Planning Advice for two young adults?

[Disnerdette]

I've been starting to do some research into planning a trip for end of 2014/2015 for myself and my boyfriend. We had our first date at Disneyland and I'm slowly getting him over to the dark side.

Because of our jobs, the best time for us to go would be New Years (probably the 30/31st through the 4th). I know that this is a busy season but we really don't have a lot of options in terms of time.

Here are my questions:

1.) I want to stay on property for the extra magic hours plus the DME. I've stayed at the Coronado and loved it, and I think my boyfriend would be fine with it, but am open to other suggestions. Price wise, I would be ok with staying at the All-Stars, but he likes to go back to the room and nap and likes a "nicer" room, so the moderates seem to be the way to go. Are there any others we should look at?

2.) I've only now started getting into reading about the DDP, and am wondering from another other couples if its worth it. I wouldn't say we are foodies, but we do love food, and when we go to DL, we always have dinner at a sit-down restaurant. Is it worth it if I know we're going to have dinner at a sit-down restaurant every night we're there?

3.) What are some "off the beaten" path things we can do outside of the parks but within the resorts?

Any other recommendations/suggestions you have for two young(er) adults going to WDW would be great. I'm open to anything and everything!

 

[mrsclark]

1. If you want the trip to be more romantic and more peaceful, I would suggest a mod - I stayed at the All-Stars before (when I was a kid and then again when I was in college). The All stars are more hectic and fast-paced.

2. Based on the fact that we eat only one or two sit down meals a day and we often order an entree only, doing the math, the DDP is not a good deal for us. We also hated trying to constantly figure out how to the most value from it (we only got it once when it was a free offer in 2009 - we stay deluxe so we have figured a room only discount offers us more savings than the free dining plan so we only did it that one time). So for example, figuring out if a restaurant is really worth using 2 credits per person (ie double the value of a one credit meal) and also worrying about using all our credits - we didn't want to leave anything on the table (we ended up leaving a bunch of quick service meals unused anyway). We would rather just pay out of pocket as we go - I am a picky eater so for example at Le Cellier at lunch I order a bowl of soup and two sides, no way I would be coming out better with than on the dining plan than out of pocket. On the other hand if both DH and I ate steak at every table service meal than it might be a better value...

 

[mrsclark]

3. Off the beaten path: any of the behind scenes tours (they are at the parks, but a different view of the parks) at Downtown Disney La Nouba (DH loves loves loves it and pretty much everything Cirque du Soleil), upscale bowling or a movie night at AMC theater, mini golf easy but fun especially at night, going around to different resorts to look and see the wonderful theme at each).

 

[undchefreak]

I went at the beginning of this year solo. I spent an entire day touring the resorts. The deluxe resorts have amazing lobbies that anyone can tour, and some have quick specialties.
I started at the monorail resorts. There was a rotating piano player at Grand Floridian. The Wave restaurant was great for lunch (delicious and much cheaper than dinner). The Poly has a great beach area and the dole whips are worth a try (get a sample and split one if worried about money).

I took the monorail to the front of EPCOT and caught a bus to Boardwalk or Beachclub (whichever came first) and toured the boardwalk, saw performers, then ate some mid afternoon dessert at Beaches and Cream. I caught the boat to the front of Hollywood Studios and caught a bus back to my hotel for a nap. I then headed to Animal Kingdom Villas Resort to watch the animals after sunset (it could have been pretty romantic if there was a special fella with me). They had night vision goggles, a low fire, and guides who were willing to answer questions. I ate at Sanaa (delicious), then checked out the animals a little more and headed to Downtown Disney. The entire day, I spent money only on food. It was great.

There's also pools. Lots of them. I believe you can go to any pool on site except for the pool at Beachclub. Would be hit or miss next January, but I could have easily swum this January.

 

[Honey0701]

For resorts, definitely moderate for your needs, it sounds like. I'd suggest either French Quarter or the Riverside. Riverside seems much quieter and more romantic to me for some reason.

Off the beaten path: There are several resorts that offer horse-drawn carriage rides in the evening hours, as well as live entertainment. I know the Port Orleans resorts both do and I have nothing but rave reviews of Bob Jackson's show at Riverside & Elliot Dyson's at the French Quarter. They run Wed-Sun nights. Entertainment is free =)

Also off the path: Fort Wilderness has a great Segway tour (extra $$) that takes you all over the compound - lots of fun!

Epcot: Try kissing around the world in each country and get someone to take a pic in each location

 

[JeffryK]

Rent a boat at the resorts near MK. Your boyfriend will have some fun with you screaming next to him (i kid, theyre not that fast) and if you find a quiet spot it can be pretty romantic.

 

[UMqueen33]

I've been starting to do some research into planning a trip for end of 2014/2015 for myself and my boyfriend. We had our first date at Disneyland and I'm slowly getting him over to the dark side.

Because of our jobs, the best time for us to go would be New Years (probably the 30/31st through the 4th). I know that this is a busy season but we really don't have a lot of options in terms of time.

Here are my questions:

1.) I want to stay on property for the extra magic hours plus the DME. I've stayed at the Coronado and loved it, and I think my boyfriend would be fine with it, but am open to other suggestions. Price wise, I would be ok with staying at the All-Stars, but he likes to go back to the room and nap and likes a "nicer" room, so the moderates seem to be the way to go. Are there any others we should look at?

2.) I've only now started getting into reading about the DDP, and am wondering from another other couples if its worth it. I wouldn't say we are foodies, but we do love food, and when we go to DL, we always have dinner at a sit-down restaurant. Is it worth it if I know we're going to have dinner at a sit-down restaurant every night we're there?

3.) What are some "off the beaten" path things we can do outside of the parks but within the resorts?

Any other recommendations/suggestions you have for two young(er) adults going to WDW would be great. I'm open to anything and everything!

1) My husband and I will be staying at Port Orleans Riverside December 14-20. It's close to all of the parks and it was the best one I liked from the moderate resorts.

2) I highly suggest the dining plan! It's a great deal for the price and Disney is running free dining, but keep checking, for when you want to visit. We just did the regular dining plan, which is 1 quick service, 1 snack, and 1 table service per adult/per day. We are eating at Cinderalla's castle and Narcoossee's at Grand Floridian.

3) A Disney rep just told me about Jelly Rolls on the Boardwalk, which is a dueling piano bar. I will be checking that out in December!

Have fun planning, it's a lot of fun!! My husband and I love Disney and this is our last trip, before we start having kids.

 

[Shaden]

Hey there, my wife and I do Disney just as a couple, and maybe we could give you some of our pointers.

For us, we like the mods, and usually get a king bed, why not right ? Yur on vacation. That being said, most of the mods (all but CBR) currently have queens, so if you want to save a few hundred bucks, just get a standard room and have an extra bed to store your goodies on

Dining Plan: For us, don't do it. Our last two trips we had the dining plan, and to me it was apparent after the first that the DP was NOT worth it for the two of us. However it took a second trip with my wife to point out just how much it was not worth it.

Why no Dining plan for 2 ?: Very simply, it does not match the way we eat, and we end up spending more money then we need to and eating more then we want to, of stuff we don't really want in order to make it feel like we are getting the "value" out of the DP.

We are foodies too BUT, the DP is VERY specific. A snack, a QS mean and a TS meal with a non alcoholic drink, a Main course, and a desert.

First off, we get snacks from garden grocer, delivered to our room, much cheaper then from DP. We usually split a QS meal for lunch, because the portion sizes are pretty large at WDW, and we really just don't want to FILL up while we are bouncing through the parks and riding rides.

For Table service dinners, the DP really doesn't work. We usually like to get a couple adult drinks (not covered) we like to get an appetizer (not covered) and we don't always want to buy the biggest most expensive things off the menu (we feel bad if we get the $8 salad, when we know we have paid $35 for the meal via the DP) and often if we attempt to eat 2 full TS meals, don't have the room to EACH eat a desert and like to share one if anything.

In fact a lot of time we would probably do better getting an app or two, and a single main (at places like Via Napoli for instance, all you need is one individual pizza, for two to split, its huge at like 14 inches)

SO for US, just us, the DP just isn't worth it. On the last trip we spent the first few days TRYING to "eat our monies' worth" but ended up not enjoying it, feeling overly full and still bring a bunch of food back to our room, before eventually throwing it out.

I'd say look at some menus of places you might like to eat, and think about what you would order ideally, do you want apps ? Are you always going to order the $30 steak ? Etc.

 

[simonsayz]

I only go with my gf and I always book DDP. It's just easier to not worry about the food. Then again I always get it when we have free dining. I stay at the value resorts because I figure we won't be staying at the hotel that much so no point of paying for a better hotel for not much time spent in it.

I suggest you to check the menus for the restaurants so you have an idea how much you will be spending. Remember that DDP comes with a snack, quick-service, and table service. Of course these don't include tips.

Budget it out on an excel spreadsheet and compare.

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