Sept trip with 6, 3, and 1

[2Princesses4Us]

My husband and I have decided to go on a short trip either 9/18 - 9/22 or 9/26 - 9/30. I have a few questions (for now!) and would appreciate any advise. THANKS

We will have DD 6, DD 3, and DS 18 months at the time of travel.

My DH really wants to stay at a monorail resort. While I can appreciate the convience, whoa! is it expensive! Tell me he's right! ;)

if we do stay at a deluxe, which is best suited/most interesting for our three kids?

Does anyone know the dates for the free dining LAST year? did it stretch the entire month of September? or just the first few weeks?

I would really like to try for Cinderella's Castle and Chef Mickey's for two of our meals. Other suggestions or recommendations?

AND FINALLY (for today anyway!) have you ever bought one of those 'secrets of getting WDW discount e-books'? I have seen them on ebay and other sites and wonder, do they really have info that saves $? Aren't WDW prices pretty stable?

THANKS FOR YOUR RESPONSES!
:mickey::mickey:

[BelleCiavo]

First off, if you are bringing your own stroller a monorail resort is wonderful. The Poly is doubly wonderful because you can walk to the TTC, thereby only taking 1 monorail to EPCOT. Also, the Poly has a zero entry swimming pool, the others may too, I'm not sure. Add in the fun EWP that comes by on the lagoon every night and Wishes from the beach and what more could you ask for. Well, big rooms, that's another plus.

[KAT1811]

From a mother of 3 DDs (10, 2 1/2, &10 months on our last trip). . . STAY AT A MONERAIL RESORT!!!!! Traveling with three little ones is a HUGE task in WDW. Even for us supermoms! I am a "stay at home" mom, yet I am never at home. We are all over the place all the time and WDW was still a tough place to navigate with 3 children. The worst part was folding and unfolding the double stroller. If we were not traveling with 15 other people I would have switched resorts mid vacation! I longed for the ability to push my child laden stroller onto the monerail and of into my resort without the hassle of unpacking everyone and everything. Especially at the end of the night when everyone is tired!!! There were a couple of nights (we were there for 10 nights) when the little ones had enough and I took them back to the resort on my own (so everyone else could stay and play). What a feat (and I can often be seen toting both little ones in my arms without breaking a sweat)!!! Thank heavens for those Disney angels that lend a helping hand to a struggling stranger. I never thought that the $$$ was worth it to stay in a deluxe (we tour commando style and the kids love it) but after this last trip DH and I decided a monerail resort was the only way for us to do WDW with ease. Good luck with your decision!!! I too battled it for years but that third DD pushed me over the edge into the deluxe monerail resort only category!!!

[vamaggie]

Let me try to answer as best I can from someone who has traveled with 2 little ones


My husband and I have decided to go on a short trip either 9/18 - 9/22 or 9/26 - 9/30. I have a few questions (for now!) and would appreciate any advise. THANKS

We will have DD 6, DD 3, and DS 18 months at the time of travel.

My DH really wants to stay at a monorail resort. While I can appreciate the convience, whoa! is it expensive! Tell me he's right! ;) He's right! It is so much easier to be on the monorail and close to MK with little ones (esp if they won't nap in a stroller like mine)

if we do stay at a deluxe, which is best suited/most interesting for our three kids? I would say Poly. CR can be good since you can walk to MK but we loved the lush, calming walkways of the Poly (also good if someone needs a stroll to help them get to sleep)

Does anyone know the dates for the free dining LAST year? did it stretch the entire month of September? or just the first few weeks? I think it went for most of Sept but remember that you are paying rack rate for the room if you do free dining. may also be too much food for your fam. Run the numbers and see what's best for you all.

I would really like to try for Cinderella's Castle and Chef Mickey's for two of our meals. Other suggestions or recommendations? O'hana, Play & Dine at H&V, Whispering Canyon

AND FINALLY (for today anyway!) have you ever bought one of those 'secrets of getting WDW discount e-books'? I have seen them on ebay and other sites and wonder, do they really have info that saves $? Aren't WDW prices pretty stable? I have never bought one but have read threads here and I can't imagine any book (esp one I have to pay for!) to be able to give me more info/suggestions/cost cutting ideas than I get here. Save the money IMHO and read these boards.

I would also suggest booking through Magical Journeys. They sponsor this site, are free (yes really free!) to you and they are experts at Disney and will work to get you any discounts available for your trip.

THANKS FOR YOUR RESPONSES!
:mickey::mickey:

[2Princesses4Us]

THANKS KAT1811, BELLACIAVA, and VAMAGGIE! Great advice!

Here are a few questions I have:

1. what is rack rate? does that mean the lodging is not at a off-peak rate if you get to use free dining?

2. with little ones, I think we won't do the Park Hopper Tix. I mean, are we really going to go to more than one park in a day? We're only there for four full days, so I think MK 2x, MGM, and AK each for a day.

3. I did contact MJ and they were very nice. They will keep on top of discounts and let you know, right?

:mickey: