Does anyone have any good advise or any websites to plan a Disney trip? We are trying to get an estimate of how much we will need to save. This trip will not happen this year but we would like to plan ahead for next year or the year after. Thanks
I have done a TON of research on Disney and am currently in the middle of doing so for my company. A few things to remember: 1. Go to the bookstore and get the official guide to Disney, that's a good place to start, there are a lot of tips, as far as times, days to go, what's at each park, when it's busy/not busy, what's at each resort, where to eat, how to do it on a budget, maps of parks, that sort of thing. 2. Staying on Disney can be cheap if you get a discounted package they're offering. Pros: you're on disney, hotels are themed, shuttled everywhere disney has things offered (parks, dining, shopping), can stay in the park later or get there earlier on certain days. Cons: there aren't things like complimentary b'fast, everything is extra (not shuttle) and rooms are small. 3. There are a ton of hotels around Disney, within 2 miles, and almost all offer shuttles and you'd be surprised at how cheap some are. We stayed in a suite with 2 double beds plus pull out sofa and full kitchen with dining table for $59/night (4 years ago) with free b'fast and shuttle all day to/from Disney within 5 minutes. That hotel isn't there anymore, but there are tons of other ones. 4. Go to tripadvisor.com and check out reviews of any hotel you pick. Unbiased reviews from past customers, it's a great website! 5. Instead of a hotel, try renting a house or condo/villa, sometimes it's cheaper. We're looking at renting a 6 bedroom house for $300/night, complete with pool, hot tub, games room, fenced in yard, lots of TVs, etc...You can go to vrbo.com or just type in search engine "vacation rental near Disney". 6. Disney tickets go up in price all the time, so buy them as soon as you can, at the cheaper rate than next year, when they're a couple dollars more per ticket. 7. I don't know much about the Dining Plan, but hear it's a good deal if you're getting the whole Disney package (hotel, park, etc.) I'm not sure how big your group is, but to give you an idea, 4 years ago we went, 2 adults, a teenager (priced as an adult in Disney terms) and a child for 4 days at Disney for $1500. I can't remember if that included gas (we drove) but obviously gas is much more expensive now anyway. That did include all our meals, hotel, park tickets, souveniers, etc.
Along with everything above, check out disboards.com, they are a wealth of information, and have all the info on discount codes, etc., Also, for the past few years Disney has been offering free dining at the end of summer.
Depending on how many people are going, check into flying vs driving. We're going in January, and flights are $220/each. You can find direct flights, and I know I have seen specials on them, so I am going to continue looking. If anyone has any ideas how I can find cheap flights to Orlando, direct only, for 13 people, please let me know! (no stand bys)
Good to know. I checked their website, but they're only pricing flights through October at this time, so I couldn't check prices.
There are some promotional companies in Florida that have clients who book several disney packages, then have one too many so they sell them for like $99. Only thing is you have to view a timeshare... I think its allears.net has some great disney tips. I suggest staying in Kissimmee Florida and finding a hotel that has a free shuttle to Disney. Once you find a hotel, do a search on orbitz, hotels.com, etc for a big discounted rate.
Sign up for Southwest's ding fares, they will run it fo $50-60 each way. The catch is that you have to be prepared to book that day that the ding fare comes up. We went in October and paid around $500 for 4 seats.
www.allears.net is the website that I used alot to plan our trip and we borrowed the Disney Birnbaum Book from someone else. You may be able to get an older book from the library without having to purchase it. We went the first week in May and used AAA our trip not including travel was $1600 for two adults and one child. That was 5 days and staying at a Disney Pop Century Resort with the dining plan. I would check with AAA to see if they had any deals for the time that you are planning to go. At the time that we were planning we bought the 4 theme park tickets and the tickets came with a free upgrade for park hopper with fast pass and it included the water parks. We didn't go to the water parks, but we were able to supplement the Downtown Disney Quest instead. There were alot of other coupons included as well. We drove, it took alot of time to drive, but it was cheaper than flying. Once we got there we used all the Disney transportation so the vehicle didn't have to used the rest of the time.
