Planning a Spring Trip to Disney World!

[D.Va]

My 21st birthday is on February 22nd and my parents really wanted to take me to Las Vegas over spring break. My dad is taking classes in the spring and doesn't have the same spring break as I do, so he's not able to go with us. That put a damper on the Vegas idea because what fun is Vegas without your dad there to buy you drinks?
We decided collectively on a trip to Disney World instead. I went last spring break and absolutely fell in love with it. My mom, both grandmas, aunt, boyfriend, and I are all going to take a spring trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. Since my brother works there part time, he is able to get three free park-hopper passes per day for sixteen (or eighteen?) days. That leaves three of us needing passes. If we split the cost of three more 5-day park-hopper passes, it comes out to about $162 per person for the entire week (which really isn't bad at all). The expensive part of the trip is probably going to be lodging and transportation (I live in Colorado, one grandmother lives in Iowa, the other lives in West Virginia, and my Aunt lives in Texas - so clearly we're gonna need to fly).

Do any of you experienced WDW-goers have any suggestions on lodging? We're thinking of renting a timeshare for the week so we can buy groceries and save money on food instead of eating at restaurants all week. Any suggestions?

Thanks guys!

 

[Atlantis]

Get a place off resort with a kitchenette, there are a lot of hotels that have bus/shuttle service to Disney. Getting from the airport to the hotel should be pretty easy because there are a lot of buses that run out to tourist areas. If there isn't a bus that runs from the airport to your hotel, look into SuperShuttle. It's a pretty easy way to get to and from the hotel if you don't mind not having a rental car.

Just whatever you do, DON'T stay at any of the value resorts. The rooms and beds are freakishly small.

 

[Tariel]

Well heres a guide XD http://forums.myvmk.com/threads/the-ultimate-wdw-guide.35191/#post-312747

In general i'd stay at the comfort in across from disney if you wanna stay off property but the All Star resort is very cheap and they have busses and stuff to the parks and/or the transpertation and ticket center. Disney dining plans aren't that expensive and very good the one my family and i had last year was 1 sit down 1 walk up and 1 snack a day and it was a good deal. Breakfast wise either have a sitdown breakfast or save that for dinner and get a box of doughnuts for breakfast.

 

[iamabigdisfan]

Check out Art of Animation Suites. It sleeps 6. Has 1 bedroom, 2 bathrooms, a little kitchen area, living room and a dining area. The sofa in living room opens up into a bed. Dining room , pull down the backboard and you have a Murphy bed. I feel it's not expensive cause you getting a lot of space for your money. Just something to look into. Best place is Finding Nemo at this resort.

 

[Princess_Stitch]

Well, the best thing to do is comparison shop. How would a on-site or off-site resort/hotel compare to the timeshare rental? There are a few things to consider, as well:
- Car rental or other mode of transportation
- Parking fees (ouch)
- Time spent

I'm not sure it would be offered over spring break, but your brother may get a discount on resorts & the dining plan. The dining plan is NOT a good value at full-price. If he'll be with you, he should get discounts on some food. Lunch at Sanaa is almost always 40% off for CMs and Trail's End was recently 40% off, too. Some locations offer a discount, some don't. Any store considered a "merchandise" location will use his regular discount even on bottled drinks and food items sold there. He should have a holiday booklet with dining and free drink/popcorn coupons, too. Brita water bottles are nice if you'd prefer to fill up in your room or at drinking fountains. Art of Animation rooms, for example, have a kitchenette with a sink, fridge, and microwave so you could buy cereal, sandwich makings, canned soup, microwave rice, etc. for easy meals. DVC resorts carry some groceries in their shops. The portions at counter service locations are gigantic and could easily be split between two (if not three) people.

Please make sure none of your dates are blacked out for the Main Gate!

 

[D.Va]

Thanks for all the suggestions! My parents are the ones planning the trip and my mom is looking at about $1000 for the week for lodging (split 6 ways is about $167) and renting a minivan. My brother gets free parking and would be off that week to spend it with us while we're there, which will be nice. It makes it much cheaper than paying to park. I think my brother double checked the blackout dates![DOUBLEPOST=1417318106][/DOUBLEPOST]Just checked - the trip falls a few weeks before the spring blockouts

 

[Tariel]

Thanks for all the suggestions! My parents are the ones planning the trip and my mom is looking at about $1000 for the week for lodging (split 6 ways is about $167) and renting a minivan. My brother gets free parking and would be off that week to spend it with us while we're there, which will be nice. It makes it much cheaper than paying to park. I think my brother double checked the blackout dates![DOUBLEPOST=1417318106][/DOUBLEPOST]Just checked - the trip falls a few weeks before the spring blockouts

Thats wonderful free parking is always a plus. Also try looking at the Disney Hotels https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/ they have some (like pop century) for around 100$ and the All Star is like 98 or something and Art of Animation isn't a whole lot more expensive either.

 

[D.Va]

Thats wonderful free parking is always a plus. Also try looking at the Disney Hotels https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/ they have some (like pop century) for around 100$ and the All Star is like 98 or something and Art of Animation isn't a whole lot more expensive either.

I think we're going to avoid a resort. My mom seems to have this situated but she needs to tell me how much it's going to end up costing me! Haha