Vacation planning

[sandy1971]

I am starting to plan our vacation. Our kids are 14 and 11, they have never been to Disney. We want to go either next September or November. We are flexible, which month is better to travel down there? Do you think they will offer free dining? I am leaning toward animal kingdom lodge. Any help would be appreciated

 

[skiwindham]

Have you thought about staying at a Disney Vacation Club Villa?

Bay Lake Towers is the only Vacation Club lodging that is accessible with the monorail. But the odds of finding a 2-bedroom unit at BLT are not great. Those typically rent out 6+ months in advance. For non-DVC lodging on the monorail route, consider Polynesian, Contemporary, and the Grand Floridian. The Wilderness Lodge is a very short bus ride to the Kingdom so you may want to consider that too.

Our favorite DVC units are the Boardwalk and the Beach Club Villas. Those offer walking access to Epcot and have the benefit of having restaurants , entertainment and shops on the Boardwalk.

 

[phenl]

Short trips are great for families. The child may not be so exhausted. Save money on accommodation and meals so you have to pay more for all those fun activities that seem to cost a fortune. In addition, you will have more time to rest and relax at home before returning to work. I think it's a good idea to explore the history of the area that you visit before you travel. Enter your school-age children to do some research on the Internet to share with family. Then, when the child comes to find much more interesting historical sites.

 

[candielips]

I am starting to plan our vacation. Our kids are 14 and 11, they have never been to Disney. We want to go either next September or November. We are flexible, which month is better to travel down there? Do you think they will offer free dining? I am leaning toward animal kingdom lodge. Any help would be appreciated

September is typically hotter than November but has less crowds. So I think you need to decide which one you prefer. November can still be somewhat quiet, if you stay away from Thanksgiving.

If you are interested in staying at AKL, you are better to book with a room discount than Free Dining as the room discount typically will save you more money when you are staying at a deluxe. I think there might even be a room discount going around right now. You can check on the boards here or go directly to the Disney website and go to "special offers".

If you are thinking about going down to a moderate, the free dining is the cheaper way to go.

Happy planning! There is a wealth of knowledge and info here!

 

[cdnmomof2]

September weather can be humid or rainy, and still has potential for hurricanes. November, the parks are not as crowded and the weather is still warm and comfortable.

IMO Magic Kingdom will be special to see for your teens, but other than Futureworld, might find that its boring (gasp) or for younger kids. If I had to guess, I'd say that Epcot, with their great rides and pavillions, will be your family's favourite. With that in mind, Epcot has their acclaimed Food & Wine festival on until Nov 13th. You can discover new tastes and cultures through food. Plus, the fireworks show there is amazing.

As an adult, I'm most excited to go back to Epcot. I think it's wonderful. (But I do love all the parks)

Be advised that Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times of year, and you won't likely find any discounts at all then.

Happy planning!

 

[ChrisHartman]

In 2010, both those months had a free dining promotion (sans Thanksgiving week) as well as room-only discounts available. So, whatever works better for you should both be available...problem is, those promos are usually only released a few months in advance.

If you think you'll be eating a lot of tableside meals, book your ADRs now and then get the free dining when its released if you want that. If you don't think you'll be doing a lot of tableside, then when the room discounts are released, you can call back and apply that discount to your reservation.

September is less busy than November, but not by a lot (again, with the exception of Thanksgiving week). November's temperatures, however, are much more tolerable.

Good luck and have fun!!

 

[ExplorerHD]

good info

 

[neyi888]

I am starting to plan our vacation. Our kids are 14 and 11, they have never been to Disney. We want to go either next September or November. We are flexible, which month is better to travel down there? Do you think they will offer free dining? I am leaning toward animal kingdom lodge. Any help would be appreciated

i would pick the month of November. I saw some some discount on that month.

 

[3sweetpeas]

Hi! Congratulations on your first trip to disney! My family has gone the last 5 years and we love it!

My kids are 14, 11 and 10 so our families are similar. Hollywood Studios is my kids first choice. They like Tower of Terror and Rockin Rollercoaster alot! I have 2 boys and they love the 2 stunt shows and of course Toy Story!

For the first time this year, my kids did the Kim Possible spy thing at Epcot. They didn't want to stop and did all 7 missions. They also like Epcot alot and we were able to enjoy World Showcase while they ran around doing the missions. There is a build your own rollercoaster that they love at Epcot also.

My kids really do still enjoy ALL of the parks. They enjoy pin trading which is a whole other topic.

As far as resorts go, we really enjoy Animal Kingdom. We really like Port Orleans Riverside for their pool and foodcourt and boats. Animal Kingdom also has a good slide. Of course, Beach Club has the best pool on property so you may want to check that out if pools are important to you. Impressive slide. Hope this helps!

 

[disneydadreg]

congrats! I hope you guys have fun!

 

[Stephanie Branco]

We are debating if we should rent DVC points to save on a villa, but are not sure if we can add the free dining when it comes out. I think the savings on the room will outweigh the free dinning. Anyone know if you can combine the DVC points with free dining?

 

[mco65]

Sept will be hotter than Nov but crowds have been a crap shoot for me the last few times I have gone. I think late Sept and early Nov would be the least crowded but that would be just a guess on my part.. crowd levels have been hard to gauge the past few years and it seems to be getting busier and busier every trip. The only times we got free dining was during a Sept trip and Oct trip but that was so long ago... obviously its done to lure more vacationers during slower times which would correlate to school months like Sept/Oct/NOv.. still, i wouldn't let free dining dictate when i booked. i would just book and cross my fingers without holding my breath!

I envy you being able to take your kids and enjoy their first trip to WDW. I can't even remember my kids first trip and I am sure they can't either. That newness is gone but every trip is still very magical for them and there is no place they would rather be.. ENJOY!

 

[siskaren]

Free dining can't be added to a DVC reservation, and FYI, you revived a 6 year old zombie thread. You are allowed to start a new thread.