First Solo Trip Planning

relots

relots

Member
I've been going to WDW every year for nearly 10+ years now and every time it has been with my mom, stepsister, and other people we may know that happen to be there when we go. Next year I'm turning 21 in May and I will also be graduating from college with my associates degree in Network Administration. I plan to further my education by getting my bachelors in Business Administration with a focus in Hospitality but I want to do something now to celebrate being 21 and getting this far. Plus I have a pretty good paying job right now that will allow me to pay off most of my college debt and allow me to have some fun money on the side.

So I've decided I want to go celebrate in WDW and have already started putting money back. Since I'm still a college student and still live at home I brought the idea up to my parents and they are both cool with it and if I can have half of it saved by December they will take care of getting the reservations made and then I'll pay them the rest before the trip. Now here's where the fun begins...

I plan to make this a trip that not only celebrates my accomplishments and that I'm 21 but I want to also celebrate with my girlfriend that I've been with for 2 1/2 years now and what will be 3 years at the time of the trip. FYI: I do not plan to make this trip like a non stop drinking party type of trip since I am not really looking forward to that aspect of being 21, I want to make it about being with my girlfriend and celebrating our accomplishment as well as mine. She has never been to WDW or Florida for that matter and is tired of me talking about it all the time and to my friends who have been there before...so I figured why not take her to the Most Magical Place on Earth and show her what it's all about.

I've only ever stayed at Coronado Springs several times and have passed through Saratoga Springs and the Polynesian but didn't spend the night or get a real experience of it. Also I've stayed at the Hilton across from DTD and enjoyed the stay there but didn't give off the "Disney Experience". For this trip I want to stay somewhere nice but not break the bank so I've already ruled out the Polynesian. I want to stay for a week, tentatively June 8 to June 14 right now due to my work schedule.

Currently we've been looking at the AK Villas Jambo House with a view of the Savannah since we both like animals and I like the overall feel I'm getting from it just by viewing it online. We live in southern PA with about 4 hours driving distance to the beach, so staying at Saratoga Springs or any of the other northern/beach themed resort is not really what we're interested in. We want something different to get a new experience that we wouldn't here at home so that's why we're favoring the Jambo House.

Since my girlfriend hasn't been to any of the parks before I plan to get 4 day park hopper passes so we can spend a day in each park and go to and from each park as we wish. And, yes I know, we'll be there for 5 days and I want to get the 4 day passes. I plan for one day to either relax, go to DTD, or maybe go explore part of Florida one day due to my plans to rent a car for this specific reason.

I've priced the trip and without airfare it comes to be about $4,500 for the resort, passes, and rental car. I plan for the airfare to put it at about $5,000 and then another $1,000 for food and other expenses.

I know what to do once I get there just right now my main concern is planning on how to get there..So my main question is do I have any flaws with my plans so far? Am I overlooking something? Any additional tips you can give me on planning this trip?

Anything you can give me would be greatly appreciated! :)

-- "You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." -Walt Disney --
 
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SteveW

SteveW

Active Member
Congrats on your education achievements and plans. I'm assuming you're thinking about renting a car for your whole stay, but really only using it 1 day? If so, what about using DME to and from the airport and renting a car from the Disney car center for the day of offsite running around. You could save money that way. Another thing to think about is what possible specials you could get on your room or food. Planning that far out, discounts haven't been published yet, but as you get closer to the date there will likely be something.
 
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JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
Welcome and Congratulations on approaching graduation and all the best for your plans on furthering your education. Hope it all works out for you.
As far as turning 21 and not doing the drinking bash... good for you. Nothing says turning 21 has to be a drink fest.
Seeing that your GF has never been to WDW before, the park hoppers feature might be an added expense you could do without. I'd be more likely to take more time in each park and give her a good experience in one park each day. It will give you more savings on the trip cost too. DTD is a good option for the non park day, or you could go wander along the Boardwalk as well, do mini golf too.
Share your past experiences with GF as well as visit a variety of Disney sites and get a feel of what might interest her and plan your trip, meals events etc. so its enjoyable for both of you. If you have your heart set on AK thats OK but on a budget you can find a resort that could be a better savings.
Save, save, save, budget, budget,budget so you can add in something special you want to do together to celebrate graduation.
 
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Disney Shib

Disney Shib

Well-Known Member
Congratulations! I did the same thing last year when I graduated with my Master's and when I was 21. I applaud you for not wanting to ruin what could be a wonderful trip by being hungover. Take it from someone who knows! My boyfriend and I went together last year for my graduation. You guys should take an evening to watch Wishes from the Polynesian and GF. It's a great change from the parks and can be very romantic. I'm sure she would love it. Also, I recommend making any dining reservations as soon as possible unless you plan on staying in a villa with a small kitchenette. The QS food can get tiring and sometimes having a good reservation or homecooked meal to look forward to can really make the vacation. Have a blast!
 
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relots

relots

Member
Original Poster
Thanks for all the input guys! My GF and I are really looking forward to this trip and getting things figured out now as far as what we want to do and so on.

Right now I plan to have the car for that one day to go exploring Florida a little but also as a way to possibly leave and go somewhere else for dinner one evening or maybe one afternoon go some place, just so the option is there.

As far as the park hopper I figured the first 3 days we'll probably knock out most of the parks and use the 4th day to go visit the ones we want to go back to again. Plus I always enjoy a good monorail ride from the MK to Epcot a few times on my trips.

My next major question is when does Disney typically put out their "deals" on staying at the resorts/park tickets? But most importantly will they benefit me since I want to stay at one of the "upper end" resorts since we have decided we want to stay in the Jambo House at AKL.

My last question for now is when is the "best" time to make reservations if we plan to stay from June 8 - June 14?

Thank you all again for your help! It is greatly appreciated any my GF couldn't be happier seeing where she is finally getting the chance to go to WDW!

-- "You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." -Walt Disney --
 
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Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
First, as Mukta said, if you want a DVC villa at Jambo House, try to rent DVC points from someplace like David's DVC Rentals, instead of paying out of pocket. If you're worried about the fact that it can't be canceled, buy vacation insurance to cover it. (For my family, renting DVC points and buying insurance saved us nearly 40% off the cost of our DVC villa rental.)

Since you are planning on a studio, you'll have access to a kitchenette. I'd plan to bring your breakfast foods (e.g., Pop Tarts, cereal -- coffee is provided and milk can be purchased at the resort shop) and snacks, and even possibly some lunch items. If you have one counter service meal and one table service meal per day (assuming you don't order lots of expensive drinks, desserts, etc.), you can still stay within your $100-or-less-per-person-per-day food budget.
 
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