Please help me decide if this is a good deluxe split stay deal!!!

[berkfam22]

Hi Everyone!! I am so torn. I currently have a 6 night preferred room at POR with free dining and MYW + waterpark and a memory maker. The total price for this is $3906.19. I added a standard room at YC for 3 nights for $698.25. So total OOP would be $4604.44, plus $400 in giftcards (free from credit card signups) for food for the last 3 days. My dilemma is I found a 2 night stay at CBR, a 4 night Stay at BW and the 3 night stay at YC, plus 5 day, park hopper and water park tickets for a total of $3928.99. Now, I would have to cover the cost of meals, but I have giftcards that I have accumulated that I could use to help pay for the food. I have all my fast passes reserved and this ticket takes 2 days out of our scheduled days, but might make for a more relaxing trip to have more resort days and an extra waterpark day. We were originally planning on 7 park days and 2 water park days and 1 resort day. My family consists of my husband and four kiddos, ages 8, 7, 4 and 2. How easy is it to link your tickets from other sites to MDE and can I still make fast passes 60 days out?? UGH, I don't know what to do!!!

 

[terri33inne]

My initial thought on option 2 is that's a lot of moving for a family of 6 with kids that age, which to me would not be relaxing. You have to plan your 'move' day morning to be packed up & out of the room, which means assuring you don't have a breakfast ADR, or planning on rope drop... it can be done but it can be stressful Also, your room at the new resort may not be ready when you're ready for a break from the parks. If you're ok with all the moving then it's a numbers game.

So, you're looking at a $600 savings with option 2 (with 3 resort switches), BUT you have to pay for meals. For my daughter (child price), and I meals for a 6-7 night stay run around $700-$800... that is with one sit down per day, and usually less than one QS/day. Not sure what you're meal plans are... meals in your room? Sit down 3x/day? Or somewhere in the middle. Figuring 1 sit down/day, and 1 QS/day (which is what you get with free dining) for your party would probably be $1800-$2500 (conservatively) for a 9 night stay.

Only you know your budget. Regarding the gift cards you can apply them to pay for your package if you want.

I've never purchased tickets from other sites, but from what I understand it's no problem to link them (I would only by from a reputable site). Your 60 day FP is linked to the resort reservation I believe so you can book at 60 days.

 

[berkfam22]

My initial thought on option 2 is that's a lot of moving for a family of 6 with kids that age, which to me would not be relaxing. You have to plan your 'move' day morning to be packed up & out of the room, which means assuring you don't have a breakfast ADR, or planning on rope drop... it can be done but it can be stressful Also, your room at the new resort may not be ready when you're ready for a break from the parks. If you're ok with all the moving then it's a numbers game.

So, you're looking at a $600 savings with option 2 (with 3 resort switches), BUT you have to pay for meals. For my daughter (child price), and I meals for a 6-7 night stay run around $700-$800... that is with one sit down per day, and usually less than one QS/day. Not sure what you're meal plans are... meals in your room? Sit down 3x/day? Or somewhere in the middle. Figuring 1 sit down/day, and 1 QS/day (which is what you get with free dining) for your party would probably be $1800-$2500 (conservatively) for a 9 night stay.

Only you know your budget. Regarding the gift cards you can apply them to pay for your package if you want.

I've never purchased tickets from other sites, but from what I understand it's no problem to link them (I would only by from a reputable site). Your 60 day FP is linked to the resort reservation I believe so you can book at 60 days.

Thank you! This gives me some things to think about. I currently have 7 TS meals booked, which comes out to $800. They are all Character meals/ buffets. Now, I just have to figure out the budget for the rest of the snacks and food. Breakfast will be in our rooms most days. Thank you!

 

[ah10is]

If it were me, I would stick with your original booking for the a few reasons.
The 1st is it is actually going to be the cheaper of the options. I have crunched numbers enough times over the last 5 years that I know if you are a family of 4 or more....staying in a value or moderate resort that free dining is the best savings!! I assume you have the regular dining plan ( 1 quick service, 1 table service + 1 snack per person).
Adult rate per person per day is:$63.70 (2 adults x 6 days = 764.40)
Child rate per person per day is: $22.85 (3 kids(2 yr old eats free) x 6 days = 411.30)
So that's $1175.70 in food you don't have to pay for!

The 2nd reason - 3 moves with 4 small children is a lot of packing and unpacking! Don't get me wrong I love the idea of split stays! I'm doing one in August! But it's just me! I think you did it right the 1st time! POR is a great resort and then you get to experience a deluxe for the last part of your trip!

 

[berkfam22]

If it were me, I would stick with your original booking for the a few reasons.
The 1st is it is actually going to be the cheaper of the options. I have crunched numbers enough times over the last 5 years that I know if you are a family of 4 or more....staying in a value or moderate resort that free dining is the best savings!! I assume you have the regular dining plan ( 1 quick service, 1 table service + 1 snack per person).
Adult rate per person per day is:$63.70 (2 adults x 6 days = 764.40)
Child rate per person per day is: $22.85 (3 kids(2 yr old eats free) x 6 days = 411.30)
So that's $1175.70 in food you don't have to pay for!

The 2nd reason - 3 moves with 4 small children is a lot of packing and unpacking! Don't get me wrong I love the idea of split stays! I'm doing one in August! But it's just me! I think you did it right the 1st time! POR is a great resort and then you get to experience a deluxe for the last part of your trip!

Thanks for crunching those numbers! That makes it easier to see the value of the dining plan, something that I hadn't thought of!

 

[mickey2minnie1]

IMHO that is a lot of moving. That would not be relaxing to me. Plan one was a good one to begin with. I woul stick with plan 1. You want to enjoy your vacation, not spend time packing up your family and waiting and wondering wher suitcase are.

 

[PartOfYourWDWorld]

Thank you! This gives me some things to think about. I currently have 7 TS meals booked, which comes out to $800. They are all Character meals/ buffets. Now, I just have to figure out the budget for the rest of the snacks and food. Breakfast will be in our rooms most days. Thank you!

$800 for 7 character meals for a family of 5 (2 year old is free) doesn't sound right. Crystal Palace, for example, cost my family of two adults and two paying children more than $150 in January.

 

[heath92681]

$800 for 7 character meals for a family of 5 (2 year old is free) doesn't sound right. Crystal Palace, for example, cost my family of two adults and two paying children more than $150 in January.

I was thinking the same thing. Our TS meals are around $200 for 5 of us.

 

[Lehuaann]

No, you did good the first time. POR is a beautiful resort and hard to get for FD. Split between YC would make a pretty amazing trip. Less moving, less crunching, more munching...

 

[mister morrow]

this honestly depends on what your family likes. obviously it will be more convenient to stay the six nights at POR, but I would do the other option since you will be at YC which has an amazing pool that could be considered a waterpark day. if you're going for a more relaxing stay, go with option 1 (i'm not saying option two is not relaxing, but it would be easier to settle in at one resort).

 

[Hopefully]

The "wouldn't not" was a mistake. LOL (it's edited now) I was diagnosed in Dec 2006 and I was 38.

On another note. I have heard from several people who say they have the same experience with their sugar at Disney. I think the walking is the key. So Disney is a diabetic's paradise! LOL

Plan 1 For Sure!!!
Plan 2 is way too much walking and not as good a financial deal.
Have Fun

 

[busymommy2pink]

DEFINTELY plan one. And storm along bay at YC is practically a water park and would be great for down time!! Plus you can walk to the boardwalk for entertainment.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Plan one. SAB makes up for everything else! You could take the WP option off and save some money. We had one free WP day on our tickets but my kids wanted to play in SAB instead of going to BB.

 

[terri33inne]

I was thinking the same thing. Our TS meals are around $200 for 5 of us.

I was thinking that is low too.

 

[berkfam22]

I was thinking the same thing. Our TS meals are around $200 for 5 of us.

I was going off of the menu prices on all ears.net, so that could possibly be wrong. We are going during the cheapest dining time.