Vacation Planning Newbie

tropicalsmile

tropicalsmile

Member
Hello everyone, I am planning on staying at Walt Disney World for the first time in September/October 2012. I have been to Disney World many times, but I've always stayed offsite, so I have a couple questions mostly about booking. First should I book directly through Disney or should I go through a travel agent? If I book now, can later promotions be added as they become available? Right now we have no expiration park tickets, so we really just need a room, but I know in order to add the dining option you need to book a package. If a free dining package becomes available and I have booked a room only, can I add the free dining onto that? Also is there any benefits in staying at a moderate resort versus a value resort? Any information/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you :)
 
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ParentsOf4

ParentsOf4

Well-Known Member
Congratulations on your decision to stay on-site for the first time. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time!

Since you plan to go in September or October, you should be aware that Disney is offering Free Dining for stays 8/25/12 - 9/29/12. Currently this is only offered to Disney Visa Card holders but it should be offered to the general public in a few days. The popular Food and Wine Festival is held in October so there's no guarantee that the Free Dining offer will be extended to October. Free Dining is a popular discount so you might want to book this as soon as it becomes available. See the following link:

http://www.mousesavers.com/packages.html#dvfreedining

If you know what you're doing, typically there is no advantage or disadvantage to booking through Disney or a Travel Agent. Personally, we find it less confusing to book directly through Disney but we've stayed on-site many times. A travel agent can be a great help if you are not exactly sure what you want. For reference, a Disney Cruise is different. A travel agent often can get you additional on-board credits not offered if you book directly through Disney.

There are no specific benefits to staying at a Moderate Resort over a Value Resort. You are paying for the "nicer" resort, not for any specific additional benefits. However, with Free Dining, you get the Disney Dining Plan (which includes one table service and one quick service meal per day) if you stay at a Moderate Resort. If you stay at a Value Resort, your Free Dining includes 2 quick service meals per day only, although you can upgrade for an extra $20 per day.
 
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M

mjmyers10

Member
A major benefit to staying at a moderate vs a value is a full service restaurant. Sometimes, you want something a little more than what the food court offers. Any good Disney Travel Agent will be able to help you plan your vacation for free and sometimes have better access to cheaper airfare. I know a few months ago, your agent could book a trip through Southwest Vacations and could save about $500 off the Disney price. The other benefit to a travel agent is they monitor the various discounts, if a better rate or discount comes out, they can switch you automatically.
 
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D

DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
Travel agents are also of great help when you do know what you want, but don't have the time to do it yourself - an email or phone call can get your trip booked or changes made easily.
 
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Jah200

Jah200

New Member
If history repeats itself, and it has so far this year, Freed dining will continue through October with some blackout days in between. I am gambling on checking in on the 24th based on when free dining was offered the past two years.
 
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Poofiesdream

Poofiesdream

Well-Known Member
Moderates also offer covered bus stops. Some have 2 queen size beds in a room rather than 2 double. Also they have a refrigerator in every room. Also to get the free dinning you can purchase a two day ticket each and they don't expire till after the first use. Next time you go you could upgrade them to whatever you needed. :wave:
 
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docdebbi

docdebbi

Well-Known Member
it looks like nobody has yet addressed your question about adding dining to a room only ressie. so i'll give it a whirl...........
yes you are right, you must have a disney package not a room only reservation to be able to get the dining plan (free or otherwise). if you make a room only reservation and free dining comes out during the time you plan to be there, you simply call the reservation number (407-wdisney) and change to a package. to get a package, you must include tickets. packages cost more than room only ressies.
this changes the complete dynamic of financial calculations if you already have no expiration tickets that would cover your entire trip. you only have to include a ticket for as little as one day- and it can be a one park ticket- but it does add to the cost, so you need to do some careful calculations about whether the free dining really saves you money or not. it still may.
i agree with prior poster, that when this offer comes out, hop on it pronto. they go quickly. disney will still be advertizing on TV about free dining long after they are all taken.
 
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tropicalsmile

tropicalsmile

Member
Original Poster
Ok, so I've been calculating everything and I think I'm slowly getting to a plan! I only have two or three days left on my park tickets, so buying tickets with the package won't be a problem. I do have a couple other questions. I know I can just ask these when I call to make reservations, but I still want to do some calculations beforehand to make sure I'm doing them correctly :animwink:

I know this is probably Disney Planning 101, but here it goes. So at least for the Visa card holders right now, I would have to include a 2-day park ticket or can I buy 2 1-day park tickets? Also, when I'm pricing packages on Disney.com, I can go with the price of a basic Magic Your Way package that includes my choice of room and tickets, I don't have to choose a package that includes dining in order to be eligible for the free dining? Finally, on the disney website, when I choose how many days I want for park tickets, that is per person, right? I'm pretty sure it is, but I couldn't find anywhere where it stated that. Oh, I just thought of another question. Does the price on the Disney website include tax?

Sorry for all the questions, but thanks for all the responses!
 
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