Planning for 2018

[AcrossthePondNic]

Hi everyone. I'm new here and I'll start by saying this is my pre pre-planning as I can't settle on dates yet.

We live over in the UK. Me and my DH visited WDW in 2001 just after we married, staying at POFQ then 2 years later at POR. After that kids arrived and no more trips until late April 2015. All 4 of us went for our first family trip and stayed in a RR in POR and had a great time. Our eldest has Aspergers and so we did a lot of planning and it really paid off.

When travelling from the UK they release a good booking offer this time of year for the next year, free dining, $200 spending money and memory maker. We don't get the same room discounts available to us over here as in the US so this package is a really good deal in our humble opinion. That being said the best time for us to book is when that deal is on or as a last minute thing if deals appear through travel agents, last minute doesn't work in our house too well, and having done the maths, if it wasn't on we'd probably still pay for the dining plan as paying as we go wouldn't save us much and only make us say no to more at the time because we'd be watching the pennies.

Sadly, we can't book for next year so to cheer myself up I'm looking at our options for 2018.

We loved late April, the crowds were OK and the temperature was too. No need to use the a/c at night. The kids schools have shortened their Easter hols from 3 to 2 weeks which means if we go at Easter again, it would be the busier weeks and less time to recover from jet lag. The only other times they are off for more than 2 weeks are Christmas and July through August. Christmas is not an option so we are looking at late August because we hear July is really busy. Based on next years prices, if they don't change too much we might be able to stretch to either YC or Poly. YC appeals because we can walk to more stuff including restaurants and its near HS. Our eldest loves ToT and RRC.

Any thoughts on those 2 resorts? Also, we've been in late July as a couple, is late August roughly the same feel humidity wise?

Would have posted a couple of photos from our trip but couldn't figure out how

 

[Mollydolly334]

I have stayed at both Poly and YC and love them both! I would say location-wise, YC definitely has a slight edge because you can walk to two parks (Epcot and DHS) and Epcot has so many fun dinner options. That being said, there is a special sort of "magic" that comes with being on the monorail line, and the Polynesian's theming appeals more to us than YC. You really can't go wrong with either choice! If I were you and going for 2 weeks, I would do a split-stay because both resorts are so fun and different from each other

 

[AcrossthePondNic]

Thanks for the info. A split wouldn't be possible with our family situation but I must admit, I hadn't thought of it and I can see how if it were possible it would be a really good way to do it. I think we may well go for YC as being within walking distance of so much sounds good. But I really like the idea of being able to watch the fireworks from the Poly but we could do that without staying there. I swing between the 2 and at the moment when I look at next August to get an idea of prices for the following year, all of the Deluxe resorts seem to vary hugely. From week to week it changes as to which one would be a cheaper booking option.

I'm also making my list of things to do already that we never got round to last time. We've not visited the Boardwalk yet, we planned to, it just didn't happen. So much to do, just wish I was going this August

 

[AcrossthePondNic]

Been starting to add dining to my wish list to get my Disney fix today and it's potentially altered my plans before they even got going properly.

The idea was to use the DDP but since I last looked at 2017 a couple of weeks ago to get an idea of which table service locations were likely to be available in 2018 it looks this evening like hardly anything is available. I'm hoping it's a glitch on the website because even BOG is not showing as available on DDP next year all of a sudden.

If it's not, then it's back to POR and the QS plan we had last time and pay for the table service ones we pick out separately.

 

[mdsouth]

Hi! I have not stayed at either resort that you are considering. I am following along since I am planning a possible 2017, more likely 2018 trip. The last trip was in 2014. I tend to go every four or five years but am on DIS a lot. I am looking for someone else to plan with who hasn't been in awhile and does not get to go often.

Most of the PTR reports are posted from people who go often. They are interesting to read but sometimes hard to relate to since they go so much.

I was in WDW around the 4th of July and it was HOT and MUGGY. I expect August to be the same. Depending on the time in August you may have less crowds to deal with than you would going in July.

 

[AcrossthePondNic]

Hi mdsouth. Where are you thinking of?

A few weeks back it appeared like I could see which restaurants were on the dining plan on MDE for 2017 but that must have been a glitch as it disappeared and I was initially a little worried as that would alter whether we would look at the QSDP or DDP but I was informed on here that it is normal not to have seen it so early on in 2016 for next year and it was probably a glitch when it was showing up. Not sure if the restaurants participating in DDP are showing up for next year yet but I'm happy that plenty of places that we will want to eat will feature so I'm not too focused on that now.

I've switched my attention to how long to go for. I said I would like to go for 3 weeks but my DH can't take that long off work and we don't want to leave our dogs for that long. (Grandma wouldn't want them for 3 weeks either). Anyway, DH said why don't I go with the kids and he could join us a week later. Travelling from a distance, when staying at POR nearly half the cost of the holiday was for flights so the cost of the resort stay itself does not go up hugely from a 2 week to a 3 week stay, relatively speaking. Based on prices for next year, realistically, we should be sticking with POR. Three weeks at the YC is considerably more than 3 weeks at POR, obviously.

We really like POR but I'm not sure if it's the best place for us for 3 weeks. The menu at Boatwrights doesn't appeal to our family so if we want a table service meal it's a bus trip every time. We would get most use out of the options within walking distance of YC. The kids love Epcot and HS and we'd look at dining in World Showcase. I can't justify the cost to myself at the moment though. I was wondering about a week at POR and moving after my husband arrives. But, the kids need to be settled. I'd also be worried it would cause issues with dining plan credits and magic bands.

I say YC not BC because we would find a balcony really useful when we just need somewhere to sit without other people if my eldest needs some space to de-stress. I've read that not all rooms have balconies at BC and I know requests are just that, requests, and may not be met. At the moment we're thinking not the Poly, especially if for 3 weeks but we would definitely like to eat there. There is just a real appeal to us of staying near the Boardwalk and Epcot.

Keeping my eye on pricing and saving hard. Every time I have some cash or change I try to put half in my Eeyore money box. The kids are being encouraged to save their pocket money, again spend half or less and save the rest.

I'm watching lots of YouTube videos to get my fix because I know there's no way I can do this in 2017.

 

[mdsouth]

Hi mdsouth. Where are you thinking of?

A few weeks back it appeared like I could see which restaurants were on the dining plan on MDE for 2017 but that must have been a glitch as it disappeared and I was initially a little worried as that would alter whether we would look at the QSDP or DDP but I was informed on here that it is normal not to have seen it so early on in 2016 for next year and it was probably a glitch when it was showing up. Not sure if the restaurants participating in DDP are showing up for next year yet but I'm happy that plenty of places that we will want to eat will feature so I'm not too focused on that now.


I say YC not BC because we would find a balcony really useful when we just need somewhere to sit without other people if my eldest needs some space to de-stress. I've read that not all rooms have balconies at BC and I know requests are just that, requests, and may not be met. At the moment we're thinking not the Poly, especially if for 3 weeks but we would definitely like to eat there. There is just a real appeal to us of staying near the Boardwalk and Epcot.

Keeping my eye on pricing and saving hard. Every time I have some cash or change I try to put half in my Eeyore money box. The kids are being encouraged to save their pocket money, again spend half or less and save the rest.

I'm watching lots of YouTube videos to get my fix because I know there's no way I can do this in 2017.

Hi, Across the Pond! My name is Michele. I figure since we will be conversing quite about between now and 2018, I would share my first name.

I, understand you indecision on which resort. I agree with you in that the convenience of YC to EPCOT and HS would be so nice but there is a big cost increase than POR. So, keep saving those pennies or halfpennies! Do you still have halfpennies in the UK? Or was that just in England? I just know the term from the song, "Christmas is Coming". There is a line about putting a penny in a hat. And if you haven't got a penny a half-penny will do.

Anyway, I totally went off on a tangent thought there! Sorry about that!

I just recently discovered that all the rooms at YC have full balconies and just some of the ones at BC do. So, I am right with you in that if I ever decide to take the plunge and go to YC/BC than I will book YC just for that reason! It would be great to have the balcony to hang out on in the evenings especially if you need to give your kids a break from the parks and just the crowds. The balcony would allow you the chance to move about without disturbing anyone trying to sleep.

This is the reason I would like it. I am a very early morning riser and the rest of my family like to sleep in. I think a balcony would be nice so that I could relax and drink my diet Coke on the balcony without having to sit in the dark.

Right now, I am thinking about August too just because it fits better with the kids summer schedule, and mine since I am a teacher. I teach eighth grade where the students are typically 13 and 14 year olds.

I hope to go for seven or eight days but it might be more like five or six. I most likely will be staying at a moderate due to price. Right now, I am leaning towards PORFQ since it was the last resort I stayed in and I really liked the smaller size. I was in Building 6, one of the farthest buildings from the main lobby, food court and bus stop and it was just a brief walk! That was fantastic after a long day at the parks. It was also a short walk along the river to POR. When I was there the FQ pool was being remodeled so we swam at POR.
You may want to consider it for the compact size of the resort. There is just the food court there but you can still walk to POR to Boatrights.

 

[AcrossthePondNic]

Hi Michele, I'm Nicola. No we don't have half pennies anymore. They were phased out probably early 80s. I still have a few in a money box somewhere.

Yes it's the balconies at YC that won it for me over BC. Being able to sit somewhere and enjoy a morning coffee or just some chill out space for my kids would be good. I won't know what to do until they release the prices next year.

The first time we stayed on site was at FQ. In 2001, 2 weeks in October. I really liked it but after we stayed at Riverside I really liked the landscaping there. We stayed in Acadian House in 2003, near a quiet pool, end of July beginning of August. Last year we wanted the mansion side as our daughter took a pretty strong dislike to the Bayou side. It looked a little darker and the room theme didn't appeal to her. So to guarantee a mansion room we booked a Royal room, garden view. When we checked in we were upgraded to a corner room, river view - hence my picture. That's the view from the walkway outside our room. A nice location to watch the world go by if we needed a time out. She has high functioning autism (Aspergers) so her being comfortable really matters. That's why we're not planning on staying off site or a split stay. More relaxing for everyone. We didn't eat at Boatwrights as there wasn't something on the menu for all of us. I have to satisfy some particular characters who know what they like. They did fine in the food court do it wasn't a problem but if we wanted a sit down meal it meant a bus or a boat ride. That's my biggest concern for making it 3 weeks. So I'm back to YC again. Round in circles.

I'm not even 100% sure I'm supposed to have put my planning here as I discovered that the DIS has a UK forum. But I like being able to get the opinions of anyone who wants to contribute. So apologies to anyone if I have posted in the wrong place.

When we went last year we went in late April. The kids first 2 week holiday,first long haul flight, losts of firsts. We arrived just as the crowds were leaving and it was a fairly quiet time. We did that on purpose because we weren't sure how the kids would cope (they both have additional needs) and also the heat. DD can't self regulate. As it turned out it was a little hotter than average but it was fine. It took a few days to get over the journey and get their heads round where they were but all in all it was very successful. They missed a week of school but DD is going into high school in September and I don't want to take her out again. That was a one off because of the circumstances. School holidays are changing a bit for us. Their schools used to give longer at Easter but they've had to go in line with national plans so we've lost the extra. Meaning if we want to stick within holiday times they would have no time to recover from the jet lag unless we go at Christmas or in the main summer holiday. Christmas itself and July are peak times on the planning pages so we have settled on August, busy but not quite as busy. Not my first choice, that would still be late April. But that's not going to happen. Also the free dining offer that they release over here does not include our Easter holiday for next year, which it did for 2015 as we got it with our booking. So I assume that if they follow the same pattern, when Disney release their 2018 offer next year that will probably exclude Easter again. August will be very humid but with 3 weeks we can take breaks in the afternoons. She will also be nearly 14 by then and I hope able to cope with the heat better.

We've never stayed at CSR or CBR. They look so big and spread out that they didn't seem right for us without a car. POR didn't feel spread out to us. Having read lots of reviews we've noticed how a lot of the US reviewers mention how long it takes to walk from their room to the lobby unless booking a preferred location but the UK ones don't seem to mention that. Why is that I wonder?

Anyway, look forward to planning together ...

 

[mdsouth]

Nicola,

I am so glad you posted on the regular board. My guess is the UK board is for you all to post specific things that pertain to planning a trip overseas and a different country. I am sure it is not to just limit anyone to that board. AT LEAST I hope NOT! I love coming to the boards and being able to read and connect with people all over the world!

As for your children, we have a lot in common. My son is also a high functioning Aspie! He is 19, almost 20 now. He lives at home right now as he is going to the local college (university) in our town. When he was younger we had to avoid going to certain places because of his intense discomfort with smells, loud sounds and big crowds. He is much better now. I don't know if it is because he is older now and did grow out of some of his issues or if he just manages it better. My daughter is 13. She is an extremely picky eater and is similar to her brother in how they interact with peers. So, I just want to state that I totally understand how it is difficult to pick the right resort for your family, regarding the right atmosphere. When I look at some of the photographs of some resort rooms I think some of the rooms look kind of dark too, so I think I must have similar tastes to your daughter. I prefer lighter, brighter decor and the beach theme.

PORFQ really had a nice relaxing feel to it. I think it would be similar to the mansions. The outdoor scenery is similar to POR. When we stayed in PORFQ, like you we were upgraded to a river view room! We were on the third floor in the middle. It was very pretty and relaxing! We walked over to POR twice to swim while we were there. I thought the stoll down along the river was nice. So, it you decide not to stay at YC and want to try something else, PORFQ might be an option for you. Before I stayed at PORFQ, I was always turned off by the big ugly jester head in pictures that I saw of the food court. But when I was there it wasn't as prominent as I thought, plus there is a smaller room in the food court where you can eat without looking at the jester head. You would still have to walk through the big room to get to the little room and to get your drinks but the head is at the far end of the room near one of the exits. There are other exit doors and if anyone is uncomfortable with it, there are seats far away from it in the big room, near the cashiers where you can sit and face away from it. Sorry for rambling away with my description but I thought I would be as descriptive as possible.

I have also stayed at CBR and CSR. Both are nice in their own way but are spread out. But I think that they are in similar size to POR. I stayed in the Cabanas at CSR and there were not too far from the main lobby. I think Disney does a nice job of trying to assign rooms to help accommodate the needs of people. When my daughter was younger she had some mobility issues and so we always requested a room near transportation. At both CBR and CSR they gave us a room close to transportion in the standard category that I had paid for. It worked for us and even though both rooms where in buildings that overlooked the parking lot, we really did not notice them since Disney does such a nice job of landscaping the resorts and tries to hide the view of the parking lot from the rooms.

I also understand your reasoning for the time of year that you are restricted to for your holiday. As children gets older it is harder to pull them out of school without a lot of hassle, plus I think missing a week of school would be more difficult for kids to catch up on missed school work than some of their peers.

Like you, I was originally looking at August in 2017 due to school constraints. I realized this week that next August will not work since Haley (my daughter) will be going into high school and the few weeks of August is her high school marching band camp. So, now i think we might have to plan for earlier in the summer, probably June since we were there in late June/early July and the heat and crowds due to 4th of July were crazy. The heat will still be a factor for June. Now that Jacob is in college it is even more important that he does not miss time at school and I am a teacher myself so it would be hard for me to go during the actual school year.

 

[AcrossthePondNic]

Hi. It does sound like we have a lot in common. I really enjoyed my time at FQ but I've shown it to the kids and they were never as keen on the rooms as they were on the Royal rooms. I guess my kids have expensive tastes. Another reason for not being so sure about BC is I've seen a lot of comments about the smell of seafood in the lobby in the evenings floating out from Cape May and they all seem to say it's pretty strong. The both have issues with smell. DS is just beginning the diagnosis process. He may not 'score' enough to come out as being on the spectrum but he ticks a lot of boxes and suffers from sensory overload so we know what we're dealing with whatever the experts say.

I think we're probably looking at the mansions side of POR unless I save REALLY hard. Someone also suggested Saratoga Springs and looking at it, it does seem a cheaper option than the deluxe hotels. It's close to DS which is great but it's one of the longest bus rides to all the parks. I'm still holding on to my hopes of YC for the time being.

We don't do a lot of holidays and we aren't planning one for this year or next so that we can save up instead. We will have day trips instead while they are off school. We were on the third floor too. The journey was pretty stressful. I don't like flying, they both struggled with the food on the plane, DD was sick mid flight and I thought I might have to get a chair and wheel her through the airport because she was so wobbly but we just took our time. The look of relief when she saw our room made the extra expense of a RR worth while and the upgraded location they gave us was even better. Trouble is a return visit now has a lot to live up to. The biggest issue is it has to look and feel clean. Or she won't want to stay there.

When we got home she originally said that she was never getting on a plane ever again but as time wore on she changed it to never flying long haul, then never longer than a 8.5 hour flight. So we'll get her there again. I will need to figure out what food I can take that will keep for the flight and doesn't need refrigerating and doesn't involve liquids. The food was BAD. So I can't blame her and lack of food is what made her sick.

If only we were loaded, we could upgrade the flight too, but that's never gonna happen

 

[mdsouth]

I can totally relate to the issue of certain smells making your DD sick. There were several instances with my son when he was younger.
It sounds like you will have to plan dry snacks for the flight. With my son that was never a problem since he likes salty snacks, chips, crackers, etc. I would expect with airport customs it might be even hard for you to bring fruit such as apples and oranges onto the plane.

At least your DD is now open to the idea of traveling again on a long plane ride. Never underestimate the power of the mouse!
On my last trip, my daughter tried and ate several new food items that she would never try at home, just because we were at WDW!
She ate fish, Talipia, and even ate salami.

 

[AcrossthePondNic]

Fruit is a big no no and we can't bring liquids obviously but if I bring dry stuff we should be ok. We watched a you tube video of someone's stay at the YC and I so want to stay there. I have some really hard saving to do. Looking at maybe putting some extra hours in and saving the extra separately. I've also signed up to a rewards bank account so I get cash back on household bills etc and I'll leave the cash back where it is to grow until I need it.

Prices seem to fluctuate daily on the UK Walt Disney World Travel Company site so what we've decided is when we see a price we are happy with we'll take the plunge and book it. But that still won't be until next year when the 2018 prices are released and hopefully the free DP offer that they do here. That usually comes out about May for the next year. But we're watching next years prices to get an idea of what we're looking at.

I'm going to look at a Virgin credit card too because you earn airmiles but I need to research that one and make sure I clear it each month to feel the maximum benefit. But I feel like the planning has taken a small step forward.

 

[mdsouth]

Fruit is a big no no and we can't bring liquids obviously but if I bring dry stuff we should be ok. We watched a you tube video of someone's stay at the YC and I so want to stay there. I have some really hard saving to do. Looking at maybe putting some extra hours in and saving the extra separately. I've also signed up to a rewards bank account so I get cash back on household bills etc and I'll leave the cash back where it is to grow until I need it.

Prices seem to fluctuate daily on the UK Walt Disney World Travel Company site so what we've decided is when we see a price we are happy with we'll take the plunge and book it. But that still won't be until next year when the 2018 prices are released and hopefully the free DP offer that they do here. That usually comes out about May for the next year. But we're watching next years prices to get an idea of what we're looking at.

I'm going to look at a Virgin credit card too because you earn airmiles but I need to research that one and make sure I clear it each month to feel the maximum benefit. But I feel like the planning has taken a small step forward.

I expected as much about not being allowed to bring fruit on the plane. It sounds like your hubby is on board with your planning, so that is nice to know that you can reserve the trip when the price comes out. I need to look into the rewards bank account too.

I like the idea of keeping a separate account for your vacation budget, because it will help you see how much you are saving and be less likely to be spent on something else that comes up.

 

[AcrossthePondNic]

I've signed up to Virgin Atlantic flying club and linked our store loyalty card to earn points on our shopping. If I get the credit card that's extra points too. Don't fully understand how that works yet when it comes to converting points into flights but every little helps.

Last time we booked then saved. This time it's the other way round. I feel very grown up and responsible today

It's my DDs last week of primary school before moving to high school so a busy and slightly stressful week. I'm escaping into Disney planning for a few minutes of R&R.

 

[mdsouth]

So, is your DD on summer break now before heading to high school? I am an eighth grade teacher (ages 13 and 14 year olds) and am on my summer break. I will be starting back to school in mid August.

 

[AcrossthePondNic]

Yes we have pre school or kindergarten, then infants from 4 years old, then juniors and seniors over here. Infant school is reception, year 1 and 2. Junior school is years 3,4,5 and 6. Infant and junior years are known as primary school and year 7 upwards is high school or senior school.

My youngest has just finished year 3 and DD will be starting year 7 in September. They begin that year age 11. We have a long holiday now and head back to school usually around 5th September.

Trying to have a cheap one this year, just doing things near home so that the saving can continue.

 

[mdsouth]

Thanks for the information about school years in the UK.

Some of my fondest memories with my family are from little side trips close to home.

 

[AcrossthePondNic]

You probably didn't really want to know any of that But it's funny how different the systems and holidays etc can be.

Our kids schools finish roughly 2 weeks earlier than most uk schools for summer. We had ruled July out as it is your main time isn't it and we thought that August would be better because the US schools are going back. However, based on next years prices August is a lot more expensive than July in the deluxe resorts. So we priced up an early July trip next year including flights and we got a really good price. I almost got tempted to book for next year, but resisted as we just don't have the funds and can't justify taking the plunge now. So our plan is now to book 3 weeks from about 8th July onwards, hopefully in the Boardwalk area, as soon as the UK offer is released for 2018 and then book flights as soon as they become available. By flying from the UK that early we are leaving 2 weeks earlier than most families in the UK would be able to so we're hoping flights may be a little quieter and maybe a little cheaper.

We needed to order a new fridge freezer and also an iPad for DD as the senior school she's going to will be using an iPad in most lessons. Fortunately the cheapest prices were also a retailer that can earn us airmiles so we did our first purchases using Virgin Atlantics partner shops online. I'll be interested to see how many airmiles that earns me. I'm also on a mission to look at our broadband and tv providers to see if I can save any money that way. The things we do for Disney

 

[mdsouth]

As a teacher, I am interested how education in other places is conducted. So, I found your information on the school years quite interesting. Remember too, I asked you about it.

We went in early July one year. I would just tell you to avoid the days right about the 4th of July since they are the largest crowds all summer.

It makes sense to wait awhile to book your 2018 vacation. So, you are just doing a little window shopping between now and then. It will just make you more prepared and knowledgeable when the time comes to book.

 

[AcrossthePondNic]

So, I haven't been on for a while but my planning is still ongoing. We have settled on late August into early September, getting home ideally a couple of days before the new school year so we have some time to recover.

I just need to wait a little while longer now to see if a free dining offer comes up again for the UK. Historically it has appeared around Easter time over here for bookings made for the next year, so I have my deposit waiting and we're ready to go. If we get a good price we're hoping for BC or YC. If not then back to POR. We've decided not to tell the kids this time until just before we go. They know where we are thinking of but don't think we will be able to do it for 2018 so we are hoping it will be a nice surprise rather than a shock.