(Update in OP.)Please help a disney novice on a short time frame, family of 5

[brittone2]

Running a similar scenario for Disney's Contemporary Resort (CR is the abbreviation in board lingo)
12/12-12/18 7days, 6 nights with discounted rate and 7 day base tickets to the parks: $4237.79. I realize this is over your budget by a couple hundred but this is LIGHT YEARS different than staying at POR and POR is LIGHT YEARS away from staying at WBC. the Contemporary (a monorail resort) at Christmas time is fan-freaking-tastic.

Megs, can you clue me in as to where I can price this out? I think we'd be open to bumping up the budget to the Contemporary if it was close!

Is that for a room that accommodates 5? I'm so clueless. I just looked at rates but it says you are viewing non discounted rates. So how do I see the discounted rates, LOL??

To PPs who asked-
I do not see us as going all day long every day hard core. At all My kids tend to need some downtime and I just think they'll be a trainwreck after a day or two if they don't get some downtime. I see us riding rides, maybe hanging in a pool one or two afternoons, checking out parades and fireworks (my kids love that).

I think we'd preload a GC with $$ for food and not worry about scrimping per se. I don't think we care too much about eating in room or not to save $$, but more for convenience, ease, speed, and of course, we generally eat LC so we can work with that when we eat on our own more easily. I don't see us doing soda, dessert, etc. with many meals. My kids like things like larabars, etc. on the go and I think we could fill in with some of that.

I look at Windsor Hills and think it would be really relaxing to be able to spread out at the end of the day. Introverted me requires major decompression after a day in crowds. I look at POR and worry that the kids will keep each other up, and that if one or two need a nap, we have no way to separate anyone without splitting up (and of course if one finds out that another child went in the pool, etc. with the other parent all hell will break loose ).

December seems soooo close. I wonder if we'll be able to get reservations for restaurants. I wish I knew if there will be deals in Feb but I'd love to see the holiday decor.

Please clue me in on how to run the different pricing scenarios...I can't even compare as I don't seem to know where to locate the discounts on rooms.

[egoldber]

You can look online for dining reservations to see what is available for your time frame. Planning meals is so much easier now that its all online.

You don't need to have made a hotel reservation to book dining.

Early December is a low crowd time, so it wouldn't surprise me if there is a fair amount of availability.

ETA: I recently made reservations for late January and it was wide open.

[megs4413]

[QUOTE=brittone2;3866355]Megs, can you clue me in as to where I can price this out? I think we'd be open to bumping up the budget to the Contemporary if it was close![QUOTE] I'm pricing direct through Disney's website.

Is that for a room that accommodates 5? I'm so clueless. I just looked at rates but it says you are viewing non discounted rates. So how do I see the discounted rates, LOL??

You need to click on Special Offers. if you click on the tab for "places to stay" it should pop up to the right in small blue letters inside that box at the bottom. There is a list of current promos there. I can explain more about how special offers work if you have questions once you're looking at them.

I think we'd preload a GC with $$ for food and not worry about scrimping per se. I don't think we care too much about eating in room or not to save $$, but more for convenience, ease, speed, and of course, we generally eat LC so we can work with that when we eat on our own more easily. I don't see us doing soda, dessert, etc. with many meals. My kids like things like larabars, etc. on the go and I think we could fill in with some of that.

I'd skip the DDP, then. What is LC?

I look at Windsor Hills and think it would be really relaxing to be able to spread out at the end of the day. Introverted me requires major decompression after a day in crowds. I look at POR and worry that the kids will keep each other up, and that if one or two need a nap, we have no way to separate anyone without splitting up (and of course if one finds out that another child went in the pool, etc. with the other parent all hell will break loose ).

legitimate concerns. Have you thought about renting DVC points?

December seems soooo close. I wonder if we'll be able to get reservations for restaurants. I wish I knew if there will be deals in Feb but I'd love to see the holiday decor.

I am sooooo biased because I love Christmastime and the decorations and everything just in general and Disney is all of that on STEROIDS, so I'm not a good person to give advice on this. I love Disney at Christmas. I am quite sure there will be deals in Feb, but I can't tell you what they will be. This is where I like a TA who has experience with traditionally offered deals at that time of year and who will continue to look for discounts for your travel dates even after you've booked so that you get the best price possible.

When you go onto Disney's site to price, you will need to play with your dates to find when the resort has availability WITH the discount. Disney sells a limited amount of rooms at the discounted rate, which makes it harder to just pick your dates and go from there. HOWEVER, you said you were flexible, which is a huge bonus for you because then you can just plug in dates until you get the availability with the discount that you were hoping for. I hope that made sense.

[egoldber]

You can just call Disney directly and they will work with you on the dates the discount is offered. Also ask for other discounts. There could be AAA, professional association, etc. Also ask if your DHs work offers any sort of corporate discount on tickets.

[megs4413]

You can just call Disney directly and they will work with you on the dates the discount is offered. Also ask for other discounts. There could be AAA, professional association, etc. Also ask if your DHs work offers any sort of corporate discount on tickets.

Yes, the CMs are very helpful and friendly (9 times out of 10). I always forget about calling because I hate to be on the phone. Introvert.

[brittone2]

I don't know what I'd do without you all

I need to pick up books and so forth, but for now we're keeping this a secret from the kids, which complicates matters. We are having a covert planning meeting tonight after they are in bed DH can make calls from work but as you know, I have all 3 kids here with me most days during the week, so phone calls, etc. are complicated by that.

Megs, LC=low carb. I do splurge somewhat on vacation, but we tend to still not go carb crazy even on vacation. So I could see a nice dessert 2-3x or something like that, but I don't see us needing soda, dessert, etc. with lots of meals. I'm really happy with a nice salad even on vacation much of the time, so I don't know that we really *need* a dining plan. I think if we just order how we'd normally order (a few nights of splurges both food wise and in terms of cost, the rest of the time pretty close to our norm), I think we'd do better OOP. Either way, I don't think paying OOP will stress me out. I think I'd rather just order what we want.

[megs4413]

I think you're right on with your thoughts on the DDP. I wish I could lend you my copy of the Unofficial Guide, but I've got it on Nook.

[brittone2]

Yes, the CMs are very helpful and friendly (9 times out of 10). I always forget about calling because I hate to be on the phone. Introvert.

Me too. I hate phone calls to customer service in general. DH called today and I was slipping him the occasional note about things to ask (I'm sure he loved that ). He had a very positive experience with the person he spoke to. I would never call until I had a detailed list in hand of what I wanted to ask, but DH called on the fly, adding to my stress levels. Yes, I am ridiculous We'll try to call back tonight to ask about the promotions in Dec.

Megs, I totally love Christmas. DD and I have Dec bdays and DH and I have a Dec anniversary.

So if I call tonight, how do I find out the discounts? Do I just ask them for the discount rate for that time period and ask them to price out a few things for a fam of 5?

[brittone2]

I could probably hide a guide on my Nook. That in and of itself is helpful. The kids sometimes borrow my Kindle Fire (they each have a Nook but sometimes I'm lazy and download library books wirelessly to my Fire since it is much easier), but they rarely borrow my Nook

[megs4413]

Me too. I hate phone calls to customer service in general. DH called today and I was slipping him the occasional note about things to ask (I'm sure he loved that ). He had a very positive experience with the person he spoke to. I would never call until I had a detailed list in hand of what I wanted to ask, but DH called on the fly, adding to my stress levels. Yes, I am ridiculous We'll try to call back tonight to ask about the promotions in Dec.

Megs, I totally love Christmas. DD and I have Dec bdays and DH and I have a Dec anniversary.

So if I call tonight, how do I find out the discounts? Do I just ask them for the discount rate for that time period and ask them to price out a few things for a fam of 5?

I would have felt the same way.

When you call (if you call), just mention the promo (up to 30% off for certain dates this fall) and they will limit the scope of their search based on the size of your party (and in your case, that limits it to 2 mods, suites at a value, or most deluxes.) The only thing I don't love about calling is that they may push you towards a resort you wouldn't normally choose if you don't call with a resort in mind. Have you taken a look at the resort possibilities within the promo to find out which you might prefer?