We went to Disney in March and are planning to go back March '08. It seems like booking the trip on your own is cheaper. Adding up air, hotel, and park tickets. It seems like the agent is around $500.00 more than what we come up with. We've always gone with the agent...any suggestions??
2007-08-21 05:01:02 · 11 answers · asked by amanda b 2 in Travel ➔ United States ➔ Orlando
Disney's web site is very user friendly. It is easy to book your trip and travel arrangements on line. Also they have discounts available for using their site.
They also have a live chat feature if you have questions or get stuck and you can save your plans (without booking) to see if you could get a better deal elsewhere but I betting you won't.
I just recently booked our reservations through them and it was super easy and I played around with it a lot so if you have any other questions feel free to message me.
PS. Get the Meal Plan IT IS SO WORTH IT!
Best of luck!!
2007-08-21 05:30:09 · answer #1 · answered by Nickie 3 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Do your price checking on the Disney website to get an idea of what your going to pay, then when the time comes to book call Disney to book your trip and ask if they have any specials. The worst thing that can happen is you pay the price you got online. You can book well in advance and put down a $200.00 deposit and pay the rest later also. Book your airfare on your own using one of the discount websites like cheaptickets.com I have noticed Disney is quite high when it comes to airfare. Look into the dining plan to save money on food also. Use Magical Express for your ground transportation to and from the airport, if you need a rental car you can get one on property, or if you know the dates you will want a rental car you can always book it in advance, even with an agency off property but you want to make sure they will pick you up or you wont save any money.
2007-08-22 05:22:59 · answer #2 · answered by steven v 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First how long are you planning on staying? Depending on your budget would determine where to stay. Staying on Disney Property is more expensive than staying outside but the perks are good as you get access to the park an hour earlier than the public. If your budget does not allow for staying on property staying elsewhere has it's benefits as well. We did a four day park hopper and stayed outside of Disney property. They provided free bus services provided by Disney that takes you right to front of the park. It was great because the busses zoom right on to the park through the traffic we would have otherwise been stuck in, and they take you right to the front so there is no long walks to get to the entrance or long walks back after your busy day! BTW - The fast pass was a great tip. It is FREE and will save you hours in the park.
2016-05-18 23:30:43 · answer #3 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We always book our own vacations and find great deals. Part of the fun for us is doing all the research- we actually spend months on each trip! Last year, we had 2 adults and 2 kids at Disney World for a total of 9 nights (including driving time- 2 days each way), 5 days at the Parks, drove to Clearwater for a day at the beach... this included all of our hotels, gasoline, food, admissions and even souvenirs.... and we spent LESS than $1500!!!! We just got back from an 11 day trip (9 nights at hotels ) to England- 5 days in the Cotswolds and 4 nights in London- also everything included such as airfare, trains and busses, loads of entertainment and sightseeing, food (expensive there), etc. also for 2 adults and 2 kids and we spent a grand total of $7000. That is only $1750 per person for almost 2 weeks in one of the most expensive countries for Americans to visit in the world! Do your research as a family and the trip will mean so much more to your children. Also, when you spend time really getting to know a place before you get there AND know exactly what you're going to do there, you'll have less stress and a generally more peaceful time as a family- which is what vacations are all about, right?!
2007-08-21 05:26:10 · answer #4 · answered by nanny411 7 · 2⤊ 4⤋
I recommend you to do your own booking for your trip. Like you I used to use an Agent, I completely do my family Disney packages on my own now.
First thing if you know where you want to stay, flight, rental, etc.
Check for the availability. Once you confirm availability check your credit card to see if you are signed up for the rewards program, if so your credit card company only needs to know what you want to apply your rewards to (e.g. Continental, Delta flights, or rental car agencies who participate in the rewards program, etc.....)and they will book it for you. You can get free airline tickets or rental cars check it out. After you have done that if there is anything left to do go online and book the rest yourself. If staying at a Disney resort get the package tickets, hotel. In addition you will receive free parking at all Disney theme parks and early access into the parks before the regular crowds.
If you are buying Universal tickets they always have great ticket deals currently for just $86.00 you can get tickets to both parks"islands of adventure and Universal studios" for 7 consecutive days (that's 12.00 per day.) (All Day Parking not included $10.00)
Have Fun & Save Money!!
2007-08-21 08:16:08 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
Personally I think going straight to the source (Disney) is the best way to plan your trip as far as hotel and tickets go. Try the travel sites like expedia and priceline for airline tickets.
So simply put...book on your own!
2007-08-21 05:57:51 · answer #6 · answered by Lisa 4 · 1⤊ 3⤋
To be honest, the Disney website itself is great with prices if you do a magic your way package. Choose your hotel, tickets (get the park hopper) and the dining plan. Definitely ask for the magical express transportation to and from the airport.
Get your airline tickets separately. I got mine on Air Tran and they were incredibly cheap. You can go with orbitz, travelocity, cheaptickets, etc. but remember that they charge a small fee in there. For example, my Air Tran flight on the Air Tran website was $99/person. On the other websites, that same flight was $105. They are charging you more because you are paying for the convenience for them to search many airlines. Use them to search, but when you find a flight go to that airlines website, and see how much that flight is from the website, often times it is cheaper
Since you are staying on property you don't need to rent a car because Disney provides transportation to all the hotels, parks and the airport. If you need to go to Universal Studios, Sea World, or somewhere off property use Mears Transportation services. You call them 24 hours before you need the service and they will provide roundtrip service. 407-423-5566
Because it is Disney, you will spend around 2 grand, but if you get the dining plan (which I believe is free for trips through Sept 22) you will save tons of money because you will not have to pay for lunch and dinner.
To utilize your plan properly and get the most out of eat. Use the counter service meal for lunch, the table for dinner (try and go with the more expensive restaurants) and if you can use the snacks to buy cereal and milk in the morning or a snack during the day.
In your luggage, pack a 24 pack of water and bring the bottles to the park. Water in Disney costs around $4, so if you bring a bottle per person you can fill it up at water fountains. Plus you can use the empty suitcase at the end of the trip to bring home souvenirs.
Get the Disney Credit card for your trip and your trip only. You get 0% apr for the next 6 months, so you can pay off your trip in 6 months with no fees! Also you get Disney Reward points. You can then trade these in for Disney reward Dollars, which is basically a gift card that you can use in Disney. This means that your trip just gave you money for souvenirs and other stuff to use in the park.
One more tip. Start saving your change. Use this as the souvenir fund or another fund that you will need money for. You will be surprised how fast your change adds up. We have been saving since March and we have $80 and we almost never use cash!
Disney has 5 different seasons for 2007. based on the hotel you are looking at the seasons change slightly, but not much. they are Value Season (when there are the least crowds, regular season, summer season, peak season, and holiday season. based on these seasons you can tell when the crowds are heaviest. Value season is when the hotels are the cheapest and Holiday is the most expensive. everything is is in order from lowest to highest.
Value season: Jan 1-Feb14, Aug 5-Oct 3, Nov 25-Dec 19
Regular season: April 15-May 23, Oct 4-Nov 24
Summer Season: May 24-Aug 4
Peak Season: Feb 15-April 14
Holiday Season: Dec 20-Dec 31
If you want to avoid crowds, try going during the value season
This is the cost that we paid for 2 people to go during value season. September 22-28 2007, booked in February 2007
Hotel for 6-night 7-day in a value resort (pop century)/Disney Park 6-Day Tickets w/park hopper/Transportation to parks/Transportation to Airport/Disney Dining Plan: $1,378.74
Tickets to Universal: $132.08
Flight from Philadelphia to Orlando on Sept 22 @ 7:00 am: $218.80 ($109.40/person)
Flight from Orlando to Philadelphia on Sept 25 @ 2:30 pm: $71.80 ($35.90/person)
Transportation to Universal: $32.00/person round trip
We are using the counter meal for lunch and the table meal for dinner and we are bringing cereal/pop-tarts in our luggage for breakfast.
We are also going to Typhoon Lagoon which is like $30/person
The places we are eating for table meals (we are paying $ for one of them) are
Coral Reef Restaurant
Crystal Palace w/ Pooh & Characters
Cinderella's Castle
Cinderella's Gala Feast @ Grand Floridian
Sci-Fi Dine In
Akershus Princess Breakfast
Hope this helps!
2007-08-21 05:47:36 · answer #7 · answered by Molly SH 4 · 1⤊ 3⤋
hahahaahaha. nah, i think if you can handle it yourself, just do that! Planning a disney vaca isnt that hard, & travel agents arent genius's at that anyways. i think you should do it yourself & you'll save some cash as well! good luck & have fun! hope it helped :)
2007-08-21 10:37:52 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
Well, if you want to make it easy on yourself then you use an agent. They do all of the work for you... but charge you for it. If you are looking to save some money, then do the work yourself (much cheeper). It all depends on where your priorities are... time or money. Good luck and enjoy your vacation.
2007-08-21 05:11:18 · answer #9 · answered by shadowsthathunt 6 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Book it on your on! It's cheaper and travel agents will screw you every time!
http://www.orlandofloridasucks.com
2007-08-21 09:40:51 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋