Family Vacation - Starting to Plan

[pmsmith2032]

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

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

sites to research

After the official Walt Disney site, this one is as good as it gets, followed by Allears

 

[popcenturylover]

This site of course & Mousesavers.

 

[pmsmith2032]

Thanks! So Allears is a research site and Mousesavers is the best place to get deals/discounts? 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.

 

[SDisney90]

Thanks! So Allears is a research site and Mousesavers is the best place to get deals/discounts? 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.

It's a lot more expensive to stay on site than off site for sure. You can rent a full resort (kitchen living room etc) for prices comparable to a moderate resort stay or less. Personally, I've never done this and probably never will though a lot of my friends do. Also, staying on resort has a few perks: stay in a Disney resort you're essentially surrounded by "Disney Magic". EMH available during the AM and PM hours for certain parks on select days. etc.

The best thing to do IMO is to go on a website like expedia, hotwire etc. and look up how much a resort/condo whatever you are looking for is for the time you are staying. Then, make a comparison with www.disneyworld.com just price out a vacation (with DDP, without DDP, park tickets, hopper option whatever you believe suits your family) and go from there and weigh out the differences.

Ultimately, staying on Disney property will probably be more expensive just need to do some research and pros/cons situations.

 

[pmsmith2032]

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

 

[SDisney90]

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

That seems a little high...I understand its 4 people but, my girlfriend and I stayed at All Star Sports for 9 days, with dining plans and 6 day tickets (no park hopper) for less than 2,000..what days are you looking at? Have you tried booking an entire package rather than just tickets...that might make a difference in the price I'd hope.

 

[pmsmith2032]

That's just the price of the tickets on Disney's site (could be used at any time). One of my kids is over 10 so gets charged as an adult. So three adults and one child.

 

[SDisney90]

That's just the price of the tickets on Disney's site (could be used at any time). One of my kids is over 10 so gets charged as an adult. So three adults and one child.

Yikes, guess I'm not used to seeing such high prices for tickets because I always book an entire package. As I said 2 adults at a resort with dining plan, tickets was less than 2,000 (I believe 1645 or a bit less during the off-season in January) I would really try doing a package deal, there might be some deals going on the days you plan to go as well.

 

[pmsmith2032]

Is Mousesavers the best place to look for deals?

 

[SDisney90]

Is Mousesavers the best place to look for deals?

Mouse savers, this website, the official Disney website...just have to look for the month youre going in. Sometimes the deals aren't out yet. But, if a package is booked and a deal comes out they will reimburse the difference if it has all been paid beforehand.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Staying offsite is your best option is money is concerned... You cant get discounted tickets from UndercoverTourist.com

Not much of a discount but it can help.

 

[MickeyMomV]

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

Welcome to theme parks. Disney starts deep ticket discounts at the 4 and 5 day mark because at that point you have done all of the parks so the cheaper price gets you going again. Universal does the same thing after 2 days, for same reason, after 2 days you have done everything.

 

[LAKid53]

Thanks! So Allears is a research site and Mousesavers is the best place to get deals/discounts? 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.

Technically, you don't get discounts from Mousesavers. Mousesavers gives you information about current and upcoming discounts on resort rooms, dining plans, and park tickets. Also provides reviews of the various resorts in Walt Disney World. It is an excellent source of information for the first time visitor or someone who hasn't visited in a long time. Allears is a channel on YouTube and they have great informative videos on the parks and my favorite, videos of the rooms at the resorts. Never stayed in a 1 bedroom villa at Saratoga Springs? Allears will have a video tour of the room. Touring Plans also has reviews of rooms, restaurants and the all important crowd calendar to determine if the day you want to visit the Magic Kingdom will be wall to wall people.

Yes, staying on property is more expensive than staying outside. But you are, as others said, completely immersed in the Disney experience, get to take advantage of extra magic hours and utilize Disney transportation instead of having to drive to a park and pay. Plus, if your visit coincides with a particularly busy time at WDW and could result in a park implementing staggered closing to new guests, I believe resort guests would be some of the last to be turned away when a park reaches capacity.

If you don't want to stay on property, I would check out the Downtown Disney hotels. They have shuttles to the parks and the Hilton also participates in extra magic hours. Mousesavers has loads of information on these hotels and others and if you book through their website's link to the hotel, you are eligible for a discount which I think is around 10%. I believe you can get a nice suite for less than you would pay at some of the moderates. Plus many of the hotels may have a continental breakfast included.

 

[LAKid53]

That's just the price of the tickets on Disney's site (could be used at any time). One of my kids is over 10 so gets charged as an adult. So three adults and one child.

Are you a member of AAA? I believe you can purchase your tickets through them and the prices are discounted. Yes, Disney isn't cheap. I wouldn't purchase tickets with no expiration unless you anticipate not going to the parks one day and returning to WDW sometime in the near future.

 

[popcenturylover]

Thanks! So Allears is a research site and Mousesavers is the best place to get deals/discounts? 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.

Mousesavers usually has discounts for off-site hotels. They also give you a lot of tips for saving & such. Undercover Tourist gives a slight discount on tickets. We have found that staying on-site has been cheaper or equal to staying off-site. Sure the rooms off-site are bigger but, you add in resort fees, parking fees, etc. & we're better off at a value where we only go to lay our head down for the night anyway.

 

[LAKid53]

As a long time Florida resident, I would recommend the Panhandle beaches like Destin, Panama City. The beaches in South Florida, either East or West Coast, don't have the white powdered sand and blue water we have in the Panhandle. My personal favorite is St. George Island. Just know that June will be in high season and expensive at most of the beach resorts along the Florida coast.

 

[pmsmith2032]

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!

 

[Weather_Lady]

Going for 3 days or less on parkhopper tickets is the most expensive way (in terms of cost per ticket, per day) you can possibly structure your Disney trip.

I'd really suggest dropping the parkhopper option (with that short a visit, why waste time traveling between parks, and pay more for the privilege of doing so? ), and possibly extending the number of days you plan to visit Disney (as the per-day ticket cost drops off dramatically every time you add a day, giving you more park time for a diminishing amount of money per day).

For example, according to the WDW website, as of today you can purchase 6-day MYW tickets for 3 adults and 1 child for a few pennies less than the cost of 3 days of parkhoppers! $1,300 is an outrageous price for 3 days -- not so much for 6 days, by which point the cost-per-day isn't much higher than a visit to our local Six Flags. As other suggested, you can save a little more on top of that with a AAA discount or through an authorized ticket reseller, such as Undercover Tourist.

 

[pmsmith2032]

Thanks! What are the benefits of the parkhopper? Can we still visit different parks with out it? For example, spend one day at Disney, one at Epcot and one at Universal?