been to disney?

I have never gone to WDW and am looking into booking a trip..can someone explain how the dining plans work? Is it necessary to get one? Do you get alloted money for each day? or do u get discounts at certain restaurants...do u hafta choose from different pre-set meals, is it even worth it?

Also....in the parks..they have those tickets that assign u a time to come back to the ride and u dont hafta wait online... do u hafta pay for those passes?

Re: been to disney?

Do a search on the Travel board...there have been many discussions about Disney.

Re: been to disney?

This is a great site for disney information - www.disboards.com
It is like this board but for disney.

Also check out:
www.mousesavers.com
This site has all the codes and tips for saving money - it is very helpful and can explain what packages are and are not worth it.

Finally this is just another good site:
Allearsnet.com

Re: been to disney?

Re: been to disney?

Those are the sites I use and I have given them to others who seem to like them. ALL the information you could possibly need is either on those sites or they can tell you where to find anything you need!

Re: been to disney?

I am a Disney Specialist. I actually went to the college of knowledge to study up on Disneyland, WDW, and the Disney Cruise.

Feel free to FM me with any questions.

Re: been to disney?

We went to Orlando and Universal/Disney last fall and we spent more than we are spending at a Caribbean all inclusive for next fall. EVERYTHING adds up, and we spent so much money eating and drinking at the parks.

The front of the line passes cost extra $ at Universal and Islands of Adventure.

Message edited 4/3/2006 1:53:39 PM.

Re: been to disney?

I have been to disney almost a dozen times an am going at the end of the month with my DH, FIL, and SIL. I just bought our tickets to the park - let me know if you have any questions.

Also I wouldn't recommend doing the meal plan, it just doesn't seem worth it to me.

Re: been to disney?

Also keep in mind with hotel that the hotels are divided into five catagories, each having various price ranges and amenities.

If this is your first time going to Disney may I suggest one of the value resorts. Value resorts are perfect for first time guests, the budget conscious traveler, guests who intend on spending most of their time in the parks or involved in other activities but still want the Disney touch.

The value resorts are:

Disney's pop century resort
Disney's all-star resorts (music, movies, sports)

The moderate resorts offer uniquely themed environments inspired by places near and far. Its great for a balanced combination of amenities and price. It's also great for mid-range lenghts of stay.

Moderate resorts are:
Caribbean Beach Resort
Coronado Springs
Port Orleans (Riverside and French Quarter)

Deluxe resorts offer the highest level of quality, convenience, and personalized service.

Deluxe resorts are perfect for those who feel that a vacation is an important luxury, those who value their leisure time, those looking for upscale amenities.

Deluxe resports
Animal kingdom lodge
Wilderness lodge
Contemporary Resort
Boardwalk Inn
Yacht Club Resort
Beach Club
Polynesian Resort
Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

Select deluxe
Swan and Dolphin
Saratoga Springs resor and spa
Beach club villas
Boardwalk villas
Villas at Disney's wilderness lodge
old key west resort

The fifth is fort wilderness resort and campground.

If you are working in a budget the value resorts are generally $99 a night. Air you could get from jetblue and the major expense would be the park passes and food.

Re: been to disney?

Re: been to disney?

We went to Disney for our honeymoon and the meal plan was totally worth it!!!! It was actually one of the best decisions we made to get the meal plan...You get 1 sit-down meal, 1 counter service meal and 1 snack every day....At first, we weren't sure if we would be hungry by the end of the day....But after the first day, we couldn't have possibly eaten another thing!!! It was great and almost all of the restaurants participate! Good luck!

Re: been to disney?

The FastPass passes are not extra money, they're free. You need to go to the rides you want to get on early, and you put your ticket in and it will give you a fastpass with a time to come back. They'll only give you 2 fastpasses at a time, so make sure you do this early.

Re: been to disney?

Dont go June 14 - 18.

Their is a HUGE convention going on and it's going to be held at the Dolphin. A lot of people are making vacations out of this and arriving earlier and staying later so they can enjoy Disney.

The parks will be crazy.

I know the company holding the convention and can tell you their will be over 1,000 people at this convention

Re: been to disney?

If you are going to do the water parks, either do them early in the morning or later in the day. Everyone goes at the peak hot times of 10 - 3 so the water parks will be really crazy.

Do all of your souvenier shopping at the end of the day. Some places have where they can send it to your hotel room, but if you do all your shopping at the end of the day the stores shouldnt be as busy as everyone is trying to get last chances on the rides.

Re: been to disney?

Time wise: Allow 2 days for magic kingdom, 1 day for epcot. The circle where all the nations are is only 1.3 miles so epcot you knock out in one day. MGM I would allow 1 - 2 days. We actually spent most of our time there because we kept playing "who wants to be a millionaire - play it"

Re: been to disney?

we loved the dinig plan- we ate at much fancier restaurants (and probably still saved alot of $$$ with that)than if we hadn't gotten it. we said we'd definitely get the meal plan again next time we go. I think they suggest that you get it if you think youre going to spend at least $30/day on food-- which is REALLY easy to do there.

Re: been to disney?

We are going to WDW for our honeymoon and are using the dining plan...it looks like a good deal...I think they explain it on the website

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Re: been to disney?

Posted by neeniebean86

Posted by beautyq115

We are going to WDW for our honeymoon and are using the dining plan...it looks like a good deal...I think they explain it on the website

they also include it in specials sometimes- makes it even more worth it

Re: been to disney?

OMG I am so jealous, Disney is my newest obsession. DH & I went over presidents week(i'm a teacher) and had an amazing time, it seriously is the happiest place on earth. We didn't do the dining plan, but i dont know much about it.: But we stayed at the Port Orleans French Quarters, they had a boat ride to Downtown Disney which was great and I would highly recommend it! You'll have a great time