SOG or AKL / which dining plan or none?

[vagabonder1]

Ok, my first post here and I need help figuring out what I should do. A little history:
We are looking at going to Disney the end of Aug. for 10 nights. We went 4 years ago wen DS was 4 (baby stayed home with Gma) and stayed at the SOG. DH is now currently retired with 20yrs of service. This trip is happening because of the great military deals.... we knew we wanted to go in the next couple of years and now seems to be the time! So....
We stayed at SOG poolside and had a GREAT time there, loved it... didn't know any different. We had no issues with transportation and hopped the monorail at the Poly most days. That trip we spent all our time at the parks, and also went to Universal Studios for a day. I was planning to just rebook this trip there; however, I was thinking of possibly doing the dining plan.
The dining plan is what is throwing me for a loop here... we would gladly go back to SOG and spend money OOP for meals... but with the 40% discount for disney resorts I started looking else where, and now my once simple 'cheap' trip is turning into a big debate.
Considering the dining plan to make things easier and less OOP tracking; however, I read in a travel book that if we are big breakfast people (which we are) then we shouldn't do this plan. We HAVE to have a decent breakfast, for DH he could skip lunch if he had a good breakfast... I can't, I need every meal as do the boys (ages 8 and 4). I want to do (again) Hoop Dee Doo review, Mama Melrose for Fantasmic, and possibly The Spirit of Aloha (not sure about this one).

Ok, so the options are this:
1. SOG, we used a wonderfull town car last time and would do so again, with this we get a free trip to the grocery store where we bought cases of water, snacks, and or breakfast items (for the most part). So SOG with OOP for meals, I am averaging 100. a day for a family of 4 (my youngest doesn't eat much). WIth the purchase of all the dinner's mentioned above it will cost me about 2800 for hotel and ALL food.

If we stay at a disney resort we know we want to stay at AKL, so here are my options:
2. AKL Savannah view with standard dinning will be about $3100 but then I will have to buy OOP some food to cover the shows and what not so this will be around $3500.

3. AKL Savannah view deluxe dinning will run me $3600, but here is where I need help... with the deluxe will I be able to get most of the dinner shows included here? Say if we eat a big breakfast and skip lunch which would give us the extra table service?

and lastly:
4. AKL club level with standard dinning will cost me $3400. We will be able to eat enough in the club room that I might be able to save the table services for say 2 of the dinner shows. So the club level with standard dinning is winning out on me right now.. and is only 600 more than SOG (which I'm totally willing to spend for this trip for the experience). If we were to add the deluxe onto this club package it would be $3900 - but I think WAY too much food.

I'm just not sure. Last time at the parks we only did the Hoop Dee DOo review and Hollywood and Vine for Fantasmic, everything else was quick service. We're at Disney for a few extra days this trip and will have enough time (I think) to take our time and enjoy the food Disney has to offer.

Thanks in advance! Any advice welcome!
Jamie

[Marilyn Michetti]

I'll just give you a little bump on the breakfast question .

SOG has a wonderful breakfast buffet for $8.00It's not as large as Crystal Palace, and there are no characters, but you can get your tummy full of everything from oatmeal to custom made waffles and omlets.

Crunching numbers is your best bet. The rooms are now $117. a night, and SOG is considered a deluxe.:thumbsup:

[vagabonder1]

Thanks for the reply! We loved SOG when we were there... never ate a sit down breakfast - just what we bought from the store (spent around 250 at the store which included all breakfast for the week and all water and snacks). We're not looking to eat at any character dining places on this trip, honesly my kids don't care....
4 years ago my oldest said (who just turned 5) he didn't want to see the characters because they were all 'fake' and that they weren't the real characters.... the only real Disney character for him was Mickey during the Fantasmic show. It was our magical moment as a family, his chin fell open and he stared and scrutinized him, looked over at me and said "That is the real Mickey". Our youngest is the same way. 4 going on 20. Too cool to be seen next to them. So no character dining for us, just those dinner shows we want to go to.

Because of my husbands rank at retirement we pay $125 a night and $135 for a pool side room (which is what we would get)... so $135 a night. $1400 for the room and about $1400 for food.... plus the town car which I forgot to add on earlier is another $100 so $2900.
What is your opinion if AKL club level is only 500 more?
I need help... pick apart my plans and let me know how feasible they are please! :mickey:

Thanks!
Jamie

[buzznwoodysmom]

Just to add my family's experience. We can no long eat on $100 per day if we are paying OOP. My kids are 6 and 8 and don't eat a lot, but we still spend over $100 a day on food, and we almost always eat breakfast in our room. We spend around $30 for the 4 of us on a CS meal, plus our TS meals usually come out around $100 for the 4 of us, sometimes as high as $130.00. Add in a snack for each of the kids and you've gone over $100 easily. Since its been so long since your last visit you may want to look at some of the menus and prices in Info. Central to give you an idea of how much it will truely cost to eat OOP. I've stayed at SOG once and have visited AKL many times. I would pick AKL in a heart beat if it were only a few hundred more than SOG.

[vagabonder1]

if we were to do SOG we would only do QS and bring in our own water and snacks... the only TS meals I would buy are the 3 listed. Do you think a family of 4 can eat QS meals for under 100? I was hoping to spend about $8 on breakfast (coffee for the road to the park... but prob. a little more so say $15) and we'll have our own snacks, but lets say we do spend $20 on snacks/misc. and then $32 for QS lunch and QS dinner for a total of $64 - which totals $100. I'm just trying to play devils advocate for myself... I'm not even sure if this is possible which is why I need Disney experts to inform me.
This is what we did last time, but I was thinking it may be nice to not worry about paying OOP every time we eat and tracking the costs. It would also be nice to try the dining plan and eat at places we wouldn't if we were at SOG; however, I'm not sure if the dining plan would feed us... I'm concerned about the standard dining plan and only having 2 meals and 1 snack since we wouldn't stop by the grocery store (and going to the grocery store defeats the whole cost analysis of this because that would add on more money)... which is why I was looking to go club level with the standard dining.... I think between the two we would have enough food, and possibly credits to use for the dinner shows. But I don't know and am confused with what option will be the best cost effective choice to feed my family.
hhmmmm....

[buzznwoodysmom]

Ok, if your not going to do a TS everyday then $100 per day should be more than enough for a party of 2 adults and 2 kids. We normally eat breakfast in our room. We drive so we just bring snacks, drinks, and breakfast items from home. You can always ship a box of breakfast items to your room and not have to worry about the grocery stop. You'd still have to pay for whatever food you ship, plus the cost of shipping it. I personally don't think its too much money to buy and ship the food for breakfast in your room, but I don't know if you have a budget and need to stick to it or not.

However, we loved doing the dining plan for the exact reasons you listed. We like not having to always be pulling the wallet out to pay for food. My DH (military man as well) hates spending that much money every single day of our trip. The dining plan made our trip much more enjoyable for him. He loved that everything was paid for ahead of time and he didn't feel like he was draining our bank account while on vacation. LOL. The other reason we loved it is because we have now tried many places we wouldn't have if we hadn't been on the dining plan. On our trips before the dining plan we didn't do a TS meal every day. We stuck with our favorites and maybe tried one new place per trip. With the dining plan we have one TS meal each day so there is plenty of meals to do all our favorites and try several new places per trip. For us it works out great. If it were my family we would stay at AKL and do the dining plan. You'll never really know which is better until you try it for yourself. Good luck, I know how important these family vacations are and you want everything to be perfect!

[wdwfansince75]

To the OP: Cost seems to be the principle discriminator in you decision....You mentioned that you were quite content with SoG on an earlier stay....so for costs comparisons, consider whether you have included all costs. The 2009 DDP does not include gratuity....Without adult beverages, add at least $6-8 per day for gratuity......Also, make sure room estimate for AKL includes tax....can be up to 17%.....Of course, there is a $5 per day auto parking charge at SoG...but no tax on room...

Also, to get the dining plan, you have to buy your tickets through the Magic Your Way....but this year's tickets for active or retired military are hard to beat....

The principle slam on SoG is transportation....but:
1. Paying attention to schedule reduces problem....buses almost always run on time....according to the boards, that is not always true for all resorts....and the only way to get to AKL is by bus...unless you drive....Parking at SoG is in the building....we drove most days on our last trip.
2. SoG bus between the resort and TTC runs on a good schedule....great for late night return from DHS, EPCOT, and MK.
3. Walk to Poly is short, pleasant, and a great excuse for stopping to get a Dole Whip....
4. Coffee maker and refrigerator in rooms cut some costs...and QS on way to buses sells pastries and sandwiches at reasonable prices...

The one time we did not stay near the monorail was at Dixie Landings....we had two major complaints....room size and those buses....
Were it my decision, I would stay at SoG...and would enjoy my vacation....but it's your decision....Relax, decide, and, above all, enjoy!

[buzznwoodysmom]

One more thing to consider. Do your prices include the current discount Disney has for military? The rooms are 40% off and you can get your DH's ticket for free and pay only $99.00 for the tickets for you and the kids. If you book your WDW room with the military discount you are still able to purchase the dining plan without a package so that you can still take advantage of the great ticket deal. Just wondering if your prices are including the military discount or not. There is also the buy 4 get 3 free deal out right now.

[vagabonder1]

Thanks for the replies! Yes, I think I've gotten all the extra costs factored in.... I did't include tickets and air because it's an equal wash for wherever we go.
We will get DH's ticket free and purchase 3 5day park hopper/water park for 125 per ticket... I've confirmed through the ticket office several times that I can upgrade the tickets - so for an extra $3 per ticket per day we can upgrade - so for a family of 4 with 9day multi park/park hopper tickets will be $400. This is what made me decide to do this trip this year... I don't know if they would do this deal again (I think the last time they offered discounted military tickets you had to be active which was several years ago - but not sure) for another couple of years. Because of the military discount I don't have to buy a package... I can add on the DP without having to buy the tickets.
I'm also only paying for 1 airline ticket and using miles for the other 3 - so that is only $200 with tax included.
We would need a town car for SOG which cost us around $200 (including tip). So hotel is $1350 (no tax), and estimated food is $1300 - which included HDDR and a fantasmic package - total is $2850.... looking at the web site we would have to pay for the bus to Sea World (which is also free for military) but would only be $20. I think I have all the incidentals for SOG. No rental so no parking fees - we had no issues with the transportation offered at SOG (used the Poly resort alot)... but again we don't know any better either!
Having never done a disney resort or DP I don't know what the incidentals are and appreciate the heads up of what to expect OOP. AKL Savannah view is$2775 which includes %40 off, DP, and all taxes. Free transport to and from airport. I am expecting to pay another $300 for extra food and tips (not every night will be TS) and I think this will be enough. Total for AKL Savannah view is $3075 - only $200 more than SOG. We could go pool side ($2400) for a total of $2700 which is actually cheaper than SOG. Which I'm still trying to figure out how that is - I could probably cut the cost of food at SOG but that wouldn't be any fun!
Please let me know if I'm forgetting anything that I would have to pay for staying at Disney. Anything seem missing?

Thanks!

[buzznwoodysmom]

You seem to have done a ton of research and have all your numbers in place. I think now its completely up to you on which resort you'd rather stay at, since the cost is very much the same at either resort. My logic would be that since you have already stayed at SOG why not try something new this time. I find that our trips are very different depending on which resort we stay at. Of course some people don't like to try new things, they like to stick with what they know they'll love. That's were it becomes a decision only you can make for your family. I think you'll have a great time no matter which resort you stay at. Good luck deciding and have a wonderful trip.