Walt Disney World

[Brianfo]

My wife and I will be taking 2 small children to Walt Disney World in Florida in 2 weeks. I get to go as a bonus thru my work. We are staying at the Hilton. My question is what is the weather like down there in January? Any good ideas on what to see and do with twins that are 2 years old? I am kind of looking forward to it. A chance to get out of Iowa in January. Oh well, enought blabbing. Any responses are greatly appreciated.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat

My sister and my dad are DVC members and I have stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and The Boardwalk.

AKL was cool because of the balcony and all the zoo animals (zebras, giraffes, etc.) you can watch. But if your room is towards the back of the hotel then you have to walk FOREVER to get to it as you make your way around the animal enclosure. This really sucks when you get back from the park after walking 10 miles during the day and now you have to walk in your hotel room. This hotel is also quite a ways away from the parks so they have long bus rides.

The Boardwalk was my favorite by far. You can walk to Epcot and Disney Studios. If you have a park hopper pass, then you can walk through Epcot over to the monorails. There is a nightclub and an ESPN Zone there for night time things to do. Plus there is a bunch of entertainment at night like you would have seen on the boardwalk 100 years ago. Magic shows, jugglers, dancing routines, etc. Snack carts and little restaurants are there too. There is a little sandwich shop that was really good.

The Boardwalk is what we are interested in because of the walking to those parks. So on the dvc rental site it will cost us about 75 points for five nights, which we will buy for $18 per point. So that will be $1350 which is like half price of the Disney site. It seems like everything will still be easy like magic bands and things.

[God of Thunder]

Originally Posted by Mosbonian

From your perspective is the Grand Floridian really that much better than Wilderness Lodge?

It's nice, but for my .02 I would stay at WL and AKL over staying at the Grand Floridian. Or to some extent the Treehouse Villas.

Poly is my favorite. But since they decided not to add any 1 or 2 bedrooms, it was kind of a deal breaker. We also bought Grand Floridian before Poly became available. For me - Bay Lake Tower, Poly, and VGF will also be premium and hardest to book due to being on the monorail.

I absolutely love Wilderness Lodge and have stayed there multiple times (not a huge fan of the Treehouses), but the boat to MK leaves a lot to be desired for me.

[God of Thunder]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

We are looking at getting a Disney property through a dvc rental site. Has anyone used those? It seems like a great deal.

If you're referring to buying a DVC membership, there are tons of people who have used the resale sites to purchase.

If you're looking into renting points to stay at a DVC accomodation, then Davids (www.dvcrequest.com) is one of the best out there. I have rented my points through them before.

[God of Thunder]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

The Boardwalk is what we are interested in because of the walking to those parks. So on the dvc rental site it will cost us about 75 points for five nights, which we will buy for $18 per point. So that will be $1350 which is like half price of the Disney site. It seems like everything will still be easy like magic bands and things.

You lose out on a few basic amenities - but other than that - yes, it's just that much cheaper. For instance, you won't get your room cleaned everyday...

Trash and Towel Services For stays of seven or fewer nights, Trash and Towel Service is provided on day four. With this service, Housekeeping will

Empty the trash and put new liners in the wastebaskets
Provide fresh bathroom towels
Replace shampoo, facial soap and bath soap
Replenish facial tissues, paper towels, and toilet paper
Replenish coffee, sugar, and cream
Replenish diswashing liquid, dishwasher detergent, sponges, and laundry detergent as applicable

Full Cleaning Service
For stays of eight or more nights, Full Cleaning Service is provided on day four and Trash and Towel Service is provided on day eight. After that, the cycle begins again on day 12. With Full Cleaning Service, Housekeeping will provide everything included with the Trash and Towel Service, plus

Change the bed linens
Vacuum and dust
Clean the bathroom(s)
Clean the kitchen/ette and wash the dishes

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by God of Thunder

Poly is my favorite. But since they decided not to add any 1 or 2 bedrooms, it was kind of a deal breaker. We also bought Grand Floridian before Poly became available. For me - Bay Lake Tower, Poly, and VGF will also be premium and hardest to book due to being on the monorail.

I absolutely love Wilderness Lodge and have stayed there multiple times (not a huge fan of the Treehouses), but the boat to MK leaves a lot to be desired for me.

You have to want to be in the trees to like the Tree house Villas. I have stayed in the a couple of times and they were nice but not great. You can get the same feel at a cabin in the Fort Wilderness Campground though.

And I agree....tthe boat from WL to MK needs to be replaced with something nicer.

[The Bad Guy]

Originally Posted by God of Thunder

You lose out on a few basic amenities - but other than that - yes, it's just that much cheaper. For instance, you won't get your room cleaned everyday...

Trash and Towel Services For stays of seven or fewer nights, Trash and Towel Service is provided on day four. With this service, Housekeeping will

Empty the trash and put new liners in the wastebaskets
Provide fresh bathroom towels
Replace shampoo, facial soap and bath soap
Replenish facial tissues, paper towels, and toilet paper
Replenish coffee, sugar, and cream
Replenish diswashing liquid, dishwasher detergent, sponges, and laundry detergent as applicable

Full Cleaning Service
For stays of eight or more nights, Full Cleaning Service is provided on day four and Trash and Towel Service is provided on day eight. After that, the cycle begins again on day 12. With Full Cleaning Service, Housekeeping will provide everything included with the Trash and Towel Service, plus

Change the bed linens
Vacuum and dust
Clean the bathroom(s)
Clean the kitchen/ette and wash the dishes

I'm going to look into this when we finally take my youngest. I would have saved about 500 compared to the package deal I booked through a local travel agent, which was still a pretty good deal.

I've never used DVC point sites yet. Will you be able to get fresh towels every day with that 4 day cycle?

[ct]

Originally Posted by God of Thunder

You lose out on a few basic amenities - but other than that - yes, it's just that much cheaper. For instance, you won't get your room cleaned everyday...

Trash and Towel Services For stays of seven or fewer nights, Trash and Towel Service is provided on day four. With this service, Housekeeping will

Empty the trash and put new liners in the wastebaskets
Provide fresh bathroom towels
Replace shampoo, facial soap and bath soap
Replenish facial tissues, paper towels, and toilet paper
Replenish coffee, sugar, and cream
Replenish diswashing liquid, dishwasher detergent, sponges, and laundry detergent as applicable

Full Cleaning Service
For stays of eight or more nights, Full Cleaning Service is provided on day four and Trash and Towel Service is provided on day eight. After that, the cycle begins again on day 12. With Full Cleaning Service, Housekeeping will provide everything included with the Trash and Towel Service, plus

Change the bed linens
Vacuum and dust
Clean the bathroom(s)
Clean the kitchen/ette and wash the dishes

I've rented pts at the beach club once, only rental of DVC. did not have any issue with the part time mousekeeping concept, but admit it was only 2 of us. might have been different for the whole gang.

the wife and i have seriously bantered the resale idea around the last couple years but haven't pulled the trigger.

we love riverside, that's our favorite, with beach club a close 2nd for me. If we could directly book dvc at riverside, we'd be in. not a slam dunk to rent out our pts to get a stay at riverside for us...yet.

i had a thought that disney should let you book your pts at any resort, with the acceptance that we, the buyer, pay the same pts w/out a discount. not really getting "like" value, but i'd still do it. i dunno, maybe it's not as big a deal to rent them out to bankroll our own reservation somewhere else. any thoughts for the DVC members?

[God of Thunder]

Originally Posted by The Bad Guy

I'm going to look into this when we finally take my youngest. I would have saved about 500 compared to the package deal I booked through a local travel agent, which was still a pretty good deal.

I've never used DVC point sites yet. Will you be able to get fresh towels every day with that 4 day cycle?

Is the same towels all 4 days. You can pay extra to get new ones, but the "trick" that many owners use.......just take them from the pool area!

[God of Thunder]

Originally Posted by ct

I've rented pts at the beach club once, only rental of DVC. did not have any issue with the part time mousekeeping concept, but admit it was only 2 of us. might have been different for the whole gang.

the wife and i have seriously bantered the resale idea around the last couple years but haven't pulled the trigger.

we love riverside, that's our favorite, with beach club a close 2nd for me. If we could directly book dvc at riverside, we'd be in. not a slam dunk to rent out our pts to get a stay at riverside for us...yet.

i had a thought that disney should let you book your pts at any resort, with the acceptance that we, the buyer, pay the same pts w/out a discount. not really getting "like" value, but i'd still do it. i dunno, maybe it's not as big a deal to rent them out to bankroll our own reservation somewhere else. any thoughts for the DVC members?

Disney technically does let you use them at any resort, it's part of the "Disney Collection" - unfortunately, since it's not actually a DVC resort, it's like 30 points a night!

[alpha_omega]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Just my personal opinion...

Grand Floridian is nice, but I don't care for the theme.

Give me Contemporary, Wilderness or Polynesian over that anyday

Agreed.

Except...the Contemporary had the worst elevator situation i have ever experienced in a hotel. They may have addressed that since we were there last, but it is definitely worth consideration if booking there.

[Silock]

HOLY SHIT THESE D23 ANNOUNCEMENTS

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by Silock

HOLY SHIT THESE D23 ANNOUNCEMENTS

I know....some pretty good stuff short of the new animated film that is coming out in November, Coco. It doesn't look all that appealing to me.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by Mosbonian

I know....some pretty good stuff short of the new animated film that is coming out in November, Coco. It doesn't look all that appealing to me.

I wanted a new pavilion and the Speedway to be gone. But, I'm pumped.

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by Silock

I wanted a new pavilion and the Speedway to be gone. But, I'm pumped.

The Speedway will be gone before long I am betting.....

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Silock

HOLY SHIT THESE D23 ANNOUNCEMENTS

Did you see the stuff about the new Star Wars themed hotel?

Sounds very 'Westworld' like. But very cool idea!