Options For Disney

[Jamie]

Thanks for all of the information. We've decided on the Animal Kingdom Lodge - Standard room. The problem, for me, with Swalphin is the parking fee and resort fee. That adds up for us. So, 10,000 points plus ~$36/day.
We were considering Coronado and POFQ per Haley's recommendation, but decided to just go for AKL.
How is parking at Disney? Any tricks, other than get there early?
@thepaul500 - I did know it was Disney Marathon weekend. I didn't know what the implications of that would be, other than that it would certainly add all of the marathoners and their companions to the crowd levels. Interesting that the crowds should thin later in the day.

 

[Haley]

There are after parties for the Marathon and many people just come and run and then relax at the resorts. I'm always surprised at how little impact there is on crowds- however man do the onsite rooms get booked up!

Parking, I am guessing to and from parks. Arrive early, that always the best bet for all things Disney. Even when pretty far back in the lot Disney's system works well. The exception is for the MK where even coming from the AKL the bus might be faster. Another option is to use a taxi, have them drop you off at the Contemporary and then walk over. I budget $20 for cab fare. I'm actually a huge fan of using cabs at WDW, best of both worlds- fast and not having to drive myself!

 

[DanT]

I would not have used points if I were going to Swan or Dolphin because of the price. I see standard rooms at Dolphin are $149 a night that week although I did not think about parking fees since we never have a car when we are there.

As to crowds, my observation is that a lot of people tend not to show up until 1-2 hours after park opening and night time is the worst. I get the sense that a lot of locals show up then. I always was there one time during a marathon and didn't notice a difference except the traffic around downtown disney,ahem disney springs, was a nightmare.

 

[Jamie]

I would not have used points if I were going to Swan or Dolphin because of the price. I see standard rooms at Dolphin are $149 a night that week although I did not think about parking fees since we never have a car when we are there.

As to crowds, my observation is that a lot of people tend not to show up until 1-2 hours after park opening and night time is the worst. I get the sense that a lot of locals show up then. I always was there one time during a marathon and didn't notice a difference except the traffic around downtown disney,ahem disney springs, was a nightmare.

Yes - it would make more sense to pay money for Swan/Dolphin. The rates are not any lower than the Disney properties, though, and I guess I just felt like I'd lean towards staying at a Disney property if all other things were equal. I like having the option of paying any room charges with Disney Gift Cards. The parking/resort fees put it over the top.

I can't get used to Downtown Disney being "Disney Springs". I wonder why they made that change. I guess it seems more family friendly, but it also sounds less interesting.

Do you feel like the night time is very busy even during the week? I'm surprised that locals come down on a Wednesday night, but then... it is Disney.

 

[DanT]

Yes even during the week it gets busier at night. At least that has been my personal experience. Maybe in the winter months its not as bad. Who wants to go when its cold? Guess I'll find out we'll be there same week as you. I know that annual passholders(AP) have become a little bit of a problem for Disney now that the parks are so busy. They jacked up the AP rates in October especially for Disneyland. I am sure not as many locals show up during the week as on the weekend but they still seem to come during the week. If the crowding continues I wonder if they don't consider putting some restrictions on AP holders.

I agree on the Disney Springs thing. Makes it sound like some type of retirement community. Downtown Disney was more descriptive. I guess they felt they wanted to change the name with the big ongoing renovation but the name they came up with is so bland.

 

[Beltway Explorers]

This is a bit of a cross-post from the hotel thread, but if anyone decides on the Dolphin, the AmEx off for $50 off $250 at Sheraton hotels works there. I had to pay a one night deposit when I booked so even though the offer expires 12/31/15, you should be able to get it on your deposit.

 

[Jamie]

This is a bit of a cross-post from the hotel thread, but if anyone decides on the Dolphin, the AmEx off for $50 off $250 at Sheraton hotels works there. I had to pay a one night deposit when I booked so even though the offer expires 12/31/15, you should be able to get it on your deposit.

Do you have a link to the "hotels thread"? I'm assuming you mean a thread about Disney hotels. I've seen it mentioned before, but I haven't been able to find it. Thanks!

 

[Beltway Explorers]

Do you have a link to the "hotels thread"? I'm assuming you mean a thread about Disney hotels. I've seen it mentioned before, but I haven't been able to find it. Thanks!

Just sent you a PM, Jamie.

 

[SCbargain]

Lot on Information here, awesome!!
I'm trying to accumulate some points to make our upcoming 8 days (08/2016) Disney vacation as affordable as possible. Already bought park tickets from Undercover. Probably will stay at POP using Citi Thankyou. We've have about 90K points in BarclaysArrvial and I read somewhere that would partially cover food/in park purchases. As I see, Disney theme parks are exluded from 'travel' category in barclays. So, I'm not sure how to use my barclays points to cover food purchases in Disney. Can someone help, please.

 

[shoppergirl]

Lot on Information here, awesome!!
I'm trying to accumulate some points to make our upcoming 8 days (08/2016) Disney vacation as affordable as possible. Already bought park tickets from Undercover. Probably will stay at POP using Citi Thankyou. We've have about 90K points in BarclaysArrvial and I read somewhere that would partially cover food/in park purchases. As I see, Disney theme parks are exluded from 'travel' category in barclays. So, I'm not sure how to use my barclays points to cover food purchases in Disney. Can someone help, please.

Charge everything you can to your magic band. Then it will charge to your hotel. You can then redeem arrival points. Also, you can let your cc be billed, last day go and pay with Disney gc's and still be able to redeem arrival points. I've done this multiple times and it works.

 

[SCbargain]

Thank you. Great tip.

That means, only the theme park tickets are excluded from Arrival's redemption but all disney resorts/hotels are still eligible for Arrival's Redemption ?
Also, if I keep charge everything to magic band, my CC will be charged only once for the total of all individual charges when I check-out the hotel ? If so, the $100 minimum is not an issue.

I could not fully understand "Also, you can let your cc be billed, last day go and pay with Disney gc's and still be able to redeem arrival points". Can you make it more detail.

Appreciate it.

Charge everything you can to your magic band. Then it will charge to your hotel. You can then redeem arrival points. Also, you can let your cc be billed, last day go and pay with Disney gc's and still be able to redeem arrival points. I've done this multiple times and it works.

 

[shoppergirl]

Thank you. Great tip.

That means, only the theme park tickets are excluded from Arrival's redemption but all disney resorts/hotels are still eligible for Arrival's Redemption ?
Also, if I keep charge everything to magic band, my CC will be charged only once for the total of all individual charges when I check-out the hotel ? If so, the $100 minimum is not an issue.

I could not fully understand "Also, you can let your cc be billed, last day go and pay with Disney gc's and still be able to redeem arrival points". Can you make it more detail.

Appreciate it.

You make your Barclay Arrival card your credit card on file. Charge everything to your magic band. Then, your last day Disney will be your Arrival card. It will post as a hotel stay. Then, if you've taken advantage of buying discounted Disney cards, you can go to the Concierge the last day and pay with your Disney gift cards. Your Barclay card will be credited. Even though the Barclay card gets credited, the charge will still remain a valid "travel spend" that you have 120 days to redeem for cash back.

 

[SCbargain]

Got it. Thanks for clarifying it.

You make your Barclay Arrival card your credit card on file. Charge everything to your magic band. Then, your last day Disney will be your Arrival card. It will post as a hotel stay. Then, if you've taken advantage of buying discounted Disney cards, you can go to the Concierge the last day and pay with your Disney gift cards. Your Barclay card will be credited. Even though the Barclay card gets credited, the charge will still remain a valid "travel spend" that you have 120 days to redeem for cash back.

 

[Jia]

These are great tips that have been shared. I'm planning a trip for April/May of 2017. We still haven't decided on exact dates. I'm planning for a large my group. My family (9 of us including my parents, in-laws and sister), and my best friends family (4), which makes a total of 13 of us. There will be 4 kids 3 girls (Ages 6,5,2.5) and 1 boy age 10. I would like for us to stay in Disney with rooms next to eachother. I'm very interested in renting DVC points because its so much cheaper, but am concerned bc I don't get to book it with Disney myself. Would you suggest renting DVC points or actually booking through Disney?

 

[PWMTrav]

These are great tips that have been shared. I'm planning a trip for April/May of 2017. We still haven't decided on exact dates. I'm planning for a large my group. My family (9 of us including my parents, in-laws and sister), and my best friends family (4), which makes a total of 13 of us. There will be 4 kids 3 girls (Ages 6,5,2.5) and 1 boy age 10. I would like for us to stay in Disney with rooms next to eachother. I'm very interested in renting DVC points because its so much cheaper, but am concerned bc I don't get to book it with Disney myself. Would you suggest renting DVC points or actually booking through Disney?

It's all going to come down to preferences, but when we went this past February, I booked my hotel through Orbitz - at the time, the upromise cash back portal had a 15% off coupon with 2% cash back through the portal and another 5% on the upromise card. They tend to honor Disney's discounted/promo rates, so the 15% off (capped at $150) was on top of that. The tip I'll give with Orbitz is that they incorrectly add fees for children in the room when it adds up to more than 2 people in the room. If you book with them, book just your 2 adults, then chat or call Orbitz to add the child. They know the drill - they will ask the child's name and age, and call Disney to add to the room. You won't get additional person fees added.

If you book your additional rooms separately, you could use that coupon more than once. That will likely add up to more savings than renting DVC points unless you plan to cram everyone into a 2BR villa. You can always add the request to have rooms near each other, but honestly if you don't, it's not a big deal.

 

[Jia]

I will definitely check Orbitz. I didn't realize you can book Disney resort through them. I definitely prefer a moderate or deluxe resort as this will be the first time that we are really splurging. Just want ttrying to get a great deal.

 

[Beltway Explorers]

I have a question regarding the Disney Vacation Account savings. I cashed out $300 for a trip in December 2015. Can I extend that goal deadline and add $700 to get to the $1,000 minimum for the $20 bonus or do I have to start over with a new goal and hit a full $1,000 during the cash out?

 

[Josh F]

I have a question regarding the Disney Vacation Account savings. I cashed out $300 for a trip in December 2015. Can I extend that goal deadline and add $700 to get to the $1,000 minimum for the $20 bonus or do I have to start over with a new goal and hit a full $1,000 during the cash out?

My understanding is that it's completely independent of the goals anyhow. Although I haven't saved enough (yet] to confirm that.

 

[Burgertm]

I have a question regarding the Disney Vacation Account savings. I cashed out $300 for a trip in December 2015. Can I extend that goal deadline and add $700 to get to the $1,000 minimum for the $20 bonus or do I have to start over with a new goal and hit a full $1,000 during the cash out?

Goals are just arbitrary amounts within the Disney Savings account. You can change them at any time.

 

[projectx]

Does anyone know how Chase codes Disney? Hoping that it qualifies as travel for the CSR.

 

[Glenn]

Does anyone know how Chase codes Disney? Hoping that it qualifies as travel for the CSR.

I don't know but if you're staying at a Disneyland Hotel, the above suggestions--use your wrist band to pay at Disney World, or charge to your room key whenever possible at Disneyland, would get your park charges to code as hotel stay which WOULD be covered.

I assume you could also buy your tickets through somebody like Orbitz and it would code as travel.

Sounds like if you buy your tickets by making contributions to a Disney Vacation Savings Account, that also codes as travel. It does for Arrival+ anyway, though that's a MasterCard...

 

[Glenn]

Knocked off $200 each for the Wife & I getting the $200 back on $500 Chase Disney card for each of us. The Disney GC arrived within a week or two of the statement closing with $500 spend done. Better than a sharp stick in the eye. And the Disney card is not under 5/24 currently in case you weren't aware.

 

[shawngold]

You may visit Orlando for the disney vacations.I spend 15 days in Orlando hire Vacation Rentals and enjoy disney vacation there.

 

[Glenn]

If you've got Amex Cards, check them for the latest offers. $20 off $100 at Office Max is 20% off. $30 off $150 at Lowe's is 20% off. Both sell Disney Gift Cards in my area. Pool them via a Disney Vacation Savings account and use them to pay for tickets or whatever. Or just carry around a bunch of GCs if you run out of time.

 

[Glenn]

Does anyone know how Chase codes Disney? Hoping that it qualifies as travel for the CSR.

What do you mean by "Disney". A payment to a Disney hotel is travel. A payment to Disney Vacation Savings is not--it coded as "Online, Mail, or Telephone transaction" on my Chase Disney VISA.