First timer looking at booking July or Aug next year. Just some qs and something that may help you

[Guest]

Hello and welcome to the dibb.

No the deals this year are not as good as normal as there is no dining plan, you don’t have to be massive eaters, you still eat and it is a big expense. Prices are a lot higher than I have seen in recent years too.

I think late August is a good time for people to go that are restricted to school holidays. It will of course be very hot and humid that time of year.

I don’t think anyone can really advise on what hotel you would like best. I spent a few days in Caribbean Beach Resort last year and it was alright, the resort a bit too spread out for my liking though. I was there slightly before the Skyliner opened. I think Art of animation may have more interesting theming than CBR.

If I am understanding the make up of your group, there are six of you, two sets of parents with one child each? In which case unless you are booking a villa or a suite at AoA, it would have to be two bookings. I would think that it is better to keep the two families booked separately anyway so you can manage your bookings (if such things come back) more easily. If you are two families of three, I cannot think of any reason why you would book a 4 and a 2. Although as I said I am not sure I understand the makeup of the group.

As an adult party, we are not bothered about fireworks, parades and meet and greets. But from reading on here, they do seem to be important aspects for families with children so it is worth bearing this in mind. If you think it could be a one off, I would definitely think of leaving it another year.

[FAcup14]

Originally Posted by Claudette

Hello and welcome to the dibb.

No the deals this year are not as good as normal as there is no dining plan, you don’t have to be massive eaters, you still eat and it is a big expense. Prices are a lot higher than I have seen in recent years too.

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Thank you! I will hold off booking for now. As I understand it the offers are open for a good while anyways.

Originally Posted by Claudette

Hello and welcome to the dibb.
I think late August is a good time for people to go that are restricted to school holidays. It will of course be very hot and humid that time of year.

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Yeah school holiday restrictions are a pain for us. We've always had to do holidays in school holidays due to her being a teacher. Baby came and we've had a couple of years worth of cheap holidays albeit not as relaxing as we'd like with a very our very energetic and headstromg little one.

I generally do alright in the heat. The Mrs not so well. Some more memories from the 90s involve my parents and I ducking into shops to buy a keyring several times a day. AKA cool off and keep the kid quiet. My son might be starting his own keyring collection.

Originally Posted by Claudette

I don’t think anyone can really advise on what hotel you would like best. I spent a few days in Caribbean Beach Resort last year and it was alright, the resort a bit too spread out for my liking though. I was there slightly before the Skyliner opened. I think Art of animation may have more interesting theming than CBR.

See more...

AoA does have better theming for us. It is our preferred choice with the discounts at the moment i was toying with the idea of changing it to CBR. The Skyliner I consider a huge plus in swaying us to AoA from ASMo.

Originally Posted by Claudette

If I am understanding the make up of your group, there are six of you, two sets of parents with one child each? In which case unless you are booking a villa or a suite at AoA, it would have to be two bookings. I would think that it is better to keep the two families booked separately anyway so you can manage your bookings (if such things come back) more easily. If you are two families of three, I cannot think of any reason why you would book a 4 and a 2. Although as I said I am not sure I understand the makeup of the group.

As an adult party, we are not bothered about fireworks, parades and meet and greets. But from reading on here, they do seem to be important aspects for families with children so it is worth bearing this in mind. If you think it could be a one off, I would definitely think of leaving it another year.

See more...

Yeah the makeup of the group is me confusing things. My current plan is 2 adults and our 4 yr old.

My sister with her partner and their 5 yr old and they might come so I figured i'd enquire to see if there is anything left field we can do to have a little more for our money.

The suites at AoA look great and will probably be what we chose if the 6 of us go.

Another option i've come across today is the adjoining rooms at CBR. That at least gives us a little more space and the choice for the kids to share a bed and the adults can chill out in the other room.

[Barcud13]

Old Key West and Saratoga Springs have 2 bedroom suites which may suit your party as you would have a living room to chill out in if the little ones are sleeping. We have stayed in both they are lovely resorts but don’t have the immersive theming if that’s important to you. I’m not sure price wise how they stack up now though in previous years you could get a good discount on them. Some people also rent points and stay in DVC resorts I’ve heard people mention Daves DVC on here I’ve not done it myself but maybe worth looking into.

[Thorpy]

I'll not detail the points others have covered, but bullet point them as reinforcement/corroboration.

Sports - usually cheapest All Star resort, marginally better bus service, walking distance to McDonalds. Rooms are the same as the other all stars and AoA/Pop.

Skyliner - This wasn't quite open when we were last there (Aug 2019) but I suspect it will be a massive pull towards the resorts it services. Whether it's worth the cost difference is a different question.

Timing - I'd have said maybe wait 12 months, as this theoretically gives you more budget, taller kids, and more normality, but you're booked and happy and already thinking of more than one trip. So postponement has upsides in your case.

Party - 2 bookings is the best way to go. If they offer gift cards you get one per booking. Also if you sister agrees to come and then pulls out, or you have to cancel. Those still going carry on without any hassle, a big booking is much harder work to change. Then request adjoining rooms (They exist at most resorts if not all of them). This gives you the option to open the internal door and create one big space for the kids to run about in, or close it giving each party some degree of privacy. You'd also have 2 bathrooms, which with the 4 adults is better than a suite in my opinion.

I think my key piece of advice is that you can't get it wrong, especially if you're already thinking of multiple trips. All of these options will make for a great holiday. Only after a few trips trying out different things do you really find your niche.

[Allyfe]

I can't really comment on hotels, as we have only stayed at SSR so far, but we are booked in to CBR this year. I would say, that although we are REALLY looking forward to hopefully going, if we have to wear masks we won't be going. The heat and humidity in August were heavy but okay last time, but I know I would absolutely hate it with the additional burden of a mask (as would my kids, although their masks never fit very well!).

As for the DDP, it was free for us last time, and we had an amazing time. We basically did pretty much all of the character dining available (minus maybe 3?), which made it financially worthwhile for us. My kids are a little older (were 7 & 9), but they really want the DDP again, because they loved the experience of it. It also provided somewhere cool (sometimes cold!) to rest and revive from the August heat.

Have fun planning - for me that was part of the fun (and I'm not much of a planner normally).

[elise]

I am a teacher and have booked Caribbean Beach Resort today .
I have booked to come back on the 24th August to give me a week to quarantine if that is still required .

[FAcup14]

Originally Posted by Barcud13

Old Key West and Saratoga Springs have 2 bedroom suites which may suit your party as you would have a living room to chill out in if the little ones are sleeping. We have stayed in both they are lovely resorts but don’t have the immersive theming if that’s important to you. I’m not sure price wise how they stack up now though in previous years you could get a good discount on them. Some people also rent points and stay in DVC resorts I’ve heard people mention Daves DVC on here I’ve not done it myself but maybe worth looking into.

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I check those out. Though they might be out of our price range.

I started to look at the DVC option and then very quickly noped out of it. Way to confusing for me

[FAcup14]

Originally Posted by Thorpy

I'll not detail the points others have covered, but bullet point them as reinforcement/corroboration.

Sports - usually cheapest All Star resort, marginally better bus service, walking distance to McDonalds. Rooms are the same as the other all stars and AoA/Pop.

See more...

I've discounted sports. The only real reason being is we don't really like any sports. We would much prefer any of the others

Originally Posted by Thorpy

Skyliner - This wasn't quite open when we were last there (Aug 2019) but I suspect it will be a massive pull towards the resorts it services. Whether it's worth the cost difference is a different question.

See more...

Honestly its a massive draw for me. It could be because I ski and know how fast/convenient they are. Hundreds of people can be loaded and moved in minutes.

Originally Posted by Thorpy

Timing - I'd have said maybe wait 12 months, as this theoretically gives you more budget, taller kids, and more normality, but you're booked and happy and already thinking of more than one trip. So postponement has upsides in your case.

See more...

Yeah we are looking at August next year. According to the average height for boys his age he will be 109cm. I might have him sleep upright in a grow-bag until then.

More than one trip is probably on the cards. Daddy wants to do Universal more than he does Disney. But I feel he needs to be a bit bigger to get the most out of Universal. He will next time

Originally Posted by Thorpy

Party - 2 bookings is the best way to go. If they offer gift cards you get one per booking. Also if you sister agrees to come and then pulls out, or you have to cancel. Those still going carry on without any hassle, a big booking is much harder work to change. Then request adjoining rooms (They exist at most resorts if not all of them). This gives you the option to open the internal door and create one big space for the kids to run about in, or close it giving each party some degree of privacy. You'd also have 2 bathrooms, which with the 4 adults is better than a suite in my opinion.

See more...

Yeah the adjoining rooms is a great compromise between having enough space, privacy, the opposite of privacy and child separation. The extra gift cards is nice bonus. What is MDE like with two separate bookings, can you join them together and book the same fast passes/ADR?

Originally Posted by Thorpy

I think my key piece of advice is that you can't get it wrong, especially if you're already thinking of multiple trips. All of these options will make for a great holiday. Only after a few trips trying out different things do you really find your niche.

See more...

Im sure whatever we do we will have a great time. My probably is usually too many good options. Weighing up the pros and cons of each is kind of a fun game for me.

[FAcup14]

Originally Posted by Allyfe

If we have to wear masks we won't be going. The heat and humidity in August were heavy but okay last time, but I know I would absolutely hate it with the additional burden of a mask (as would my kids, although their masks never fit very well!).

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My mask did irritate me constantly. I had to try a few different masks before i got one i found comfortable enough. I also had to shave off my beard. Our summer holiday this year had us wearing a mask for 9 hours or so.
[/QUOTE]

Originally Posted by Allyfe

As for the DDP, it was free for us last time, and we had an amazing time. We basically did pretty much all of the character dining available (minus maybe 3?), which made it financially worthwhile for us. My kids are a little older (were 7 & 9), but they really want the DDP again, because they loved the experience of it. It also provided somewhere cool (sometimes cold!) to rest and revive from the August heat.

See more...

The DDP does appeal to me. I don't really care about making the most out of it. Like, I'm not gonna get frustrated about leaving a few credits on there(though I will definitely make sure we use them). I liked the assurance that it was already paid for and it wasn't another variable expense on top. I have heard people mention putting the discount from the room without the DDP, putting that on a gift card and just using that to buy food. Then see what happens. Which is what Im thinking of doing if it doesn't come back next year.

Originally Posted by Allyfe

Have fun planning - for me that was part of the fun (and I'm not much of a planner normally).

See more...

I like having some things set in stone. Then the rest can freeform. I think the best moments happen at random.

[FAcup14]

Originally Posted by elise

I am a teacher and have booked Caribbean Beach Resort today .
I have booked to come back on the 24th August to give me a week to quarantine if that is still required .

See more...

I feel your pain.

Isn't is usually two weeks quarantine?