We have looked on sites like Expedia and Travelocity at their package deals — airfare, hotels, rental car but they don’t offer park passes, etc. How do you book your trips?
I’m not a travel agent, but I do love to plan travel. With the accessibility of information on the Web, I’m a force to be reckoned with when I set my mind to planning a vacation.
I admit that, in the past, I’ve been lucky with airfare because my husband travels enough that we have free tickets from his Frequent Flyer miles on Southwest. Finding low airfare is not my strong suit. If you have a large family, I would suggest driving if it’s not more than 2 days away. My bet is that you’ll spend less, even with high gas prices, than you would flying.
I have never used an Expedia or Travelocity Disney deal (or any site’s Disney deal, for that matter). I tend to think I have more control over prices if I can book everything myself. Having said that, here is how I book our WDW vacations.
Overview of How I Plan Our Travel
I visit Mousesavers.com and Allears.net to look at discounts and current pricing of hotel rooms/park passes, etc. I formulate an idea of what I want, then I call Disney. I ask them if they have any specials going on or coming up. They are usually mum about this. If I haven’t been able to find any discounts at MouseSavers, I ask the Cast Member (Disney employee) if AAA or any other clubs have discounts I can apply. If so, I make sure to sign up with that club and take advantage of the discount. Then I call Tiffany Town Car and book our transportation to and from the airport.
Please note, though, that I recommend you do the Disney Dining Plan. To
do this you need to be staying on-property. The package WDW can sell you (ask for the Magic Your Way+Dining Plan) will include park passes and the Disney Dining Plan. You’ll find that adding an extra day at the parks only costs a couple of dollars.
This site offers a monthly newsletter with room codes (if available), Florida resident and Annual Passholder codes, and any other discounts they are aware of. In addition, MouseSavers usually has a discounted Park Pass deal with a reputable dealer. I have bought from these third-parties before (on recommendation from MouseSavers) and was not disappointed. The gal who runs MouseSavers.com prides herself on only dealing with reputable companies and providing accurate information.
I usually start my planning with MouseSavers.com to see if there are any discounts available for the time my family wants to go to Disney World. If there aren’t, there is usually a AAA code. I call WDW and ask. (BTW, the 800 number for Disney is not necessarily easily found, but, since I like you, I’ll give it to you: 800-828-0228. At least the call to Disney will be free, right?)
The next site I head to is Allears.net. Deb, the gal who runs this site, has a wealth of information. You can find the answer to any Disney question you might have at her site. She has the latest hotel pricing information and advice on the Disney Dining Plan.
I look visit Allears.net and look at the hotels we haven’t stayed at and consider where we want to stay next. My husband is usually very vocal about where we stay so it’s a no-brainer for me. We’re headed to the Contemporary next, if I’m not mistaken. The Contemporary has two perks right now: 1) It’s walking distance to The Magic Kingdom, and 2) The rooms have been refurbished recently. Oh, and it’s on the monorail which is big with my kids.
We do not rent cars when we travel to Orlando for WDW. We know that we only need transportation to and from the airport. I always use Tiffany Town Car (on recommendation of MouseSavers.com). They are really no more expensive than a taxi and it’s a little nicer ride.
You can sign up for Disney’s Magical Express, but I prefer not to. It is essentially a bus that picks you up at the airport (and everyone else who is at the airport going to WDW) and transports you to your hotel.
The Pros of Disney’s Magical Express :
- You check your bags at your hometown airport and bypass luggage claim at Orlando. The Magical Express takes care of everything.
- I believe this is a free service.
The Cons of Disney’s Magical Express:
- You must wait for everyone who is signed up for DME to show up, is my understanding. Who knows how long that could take?
- You get to ride to everyone’s hotel and drop them off. I don’t know the order of drop-off. It may vary.
- I’ve been told that you should not expect your bags to appear in your room for several hours.
With Tiffany Town Car I am able to call and reserve a car/driver to pick up my family at baggage claim at a specific time. I can also ask that driver to arrive at my hotel to pick us up and return to the airport at a specific time. I’m not waiting on a cab and I have control of my baggage. That’s what works for me. You may be more patient and willing to be more communal by doing DME.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
eeeek! Does this mean that you are going to the la ti da mixer? Does this mean that everybody except *moi* gets to meet the infamous chilihead?
sad faced and spittin mad,
mannequin
Thank you so much for passing on all of this information!! If we are going to do 4 days in Orlando what are the absolute MUST see and MUST do things in the parks?
The 800# alone is worth it’s weight in gold! That’s the holy grail, I didn’t even know it existed! Thankyou! I’ve been to WDW twice and we have used the Magical Express both times. You do have a short wait at the airport (both times we waited 20 minutes or less, about as long as it would have taken us to pick up our luggage anyway), the bus ride was fine…they have a video/WDW infomercial that kept the kids entertained on the trip, and we got to our hotel pretty quickly. No, do not expect your luggage to be waiting when you get there. But, both times we checked in, dropped off extras in our room and then hit the ground running! Just be dressed to go when you get there. When we returned to our room later, our luggage was always there waiting. I was very intimidated the first time I started planning a WDW trip but, Allears.net was my go-to for information.
Thanks for all this. I’m going next month and now I can try to take the family along too.
Thanks for the tips! Our family will be going in November and I was wondering about transportation. And I’d never heard of Mousesavers. Thanks!
Stumbled you.