I wanted to share what our Cadette Troop is doing this June.
My family (from Texas) has traveled to WDW often, and participated as a family in the 2013 Girls Unite Program. While there, I chatted with a few other moms about how THEY do Disney, checked out some WDW trips on other Council websites and decided to put one together for my Troop.
We have opted to NOT include airfare, as we have some people who work for airlines, other who wish to use miles, other who wish to drive, etc. We also have a few families who are staying beyond our trip dates for an extended family vacation.
We will be arriving in Florida and staying on property for 5 nights. This will be a Family Trip. (I will not be escorting the kids by myself. Each child will be under that care and control of atleast one parent or adult. We have some mother/daughter travelers and others are full families.)
We have taken advantage of the Youth Education Program to get discounted tickets, but was not thrilled with the resort and dining options (or lack there of). (My family has always like the Dining Plan and I think it makes it much easier for families, with one less thing to worry about.) The problem I encountered was that to get the DINING plan, we have to purchase a resort stay AND park tickets. This would negate the discount we were getting on Park Tickets through the YES program.
I am working with an agent who specializes in Disney trips. She reminded us that CONVENTION/Small Group ATTENDEES do NOT have to purchase park tickets to get the Dining Plan, as long as we are staying on property and have a minimum of 10 rooms. We can choose our resort (and are not limited to the "Value Resorts"), still get Magic Express, Extra Magic Hours, etc. We have, essentially, split ourselves into two groups. We are a Youth Education Group (for tickets and education class purposes) and a Small Group/Convention for the resort and dining portion of our trip. Each ROOM is allowed to choose the Dining Plan level they would prefer (I have only given them the option between Standard and Deluxe Dining). We have also planned a private dessert/Fireworks party, and two education classes. We opted for Park Hopper Passes for everyone and have selected the Coronado Springs Resort (Pretty, but moderate resort...Convention Hotel...so availability was not a problem).
With an occupancy of 4 to a room (all aged 10+ years old), the trip with (6) Day Park Hopper Tickets, 5 night at Coronado Springs Hotel, Standard
Disney Dining Plan, Two YES Program classes, Magic Express Transportation to and from Orlando International Airport, all Park Transportation, Private Dessert/ Fireworks Party and Resort Refillable Mug is running right around $800 per person. (If you have fewer people in a room, the prices increases slightly.)
I saw a similar trip for the Girls Unite Program last year out of a Colorado Council that was running about $1500 per person. While theirs DID include airfare, I thought that I did pretty well at about $700 less, even if you account for airfare.
If anyone wants details or information (or if anyone is interested in tagging along), please feel free to PM me. We are getting ready to start making Dining Reservations for our trip as we are nearing the 180 mark. Everyone is getting excited.
