New, Planning and crazily excited!

[LesaGirlWalton]

Greetings from the Walton family in Clifton Forge, VA. I am in the beginning stages of planning our first trip to WDW. I'm really enjoying reading the posts from other members and I've already learned lots of helpful information.

The first thing I'm trying to make a definite decision on is when to go. By the way, traveling party will be myself, DH, DD 12, DD 11 and DD 9. (look what i learned already.)

I'm really glad to see that I'm quite normal since I am as excited about planning this trip as I am about going.
Here are the choices and I would appreciate any feedback......
June 20-July 1, 2006...... 10 nights and 10 day play pass
or
i'm considering pulling the kids out of school and going in February but it will cut the trip to 6 or 7 days.

I guess my question is can we do the same amount in 7 days in Feb. as 10 days in June....

We will be able to enjoy the water rides and resort pools in Feb?
By the way..... the basics are we'll be staying in Port Orleans Riverside, hopefully close to a bus stop, Park Hopper passes and the dining plan.

Thanks in advance........

*UPDATE*
Well my DH finally changed shifts and was home for an evening last night. Put the kids in bed and I grabbed everything I had printed out to sell taking the kids out of school and going in February..........

Long story short - he can't take vacation either of the first two weeks in Feb. this year because of some conference half the department is going to already leaving them short manpower. So... I guess now I get to jump straight into plan mode since the decision has been made for me.

I asked him why he didn't tell me sooner that he couldn't take Feb, to which he replied:
Have we ever taken vacation in Feb? How was I supposed to know you would care?
Yeah yeah, so what I was just trying to blame my disappointment on him. haha

anyway.......... many thanks to all who responded.

<!-- / message -->

 

[LesaGirlWalton]

just being hopeful........

 

[Master Yoda]

Thanks Yoda!

Since there are 5 of us the cheapest resort we can stay in is Port Orleans Riverside. I haven't even checked prices on the deluxe resorts. Other than to rest and sleep we won't be in the room much so I just went with the least expensive. We will however, be staying off property the night before we check in and the day we check out. The simple plan is to check out and continue to play all day then sleep somewhere that won't cost $175 a night.

Another and sometime less expensive option is to get 2 connecting rooms at a value resort. The size difference in the rooms at the value resorts and the moderates is very little(in some cases only like 20 square feet) so you almost double you square footage and more importantly with 3 girls you double your number of bathrooms. I am in the same boat you are in with 3 girls and getting rooms can be a little tricky. Sometimes a discounted deluxe room is only $10 or $20 more a night than a moderate and well worth the extra money. Also as just suggested call Pam (I'm kicking myself for not sending you to her earlier) I have not used her personally but another forum member here that I talk to frequently swears by her as do many others on this site. I have never heard one bad or even neutral comment about her on these boards and believe me if someone had a bad experience we would hear about it. Pam will book your rooms, flights, plan itinerary pretty much do everything but chew your food for you. I believe she charges for the planned itinerary but you don't need to purchase it to use her service. Pam will also rebook your rooms at lower rates for you if discount codes (ie Annual Pass,AAA, etc) if they become available.

 

[Raven66]

just being hopeful........

I was afraid of that........... :lol:

 

[WEDROD]

Also think about the rides you want to do. If you like Coasters then you might want to wait till June. EE might not be open in Feb.
We go every year in June or July. If you drink enough water and take afternoon breaks at the pool then it is not that bad.I vote for June. Summer just would not be summer without a vacation to Disney World!

 

[Nemo14]

Glad to hear that you're still leaning towards February. I really think you'll have a better experience then.
Another thing to consider is to rent a home off-site. With 5 of you going, you might find it more convenient to have the extra bathrooms, the privacy of separate bedrooms, and the savings on food. We've rented beautiful homes with pools and hot tubs every February for the past 5 years, and have really enjoyed the experience. You would need to have your own vehicle (we rent a minivan from L&M Car rental at the airport for about $400 for a week), and be sure to mention that you want pool heat. I know that All Star Vacation Homes is a sponsor on these sites, and I've heard wonderful things about them. It's worth looking into, most of these homes are literally minutes from the Disney gates.

 

[LesaGirlWalton]

DH decided for me.......

Well my DH finally changed shifts and was home for an evening last night. Put the kids in bed and I grabbed everything I had printed out to sell taking the kids out of school and going in February..........

Long story short - he can't take vacation either of the first two weeks in Feb. this year because of some conference half the department is going to already leaving them short manpower. So... I guess now I get to jump straight into plan mode since the decision has been made for me.

I asked him why he didn't tell me sooner that he couldn't take Feb, to which he replied:
Have we ever taken vacation in Feb? How was I supposed to know you would care?
Yeah yeah, so what I was just trying to blame my disappointment on him. haha

anyway.......... many thanks to all who responded.

smiles,

 

[Master Yoda]

I asked him why he didn't tell me sooner that he couldn't take Feb, to which he replied:
Have we ever taken vacation in Feb? How was I supposed to know you would care?
Yeah yeah, so what I was just trying to blame my disappointment on him. haha

anyway.......... many thanks to all who responded.

smiles,

If you can not go in February another great time of year are the first 2 weeks in December. Crowds are at their lowest point of the year, all the Christmas decorations are up and all the Christmas special events are in full swing. IMHO is the best time of year to go.

 

[Nemo14]

Sorry to hear that you can't go in February, but is June your only other choice? I know that at the end of the school year it gets pretty hectic for school schedules, sports, etc., but is there any other time you could go? Rest assured that whenever you go, you'll have a great time, but if you can beat the summer heat and crowds, why not!

 

[LaughingGravy]

I think this October still has things available. If you don't need to do serious saving quickly to pull off the trip and still pay the bills (ha ha, don't all laugh too hard), sooner might work better if DH can take the time off on relatively short notice.
I still say shy away from June or other popular and hot times.
If you didn't have a problem taking them out of school in Feb., my thoughts are its better to still do it in the off season.
The stay,play, and dine packages were taken very quickly and were in limited numbers. Who knows? There might, just might be a stay, play and dine plan that someone else dropped because they couldn't make a deposit or something to that effect.
Hey, Pam might know! Worth a shot asking. Confirm DH could take time off,though, before asking:lookaroun. In my case, the free dining plan was such a big difference in $, we had to say "Heck, let's take the time off and the kids out of school."

 

[LesaGirlWalton]

June it will be

DH is finished with vacation time for this year. He has one additional week but I wouldn't dare asking him to give up his week of deer season. I learned long ago that could be grounds for divorce. hahhaha I try not to complain about hunting too much. He's not a man who does "boys night out." He doesn't golf, he doesn't do sports (except for playing with the kids) so he hunts every waking possible minute the month of November. The week of Thanksgiving he takes his second week of vacation. I wouldn't ask him to give it up.

January is the month all the extra bills hit. Car ins. House ins. Shop ins.... blah blah blah so that's out. February is out and my girls are mad softball players who start in March. The June dates are set between regular season softball and all stars.........

So I'll deal with the heat and crowds and make the most of it! Can't wait!

 

[tinks]

we went end of aug, it was our first trip and the heat made it not so fun..i would not go back in summer heat and humidity for nothing.. we are planning our next trip in feb too. dont do summer, its REALLY HOT and REALLY HUMID!!! crowds werent bad though..