Why can't I leave it alone???

[tamerbelles]

You will NEVER regret having a second bedroom for the little one to sleep or nap. We previously stayed in a 1-bedroom at Kidani, which was incredible, especially with the two bathrooms. So definitely look at renting the points next time! That made it more affordable for us.

This time, we chose AoA too! We still wanted the extra space, but my 7 yo specifically asked to stay somewhere she could have a balloon. (AKL doesn't allow balloons for the animals' safety.) Minor detail, but I don't mind trying something new. Really looking forward to the fun theming there and still having plenty of space.

 

[Tigger's ally]

ETA: Im also looking at renting DVC points for a AKL Kidani 1 bed suite for next year. I wasnt sure what all went into it but now I know.

If you are going next year prior to the time you are going this year, it might pay to upgrade one of your tickets to an AP and then just reserve next year through Disney with the AP discount instead of renting points. Works for us as my wife has the AP and I reserved this upcoming trip in three weeks when the discounts came out and got a 2BR villa at OKW for 6 nights at $480 a night and then added one night in a lion king suite for $280. Great rates that you aren't guaranteed to get unless the discounts come out but it is cheaper than anything we could do rentng points. Renting points would have been $4500 + tax for just the OKW portion vs. the $2880 plus tax through Disney.

 

[DisneyMomma930]

Where do you really want to stay?

Ideally? AKL or BLT....for location, or BCV or BWV..... But I love the theming at AKL but also want convenience of monorail or being in walking distance of Epcot. Im very indecisive...lol

 

[RamblingMad]

Ideally? AKL or BLT....for location, or BCV or BWV..... But I love the theming at AKL but also want convenience of monorail or being in walking distance of Epcot. Im very indecisive...lol

How much time do you plan on spending at the resort?

 

[DisneyMomma930]

If you are going next year prior to the time you are going this year, it might pay to upgrade one of your tickets to an AP and then just reserve next year through Disney with the AP discount instead of renting points. Works for us as my wife has the AP and I reserved this upcoming trip in three weeks when the discounts came out and got a 2BR villa at OKW for 6 nights at $480 a night and then added one night in a lion king suite for $280. Great rates that you aren't guaranteed to get unless the discounts come out but it is cheaper than anything we could do rentng points. Renting points would have been $4500 + tax for just the OKW portion vs. the $2880 plus tax through Disney.

WOW really?? How much is it to upgrade to AP? I have thought about it but never thought it was beneficial for me. But since I am looking to book for next year (either via bounceback deal or renting points), it might be worth it. Plus I do like the idea of discounts for other things. This trip we did 6 day tickets with hoppers...not sure if that matters for conversion purposes. But I would love an AP, it could give me an excuse to make a weeekend trip

 

[DisneyMomma930]

How much time do you plan on spending at the resort?

This trip I schedule to have 2 non park days...and some of the days will be half day at the park and the rest open to do whatever we feel. The next trip I will schedule to have more resort time if we are at a deluxe.

 

[Tigger's ally]

WOW really?? How much is it to upgrade to AP? I have thought about it but never thought it was beneficial for me. But since I am looking to book for next year (either via bounceback deal or renting points), it might be worth it. Plus I do like the idea of discounts for other things. This trip we did 6 day tickets with hoppers...not sure if that matters for conversion purposes. But I would love an AP, it could give me an excuse to make a weeekend trip

I would have to know what you paid for your 6 night hopper ticket (I am guessing around $600?) The price of the annual pass is below so proabably about $300 to upgrade one ticket. But keep in mind you can save on food and merchandise as well as the hotel. Plus you can download your photopass photos.

 

[RamblingMad]

This trip I schedule to have 2 non park days...and some of the days will be half day at the park and the rest open to do whatever we feel. The next trip I will schedule to have more resort time if we are at a deluxe.

What do you plan to do at the resort? If it’s the pool, then I’d look for the best pool.

Are you morning people? I’m not. I never make rope drop. So being closer would be ideal for me, but it might not for you.

How much privacy do you want? If it doesn’t matter, what’s wrong with two queen beds?

Figure out what kind of vacation you want. And you’ll quickly become less anxious. You can’t make everyone happy.

 

[DisneyMomma930]

I would have to know what you paid for your 6 night hopper ticket (I am guessing around $600?) The price of the annual pass is below so proabably about $300 to upgrade one ticket. But keep in mind you can save on food and merchandise as well as the hotel. Plus you can download your photopass photos.

View attachment 392237

Interesting! Im going to see how much I paid for my ticket this year. Its all lumped into the package (resort, dining, tickets w/hoppers) for 4 people plus 1 infant. I dont think I got a breakdown of the total package amount. But it sounds like a great deal.

So....should I upgrade the first day and then I would get photopass for this current trip? Also merchandise discount as well? And then if I want to book next years trip how much of a discount is usually offered with AP, or is that just released throughout the year? Ive never done AP so its all new to me.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Interesting! Im going to see how much I paid for my ticket this year. Its all lumped into the package (resort, dining, tickets w/hoppers) for 4 people plus 1 infant. I dont think I got a breakdown of the total package amount. But it sounds like a great deal.

So....should I upgrade the first day and then I would get photopass for this current trip? Also merchandise discount as well? And then if I want to book next years trip how much of a discount is usually offered with AP, or is that just released throughout the year? Ive never done AP so its all new to me.

Yes, you could get the benefits on your trip if you upgrade the first day. But keep in mind it is only good for one year from the day you first use it. The discounts can range from 15% on values all the way up to 40% on deluxe/dvc depending on the dates. We also buy the TIW card that costs $150 but gives us 20% off of food and beverage including alcohol and since everyone in my family drinks with the exception of my lil grandtinker, we save a bunch there too.

 

[DisneyMomma930]

Yes, you could get the benefits on your trip if you upgrade the first day. But keep in mind it is only good for one year from the day you first use it. The discounts can range from 15% on values all the way up to 40% on deluxe/dvc depending on the dates. We also buy the TIW card that costs $150 but gives us 20% off of food and beverage including alcohol and since everyone in my family drinks with the exception of my lil grandtinker, we save a bunch there too.

So I would have to make sure we travel before August of next year.....ok good to know. Since we are on the dining plan it wont help with the food discount. But we are going to be buying souvenirs....especially with 3 kids and a momma who is more obsessed than any of them, that could help. Next year we would most likely do the dining plan, is it not worth it if you have an AP? So my real question is this: do I upgrade to AP to get a discount for next years trip, or just hope for a bounce back offer that includes free dining for next year? We definitely want to book deluxe if that helps.

 

[Tigger's ally]

So I would have to make sure we travel before August of next year.....ok good to know. Since we are on the dining plan it wont help with the food discount. But we are going to be buying souvenirs....especially with 3 kids and a momma who is more obsessed than any of them, that could help. Next year we would most likely do the dining plan, is it not worth it if you have an AP? So my real question is this: do I upgrade to AP to get a discount for next years trip, or just hope for a bounce back offer that includes free dining for next year? We definitely want to book deluxe if that helps.

first question- do you get photo pass for your trips? If so, with two trips the AP is paid for regardless of food/merchandise purchases.

Second question- would you also be able to take that quick getaway in the fall? If you buy the AP this trip, schedule the trip for the family before the same time next year along with a long weekend in the fall and you get three trips with the same ticket.....

We used to get the dining plan till we became AP holders. But since just get the TIW card and use it to save mainly because the dining plan was good for big eaters but not good for light eaters. And we had to pay going rate on all alcohol which was expensive. It is nothing for me and the family to spend $200 at a nice signature on drinks alone. and the TIW at least gets me $40 off of that too.

 

[DisneyMomma930]

first question- do you get photo pass for your trips? If so, with two trips the AP is paid for regardless of food/merchandise purchases.

Second question- would you also be able to take that quick getaway in the fall? If you buy the AP this trip, schedule the trip for the family before the same time next year along with a long weekend in the fall and you get three trips with the same ticket.....

We used to get the dining plan till we became AP holders. But since just get the TIW card and use it to save mainly because the dining plan was good for big eaters but not good for light eaters. And we had to pay going rate on all alcohol which was expensive. It is nothing for me and the family to spend $200 at a nice signature on drinks alone. and the TIW at least gets me $40 off of that too.

We dont do photo pass because we dont think its worth it, if we do get a photo we would buy one or two nice photos of the family. We dont buy ride photos. It would however be a nice bonus of getting the AP. So with AP you get 20% off of food? Is that for the whole table, even if only one person has the AP? We are not big drinkers, DH and I might have one or two with dinner but we have 3 children who obviously wouldnt benefit from alcohol discount. Im not sure if TIW would be worth it for us. We dont usually do signature restaurants, only 1 meal per trip and its for us adults to have a date night. This year we are doing Cali Grill as double date night with SIL/BIL for DH/BIL birthday celebration and SO excited to see the fireworks from CR.

 

[Tigger's ally]

We dont do photo pass because we dont think its worth it, if we do get a photo we would buy one or two nice photos of the family. We dont buy ride photos. It would however be a nice bonus of getting the AP. So with AP you get 20% off of food? Is that for the whole table, even if only one person has the AP? We are not big drinkers, DH and I might have one or two with dinner but we have 3 children who obviously wouldnt benefit from alcohol discount. Im not sure if TIW would be worth it for us. We dont usually do signature restaurants, only 1 meal per trip and its for us adults to have a date night. This year we are doing Cali Grill as double date night with SIL/BIL for DH/BIL birthday celebration and SO excited to see the fireworks from CR.

Yeah, I could see where TIW wouldn't be for everybody including you. We always either have 6 or 7 in our group and you get the discount for up to 10. For us, it basically pays for the tip. So if my bill is $600 at the boathouse, they add 18% tip ($108) that I would be giving anyway ( a little more for great service) and I walk away paying the $600. We eat at a lot of signatures. Try to each night. We even did this when we were on the Deluxe Dining plan as we usually just eat 2 meals a day, late breakfast/early lunch and then the signature at night. Was a great way to not get too stuffed when we got an app, entree and desert.

The normal discount for food for the AP is anywhere from 10% to 20%.

 

[DisneyMomma930]

Yeah, I could see where TIW wouldn't be for everybody including you. We always either have 6 or 7 in our group and you get the discount for up to 10. For us, it basically pays for the tip. So if my bill is $600 at the boathouse, they add 18% tip ($108) that I would be giving anyway ( a little more for great service) and I walk away paying the $600. We eat at a lot of signatures. Try to each night. We even did this when we were on the Deluxe Dining plan as we usually just eat 2 meals a day, late breakfast/early lunch and then the signature at night. Was a great way to not get too stuffed when we got an app, entree and desert.

The normal discount for food for the AP is anywhere from 10% to 20%.

So am I understanding that you use TIW even with the dining plan?

ETA: nevermind that wouldnt make sense. lol

 

[Tigger's ally]

So am I understanding that you use TIW even with the dining plan?

ETA: nevermind that wouldnt make sense. lol

no, but when the kids were younger, we got the dining plan. That was before we got AP's as well. Here is how we do it.

We go in May one year and late april the following year. Plus the wife and I usually go down for a long weekend in the fall where we just hit Epcot for F&W predominantly. After this trip we will let her AP drop as next year we are either doing Alauni or the Disney Alaska Cruise to celebrate our 35th anniversary.