Booking Disney Land

[Mytribeof3]

Hi. Just wondered if anyone here has any advice / recommendations for booking a trip to Disney Land? We are considering it for next Easter or summer but worried we may have missed the boat with deals etc?

Which park? France? California? Tokyo? Shanghai?

Sorry, I meant that place in Florida.

Were you planning on staying on site at Disney or using a Villa/Hotel etc?

If you book 8 months to a year in advance staying on site you can get free or discounted dining plan plus cashback in the form of Disney dollars. You could probably still do this for summer.

Thanks you, that's good to know. I think we would try to stay onsite as probably easier with 3 children.

Book direct with Disneyworld via their website if youre planning on staying at one of their resorts in Florida. You should still be able to pick up some deals for next year.

Avoid summer holidays (july-august) unless you love the heat (high 30s daily) and crowds.

Book the magical express to transfer you to and from the airport.

How old are your children? The younger children like the cheaper hotels. Theyre typically 'Disneyfied' while the more expensive resorts are more sophisticated.

Get a dining package. You get a wristband that gives you food and drinks across all the parks and hotels. We had the full dining plan but found there was too much food and because it was full restaurant service meals cost us hundreds in tips. Go for the quick dining plan instead. The foods the same as the sit down restaurants just not restaurant table service so a bit like a buffet but you serve yourself and you dont pay tips. We had a lovely sit down meal at animal kingdom. They printed the bill out ($300) and they recommended you pay a tip of 25% and they printed the suggested amount on the bottom. ($75 in this instance). DH nearly fell off his chair especially given the service was average at best. We only used the quick service from then on. ($75) every day would have cost us almost £900 over our trip.

You’ve just missed free dining, gift card and memory maker.

I’d wait and the deal will come out again in April next year.

I wouldn’t do Easter. It’s hell and the busiest time to go.

Conversely if you get one of the better dining packages you can double up the points to use on Character dining experiences etc which can be very very expensive.

If you use the dining plan wisely it isn't a waste.

The dining plans are fantastic value. If you book at the right time you can get the basic plan free. I would advise you to then upgrade to the regular plan, it’s something like £13 per person per day. It is such good value for money. You can eat at really good restaurants, including character meals, plus you get free snacks, including drinks, which would usually cost a fortune.
We did this last summer and kept all our receipts and worked out what the food would have cost us - we literally saved over a thousand pounds with the plan.

Some great tips there, thanks everyone's

Just piggy-backing on here to ask Dailystuck about these deals she mentioned. Will they definitely come out again in April?

Also, we'd probably do a week in Orlando, then a week elsewhere in Florida with friends. Is it still best to book through Disney, would you say?

They should do. Are you on Facebook?

Yes I am. Is there a group I should join?

The deals for free dining, gift cards, memory maker will start mid to late April for 2019 holidays. There is currently a deal for free nights for 2018 holidays.
Join The Dibb forum for endless friendly advice.

Kathy, yes definitely. Disney and Orlando for the brits. About 50,000 members so tonnes and tonnes and tonnes of advice.

Also "Its Orlando Time" group on Facebook, 131,000 members, very addictive group!