Is it worth ? (Holiday season)

[MDB12]

Hello

I need your opinion!

1: FIRST DW trip !! 2 adult 2 high schooler from California
2: planning to go during school winter break this year.
3: 7days to spend at parks

Total coast for Air tickets, official hotels, park tickets will be about $15,000. ( not includes foods and shopping )

I guess end up I costs $20,000 total.

Question!!
Is it worth to spend that much ?

( we don't want to go when weather is hot, we can't go when kids have school)

 

[MDB12]

IMHO, you're not really saving time by changing resorts, especially to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. If you're using Disney buses, which you will be at the AKL, buses could take you just as long from the AKL as from the Boardwalk.

Staying at the Villas at the Grand Floridian to be able walk to the MK? That walk is just over 1/2 a mile. You could be better off taking the boat or the monorail if you are trying to save steps.

Most guests easily walk 4-5 miles per day at WDW if not twice that; with a mile being approximately 2000 steps, you're looking at 8000-10,000 steps a day easily.

Ok so AKL to AK park isn't so close ? I saw a map but I didn't get how actually far it is . I was hoping it's really close each other.

I used to walk over 20,000 steps / day at Disneyland California and Tokyo but I don't know if I can do it now 7days straight

Where would you stay at if you were in my situation ?

Thank you for your time !

 

[DisneyJoe]

Ok so AKL to AK park isn't so close ? I saw a map but I didn't get how actually far it is . I was hoping it's really close each other.

I used to walk over 20,000 steps / day at Disneyland California and Tokyo but I don't know if I can do it now 7days straight

Where would you stay at if you were in my situation ?

Thank you for your time !

It's close, about 1 to 1.5 miles.

If you have your own car, you leave your room, walk to your car, drive over to the AK park, park your car, and then walk to the gate. 15-20 minutes tops.

When you are taking a Disney bus, you walk to the bus stop, and wait for the next bus to the AK park. That bus could be there waiting for you, or it could be there in 10 minutes, or 20 minutes or more. or you could see a bus to the MK come first, and then one for Epcot, and then one for Studios, and finally one for AK. They fill that bus. If there are many people waiting for the AK bus, you may possibly need to wait until the next one comes. Your bus may stop at Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House before heading out to load more people on it.

In other words, to go that 1 mile from AKL to AK park, it could take you 15-20 minutes, or up to an hour. At Christmas time, if the resort is busy, it's likely going to be on the longer side.

I just don't want you thinking that just by staying at a resort that is closer to a park, that you are magically going to get there faster, especially if there isn't the ability to walk.

You could stay at Boardwalk, have easy walking or boat access to Epcot and Studios, and take the bus to AK park from the Boardwalk and have a similar bus transportation time, even though Boardwalk is a little bit further away.

I personally prefer Epcot area resorts. I once had a great stay in the Beach Club Villas, and have often stayed at the Yacht Club and Beach Club.

 

[MDB12]

It's close, about 1 to 1.5 miles.

If you have your own car, you leave your room, walk to your car, drive over to the AK park, park your car, and then walk to the gate. 15-20 minutes tops.

When you are taking a Disney bus, you walk to the bus stop, and wait for the next bus to the AK park. That bus could be there waiting for you, or it could be there in 10 minutes, or 20 minutes or more. or you could see a bus to the MK come first, and then one for Epcot, and then one for Studios, and finally one for AK. They fill that bus. If there are many people waiting for the AK bus, you may possibly need to wait until the next one comes. Your bus may stop at Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House before heading out to load more people on it.

In other words, to go that 1 mile from AKL to AK park, it could take you 15-20 minutes, or up to an hour. At Christmas time, if the resort is busy, it's likely going to be on the longer side.

I just don't want you thinking that just by staying at a resort that is closer to a park, that you are magically going to get there faster, especially if there isn't the ability to walk.

You could stay at Boardwalk, have easy walking or boat access to Epcot and Studios, and take the bus to AK park from the Boardwalk and have a similar bus transportation time, even though Boardwalk is a little bit further away.

I personally prefer Epcot area resorts. I once had a great stay in the Beach Club Villas, and have often stayed at the Yacht Club and Beach Club.

I wonder if you know the buses to each parks from resorts are sharing , if so which resort is the first stop in AK lodges and Epcot area?

I am staying at AK Kidani lodge , then Boardwalk inn if I keep original plan.

If the bus comes to my resort last, I would have to wait till next bus or next next bus !! I would like to avoid that situation.

 

[Magicmom203]

Thank you for your reply !! First I was planning to stay at only Boardwalk inn,
then I was like...wait, it seems like it's not close to AK, MK !!! It's not like California Disney land ! DW is huge !!

I don't like to take long to get to the park every morning. Then I decided to stay closer to each parks, but it might not be good idea...
I wonder changing hotels is hassle.

 

[Magicmom203]

Thank you for your reply !! First I was planning to stay at only Boardwalk inn,
then I was like...wait, it seems like it's not close to AK, MK !!! It's not like California Disney land ! DW is huge !!

I don't like to take long to get to the park every morning. Then I decided to stay closer to each parks, but it might not be good idea...
I wonder changing hotels is hassle.

Boardwalk is a great hotel. Easy walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios but can also take the boat service. One short bus ride to AK and MK. Plus if you let the teens wander off on their own - the Boardwalk has some fun stuff. Also look at Swan and Dolphin - same general location but less money than Disney proper hotels and you still get esrky entry/late night perk - which is about the only perk left.

 

[MDB12]

Boardwalk is a great hotel. Easy walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios but can also take the boat service. One short bus ride to AK and MK. Plus if you let the teens wander off on their own - the Boardwalk has some fun stuff. Also look at Swan and Dolphin - same general location but less money than Disney proper hotels and you still get esrky entry/late night perk - which is about the only perk left.

Thank you for your reply !

I’m still wondering if I should cancel AK villa and just stay at BW inn BUT!!
We’ll arrive at Orland airport late night due to our flight from California , then if I stay at AK villa on the first night, my room has 2 bathrooms
That’ll be very useful .

We can go shower quicker then go to bed earlier , sleep peacefully since my kids will sleep in living room.
it’s just not cost effective though.

I’ll check out Swan and Dolphin’ location and if it’s available !!

 

[wendysue]

Hello

I need your opinion!

1: FIRST DW trip !! 2 adult 2 high schooler from California
2: planning to go during school winter break this year.
3: 7days to spend at parks

Total coast for Air tickets, official hotels, park tickets will be about $15,000. ( not includes foods and shopping )

I guess end up I costs $20,000 total.

Question!!
Is it worth to spend that much ?

( we don't want to go when weather is hot, we can't go when kids have school)

That is way too much for a week. Especially since you will probably have to pay extra with Genie to get on rides. Paying hundreds for tickets to just walk into the parks and then having to pay extra for rides has us canceling for November

 

[MDB12]

That is way too much for a week. Especially since you will probably have to pay extra with Genie to get on rides. Paying hundreds for tickets to just walk into the parks and then having to pay extra for rides has us canceling for November

I think so too!! It’s way more than I want to spend but I don’t know what to do.

I hate to be squeezed in a small space and I want to be stress free, less clothes to bring.. less time to get to parks especially in holiday season… then end up It costs this much

No one knows what will happen to me and family next year and future. I might no be able to go if I missed this time since I live in west coast.
But yes it’s too expensive

Thank you for your reply !

 

[Stevek]

We have 4 adults going for a week in December (6 days in parks) and it's not remotely close to what we are paying. So I guess that's the question. Your are making specific choices that are very pricey, you can clearly do it for much less but are you willing to? The issue ends up being that you keep asking about costs and is it worth it...only you can then determine what is of value or in your budget.

 

[Stevek]

I think so too!! It’s way more than I want to spend but I don’t know what to do.

I hate to be squeezed in a small space and I want to be stress free, less clothes to bring.. less time to get to parks especially in holiday season… then end up It costs this much

No one knows what will happen to me and family next year and future. I might no be able to go if I missed this time since I live in west coast.
But yes it’s too expensive

Thank you for your reply !

How much time do you plan on spending in your room? We did AKL our first time, Pop second time and 4th time, Caribbean Beach 3rd time and just booked Pop again for December. We've realized that we are just fine in the Pop rooms for the little amount of time we actually spend in them. If it's way more than you want to spend, spend less, pretty simple. I have a wife and 2 adult daughters, we make POP work just fine for us.

 

[MDB12]

How much time do you plan on spending in your room? We did AKL our first time, Pop second time and 4th time, Caribbean Beach 3rd time and just booked Pop again for December. We've realized that we are just fine in the Pop rooms for the little amount of time we actually spend in them. If it's way more than you want to spend, spend less, pretty simple. I have a wife and 2 adult daughters, we make POP work just fine for us.

If I have 2 daughters like you I think 2 queen beds room like Pop work but my kids are boy and girl and my son doesn't want to share a bed anymore. Unless he brings air mattress and inflator like someone mentioned (from California ) I just checked Pop but it's all booked anyway .Many resorts are not available for my dates since it's winter break.

Based on my past experience , to sleep in one room together isn't comfortable for me.

Someone uses the bathroom middle of the night or early morning and wake me up, then I can't go back to sleep, of course I am tired next day... and someone sleep talks and wake me up YES I have sleep problem !!! it's just stressful for me.

I won't mind to pay extra $ for that.
Although I didn't expect THAT much $ like this time.

(But when we stay at BW inn we have only 1 room.)

I would like to do laundry in my room at least twice in 9 days then we don't have to pack a lot of clothes.
I guess I just have to pay a lot If I want to make myself comfortable.

Thank you for your reply !

 

[Stevek]

If I have 2 daughters like you I think 2 queen beds room like Pop work but my kids are boy and girl and my son doesn't want to share a bed anymore. Unless he brings air mattress and inflator like someone mentioned (from California ) I just checked Pop but it's all booked anyway .Many resorts are not available for my dates since it's winter break.

Based on my past experience , to sleep in one room together isn't comfortable for me.

Someone uses the bathroom middle of the night or early morning and wake me up, then I can't go back to sleep, of course I am tired next day... and someone sleep talks and wake me up YES I have sleep problem !!! it's just stressful for me.

I won't mind to pay extra $ for that.
Although I didn't expect THAT much $ like this time.

(But when we stay at BW inn we have only 1 room.)

I would like to do laundry in my room at least twice in 9 days then we don't have to pack a lot of clothes.
I guess I just have to pay a lot If I want to make myself comfortable.

Thank you for your reply !

You might consider offsite as well as most have shuttles to the parks. It's becoming increasingly popular given the lesser value Disney provides to those staying onsite.

 

[FeelsSoGoodToBeBad]

First, your idea of "walking distance" and someone else's (especially WDW's) may be completely different, and is likely to change/shorten as your trip progresses. If you really are trying to avoid walking a ton, staying at one of the smaller resorts and/or in a Preferred room could help with that. Be warned that the moderate resorts are generally large or spread out (or both) and even a "Preferred Room" may not save you much walking there (looking at you, CSR). There is a reason my family adopted the saying, "My feet hurt like Disney." You're correct that one or two days of that much walking is not likely to be a big deal, but beyond three or four, you're gonna feel it. Totally worth it though. Every. Time.

My family of five loved the theming and convenience of POR but did not enjoy the lack of both at CSR and will never stay there again. (Many others swear by CSR and will stay there every time if given a choice). We adored the Lion King Suite at AoA we stayed in on our first trip because it had a bedroom with king bed, two full baths, and both a fold out couch plus a table for four that converted to a murphy bed as well as a kitchenette. AoA is a value resort and if you're wanting to avoid a lot of small kids it might not be a good fit. I would definitely encourage you to take a look at the family suites in the values, though. The theming is FANTASTIC and AoA does have a Skyliner station. AKL has wonderful theming as well and we have absolutely loved visiting when we've had dinner reservations there. Our next trip we'll be staying at BC (or possibly YC) as both are walking distance to IG of Epcot and have boats to access HS, though IG at EPCOT has the Skyliner, which we can also use to access HS. Neither has particularly delightful "Disney" theming from what I've seen (again, dinner reservation), but they are both themed well for what they are intended to be. I cannot give any input on GF as I've never visited nor stayed at that resort.

Research carefully the fold down beds as most are smaller than a regular twin bed. Assuming your son is a typically-sized senior boy he will likely be uncomfortable on one of these. If he is taller or built larger than typical, he will almost certainly not be comfortable. Though inflatable beds can be heavy, he could very well be more comfortable on one of those, depending on what the room has available. As long as you don't exceed the room occupancy (shouldn't be an issue with just three of you) having an inflatable mattress isn't an issue, by my understanding.

Last I heard, WDW was not moving luggage between hotels for split stays. If that hasn't changed, please consider that staying at three resorts means two transfers between them and may result in significant time and hassle getting everything moved from one to the next. As others have done, I would recommend no more than two hotels for that short a stay, but ymmv.

Buses can be a VERY long walk from the park entrances and the bays the different hotels are assigned sometimes change, so there is no hard and fast rule re: which resort will have the closest bus stop at the park. My least favorite part of visiting WDW is leaving the park and realizing our bus stop is the furthest away, which seems to happen more often than not. We have had to wait for subsequent busses more often at a AoA, but we also had to wait a few times at POR and at CSR. During the Holidays I think it is likely you will have to wait for another bus more than once, both going to and especially coming back from the parks.

One more thing I always recommend for WDW: Bring at least two pairs of good walking shoes for each person. Popup showers are common and overnight is NOT long enough for tennis shoes to dry out in your room. If you have a laundry drying it probably would be nbd, but using a hair dryer to get them dry enough to use the next day is a stinky, stinky nightmare.

 

[arich35]

Have you checked the DVC rental sites to see if there are any confirmed reservations for the time you are going? You might be able to save some money if so.

Browse Confirmed Reservations

Booking a confirmed reservation makes the process of DVC rentals even quicker and more efficient. Browse confirmed DVC reservations today!

dvcrentalstore.com

Deals - Confirmed Reservations

This is where you can find discounted points and sold out rooms

www.dvc-rental.com

 

[MDB12]

You might consider offsite as well as most have shuttles to the parks. It's becoming increasingly popular given the lesser value Disney provides to those staying onsite.

I was thinking about offsite but then probably I won't be able to get dining reservations I want.
I have to wake up before 3am my time on the day to get the table

If I return to DW after this trip,I will be at Campsite

 

[MDB12]

Have you checked the DVC rental sites to see if there are any confirmed reservations for the time you are going? You might be able to save some money if so.

Browse Confirmed Reservations

Booking a confirmed reservation makes the process of DVC rentals even quicker and more efficient. Browse confirmed DVC reservations today!

dvcrentalstore.com

Deals - Confirmed Reservations

This is where you can find discounted points and sold out rooms

www.dvc-rental.com

Is DVC rental site Fort Wilderness resort ? if so it's booked.
Anyway I am a snobby lady who never stay at motel or go camping

But campsite in DW might be fun if I don't have to prepare meals !

Thank you for your time !

 

[arich35]

Is DVC rental site Fort Wilderness resort ? if so it's booked.
Anyway I am a snobby lady who never stay at motel or go camping

But campsite in DW might be fun if I don't have to prepare meals !

Thank you for your time !

DVC rental sites will have rentals available for all DVC Resorts at a much cheaper price than through Disney. On the first site you can see a rental for Animal Kingdom, 2 bedroom from 12/18-12/26 for $9,480

 

[aliceismad]

I only booked hotel room only so far and have not purchased ticket yet. I can get 7 days ticket from Military base MWR later.

If you're eligible for MWR tickets, are you eligible for Shades of Green? That would save a lot of money, and it's very close to Magic Kingdom. Obviously it would require transport to the other parks, but via bus it is not a long trip.

Home

www.shadesofgreen.org

(Personally we often take a mid-day rest and don't walk 20K steps a day either. Bus to park in the morning, enjoy the Park through lunch, bus back to hotel, pool time, bus back to park to enjoy dinner and evening.)

 

[aliceismad]

Ok so AKL to AK park isn't so close ? I saw a map but I didn't get how actually far it is . I was hoping it's really close each other.

It's close, but you don't walk to Animal Kingdom. You have to ride a bus. Unlike Disneyland, walking from hotel to any Park is somewhat unusual. Disney busses are the primary transportation from hotel to parks.

 

[MickeyCB]

A couple of thoughts as I can commiserate with some of your planning concerns.

I do not sleep well with all of us in a single room. It is what drove us to try the 1 bedroom villas in the past. A separate room for mom and dad, a roll out bed and sleeper chair in most of the living rooms. (You will need to make sure that is the configuration as your son wants to sleep separately).
The 1 bedroom villas have a washer and dryer.
Some of the 1 bedrooms have 2 baths, some do not. (I love having 2 bathrooms).
I love the full kitchens. We have grocery delivery and while I refuse to cook on vacation it is wonderful to have some snacks, drinks etc. available.

I absolutely hate changing hotel rooms. Ex. if you are checking in on Monday, you are packing up Tuesday night and have to have your luggage transferred to your next place the next morning (and I was told they will no longer transfer cold items from your fridge, they used to). You are then homeless till your check in time at the next place.

Also, each of those 3 resorts are separate reservations and you can only book your dining at the 60 day mark for the first check in, then 60 day mark for the next, etc. If you are only in 2 you can at least book half of your trip at 60 days, then the rest. If you only stay in one place you can book all of your reservations for the length of your trip (up to 10 days).

Regarding the travel time to and from parks, we use Uber heavily lately. It depends on how tired we are, crowd levels etc.

It is a lot of money, but sadly not unheard of. If you can swing it, get one of the nicer rooms/villas. You will have a full kitchen, more space and a balcony which is a must for me. Nothing like coffee in the morning on the balcony or a sip of vino in the evening!
As the poster above said, there are people who are Disney Vacation Club members who rent their points so you could get a villa much cheaper, but it might be a little complicated for a first time trip.

Have a wonderful time, whatever you end up doing!