Where on Earth do I start?!?!?!

[ausdreamingofdisney]

What began as a pipe dream is looking more like a reality...we're hitting WDW and a Disney Cruise either in 2015 or 2016! I mentioned my dream to my best friend and now they're joining us, so I'm accountable to saving for this trip! I have no idea where to start though! Here's what I know:

~ Two families - four adults, 5 children, ages between 4 and 10 at time of trip
~Travelling from Perth
~We want to catch a MNSSHP
~Staying onsite, probably at AoA
~Since it's likely a once in a lifetime trip, we want ample time to explore each park, thinking at least 9 nights.

~We want to include a Disney Cruise!

~Non Disney things: Space Center is not negotiable LOL (geeky husbands and kids, OK wives too). New York is happening too. Preferably in December, even if it's just at the start - we want the Christmas experience!

So...where do I start? Do I go through a travel agent here or in USA? Any tips? I'm excited to make this a reality but I really don't know where to start!

 

[shushh]

Congratulations! You've a wonderful holiday planned. The good thing is that you've got plenty of time to do research and obsess about the nitty gritty! There will be many here who will be able to help you out.

With Disney in the US, my advice would be either to book direct with Disney or use a US agent. Which way you go often comes down to personal preference, there are pros and cons with both.

You sound like you already have a fair idea of what you want so that's a great start! if you have any specific questions, ask away!

 

[battymum]

Well it sounds like you have done a bit of research already. Working out where to stay is the hardest part. 9 nights in Disney would be lovely, but remember to if you add a day for Kennedy, as well as days off site for shopping or going to Universal parks - wizarding world of Harry potter is amazing,

I have only been once, we used a us based agent for our Disney stay, it was super easy - I did the rest of the booking myself,

I don't think you will be able to fit a Halloween party and NYC in December in the same trip. Unless you went early November - I think they still have Halloween parties then. Watch out for thanksgiving - 4th Thursday in November - this is an extremely busy time in Disney, although might be fun to be in New York for the Macy's parade and Black Friday sales if that's your thing,

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Welcome to the boards, you will need at least 9 nights at WDW if this is your once in a lifetime trip but be warned ,many of us started with a once in a lifetime trip but Disney is highly addictive
I highly recommend doing a Disney cruise I think they are decked out for Christmas from thanksgiving as well.
You can start pricing out your dates and get a rough estimate of what your looking at but just remember there will be price rises.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Welcome to the boards. Your FIRST trip of a lifetime sounds great.

You can book directly through Disney for your WDW leg; or use an American TA. If you like to be in control of everything, do it yourself. If you prefer a little bit of convenience and don't want to be watching everything Disney does, go with the TA.

You might want to consider catching an airboat ride when in Orlando.

 

[alicia1506]

mnsshp runs from mid/late sept to end oct/maybe the first week november.

how long are you going to be on holiday for?

you might be able to do a late october trip ie oct 28 - nov 6, then cruise, then nyc but that would only put you at at potentially mid to late nov for being in nyc, rather than dec for xmas.

i was in nyc in november 2011 and it is slightly chillier than down south, but certainly no snow and very few xmas decorations up. if you want to be there for both mnsshp and get some sense of xmas decorations in nyc, you might need to account for approx 2 weeks between wdw and nyc. that would mean a long cruise

also, as cruises are pretty fixed in their itineraries, i would recommend picking your cruise first, and then planning your time at wdw + nyc around that

re: the ta versus do it yourself thing, there are pros & cons to each, certainly. we used a dreams unlimited TA for our cruise as they were able to offer us the best on board credit (free money to spend while onboard). if we had booked it ourselves, we wouldn't have gotten the free OBC.

good luck with your planning -- the first step i take is to work out roughly what everything would cost you based on prices if you were to take the same trip this year, then add 10%. then work out a savings plan based on that figure you will find prices will fluctuate slightly, but that way you will have a rough idea of what the trip will cost, and if you find savings on prices along the way, you can gauge what impact this will have on your bottom line

good luck!!!

 

[Minniemum]

Where on Earth do I start?!?!?!

Here of course!

Welcome! You have some great ideas for your trip already. Getting to share the experience with your best friend (and family) will be fantastic.

Alicia1506 has already mentioned that MNSSHP finishes up at the start of November (usually the 1st or 2nd). MVMCP commences about 1 1/2 weeks later around November 9 or 10. Not sure how MNSSHP will work for your trip unless you want to change your dates.

You'll find a wealth of knowledge on the ANZ boards. If we're not planning our own trips we love watching and helping others plan theirs.

 

[Marlea98]

We'll be at WDW early December for our Fantasy cruise. We'll also be going to NYC for a few days.

I can highly recommend the Disney cruises - they're more expensive than others but they're great for kids and a real experience in themselves.

 

[iambrink]

What began as a pipe dream is looking more like a reality...we're hitting WDW and a Disney Cruise either in 2015 or 2016! I mentioned my dream to my best friend and now they're joining us, so I'm accountable to saving for this trip! I have no idea where to start though! Here's what I know:

~ Two families - four adults, 5 children, ages between 4 and 10 at time of trip
~Travelling from Perth
~We want to catch a MNSSHP
~Staying onsite, probably at AoA
~Since it's likely a once in a lifetime trip, we want ample time to explore each park, thinking at least 9 nights.

~We want to include a Disney Cruise!

~Non Disney things: Space Center is not negotiable LOL (geeky husbands and kids, OK wives too). New York is happening too. Preferably in December, even if it's just at the start - we want the Christmas experience!

So...where do I start? Do I go through a travel agent here or in USA? Any tips? I'm excited to make this a reality but I really don't know where to start!

Here are some things to keep in mind when planning:

• NYC will not have the most impressive Christmas decorations up intil Thanksgiving
• If interested in doing the Space Center, which is really cool, that is over near the Disney cruise port, so you could combine that visit with a stay at the port before your cruise.
• Mickey's Christmas party is something we will be doing this November before or after our cruise and i am hoping it will get the holidays off to a festive start!
• The Christmas decorations at Disney during the season are so beautiful. We last visited during that time of year in 2009 and actually spent much of our time visiting different resorts to experience their decorations.

So the moral of the story is you may be looking at early December for these experiences. Rates and crowds are lower at this time for both the cruise and hotels. You do risk cooler weather though. If you prefer warmer weather, October and early November will give you that and low season rates, but then you risk hurricanes and will not experience Christmas festivities!

Happy planning. It is very exciting and planning is a lot of the fun!

 

[Toy Story]

Have fun planning your 'first in a lifetime trip', once you have been you will want to go again and again.... I would also go back through the podcasts an listen to some of the shows around the time you are planning to go.

New York at Christmas would be amazing.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Nice of everyone here to post a welcome and some advice. What a shame the original poster hasn't shown you all the courtesy of a reply and a thank you.

Sigh