When I'm planning, my first task is to decide how many days I plan to stay in the parks. Luckily for me, Disney has been giving out amazing discounts for military members for the past few years, making my first decision much easier.
Once I know how many days we'll be in the Orlando area, the next decision is where to stay.
So many options - and I've written about several of them before - but, to sum up -
How much to spend on a resort?
Go cheap and stay at an All Star or (best bet) Pop Century?
Spend a little more for a Moderate (anything but Caribbean in my opinion)
Splurge and discover the Boardwalk or Animal Kingdom Lodge (2 on my Disney Bucket List)?
Or, finally discover the Shades of Green (military resort).
Or - as we've chosen to do in January - stay off property.
When a coworker asked me about where to stay on his first trip - a trip he's planning for his son's 5th birthday, I recommended that staying on property is absolutely the way to go. The extra magical experiences can be totally worth it, especially for first trips!
Oh, decisions, decision!
Where do you start when you're planning a trip?
Thanks for stopping by!
~Jenn
I start with the resort - Pop Century, I am too frugal for a moderate resort and would rather have the money saved to buy more souvenirs! Because I am coming from the west coast of Canada, we usually go for 8 nights (7 full days 'on the ground'). For airfare we have learned that the shortest trip is worth paying extra. Sure we could get airfare with 2 or 3 stopovers taking 23 hours to get from Vancouver to Orlando. Or we can fly Alaska non-stop from Seattle to Orlando, the expensive part of the trip is flying from Vancouver to Seattle! A 26 minute flight that I usually try to 'pay' for with Alaska air-points.
ReplyDeleteThe next cost decision is deciding whether to go on a tour (we usually do) and whether to pay for a special event (MNSSHP or Christmas party), we have done both.
For the coworker's 5th birthday remind him of the barbershop at the Magic Kingdom for a fun start to the day, or the Pirate make-up also at MK. And for a treat meal (if they are not getting the dining plan) Chef Mickey's!
: )
gaylin