Thinking of disney....

[fordarama]

My son has been to disney a couple of times,
As I have , it has been 20 years for me,
My step son and hubby have never been,
I am thinking of maybe going next June instead of the beach.....
I have already decided to rent a private house with a private pool and hot tub......
They run half of what a beach house runs,
The resorts in disney look awesome, but the prices are high, and I just can't share a room or bathroom with my sons........
Last time I went I got in for free, went in the employee entrance,
Do you guys have any tips, and are there places to get tickets cheaper to disney...???
I have to make up my mind in a couple of months, before the houses get booked up...
Any ideas or help will be great........

[teacherkim]

There are not many discounts on Disney tickets. Try www.undercovertourist.com They have the best deals I've seen and I know they're reputable. There may be some places that advertise better deals, but there's usually a catch (i.e. timeshare presentation) involved.

[golfnut]

we used... orlandoinfo.com.. found a 4 bedroom house with pool, 10 minutes from disney, $99 bucks a night... well worth it....... that was a couple of years ago, booked it in july for the third week in august. I'm sure june is a lot busier..... good luck with the planning...

[fordarama]

With alot of the houses I have found, June is considered low season or mid,
Golfnut, was the drive and parking a pain??

[pamlet]

If you sign up for the newsletter at www.mousesavers.com you'll get an email every month with a link to discount tickets that are supposedly even less expensive than other ticketers. They've been working with undercovertourist lately ... that's where I got the tickets for my son's honeymoon.

You CAN save by not buying the parkhopper tickets - but we've always bit the bullet and gotten that option - mostly due to the fact that since we're saving so much money by staying offsite .. and paying the parking fee everyday I like the flexibility of going to multiple parks in a day if I want.

We've never rented a house .. we've always stayed offsite at motels or a condo. I've had friends who've done the house thing and LOVED it.

We're probably going this coming spring .. and new for us... we my camp at Fort Wilderness... it's 72.00-74.00 a night for the time frame I want to go - BUT it's something I've always wanted to do .. we'll see how it pans out though.

I'm sure you'll get lots of advice here - there are a few real DW fans on the board here!

[teacherkim]

I'd suggest getting the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World by Bob Sehlinger. He has a whole section on renting a home in the area and I really like the map of the subdivisions. A lot of rental homes are advertised as being "minutes to Disney." However, WDW is a big place and while it may be 10 minutes to the Disney property line, it can take anywhere from 10-30 minutes or more to get from the property line to an actual park. The most popular subdivisions for rental homes are Windsor Hills, Windsor Palms, Formosa Gardens and Emerald Island. Everyone who has stayed in one of those places says the commute is very easy (sometimes easier than staying onsite) and really enjoyed their trip.

[fordarama]

What is the charge to park???
I had not thought of that...........

[teacherkim]

Pretty sure it was recently raised to $11/day, but once you pay it you don't have to pay again, even if you leave and come back or move to another park.

[pamlet]

Yep it's 11.00 a day ... if you stay onsite there is no charge... BUT even if you stay at the value resorts then you're in teeny tiny room.

And the timeframe from the value resorts to the parks .. well honestly if you can get a house CLOSE offsite you don't save much time. Teacherkim's suggestion about the unofficial guide is a good one to get an idea of how far the houses are... Travel time can mean a LOT there ... just driving in "the world" can eat up time...

There are all sorts of ways to save money ... I suggest the first thing to do is sort of decide WHAT you want to do - then set a budget.

Also - just a suggestion - don't get caught up in all the sit down restaurant things ... you'll read on other boards how folks do the sit downs everyday ... We've found we don't eat NEARLY as much as we thought we would ... but we also found that we didn't cook at the condo as much as I thought either. We did a LOT of counter service ... and hubby and I shared meals a fair amount... (but then we're hitting that age that we don't eat as much either).. last time we were there the "boys" (21 and 16) would eat a counter service and have had plenty to eat .. we'd split one.

It's easy to get VERY caught up in wanting to "do it all" when you get on the other boards... just take a DEEP breath and figure what YOU want to do. The trick I think is LOTS of planning ... then be willing to alter the plans as you go once you are there!

[pamlet]

Quick question - then I'm off to work - how old are your boys?

[ThunderHockeyFan]

Nothing to add but I just love talking about Disney!!

Only 682 more days until I get to go back but who's counting

[fordarama]

14, and 22........
They will be 15 and 23 by then.......
My older one has been a couple of times, but not since he was a kid.......

[golfnut]

Originally Posted by fordarama

With alot of the houses I have found, June is considered low season or mid,
Golfnut, was the drive and parking a pain??

We got around just fine, driving was not as bad as i thought it would be. the one thing i would suggest is pay for preferred parking ( thats the first thing i save for ) ........ I might add that the pools aren't very big, unless you pay more........ but it was fine for us ( didn't have to share it with 20 different people )

[wandering gnome]

If you like staying at the fairfield timeshare resorts in Branson, you might want to contact Allen Johnson to see if they have availablity in Orlando

[golfnut]