dreaming stage

[eagles]

ok so far i am in the dreaming stage of a 2008 trip to the world.

but i talked hubby into going to dinner tonite, so i think i will bring up the subject to gage his reaction.

he probably doesn't have a problem with the place but he has a problem with the expense associated with it.

so i have been trying to figure out a cheap way of going. i found it!
the campgrounds! $311 for a 6 nite stay, cheaper than shades of green at $654. so the difference could go towards our princess character meal as well as other meals.

i will not be getting the dinning plan, and i will only get the base ticket with park hopper.

now my other issue to work around is, transportation to and from disney. i enjoy the train, but how on earth would i get camping gear down there. i really do not want to drive. the tain cost would be $596 including a room both ways, so, so far, the total cost is reasonable.

i need to check the autotrain prices.

 

[Nemo14]

Another possibility is to stay off-site. You can save a lot of money that way!

 

[mouselvrmom]

Now, does the campgrounds mean that you will have to bring your own tent or that you will be staying in one of the cabins?

I think it sounds like fun! Check those train prices and I'll be wishing you good luck for your dinner! :wave:

 

[Jessie&Buzz]

I'm assuming you are military since you mentioned Shades. You can get tickets there even if you aren't staying there. You just need your military id and resort id cards to get them. It's on their website. They have a ticket that has the hopper + waterparks and DTD stuff. I don't know exactly how much it would save you over all but it's worth looking into.

Oh and I'm in the dreaming stage with you. My dh said not until we have a certain amount of $$ saved. He's looking at 2 to 3 years.

 

[mouselvrmom]

Another possibility is to stay off-site. You can save a lot of money that way!

I guess I didn't even think of that, nemo! You're so sensible!

We stayed at the holiday inn sunspree in 2005. They have kid suites there that the kids loved. We were a little less than thrilled with them. At least they were clean. They have a shuttle and it was very cheap. My hubby said that it was so cheap we had to go! :lol:

I have also stayed at the Caribe Royale in 2000. That one is very nice and has a pool that my oldest still talks about as one of her favorites, but it is probably more spendy than the holiday inn. I would imagine that it would still be cheaper than disney rates, but I don't think it would be cheaper than the campground.

 

[eagles]

thanks for the idea of an off site stay. and i mean no offense with this, but, staying onsite at disney is the ony way for me. i really hope that did not sound rude.

i forgot about the ticket prices being a bit cheaper at shades than at other places. so that will save a few dollars, thanks!

well i checked into the auto train, and that is a "no way" the cost alone for the van is over $500 dollars and that is one way! the auto train would cost more the the disney vacation part. so i will continue to think about how i would get there. i suppose i could drive, but really i would hate that.

i'll have to figure out a way to pack lightly. (for disney? LOL)

 

[nankeldisney821]

I stayed off site one time and will NEVER do it again! You lose all that Disney Magic!! Did you look into any of the value resorts? I usually stay at Pop Century. I am leaving in 2 days to start driving down there and we are staying for 5 nights. I paid for myself, my daughter and her best friend (for my daughters 16th birthday) and the hotel, passes with park hopper and the dining plan cost me $1725. I don't think that is that bad. It actually works out to $575 per person for the whole trip.

I also took the auto train a few years ago. It was great but very expensive. Also, I had a Toyota Rav 4 at the time and they told me that I had to use an SUV spot because my car just missed fitting into a regular car spot by one inch! Anyway, they told me to make sure we arrived at the check in no later than 3:00. We got there at 3:03 (long story as to why we were late) anyway, they wouldn't let us on. Then the woman started to get mad at me and tell me we had to be there by 2:00 not 3:00. I showed her my paper work and she still said we were too late. We got stuck driving back home. It took a while but I did get refunded most of the money. Oh well...things happen...

Have a great time planning!! :wave:

 

[eagles]

the shades of green is cheaper than the values, not by too much, but cheaper, and since i am not getting the dinning plan, i don't loose much by staying at shades vs a value resort.

considering now that i am not taking the autotrain, because of cost. it looks like i will be pushing for the shades of green. which, if i can sell it to hubby, will be A OK with me.

 

[coltow]

I just exited the dream stage and am now in the planning stage. We had planned on staying at AKL, but it ended up being too much money for most people in my group so we have now decided to stay at Port Orleans French Quarter, which we've never stayed at before.

 

[mousefan1972]

I just exited the dream stage and am now in the planning stage. We had planned on staying at AKL, but it ended up being too much money for most people in my group so we have now decided to stay at Port Orleans French Quarter, which we've never stayed at before.

Hey, you booked! Awesome! I'm still mulling package vs. room only w/AAA.. Hopefully we'll be booked by the end of the week.

 

[coltow]

There are 17 people going in my group so we decided to do a package. I'm in the process of booking through Marie at Kingdom Konsultants. We did decide to go with DDP mainly so that we don't need to worry about who owes what when we eat together. We are hoping that WDW will release some sort of discount over the next year....370 days to go

 

[mousefan1972]

You're going in August, right? Maybe you'll luck out and get free DDP. We're hoping for a package discount, too. We were lucky enough to have one released for our trip this year and it saved us $600. 261 more days!!

 

[Jessie&Buzz]

the shades of green is cheaper than the values, not by too much, but cheaper, and since i am not getting the dinning plan, i don't loose much by staying at shades vs a value resort.

considering now that i am not taking the autotrain, because of cost. it looks like i will be pushing for the shades of green. which, if i can sell it to hubby, will be A OK with me.

Just remember that you can't use Magical Express at Shades. I read somewhere that Mears gives a military discount but you still have to pay for transfers if you fly. If you drive then it's no big deal.

 

[eagles]

it brings me with great sorrow to have to tell you this, but it did not go over well.

so i may have to wait for 2009. our house/property is only 3 yrs old and we need some much stuff. one major thing is a driveway. so i had to cave and admit it, we do need that.

so i will have to live the dream in 2008 thru all your travels.

and who knows, maybe i will win the lottery! LOL

 

[Jessie&Buzz]

it brings me with great sorrow to have to tell you this, but it did not go over well.

so i may have to wait for 2009. our house/property is only 3 yrs old and we need some much stuff. one major thing is a driveway. so i had to cave and admit it, we do need that.

so i will have to live the dream in 2008 thru all your travels.

and who knows, maybe i will win the lottery! LOL

I'm so sorry and I feel your pain. I have a feeling (well he said as much) but we probably won't be going till 2009 either. I'm still keeping hope though. Stranger things have happened!

 

[foldmama]

I just exited the dream stage and am now in the planning stage. We had planned on staying at AKL, but it ended up being too much money for most people in my group so we have now decided to stay at Port Orleans French Quarter, which we've never stayed at before.

You will absolutely love the French Quarter. I think it's a great resort choice for a large group. Plus, you have the benefit of being the first pick up on the bus and the first drop off which will help trememdously with the kids. Enjoy!

 

[coltow]

You will absolutely love the French Quarter. I think it's a great resort choice for a large group. Plus, you have the benefit of being the first pick up on the bus and the first drop off which will help trememdously with the kids. Enjoy!

This is sort of why we picked this one. I know alot about FQ/RS from the boards and we decided that the bus pick up was a plus. We also figure that even if the resort is full, it still won't have 1/2 as many people as if RS was full. We will be traveling with a 5yo, 2 4yos and a 17 month old so the fact that FQ was smaller than all the other moderates was a huge draw for us. The last factor was that my sister had stayed here for a couple of nights a few years ago and remember the pool being nice with a big slide.

I've stayed at CS before, although we LOVED the pool, the food court was much less desireable. I have a sister who's going in the spring too and she's going to be at CB for that trip so we didn't want to pick that one either, just for variety.

 

[2excitedkids]

we were supposed to be going back to wdw next month, but i couldn't seem to get up enough money to pay them back. well, i only work prn (as needed) and someone needed 2 weeks off of work and my mom works for the school and watched my kids pretty much for 2 weeks, so i would have had the money after all. i guess i shouldn't have canceled. but aug 18 we will heading down to orlando anyway to go to sea world (bought 2 year season passes, due to ez pay plan, got to love it), we are going there for a couple of days and then heading over to madeira beach (south of clearwater) for 5 days.

the only problem is, my 6 year old is pretty smart and we are trying to hide the fact that disney is right down the street, wish me luck. it was the kids decision also to not go to disney, dad promised to take them next year (nov. 2008), and they were ok with that since we had just went for their first time in feb. they haven't been to the beach in 4 years. can't wait to go, but it will be very hard on me to know disney is right down the road!!!

i understand having to cancel your trip due to household remodeling, we bought a 97 year old farmhouse and went to disney in feb. instead of getting the roof replaced, it can wait until tax time next year. one day my kids won't enjoy vacations with their mom and dad as much, and you only live life once and we splurged and went and didn't regret a minute of it (until it rains really hard :ROFLOL:

 

[eagles]

i understand having to cancel your trip due to household remodeling, we bought a 97 year old farmhouse and went to disney in feb. instead of getting the roof replaced, it can wait until tax time next year. one day my kids won't enjoy vacations with their mom and dad as much, and you only live life once and we splurged and went and didn't regret a minute of it (until it rains really hard :ROFLOL:

i know i could live without a driveway, i mean we have been already for 3 yrs. but..i never let the hubby get anything, its always me, me, me. so i just can't continue that way or i will be a divorced woman. LOL so he gets his driveway. and i will still get to go somewhere, it just won't be disney.

 

[Lucky]

it brings me with great sorrow to have to tell you this, but it did not go over well.

so i may have to wait for 2009. our house/property is only 3 yrs old and we need some much stuff. one major thing is a driveway. so i had to cave and admit it, we do need that.

so i will have to live the dream in 2008 thru all your travels.

and who knows, maybe i will win the lottery! LOL

A driveway? Hey, we don't have a driveway, and we're going on our 5th trip since 2003 to WDW next month. Even if I did win the lottery, I'd just be parking a more expensive car on the street.