Disneyworld Deals?

[TOGA]

We're beginning to plan for a trip around Halloween . . . looking for any input. Silver, Gold, or Platinum? What's worth spending money on, what's not? Best deals? (50% off thru perx.com, so far) Which property? Plan to spend the most time in which part of the park? Etc., etc. Any info appreciated . . .

 

[spanky2]

Kids ? If so, how old? Just went there B4 Christmas. Stay in the park if possible...driving in each day, paying for parking, gets old and expensive. Your avtar tells me you are not mil...if you are mil then Shades of Green is the best for rates. At SOG, you pay based on rank. Port Orleans is pretty good and cheaper than others. If you have lots of cash...Grand Floridian. As far as parks, Magic Kingdom is the classic location along with Epcot. Fireworks at night are GREAT. MGM has GREAT rides...Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster. Animal Kingdom is somewhat new and has goodrides as well...need to go early to see animals if it is hot outside. If it is warm and you are into water parks, Typhoon Lagoon is good.

You can buy Park Hopper passes in 3, 4, 5 day packages (for a nominal fee) that allow you to go to any park unlimited times.

Be ready to pay big bucks for food. Although pricey...the buffet at the Crustal Palace in Magic Kingdom is good with lots of food and characters that come to your table...plus...I got to see Winnie the Pooh (guy wearing his costume) get canned for an attitude...PRICELESS.

There are many many deals, including airline discounts, military discounts.

www.disney.com has info.

 

[CrewDawg]

Spanky2 hit it pretty much on the head. If you have kids, I would think you would want to spend more time in the Magic Kingdom, but if it's just big kids then I would say EPCOT and MGM. Didn't get to the animal kingdom but have heard good things about it.

 

[AJWick]

Hope this site helps.
Disney Info!

As a FL. Resident, we have the annual pass and have been there many times. I personally prefer staying on Disney property. Better access to all the theme parks.


aj

 

[Joe Jet Pilot]

My Take

Well here is our story.

We stayed off property at the holiday inn family suites. Our suite had a full kitchen so be hit the store to stock up on food. This hotel offers a free buffet in the morning, kids eat free with paying adult at the Pizza Hut & A&W in the hotel. Nice place if considering staying off property I would suggest looking at this place. Oh yeah, it is only a mile from the gate.

Another poster mentioned the parking. Parking was $7 a day. If you went to another park the same day, all you had to do is show your receipt and did not have to pay again.

The food in the parks is expensive. We took food into the park. Yes security does check backpacks, but our tuna sandwiches and chips were not a threat.

Check out this link, a lot of great info!

http://www.passporter.com/wdw/

 

[B. Rubble]

Try what the European tourists have been doing for years;
rent a house 5-10 minutes from the main gate.

Average $150.00/night for a 4br
$160.00/5br

windsorpalmsflorida.com

 

[707 IP]

If you are military, go to Armed Forces Vacation Club @ http://www.afvclub.com/RVCInfo.asp. You get condos for a great deal (we stayed at Summer Bay Resort).

We went to Orlando in late October and stayed about 8 minutes from the main complex. We too, cooked in the Condo, brought in most of our own food and had a great time. $249/week was fantastic. Parking was very easy.

The five day park hopper pass was the way to go

Good Luck and take a break in the middle of each day so Everyone can rest...

 

[Hutcha]

I have used the Armed Forces Vacation club a few times now, and it is great. You can get a 5 star time share for the week for $249. If you're not in the military, but know someone who is, they can buy a certificate for you at the same rate.

I made to trips to Disney this past year. One time I stayed in the contemporary resort (on Disney), the other I stayed at on of these time shares through AFVC. It was nice and convenient staying on property, but the extra space and amenities made the condo a much better deal for us.

Enjoy

 

[Falconjet]

Sell a certificate?

Thats a sure fire way to lose a benefit; selling it to folks who aren't entitled to it. Military exchange benefits aren't for resale, and shouldn't be. If they want to give it to you as a gift, by all means. I don't think its right to deny another active duty/retired person the ability to take advantage of their benefit so you can help out a civilian friend who isn't eligible. Just a thought.

FJ

 

[EIflyer]

Why not stay at my 5 bed house on a golf course, 15 minutes from Disney Main Gate? I'm not a propery hawker, just an SWA poolie with something nice that may suit. You can see the property at www.LuvFlorida.com

 

[Huck]

We spent 5 nights last January in Fort Wilderness in our camper. Best trip I ever took. Some remarks:
- If you show up in the afternoon of the first day, you can have a good time riding the monorail, ferry boats, and shuttle boats around for free. We went to the contemporary hotel complex and walked around too. Kids dug it, and we didn't burn a day on our park hopper passes.
- Character dinners are more fun than you might think. The kids went nuts.
- Animal Kingdom rocks. There's a huge playground thing themed around an archaeological dig that was worth about a half-day in itself.
- Next time I plan to eat every night at Epcot. We did the Norwegian, the Japanese and the German. They were awesome.

The last day, my 4 year old got a stomach virus and projectile-vomited at Rollie Pollie Ollie's show. Disney people came out of nowhere. They went to the nearest souvenir store and got him a Disney sweatsuit for free, then escorted us to the First Aid office. They were so nice that they pretty much guaranteed we'll be back again and again.

 

[Hutcha]

Re: Sell a certificate?

Thats a sure fire way to lose a benefit; selling it to folks who aren't entitled to it. Military exchange benefits aren't for resale, and shouldn't be. If they want to give it to you as a gift, by all means. I don't think its right to deny another active duty/retired person the ability to take advantage of their benefit so you can help out a civilian friend who isn't eligible. Just a thought.

FJ

Maybe you misunderstood. This is something that is built into their program. I can buy a certificate for anyone. I think it goes in their name. They call the company and make their own reservation. I think the cert is good for something like a year. I recently took a trip and we got 3 condos. One for us, one for the in-laws, and one for our neighbors. It's all perfectly legit, and the people don't have to be with you when they go.

 

[TOGA]

Dammit, Huck! I almost spilled my coffee on the keyboard . . . by blowing it out my nose! The projectile vomit story is priceless. Speaking of "interesting effluents", have yours ever had Rotavirus? Yummy. Anyway thank you, and everyone else for all the input! We really appreciate it!

 

[Huck]

My first got Rota when he was about 2. From the doctor's office. My wife (an RN) went nuts. To this day she carries a Lysol can to any doctor visit.

Yeah, I left out the details - how the remains of the hot dogs went all over my legs (nice & warm), the floor and a lady beside me. She was a mom, and calmly dug out a 2 inch stack of Wendys napkins for some emergency cleanup. Daddy managed to hold it together but believe me it was the adrenaline alone that kept me from hurling right alongside him. You're probably like me - you go to work to get a break....

 

[TOGA]

Yeah, all three jobs . . . and my wife's the one who works hard!! Fortunately, I've never been through battle, but I'd imagine the psychological effects of parenthood are not dissimilar . . . as evidenced by the other mother's nonchalant reaction to airborne vomit at the Rollie Pollie show. Freakin' doctor's offices, man! Mine only get sicker when we go!