Walt Disney World: Planning

I've been promising this post for too long and I'm finally getting around to writing it.

I did a TON of research as I was planning Disney and probably read every single blog on the internet about tips and tricks to survive our first Disney trip.
Today I'll bring you along on the thought process behind where we stayed, if we liked it, if we would do it again and everything in between.

When to Go 

Peak season vs Non Peak. Whats the difference?
Crowds and Pricing 

I would use this amazing CROWD CALENDAR  from Undercover Tourist. It will help you identify the best time to go based on crowd levels. 
If you don't have children in school, I would definitely suggest you visit Disney during regular school days. Generally, any time there is a school holiday, there will be crowds at Disney World.

If crowds don't bother you, suggest the pricing - Disney now has Peak Pricing which means, busier times are more expensive to visit. 

The Canadian Resident 4 day offer is $316USD which works out to $79/day per person (Under 3 years old is free) and can be used any time of year except the week between Christmas and New Years. This offer is set to expire on March 15th 2019.  They may change the block out period before you buy, so definitely check that your dates still qualify. 

*Note: They have just released more special offers which roll into the summer. You can view them here

If you don't get the 4 day offer, I would suggest looking at low peak periods to save on park admission which can range from $109 - $129USD/per person per day. 

Here is a link to an admission price calendar so you can see the price/ ticket by day and plan accordingly. 

Would we travel again during the Holidays? I'm glad we got to visit Disney during Christmas because it's beauty was indescribable. Would I go AGAIN at that time? No. 

Next time we go we want to focus on experiencing the park with much less crowds 

Planning Flight + Hotel+Car 
We booked a FLIGHT+HOTEL+CAR rental through Sunwing Vacations 

When searching individually, I found the cost of a hotel, flight and car would have cost us WAY MORE had we not bundled it.
Make sure when you're searching that you know if you are booking an Official or Non Official Walt Disney resort. For example, Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort is not an official resort - and you won't get the perks like meal plans, free parking, magic hours, etc.

Did we book a Walt Disney Resort? No
We stayed at The Grove Resort in Orlando
Why? We thought the Resort was BEAUTIFUL; it had massive slides (both our kids were too young to enjoy them though), a lazy river, water park and more.
It was only a 10 minute drive to Disney
The price was great
We had a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo with a full kitchen and laundry - THIS was the most important thing for us and was hands down the reason our trip was so successful with 2 toddlers.
Why?
1. Gabriel and Lucas had their own room and we had our own room which meant the kids would go to bed ON TIME every single night. If we were in a standard hotel room, this couldn't happen. Lucas would never be in bed at 6:30pm if the rest of us were up in the same room.  This meant we all got to enjoy the night while Lucas slept - this made for very successful days because Lucas was well rested. This also meant, once Gabriel went to bed, Tony and I got to stay up and drink wine, talk and hang out.
*We ordered a Pack N Play from the resort but remember to bring your own fitted crib sheet.

2. Meals were a breeze. The rooms have FULL kitchens (Fridge, Stove, dishwasher) Target was only a 5 mins drive away so on day 1 we stocked up. Cereal, crackers, cheese, yogurt, pasta, frozen pizza, fruit, veggies, eggs and bread were staples for the kids.

3. I did laundry which meant I could pack way less. One of my favourite tips from this vacation was do your laundry on your last night in the room. There is nothing worse than getting home from your vacation and having a HUGE pile of laundry. Tony and I ordered a pizza (from the Hotel restaurant -it was DELICIOUS btw), poured some wine, turned on a movie and did laundry on our last night. When I got home, I unpacked and put everything away. It made getting back into routine SO EASY.

Other Things we Loved
Parking was on the same floor as your hotel room. We were on the 5th floor and never having to get in an elevator from the parking garage was a luxury I never knew I was missing! We would park on the 5th floor and walk straight to our room.

Benefits to staying at a Walt Disney World Resort (remember, we didn't do this but I wanted to give you guys the most info for you to make a educated decision) 

Access to Disney Dining plan: $75.49 per adult and $25.75 per child per day
Keep in mind, the cost of a character lunch or dinner alone is $55/ adult SO...plan accordingly if this is something you want to do. 
We were actually happy we didn't get the meal plan. We did 2 character meals (1 breakfast and 1 lunch) and that was more than enough for us. All other meals were off property. 

Parking: Parking is free at each park if you are staying on Disney property.

Magic Bands: Magic Bands ($15) are free if you are staying on Disney property

Magic Hours - certain days open earlier or stay open later for anyone staying on Disney Property

Fast Pass - If you are staying on resort, you can book your fast passes 60 days before your stay. If you're not staying on resort, you can book them 30 days early.

For a Full list of resorts (organized by price point) click here

Some Things to Consider (That I didn't realize when I booked)
Parking at the resort is $15/day PLUS a resort fee of $30/day...that added up real fast.
We drove to Disney everyday so that was an addittional $25/day
...and yes..that's all in US dollars.
Resort Fee $30-7 =$210
Resort Parking= $15x7 = $105
4 Days at Disney Parking: $25x4 =100
TTL $415 USD ($550 CDN)

And don't forget your checked baggage fee of $30/checked bag each way
2 checked bags:
$30 x 2 = $60 each way
TTL $120 

Car Seats
$10/seat per day
7 days x 2 seats
TTL $140USD ($185CDN)

Thats an extra $855 in extra fees. CRAZZZZZZY

Car
Our car rental was part of the package with Sunwing but was from Alamo; a quick search on their website showed a coupon for a FREE car upgrade. I showed the clerk at the car rental when we arrived and he gave us the free upgrade.
Car Seats - we rented the car seats from Alamo at $10/seat per day. That added up quick and totalled $140US

*CAA Members get free car seat rentals with Alamo - CALL and ask if you can use this to your advantage on your booking. I found this out once I got home and was not happy with myself lol

*If you don't rent a car, make sure you Amazon Prime some groceries to your room. Especially bottles of water. Most (if not all) Disney resorts have at minimum a kitchenette in their room.


My Disney Experience App
Download this NOW! This will be your BEST FRIEND the entire trip.
All the parks have wifi so you can use the app to update your fast passes, access the map (with your current location), and so much more.
I couldn't do Disney without it.

I'm sure this post will evolve and I'll edit it as I think of more tips and tricks.
 Next Post will be all about what to pack!!
...and AFTER that I'll be doing a post per park.

THANKS FOR READING!!!
xoxoxox
Vanessa