car traffic. Also if you stay off the park, havng a car, you do have to pay for parking.I think it was $8. last yr. Keep that in mind.
When you are on the park, water is free. Ask for cups of ice, then add water to help the thirst. When you eat at the fast service, get 1 large drink with no ice, & 3cups of ice. split meals. It is always easier to go back & get more food than to throw $(food) away.you & your husband could get your own meal, one with fries & one with the fruit. Thats desert or no fries at all. That will save you abt $3.
I do suggetst getting the hopper passes. They are worth it. That way if one park is full, you can hop to another. Utalize the fast pass if a ride has one. Fast pass it (Jungle Cruise) & go see the Tikki Room, & Pirates. Then come back to the Cruise. 3 rides in the time it might take for 1 line at the Jungle. Once my daughter & I fast passed Jungle, went & ate, then came back. The line was 40 minutes long. We waited 5. Get a fast pass at Pooh's or Peter Pan, the lines are ALWAYS long. At the studios, get there before it opens, when the park does open go straight to Toy Story Mania. Ride it, then get a fast pass. You'll love it & your son will want to ride it again, The line will be 1 hr long at least when you get off. (We'ver seen it the line for 2 hrs).
I know its a lot. If you want more info let me know, but I'm sure you have had a lot of others with info. Again, every hotel is a good one on the park. We have AWLAYS had good expeinces. Going at the end of the year (Christmas) is a very busy time, it will be crowded. Do the Christmas party. Just know the lines will be long, drink water & go with a good attitude. Relax & laugh. We go every year in June. Hot, & Crowded. Abt me, I've been married for 30 yrs,I'm 49, 5 kids, 26,25,24,16,15. 2 boys, 3 girls. We go the same every yr, so the adult kids can get off work now. The 25 yr old was in the college program in the fall of '06 & workd at the Jungle Cruise as a skipper. She now goes back every 5 months to maintain her work status. Our soninlaw was a "Pirate" (of the Carabean). He too worked there. Our 24yr old son is in the Navy, but is getting out in Novermber to go to work where you may ask? Yes Disney World. I too work for the store in Houston for 7 yrs before moving. We are going to Disneyland Feb 13-16 to meet the 24 yr old on leave. This is the 1st yr I have annual passes to the World & Land. As you can see we LOVE Diseny. Sorry this is so long, but hope it helps. B.

A., go through a travel agency. Had a guy here at work to this past summer. Him, wife and 3 kids and only cost them like $2900. Stayed at hotel right in Disneyworld etc. Travel agencies are not costs to you.

"Passporter's Walt Disney World 2009" is a must read!

The book can be purchased at www.passporter.com or may be found at your local bookstore. You will find the Passporter website an excellent tool. I also recommend purchasing their e-book on tips for Walt Disney World.

Wow! That is way too much. This year they are advertising that you get in free on a birthday or special occasion (just one person). So think about that. Another thing is to purchase the park hopper, it is cheaper. and i would say to stay in a motel, most of them provide free transportation to and from the park.
Good luck!

Wow, I know you're excited about going to Disney World. It's such a wonderful place. I can't wait to take my daughter when she's older.
The last time we went, we bought our tickets to the park from the Disney Store in the mall. They sold a hopper pass which allowed us into three parks.
Talk to different travel agents and try to find the best deal. Sometimes, a package may not be the cheapest way to go. Travel Agents can get some great deals!!! (I can refer you to one in the Katy area if needed.)
I know that some travel agencies allow you to put your vacation on lawaway so you can make payments until your trip. You're still able to get all your money back if you cancel within the correct amount of time before the trip.
Good luck with your vacation. I hope you all make it there safe and sound and have a really great time!

Try Travelocity.com That's where I bought our Disney package and we did not stay at the DisneyWorld Resort, which affects the total cost of trip. Most nearby hotels offer free shuttles back and forth.

We went to Disney last summer with 3 adults and 6 kids! I purchased the online book--"The Unofficial Guide to Disney" online(the title is something like that!). I found it by Googling!! This book gives you tips from buying tickets online at a discount, what kind of tickets to buy, to what to take on your trip, to when to attend each park. We have a time share in Mexico, so we exchanged our week for one at Disney. We also took our lunches in a cooler and put them in the lockers that you pay a small fee for at each park. The book gives you the dimensions of the cooler that will fit in the lockers at the park. I hope the book helps you as much as it helped our large group!!

Hi A.,
I love Disney and hope your family has an awesome trip. Here are some sites that will help give you money save tips for Disney and ideas for what to do. I personally disagree on the park hopper passes saving you money. It cost extra for the privilege of switching parks and each park has so much to do that you can easily spend all day at one, so its just waste time and money to switch parks. I definitely agree with staying at a Disney property though, you can get nights at the Disney value resort for the same as regular hotels and Disney offers FREE & FREQUENT transportation between their properties. Most hotels in the area say they offer free transportation to Disney but the frequency of the buses is horrible. Good luck planning, it will be an awesome trip.

http://www.allearsnet.com/
http://wdwinfo.com/

Go the week of Thanksgiving.

my father rented an rv and drove us ( there was 14 of us) to disney the rv was @3000(which was a deal) and it took us @ 16 hours to get there(we drove nonstop, but there were plenty of us to take turns) My father looked into hotels that offered good deals ( he got a great deal on the hotel just by going and listening to one of those timeshare seminars and the rest of the week was ours) just keep looking around and you will find great deals. we also went to universal studios,(i highly recommend it), epcot(it was nice)and disney(i recommend two days to take your time, there is just sooooo much to see.)

Try Funjet.com or Southwestair vacations or even Continental Vacations. Talk to a travel agent as you do your own research. They can search a lot of different options, they are free. The commission either goes to them or Disney agents, but it is always built into the price. I used to be a travel agent.

Good luck!

We went to Disney World several year ago when my kids were 4 and 10 and we had a great time. It is an expensive trip, but there are ways to cut back on the expenses. We did use the Disney website to book our trip and there was an option that allowed you to put down a deposit and then pay the balance out in installments, however, I do remember that you had to make the reservation way in advance. A friend of ours went last August and raved about the new dining plan, so that is worth looking into because it sounded well worth it. Our family stayed at one of the resort hotels--the All Star hotels are fun and less expensive than some of the others. We stayed for 4 days and were exhausted by the time we got home, so I highly recommend planning in a day of rest in your stay so that you can recharge! There are lots of great travel guides on Disney World that give great suggestions--you should definitely check those out also.

Have fun! Good luck!
D.
http://www.themomteam.com/rdeniser

Try Expedia.com. I have found most of my trips are cheaper on there.
Disneyworld is really fun, so enjoy!!

In 2000, my dad took me and my family to Disneyworld.. Since he paid for it, I don't have all of the details, but I do remember he bought us a "hopper" pass... Also, we stayed at a hotel that had a mini-kitchen that was located just outside of Disneyworld... We drove there, so we had a car--This was our schedule.. Get up early, have the free continental breakfast provided by our Hotel.. Go to Disneyworld when they first open, and then stay until lunch (My dad researched and said it's most crowded from noon to 4pm).. go back to Hotel, and fix lunch (we had sandwiches) Then we took a nap until about 4pm (my twins were 2 years old, so this was perfect for us).. Then, go back to Disneyworld from about 4pm -- eat Dinner at Disneyworld and stay until 9 or 10pm or whatever.. And we would eat dinner at Disneyworld once/day, and that saved us tons of $$..

We went to Disney a few years back. My son was I believe 4 also at the time. We looked for cheap ways to go as well. We decided to drive which actually didn't take as long as we thought and my son did really well. We had several movies he could watch and would stop to eat and get out to walk around or let him play for a little bit. Once we were there we had decided to rent a house for a week and ended up only being 10 minutes from the Disney parks. We actually had a full kitchen we could cook some of our meals in and a closed in private swimming pool. In the morning there were large beautiful birds that would roam that neighborhood and we got some really good shots of them as well. We would usually eat there for breakfast, take a lunch and then go to a dinner and show at night. The house was in Eagle Point Subdivision in Kisamee, Fl (7 miles from Disney) and it was $65 a night. This was for a 4 bedroom house. There were smaller ones but we had several people go. If you have friends who want to go then you can split cost as well. My sister and I went years back and we stayed in a Motel 6 or something and we were close enough to disney that we would jump on a highway and take the next exit which if we went to the right was the entrance to one of the parks and to the left took us to other parks. Both times we bought tickets ahead of time and I think we bought an extra day than we needed becasue it was cheaper. There are places there that you can sell your last day to and get some of the money back. We ended up keeping our bc we were going to go again but I think there are now expiration dates on them so you have to check that. Sorry one more thing. My mother said she went to either a yahoo or google search and typed in vacation home rentals in Orlando and several sites came up.
Good Luck and have fun

I went to disney when I was 17. We stayed in near by hotels for three days. We took a shuttle to and from. As much as we could we didnt eat at the actuall park. Its about double the cost. We did one of the three parks each day. I recomend staying outside the disney land and getting a hotel.

A.,
It is good that you are starting now. Get as much planned as you can. There are a couple of things I can ask you, you can think about and answer. That should guide your decisions:
1. Is this your first trip ever to WDW for all of you?
2. How long to you want to stay?
3. Are you adverse to driving?
4. Have you read any books about WDW w/ Kids?
5. Do you guys travel often?
6. Do you want to be immersed in the Disney Magic during your trip?
7. Do you have a boy or a girl?

Some suggestions I have without knowing the answers to your questions:
Get a good book or two about WDW with Kids. I recommend going to the bookstore (the library's copies tend to be a bit outdated), sit on the floor and peruse 3 or 4 different books on the subject and pick one or two. Find those that feature pre-school age adventures.

Think about your budget and what you want out of that money. How "easy" do you want the trip to be while you are there?

After reading the book(s), what parks do you think you will visit the most often? Do you think you will head-out early, go back to the resort for a nap and then head back out later in the day?

Do you think that after this trip you will EVER go back again? I ask this because of ticket options I have found to be much more affordable.

Lastly, a few links to some GREAT websites:
http://www.wdwinfo.com - Discussion Boards, planning guides
http://mousesavers.com - great info, discounts and monthly updates
http://mouseplanet.com
http://www.wdwluxuryguide.com/

Ok, so why do I say all these things? My family loves WDW. My husband and I started going regularly before our son was born and his first trip was age 2. As of now, I think he's been about 7 times, he is six now. After we went 3 times and booked through Central Reservations, we finally decided to bite the bullet and become Disney Vacation Club members, so yes we are now Disney timeshare owners. It has been great.

I think that is enough for now! M.

I've been and it is quite expensive. Kind of a once in a lifetime trip and if that is the case like it was for me, my suggestion is that you might want to plan and perhaps wait until your baby is a little older because the experience will probably be more enjoyable and entertaining and not so overwhelming. It can be pretty taxing for littles.

Its a nice treat to go through Disney's planning, but I think next time I'll just get a hotel and a rent car on my own. The buses were nice, but very limiting. Go to the travel section at a good bookstore like B&N or Borders. There are all kinds of great tips and ideas. I do have one suggestion for a dinner out and that is at Wilderness Lodge Resort and its called Whispering Canyon. It was so much fun to go there for dinner - better than any ride we went on. Disney offers food and snack plans. Those were great for us as they give a lot of food and it does save money in the long run. The book I got was The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008. I think we spent about 4,000 for hotel (resort with a great pool), air fair, food drinks and transportation. The book will show you all the hotels in the area. Unfortunately you need to book something soon as all those Disney people - the ones who go all the time, snap up all the good deals. I hope you get some good helpful tips here! Also, I don't know if this is an issue, but last year they hosted "gay days" right when school was out, so we opted to wait another week.

whatever you do don't buy any of those discount tickets they sell in parking lots, on the side of the road etc. Disney doesn't discount unless you live in Florida and they won't honor them

This is my first time on this webiste so I hope I am doing this right as far as responding and that it gets to you. First of all research, research, research. We went 2 year ago this coming summer and I researched for about 6months prior reading everything I could and it paided off. I have 4 main tips I tell everyone that helped our planning. 1. Buy the book The Unoffical Guide to Walt Dinsey World. If you are going to the one in California there is one for that as well. You can find this in the travel section at Barnes & Noble. They reprint this book every year with updated information mine was 2007 so yours will be 2009. Then when you get the book sign up for their website. It is a yearly subscription but is worth the small amount, 2 years ago it was $9 for the year. You want both because even though they are the same company the website updates the book as the year goes on even more for you. 2. Stay on site no matter what in the end it is cheaper. No matter what it is best over all. 3. I can't remember the acutal name but the book will help you, go with the cheapest level of hotels. we paid like $90 a night and it was perfect our kids were 4 and 7 at the time. We realized we were just going to be sleeping there we didn't need anything fancy. PLus the cheaper ones looked more fun for little kids and it was. 4. People may think you are crazy but use the schedules in the book to plan your day and just make it fit for your family. We rode 5 rides in 1 hour at Magic Kingdom and I owe it all to the book. My husband thought I was crazy but he brags to people about how smooth our days were and how we didn't waste time deciding on what to do next because it was planned out. Of course let the family help you. The book gives you detailed information on rides and shows so we sat down together and decided what we wanted to see and what we could skip(anything scary). My nose was in that book and on the disney website every day. It can consume you but doing the research is worth it in the end. Good luck

If you can do it for much under that WITH airfare, more power to you. With entry into the park more than $60 per adult alone, then you add in the hotel stay, the food, and the airfare, you are looking at a very expensive family vacation.

I myself am trying to take my family to disneyland (2 adults and 3 kids)this year...Even with driving versus flying it is looking like it will cost us close to $3000. for a 3 day family vacation...

Good Luck...

Hi A.!
Disney World is a wonderful place to go but 4000 is too much. You should be able to get it much cheaper. We have been there several times even with all 7 members of our family and then just my husband and myself have gone. I love Disney World. I always use the Unofficial Guide to Disney World. Staying at a Disney hotel is best. You can always get cheap flights on Southwest. I always book through AAA travel. Just keep researching you will find it cheaper.

I just saw a commercial for pay 4 nights, get 3 free. Search for Disney chat boards and you will find lots of info. There are also many many books you can read.