so what would be cheaper?

[AliciaLuvzDizne]

My parents have a few weeks saved up of our time share, though they are gonna charge me the yearly maintenence fee to use it, $700.

There are 4 of us going, plus we need to get tickets and a flight. so would it be cheaper for me to go with some sort of disney package? i have never stayed on property before so im afraid of little hidden charges i wont find until i get there...
anyone have any thoughts? :brick:

 

[ddrongowski]

thoughts

If you are staying for a 10 days or longer it will be cheaper to you to pay the 700 for the time share. Value resorts run at cheapest $77 a night. If you are staying less time I would suggest getting on the following site and running some comparisions.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/waltdisneyworld/reservations/reservationsindex?id=ReservationsRoot

I always stay on Disney property for the small perks, such as free parking, transportation, and also the ultimate park hopper pass that only resort guests can get (at least thats what they say). I have never had any "hidden" charges.

 

[CREEKWAYNE]

$$$

Hey Alicia. It kind of depends on some things as far as what would be less expensive. The biggest as already stated would be the lenghth of stay...Right now and for the past several months. Disney has been rarely cheaper. I am going down this month and staying at Port Orleans for only $79.00/night! That is a moderate hotel. I could of stayed at a All-stars resort for only $55.00/night! There are tons of deals out there and will continue to be as lone as Disney attendance and hotels numbers are down. Either way you need airline and tickets so unless you are staying for an extended period. I would stay at an all-star hotel and have all the perks along with it!!:wave:

17 days and counting!:sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[Dwarful]

Well, we would need a few specifics to give you the best help.
But here is my .02~
We stayed at All Star Movies in May/June for 10 nights. We paid $50 a night for each room. We used a code we got off of www.mousesavers.com The best advice is to keep checking the boards and call Disney direct for the best rates.
There are certain ways to save some money...for example take along some extra snacks for in the room. Eat breakfast in your room or at the resort before heading into the parks, then eat a late lunch and snack at dinner. Places that offer the all you can eat buffets are great for this, the lunch prices tend to be cheaper than the dinner prices. Just find out exact times they switch from lunch/dinner!
We have never (even for our honeymoon trip) bought a package. We have always managed to put it together on our own cheaper than the packages Disney offers..but I sort of love the challenge of putting it together myself to save some money!
We haven't ever had any "hidden" charges added to our room either...plus staying onsite you have the package pick up perk, busses, the theme! The whole Disney experience!

 

[dreamer]

You're gonna have to do the footwork to get a good answer. There are some good suggestions in the above posts. Definitely check out mousesavers.com. It seems most agree that packages are always more expensive.

Remember to compare quality of accomodations. If you're talking about DVC points, the quality will be high at the DVC resorts but so will the relative price. The cost of the points varies from season to season -- so check the number of points needed for the time you'll be there.

It will be cheaper to stay at All Stars than to use DVC points at pretty much any time of year. The moderate resorts will probably be cheaper if you can get a good deal. (But the DVC will have higher quality.)

I'm not aware of hidden charges if you're using DVC points. There are taxes added on to room rates, which are quite steep so keep that in mind.

The biggest extras are not hidden -- Disney will tempt you to spend money on lots of things. So if you're on a budget put a lock and key on your wallet when you arrive.

 

[TURKEY]

Originally posted by dreamer
You're gonna have to do the footwork to get a good answer. There are some good suggestions in the above posts. Definitely check out mousesavers.com. It seems most agree that packages are always more expensive.

Remember to compare quality of accomodations. If you're talking about DVC points, the quality will be high at the DVC resorts but so will the relative price. The cost of the points varies from season to season -- so check the number of points needed for the time you'll be there.

It will be cheaper to stay at All Stars than to use DVC points at pretty much any time of year. The moderate resorts will probably be cheaper if you can get a good deal. (But the DVC will have higher quality.)

I'm not aware of hidden charges if you're using DVC points. There are taxes added on to room rates, which are quite steep so keep that in mind.

The biggest extras are not hidden -- Disney will tempt you to spend money on lots of things. So if you're on a budget put a lock and key on your wallet when you arrive.

It sounded like it was a non-Disney time share to me and not DVC.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Perhaps we need some clarification from you, AliciaLuvzDizne.

Are you talking about $700 for DVC or for an off-site time share?
If DVC, how many points do you have?

How many days were you planning to stay?

What time of year are you going (it makes a HUGE difference in price)?

The accommodations will always be better at DVC than at a moderate or value hotel. If your only out-of-pocket for 7 days at DVC is $700, it is a huge bargain.

Will the 4 of you be OK in a room with 2 beds (standard resort--double beds or DVC studio--queen beds), or do you want something bigger?

If you are somewhat persistent, you will almost always do better with booking flights and buying tickets separately. Remember that WDW is offering discounts (albeit small ones) on advance park ticket purchases. Do not wait until you get there to buy tickets.

 

[AliciaLuvzDizne]

sorry...

off site timeshare through RCA.
the 700 is half the maintence fee that is paid yearly as we own 2 weeks but i'll only be using 1. Im honestly reconsidering flying right now, but if we drive we'll have to take someone elses car as mine would never make it and thats a lot to ask someone to do.

Thanks for all the advice so far though!! I have found some nice deals in the past on expedia.com so maybe i'll start making a huge list!!

 

[Dwarful]

Well, if I were you then I would try to find a good price at either the Value or Moderate Resorts. I would rather stay at All Stars and be onsite and not have the hassles of staying off site. But thats just me...I think with the way the economy is you could get a better price onsite or off site. Good luck no matter which way you decide..just let us know if you come across some terrific deals!

 

[TURKEY]

If you do fly, I'd definitely stay on site.

It's going to be hard getting around without a car. You'd have to rent one and I think that all states it's 25 to rent one.

 

[hadleybarth]

I do think you have to be 25 to rent a car. If someone in your group is old enough, it might be worth renting one in CT. and then driving down. We have found that when airfare deals are scarce, we can rent a car with unlimited mileage and buy gas for the cost of about one of the four plane tickets we would have to otherwise purchase. We still stay onsite (in a cheapie value resort gotten with a discount) and use Disney's transportation when we get there, but it saves us enough on the travel end to eat some nice meals and go back sooner.

 

[Dwarful]

I agree with hadleybarth on that one! We do the same..even with kids now. As someone else said on the boards before "the rooms all look alike when your eyes are closed!" and if you are like us we aren't in the room much at all. So the AS resorts work out perfectly, esp. if you can grab the cheap rates..the best I have seen are about $55 a night.

 

[AliciaLuvzDizne]

WOOHOO I DID IT!

Jet Blue 79$ to orlando, 114$ back (wierd i know but thats only 210 roundtrip)
The room is gonna cost each of us 100$ (my mom caved on the price when she found me searching for other places to stay...and she isnt charging me or my bf...just dont tell the others going)
The car i rented (and yes i am only 21, in certain places its allowed florida being one of them) i had to pay about 13 dollars a day extra because of my age but the total was only 310 for the week (divided by 4 came to 77$ each)

soooo Im ALL DONE booking everything for my may vacation, i got myself some really good deals and its ONLY JANUARY!!! im sooooo excited!
thanks for your help


one more Q
lol
should i get the disney tixx from the disney store?

 

[Yellow Shoes]

WOW--I am impressed. You've done some savvy shopping.

Get you tickets anywhere but at the gate. The Disney Store sells park hoppers and annual pass vouchers. Disney is offering a (very small) discount -- like $10 for advance purchases.

But as I like to say, $10 = 4 Mickey Head Ice Cream bars

 

[AliciaLuvzDizne]

LoL thats a GREAT way to explain the discount!!! those are the best (though they were Much better when i was younger)
in august (the last time i went) my friends and i got addicted to Itzakadozie's yum

thanks again for the help :-D