Planning a Disney vacation

We want to start planning a Disney world stay for next year. I don’t even know where to start it’s all overwhelming. Where are the best places to stay in the area? Is it better to stay off the resort to save costs or stay on the resort? It looks like there are multiple resorts too? Any and all advice is greatly welcomed. I went to Disney once when when I was a child so I am totally clueless....

Planning a Disney vacation

look into art of animation nemo family suites. They have two bathrooms and a separate bedroom which we loved. Price was great compared to suites at moderate and deluxe resorts. Also as of next year, that resort will not only have the bus transport to the parks, but will also have a gondola transportation system up and running! Huge plus to have two different ways to get to a from the parks

Re: Planning a Disney vacation

We stay on property always

I have a friend who can help you plan. She has her own biz

Planning a Disney vacation

Get a travel agent. They will book all the dining and fast passes and put an schedule together for you.

Re: Planning a Disney vacation

I used a travel agent. They don't cost you anything. If you want a recommendation let me know, happy to pass on the name of the person I used.

ETA I would definitely stay on site. You get the convenience of Disney transportation plus you get your fast pass window earlier vs. staying off site.

Message edited 3/13/2019 8:56:39 AM.

Re: Planning a Disney vacation

I buy this book to help me... The Unofficial Guide to Disney 2019 by Len Testa... I find it very helpful!

Planning a Disney vacation

Figure out your budget first because that will greatly decide where to stay. We like the deluxe resorts because of the transportation convenience. Definitely stay on property. its worth it

Planning a Disney vacation

Figure out a budget and get yourself a travel agent. Planning a Disney trip is not for the faint of heart. I plan all my own trips but if you're a newbie and not a control freak (like me) then get a travel agent. They'll do all the work. And definitely stay on site!!

Re: Planning a Disney vacation

Definitely get a travel agent. It helps tremendously. IMO, this is not the vacation you book online and wing it. It's too involved. What should be a simplistic task - planning a family vacation- is an overwhelming event when it comes to Disney, especially first timers. It's crazy.

I would say definitely stay on property. Not only for the convenience but for the fact that it pretty much ensures you can get the dining you want and the fast passes you want. Those are major perks IMO.

My mom is a TA who does Disney. If you would like her info, I would be happy to pass it along.

ETA: Also, a travel agent will watch the pricing and get notifications for you. Last year, when I booked, there ended up being a price drop that I never would have known about if I did it on my own. She was able to get a price adjustment for $800. That just about paid for my meal plan. She also saw a price drop in my airfare and I ended up having enough of a refund to fly the 5 of us back again last year.

One more thing I did was get a Southwest credit card. It paid for 4 of my 5 flights this year in points.

Message edited 3/13/2019 10:52:36 AM.

Re: Planning a Disney vacation

We just did Disney a few weeks ago and I'm already starting to think of our next trip! I joined a few FB groups and learned from there. It seems overwhelming, but it really wasn't very bad.

There are a lot of pros to staying on property and they have 4 levels of resorts, so you can pay what you're comfortable paying and then don't need a car.

Re: Planning a Disney vacation

Planning a Disney vacation

We just a bought a house (vacation rental) in Kissimmee, so we stay there. It’s in a resort, and it’s about 15 minutes away from Disney. We have three kids, so we prefer more space than a hotel room. We also like taking a break from the parks and hanging at the resort. LMK if you’re interested in more info!

Re: Planning a Disney vacation

Re: Planning a Disney vacation

There are so many ways to approach it.

Once you have a realistic budget: decide on if you want to stay on or off site. For on site, look at the Disney planning site. For off site, orbitz or whatever hotel website you like will give you a ton of options. You put in your dates and they give you the hotel options.

Pros of off site: I prefer doing something else in Florida as part of the vacation (I realistically can’t do that much Disney). Tampa is the easiest drive, but lots of places are super accessible. For the same amount of money, you get a much, much nicer room and perks (breakfast, etc) at an offsite hotel. I always check the going rate of the ultra luxury hotels for whatever period I’m booking.the ride from most hotels is 15-20 minutes.

Pros of on site: On site is better if you don’t rent a car. The transportation they give you is easy (even the buses). You get to book things earlier than others so if you have your heart set on a special ride, you have dibs on the fast pass times. You also don’t have to pay for parking.

As for a travel planner... I’ve never used one. I don’t really think it’s a hard vacation to plan if you check out the park sites on the internet. The major things people do are Magic Kindgom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Magic kingdom has the most. Check size of your kids and what rides they can go on. MK has the most, I often just go there for 2 days. Disney Springs is a big mall with food options and entertainment (think bowling etc). If you have a girl, you may want to check out Bippity Boppity Boutique which is a hair style salon where they act and pretend to be fairy godmothers in training. They do your kids hair and make up for $60+. Girls love it. Use Fast pass. They give you a selection of 3 (one per hour) that you have to use up before you get one at a time. It’s a bit different at Epcot in that they rate their rides... but it’s easy enough to figure out. If you stay at a resort, you book FP times earlier than people who just buy tickets.

As for winging it... it’s fine if you don’t NEED to go on a particular ride or experience. I have had the most fun taking it easy and doing things spontaneously. Even fast passes have a decent selection the night before.

I have only used a vacation planner when traveling internationally with lots of connections (bus or air connections).

Re: Planning a Disney vacation

Is it more expensive to have a travel agent? I honestly do not know. If it isn't, then by all means do so. But I planned 2 trips online completely on my own and it wasn't hard at all. My only advice would be do some online research about the rides and attractions so you can plan the fast passes accordingly.

Re: Planning a Disney vacation

Re: Planning a Disney vacation

TA's make commission off Disney. You do not have to pay them.

Just check to see if the TA will do both your dining reservations and fast passes. I used a TA in the past that did both, the current TA I am using though only has someone that books your dining for you, but for FP I would have to pay, so I am going to do that myself.