Disney World vacation this thanksgiving

[pompsqualid]

Our family will be visiting my sister in Florida this thanksgiving, since we will be in Florida my husband and I decided to go to Disney World. it would be the first time for our family although we've already gone to Disneyland here in California. Can you help me out and recommend hotels, restaurants, etc..... to make our trip memorable and smooth? Also, how much do you think it would cost us (4 pax) to stay for maybe 4 days and 3 nights? You see, i've been saving for this trip but i am willing to have a personal loan if i think i need more money.

[faline]

Since Thanksgiving is not that far away, you're starting your planning rather late. You might be hard-pressed to be able to put everything together for your trip. If you're planning to be there over Thanksgiving, you'll find the parks to be extremely busy starting a couple of days before the actual holiday and right through that weekend when crowds begin to thin a bit.

Getting fastpasses for that time period for the really popular rides will be tough as will getting restaurant reservations for more popular locations. You might even be limited in where you can stay - particularly if you want to stay on Disney World property.

I'd suggest you start by working with Magical Journeys to secure your hotel reservations. Cost will vary depending on where you want to stay but the wonderful folks at Magical Journeys can help you with that (There is no cost to you for there service).

Your cost will also vary depending on whether you get a package (including dining and park tickets) or book a room only reservation, buy your park tickets separately, and pay out of pocket for dining. You ticket costs will also vary depending on which days you plan to be at the parks, the type of ticket you get, and whether or not you want park hopping priveleges and/or the ability to go to the water parks etc.

As I noted, it might be tough to get restaurant reservations at more popular locations but you might have some luck if you are flexible about when you want to eat.

[buzznwoodysmom]

Ditto to everything Linda said. It's a bit late to start planning a trip for Thanksgiving. Most people going for Thanksgiving have probably been planning since May!

I don't think it's impossible tho. It may be a matter of just taking whatever is available as far as hotels, dining, and fast pass. Hard to tell how much a trip will cost not knowing which hotel you'll be staying at, as their prices vary widely.

Like Linda said, contact Magical Journeys and let them help you. Good luck!!

[Zippy 1]

I third using Magical Journeys. Thanksgiving is a very busy time.

[1DisneyNut]

FP+ reservations open at 60 days prior to arrival and dining 6 months prior so planning at this point is going to be tough like the others mentioned. Basically, the current system puts those that try spontaneous and last minute trips at a huge disadvantage. You can still go and have a good time but it will be busy and getting FP's to the more popular rides at desirable times or at all may not be possible leading to you standing in long wait lines.

As far as dining, if you are wanting to dine onsite during the days right around Thanksgiving, you probably won't be able to find any open reservations to the popular restaurants right now. If you do go, you can use the app and check periodically to see if people have cancelled opening up some time slots. It happens quite often and is possible to snag one you want but then you are walking around the park on your app looking at dining instead of enjoying the parks.

As far as cost goes, it can vary widely depending upon the level of resort, dining and ticket options you pick. If I were going to throw a number at it shooting somewhere in the middle with a Moderate resort and single park per day tickets you would be somewhere in the $2500 range plus dining. I usually use $50 per person per day for dining so you would be looking at around $800 for dining. So a rough guess of your costs would be in the ballpark of $3300. Now you can save a little if you chose a value resort and did counter service dining and probably get down to around $2750 and of course you could swing the other way and go Deluxe resort, signature dining or dinner shows and spend as much as you could stand.

[CynBeth]

Our family will be visiting my sister in Florida this thanksgiving, since we will be in Florida my husband and I decided to go to Disney World. it would be the first time for our family although we've already gone to Disneyland here in California. Can you help me out and recommend hotels, restaurants, etc..... to make our trip memorable and smooth? Also, how much do you think it would cost us (4 pax) to stay for maybe 4 days and 3 nights? You see, i've been saving for this trip but i am willing to have a personal loan if i think i need more money.

Just to give a heads up that Holidays Around the World and CP begins at Epcot on Black Friday so try to incorporate your Epcot time around that if you can. I would play around on the Disney website to see what hotels and dining are available. Good luck!

[WinterSoon]

Our family will be visiting my sister in Florida this thanksgiving, since we will be in Florida my husband and I decided to go to Disney World. it would be the first time for our family although we've already gone to Disneyland here in California. Can you help me out and recommend hotels, restaurants, etc..... to make our trip memorable and smooth? Also, how much do you think it would cost us (4 pax) to stay for maybe 4 days and 3 nights? You see, i've been saving for this trip but i am willing to have a personal loan if i think i need more money.

Hi, that would be great and exciting! It is also my dream to go to US and see Disneyland there. Anyway, my family visited HK Disneyland last summer though US is quite far and will need a bigger budget. You have mentioned a personal loan and I just thought that it will be a good option. Why not try to check the interest rates in banks and credit unions. I'm hoping you'll be able to pursue your plans.

[NewDVCowner]

Many people mentioned that it will be difficult to get dining reservations. That's assuming that you want to plan on sit down dinners. You do not need reservations to eat at the counter service restaurants.

If you really want sit down dinners (or lunches) I have found that it's easier to get reservations at the restaurants at hotels as opposed to restaurants in the parks. I also find that the food is better at the restaurant hotels.

That being said you don't NEED dining reservations in order to eat. As mentioned, you'll be able to walk up to counter services restaurants with no reservations required (with the exception of the Be Our Guest restaurant that does counter service at lunch and does require reservations).

Counter service meals will also be less expensive than the sit down - and you don't need to factor in paying a tip.

[pompsqualid]

Thanks for the tips guys. I already contacted an agency but I'll definitely check out Magical Journey. Anyway, from what I've garnered, I'm a couple of grand short so I'm planning to take a personal loan. Anyone knows if personal loan rates are better in banks or credit unions? [Institution] seems to have the best rates from what I've seen so far.

[faline]

It's hard to know who might provide you with the best terms on a personal loan. I would think most organizations would be pretty close in what they offer you for rates but you will likely need to check several sources and then pick the one that best fits your personal and financial needs.

[Imalismom]

Personal Loans - if you have anyone in your family that was in the military, I have found that the USAA (or any military credit union) rates tend to be the best around. Your credit score also plays into this - the higher your credit score, the lower your loan rate usually is.