Does my first-time Disney plan sound okay? A few other questions too!

[PlutoTheDwarfPlanet]

Firstly, no driving, so will be reliant on ubers or public transport meaning I want to stay on site (plus I like the sound of early magic hours and the dining plan).

I'm just about to put down a deposit but thought I'd post here first for opinions.

We're trying to keep essential costs to around £5000 and take around £1000 spending money. There will be one adult and one child (11 - so counts as an adult at Disney). Any last minute tweaks to save £££ would be greatly considered! I like the convenience of my current plan though so not sure i'd consider indirect flights or staying in a villa etc (although I've researched these options thoroughly).

Planning to go beginning of October 2019 for 14 nights. We will be doing our first three nights at Universal and then 11 nights at Disney.

We will book directly with Disney from the day we're checking in there. We're going to Universal first so won't take advantage of the free disney express from the airport but we will on the way back at the end of the hol.

We will be booking flights separately and will be booking our universal hotel separately.

AIRPORT/TRAVEL:

*TRAIN TO AND FROM AIRPORT = £50

*HOTEL AT AIRPORT (NIGHT BEFORE FLIGHT) = £80

*SHUTTLE FROM MCO AIRPORT TO UNIVERSAL HOTEL = £40

ACCOMMODATION AND TICKETS:

*FLIGHTS WITH THOMAS COOK FROM MAN TO MCO (I live in Glasgow but flights from here are £250 more expensive) = £1200

*UNIVERSAL ENDLESS SUMMER ON-SITE HOTEL FOR THREE NIGHTS = £320

*UNIVERSAL 14 DAY TICKETS FOR THREE PARKS (SEEMS CHEAPER TO BUY 14 DAY THAN A 3/4 DAY TICKET!) = £480

*DISNEY ALL STAR SPORTS WITH DINING PLAN FOR 11 NIGHTS £2900

TOTAL COSTS: £5070 (SLIGHTLY OVER BUDGET)

We'd really only need tickets for 4 days at Universal (arriving late Friday night and moving to Disney late Monday afternoon). Is there a cheaper way rather than buying the full 2 week ticket? I guess it allows us to go back and revisit while we're at Disney if we really want to.

We will have £1000 spending money, however, i've already planned away £400 of this for:

*Marvel Dinner one night at Universal = £80
*Minions breakfast one morning at Universal = £80
*BLUE MAN group tickets while at Universal = £80
*Disney Halloween Party tickets = £160

So we would have approx £600 left for:

• 2 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 2 dinners at Universal

• 11 breakfasts at Disney

• money for tipping, souvenirs (we don't care too much about these though), any additional travel costs (e.g. if we want to get an uber somewhere instead of waiting on resort buses).

Does this sound okay? DD will likely be given some money for toys etc and she has already started saving 75% of her pocket money each week to put by. So this doesn't have to come from spending money.

Here is where I plan to go for our sit down dinners with our dining plan (haven't thought about days/times yet though, but have sorted them into parks)

-Animal Kingdom
Tusker House (dining package rivers of light) -1 table service credit

-Magic Kingdom
Cinderella’s Royal Table - lunch OR dinner - 2 table service credits
Tony’s - lunch (Fantasy Parade dining package) - 1 table service credit

-Epcot
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall - lunch - 1 table service credit
The Garden Grill - lunch OR dinner - 1 table service credit
Via napoli - lunch OR dinner - 1 table service credit

-Hollywood Studios
Hollywood & Vine - dinner (Fantasmic dining package) - 1 table service credit
50s Prime Time Cafe - Lunch OR dinner - 1 table service credit

-Grand Floridian
1900 Park Fayre - dinner - 1 table service credit

-Downtown Disney Marketplace
T-rex - lunch/dinner - 1 table service credit

Again, lots of thought/research went into these choices but would appreciate any opinions e.g. if somebody had a very bad experience at any of these?

DD has SEN and is developmentally quite young for her age. She adores Disney characters and still very much 'believes'. We have been to DLP before and she loved character meals. These are definitely our must-do pretty much each day (will also save queuing to meet them in the parks!)

I'd appreciate some thoughts/opinions before i take the plunge and put down deposits.

Thanks!

Sorry park tickets are extra with us. We are away half term for 11 nights at SSR.

We have just come back from Orlando. We did the ROL package at Tuskers and were really disappointed in it. It was very busy and so noisy, basically a canteen full of small children; not a pleasant eating experience. It didn't help that as we arrived for our prebooked meal it started lashing down with rain so all the people inside who had finished eating just sat tight to wait for it to ease off. We wished we'd picked Tiffins instead.

In contrast the Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom was relatively calm, and had Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger who each visited the tables.

Akershus breakfast was lovely, and Cinderella's Table (booked as slots were released 180 days before we went) was also worth going to. The desserts were fantastic but the dinner was a bit odd.

We also ate at the Hollywood Brown Derby - very nice but nothing vegetarian on the menu - as a dinner package. Mama Melrose at HS was also nice - didn't book but managed to get in on the night.

Be Our Guest doesn't have characters. The theming is nice and actually the food is good (we did Breakfast).

We upgraded our Dining Package to the middle one, expecting that we wouldn't have to spend much once there. I knew we had to pay the tip but it was a shock how much they expected. Most dinners they were asking for around a $35 tip, so that adds up. Usually we'd expect a meal for all 3 of us to be around $35!!!

If your DD likes characters you can book Fast Pass for them. We found that going early in the day when others were racing for the thrill rides meant the queues for the princesses were maximum 20 minutes for each pair and generally less than that. They actually have a chat with your DD so it's not just in, photo, out. We also found that you can meet Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Daisy by the Circus area and the queues there were really short.

The only other issue we had was with the buses. We were at Port Orleans and buses were every 20 minutes but it takes much longer to get anywhere than you expect.

One afternoon we'd gone back to the hotel to swim and needed to get back to MK for a booked event. Bus was due at 16:35 which was plenty of time. Got to the bus stop at 16:30, waited and waited and gradually the time due crept up and up until it said 17:03 at which point we signed up to Flyte and got a ride in 2 minutes. It took almost an hour to get to the water parks.

Meant to add, sign up for My Disney Experience, [[www.thedibb.co.uk/
The DIBB]], and Touring for help in planning.

You won't need to buy any more food in Disney, the regular dining plan is more than enough food. You can use two snack credits to replace lunch or breakfast. If you're okay drinking water don't pay for drinks while you're there. Ask for iced water at any restaurant (quick service or table service) or use the water fountains.

For dining, at Magic Kingdom I would swap out Tony's for Crystal Palace. The character interaction and food is miles better there, although the parade package is obviously not on offer. At Epcot Garden Grill is a little boring but obviously the characters are good. And we are not fans of TRex at all, but again it is great for children. Read the Disney Food Blog website before you make any final decisions. I've eaten at about 40 different restaurants on site so I'm happy to provide my own views!

We normally book 14 nights at Disney and just travel to Universal for two days/one night staying at Royal Pacific to get Express Passes. That way you don't have to pay for transfers from MCO to Universal either as you'd be using the Magical Express. To each their own though of courses, we enjoy Disney far too much to spend more than two days in Universal!

Pop Century and Art of Animation are both nicer values in my opinion, and as a PP states it's difficult to gauge prices accurately right now as Old Key West, Saratoga and Port Orleans don't have full availability until at least 11 months before. With the construction going on there currently, Disney have held back a huge amount of rooms for next year. You may get a better deal on a moderate or deluxe with free quick service which you can then upgrade, or free regular. If you book directly with Disney though you can usually very easily alter your booking at a later time.

I also wanted to double check the flight info? That's a large amount for flights in off peak time. Flight schedules won't be out until November for next October so the price you have from Thomas Cook is vastly inflated. Off peak I wouldn't want to pay more then £450 per person direct and £350 indirect, from Glasgow or Manchester. It's definitely worth hanging on to book flights until next month.

I don’t think October half term is off peak though. The flights are expensive for that school holiday period and Disney is expensive because it’s the Epcot food festival.

Dining plan now also has refillable soft drinks mug plus alcoholic drink making it even better as an option. It’s well worth it if you want character meals. The accommodation price is inflated so it’s not quite the deal it looks to be but certainly still worth having.

Not all the rides at Universal have the virtual queuing, for most of them you will actually have to stand in line.

@cloudtree
OP said beginning of October not the end so as it's only half term in Scotland, Manchester flights should be cheaper.

Hi all. Thanks again for all of the tips. Gratefully received!

Just to clarify:

My package at £2900 is for one adult, one child staying at All Star Sports for 11 nights. This includes park tickets and all the extras when booked directly with Disney like memory maker. We have upgraded to the dining plan. It was much cheaper to do this than to stay at a resort which offers this dining plan. Cheapest that would have been is £4708 at AKL JUST for the hotel and dining, then I also would need to buy park tickets on top of that.

To stay at Disney for the 14 nights and travel to Universal instead of going there first followed by 11 nights at Disney would have been £3500 for the same package I have booked for the 11 nights - so about £600 more expensive. My hotel at Universal for the three nights is just £320 for the two of us. I just need to pay for transfers from MCO to universal and then from Universal to Disney after the third night. But it still works out cheaper than the £600 + Uber to stay at Disney for 14 nights and travel to Universal.

Flights - I'm holding off on booking these as it does seem crazy prices. You're right that not many people are selling flights yet as it's over a year til those dates. So far Thomas Cook is the cheapest but that's only because I'm limited in other airlines to compare them with. I'd love to shave some money off of the flight prices so I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Thanks again everybody.

Use snack credits for breakfast there will be so much food you don’t need 3 meals a day! Plenty of things we think off as breakfast are snacks

Share food meals are huge at quick service meals you should be able to feed yourself easily

Dining plan does not include tips

Coronado Springs for two weeks with tickets and upgraded dining plan is coming up at £3086 fyi, that's October 8th for 14 nights but not sure if that's any good! Just thought I'd have a look as October 2019 availability is sketchy at the moment because of the Star Wars expansion.

I would definitely hold out on flights until 11 months before

Coronado is under refurbishment though so as with Caribbean beach it’s a risky option (although not quite as bad as Caribbean beach)

Availability might open up anyway since apparently the Star Wars opening is not now likely to be until after thanksgiving. Lots of people doing shorter trips are likely to try to push their dates back

Yeah for sure. Coronado is much more on track than CBR. That's an eyesore alright.

Look out for the BA sale (it was September 2 years ago when we booked) for flights.

The BA sale is already on but the flights only go up to august 19