Disney - planning, preparation, tips, tricks and advice.

[Lauz666]

Has anyone stayed at both Carribbean Beach and Coronado Springs?!

2 adults, we like the thought of using the skyliner but Coronado comes out cheaper.

Really can't pick between for our next trip (hopefully sept 21 if not April 22)

 

[Danni_louu]

Has anyone stayed at both Carribbean Beach and Coronado Springs?!

2 adults, we like the thought of using the skyliner but Coronado comes out cheaper.

Really can't pick between for our next trip (hopefully sept 21 if not April 22)

I stayed in the Caribbean!

Ok so my advice

family of 4. We paid £8500. Virgin flights. Disney hotel. Passes. Transfer. Disney dining plan.

I would definitely get the Disney dining plan. It honestly made the experience so magical!

if you have children deffo do bibbity Bobbity boo. I cried non stop watching my children have there make overs.
Fast pass. Keep checking the app hourly!

so when we stayed out hotel was getting work done. We were offered to move or get $1000 onto a gift card. We got the gift card.
So if you are offered a move or money. Take the money. We would never have known about the building work atall

if I think of anything else I’ll be back xx

 

[Lauz666]

I stayed in the Caribbean!

Ok so my advice

family of 4. We paid £8500. Virgin flights. Disney hotel. Passes. Transfer. Disney dining plan.

I would definitely get the Disney dining plan. It honestly made the experience so magical!

if you have children deffo do bibbity Bobbity boo. I cried non stop watching my children have there make overs.
Fast pass. Keep checking the app hourly!

so when we stayed out hotel was getting work done. We were offered to move or get $1000 onto a gift card. We got the gift card.
So if you are offered a move or money. Take the money. We would never have known about the building work atall

if I think of anything else I’ll be back xx

Hey thanks for this!!

I do think we will be going with the Carribbean. The only rooms available are pirate rooms when I look with virgin husband thinks it's hilarious!

We got a 300 dollar gift card for doing the no housekeeping.. with that and free dining we only spent about 50 dollars of our own money at Disney in the 2 weeks when we went last year!

It does look like a reeeeeaaally big resort?! Is it easy to get around

 

[LemonPledge]

Checking in! I've been to Disney / Orlando more times than I can count so happy to help where I can!

 

[Danni_louu]

Hey thanks for this!!

I do think we will be going with the Carribbean. The only rooms available are pirate rooms when I look with virgin husband thinks it's hilarious!

We got a 300 dollar gift card for doing the no housekeeping.. with that and free dining we only spent about 50 dollars of our own money at Disney in the 2 weeks when we went last year!

It does look like a reeeeeaaally big resort?! Is it easy to get around

yeh 100%. By your room you have a pool, restaurant is pretty decent too. The pizza is amazing. Do you have children?

 

[Bitofthebubbly]

Loving this thread. Only park I’ve been to is DLP once nearly 10 years ago, wdw is the dream for us as well as Tokyo, would love to do a Disney cruise too actually if only money were no object.

We had booked to take our children to DLP back in March for 3 nights but the parks closed a few days before so obviously it didn’t happen, I was sooo sad but It can’t be helped. We’ve had our money back and are waiting to see how things pan out before booking again. I’m liking the idea of going at Christmas but it looks to be a fair bit more than what we originally paid (was a good deal tbf unlikely to get it as cheap again) and I want to see if parades and illuminations will be back on by then as they are a big part of the experience for us.

I do have one tip though for booking Disneyland Paris (not sure if it works for the other parks) that I’ve not seen mentioned (apologies if I missed it). On the official website at the top on the right there is a little flag, if you click on that you can change the country, each country has different prices and deals for DLP and a lot of people find booking through the french website for example, cheaper. Google translate will change the language into English again (the flag at the top should stay as your selected country) but the layout of the website is the same so it’s not that hard to navigate.

You won’t get ‘into trouble’ for doing this. Your documents will come in the language of your chosen country and hotel staff may assume you’re from that country upon seeing your docs at the hotel but that’s easily corrected. I’ve seen a few people save a fair bit of money booking this way, others have said the prices/offers haven’t always been better so it’s trial and error no one country has the ‘best’ prices, but I thought it worth mentioning as I’m going to try it when we make our next booking.

 

[Keiffers pipe]

Loving this thread. Only park I’ve been to is DLP once nearly 10 years ago, wdw is the dream for us as well as Tokyo, would love to do a Disney cruise too actually if only money were no object.

We had booked to take our children to DLP back in March for 3 nights but the parks closed a few days before so obviously it didn’t happen, I was sooo sad but It can’t be helped. We’ve had our money back and are waiting to see how things pan out before booking again. I’m liking the idea of going at Christmas but it looks to be a fair bit more than what we originally paid (was a good deal tbf unlikely to get it as cheap again) and I want to see if parades and illuminations will be back on by then as they are a big part of the experience for us.

I do have one tip though for booking Disneyland Paris (not sure if it works for the other parks) that I’ve not seen mentioned (apologies if I missed it). On the official website at the top on the right there is a little flag, if you click on that you can change the country, each country has different prices and deals for DLP and a lot of people find booking through the french website for example, cheaper. Google translate will change the language into English again (the flag at the top should stay as your selected country) but the layout of the website is the same so it’s not that hard to navigate.

You won’t get ‘into trouble’ for doing this. Your documents will come in the language of your chosen country and hotel staff may assume you’re from that country upon seeing your docs at the hotel but that’s easily corrected. I’ve seen a few people save a fair bit of money booking this way, others have said the prices/offers haven’t always been better so it’s trial and error no one country has the ‘best’ prices, but I thought it worth mentioning as I’m going to try it when we make our next booking.

Same with Disney world but it can be quite hard to get on the USA version and stay on it, it likes to try boot u back on to U.k at every opportunity. The USA version of free dining is better as you get higher level dining plan and quick service plan free with a value resort

 

[Lauz666]

yeh 100%. By your room you have a pool, restaurant is pretty decent too. The pizza is amazing. Do you have children?

No it's just the 2 of us me and hubby!

 

[kazizzle]

Has anyone stayed at both Carribbean Beach and Coronado Springs?!

2 adults, we like the thought of using the skyliner but Coronado comes out cheaper.

Really can't pick between for our next trip (hopefully sept 21 if not April 22)

I've stayed at both - they are really spread out resorts but they have small pools in each kind of area so if you aren't fussed about using the main pool then it wouldn't be a huge walk. My main criticism for both is that it means you can end up quite far from the main resort buildings which is where the food court, shops, and the refillable drinks machines are! I would refill my drink and have it nearly done by the time I'd walked back to my room. Otherwise both resorts are great with the theming.

 

[Lauz666]

I've stayed at both - they are really spread out resorts but they have small pools in each kind of area so if you aren't fussed about using the main pool then it wouldn't be a huge walk. My main criticism for both is that it means you can end up quite far from the main resort buildings which is where the food court, shops, and the refillable drinks machines are! I would refill my drink and have it nearly done by the time I'd walked back to my room. Otherwise both resorts are great with the theming.

Thank you! I did look at the map of Carribbean it looks like they now have refill coke machines more around the resort!

I am waiting for free dining but I doubt they will do it this year

 

[Tublet83]

Loving this thread. Only park I’ve been to is DLP once nearly 10 years ago, wdw is the dream for us as well as Tokyo, would love to do a Disney cruise too actually if only money were no object.

We had booked to take our children to DLP back in March for 3 nights but the parks closed a few days before so obviously it didn’t happen, I was sooo sad but It can’t be helped. We’ve had our money back and are waiting to see how things pan out before booking again. I’m liking the idea of going at Christmas but it looks to be a fair bit more than what we originally paid (was a good deal tbf unlikely to get it as cheap again) and I want to see if parades and illuminations will be back on by then as they are a big part of the experience for us.

I do have one tip though for booking Disneyland Paris (not sure if it works for the other parks) that I’ve not seen mentioned (apologies if I missed it). On the official website at the top on the right there is a little flag, if you click on that you can change the country, each country has different prices and deals for DLP and a lot of people find booking through the french website for example, cheaper. Google translate will change the language into English again (the flag at the top should stay as your selected country) but the layout of the website is the same so it’s not that hard to navigate.

You won’t get ‘into trouble’ for doing this. Your documents will come in the language of your chosen country and hotel staff may assume you’re from that country upon seeing your docs at the hotel but that’s easily corrected. I’ve seen a few people save a fair bit of money booking this way, others have said the prices/offers haven’t always been better so it’s trial and error no one country has the ‘best’ prices, but I thought it worth mentioning as I’m going to try it when we make our next booking.

I’ve done this twice and had no problems at all

 

[Hinchhater1442]

Hello!

I am a complete beginner, been to DLP once on a school trip when I was 15. During a visit to LA we visited Disney in Anaheim but it was only for 1 day.

we are DYING to go to Orlando for 2 weeks and do all the Disney, Epcot, etc etc but reading this makes me think I need to do a lot more research half of what everyone is talking about is like a foreign language to me...

can anyone help an absolute beginner? Best time of year to go? Where to stay? We are married, no kids, 25 & 26 years old. Both like Disney but not obsessed Thank you X

 

[Polkadot123]

Hello!

I am a complete beginner, been to DLP once on a school trip when I was 15. During a visit to LA we visited Disney in Anaheim but it was only for 1 day.

we are DYING to go to Orlando for 2 weeks and do all the Disney, Epcot, etc etc but reading this makes me think I need to do a lot more research half of what everyone is talking about is like a foreign language to me...

can anyone help an absolute beginner? Best time of year to go? Where to stay? We are married, no kids, 25 & 26 years old. Both like Disney but not obsessed Thank you X

You are similar ages to me and my partner when we first went and we are going for the 3rd time next year. If you are not 'all about the parks' I suggest staying on idrive. We always stay offsite because we like being able to leave the disney bubble for abit and do universal and other things Orlando has to offer. Idrive is great for bars and places to eat etc. You have shopping as well.
We always got ubers to the park which was so much nicer than the buses and coaches etc. I would start by looking at package deals then compare with DIY. However we have always found package deals cheaper and I like having everything in one place just makes it easier.
You do need to plan and research but everything is easy to find out. Things like the fast passes etc and booking dining, magic bands and all that. It's all online.
But best start pount to do is, budget, length of holiday and what you want to get out of it. I. E. Do you want to do a park everyday or see more of Orlando and florida.

 

[Lauz666]

Morning guys
Some news from Disney attached
Meal resvervations, Dining plans and fast passes cancelled

 

[JLXRD]

Cancelling my October trip because this is the nail in the coffin tbh feel lucky i went in November. Thinking of rescheduling to Sept 2021 but it's so hard not knowing whether they will reintroduce the ddp. Also... you can go on the disney world website and book right now for next year so ate they only stopping booking for the rest of 2020 too at the min?

 

[samcantfindit]

Hey guys! Just popping in as I didn’t realise this thread even existed. I’ve been lucky enough to go to Tokyo Disney, Disneyland, WDW, Hong Kong Disney and DLR so if anyone does have any questions I’d be happy to answer anything you have. I’ve only done the quick service dining plan once and haven’t really done much table service dining in WDW as in previous times that hasn’t been my thing but if there’s anything I can help with let me know!

 

[kazizzle]

We always got ubers to the park which was so much nicer than the buses and coaches etc.

100% agree that ubering to the parks is the best option if you stay offsite. One place I stayed the shuttle buses were sometimes overbooked in the mornings so we would end up booking an uber, and the last bus back was at 9:30pm so it was impossible really to do any of the night time shows and still make the bus back. My top tip for this is, as long as the queues are manageable, to jump on a resort bus from whatever park you're at to a resort near the front of Disney, for example one of the Port Orleans resorts, and then book your Uber to pick up from there. Disney is huge so it saves you a bit of cash on the Uber fare. If you're at Magic Kingdom and the queues for the buses are huge you can walk to the Contemporary and book your Uber from there. For coming in if you aren't in a huge rush you could Uber to Epcot and then jump on a bus to whatever park you actually want to go to.

 

[DCIGeneHunt]

So jealous of people going to Florida! I have a huge fear of flying from flying to Florida as a teen and the plane being hit by lighting! However I have been to Disney Paris every year since 2013, next there for my birthday in December at the Newport bay

I’ve looked at DLP quite a few times over the past few years.. I’ve been twice but years ago.. it just seems SO expensive for a few day’s... any tips
for getting a bargain? With it being so close it should be a good way to get a good Disney Parks fix but can’t justify the price!

Book when it’s the free half board dining deal, if you book the restaurants in advance then you can have a late breakfast (it’s continental) take some bread etc in your bag with you from brekkie for lunch and then a three course meal for tea, also there is particular weeks at dlp when it is cheaper, if you stay at sequoia lodge then breakfast is included as well. Personally I wouldn’t bother with the lower priced hotels then sequoia as you won’t get the free food, and food is expensive in the parks!

if you get Eurostar from kings cross and go via Paris it’s easy enough and a lot cheaper than direct trains.

 

[Gigglywink]

Cancelling my October trip because this is the nail in the coffin tbh feel lucky i went in November. Thinking of rescheduling to Sept 2021 but it's so hard not knowing whether they will reintroduce the ddp. Also... you can go on the disney world website and book right now for next year so ate they only stopping booking for the rest of 2020 too at the min?

This whole thing has caused so much confusion! First of all a site said ‘through end Sept 2021’ then Disney site has no date, then ‘end of 2020’ Some speculating it’s not for international travellers, some saying 35% discount is only for USA Websites, forums, Twitter are all going crazy and that’s causing so much upset, confusion and anger...

To be very honest I am glad we aren’t going to WDW this year. We booked LA for August and moved that back to October - worst case scenario for us is we only get to book 1 day in Disneyland park but get to explore the rest of LA so all isn’t lost for us - just have to wait and see with flights etc as possibly have to move them again...

IF we had booked for WDW we wouldn’t be going now - no brainer. Yes we’d wait to see what our options were but we wouldn’t be going to have a half arsed holiday and pay thousands for it. I feel so sad for anyone who has a booking and doesn’t know what to do

 

[Toffee finger]

So jealous of people going to Florida! I have a huge fear of flying from flying to Florida as a teen and the plane being hit by lighting! However I have been to Disney Paris every year since 2013, next there for my birthday in December at the Newport bay

We stayed at Newport Bay last year and I loved it, such a pretty hotel!