So after Donna and I came to the realization that being away in May wasn’t doable this year. We needed to decide when would be a good time to plan our 2014 WDW vacation. Given that our children are grown, and scattered throughout the country (and in fact the world………one of Donna’s sons works in Chile!) we have more flexibility than many families with children. What we wanted was a warm time of the year in Florida so we could use the pool at our resort, and a less crowed time of year so we could enjoy all that WDW has to offer as far as restaurants, rides, and attractions without battling large crowds. We made an interesting choice………mid-September 2014……..yeah right in the teeth of hurricane season!
The thing about our choice was, it was driven by several issues………….the first being the arrival of our grand-daughter…already explained. The second being the availability of funds to pay for a trip………always a driver in most peoples vacation decisions. Third, the expected crowd level during our stay. And lastly, the cost/type of resort we like to stay at. Out of that we came up with Sept 15 through Sept 19, 2014. I’m going to skip the issue of our new grand-daughter because those reasons are obvious and have been discussed already. So let’s start at #2.
2. Availability of funds to pay for said WDW vacation
A Disney vacation, while a wonderful experience, is usually a costlier vacation than most. This isn’t a new or shocking revelation. So when planning for WDW it’s no surprise that having time to pay is a big advantage. Our May 2013 trip was planned within 6 months, due to the spontaneity/surprise factor. My usual planning timeline is 9 to 12 months. Seems like a long time…….huh. But it’s done on purpose…….that purpose is……spreading of the payments for the trip! We book our WDW vacations through our travel agent Lisa (who just happens to live 2 houses down from us). . I could call Disney direct but our travel agent has always done right by us. I do this first because sites like Expedia or Orbitz require you to pay in full. Going through Lisa allows me to get personal, one on one service, which I like. The most important advantage is that I can book our package (sans air-fare) with just a small initial deposit. This allows me to plan payments so that the cost of the trip doesn’t smash the budget all at one time.
I booked our current vacation on Sept 28th 2013, almost a full year in advance. With this I now have access to the reservation in the “My Experience” system on the Disney website, which helps with planning. It also means I don’t have to complete my payments until roughly 45 days prior to our arrival, which means payoff day is on or around August 1st 2014, which really is the point.
3. Not having to fight the crowds
While meeting others has always been part of the ambiance of visiting WDW, if possible, both Donna and I prefer lighter crowds when we vacation. We've been to WDW during both busy and not so busy times and we've always like the lighter crowd periods.
There are some very obvious times of the year when WDW is packed like a can of anchovies…........Christmas/New Year’s comes to mind immediately. Also during Spring break periods in February and March, and any time the children are out of school (Easter and Summer time!). You also need to consider WDW specific events such as Walt Disney World Marathon weekend, the second week in January or the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, late September through Mid-November.
During the above times crowd levels can usually be expected to be higher. What this means is……..WDW hotels cost more, ride and attraction lines are longer, Dinner reservations can be harder to get. All of these issues and there are probably others……….come into play when planning. I like to have as much flexibility as possible and when crowds are largest I feel like I lose some of that flexibility.
However, during these busier times you sometimes get the very best of Disney. Christmas and New Year’s are the example. This is one of (but not the only) holidays that Disney just does RIGHT! While I’ve never visited WDW during the Christmas holiday I do have friends that have and they can’t say enough about how great it is. Another factor for many folks is visiting when the kids are out of school. Some families are just not able to visit during times when school is in session. This makes a spring break or summertime vacation a requirement. Another positive side during these busy times, the WDW parks tend to be open later to accommodate the larger crowds. So there are trade-offs with anything.
All of these factors affect the crowds you encounter. A great source for crowd level information can be found at www.touringplans.com. Please be aware there is a fee to access most information on the site, but I found it to be worth the money due to the site having much more than crowd level information.
4. The cost/type of resort you’re looking to visit
When will many times (but not always) dictate where “on property” at WDW you may stay. I say this because the cost of onsite hotels is dictated by the type of “season” you’re visiting during. “Season” from a WDW perspective is a combination of time of year, crowd level expectation, and type of WDW hotel. Disney breaks down “Season” into the following 6 groups: Note these seasons vary by type of resort.*
Value Season – The least expensive time with regards to resort costs
Peak Season – The best times with regards to kids being out of school or just before Christmas when resort costs are higher.
Regular Season – The time in between the peak seasons when kids are in school and pricing is reasonable.
Summer Season – This season is when it says it is. Resort costs fall between Peak and Regular seasons.
Fall Season – Fall season is just above Value season in terms of resort cost. It usually runs the entire fall season with the exception of Thanksgiving.
Holiday Season – The most expensive season with regards to resort cost. Season runs from mid-December through New Year’s Day.
This is where things get very personal. Without getting into “where” you stay there are a group of questions you need to ask yourself........... Are there special amenities you require? Do you have transportation requirements? Is school an issue....etc? All questions (there could be others depending on you.......) that can dictate when, where and how much in costs for you to stay on site at WDW.
Because I'm usually looking to stay at a Deluxe resort I'm usually looking at the Value, Regular, and the Fall Seasons. Another factor for us is we want warm weather, not hot, just warm. That tends to leave out January and early February because the temperatures can be unpredictable during that time. Given our situation in 2014 that left us in September through early November timeframe. This is during Value Season (for resort type we're looking at) and we got a great price for the 5 days/4 nights package we booked (we actually received a discounted price beyond the Value season cost………..again more on that later)
A final thought ..............
We choose the period from September 15th through 19th for this year’s trip. The time a year (mid-September) is right with regards to temperature but all wrong if you worry about hurricanes! I know, believe me I know! In the end it’s a chance we’re willing to take, others may not be so willing. Also this is why they created vacation insurance……right? I realize vacation insurance isn’t perfect but it does give some protection from not only weather but any other unexpected event wreaking havoc that may impact our vacation. It’s something you have to judge for yourself, what are you comfortable with?
A lot to consider here……you may want to add other issues too! This type of thought is what gets me into the resort I want for the desired period of time we have for our vacation. I’m primarily looking to get into Deluxe Resorts…….the more expensive on site hotels. In the end where you stay also comes with its own set of issues. More on that subject in my next post. NOTE: You may notice I don't address "off-site" accommodations during my discussion above. More on that later.................
* PassPorter's Walt Disney World - 2014 edition. pg. 14
The thing about our choice was, it was driven by several issues………….the first being the arrival of our grand-daughter…already explained. The second being the availability of funds to pay for a trip………always a driver in most peoples vacation decisions. Third, the expected crowd level during our stay. And lastly, the cost/type of resort we like to stay at. Out of that we came up with Sept 15 through Sept 19, 2014. I’m going to skip the issue of our new grand-daughter because those reasons are obvious and have been discussed already. So let’s start at #2.
2. Availability of funds to pay for said WDW vacation
A Disney vacation, while a wonderful experience, is usually a costlier vacation than most. This isn’t a new or shocking revelation. So when planning for WDW it’s no surprise that having time to pay is a big advantage. Our May 2013 trip was planned within 6 months, due to the spontaneity/surprise factor. My usual planning timeline is 9 to 12 months. Seems like a long time…….huh. But it’s done on purpose…….that purpose is……spreading of the payments for the trip! We book our WDW vacations through our travel agent Lisa (who just happens to live 2 houses down from us). . I could call Disney direct but our travel agent has always done right by us. I do this first because sites like Expedia or Orbitz require you to pay in full. Going through Lisa allows me to get personal, one on one service, which I like. The most important advantage is that I can book our package (sans air-fare) with just a small initial deposit. This allows me to plan payments so that the cost of the trip doesn’t smash the budget all at one time.
I booked our current vacation on Sept 28th 2013, almost a full year in advance. With this I now have access to the reservation in the “My Experience” system on the Disney website, which helps with planning. It also means I don’t have to complete my payments until roughly 45 days prior to our arrival, which means payoff day is on or around August 1st 2014, which really is the point.
3. Not having to fight the crowds
While meeting others has always been part of the ambiance of visiting WDW, if possible, both Donna and I prefer lighter crowds when we vacation. We've been to WDW during both busy and not so busy times and we've always like the lighter crowd periods.
There are some very obvious times of the year when WDW is packed like a can of anchovies…........Christmas/New Year’s comes to mind immediately. Also during Spring break periods in February and March, and any time the children are out of school (Easter and Summer time!). You also need to consider WDW specific events such as Walt Disney World Marathon weekend, the second week in January or the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, late September through Mid-November.
During the above times crowd levels can usually be expected to be higher. What this means is……..WDW hotels cost more, ride and attraction lines are longer, Dinner reservations can be harder to get. All of these issues and there are probably others……….come into play when planning. I like to have as much flexibility as possible and when crowds are largest I feel like I lose some of that flexibility.
However, during these busier times you sometimes get the very best of Disney. Christmas and New Year’s are the example. This is one of (but not the only) holidays that Disney just does RIGHT! While I’ve never visited WDW during the Christmas holiday I do have friends that have and they can’t say enough about how great it is. Another factor for many folks is visiting when the kids are out of school. Some families are just not able to visit during times when school is in session. This makes a spring break or summertime vacation a requirement. Another positive side during these busy times, the WDW parks tend to be open later to accommodate the larger crowds. So there are trade-offs with anything.
All of these factors affect the crowds you encounter. A great source for crowd level information can be found at www.touringplans.com. Please be aware there is a fee to access most information on the site, but I found it to be worth the money due to the site having much more than crowd level information.
4. The cost/type of resort you’re looking to visit
When will many times (but not always) dictate where “on property” at WDW you may stay. I say this because the cost of onsite hotels is dictated by the type of “season” you’re visiting during. “Season” from a WDW perspective is a combination of time of year, crowd level expectation, and type of WDW hotel. Disney breaks down “Season” into the following 6 groups: Note these seasons vary by type of resort.*
Value Season – The least expensive time with regards to resort costs
Peak Season – The best times with regards to kids being out of school or just before Christmas when resort costs are higher.
Regular Season – The time in between the peak seasons when kids are in school and pricing is reasonable.
Summer Season – This season is when it says it is. Resort costs fall between Peak and Regular seasons.
Fall Season – Fall season is just above Value season in terms of resort cost. It usually runs the entire fall season with the exception of Thanksgiving.
Holiday Season – The most expensive season with regards to resort cost. Season runs from mid-December through New Year’s Day.
This is where things get very personal. Without getting into “where” you stay there are a group of questions you need to ask yourself........... Are there special amenities you require? Do you have transportation requirements? Is school an issue....etc? All questions (there could be others depending on you.......) that can dictate when, where and how much in costs for you to stay on site at WDW.
Because I'm usually looking to stay at a Deluxe resort I'm usually looking at the Value, Regular, and the Fall Seasons. Another factor for us is we want warm weather, not hot, just warm. That tends to leave out January and early February because the temperatures can be unpredictable during that time. Given our situation in 2014 that left us in September through early November timeframe. This is during Value Season (for resort type we're looking at) and we got a great price for the 5 days/4 nights package we booked (we actually received a discounted price beyond the Value season cost………..again more on that later)
A final thought ..............
We choose the period from September 15th through 19th for this year’s trip. The time a year (mid-September) is right with regards to temperature but all wrong if you worry about hurricanes! I know, believe me I know! In the end it’s a chance we’re willing to take, others may not be so willing. Also this is why they created vacation insurance……right? I realize vacation insurance isn’t perfect but it does give some protection from not only weather but any other unexpected event wreaking havoc that may impact our vacation. It’s something you have to judge for yourself, what are you comfortable with?
A lot to consider here……you may want to add other issues too! This type of thought is what gets me into the resort I want for the desired period of time we have for our vacation. I’m primarily looking to get into Deluxe Resorts…….the more expensive on site hotels. In the end where you stay also comes with its own set of issues. More on that subject in my next post. NOTE: You may notice I don't address "off-site" accommodations during my discussion above. More on that later.................
* PassPorter's Walt Disney World - 2014 edition. pg. 14