Booking Tips and Trick

[mick]

Originally Posted by Supersofe

As many other people have said, it's all your choice and there is no right or wrong answer! I hope this helps slightly though.

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Totally correct

Apart from questions like do I need 6 month's grace on my passport which is a simple factual answer (but I've answered regularly over the past 16 years ) most other questions seek the experience, opinions and advice of other Dibbers.

Quite rightly too - trouble is I think DL96 is getting loads of options

Mick

[DisneyLover96]

Originally Posted by Supersofe

Hi, I'm a similar age(ish) to you- I've been to Florida a fair few times with my family and also just me and my partner.

When with my family it has been a no-brainer to get a villa but when there's just the two of us we haven't been able to justify the cost.
What I have found works well is doing a split stay- half of the holiday Disney on site and then half staying elsewhere. There are lots of hotels with apartments or similar so you can have your own kitchen and the freedom associated with this.

Then while staying on site at Disney you can use the Disney transport or uber so you can have a few more drinks at some of the different resorts in Disney.

We have always rented a car- parking fees used to be included when staying at Disney resorts but this is no longer the case. However for our trip in November (fingers crossed) for the on site part of the trip we have rented Disney Vacation Club (DVC) points and parking is included with this so we will keep our car for the whole holiday.

As many other people have said, it's all your choice and there is no right or wrong answer! I hope this helps slightly though.

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I didn't even think about doing a split stay, if the first half of the holiday is at a Disney property I assume you are still able to book the fast passes and dining 60 days in advance but is this for the duration of your trip or would you only be able to book 60 days in advance for the time spent at a Disney Hotel and then 30 days before for another?

I'll have to look into the DVC points, I have no idea what they are but I've heard a few people throwing it around so I'll need to get a bit more clued up!

Thank You!

[DisneyLover96]

Originally Posted by mick

Totally correct

Apart from questions like do I need 6 month's grace on my passport which is a simple factual answer (but I've answered regularly over the past 16 years ) most other questions seek the experience, opinions and advice of other Dibbers.

Quite rightly too - trouble is I think DL96 is getting loads of options

Mick

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Thankfully I've worked in the travel industry and know all about ESTA's and passport validity however my area of expertise has never been long haul because simply put I've never done it

I would always be recommended to customers for my knowledge of places closer to home and I'd recommend my colleagues who have been to Florida, we were always more than happy to do that so we knew the customer was always getting the level of knowledge you'd expect from a travel agency!

By posting here I've had loads of unbiased and extremely helpful information as well as options I hadn't even considered such as Villas and Split holidays.

It will definitely be easier now to have all of my options on the table and go through to see which would be best to suit us

[mick]

Originally Posted by DisneyLover96

Thankfully I've worked in the travel industry and know all about ESTA's and passport validity however my area of expertise has never been long haul because simply put I've never done it

I would always be recommended to customers for my knowledge of places closer to home and I'd recommend my colleagues who have been to Florida, we were always more than happy to do that so we knew the customer was always getting the level of knowledge you'd expect from a travel agency!

By posting here I've had loads of unbiased and extremely helpful information as well as options I hadn't even considered such as Villas and Split holidays.

It will definitely be easier now to have all of my options on the table and go through to see which would be best to suit us

See more...

That's really good news.

The number of posts I've had to challenge on here where Dibbers have said that Travel Agents have told them they need 6 months grace to visit USA.

Also pleased that you know about ESTAs and using the official site

Good luck with all your planning

Mick

[catherinesian]

I haven't read the whole thread so apologies if this has already been mentioned but why don't you try a split stay?

1 week Disney hotel / 1 week villa or other hotel. For example.

We are a couple 28 and 30 no kids and Disney hotels suit us perfectly, go for a moderate hotel if you want a more adult feel. We stayed at CSR last year and it was wonderful. IMO doing Disney without staying on site is not a good idea, you pay $25 per day for parking and so naturally when you get hot / tired / overwhelmed (you will!) you don't want to leave as you've wasted your parking. Staying on site you just don't worry about things like that and we came back to the hotel most days for a nap / cool down / swim, then back to the parks refreshed and it was amazing. Saying that, the hotels are only good value for us if the free dining offer is on, so wait for that

Also, driving in the USA is so easy, much easier than driving in the UK. I had never driven abroad or in a left hand drive car and picked it up straightaway. The cars are all automatic which helps. When you are on site you don't need a car at all, but I would recommend having one if you go off site as there's just that extra freedom. You can use Uber / Lyft though and they are fairly reliable and cheap over there

[sasperella]

Hi,
I go with my children(42,34). We usually go for 2 weeks, have stayed at Rosen Inn @ PO. Love it! Used Lynx bus or IRide trolley - stops just outside hotel. We have also hired an Alamo car. Kids enjoy driving, as Mick said it’s handy. Downside are parking fees!
Also done split stay Rosen and Wilderness Lodge (Disney). Have also stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Both beautiful places. If we stay onsite try to get free Disney Dining Plan.
We go to Disney , Universal/IOA, Sea World, have done Discovery Cove several times- paradise!🥰
You definitely won’t get it all done in one trip!
We first went 2013 for my 60th- a once in a lifetime trip been 2015;17,18,19 was supposed to be going in September/October this year 🙏🤞

[DisneyLover96]

Originally Posted by mick

That's really good news.

The number of posts I've had to challenge on here where Dibbers have said that Travel Agents have told them they need 6 months grace to visit USA.

Also pleased that you know about ESTAs and using the official site

Good luck with all your planning

Mick

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I think the 6 months on the passport thing is quite common misconception because it applies to some countries and nationalities.

Our advice was always from the government website on what they recommend for travel however we would always prompt the customers to visit these sites to gather up-to-date information.

Thank You! I hope you get back out there soon!

[mick]

Originally Posted by DisneyLover96

I think the 6 months on the passport thing is quite common misconception because it applies to some countries and nationalities.

Our advice was always from the government website on what they recommend for travel however we would always prompt the customers to visit these sites to gather up-to-date information.

Thank You! I hope you get back out there soon!

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Sadly it's down to communication issues. Instead of saying "please check the USA passport entry requirements" some say "you need 6 month's grace on your passport to visit the USA"

As you say some nationalities do need 6 months to visit and some countries, like Malaysia and possibly the whole of the EU now, will require grace on a UK passport.

I've posted this link around 100 times on the DIBB over the years.

cbp.gov/sites/default/fi...date122017.pdf

We have our confident heads on for this November

Mick

[DisneyLover96]

Originally Posted by catherinesian

I haven't read the whole thread so apologies if this has already been mentioned but why don't you try a split stay?

1 week Disney hotel / 1 week villa or other hotel. For example.

We are a couple 28 and 30 no kids and Disney hotels suit us perfectly, go for a moderate hotel if you want a more adult feel. We stayed at CSR last year and it was wonderful. IMO doing Disney without staying on site is not a good idea, you pay $25 per day for parking and so naturally when you get hot / tired / overwhelmed (you will!) you don't want to leave as you've wasted your parking. Staying on site you just don't worry about things like that and we came back to the hotel most days for a nap / cool down / swim, then back to the parks refreshed and it was amazing. Saying that, the hotels are only good value for us if the free dining offer is on, so wait for that

Also, driving in the USA is so easy, much easier than driving in the UK. I had never driven abroad or in a left hand drive car and picked it up straightaway. The cars are all automatic which helps. When you are on site you don't need a car at all, but I would recommend having one if you go off site as there's just that extra freedom. You can use Uber / Lyft though and they are fairly reliable and cheap over there

See more...

Someone else has suggest a split and I think it's something we'll definitely consider, so thank you for seconding that!

I've been looking at the Disney Dining and wondering if it would even be worth paying for if the free dining wasn't available for our stay (obviously we won't know until closer to when we wish to travel.)

I myself don't drive, but my partner does and I think that he was slightly reluctant for car hire due to the left hand drive, wrong side of the road thing. But hearing that many people have been taking to it like a duck to water suggests that he has absolutely nothing to worry about.

Hiring the car for a few days to head for shopping and universal if staying at a Disney property is definitely something I think we should look into because i think for what we would pay in taxis/uber/lyft there and back the parking money would probably work out to be around the same cost perhaps because as far as I'm led to believe an uber from disney to universal works out anywhere between $10- $15 each way? (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong this just seems to be what I've come up with through extensive googling)

Thank You!

[mick]

Originally Posted by DisneyLover96

Someone else has suggest a split and I think it's something we'll definitely consider, so thank you for seconding that!

I've been looking at the Disney Dining and wondering if it would even be worth paying for if the free dining wasn't available for our stay (obviously we won't know until closer to when we wish to travel.)

I myself don't drive, but my partner does and I think that he was slightly reluctant for car hire due to the left hand drive, wrong side of the road thing. But hearing that many people have been taking to it like a duck to water suggests that he has absolutely nothing to worry about.

Hiring the car for a few days to head for shopping and universal if staying at a Disney property is definitely something I think we should look into because i think for what we would pay in taxis/uber/lyft there and back the parking money would probably work out to be around the same cost perhaps because as far as I'm led to believe an uber from disney to universal works out anywhere between $10- $15 each way? (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong this just seems to be what I've come up with through extensive googling)

Thank You!

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There's an excellent DIBB guide to driving in Florida on here. I say "excellent" because I've added to it over the years I'm bound to say it's easy aren't I after 50,000+ miles.

I'll link but only if you want me to

Mick