Overwhelmed! Please help!

[BevS97]

I also work in a school and we travel in July / August. I think it’s too much to come home and go straight to work/school the next day. Plus you are limited to one day flying out / back which means flight prices are at their most expensive.
The last two weeks of August can be cheaper and quieter.

We stay onsite without a dining plan and we eat offsite most of the time but if you want the full experience then a Disney moderate with a dining plan (free) would mean you didn’t have to worry about your food costs or parking charges.

If you book a package which includes free dining you get your park tickets when you check in. Hence you need to stay at Disney first. If you go at easter you won’t get free dining so you can book a room only deal and buy your tickets elsewhere and it doesn’t matter which order your stay is.

[Guest]

Easter is pretty much the most expensive and busiest time of year to go. It can also be very hot and humid.
When we went on the family trip, the girls aged six and eleven had never flown long haul and really struggled with the jet lag going out and coming back. We could work round it because we took it at a relaxed pace and they had time to recover before school.

[Barneyblue]

Hiya,

Yes it is overwhelming at first but slowly but surely it will all come together. You will of course get all the help you could ever need on this site. Never hold back from asking whatever questions you have, i can assure you someone on here will help you.

As for your question. We have done both villa + car hire and onsite with free dining. We have two boys and a girl, about same ages as your two. We stayed the full 14 days on site as it was working out slightly cheaper with the free Dining included.

Without question, its onsite with Free Dining for us. It was fantastic, and i can assure you, you will have no worries of getting around, either on site or off, no hassle of driving, parking fees etc and if like us, and we are BIG eaters, we just couldn't use all the Dining credits, totally stuffed everyday.

Happy Dibbing. Try to enjoy the Booking and sorting out, its all part of the Magic.

[82lcm]

Thank you everyone, I have spent the night (late now, can’t sleep I’m so excited!) number crunching, and assuming Disney don’t hike the prices beforehand it is pretty much the same cost with the free dining in August as it would be at Easter but we wouldn’t need transfers and car hire or food, so it’s looking like I’m planning for August 2020! So pleased I was signposted to this site, so far I have got so much valuable info, thanks everyone for taking the time to answer my questions, I’m sure I will have more in the coming months 😊

[Potterer]

Just keep coming back, I learnt so much from this site before I went. No question is too stupid, it is just a question you don't know the answer to.

I agree with others about holiday dates and being limited re April (see signature) but summer opens up lots of possibilities.

The thing about August is yes it will be hot, but this is America and they have air conditioning everywhere or a pool you can cool off in. Drink before you feel thirsty, there is free ice water at every quick service place and lots of water fountains dotted around. The water fountains are hit and miss, some are cold, some a not, most taste fine, occasionally one does not.

Also you can keep costs down by changing airports. We now fly from Dublin as it is much cheaper than Manchester plus we pre-clear immigration and customs in Dublin.

We stay onsite. Always. No parking up anywhere, either an air conditioned bus or a boat with open sides depending on where you are going.

We get free dining which we never manage to eat our way through which removes the hassle of thinking about money, just tap your magic band and enter your pin for snacks and meals.

Have a look at the food trip reports for quick service and full dining plan stuff.

[ChrisJoandBen89]

Originally Posted by 82lcm

Thank you everyone, I have spent the night (late now, can’t sleep I’m so excited!) number crunching, and assuming Disney don’t hike the prices beforehand it is pretty much the same cost with the free dining in August as it would be at Easter but we wouldn’t need transfers and car hire or food, so it’s looking like I’m planning for August 2020! So pleased I was signposted to this site, so far I have got so much valuable info, thanks everyone for taking the time to answer my questions, I’m sure I will have more in the coming months 😊

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I'm excited for you! It's a lot to get your head round, but you're in the best place. Happy planning :o)

[TinkerMLSH]

Have you thought about taking advantage of Disney’s free dining plan if you stayed at a moderate resort?! This is a great way to save on money.

[kansaskitty]

My husband works in school (he’s headteacher, so definitely can’t sneak in a day late! ) and we have two kids and August is always our go to with free dining, usually in a moderate paying to upgrade to DDP so we can get some character meals in.
Don’t worry about the heat, ours were only 16mo and 3.5 last time we went and they coped brilliantly, yours will be fine! They’ll be having too much fun to moan about being hot! Plan your fast passes, get to the parks for rope drop (park opening) and go home to the hotel at 2-3ish for an air con rest and pool time to recharge then back in the evenings if they can manage it. Happy planning!

[82lcm]

Originally Posted by TinkerMLSH

Have you thought about taking advantage of Disney’s free dining plan if you stayed at a moderate resort?! This is a great way to save on money.

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I had completely ruled it out because of the cost but I looked at it last night and it is our best option for not having to spend much extra, so long as the holidays don’t increase in price before 25th April we will probably book the carribean beach resort, still looking though as I want to get it right! My biggest worry is flights at the minute, is it best to sort my own or to do the flight hotel ticket meal deal with Disney? I’ve looked at flights from Dublin as suggested (thanks for that tip!) but nothing is coming up past Jan 2020, it could be me, I haven’t travelled abroad since 2008!

[Blue nose]

Originally Posted by 82lcm

I had completely ruled it out because of the cost but I looked at it last night and it is our best option for not having to spend much extra, so long as the holidays don’t increase in price before 25th April we will probably book the carribean beach resort, still looking though as I want to get it right! My biggest worry is flights at the minute, is it best to sort my own or to do the flight hotel ticket meal deal with Disney? I’ve looked at flights from Dublin as suggested (thanks for that tip!) but nothing is coming up past Jan 2020, it could be me, I haven’t travelled abroad since 2008!

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When free dining is released price round for hotel with Disney of packages with VH, TC, Tui, etc. Then book the cheapest. Join Virgin Flying club and you can often get 7% off too.

Bonus with a package is you can pay deposit and rest monthly, if booking flights you need to pay in full.