Disney Vacations

When we used American Airlines Vacation last year for our WDW trip we were able to pay half at front and the rest one month before. Also look at www.mousefantravel.com they book disney vacations and I'm sure you can do the same there also.

In addition to the website www.allearsnet.com that someone mentioned, check out mousebuzz.com and passporter.com. If you decide to go I'd definitely get the WDW passporter book also. It's a great tool to help you plan a trip.

What I can share is - the most convenient are the Disney owned hotels on-site at at either Disneyland or Disney World. They tend to book up far in advance. If you go to Disneyland (you did not specify) be careful about the hotels surrounding the park. We had a terrible time at the Sheraton Anaheim. It is listed on the Disney travel page as a "good neighbor" hotel. (SO many issues and I won't blog them here!) It is not at all within walking distance despite what we were told by reservations. If you are not familiar with the area the map does not make it obvious either. If you choose a hotel outside of the park it is important to note that Harbor Blvd. is where the main enterance is. It is also where the shuttles load for all the off site hotels. If you choose a hotel on Harbor Blvd. BETWEEN Katella and I-5 you may be able to walk to the park. Also note that I-5 is a MASSIVE freeway!
Best wishes!
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/index

Hi V.-
(I apologize in advance, I got a little long-winded!)

We just got back from DW a few days ago and had a blast. We booked ours through disney.com and it was all-inclusive. We did airfare, rooms, meals, parks etc all together. It was great and OH SO reasonable. We stayed at a moderate resort (Port Orleans, Riverside) and it's beautiful. One thing I did want to mention is that, from what I remember, the extra magic park hours are only for guests at certain resorts. (Revised: The disney website does say "select resorts") I don't think it includes the Pop or All-Star resorts. And, the extra hours are park specific per day. You really need to plan your meal reservations (if you do) to make sure you're taking advantage of everything. Taking the park-hopper option might seem like a good idea, but it really takes a little while to get from resort to park because the buses make several stops between point A & B. Our resort alone had 5 different stops! The buses also don't run from resort to resort. If you want to go to MK from Epcot, you need to take a bus from MK to your resort, get off the bus and wait for another one to take you to Epcot (plus the 3 or so stops along the way). That's an hour out of your day before you know it!
Also, with a three year old, you might want to see what rides your youngest will be able to go on. April D on here knows ALL about a 3 year old and the pitfalls of Disney World! My DD is 5 and she was able to go on almost everything & she really enjoyed everything. To me, any younger than 5 and it's a lot of hassle for both mom and child...and they might not even remember it either. Even movies like "It's Tough to be a Bug" had 2 & 3 years old in hysterics. Just my opinion. Also, from what I hear the summer's are miserable heat/humidity wise. Plus the crowds are terrible. Something to consider too. We were there last week and it was in the high 70s/mid 80s! In January!! It got pretty warm and I can't imagine what it's like in the summer there.

Back to your original question, the longer you book your trip out, the more flexible they are with the payments. www.disney.com Allears.net is a great site too, which someone else mentioned. Please message me if you have any other questions!

I am a travel agent and I am not saying this because of that, I am saying this because your vacation costs a lot of money. BOOK WITH A TRAVEL AGENT! They normally do not charge a fee, Disney will pay them a commission. They will get you the best possible price, and if you find a lower price, take it to them, they will explain why it is lower. They will protect your investment, stand behind you if something goes wrong, and make sure you have all the documents and required paperwork before you depart. We book directly with Disney, so we know we are getting the best possible rate. You can pay a deposit (usually $200 and sometimes the air, with your final usually due 60 days prior to your trip). It is the safest most common sense approach to planning your trip. Good Luck and have a wonderful trip!
(Another tip: Disney offers great meal plans, everyone who has purchased them has been very pleased, so you may want to consider this also! Another tip: Don't scrimp on the number of days you spend in Disney to save money, the 5 day pass is usually only $4-5 more than the 4 day pass. And if you have small children (under 9), don't waste your money on Park Hopper options, as they can't travel that fast through the parks to get your money's worth. Allow a full day in each park with this age group.) Have Fun!

Hi V.,

The Disney site is definitely a tool, but as a former travel agent, I also used Southwest air vacations and Funjet vacations for all inclusive Disney. I found Funjet and SWair to be cheaper often - you just have to check. Both offer Disney and nonDisney hotels . I do think it's easier to stay in a Disney hotel, b/c, for ex. whatever you buy in the parks will be delivered to your hotel.

Whenever I travel, I check out the hotels on Tripadvisor.com to see what people have said about them and to see vacationer's pics. They will give you a lot of info in addition to the rooms/hotels. Great tool!

I would do my research, find out exactly where I want to stay, what I want included, etc, go to Funjet, SW, Disney, or even Expedia, Yahoo travel, etc (I've had Funjet match prices I got on these other companies) and once you've got everything you want, including price, call a travel agent and have them book it - exactly what you found, price, etc and they should be able to get the exact same thing. You can't wait a day, though - prices change all of the time. You have to call when you find what you want. It's just nice to have a local person to go to w/questions, etc and the price will be the same.

Also, it's a good idea to get the insurance in case you have to cancel.

FYI, apparently they are going to build a Disney in Bastrop, Texas in about 7 years.

I hope that helps. Take care,
M.

Hi V.,

I also booked my Disneyworld vacation at Disneyworld.com. I agree it's best to stay on property and would recommend the dining plan. It's great especially for all the great character dining, and do make reservations in advance. You can also check height requirements for rides on the website if you are concerned about your little ones. We took our girls when they were 2 and 4 and they loved it. My 2 year old is dying to go back, but loves to see herself in the pictures and videos. Also, if booking online, I was doing a little experimenting lately with the airlines and noticed you can book cheaper flights yourself. Try spririt airlines. They will start flying out of San Antonio in April and the rates are really, really cheap right now, but are booking fast. They do fly to Orlando and you can arrange free transportantion through the Disney website. Good luck and have fun.

We did this last year through Disney. Call their 1800 # and book it.

You can do this through Disney directly. There is a number on their website. I will warn you the website is awful and you might have to wait on hold when you call. We just paid off our balance ( JAn 23rd) for our trip in March. Once you put down a deposit, you can start making reservation for character breakfasts etc. This will need to be made about 180 days in advance.

hmmm. Which Disney are you going to? My SIL works for DisneyWorld. I'll call her and see what she has to say. It will probably be tonite before I can get a hold of her.

Good morning V.,

I will be happy to assist you with your questions on Disney vacations or any other destinations. I am a mother of 3 and we have been several times to Disney.

Also, I am a mom-owned business and a travel consultant for 25 years.

You can reach me at ###-###-#### or 800-401-4428. My email is ____@____.com

I look forward to planning your memorable family vacation.

G. Branecky

I went to the Disney website and they mailed me a dvd and booklet of their packages. It includes hotels / disney resorts, the prices bases on 2 adults / 2 kids, the different parks and the prices for them. We looked it up but when we called to book the reservation they had even more deals. Have a fun trip!

Hi V.,

We go to Disney every year and book it directly through Disneyworld.com. We have only had to put $200 down with the remainder due 6 weeks before. They have a great vacation planning tool where you can view all the resorts, prices, packages, etc. Have fun!

Try going to DisneyWorld or DisneyLand.com. They have the packages available and if I remember correctly, you can pay on it. Or go through a travel agent. The first time we took our kids we went through a travel agent and after that we just did it online with Disney. You can also get the Disney Video mailed to you that offers ideas about stays. It is a great trip.

Be sure to stay on the Resort in one of the hotels. They have 3 or 4 levels of Hotels from about $99-$119 per night to about $400-500 per night. We have stayed at the All Star Sports, All Star Movies and Coronado Springs and they are all great. The kids typically get a free gift when you check in. If you stay on the resort you can get into the partks early and stay late on the days they designate. You can take the Disney Buses to the parks and get dropped off right at the entrance without worrying about parking. If you buy things at the stores, they will deliver the packages to your room so you don't have to carry them around with you. One last thing, be sure to do the reservations for the different places to eat as soon as you know when you are going and when they will take your reservation. Cinderella's Castle gets booked quickly for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner. The Crystal Palace in Disney World in Magic Kingdom is where there are Character Breakfasts lunches and dinners so make your reservation for that too. Dining with the Characters is such fun, but you need to make the reservations. It's great. Those are just a few perks.

And...become an expert at the Fast Passes when you get there, it will stop you from waiting in line too long for the famous rides. And try to ride the most famous rides when you get there in the morning before the lines are long.

Don't forget Downtown Disney, which is a lot of fun too. Hope that helps.

I've booked the same trip through both Expedia and Disney with no difference in cost. I think actually there was $4 in Disney's favor. Definantly stay on-site, it's just so easy to have them pick you up at the airport and all transportation is up to them, not to mention all the other perkes. Someone else said that EMH are only select resorts and that is not true at all. The value resorts have the same EMH as the other categories, their rooms are smaller and less expensive. We chose to stay at the values because we're not at the resort that much anyway and choose to spend our money elsewhere. I always check Disney's pricing first and then explore other options, but usually Disney is right in line. The only difference is sometimes there can be better deals on flights elsewhere. Also, if you have a Disney Visa, if you book through Disney, you have 6 months to pay it off with no interest.
Check out www.mousebuzz.com for more tips!

Hello,
My name is K., I am married and have a little girl at the age of 11. When she was 10 we took her to Disney. It's a great trip. We went through a travel agent, and she worked with us on the cost and making payments. Just another thought...Hannah was 10 and by the 2nd day we were getting carts to push her around. Also, we waiting for her to be old enough to not only enjoy the trip, but to remember it for a life time. I'm thinking this might be a trip you don't want to take at this time...We saw couples there that had kids under the age of 8 and they were just not having any fun at all.
However, if you deside to go...Go during the holiday's...We were there news year's eve...Nothing like it!!!

We went last spring and I would like to again that way. I would like to know the answer to this as well! Thanks

You can use Disneyvacations.com, but it is cheaper through Expedia. We are a big Disney World visiting family and we always do ours through Expedia and it is a lot cheaper. Good luck!!!

You might try Southwest airlines that books Disney vacations. Also there is a Disney credit card from Chase that gives rewards.

Expedia.com will let you pay 1/2 down and the remainder later. I haven't booked a Disney vacation with them, though. Good luck!

I am going on a Disney Cruise in May and used the person below. She was great and did all the work. We paid the down payment at the time of reservation in November and the final payment isn't due until mid-Feb.

Hope this helps!

Y.

---------------
Sandy Bevolo

Phone: ###-###-####
Toll free: 866- ###-###-####
Fax: ###-###-####

Office hours: Mon- Fri, 9am-3pm CST

Small World Vacations..where the Magic Begins

Dedicated to your Dreams and your Dollars

Authorized Disney Vacation Planner

There is an actual Disney Travel company, owned/operated by Disney ---

Walt Disney Travel Co.
just go to www.disneyworld.com and you can custom your vacation details there. You can choose to pay for your airfare, hotel, park hopper tickets (admission to all parks on all the days you'll be there or just the days you want); meals can be included if you want.
And yes, you put down a deposit -- based on how much your total package is....
and the balance is due at least 45 days before your arrival.
And this allows you to book at a Disney resort hotel: value resort (which are very kid-themed); a moderate resort hotel; or a deluxe hotel.

Go to allears.net for some great pics of the hotel rooms/amenities,etc.
My BIL & SIL, who are experienced Disney world travelers, recommend get an all-inclusive package (plane airfare, Disney resort hotel, meals, park tickets). You save money this way.
and if you stay at a Disney resort hotel....you get free transportation to all the parks (monorail, buses, boats) -no need to rent a car! And all resort guests get the privilege to get into the park an hour or 2 earlier than opening; and staying an hour or 2 later after closing (those are prime times to ride the popular rides). And as a resort guest, you get free transportation from the airport to your hotel....and you can go straight to the park that day because they'll tag your luggage and take it straight to your rooms for you. So literally, you can walk off the airplane and be in the Magic Kingdom an hour later!

We booked our trip through disneyworld.com and love that everything is taken care for us. We got the meal package that includes a counter meal (lunch) and a dinner...and one snack. But I hear you should make dinner reservations early - way before your trip so you can get a spot at prime dinner times.

If you are looking specifically at Disney World or Land, we went directly through Disney (get online to order their Cd and Dvd) and then call the 1-800 number to book. We put a down payment and then payed it out over a few months.

I agree about the Disney.com website! We applied for the Disney Rewards card and charged it to that then paid as needed. We went last May. Our first trip for all of us. WOW We had a great time.We have 2 boys that were ages 8 and 11 and we waited till they were big enough to ride 80% of the rides. I am so glad we waited because like said above there were families with small children that were still nap age who were not having as much fun as us. It is not convenient to go back to the room for a nap. We paid for airline, food and room thru Disney.com..... as a package deal and was very surprised at the price for 4. I highly recommend the All- Star resorts. All-Star Movies, All-Star Sports, and All-Star Music. Great price and very kid friendly. Also the Food program is a must! I was surprised at how much food we were aloted for each day. We bought the keepsake mug at the cafeteria which was free refils for your whole stay day and night then stock piled waters at meal time to take back to the room to take with us to the parks. We went the week before public school let out and did not wait in lines. When we do it again we will go a week before that, as the week got to Wednesday evening the college kids started arriving so the attendance doubled, then by Thursday it doubled again and lucky for us we already had 5 days to get thru the parks with no lines before the rush. Over all it was an awesome adventure for adults and kids. Lots of parades, firework shows, character sightings, silly people... a great time.

Get a Chase Disney Credit Card and book the vacation thru the Disneyworld.com travel agency. You will get 6 months to pay it off with not interest.

We just got back from Disneyworld. We planned our trip on disneyworld.com you can plan your trip up to a year in advance and pay for it a little at a time.

Off topic-but where are you going to school for nursing? I'm going to Brookhaven. I would love to take my kids to Disneyland/world, but I've got 5 and it looks really expensive. I did not know there were options to pay half up front, half later. I'm looking forward to the responses you recieve. :-)

The actualy disney website. If you use their vacation services you can book through them online and pay it out. Disneyworldvacations.com

You can actually do something like that straight from the Disney website. Also, you can buy park hopper passes and stuff from the Disney store. Probably a good idea to stop by there so you can actually talk to someone and get some good tips.
Good luck!! You'll have a blast!

Hi V.!

We went through mouseketrip.com and worked with Keith. He was awesome! My friends couldn't believe the price we got for a week at Disney, all park passes, Disney Dining (which I highly recommend) and stayed on property. We booked our trip early, and when there was a change in price in or favor, Keith rebooked it at the lower rate. He watched prices from the time we booked until the day ouf final payment was due. Good luck and have a magical vacation!

I used a travel agent in Denton. Mean Green Travel, or Bismark Travel agency. You pay 150 down each person and then you have up until 45 days before you leave to pay it off. They will tell you to look at Fun Jet Vacations to pick out a vaction, then you have to have a travel agent book it. Good luck.

I know that the down payment, then balance to follow applies to cruises, but I'm not sure about Disney. Check out YourTicketToTheWorld.com and see what they offer. Good Luck

http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/reservations/res-che...

We used the above for a family vacation this past Christmas and were VERY pleased. I will use them again!

Hi V..
I'm a travel agent and I'd love to help you out. I can find you a better deal than you can find online too. If you'd like to send me the information about your desired vacation I will look for a vacation package that will work for you and your family. Just let me know when you'd like to go, how long you'd like to stay, how many people, which Disney parks you'd like to visit. I'll find a package and provide you with an itinerary. Then you can decide if it'll work for you.
Happy traveling,
R.