total newbie to DW research needs help!

[skohng]

hi all,

I'm sorry for the lame, generic, open-ended question, but I don't even know where to begin. I don't even know whether we want to go to disneyland or WDW.

Here's what I do know:
1. We are a family of four (2 ds's, at time of travel 4.5yo and 23mo) wanting to go with another family of four (at time of travel 1 ds 5yo, 1 dd 2.5yo)
2. We are wanting to do a condo rental for all of us to hopefully save on lodging and food
3. We plan to make this trip in September for about a week

Of course like anyone else, this comes down to cost-efficiency. Where do I start researching lodging and any recommendations out there? How realistic is it to plan meals at the condo or with packed lunches vs. eating on site? What should a daily schedule look like? How will I know which is the better "deal" or which is more "worth" it or most age appropriate (disneyland vs world). I did see the "what to do, what not to do" thread, which is very helpful, but still need specific guidance.

Grateful for any advice. Thanks!

[egoldber]

Well for us, it comes down to WDW is much, much easier to get to vs. DL and more affordable to either fly or drive. If you're more in the middle of the country, maybe the decision is not so cut and dry, but I would price transportation to start with.

Also, how long do you plan to be gone? If it's for a week, then WDW has more to offer IMO. If it's only for a few days, then DL may be more manageable.

I would not assume that staying on property is more expensive than staying off. Once you factor in rental car costs (no need for a car if you stay on property at WDW), the promotions currently being offered by Disney it may be close.

We tend to eat breakfast in the room (and this is easier when you have a kitchen, I agree), lunch in the parks and dinner about 50/50 in vs out of the parks. You will probably want to spend a few late nights for firework shows, night parades, etc.

[JTsMom]

First, :yeahthat: to everything Beth said. :)

I have several thoughts:

WDW vs DL- Both have pros and cons, but I'd have a hard time spending a full week a DL. I also would guess- but it's totally a guess- that transportation to DL would be more expensive, and take longer. If you aren't set on Disney only though, there are other things to do in CA of course. Also, it would be very easy to find a vacation home rental in Orlando- I don't know that it would be so easy in CA.

Pro to DL- weather. September in FL is extremely hot and humid.

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I agree with what Beth said about not neccessarily ruling out staying on property just yet. If you do want to do that, there are TONS of options, but if you stay on property, you don't have to pay for parking, you have free transportation, you don't have to worry about car seats (except on the plane if you buy the little ones seats), and there are a ton of specials at that time of year. For example, do you know about the free dining promo?

http://bookwdw.reservations.disney.go.com/ibcwdw/en_US/specialOfferDetails?name=Promo&promotionCode=fy09q4dine&market=fy09q4dine

If you got two value rooms, you'd probably stay under what you'd spend on a condo, you'd have some privacy, and you would have the benefits of staying on property- not the least of which is that it would be easy for 1 person to take the 2 little ones back to the room early if you want too. There's also the fact that staying on property is just fun too. :)

You could get a mini fridge to keep milk, juice, etc. in, and have breakfast in the room. We did that, and it worked out great. If you go with a value resort, the room won't come with the fridge- you'd have to rent one at $10 a day, OR do one of the fridge swaps on disboards.com (people pass around a fridge- you sign up for it). If you did free dining, your other meals would be covered- no dishes, no packing food, no carrying food. You even get free snacks with it.

The downside is that you wouldn't have a free washer and dryer, which you would with a condo.
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If you do decide to stay off property, bringing lunches wouldn't be that hard. Just pack sandwhiches or whatever and tote them in. There are several grocery stores close to the park. I would count on still buying a couple of treats though, b/c it's hard to pass up those Mickey ear ice creams and what-not.

ETA: Where to start researching=disboards.com, allears.net, mousesavers.com and The Unofficial Guide to WDW.

[fivi2]

I started planning by reading the Unofficial Guide to wdw with kids. I honestly think I read it cover to cover. My copy was slightly out of date, but you can easily fill in the gaps on disboards.

ITA with pps - look at what each park (wdw v dl) has to offer, how long you plan on being there, and how much it costs to get there.

We stayed on property and loved it, but if I were trying to save money and going with two families, I would seriously consider a condo... (but I am not the expert these other ladies are!)

[skohng]

thanks so much for the replies! it never occurred to me to stay on-site. For the dinner deal, is that for a predetermined list of participating restaurants? How does that work? (And how is the food?)

Some of these off-site homes are not too far away, and we wouldn't mind renting a car, but I didn't factor parking costs. I can see how this all adds up.

[captobey]

We just came back from WDW and stayed off property at a townhouse in Windsor Hills. For us, being off property was great. We went for 7 nights and we really wanted more space than a standard hotel room. DDs are 4.5 and 21 months. We rented a minivan for just over $250 total and brought our own car seats. Door to monorail was only 10-15 minutes for us. We rented a stroller at orlandostrollerrental.com (cheaper than the Disney strollers) so we would drive to the parking lot, put the kids in the stroller, walk 3 mins to the monorail and push the stroller right onto the monorail. If we had stayed at a non-monorail disney property, we would have had to fold and unfold the stroller for every bus ride or deal with stroller rentals at the park. I think that there are pros and cons to staying on or off property. It totally depends on what will work best for your family. We ate most meals at the condo so I think that we saved quite a bit by being off property and we had no problems going back home for naps and then back to the parks late afternoon everyday (once you pay for parking once, just keep your pass and you won't have to pay again that day if you come back to the parks).

HTH

[JTsMom]

thanks so much for the replies! it never occurred to me to stay on-site. For the dinner deal, is that for a predetermined list of participating restaurants? How does that work? (And how is the food?)

Some of these off-site homes are not too far away, and we wouldn't mind renting a car, but I didn't factor parking costs. I can see how this all adds up.The way the dining plan works is that each person 3 and up gets 1 table service meal, 1 counter service meal, and 1 snack per night of your stay. Tips are not included, nor is alchohol. The c.s. is basically a "value meal" type of thing- say a turkey wrap, chips and a soda for an adult. You also get a dessert at every meal. There are lots of c.s. places, and a good amount of variety. You can eat at any of the Disney c.s. places, and order any meal you want (for the most part- there are very few exceptions, but something like surf and turf for 2 for example). The table service is similar, but at a sit-down place. You can eat at the steakhouse and order a filet if you want. The snack credits vary, but things like a bottle of water, a hot pretzel, an ice cream bar, etc. are included. You can use the credits in any order you want, and as many per day as you want. For example, say on Monday you want to have breakfast and dinner at a TS place, then on Tues you want to do 2 CS, you can. It's all loaded on a card.

There are some surprisingly good food options ime, considering it's a theme park. It's not all burgers and fries- you just have to know where to go. That's where allears.net comes in handy- they have all of the menus with prices.

If you are even considering trying to get that deal, I would call Disney pronto and see what availability they have left- it might be really limited at this point. Also, if you do book it, make your ADRs (reservations) the first second that you can b/c otherwise you'll never get in anywhere to use the table services. Oh, and character meals are also included in the dining plan, so you can eat with Mickey or the princesses if you want. :) Signature locations, and dinner shows take 2 credits though.

[skohng]

thanks so much! How would I even know where to make reservations? Is it ever cumbersome to have to squeeze in enough park time and then run over to make it in time for your reservation?

I'll definitely check out disboards, I'm sure most of my questions are answered there. It's quite an intimidating website! Then again, so was BBB when I first started ;)

ETA: the free dining offer package includes the base-rate ticket in which you can only visit one park per day, is that right? or can you upgrade to the "hopper" tickets?

[egoldber]

Is it ever cumbersome to have to squeeze in enough park time and then run over to make it in time for your reservation?

Yes. Which is why I never get the dining plan. I hate feeling rushed and having to know 90 days in advance what I feel like eating for dinner. :ROTFLMAO: