We live in Alaska & would love to go to WDW

[jamilton]

We live in Alaska (family of 4) and would love to go to WDW in the winter what month is really the best time to go? Should we stay on the grounds are off? Any suggestions on how to go as cheap as possible?

 

[kecall]

First of all, welcome "onboard"!!!

My suggestion is to first decide how much you can afford? Once you decide the most that you can budget for your trip, then figure the cost of certain variables that you can't control -- like how much for airfare for your family. Because you are travelling so far, I would think you would want to stay for a while. So then I would divide the $ left between the number of days that you want to stay...then you will have a good idea of what you can afford each day. With that in mind, if you can at all afford to stay onsite, then I would do it! There is noo comparison between staying onsite and off. If you stay within Disney, you are immersed in the "magic" everywhere you go! The resort experience is 1/2 the fun of the trip! The All Star resorts are supposed to be nice. As for when to go, I would definitely go during the "Value" season. November/December -- excluding holiday weeks -- is generally very pleasant (still swimming weather).
As for cost-cutting tips, bring food and eat breakfast in your room, plan one big meal in the middle of the day, and do light fare in the evening. Dinners can be very expensive, so by having your big meal earlier, you will be able to eat at some great places without spending as much.
Have fun planning a trip you will never forget!!!

 

[ArcticWildMan]

Being a fellow Alaskan, I'll toss in my two cents. We went last year the middle of January. It was just about perfect temps for me. It actually got into the 80's a couple of days and I was panting like a dog! The other days were in the 70's which was perfect for me. Crowds were very light and the parks were easy to navigate.

I booked our trip as a package through the Disney page (everything except airfare). We stayed at what was then known as Dixie Landings (now known as Port Orleans Riverside I believe) and loved it. While we spent more than others by going with the package, it was a turn key vacation which was of bigger value to me than trying to "do it myself". I wanted to enjoy my first trip to WDW and keep the stress as low as possible.

Now that I've been there and done it, I feel a lot more comfortable planning the trip myself. I'm planning our next vacation right now as a matter of fact. We are going in early December and staying at the Swan thanks to the teachers rate. I have already purchased discounted park tickets since I used Dream Res to reserve the rooms. The rental car I got a great rate on as well. About the only thing I have left, is deciding which character meals I want to take my two daughters to.

The biggest factor is what your budget can take. Staying on WDW property has it's own magic. An added bonus to staying at a Disney hotel is the transportation system. The busses the WDW hotels offer make getting around to the parks a breeze. We had a rental car which we used a time or two, but the convenience of the busses couldn't be beat.


If you have any questions email me at moutterson@gci.com I'll be happy to help you any way I can.

 

[Maleficent2]

!. come visit us on the Rewards Board if you want CHEAPhttp://64.225.125.24/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=35&daysprune=
while there check out the post about a new program called DisneyAwards you can win everything from Disney Dollars to PArk PAsses

2. Check out MouseSavers http://www.mousesavers.com/index.html

3.Nov-Feb are cool months

4.Check out the Deals at Dreams UnLimited

And WELCOME to the DIS



Mal

 

[Ninilchicken]

We-DH, myself and DD's 10 & 14, went last Dec. 12/12-12/29. The weather was like a really nice summer's day on the Kenai. NO LINES! The Xmas decorations were beautiful, but the Xmas music with no snow on the ground was weird. BTW the fake snow is pathetic. We had two free airline tickets with AK Airlines Miles, our flight took almost a whole day, I think there are more direct flights now, Anc. to Chicago or D.C. Got a Disney Club discount on our room at PO, stay on site if you can. Had DU make all the reservations and PS's, which was great for the 5 hour time difference. Got a great car rental with tips from here, joined Emerald Aisle, but used Disney transportation the whole time we were at WDW. Went to Discovery Cove, the girl's loved the dolphins, went to US/IOA, that's a must see, but 3 days was too long and Sea World was fun. I tried to get every deal I could, but it still cost $10,000. A once in a lifetime trip and they want to go back again.

 

[jamilton]

Thank you so much for all your suggestions. You guys are the greatest!!!