Disneyworld advice?

[93Devil]

This might help people as well...

Considering that I fly into Florida, have a daughter who is five can go in the off season, since money is an object and I want as much as my funds can take me, here is a priority list for me of where to devote my money.

1. Stay on site - No question. The benefits are staggering and since I can land in Orlando and be riding rides two hours later with their check in, bus ride and I never touch my bags, it is money well spent.
2. Meal plan, character dining - Not only does this make life so much easier, but I pretty much have an exact idea what my trip will cost me before I take it.
3. Park hopper - I need to ask exactly how much this costs me when I get it because it might not be worth it. Sort of like an extra $800 to stay on a monorail line, Sure, it's nice, but not $800 nice.
4. Upgrading resorts - This might change after our next trip. We are going to try The Art of Animation resort over Caribbean Beach.
5. Buy a good SLR camera - the ease a quality of pictures you will take will save you a ton of money and time over the photo plan they offer.

I am not considering length of stay since I cannot get a full week off in the off season, but four nights and four full days in the parks should be a minimum. You can also get twice as much covered in the off season than you can in season. So what I can do in four days in January probably takes 6-7 days in July.

 

[StaggerLee]

This might help people as well...

Considering that I fly into Florida, have a daughter who is five can go in the off season, since money is an object and I want as much as my funds can take me, here is a priority list for me of where to devote my money.

1. Stay on site - No question. The benefits are staggering and since I can land in Orlando and be riding rides two hours later with their check in, bus ride and I never touch my bags, it is money well spent.
2. Meal plan, character dining - Not only does this make life so much easier, but I pretty much have an exact idea what my trip will cost me before I take it.
3. Park hopper - I need to ask exactly how much this costs me when I get it because it might not be worth it. Sort of like an extra $800 to stay on a monorail line, Sure, it's nice, but not $800 nice.
4. Upgrading resorts - This might change after our next trip. We are going to try The Art of Animation resort over Caribbean Beach.
5. Buy a good SLR camera - the ease a quality of pictures you will take will save you a ton of money and time over the photo plan they offer.

I am not considering length of stay since I cannot get a full week off in the off season, but four nights and four full days in the parks should be a minimum. You can also get twice as much covered in the off season than you can in season. So what I can do in four days in January probably takes 6-7 days in July.

Totally agree with your first point. I would never stay off-site, no matter how cheap I could find a room. The fact that I don't have to pay for parking, I get to let someone else do all the driving and I have the ability to enter the park an hour before off-site guests wins out. Not to mention, I price a lot of trips and I can tell you that the expensive part of Disney is NOT the rooms. In fact, value resort rooms are routinely $80-100 a night.

I'm conflicted on meal plan. I don't oversell it to clients, because I've done the math and you don't come out ahead in most cases. It's purely a convenience thing at this point, you're basically just paying for your meals ahead of time. I prefer to take the cost of the meal plan and put it on a Disney gift card and use that card solely for meals.

Parkhoppers, I believe, are worth the extra money, just for the peace of mind of being able to leave an overly-crowded park to go to another park. I love going to an extra magic hours park in the morning until lunch time, taking a break and then going to a different park that night.

I love Pop Century resort. That's pretty much my home resort. I've stayed at moderates and deluxe before, and I prefer Pop Century. The extra space at the moderates and deluxes are nice, but I'm only in the room to sleep, so as long as the bed is good, I'm good.

Definitely invest in a good camera. And you're right, their Photopass service is terrible. My wife and I spent $99 on it for our honeymoon and found only a dozen pictures worth even keeping. The photographers don't care about their job, for the most part, and the quality is pitiful. The ONLY redeeming thing about the Photopass is the + option, which pays for all your ride photos in advance.

 

[93Devil]

If my daughter was not into meeting characters, meal plan would slide down the list. Plus, going in the off season, don't they discount the meal plan greatly?

You are probably right, though, it's a convenience thing where you are not thinking about what you are spending.

 

[StaggerLee]

If my daughter was not into meeting characters, meal plan would slide down the list. Plus, going in the off season, don't they discount the meal plan greatly?

You are probably right, though, it's a convenience thing where you are not thinking about what you are spending.

In the offseason, they usually offer free dining, which is when it certainly makes sense to have.

I'm not totally against the dining plan. I've used it several times. It's just a misconception that it saves you money.

For character meals, it's great. It's a lot easier to stomach spending one "dining credit" on a character meal than getting that bill for $36.99 per adult for a breakfast buffet.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

If my daughter was not into meeting characters, meal plan would slide down the list. Plus, going in the off season, don't they discount the meal plan greatly?

You are probably right, though, it's a convenience thing where you are not thinking about what you are spending.

The last two times I went, we got the meal plan for free. I am under the impression that they do that promo every fall from late September through right before Thanksgiving.

The deluxe meal plan comes out to something like $20 a meal and that doesn't include the two free snacks you also get per day. Can you do it cheaper? Of course... It's very easy to bring something to eat for breakfast and then eat lunch and dinner at the park for around $10-$12 a meal for a burger or sandwich... But if you want to eat in the really cool restaurants, the meal plan becomes a no-brainer...

If you stay off-site, you cannot get the meal plan.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

If my daughter was not into meeting characters, meal plan would slide down the list. Plus, going in the off season, don't they discount the meal plan greatly?

You are probably right, though, it's a convenience thing where you are not thinking about what you are spending.

In the offseason, they usually offer free dining, which is when it certainly makes sense to have.

I'm not totally against the dining plan. I've used it several times. It's just a misconception that it saves you money.

For character meals, it's great. It's a lot easier to stomach spending one "dining credit" on a character meal than getting that bill for $36.99 per adult for a breakfast buffet.

If we weren't on the dining plan, I would be trying to eat as inexpensively as possible. When you're on the plan, it's easier to enjoy yourself when you're not worrying about every little expense...

 

[StaggerLee]

If my daughter was not into meeting characters, meal plan would slide down the list. Plus, going in the off season, don't they discount the meal plan greatly?

You are probably right, though, it's a convenience thing where you are not thinking about what you are spending.

In the offseason, they usually offer free dining, which is when it certainly makes sense to have.

I'm not totally against the dining plan. I've used it several times. It's just a misconception that it saves you money.

For character meals, it's great. It's a lot easier to stomach spending one "dining credit" on a character meal than getting that bill for $36.99 per adult for a breakfast buffet.

If we weren't on the dining plan, I would be trying to eat as inexpensively as possible. When you're on the plan, it's easier to enjoy yourself when you're not worrying about every little expense...

Maybe. We've never held back and were fine. Like I said, we've done the Disney Gift Card thing the last two trips and ordered what we wanted to eat. Maybe we were a little more aware of what we were eating, but we never skimped, and we ate at the restaurants we wanted.

Only way I'd ever get the deluxe plan is if I planned on touring the parks through the restaurants, not the attractions. The deluxe plan is $99.97 per adult per night. That means you're spending an average of $33 per meal. When was the last time you ate a $33 breakfast? Basically, with that price, you're locking yourself into three table-service meals per day, because, frankly, eating a $10 burger at Cosmic Ray's just ain't gonna cut it.

I've had several clients purchase the deluxe plan, then come back and tell me how they regretted it because they spent more times in restaurants than they did experiencing attractions and rides. Most came home with unused credits because they just got tired of eating.

I like the regular dining plan. One quick-service meal, one table-service meal, one snack. I'm fine with a cup of coffee and a pastry for breakfast. We usually hit the quick-service for lunch and save our table-service meal for dinner.

 

[joe]

What the hell is a "character meal"? Am I going to wind up eating mouse or dog?

 

[StaggerLee]

What the hell is a "character meal"? Am I going to wind up eating mouse or dog?

Depends on if you go Chinese or Moroccan for dinner.

But serious answer, a character meal is one that has Disney characters walking around greeting guests. Basically, you pay a premium to have the characters (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Cinderella, etc.) come to your table while you're eating. Kids can get pictures, autographs, hugs, etc.

 

[93Devil]

If my daughter was not into meeting characters, meal plan would slide down the list. Plus, going in the off season, don't they discount the meal plan greatly?

You are probably right, though, it's a convenience thing where you are not thinking about what you are spending.

In the offseason, they usually offer free dining, which is when it certainly makes sense to have.

I'm not totally against the dining plan. I've used it several times. It's just a misconception that it saves you money.

For character meals, it's great. It's a lot easier to stomach spending one "dining credit" on a character meal than getting that bill for $36.99 per adult for a breakfast buffet.

If we weren't on the dining plan, I would be trying to eat as inexpensively as possible. When you're on the plan, it's easier to enjoy yourself when you're not worrying about every little expense...

Maybe. We've never held back and were fine. Like I said, we've done the Disney Gift Card thing the last two trips and ordered what we wanted to eat. Maybe we were a little more aware of what we were eating, but we never skimped, and we ate at the restaurants we wanted.

Only way I'd ever get the deluxe plan is if I planned on touring the parks through the restaurants, not the attractions. The deluxe plan is $99.97 per adult per night. That means you're spending an average of $33 per meal. When was the last time you ate a $33 breakfast? Basically, with that price, you're locking yourself into three table-service meals per day, because, frankly, eating a $10 burger at Cosmic Ray's just ain't gonna cut it.

I've had several clients purchase the deluxe plan, then come back and tell me how they regretted it because they spent more times in restaurants than they did experiencing attractions and rides. Most came home with unused credits because they just got tired of eating.

I like the regular dining plan. One quick-service meal, one table-service meal, one snack. I'm fine with a cup of coffee and a pastry for breakfast. We usually hit the quick-service for lunch and save our table-service meal for dinner.

What does the regular dining plan run per day per person?

 

[Ace]

My No. 1 Disney advice.

It's a vacation. Relax.

If you are staying for several days at the resort, plan one day just to hang out at the pool, go boating, play golf, walk around Disney Village, etc.

Too many people rush frantically around the park and are just exhausted.

 

[StaggerLee]

If my daughter was not into meeting characters, meal plan would slide down the list. Plus, going in the off season, don't they discount the meal plan greatly?

You are probably right, though, it's a convenience thing where you are not thinking about what you are spending.

In the offseason, they usually offer free dining, which is when it certainly makes sense to have.

I'm not totally against the dining plan. I've used it several times. It's just a misconception that it saves you money.

For character meals, it's great. It's a lot easier to stomach spending one "dining credit" on a character meal than getting that bill for $36.99 per adult for a breakfast buffet.

If we weren't on the dining plan, I would be trying to eat as inexpensively as possible. When you're on the plan, it's easier to enjoy yourself when you're not worrying about every little expense...

Maybe. We've never held back and were fine. Like I said, we've done the Disney Gift Card thing the last two trips and ordered what we wanted to eat. Maybe we were a little more aware of what we were eating, but we never skimped, and we ate at the restaurants we wanted.

Only way I'd ever get the deluxe plan is if I planned on touring the parks through the restaurants, not the attractions. The deluxe plan is $99.97 per adult per night. That means you're spending an average of $33 per meal. When was the last time you ate a $33 breakfast? Basically, with that price, you're locking yourself into three table-service meals per day, because, frankly, eating a $10 burger at Cosmic Ray's just ain't gonna cut it.

I've had several clients purchase the deluxe plan, then come back and tell me how they regretted it because they spent more times in restaurants than they did experiencing attractions and rides. Most came home with unused credits because they just got tired of eating.

I like the regular dining plan. One quick-service meal, one table-service meal, one snack. I'm fine with a cup of coffee and a pastry for breakfast. We usually hit the quick-service for lunch and save our table-service meal for dinner.

What does the regular dining plan run per day per person?

Roughly $56 per adult, $18 per child (9 and under).

And Ace, I couldn't agree more, even though my No. 1 tip is arrive early. I love to take a 2-3 hour break every day during midday hours for swimming, hanging out at the resort, riding the boats around the lake.

It's tough, because the tendency is to try to do/see everything in one trip. It's physically impossible to do/see everything in one trip, unless you're planning on spending two weeks there. There are still plenty of things at Disney I've yet to do.

Besides my arrive early tip, I'd add have a plan. Any kind of plan will work, as long as you have a plan. It can be very simple, or down to the minute, but having a plan will save you lots of headaches. Some people think you can just show up and wing it. Those people are the ones waiting in two-hour lines for a 2-minute ride.

 

[Creig Ewing]

Speaking of plans, I used to live in Orlando and know the parks pretty well.

We visited a couple years ago and mapped out a plan to visit all four parks in the same day, go on 3-4 specific rides in each park and make our 7:30 dinner reservation in Epcot.

We made it by going early and getting one park out of the way -- despite an hour-plus line for Toy Story after we had missed out on a Fast Pass -- and got to dinner on time (though we had to beg to guy at the Test Track line to let us sneak in the Fast Pass line).

The secret to Disney is every employee is empowered to help the guests, so don't be afraid to ask.

Oh, and the number one question at the Magic Kingdom supposedly is "When is the 3 o'clock parade?"

 

[Boom_70]

If my daughter was not into meeting characters, meal plan would slide down the list. Plus, going in the off season, don't they discount the meal plan greatly?

You are probably right, though, it's a convenience thing where you are not thinking about what you are spending.

In the offseason, they usually offer free dining, which is when it certainly makes sense to have.

I'm not totally against the dining plan. I've used it several times. It's just a misconception that it saves you money.

For character meals, it's great. It's a lot easier to stomach spending one "dining credit" on a character meal than getting that bill for $36.99 per adult for a breakfast buffet.

If we weren't on the dining plan, I would be trying to eat as inexpensively as possible. When you're on the plan, it's easier to enjoy yourself when you're not worrying about every little expense...

Maybe. We've never held back and were fine. Like I said, we've done the Disney Gift Card thing the last two trips and ordered what we wanted to eat. Maybe we were a little more aware of what we were eating, but we never skimped, and we ate at the restaurants we wanted.

Only way I'd ever get the deluxe plan is if I planned on touring the parks through the restaurants, not the attractions. The deluxe plan is $99.97 per adult per night. That means you're spending an average of $33 per meal. When was the last time you ate a $33 breakfast? Basically, with that price, you're locking yourself into three table-service meals per day, because, frankly, eating a $10 burger at Cosmic Ray's just ain't gonna cut it.

I've had several clients purchase the deluxe plan, then come back and tell me how they regretted it because they spent more times in restaurants than they did experiencing attractions and rides. Most came home with unused credits because they just got tired of eating.

I like the regular dining plan. One quick-service meal, one table-service meal, one snack. I'm fine with a cup of coffee and a pastry for breakfast. We usually hit the quick-service for lunch and save our table-service meal for dinner.

What does the regular dining plan run per day per person?

Roughly $56 per adult, $18 per child (9 and under).

And Ace, I couldn't agree more, even though my No. 1 tip is arrive early. I love to take a 2-3 hour break every day during midday hours for swimming, hanging out at the resort, riding the boats around the lake.

It's tough, because the tendency is to try to do/see everything in one trip. It's physically impossible to do/see everything in one trip, unless you're planning on spending two weeks there. There are still plenty of things at Disney I've yet to do.

Besides my arrive early tip, I'd add have a plan. Any kind of plan will work, as long as you have a plan. It can be very simple, or down to the minute, but having a plan will save you lots of headaches. Some people think you can just show up and wing it. Those people are the ones waiting in two-hour lines for a 2-minute ride.

Could not agree more on going early as number 1 tip. Look at the early opening schedule and plan you week accordingly. Hit a park early and
you can be done by lunch and be sitting at the pool the entire afternoon. You can then go back to park at night while everyone else is wiped out
and leaving.

 

[93Devil]

At $56 per day, it's worth it. At the quick service, you can get a drink, main, side and dessert are your single quick service so people can split it up. It's a lot of food. There is a colonial place across from Tom Sawyer's Island and close to the Christmas Shop that we like to use.

 

[StaggerLee]

At $56 per day, it's worth it. At the quick service, you can get a drink, main, side and dessert are your single quick service so people can split it up. It's a lot of food. There is a colonial place across from Tom Sawyer's Island and close to the Christmas Shop that we like to use.

Yeah, I think the regular dining plan is the most practical one. The deluxe plan, I think, is practical for foodies, who just want to experience the Disney restaurants (mainly Epcot's).

When we do get the regular dining plan, we get cookies as the dessert and save them for later. It's a nice way to stretch that meal out, instead of getting ice cream that you may not even finish.

I think the restaurant you're talking about is Columbia Harbour House. That makes my top five list of quick-service restaurants in WDW. Good variety of food with an emphasis on seafood.

Another good place right near there is Sleepy Hollow, which has the revered Waffle Sandwiches.

 

[Bradley Guire]

My No. 1 Disney advice.

It's a vacation. Relax.

If you are staying for several days at the resort, plan one day just to hang out at the pool, go boating, play golf, walk around Disney Village, etc.

Too many people rush frantically around the park and are just exhausted.

Absolutely. The worst thing about Disney is the other people. Too many are in a rush, frustrated, screaming at their kids, screaming as cast members, screaming at other guests.

 

[Monday Morning Sportswriter]

Screw the Disney resorts and screw the Disney restaurants and their money grabs.

Hotel: Check Hotwire or similar sites on the off chance you can score a four-star room for $60, like we did for the Crowne Plaza near Universal. You'll be able to afford a ...

Rental Car: Book the smallest one you can tolerate, since you'll probably be bumped to a small SUV or minivan anyway. Then you won't be a slave to the Disney transportation system and can actually get off the reservation to see ...

Places: Like the Tampa aquarium, Cocoa Beach, the Kennedy Space Center, etc. Maybe the Science Center on a rainy day. All of them an hour away. Go coast-to-coast in one day if you'd like. The monorail isn't going to get you there.

And the free stuff: Downtown Disney, the Universal City Walk and all of the other shopping destinations.

Food: Eat wherever the heck you want. My family and I ate very well, between the hotel, the park, the celeb-chef restaurants, etc., and there wasn't a single day we spent anything near what Disney would have charged.

If you're not on a budget, do whatever the heck you want, I guess. But the only thing that made a Disney trip survivable for me is that I wasn't a slave to Disney.

 

[93Devil]

My No. 1 Disney advice.

It's a vacation. Relax.

If you are staying for several days at the resort, plan one day just to hang out at the pool, go boating, play golf, walk around Disney Village, etc.

Too many people rush frantically around the park and are just exhausted.

Absolutely. The worst thing about Disney is the other people. Too many are in a rush, frustrated, screaming at their kids, screaming as cast members, screaming at other guests.

Honestly, when I go in the off season I don't see this. Maybe the lack of heat and lines diminishes the stress for people?

 

[StaggerLee]

Screw the Disney resorts and screw the Disney restaurants and their money grabs.

Hotel: Check Hotwire or similar sites on the off chance you can score a four-star room for $60, like we did for the Crowne Plaza near Universal. You'll be able to afford a ...

Rental Car: Book the smallest one you can tolerate, since you'll probably be bumped to a small SUV or minivan anyway. Then you won't be a slave to the Disney transportation system and can actually get off the reservation to see ...

Places: Like the Tampa aquarium, Cocoa Beach, the Kennedy Space Center, etc. Maybe the Science Center on a rainy day. All of them an hour away. Go coast-to-coast in one day if you'd like. The monorail isn't going to get you there.

And the free stuff: Downtown Disney, the Universal City Walk and all of the other shopping destinations.

Food: Eat wherever the heck you want. My family and I ate very well, between the hotel, the park, the celeb-chef restaurants, etc., and there wasn't a single day we spent anything near what Disney would have charged.

If you're not on a budget, do whatever the heck you want, I guess. But the only thing that made a Disney trip survivable for me is that I wasn't a slave to Disney.

That's all fine, but I believe the thread is about planning a Disney World trip, not a trip to Tampa or Cocoa Beach.

Maybe some people like being a "slave" to Disney. Certainly not your cup of tea, but I enjoy Disney transportation. I enjoy Disney resorts. I enjoy the Disney service. Because of those things, I'll pay $15-20 more a night to stay somewhere I know and trust.