Looking to go to Disney for DS's 3rd bday next November

However, planning the trip is a bit overwhelming.....so many places,options, etc.
What are some kid friendly hotels?
Is the dining plan worth it?
What is the average cost of a Disney trip (family of 3 for 4 nights....3 days at the park)
Any advice, ideas, etc. would be greatly appreciated

Re: Looking to go to Disney for DS's 3rd bday next November

You are so right.....there's so much to think about and it can get really overwhelming. There are a lot of knowlegable Disney travellers on the board who will be happy to help.

I used Your Magical Journeys in the past. They are disney specialists and will always get you the best price for your vacation preference.

The first step is picking a hotel. Are you staying on property? That gives you several price point options:

Value - least expensive and includes the All Star Resorts & Pop Century. They have the smallest rooms, exterior corridors, no sit down restaurant or hot tub. They dont have fridges in the room but you can request one for a daily fee.

Moderate - a little more expensive and includes Port Orleans, Coronado Springs & Caribbean Beach. The feature pools have slides, they have hot tubs and a sit down restaurant. The rooms are a little bigger that have a fridge, coffee maker and privacy curtain between the room & vanity. There are exterior corridors.

Jr Deluxe - Animal Kingdom & Wilderness Lodge. Technically they are deluxe accomodations but priced lower because they don't have direct access to a park. The rooms are more spacious, there are several dining options, interior corridors, room service.

Deluxe - same as above but they have more direct access to parks and are more expensive. Boardwalk, Beach/Yacht Club, Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridian.

With the dining plan, you get a snack, counter service meal and table service meal. It does not include tips or alcohol. It is handy and there is savings if you plan to have a sit down dinner every night you are there. Personally, I am not a fan of the dining plan. I find that I eat in a way I normally wouldn't because I pre-paid the food.

Some money saving advise...if you can check in before your son's birthday so he is 2 on the date of arrival. He won't need a park ticket and can eat at buffets for free (he can eat off your plates or you pay out of pocket if you order anything for him).

Here are some websites that can give you more info:


All Ears
MouseSavers

Re: Looking to go to Disney for DS's 3rd bday next November

I agree with the pp - Mousesavers and All Ears have good tips.

We are going in February and I used DREAMS UNLIMITED TRAVEL to help me book everything.
They are disney specialists...they even make all your dining reservations for you and plan your itinerary.
You dont pay them anything for the service, they get commission from Disney.

ETA: I also got a few books from the library with some tips - i found Birnbaums Walt Disney World to be pretty good.

Message edited 11/9/2009 10:00:57 AM.

Re: Looking to go to Disney for DS's 3rd bday next November

FM me and I would be happy to help you get started and guide you. I have helped a lot of my friends plan their trips.

Re: Looking to go to Disney for DS's 3rd bday next November

Checkout Disboards

It's an awesome message board for all things Disney. There's a board for hotels, restaurants, getting around, etc.

There's also a lot of tips for getting the most out of your trip.

A lot af awesome information, but it can be overwhelming. Just read through one board at a time.

Have fun! I am planning a trip in April of 2011. DH's 40th and right before DD turns 3.

Kids are free under 3! So make sure you get there at least a day before her birthday. If you go after, your will have to pay.

Re: Looking to go to Disney for DS's 3rd bday next November

Re: Looking to go to Disney for DS's 3rd bday next November

Posted by saraH

Posted by Lillykat

FM me and I would be happy to help you get started and guide you. I have helped a lot of my friends plan their trips.

this is absolutely true!!!

she has been a life saver to this crazy mom.

Re: Looking to go to Disney for DS's 3rd bday next November

we went to disney 2 years ago with our DS who was 18 months. we stayed at all-star movies - very kid friendly!! i think all the all-star resorts are very kiddie.
we did the dinning plan but ds was not on it - he just ate off our plates or we ordered him somthing off the menu.

i was completely overwhemled - i went to the library and read every book they had.

then i didn't think we would go back for a long time but now we also have our dd. it seems to be the best place to vacation with two kids.

we are going back this february with ds 3 1/2 and dd 17 months. staying at saratoga springs resort (the 4/3 deal)- with the same dinning plan as last time. i did all the planning already - really easy this time compared to last time

Message edited 11/14/2009 10:11:54 PM.

Re: Looking to go to Disney for DS's 3rd bday next November

i wanted to add:
the way i figured everything out was i picked one place a day at diffent parks to have lunch or dinner. so we know we are going to MK on Monday and have lunch at main street cafe at 12:15 and so on. that way we have a plan but its not so structured - but enough of a plan to keep things going for the week.

Re: Looking to go to Disney for DS's 3rd bday next November

We just got back a few weeks ago, DS is just shy of 2.

we stayed that the Carribbean in the Martinique section. Would totally recommend it. THe hotel pool has a great section for small kids with slides, wading pool etc. DS could have stayed there all day.

I thought the dining plan was totally worth it. DS being under 2 we didnt get it but they almost never charged us for his meal anyway.
What we did was we booked dinner every night (I tried to book around fireworks/parades) and then went with the flow during the day...Ate breakfast at the hotel all but 1 day.
We did the 1 table service, 1 quick service a day.

Because DS was young and we just wanted a more relaxing disney trip, we would go back to the hotel every day for an hour or two to nap/relax (cool off it was 90 degrees!)

We stayed 4 nights and I wish we would have stayed 1 more. We paid about 2K for air, car, hotel, meal plan, park tix (DS didnt need tix to the parks or hotel though)

Re: Looking to go to Disney for DS's 3rd bday next November

we have a timeshare down there so i can't really answer your questions but we just got back from Disney yesterday.. we actually celebrated my son's 4th birthday down there .. and it was so much fun and he got so much extra attention!!!

Re: Looking to go to Disney for DS's 3rd bday next November