Where to start????

[PFDisney]

Here i am... first day of Disney Planning for next spring... where do I start?? I haven't been since i was a kid - (27 YEARS AGO!!!).... Where to stay? OMG - so much stuff to figure out.. My children will be 4 (girl) and 6 (boy)...
Looking for a place to stay that has a separet room for Parents (suite like)...
Also, how do I book through?? Travel agent? Online 3rd Party or Disney directly???

Seeeee... lots of questions, and want to get the best deal out there!! (Who doesnt?)

I'll bee on here a lot!!! Looking forward to sharing this Journey with you!

[arkvilla]

Hi and welcome to Secrets.

How great to be taking your own children after not having visited for so long - you are going to have such a great time.

I can't help you with the on site accomodation but there's lots of people on here who can.

You have plenty of time to do research so don't panic - ask lots of questions and we'll do our best to help

With regards to booking some people like to book a package holiday, I personally like to book everything myself, flights, acomodation, park tickets etc

Where about are you travelling from?

Sandra

[MystikPiglit]

You could begin by deciding whether to stay on-site or off. Then have a look at the WDW website for details of the resorts, if you choose on-site. Then you could use info from here to narrow down your choice.
Once you've decided on hotel/ transport/ tickets etc get prices from a travel agent, wdw website, travel companies for comparison.
Happy planning!

[Wendy]

Hi and welcome to Secrets

As the others have said, start making a list and then tick off each one as you make a decision

It's all part of the fun, planning your trip and if you need any help at all, then please ask away and someone will know the answer and be able to help you.

[robertcraig]

Hi and welcome to secrets YOU can either book through a travel agent who will give you best advice.I always book each part of the holiday individualysuch as flights, car hire, resorts ,tickets.there is a lot of info on the web and also great fun doing it

[foreverducky]

Hi and welcome!

Planning can be so much fun!

I prefer to stay onsite. If you decide to stay onsite then it's sitting down and figuring out how much you want to spend on hotel, this would help you to narrow down which type of Disney hotel (value, moderate, deluxe).

I tend to make plans around the parks based on my food reservations and extra magic hours (a perk of staying onsite).

[shimmerplanet]

Hi - I'm new too! I'm planning our trip for December and was 100% completely overwhelmed when I started looking at all the options. The only thing I was positive of was that I knew that I wanted us to stay onsite. I wanted the entire "experience" of Disney as my kids are 12 & 7 and I really don't know when we'll go back. I can say it's much more cost efficient to stay off - site and there are plenty of folks on here with time shares and places to "borrow" for your stay. If you want to stay onsite, then just start looking at the different resorts online. I spent about a week just reviewing the different resorts, picked my favorite 10, then whittled it down from there. It took a few days to compare and determine what would be fun/awesome/amazing for all of us...and did I really want to pay to stay at the incredible Polynesian when I could stay at the fantastic Coronado Springs and save the money difference for fun?!! I contacted a travel agent and I'm glad I did she was about $2k cheaper than if I had done it online myself. BUT, know going in what you would pay if you did it yourself so you'll know in advance if that's better for your family. Some things I've learned:
1. Do the dining plan.
2. Get the Park Hopper tickets. It will allow you to go from Park to Park or leave & return if your children get overtired and need to go back to the room.
3. Ask LOTS of questions, everyone here is so friendly and shares their experiences and knowledge freely.

If it becomes overwhelming, stop. I was so involved about this vacation that I would lay awake researching things on my phone until after midnight and then dream about mouse ears with dollar signs over them chasing me. I soon realized I was stressing myself and taking all the fun out of the most fun place ever.

Enjoy this part too, the excitement is amazing. Good luck!

[WDW Vet]

First it's onsite vs off. It looks like your leaning to onsite. Also when to go should be considered as well. Spring has peak season and regular season rates. We'll use 2011 dates and rates as an example

Staying at the Coronado these are the dates per season.
Peak Season February 17 - 26, March 11 - April 30 weekday rate is $195/ night
Regular Season February 27 - March 10, May 1 - June 2 is $170/ night

Now besides costing more per night there are other pros and cons. Disney charges more for peak season because of supply and demand. That time of year in the US we have "spring break" and many people plan trips during that time because the kids are out of school and the weather is beautiful. So WDW is much more crowded. Now Disney will staff attractions and have them running 100% capacity as they will for transportation with more buses and an extra monorail on the loops. But lines are still long at attractions. Also crowds effect restaurants and even with ADRs you will wait longer.

Regular season the crowds are much thinner. It is a bit warmer but the humidity hasn't really kicked in. Stay away from Mother's Day as that weekend many locals treat Mom with a day visit to the Disney parks. Park hours tend to go back to regular hours but using the Extended Magic Hours you can compensate. You need to watch to see if the fireworks at both Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom are scheduled as well as if the Main Stree Electrical parade. So itinerary planning is crucial.

I hope that helps. Please feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions or need additional information