First visit

[jaypee]

My family is planning to visit Disney for the first time (2 adults and 2 children aged 10 and 17)... We are planning to drive from Toronto and would appreciate it if anyone can tell us how to go about getting the best price on the park tickets and what are the best options... We are going for approx 7 days and are looking into booking a vacation rental through the owner directly... Any ideas if this is a good idea.. the property is located 1.5 miles from Disney (what does this mean in terms of travelling back and forth from the park, parking etc.)

As we have no idea what we are getting into, any advice would be sincerely appreciated.

Thank you

 

[CameraGirl]

I am hoping some others that buy tickets more often do speak up, but you can certainly check out the prices of mapleleaftickets.com or orlandofuntickets.com. ;Last year Sean and I bought from mapleleaf and we were a bit late in getting them and had them delivered right to our resort. ;Of course that cost a bit extra. ;I would say though that if you do have a Disney store around you, you may want to go ask them if they have any since they are close to the cheapest if not the cheapest.

As far as driving to Disney, you are looking at paying $14 a day at each park. ;Someone else want to back me up on that? ;But really having the luxury of jumping in the car and driving is worth it in my books. ;You don't have to wait for any buses when you are plain tired of walking. ;Also there are free trams that do pick you up at the gates of the parks and drive you close to your parking spot. ;Nice again when you are exhausted from walking.

We personally haven't rented from anyone, but I know there are lots of people who do and enjoy their experience.

If you have any other questions...ask away!!

 

[Sheila Gallant-Halloran]

Hi - I'll jump in with an opposing view. ;

I always buy tix directly from Disney (and do so for my clients too) - you're dealing with the source, can pay to upgrade onsite (even to upgrade to an annual pass if you decide you really lvoe it), and you know what you're getting. ; I've had clients horror stories about buying tix thru an intermediary, and not having what was promised delivered and/or honored.

I also discourage people from renting directly from owner - you may have a fantastic experience (and I hope you do), but I know of too many horror stories. ; Problem is - there is no quality control, and no oversight - and you never know if you're getting what you're promised, and/or the person taking your money on the other end really exists. ;

I'm not trying to scare you - just encourage you to do due diligence, and consider your options and weigh pros and cons, tread carefully.

There are lots of condos, rental properties, onsite hotels, offsite hotels, etc. that are reputable, quality controlled and regulated - in a variety of price points. ; Course, I always encourage people to stay onsite (In my 17 visits, I've stayed both on and off, and the benefits of staying on far outweigh the benefits of staying off to my mind - but others' experience may differ...) because you don't have to worry about cars, parking, transportation, can buy meal plan, can get access to extra magic hours, etc., etc. - but I also work with clients that need extra space, etc., and want to be offsite - there are many options.

Anyways - welcome to the board. ; Your Disney vacation (especially your first) is really special. ; Ask lots of questions, soak up other's experiences, and decide for yourself. ; If I can help, let me know.

Best regards,
Sheila

 

[amw]

I've rented directly from an owner at Bonnet Creek Resort in the past. It was an AMAZING trip. Bonnet Creek is essentially onsite (location wise), and you could watch the MK fireworks from the balcony. They have a full water complex with a lazy river, mini-put, beach volleyball, etc. The only thing missing at the time was plentiful onsite dining, but we had a car rental at the time so no problem.

That being said .. Here are the negatives:
- you had to have a car (they have transit to parks but I think it goes to the TTC and was once an hour)
- no magic express from airport
- parking $$ at WDW
- difficult splitting up
- there is something about having someone make your bed that feels like vacation ;

I didn't mind staying onsite last time. However, it wasn't all that magical, and the room standards cannot compare to off property (and I was staying Deluxe). What I did like was being able to take my DDs to the park on my own, while my DH was taxied for free to the golf courses. It was always easy to meet up. For that reason alone -- the ease of doing our own thing -- we are staying Disney this time. But, we are getting a car rental half way through our trip on points so that we can eat offsite. Not doing the dining plan thing, just booked a room-only with a 40% discount.

If you need info on the owner -- many others have used him after me -- let me know.

Also, I used Undercovertourist for our tickets. I posted the costs on another thread. Check out Mousesavers.com for doing Disney on the cheap. ;

Edited to add: The 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo with full granite kitchen, dining room, and pull-out leather sofa in the living room was $120 nightin April 2008 ... beat that Disney!

 

[deblen4]

It's all going to be what you personally prefer, but I've stayed off site and really prefer onsite. ;
We usually fly out of Buffalo and flights off season are so inexpensive you can hardly drive for less (we're going in January 470 Canadian funds for 3 adults, return and direct flights on Jet Blue)
I stayed at a moderate hotel offsite, well known chain and while the hotel was nice the 5 minutes they advertised to Disney actually was closer to a 30 minute drive - although the size of Disney alone means you can stay at a Disney hotel and have a 20 minute drive to a park. ;
We do Magical Express because it is truly a holiday, no driving and we can book rooms where we then have a choice of travel by monorail, boat, bus, walking, etc... No worries Disney then looks after everything. ; It's easier to take a mid-day break for a rest and pool time, and then return to the park later in the day. ; You can split up if you need to - just meet back at your room, kids if old enough can go do what they want to do and everything they need, food, tickets any charging privileges YOU give them are all on their card. ; They will deliver any items you purchase back to your hotel and many of the themed hotels have lots of activities onsite. ; And the variety of hotels onsite range greatly in price, so it doesn't have to be really expensive - or quite often there are deals like the current pay for 4 and get 3 free? ; You could also investigate renting points from a DVC member and be able to stay in a deluxe resort with a full kitchen which can really save on $$ for meals. ;
Lots of work involved investigating all of the options, but I would gather as much information as possible, compare prices and then decide what will fit you best. ; mousesavers and allearsnet are two sites that have a lot of unbiased information broken down for you. ; Good luck!