Who's already planning for 2017 or 2018

OK, so I talked to DS who had a great time when we went for the "Boys Weekend" in December of 2016, and he wanted to go again for another weekend this year, 2017. Veteran's Day Weekend fits into our plans without him losing any school time. I checked with my Magical Vacation Planner, and she came up with a great deal for the weekend. Pretty hard to pass up, so I booked the weekend for him and I. Now for the tough part. Trying to get this passed through the DW!!!! She wasn't too found of us being that far away from home. She doesn't want to go. Needs some time off from the Magic. Plus we're planning a big friends trip for the kids graduation in 2019. The good thing is that I can still cancel the trip and get a full refund. It's not going to be easy to get this one passed! :scared:
 
I've started some planning but there's not much to do until Disney opens up the 2018 resort booking.
 
I've started some planning but there's not much to do until Disney opens up the 2018 resort booking.
And you still have some time. In my case, since I have my dates set, I put together a preliminary plan of which park we'll do on which day, and I am trying to work out where to make ADRs, so I will be ready when we are 180 days out. I have over 2 months, but getting DH to focus on this has been challenging.
 
I am in planning mode, well anticipating booking mode!

There will be 5 of us going, August 2018. DH, myself and our 3 kids who will be 17, 14 and 12. I told DH we are celebrating him turning 50 that year too and he is cringing! I told him I am hoping for pixie dust. We got engaged at the Poly in 1999 and we went up to the desk to ask a question and the CM commented on my shiny new ring and I said I just got it, she answered my question and we walked away. So he really is turning 50 so I will make note of it and make him wear a friggin button, lol!!

Airfare, I will book in September or Jan/feb. I forget when jet blue releases for the summer (I know in July I will be booking for April when we go see my sister in Ft. Myers). So that should easily be paid off well before we go!

Food-don't do dining, not worth it for my family. I try to stay on top of food costs of places we like to frequent. Last time we went I said $40/meal for the 5 of us and I stayed with in budget except our 2 TS which I planned ahead of time. I don't buy soda at meals, we drink our water kept in the thermos containers. That alone can save $10-$15/meal. We buy the mugs and on pool days if my family wants to drink soda or Powerade all day...go for it! I bring breakfast-oatmeal, cereal, pop tarts, bagels, muffins. I have most of my food budget saved as I have upped the price I need per day (we last went in 2013 and my kids ate off the kids menu and were satisfied). So I am thinking between $55-60/meal or $120/day which does not include our 1-2 TS we will eat at. I have $1000 in free Disney gift cards and $550+ on the Disney visa which I am sure will be in the $600s before we go. My goal is $2000 in 'free' money and I have almost $100 on one site and $25 on another to cash out. That money also includes the mugs, snacks and the little crap we buy to take home.

Room and tickets are my issue. I am not sure what to do. Notice my penny pinching...weLL we stay at the Polynesian, lol! The last time I booked with the agency that gave us a free water park day and saved some $$$ on the room, well quite a bit more then any other discount I have ever had. I have $1000 in cash saved so far (Birthday, anniversary, Mother's Day, Christmas money, loose change between DH and I) which will get me ?? 2 nights+ but my goal is 10 nights. But I would love to stay DVC for the 2 showers and possibly cheaper price. The only issues are will we get a DVC room at the Poly on the dates we want and the fact that my DH likes clean towels daily. I could care less if my kids sleep on the sofa bed/pull out...after all DH and I are paying! Park tickets-I only get a 5 day park hopper. As much as I'd love to go to a park more often, I need my down days. My kids need their down days too since we leave our room by 7-7:15 in the am, return for a mid day break and then back at night. I don't think my kids will nap this trip! But my DH will so I can sit by the pool with them. I only do park day 2 days in a row and then I am toast!

So that is my planning, lol! Oh and my sister and her 2 kids are coming but only for 5-6 days as they have a dog, a rescue and it's a bit skittish with new people. My other sister lives in FL and we need to figure out what do do with her. We can add she and my BiL to my sisters room so they can enjoy the pool with us if need be. But my mother...not sure where she will be in over a year. She has dementia, the dementia that she forgets she has dementia, sundowns at night and can't recall yelling at us in the morning. She still lives at home, hates her caregiver who is there for about 4 hrs each day and has a love hate relationship with her 'boufriend'. We took her to FL in April to my sisters but she it getting more difficult behavior wise as well as ambulatory wise. I don't know if she will be in a nursing home or if my FL sister will want he really to come and she will take her and if she does, that is one too many people to add to my sisters room.

Too many things...
 


We just got back from a great stay at BCV and we are already planning a 2018 trip! Tentative, yet prettty firm dates are 5/26-6/2. Split stay between AKV and VWL(BRV). This will be mostly a resort only trip with only a couple of park days. Mostly pool and down time. We also want to check out Disney springs. We are looking at potentially buying into DVC and want to check out a couple more resorts before making our final decision.

Well...we have decided to not buy DVC. We sat down and had a family discussion, and it was unanimous that we would rather vacation other places and come to Disney for a BIG trip only every 2-3 years (I may work a short trip in here and there though, lol). So with that, it works out better for us to either rent points or rent a room through Disney.

We have decided to wait until 2019 for another trip. My husband wants to wait until Star Wars land is open as he is a big Star Wars fan. So...we wait for an opening announcement and plan from there. I really want to go on our Spring Break again in 2019 as the weather was AWESOME. But, I doubt SW is open by then. Boooo, lol. Sigh...and the wait begins. Somebody holla when we have a 2019 thread!
 
Planning our BIG family (15 people, 10 adults, 2 kids six and four, 2 kids 3 and under) trip for Feb 11-17, 2018. Haven't figured out where to stay just yet, we want to stay on property and money isn't an issue. Family wants the deluxe dining plan while think we don't really need it as most of are snackers and usually only eat 2 meals a day. We are trying to make it where we can utilize my dad's military discount and save some money. Planning for 4 day park hopper and 1 day park to park at Universal.
I am open to any and all suggestions. I need some help!
 
Hi! We're planning a late feb / early march trip. Not 100% sure on the dates. This is our first trip to Disney. I don't even know where to start!!! We're planning on staying on-site. Gotten a lot of tips / advice from good friends who have been before, but I'm so torn on which resort we want to stay at. I'm leaning towards Pop Century but toying with the idea of spending a little extra money on a moderate. My daughter will be just shy of 4 when we go. Any thoughts or input would be appreciated!

I have only stayed at a moderate so I can not really compare it to the values. But here are two things to think about to help you choose between a moderate and a value.

Since your DD is young - this would be the time to do a value resort just for the fun Disney theming - Little Mermaid or All Star Movies would be ones she might really like. I did tour All Star Movies once and the different statues and things around the resort were cute and fun. So, you can save some money and your DD might really like it. Plus, since your DD is small and there are only three of you in the room, the smaller room would not feel as cramped as it might when you DD is older, like a preteen or teenager.

Moderates are a good choice because they give you a little bigger room and the theming is really nice with beautiful floral and green scenery. The pools have small water slides that might appeal to you, your hubby and DD. The moderates might give you a little more relaxed feeling than the values which might be what you want after a long day in the parks.

At this point in my life and with the age of my kids, now 14 and 20, the moderates tend to be the best option for us. But I always start to plan out a value resort first but end up switching to a moderate one when a discount comes out. I know my DD would have loved the Little Mermaid rooms and All Star Movies or POP when she was younger. My kids might actually enjoy them now too. I just think about the smaller room size and typically go with the moderate with the discount.

I am starting to plan a 2018 trip and have the same decision to make. Right now I am leaning towards PORFQ but you never know where I will end up. I have stayed at Coronado Springs, PORFQ and Caribbean Beach previously.

End of January is so tempting because of the prices, but we live in the northeast and it's tough to bank on the weather. We sent my mother down to Florida last year for a week vacation to visit her parents (they are snowbirds) and she missed three days of her trip because we got a huge snow storm on the day she was planning to leave. She was so upset and we lost so much money because we had to reschedule her flights (I will never NOT buy travel insurance again!!!)

We're still at risk of snow in late feb / early march but it's much less likely... I was reallllly hoping to be down there for her 4th birthday (march 25th) but I want to avoid spring break crowds as much as possible. Such a balance!!!!!

Like you, I am thinking about an early January trip but am concerned about traveling with winter weather. I agree it is a good idea to get the travel insurance if you are traveling during a time when weather can be a big factor in your trip.
 


We are planning on going late January 2018, our dates are Jan 19 - 28. Trying to decide where to stay! I can't figure out which is better at AKL, Jambo House or Kidani Village. Anyone have any insite? We are also staying 1 night at Boulder Ridge in September! We are driving from Hilton Head and spending 2 shorter days in the parks! Excited for that too! I just can get enough Disney!! hahahahahhaa!
 
We are planning on going late January 2018, our dates are Jan 19 - 28. Trying to decide where to stay! I can't figure out which is better at AKL, Jambo House or Kidani Village. Anyone have any insight? We are also staying 1 night at Boulder Ridge in September! We are driving from Hilton Head and spending 2 shorter days in the parks! Excited for that too! I just can get enough Disney!! hahahahahhaa!

Our last trip was AKL. We stayed at Jambo and absolutely loved it. Breakfast at Boma was an awesome way to start each day. The pool was awesome, and we had a pool view room. As far as the savannas go, i am not sure which ones are better, but we could see a lot from the Jambo house viewing paths.

All in all i loved Jambo house. I dont have any experience on Kidani. I know Kidani is DVC and has all the perks that go with that, but it wasnt enough of a draw for us at least to get us over there instead of Jambo. Now for the bad(ish) part. All travel is by bus, and is a good trek. Both Jambo and Kidani share a bus, with Kidani getting picked up and dropped off first. This was the major reason we are going with Poly this time. To some it isnt a big deal, but to us it was pretty inconvenient last August.

You really cant go wrong with either
 
Our last trip was AKL. We stayed at Jambo and absolutely loved it. Breakfast at Boma was an awesome way to start each day. The pool was awesome, and we had a pool view room. As far as the savannas go, i am not sure which ones are better, but we could see a lot from the Jambo house viewing paths.

All in all i loved Jambo house. I dont have any experience on Kidani. I know Kidani is DVC and has all the perks that go with that, but it wasnt enough of a draw for us at least to get us over there instead of Jambo. Now for the bad(ish) part. All travel is by bus, and is a good trek. Both Jambo and Kidani share a bus, with Kidani getting picked up and dropped off first. This was the major reason we are going with Poly this time. To some it isnt a big deal, but to us it was pretty inconvenient last August.

You really cant go wrong with either

Yeah, we decided to keep our Poly reservation and not switch to AKL! We still have little ones they are 4 & 6 and will have a double stroller so the thought of folding and unfolding every time is awful!! So We will wait and try AKL in a couple years when we dont need the stroller!
 
this will be our first time at Poly. Our first time at any monorail resort actually. First trip we stayed at AoA, then AKL, and now Poly. Not leaving a lot of room to go up from there.
 
yeah i think because the real planning now starts, and you realize you have so much to do, and time runs out fast.
 
Is it best to book now (that they are available) for a Jan 2018 trip or wait until they release any promos/deals? Help? :)
 
you can always get the promos/deals applied when they become available. you just have to call in and ask they be applied to your account. we do that every time we go. Normally our price drops by about 1500-2k from initial booking about a year out, to final payoff time.
 
Is it best to book now (that they are available) for a Jan 2018 trip or wait until they release any promos/deals? Help? :)

People will tell you different things. Some will say go ahead and book now, especially if you are planning on going near the holidays and want a resort that sells out fast. These people will tell you to call back and have the discount applied to your reservation when it comes out but you need to do so as soon as it comes out or you may not get it. You might have to drop your reservation and make a new one, though many people are able to apply the discount without doing so. It just depends.

Other people will say wait and book later in the hopes that Disney will see they are not booking rooms and so Disney will offer the discount. I tend to do this. I do not go very often though but when I do, I wait for the discount to open. But I am constantly watching the Dis boards and know exactly what resort I want and the dates so that when an offer comes up I can jump on it quickly. Because the offers have a limited number of rooms available and if you wait too long you will miss the offer.
 
Thank you so much for the info!
I've never gone this route, we usually always wait to book and do the free dining in the fall.
Aiming towards Jan or Feb 2018 this time. A whole different trip for us, never been there during the winter.
I'm not familiar with the promos or what to expect so trying to study up!
Any word on the Pro Bowl (1/28/18)? Will that cause a lot of crowds? The prediction calendars aren't showing that but I don't know if they are maybe just not factoring it?
 
Any word on the Pro Bowl (1/28/18)? Will that cause a lot of crowds? The prediction calendars aren't showing that but I don't know if they are maybe just not factoring it?
Holey Moley! I didn't think about that! Thank goodness DH only watches college football :crazy: I am guessing that it shouldn't affect the crowds at Disney much, but it may have an affect on people driving into and out of Orlando that weekend. The stadium is north of the international airport, which is north of WDW, so it may not affect traffic near the World. But I am just guessing, since I was not around last year when the Pro Bowl was in Orlando as well.
But that is the day we are leaving, so I may try to talk DH into extending. :rotfl2:
 

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