Magical Journey, Part 2 - "Where"

The Yankee Peach household is all in a tizzy.  We had originally chosen a slow week in September for our trip to Disney.  We've done the same week in other years, so everything was working like clockwork since, as you now know,  the "When" of your Disney trip is your first and most important decision.  However, we have had to move our trip up by several weeks.  Its all good and I will explain when we talk about where to stay.

The second most important decision, before which rides to ride and which overpriced T-shirt to buy, is simply "Where".

You need a place to stay.  And Yankee Peach has tried something new.

First of all, there are several options.

1.  On-site at a Disney Resort

If you can swing it, its the best.  The service is unmatched.  The hotels are carefully themed so that you feel like you are stepping into another world.

Animal Kingdom Lodge - Deluxe Resort

Disney also provides an escape for your inner child.  Trust me, the inner child throws a major tantrum when you are on International Drive watching the same traffic light turn red, then green, then red again over and over and all you want to do is be in Disney World!  You will suddenly wish you'd spent the extra money to already be inside the inner sanctum.  The inner child also feels kind of "meh" about leaving the park at night only to stop at Walmart with "normal people" to get milk and cereal.  It just feels kind of lame.

Disney has three levels of resorts.  Value (which are motel-like), Moderate (Caribbean Beach is our favorite) and Deluxe (very nice, but we've never been able to afford to stay there).

Its more expensive than staying off-site, but there are several nice features of staying on property.

First, you get free parking at all the parks, which saves you $14.00/day.
Secondly, anything you purchase in a park can be sent to your room.
Third, you may partake of the Disney Dining Plan, which has always saved us money and stress.  More on that on a later post

2.  Off-site Hotels

In order to compete with Disney for your business, the off-site hotels are remarkably cheap.  We once stayed in a suite with a full kitchen for $79/night.  That same room would've cost us about $350/night in a Disney Deluxe resort.  When you are pricing these bargains, though, be sure to check for "Resort fees" or "Daily Parking fees".  We have often found that, with those sneaky additions, it puts us within range of a Disney Moderate Resort.

We also have greatly enjoyed the Sheraton Vistana.  It has a pirate pool and family suites, although it is a good 15 minutes from the hotel to the park.

If budget trumps everything.  Stay off-site.  You could also look at renting a vacation home.  We have never done this but many of my friends enjoy it immensely.  You can try www.vrbo.com for help.

BUT!!!! Now for the exciting news!  We have just done something magnificent.  We are staying at a Deluxe Resort in a room that would've been $400/night...for $85/night!!!

Its my brand new third option...

3.  Stay On-site for Off-site Prices with Vacation Club Points

Disney has a timeshare plan called Disney Vacation Club (DVC).  You can front $20,000 to stay in special villas at specific resorts..  You purchase, with that 20k, a certain amount of points, say 150, to use at Vacation Club Resorts.  

However, some people cannot use all of their 150 points up in a year.  SO, they let US...the common folk...purchase them for bargain basement prices.  This is totally legit, by the way.  You are not sneaking in to Disney, they are well aware of this process.  The trick is finding the right person and making sure its not a scam.  Here is a great site for learning about the process and finding links to DVC point brokers.  Using a broker, you know its not a scam and can pay about $13/point.  That site also had DVC points calculators so that you know how many you will need to purchase for your resort.

If an Animal Kingdom Villa is 100 points for a week and you rented Vacation Points, it would be $1300...a MAJOR SAVINGS for you.

Or you could go hardcore like us.  We got our Villa for $6.30/point.  My husband searched craigslist in a couple of major cities.  He found a guy in Pennsylvania who had to use his points by the end of August.  We looked him up on Orange County, FL's Comptroller site and saw that he had entered into a contract with DVC, and was therefore not going to take our money and run.

We then switched our trip to a slow week in August.  We gave the guy our dates and requested a Studio Standard View Room at Animal Kingdom Villas.  (Our "villa" is actually a normal basic room with a kitchenette, but the guy only had 90 points to give us, so we are fine with that.  The resort itself is amazing.)  The man called Disney and made our reservation.  We used Pay Pal and sent him the money.  Once we did, he emailed us our Confirmation Number.

It is up to us to call Disney and add our Dining Plan and make any Dining Reservations.

We have never been able to stay at a Deluxe Resort and we LOVE the Kidani House, where we will stay next month.

I know this blog is loooooooooooong.  I wanted to break it up into 3 separate blogs.  However, with our trip moved up, Yankee Peach is moving a lightening speed to plan our trip!  Strap yourselves in and hold on...there is much more to come!