How Do You Go and Plan for Disney?

[Monty]

When you decide it's time to go to Disney, what is your process?

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money?

I charge to my Amex card, pay it off with my Line of Credit, the LoC never gets to where it wouldn't easily be paid off if I absolutely needed to.

2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get? Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?

I have been trying to try all the resorts, except Coronado and Caribbean - they're just too big and the DVC resorts. I've stayed at all the Values and Deluxes, after my August visit I'll have stayed at everything I wanted to try. After that, I'm probably going to be sticking primarily to Deluxe, I enjoy them more.

3) Do you fly or drive?

Mostly fly, though I've driven down twice.

4) How long do you go?

Main trip is normally 8 nights, others depend on what I'm going for. I like the events put on by WDWCelebrations. I'll also attend special events that Disney runs sometimes, I went to the D23 1st anniversary and attended the Grape Getaway during F&W.

5) How far in advance do you plan?

I usually plan my main annual trip about 15 months in advance, set dates and book a room-only reservation.

6) Dining Plan?

Never! AP & TiW is much better once you factor in room discounts and dining discounts. [For me and my son, anyway]

7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)?

Room through Disney, everything else I do myself. Used to use Kingdom Konsultants and before that Amex Travel, but I find it easier to just do it myself now that I know the ropes.

8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc?

Normally only Disney, but have been to KSC once and USO/IoA a few times.

9) Do you rent a car?

Only if I go down while my In-Laws have a vacation home. Otherwise I'm on-site using DME and Disney transportation, though we drove down twice.

10) What park do you attend first?

It depends what day we arrive and what our plans are. We don't have a traditional "first park".

 

[MrsWhiffo]

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money?

Well because we live in the UK, we have to save. Usually though we book and pay off as we go.

2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get? Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?

I'm a Orange Lakes kinda Gal

3) Do you fly or drive?
Fly, it heck of a long swim. Always with virgin atlantic, as we an usually swing an upgrade

4) How long do you go?

14 days

5) How far in advance do you plan?

At least a year, a little bit longer this time.

6) Dining Plan?

Nope, we stay off site. Although we always go to Bistro de Paris. We are going to Victoria and Alberts this time too.

7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)?

Virgin Atlantic

8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc?

We do Universal, get our Space Fix @ KSC. No seaworld this time though, last time put me off as I was there when that poor trainer was killed.

9) Do you rent a car?

Yep, has to be a convertible

10) What park do you attend first?

Gotta do the double Magic Kingdom & then off to Epcot for Illuminations in the evening

 

[Matt and Kelly]

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money?
-We usually will try and stash a little money away but don't typically worry about it all that much.

2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get? Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?
-Where ever we can get the best value. We've stayed both off and onsite (swan) and will be back on site (AKL) this Sept. Usually comes down to where we can get the best deal for the best hotel.

3) Do you fly or drive?
- FLY! No other option for us!

4) How long do you go?
-anywhere from 7 to 10 days

5) How far in advance do you plan?
-Typically around 9 months in advance.

6) Dining Plan?
-No

7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)?
-Expedia and Hotwire are our travel sites of choice.

8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc?
-We always spend a day at Universal as well.

9) Do you rent a car?
-No

10) What park do you attend first?
-Always Magic Kingdom first!

 

[Susan Savia]

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money?
We save for it little by little starting about a year out, tax refunds, yard sale, change, and out of our pay check.

2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get?
We have a favorite offsite lodging we use thats very close and perfect for the little time we are actually in the room. We call and reserve about 6 months out.

Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?
Used to have an RV, always stayed at Fort Wilderness---upcoming trip we decided on Pop Century over All Star Movies based on price and thought it looked pretty cool
Compared to Disney it is cheap, but its clean, safe, very close and has many amentities including two pools.

3) Do you fly or drive?
We always drive.

Drove in RV---don't have it anymore but we will still drive down
4) How long do you go?
6-7 days
Started out going for 8 days and the past couple years began going for 10. What a difference the extra time gives.

5) How far in advance do you plan?
not sure about our first 4-5 trips as I had nothing to do with the planning. Last 2-3 were anywhere from 6-12 months. We always have a pretty good idea when our next trip will happen. When my niece was born in 2006 we knew we'd be going after she turned 4, and that trip finally happens this April
We begin talking about the next trip over a year ahead and on the way home each year we talk about when.

6) Dining Plan?
No
No

7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)?
Disney
We have always done our own reservations and planning.

8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc?
First trip went to the ocean, Sea World, and Kennedy Space Center. Trips 2-7 only Disney
In the 28+ years we've been going, we have never gone to any parks but Disney Parks.

9) Do you rent a car?
No
No
10) What park do you attend first?
I think Animal Kingdom's the only park that hasn't been a first day park. Not positive but I think Magic Kingdom has been first most often
Always Epcot and always Epcot last day.

 

[aeillill]

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money?
I save and usually dedicate most of my tax return to the trip. Some goes on credit though unfortunately.

2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get? Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?
Cheapest, I barely spend any time in the hotel so it doesn't matter. I'd like to stay in a Deluxe for a few days but I couldn't imagine spending all that money for my entire trip.

3) Do you fly or drive?
Fly

4) How long do you go?
2 weeks usually, I couldn't imagine going for anything less than 10 days.

5) How far in advance do you plan?
10 months to a year usually. That's usually because we're using a discount code, we don't need that long to actually plan a trip. We've been going my entire life (25 years) so really no planning is needed except for meals when we have the dining plan.

6) Dining Plan?
If it's free

7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)?
A travel agent

8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc?
We used to visit Sea World when I was younger but we've stopped doing that. I'd like to visit Universal for HP, but I can't justify the cost of a ticket for only wanting to go to that single part and then leaving.

9) Do you rent a car?
Occasionally we have for 1 day to go get food & drinks. Usually no though, we rely on Magical Express for the airport & use Disney transport for the entire trip.

10) What park do you attend first?
Magic Kingdom, even if it's only for a few hours - always end here too.

 

[EvilQueen81]

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money? SAVE

2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get? Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?
We usually stay at a value resort, but if they have a deal going we stay at a moderate.

3) Do you fly or drive?
Both, the last few times we drove, it takes about 12hours.

4) How long do you when you go? 7-10 days

5) How far in advance do you plan? It varies.

6) Dining Plan?
If it's free

7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)?
Usually through Disney

8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc?
We usually only go to disney.
9) Do you rent a car?
We drive our own.
10) What park do you attend first?
Magic Kingdom :sohappy:

 

[LaughingGravy]

When you decide it's time to go to Disney, what is your process?

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money?
A bit of both. There needs to be a stretch of no unexpected expenses, but when it is definite, there is a significant reduction on any discretionary spending.
2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get? Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?
Cheapest ON-SITE
3) Do you fly or drive?
I'd love to drive, it would be cheaper and I hate airline travel these days but the family has no tolerance for a long car ride from NJ, plus I don't get enough vacation time to justify the extra days the long trip would take from NJ
4) How long do you go?
Typically 5 nights
5) How far in advance do you plan?
6 months
6) Dining Plan?
So far, we've taken advantage of free dining each time with the kids. We went once prior to kids, but it wasn't offered then.
7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)?
Other
8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc?
So far only Disney. Did Universal prior to kids. If we plan on doing Universal, it'll be an off Disney site visit, but to definitely include Disney.
9) Do you rent a car?
We do now. Not going back to not having it for the cheap price you can get for a nice car if you shop around.
We don't find it fun spending the beginning and end of the day on a line wondering if we're going to be on this bus and if not when is the next one coming, and if we do get on this bus, how crowded will it be and what other unpleasantness may come our way in the way of stupidity, comments, smells, or other things that you simply don't encounter anywhere else but on a bus in closer quarters than anything else in any hotel or park any time of day.
Waiting on a line for an attraction, even when packed, is nothing close to a ride on a bus. OK I'm done.

10) What park do you attend first?
Depends on where dinner reservations are for the first day/night. The park hopping option just takes too long, so we simply pick a park and stay at it for the day. As we usually go in the off-season, the parks aren't open as late, so that's valuable time we don't want to spend traveling between parks either by car or bus/monorail.

 

[fosse76]

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money?
As a single traveller and someone who stays at the Values, I don't really have to save. I usually pay off the airfare and deposit right away. Then I pay off the rest of the trip when I return. My expenses while there are pretty minimal.

2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get? Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?
Always a Value. When I'm at Disney, a clean, safe, inexpensive room works just fine. And because I tend to only go when they offer a discount, the costs are very decent.

3) Do you fly or drive?
Fly.

4) How long do you go?
Unlike most people here, I'm only there for about 5 days. That's my threshhold for anywhere I go. By then I'm ready to come back home.

5) How far in advance do you plan?
Maybe two or three months at most.

6) Dining Plan?
Before I bought an AP, I would try and plan around free dining. But I hate planning my days around where I am dining so I no longer get it.

7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)?
I book the room through Disney...I use Travelocity for the flight (or after I find the price of the flight, I go the airline's website and book directly)

8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc?
I also visit Universal.

9) Do you rent a car?
No.

10) What park do you attend first?
Now it's almost always the Magic Kingdom. In the past it used to be Epcot.

 

[michelle_sydney]

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money?
I only go once a year if possible... I have a separate "travel" savings account for any trips I want to go on

2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get? Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?
I love the Beach/Yacht/Boardwalk area... This year I could afford 5 nights at the Boardwalk with the Disney deal going on!

3) Do you fly or drive?
I like to drive! Even though it takes 2 days to get there.

4) How long do you go?
About a week

5) How far in advance do you plan?
This year... only a month an a half because we thought of it last minute! I try at least 180 days in advance to get the restaurants we like

6) Dining Plan?
Nope

7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)?
Disney!

8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc?
This spring break we are doing one day at Universal to see the new Harry Potter Park, but usually only Disney

9) Do you rent a car?
No! If we fly in we take Magical Express. This year we are driving so we have our own car.

10) What park do you attend first?
Always Magic Kingdom. Walking down Main Street and seeing the Castle always makes to a great start to the trip

 

[bigorangeandy]

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money?
We have to budget and save, still waiting for the money tree I planted to start giving fruit.
2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get? Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?
We like Wilderness Lodge, but this upcoming trip we are staying at CSR. It usually comes down to saving some money.
3) Do you fly or drive?
It's about 8 hours from Atlanta, so we drive, except this upcoming trip when the wife and kids are flying down, as I will have driven down the week prior for a confernece in Tampa.
4) How long do you go?
About a week, but we did drive for a one day trip in 2007.
5) How far in advance do you plan?
Somewhere around 6 months I start kicking the idea around, then at somepoint we put the money down.
6) Dining Plan?
No.
7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)?
Disney for the room, ticket broker for tickets
8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc?
We have done the beach, and a another site or two, keep wanting to do Universal at some point.
9) Do you rent a car?
We drive our own
10) What park do you attend first?
We don't have set park for the start, but seem to always end the trip at the Magic Kingdom. Only 53 more days to our next trip.

 

[HoneyMnShawnee]

When you decide it's time to go to Disney, what is your process?

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money?
Well not sure that we really ever just have the money, but we do try to put little bits here and there away each year

2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get? Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?
We do think about it. Our decision depends on what our situation is at the given time. We have stayed at values and moderates, usually a discount promotion will sway our decision.

3) Do you fly or drive?
Fly Fly Fly

4) How long do you go?
Usually 6 to 11 days. Shorter trips now that we have kids

5) How far in advance do you plan?
No set time. We have planed with as little as 2 months or as long as 7

6) Dining Plan?
Yes. We have used the regular dining plan and the quick service.

7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)?
Disney

8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc?
For us a trip to Disney is a trip to Disney. If we head to Orlando for another reason, we will do other things such as Universal.

9) Do you rent a car?
No, we rely on Disney Transport.

10) What park do you attend first?
Which ever we "feel" like attending, however it usually ends up being MK. Nothing beats the feeling of seeing the castle on your first day.

 

[Larry Mondello]

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money?
Have the money
2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get? Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?
Value resorts, this is why I always have the money
3) Do you fly or drive?
Drive, flying would only save me 2 hours
4) How long do you go?
Usually 5 to 6 days
5) How far in advance do you plan?
Sometimes 9 months sometimes 1 month
6) Dining Plan?
No, don't eat enough
7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)?
Disney went through Expedia once and it was a nightmare
8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc?
No, go to those places on stand alone vacations (rarely)
9) Do you rent a car?
No, see no. 3
10) What park do you attend first?
Depends on extra magic hours

 

[WDW_Princess]

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money?
We have direct deposit for our paychecks. 10% of our monthly salary directly into a Vacation Fund. We only ever use it for Disney though. So, we always have the money.

2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get? Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?
We have stayed at each hotel and choose our favorites and rotate between them. Beach Club or Contemporary next time.

3) Do you fly or drive? Drive from Tennessee. I like road trips.

4) How long do you go? 4-12 days per year

5) How far in advance do you plan? 1 month - 1 year

6) Dining Plan? Nope, but plan to next trip.

7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)? Disney

8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc? Usually only Disney, but my DD is getting older so will probably a day at Universal this trip.

9) Do you rent a car? Sometimes

10) What park do you attend first? Whatever park has extra evening hours that day.

 

[Tiggerish]

When you decide it's time to go to Disney, what is your process?

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money?
We have a vacation savings account with an automatic monthly deposit, so we have the money because we save it. :lookaroun

2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get? Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?
As DVC members, we will choose among the available DVC resorts when we call to book our trip.

3) Do you fly or drive?
Fly

4) How long do you go?
We've gone for as few as 3 days and as many as 10. In general, we get to go twice a year for 4-5 days each time.

5) How far in advance do you plan?
No set time. As many as 11 months in advance, and as few as 3.

6) Dining Plan?
No. When we have an AP, we get Tables in Wonderland.

7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)?
DVC Member Services for room. Will check kayak.com for airfares, usually book thru airline website; mostly, JetBlue or Delta.

8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc?
We only go to WDW.

9) Do you rent a car?
Yes.

10) What park do you attend first?
Generally, Epcot, although if MK has evening EMH and we arrive later in the day, we might go there first. If DHS has evening EMH, we probably start at Epcot and walk over to DHS for EMH.


This was fun! Thanks, OP!

 

[WDW 3]

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money?
I wouldn't say we "just have the money". But we don't really have to save. We have good jobs and try get all the discounts we can.

2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get? Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?
We always try to stay at SOG. Large rooms, great rate.

3) Do you fly or drive?
Fly - but always use miles for tickets.

4) How long do you go?
10 days is perfect for us. Two years ago we went when we could get a 5 day military ticket and it wasn't long enough.

5) How far in advance do you plan?
As long as a year and as short as 6 weeks. (Booked Ash Wednesday and went over Easter)

6) Dining Plan?
No - usually don't qualify

7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)?
Do it all on my own. Dining through Disney, Lodging through SOG, etc.

8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc?
Usually only DW but have gone to Universal and Sea World. Not interested in the beach. A couple days at the water parks fills our need for sand.

9) Do you rent a car?
Not yet. We rent a car company to and from the airport and arrange shuttles to other parks at SOG.

10) What park do you attend first?
Depends on when we arrive and EMH. Last time we went to AK first because we arrived around 3:00 and they had late EMH. We love the parks at night! Had supper at Rain Forest and hit DTD.

 

[rstaut]

1. We find the money or use our tax refund.
2. Usually we pick a moderate resort based upon being "nice enough" but afforable at the same time. Sometimes we stay at the BW Villas or BC Villas if my MIL has leftover points to gift us.
3. Fly...we live in WI
4. 6 nights minimum...have done up to 9
5. 6 months minimum, but usually about 9 (whoa...kinda the same answer twice!)
6. Yes, regular the last three times...this year Deluxe!
7. Disney directly. My travel agent doesn't tell me to have a magical day.
8. Disney only
9. No rental car
10. MK or Epcot, depending on where we're staying

 

[whitney37354]

When you decide it's time to go to Disney, what is your process?

1) Do you start saving for it? Or do you just have the money?
We used the credit card to pay for it. I bought Disney Dollars & Disney Gift Cards to pay for extras once we got there, then put the rest on cc. Not the best way to do it, but otherwise, DH would have never taken a vacation at all & we all really needed one.

2) Do you think about where you want to stay? Or is it just wherever you can get? Cheapest? Nicest? Newest? Best Value?
Since DH was willing to go to WDW and said this would be our only trip, he wanted to stay in the Contemporary, MK view. I would have stayed at POP, but I'm more frugal that DH is!
We will be going back because DH ended up really enjoying it!!

3) Do you fly or drive?
Drive. I've never been on a plane and don't plan to.

4) How long do you go?
We've only been once on a family trip & we were there for 6 nights/7 days

5) How far in advance do you plan?
Two years & it was well worth it. I'm a planner any way.

6) Dining Plan?
We did DlxDP because we were doing 10 character meals & didn't want to deal with paying for each meal once we got there.

7) Book through Disney or other (Travelocity, Expedia, etc)?
Disney

8) Do you only go to Disney World or do you go to Universal, the beach, etc?
Only did Disney. Might do a split vacation on another trip.

9) Do you rent a car?
No

10) What park do you attend first?
We did MK first this trip. Since we didn't see much of AK this trip, we might do AK first next time.