[markarja]

we are planning a third trip to WDW in May of 2004..no sense in waiting to start planning. Money is tight and we are looking for good ideas as to how best to go and good ways to save money. Is it better to go through a travel agent ( did that the last two trips) or to go and do it ourselves over the internet? And any other ideas would be greatly appreciated! :p

[mickey]

You know, that is a good question, and there really is no good answer. Doing all of the planning by yourself, you will be able to get a good deal. If you use a Disney only travel agent who knows all the codes, you will also be able to get a good deal. Of couse, doing it yourself will require more time, but some people like spending the time doing the planning. If you find a Disney only travel agent that you like, I would suggest using them, but if you like to spend the time doing the planning, then go for it yourself.

The room rates for 2004 have not been announced yet, so you are going to have to wait some. There have been discounts for May the last two years, and I expect them for 2003 as well, so you should be able to get a pretty good discount. Of course, you should book your room as soon as you can, and then when any discounts are released, you will need to re-book your discount.

How long are you going for and where are you planning on staying?

If you are going for 7 days or more, consider purchasing an Annual Pass. You will receive a better discount on your room, as well as some other discounts, and you can return within 12 months and not have to buy another pass.

[Sheryl]

If you are flexible about where you stay, my advice is, and what helped me a lot, is to make reservations until you get the best deal! I've even made reservations in both my name and my husband's name at the same place for different dates just for a few days until I could get my plans straight - because it gave me more options. So, if you are you are flexible with accommodations, start looking now. Start comparing now...and as the dates move closer, keep rechecking. For instance, I booked about 4 months out at the Royal Plaza Hotel and got a great rate of $59.00 a night but keep checking and the rate dropped to $50.00 a night - so I made new ones and then cancelled my originals. (Always make the new ones before you cancel old ones). Well, I ended up canceling those too because I decided it might be my parents only trip to Disney and I should go ahead and splurge another $30 a night to stay onsite.

Also, keep a notebook for yourself and always get a cancellation number so you can prove you cancelled.

Like Mickey suggested, for the annual pass, if for some reason it wouldn't turn out to be a good deal for everyone in the family, it might be a good deal for one person in the family. You only need one to get the annual passholder's rates (when they come out) if you want to stay onsite at Disney. It has to be in the name of the person who makes the reservation. Also, for instance, I booked with the annual passholder's code while I was waiting for the Florida resident discounts to come out. I didn't actually have an annual pass.. I would have had to buy one though and present it if I would have kept that code on the reservation.

If you are planning to stay onsite AND pay for ultimate park hopper passes in advance - make three reservations instead of one. The reason is that in purchasing ultimate park hopper tickets you always get one day more at the park than the number of nights. For instance, you can buy a 1 night, 2 day ultimate park hopper stay OR a 2 night, 3 day ultimate park hopper stay OR a 3 night, 4 day ultimate park hopper stay, etc.
So, if you plan to buy them, make one reservation for the first night - the day you arrive - this will be a one night non-ultimate park hopper reservation (because if you aren't going to the park that day, why pay for it) and then make second reservation starting the second night with the ultimate park hoppers for those that need them - minus you, in case you have to buy that annual pass for the annual passholder's discount on the resort in the first place - you can always add the ultimate park hopper later or pay a little more to get it there on the second reservation. The second reservation should be for the second night through the length of stay, except for the last night - don't include the last night in the second reservation. The day you check in for the second ultimate park hopper reservation (the second reservation starting the second night) they can give you your tickets as early as 12:01am. Since you will already be there in the resort, you just have to go to the front desk that night or in the morning and check in on your second reservation to get your tickets. (I'm assuming they will kept you in the same room, otherwise they'll tell you - your room might not be ready for another 15 hours! :laugh) Then you'll want a third reservation for the last night, since you probably will leave in the morning and why pay for that day when the second reservation's ultimate park hopper's covered you until midnight the night before.

That was probably as clear as mud!
But you really could save at least $100 a person for the two ultimate park hopper days (the first day and the last day) you weren't going to use anyway.

Of course, if you do want to go to the park the day you arrive or leave....um....nevermind...

[trishb]

Markarja...welcome!!

You have asked a terrific question, and you will probably get tons of answers. I have planned many, many trips to WDW ranging from tight budget to honeymoon.

My first suggestion would be to figure out exactly what your budget is and what vacation time you have available to you. Those two things will determine everything else.

Last year, DH and myself took a trip to Orlando on a shoestring budget. Our main destination: WDW. We love and know the property well enough to know what we wanted to see, what we did not, and what was free. We decided to stay at the Courtyard by Marriott at Downtown Disney. It was close enough to the Marketplace that we had nighttime entertainment for the length of our stay for free (and within walking distance). We visited the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, both for one day. On other days, we visited the resorts and Ft. Wilderness. Our meals were mainly off-property (which saved a lot of money).

Mickey and Sheryl are right about the discount codes. Should you decide to stay on property, these will save you lots of money. I also am a member of AAA. I have used their travel agency and saved $1000 on my vacation package this year (that's about 20%).

Happy planning! :)

[LuvWDW]

Just a quick idea...

When I was planning our families first trip I got on the Disneyworld reservation online and put my dates in ( you could price yours out for this May even though you are going next year..still gives you an idea)...

The web site is usually the most $, so I would take that amount and divide it by how many weeks ( like 52 if a year in advance)..then we would save that much money a week or month ...

By the time you get your discount rates you will have saved up PLENTY of money...with some to play around with !

GOOD LUCK...:)

[Rookie]

Sheryl (or others) - I'd love some help with a couple of related questions concerning our planning of a late fall 2003 trip. We cannot arrive until about 5 pm on Sunday and have to leave at noon on Friday, so we will have five nights (staying on site) and four full days at WDW plus Friday morning. Since we want to visit all four theme parks and DisneyQuest (don't care that much about the Water Parks), we are going back and forth on whether to get Park Hoppers and pay extra for DisneyQuest vs. getting Ultimate Park Hoppers. Our decision comes down to three questions:

1) Since our first night on site is Sunday, will Disney sell us 4-night/5-day Ultimate's starting on Monday? Or, would Disney require us to purchase a 5-night/6-day Ultimates starting with Sunday?

2) Since we are staying on site Sunday night, if we could purchase Ultimates to start on Monday, what time would the Ultimate Park Hoppers be valid on Monday? Would we be able to use them in the morning or would we have to wait until after 3 pm?

3) What is your suggested strategy? If we want to purchase Ultimates, would we have to make separate room reservations, one for Sunday and a second for Mon thru Thurs?

Thanks!

[disneycouple30]

Since you are staying for 5 night and four 1/2 days may I suggest that you pay for the first night separate and then early monday morning pick up you passes for 4 night/5 days. If you paid for the Ulimate passes as if you came in on Sunday you end up paying for one extra day that you couldn't use. But since you are only interested in the Park and Disney quest, I would buy the 4 day park hopper and use Sunday night to vist Boardwalk and Friday morning for Downtown Disney. If you get a chance then I would pay for Disney Quest. But I doubt that you will have time with only 4 days. We were there in September and we never got a chance to get to Disney Quest and we were there for 7 nights and 8 days. You didn't say where you were staying or if this was the first time there. By your handle I would say this is the first time. If it is, 4 days in the parks will let you see about 50 to 60 percent of what really there. We been going there at least twice a year since 1989 and we still haven't seen it all.

[BDavis932]

My suggestion is to purchase Disney Dollars ahead of time. We give our kids 1/2 of their allowance every week so they can save for their souvineers, and it won't be such a huge expense when we get there. So they get 3 dollars a week, and earn "extra credits" for doing extra chores. By the time we go in May, the kids should have around $125 each!! Although this won't save you any money, it will at least spread out the expense of WDW.

[dlashe4977]

Depending on which WDW resort you are staying at and how long of a stay. I always buy an annual pass and I go in Nov or Dec (value season) and get 40% OFF a hotel room. For example, Polynesian is $300 normally, A/P rate is $170. This discount more than pays for the cost of all my A/P's.
I like to book everything myself, this way I can control it and make sure it was done right. It's easy to book rental car and airlines on the internet.
GOOD LUCK !:D :D

[SummerSchoolMat]

It's been an enjoyable experience planning our past and upcoming trips. With the wealth of information on the internet, it has been simple and rewarding. I've even asked a Disney travel agent to review the 3 major trip costs (ticket, lodging, & meals) for potential savings or missed value, and he didn't have any significant changes. (You might have a fourth major (travel) being from NY). The decision leans towards your available time and aptitude towards planning.

My suggestion would be to first determine a maximum amount that you would be willing to spend on the trip. Once you have this number, determine what the cost would be if the trip was in May '03. Once you have this number, add a 5% inflation factor to determine the May '04 price. If this amount is greater than your maximum, make adjustments.

I have received tremendous advice from this website, waltdisneyworld.com, mousesavers.com, wdwinfo.com, and pscalculator.net. There are others, but these five are tops in planning my Disney vacation.

I'll try to respond if you have any specifics.

Regards,:D

[Sheryl]

Hi Rookie!

I didn't see your post!

Again, Ultimate park hoppers are good at 12:01am. Since the resorts are open 24 hours a day, you can get your ultimate park hopper any time after midnight, anytime it is officially the day of check-in for your reservation. You see, you =are= checking in at that time , be it 12:02am, 9am, 1pm, or 3pm - NOW, your room, of course, may not be ready until later in the day but you are officially checked in on that day of check in and therefore can use your tickets.

I have to say that I think the ultimate park hoppers are a great deal, and I would definitely chose that over reg. park hoppers, unless you are only going for 1 day, which you are not, you are going for a few.

I would definitely make the two or three separate reservations. One regular one for Sunday night and then the ultimate park hopper reservation for Monday - Thursday. OR Monday through Weds. (with a third for Thurs) It depends on if you plan to do anything on Friday.

It is really no big deal to make separate reservations. You can make them all on the same call with the same reservationist. You just have two or three reservation numbers instead of one.

Hope this helps!

[gdsrn]

:) Hello everyone,
We are going to Disney in May 2003. We are staying at the Beach club. I am trying to deside what would be the best value for our tickets. We are staying 7 nights. I know we want to go to Sea World 1 day, Gaterland 1/2 day the rest of the time will probably be disney. Which tickets would you suggest? Money is tight this year, or should I say tighter than usual.
GDSRN:) :)