Need Upgrade opinions for my trip!

[New2WDW]

I am looking for some opinions and information about a change to my Fall '08 trip that I am trying to convince myself to make:

Current Vacation:
9/27 thru 10/7 10 nights/11 days with FREE Dining for Me, Wife, DD11 & DD8 at All Star Movies Resort (Our Favorite)

This is by far going to be our longest stay and we have scraped everything together for this trip. We do the very basic on tickets, etc just to make it down each year for our family vacation.

Now, with some room only rates that just came out I am thinking about making a change and I need some input:

We have all wanted to stay in a Deluxe Resort and with regular prices it will probably never happen. Anyway, with the room rate discount I was thinking about 3 nights at Wilderness Lodge (since it comes out the cheapest) at around $574. The Poly would be around $600+ for 2 nights!
I would be cutting off 3 nights at ASMovies (deduct of +/- $335) and adding on 3 nights at WL (add of +/- $574) the difference would be $239 added to my overall trip.

The down side to this is that I would be losing 3 TS meals and 3 CS meals and 3 snacks from my original vacation. We could scale back and eat CS meals, share meals, etc. for the last couple of days. That would add about $200 to my vacation for meals.

My tickets would already be paid for and on my room key from the ASMovies so no problem there.

Can anyone help me think this out, offer info about WL, and maybe talk me into this?
Also, what is the transportation from resort to MK like? Boat? Bus?

Thanks, Keith

 

[coltow]

Obviously the decision is yours and everyone has their own opinion. Mine is to stay put. Do you really want to pack up and then unpack to change resorts? I love the WL and it is my favorite. Your girls are older than my boys so could help out, but I honestly would not like the idea of getting settled at Music then taking time to pack up, move, and unpack. I'm sure that if you do decide to go for it you'll fall in love with WL just as we did.

 

[New2WDW]

Obviously the decision is yours and everyone has their own opinion. Mine is to stay put. Do you really want to pack up and then unpack to change resorts? I love the WL and it is my favorite. Your girls are older than my boys so could help out, but I honestly would not like the idea of getting settled at Music then taking time to pack up, move, and unpack. I'm sure that if you do decide to go for it you'll fall in love with WL just as we did.

Let me add one more thing to this: We were already planning our Saturday and Sunday as days off so to speak from the parks and it just so happens I had planned on swimming Saturday morning then getting ready and go over to WL to look around and then go to Whispering Canyon for dinner that night! This would be our first look around at this resort and since we drive down from Georgia I thought we could pack up, load up and scoot over there? :shrug:

 

[coltow]

Let me add one more thing to this: We were already planning our Saturday and Sunday as days off so to speak from the parks and it just so happens I had planned on swimming Saturday morning then getting ready and go over to WL to look around and then go to Whispering Canyon for dinner that night! This would be our first look around at this resort and since we drive down from Georgia I thought we could pack up, load up and scoot over there? :shrug:

Well then, that changes things. If you were planning an off day and have a car to transport yourself then I take it back. GO FOR IT! You could take that morning and pack up. Then go to WL and swim there for the afternoon, pool is WAY better.

 

[New2WDW]

I just read thru the All Ears site about this resort and found some good info, but still had many questions.

Some are:
Prices on surrey bike rentals?
What kind of "other" activities do they have?
Is the beach area very big?

Any info would be good as I have to make up my mind tonight to get all this set up.

 

[coltow]

Prices on surrey bike rentals?
Don't know the price, but you can take them into Fort Wilderness and ride around
What kind of "other" activities do they have?
There's a hidden Mickey tour and I remember them having kids stuff but mine were too young
Is the beach area very big?
It's a good size and there are plenty of lounge chairs. You can grab a good spot here for water parade (930pm I believe). Most people go to the dock and not the beach. There is also a playground at the beach.

 

[cemeb4dk]

Obviously as others have stated the decision is yours. If your already at your favorite resort, stay there. Take the extra money that you would of spent and use it as a deposit for the bounceback rate you can reserve for next year. I mean if you go every year, and were satisfied with your resort before this thought entered your mind that stay with the original plan. Use the money like i said for bounceback or on your off day go to UNiversal or Sea world. Your only in your room for so little of the time your at WDW.

 

[New2WDW]

Prices on surrey bike rentals?
Don't know the price, but you can take them into Fort Wilderness and ride around
What kind of "other" activities do they have?
There's a hidden Mickey tour and I remember them having kids stuff but mine were too young
Is the beach area very big?
It's a good size and there are plenty of lounge chairs. You can grab a good spot here for water parade (930pm I believe). Most people go to the dock and not the beach. There is also a playground at the beach.

Thanks for all th help and info!

 

[New2WDW]

Obviously as others have stated the decision is yours. If your already at your favorite resort, stay there. Take the extra money that you would of spent and use it as a deposit for the bounceback rate you can reserve for next year. I mean if you go every year, and were satisfied with your resort before this thought entered your mind that stay with the original plan. Use the money like i said for bounceback or on your off day go to UNiversal or Sea world. Your only in your room for so little of the time your at WDW.

Good point!

 

[imamouse]

It's too bad you didn't make two separate reservations in the first place. If you had, then you wouldn't be losing 3 days of the DDP (free or otherwise). It's the old saying about hindsight being 50/50.

If your family tends to stay in the parks and only use the resort as a crash pad, then stay at the value. If you take breaks and use the pool a good bit, then it may be well worth a splurge on the WL. Could you stay 2 nights at the WL instead of 3? It's really a matter of what you can comfortably afford.

 

[Lucky]

I would just make doubly sure before you make any change that you've got all of the numbers right. Maybe price both alternatives with someone from Kingdom Konsultants who does this sort of thing all the time.

 

[erstwo]

I just want to know where you got this great "room rate discount!"

 

[slappy magoo]

I'm not a big fan of the Values myself, & I'd almost always suggest an upgrade, but I'd be hard-pressed to tell you, in your situation, to move. First of all, you've already said you scraped the money togetherfor this trip. Do you/can you really scrape together another $500-plus for the room plus all the free dining you lose? Yeah, I think it'll be more than $500 difference, unless you go offsite to fast food most of you meals those last 3 days. Plus, you'll be spending money on bike or boat rentals and that'll add up. Also consider the unknown, who knows what unexpected expenses will come your way?

If you could more easily afford the difference, I'd say go for it. As it stands, you're looking at really cheaping out your last 3 days to stay at a nicer resort you could just as easily visit. Spend a day visiting WL. Have breakfast at Whispering Canyon, rent bikes or boats for a few hours - you can do this without being a guest, the only things you're not really supposed to do are pool hop and use the gym. Later you can go to Fort Wilderness, have dinner at Trails End buffet (best value on site) and watch movies after the campfire singalong. All of which you can more easily afford because you didn't switch resorts for 3 days (which, by the way, Disney makes as easy as possible, but with 2 kids, it'll still be a pain).

 

[New2WDW]

I would just make doubly sure before you make any change that you've got all of the numbers right. Maybe price both alternatives with someone from Kingdom Konsultants who does this sort of thing all the time.

Yes, Pam at KK is my Travel Agent! I already discussed this with her and thought I would run it through all of you! Great suggestions so far. Just when I am leaning one way someone else brings up a great point! :hammer:

 

[New2WDW]

It's too bad you didn't make two separate reservations in the first place. If you had, then you wouldn't be losing 3 days of the DDP (free or otherwise). It's the old saying about hindsight being 50/50.

If your family tends to stay in the parks and only use the resort as a crash pad, then stay at the value. If you take breaks and use the pool a good bit, then it may be well worth a splurge on the WL. Could you stay 2 nights at the WL instead of 3? It's really a matter of what you can comfortably afford.

In this case we were already using our last weekend for leisure away from the parks, mainly from all the crazy schedule changes Disney tried to do that weekend and all the MNSSHP's that are going on those nights.

 

[New2WDW]

I just want to know where you got this great "room rate discount!"

We were able to get the Free Dining Bounceback offer last year for this fall and some room only discounts came out today. (see mousesavers.com)

Great info all, I will look over all this and try to come to a sensible decision!

:wave:

 

[New2WDW]

I'm not a big fan of the Values myself, & I'd almost always suggest an upgrade, but I'd be hard-pressed to tell you, in your situation, to move. First of all, you've already said you scraped the money togetherfor this trip. Do you/can you really scrape together another $500-plus for the room plus all the free dining you lose? Yeah, I think it'll be more than $500 difference, unless you go offsite to fast food most of you meals those last 3 days. Plus, you'll be spending money on bike or boat rentals and that'll add up. Also consider the unknown, who knows what unexpected expenses will come your way?

If you could more easily afford the difference, I'd say go for it. As it stands, you're looking at really cheaping out your last 3 days to stay at a nicer resort you could just as easily visit. Spend a day visiting WL. Have breakfast at Whispering Canyon, rent bikes or boats for a few hours - you can do this without being a guest, the only things you're not really supposed to do are pool hop and use the gym. Later you can go to Fort Wilderness, have dinner at Trails End buffet (best value on site) and watch movies after the campfire singalong. All of which you can more easily afford because you didn't switch resorts for 3 days (which, by the way, Disney makes as easy as possible, but with 2 kids, it'll still be a pain).

Hey Magoo! thanks for chiming in! This is the main decision isn't it! I am looking at it this way.....this may be my families only chance to stay at a Deluxe and take in the amenities.

It is apparent to me that instead of making this a total surprise, I am going to have to let my wife in on it and see what she thinks and then if so we will surprise the kids.

Again, I value all your opinions and I am thankful you all have replied!

keith

 

[DisneyWall-E]

If you say you can afford it than go for it, but maybe for just 2 nights instead. Also, the bellhop service will move your luggage for you. My DW and I had bought another night last year at the Pop Century and all they said we had to do was put our packed luggage under the AC unit by the door, so I am assuming you would do the same thing because I thought they offered free luggage transfers but I may be wrong.

 

[onetimeDisney]

I wouldn't

Honestly, I would just stay put. I would just visit some of the hotels. Yes, you say the change is 279 dollars difference for your room, but you will have lost 3 days of food money as well. Your 11yo will be considered an adult by Disney standards. You would lose approximately 123 dollars of food A DAY (Now it may be more a less according to how you eat) So really you have a price difference of $648. To me it wouldn't be worth it for just a room. I do see that you had 200 dollars for eating, but would scrimping and saving in that area be worth the room. I is just a room..

I am looking for some opinions and information about a change to my Fall '08 trip that I am trying to convince myself to make:

Current Vacation:
9/27 thru 10/7 10 nights/11 days with FREE Dining for Me, Wife, DD11 & DD8 at All Star Movies Resort (Our Favorite)

This is by far going to be our longest stay and we have scraped everything together for this trip. We do the very basic on tickets, etc just to make it down each year for our family vacation.

Now, with some room only rates that just came out I am thinking about making a change and I need some input:

We have all wanted to stay in a Deluxe Resort and with regular prices it will probably never happen. Anyway, with the room rate discount I was thinking about 3 nights at Wilderness Lodge (since it comes out the cheapest) at around $574. The Poly would be around $600+ for 2 nights!
I would be cutting off 3 nights at ASMovies (deduct of +/- $335) and adding on 3 nights at WL (add of +/- $574) the difference would be $239 added to my overall trip.

The down side to this is that I would be losing 3 TS meals and 3 CS meals and 3 snacks from my original vacation. We could scale back and eat CS meals, share meals, etc. for the last couple of days. That would add about $200 to my vacation for meals.

My tickets would already be paid for and on my room key from the ASMovies so no problem there.

Can anyone help me think this out, offer info about WL, and maybe talk me into this?
Also, what is the transportation from resort to MK like? Boat? Bus?

Thanks, Keith

 

[DISMOM]

We loved the French Quarter this year!!! Did you think about the cost analysis of a Moderate resort for the last 3 nites? It just might be a good compromise. There are bike rentals at Riverside, too. They also offer cane pole rentals and carriage rides. Riverside is about 1/2 mile walk from the French Quarter on a lovely path by the river. Both are quite lovely resorts.
We had stayed at the Wilderness Lodge twice and were quite surprised at how much we liked Port Orleans. There is also a boat to Downtown Disney.
Good luck with your trip planning.