Accommodation thoughts:
Back in 2017 we paid £8.5k for a 2 bed villa at OKW for 18 nights with free dining plan and tickets.
For 2020 it is clear things are going to be a lot more expensive, with the combination of the falling value of Sterling, Disney adding a 25$ a day parking fee in resorts and the fact that there is no free dining for October. However I wasn’t expecting it to be quite as bad as it is looking, with ATD quoting 16.5k for the same!
As a result, I am preparing 3 options, a price for a moderate (3 rooms) at CCR, a price for 3 studios at a DVC resort and a price for a studio plus a 2 bed at a DVC resort. Everything will be priced for August and October (depending on the response I get to my holiday request), and for the latter two options a price direct and a price via Dave’s DVC Rentals.
Which moderate to look at was a tough decision between Coronado Springs and Port Orleans. CSR looks to have much nicer rooms, and better facilities in general (more akin to a Deluxe lite). But PO has that closeness to Disney Springs. In the end the extra space and food & drink options on site + the Pool mean that it will be CSR that we price up as a moderate.
It had looked to be a coin toss between Old Key West or Saratoga Springs (both of which we have stayed in previously). And if we end up booking directly with Disney this will likely still be the case (based on availability at release). However should we go down the DVC rental route, I am tempted to have a look at the Boardwalk Villas (which are available at a similar price to OKW).
So far I have been updating my planning spreado, with prices taken from ATD (which look fairly comparable to DTC prices). Dave’s DVC Rentals was used to price the DVC options, while the dining plan prices and Disney tickets were lifted off the official website. For flights I have used the available Thomas Cook info, which I think should be within £200 of BA or Virgin.
Booking direct August is looking to be approximately £3k cheaper than October (that is comparing Room + Dining + Flights, less the 10% discount on Room.) However when comparing a DVC rental, October is circa 3k cheaper than August. While 3 studios can be had at OKW for a similar price to 3 rooms at CSR.
All this said the price is still coming in at a scary large number, so I am going to start some contingency planning for half onsite and half off. Roll on tomorrow and being able to start crunching some real prices (although of course that doesn’t really help with OKW!)