OK, kids, my turn!

[Main Street Jim]

OK, kids, for nearly ten years now, I've been givin' y'all advice on *your* trips :)

Now, it's YOUR turn to give me some...LOL...

Planning a summer 2014 trip with my wife's sister, her husband, and their daughter.

So, I guess here's what I'm looking for:

1) A Web site or something that has current "rack" room rates. I'd like to try and plan and stay at a moderate (PO, CBR, WL, etc.). Don't wanna stay at the No-stars... :)

2) Place (Web site) for decent room/park ticket discounts, and what the current park ticket prices are. They're probably posted here on Intercot somewheres, aren't they? :)

3) Anyone know what character meals would have Minnie Mouse? I tried to think of some, but couldn't come up with any :\ Closest thing I came up with was either O'hana or Chef Mickey's.

4) Dining/room ressies can be made 180 (6 months) out, correct? I *should* know this...LOLOL...

Gonna be driving down, spending 5 days at the parks (well, 4, with probably a "rest day", might drive over to Vero to see my family).

[Mary Chase]

I can answer some of it I think. I believe you can find rack rates right on Disney's website itself? Just get room only pricing. I have no idea where to find any ticket or room discounts. I usually just pay the prices on Disney's website - which I believe are slightly discounted from what you pay at the gates. Minnie Mouse is at Chef Mickey's - can't think of any other place she is. Possibly Cape May Breakfast? ADRs can be made 180 days out now.

[Gusgus]

3) Anyone know what character meals would have Minnie Mouse?

I believe Minnie visits Cape May for breakfast too.


4) Dining/room ressies can be made 180 (6 months) out, correct?

Ayep and no. You can make dining ressies 180 days out either online or calling 407-WDW-DINE. You can reserve 180 days +10 if you stay at a Disney resort.

Room reservations you can make I **THINK** 500 days in advance

[NJGIRL]

Just a reminder that outside web sites are not allowed to be posted on INTERCOT.

You could contact Magical Journeys for room rates and The Offical Ticket Center for discount tickets.

Minnie Mouse was at the breakfast buffet at the Tusker House in the AK last year.

[wdwfansince75]

If you are going in June of 2014, perhaps you can be there to celebrate our 50th with DW and I...and all the kids and grandkids!

From our experience, except for AAA, most of the best room only discounts don't get published much further out than about 6 months before the effective dates.

We usually get out tickets through Shades of Green. (June 2014 is also the 50th anniversary of my graduation from the Naval Academy, and the 26th anniversary of my retirement from the Navy)...haven't seen any discounts that beat their prices...AAA discount on tickets is not that great...consider buying them early...even this year, to beat two years of price increases.

Minnie is at Cape May, Chef Mickey, and the Backyard BBQ...and is not at Tusker House, nor at Ohana breakfast...at least, not our past three trips...also checked at Garden Grill...one of our favorite character meals, but she wasn't there either.

[Aurora]

Hey Jim, I sent you a private message with some info. :mickey:

[Janmac]

For rack rates for informational purposes I use the official Disney website.

For character or any kind of dining (menu) info I use "another" website. Mostly, the only meal places we've seen Minnie is at Cape May.

For ticket purchasing we usually use the Intercot sponsor here - get the tickets early - but this year we bought the military tickets. Didn't save a lot but every little bit helps. And if you select the buy theme park tickets on the left menu, you'll see all sorts of prices.

I would also recommend Magical Journeys for your room booking as they will get you the best price. We did not use MJ on our upcoming trip because we were hoping to exchange into a DVC villa. (Still hoping but we're at 45 days out, so it's not looking good) :(

We usually have at least 2 ADRs a day. I have used the on-line dining reservations but I generally call and chat with a real person at 180 days out. It's more fun. :D And I think they can sometimes find something when it's not on the on-line dining reservations.

Jan

[NJGIRL]

Minnie is at Cape May, Chef Mickey, and the Backyard BBQ...and is not at Tusker House, nor at Ohana breakfast...at least, not our past three trips..

Minnie was at the Tusker House when we went Nov 2010. I'm looking at a picture right now of Minnie and my niece at our breakfast there. Maybe things have changed since then.

[disneynarula]

After six months of research I discovered that there are not a lot of travel websites that offer better discounts outside of wdw.com. Park hoppers can be found at discounts but not the rooms.

The best thing to do is check WDW.com to get an idea of what rack rates are going to be and hope for a discount.

Sometimes AAA has a discount but usually it's not exclusive. Disney will usually offer a discount at the same time. Right now the AAA discount is the same as on the WDW website.

Sometimes the discounts become available first to Disney Visa Cardholders.

Use Magical Journeys or another Disney travel agent that will apply a discount to a current reservation.

[PlutoToo]

Tusker house character lunch had Minnie, Mickey, and Goofy when we were there in Dec.

[MNNHFLTX]

After six months of research I discovered that there are not a lot of travel websites that offer better discounts outside of wdw.com. Park hoppers can be found at discounts but not the rooms.

The best thing to do is check WDW.com to get an idea of what rack rates are going to be and hope for a discount.

You mean the official Disney World website, right? (www.disneyworld.com)

[PopPhan]

I would like to concur with others responding that you should contact Magical Journeys for the best information on discounts.

As for the current Rack Rates for Room Only reservations, Info Central has this page with current rates:

http://www.intercot.com/resorts/disney/rates/default.asp

Don't know about Minnie meals as we don not do Character meals at all. Sorry.

Most 'discount' ticket sites only save in the range of $10 - $15 on a MYW ticket...You would be best served checking The Official Ticket Center (INTERCOT sponsor) to see what their current offers on tickets are.

As others have stated, if you are staying 'on property' you can make your ADRs at 180 days from check in, for the first 10 days of your visit. If you are staying longer than 10 days, you would have to call/go online to make ADRs at 180 +10 for Day 11 - 20...and so on. Since you stated that you will be staying 5 days, you won't have to worry about that last part.... :)

"Room Only" reservations can be made at 499 (500?) days out and you would make a deposit of a one night charge at the resort of your choice. This does NOT lock in the price of the room, as these things change (normally, only year on year, announced sometime in August for the next calendar year.)

Enjoy your trip (when it finally gets here!!)

[wdwfansince75]

To make it even more confusing....Info Central has Minnie at Garden Grill (and at Liberty Tree Tavern, although there is a note that character dining will end at LTT on Jan 4, 2009)...and Info Central does list Minnie at Tusker House..no mention of lunch....

Info Central does not mention Minnie at Cape May, although most other sites do.

For the record, most other sites now mention the Tusker House for Breakfast and Lunch...without Minnie. And those sites also list Minnie at Cape May, but not at Garden Grill. I know the characters at the meals are subject to change, so I usually ask when making ADR's...with mixed results.

We have done Tusker House several times...always had Daisy Duck there (one of the few venues with Daisy), but never Minnie. Does she wear Safari gear, as do the other characters there? And is Daisy still there, even with Minnie added?

[NJGIRL]

Just looked through all of the pictures from the Tusker House. When we were there (Nov 2010) we had Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy & Goofy. Yes, everyone had on safari gear.

[sommer]

We were just at Tusker House for breakfast in Feb. and Minnie wasn't there.

[Disney Doll]

1. For room rates I also recommend Magical Journeys. We've used them twice now and they've been just great to work with. They will make sure you get the best possible deal.

2. For tickets I recommend the Official Ticket Center. Discounts are usually just a few dollars. If you find something cheaper than that it's probably not legit.

3. Part of the problem is that characters rotate and you are never guaranteed to see Minnie even if it's somewhere she usually appears. That said we saw Minnie at Tusker House this past October and at Cape May the year before.

For the last several years we have always found Minnie at the EPCOT meet and greet across from Innoventions West. That's my favorite meet and greet because it's one line for Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, and Goofey. They all wear their classic attire and there are classic cartoons playing while you wait. The line moves pretty quickly and it's usually not overly crowded.

4. 180 days for dining and we usually book our room about a year in advance, but I'm pretty sure you can book even earlier than that if you wanted to.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

Definitely book the room through Magical Journeys. They will watch the rates for you and apply a lower rate/deal if and when it becomes available.