Questions about reserving

[CdnMom2]

Hello everyone. These boards have been SO helpful. Thank you. We are now ready (almost) to take the plunge. We are planning to drive down and tent camp at FW in early January. The 2 week period is almost firmed up give or take a few days. If I book with FW and then change (i.e cancel or add) a couple days at the beginning or the end of our booking is that OK? Does that require a whole new booking? I also just purchased the Disney Card. This will be our first time at Disney and our first time camping. We have 4 children. It's Fort Wilderness or nothing because of our family size and the camping promise was the only way I could get my non-Disney husband to take us.

We are also thinking of taking a break from air mattresses with a few days in a motel/hotel. Possibly HIFS, but with these amazing deals I see at the top of the screen I may change that.

We don't need cable so I'm figuring Loop 1500 is right for us, right?

I want to be sure we have a spot down there with all this planning (& the saving!) so do I go ahead and make reservations now with these somewhat hazy dates?

And what is required, please? How many nights of deposit? I just read a thread about no space that mentioned insurance tacked on automatically?

Thank you.

 

[We4mickey]

If you are using the DC card I believe there is a $100.00 deposit. I don't know about insurance. I always make my ressies when I have a rough idea of when I am going. It's better to make them and have to take days off then try to add them later. You will like the 1500 loop. It is centrally located in the campground and convenient to the pool, bike barn, campfire and meadows trading post. Happy Campin!

 

[CdnMom2]

Thank you We4Mickey for your quick and happy response.

So, I guess from your answer I should book extra days on either side of the block of time I am sure of so far. Then I can phone and drop off a few days on whichever end of the booking (at the beginning or the end depending what we finally decide). Am I making sense? Is there a penalty for doing this -- cancelling a couple days of a say, 10 day reservation?

Please excuse me for being dense. I'm trying to navigate through this new World (Disney) and it's wealth of tricks & tips on my own! Husband will merely chauffeur us he says so far! I think he'll be reading with the armadillos at FW while I'm navigating 4 kids through The World! As you can see, I'd better not make ANY mistakes in the planning, especially financial surprises!

 

[CdnMom2]

Sorry about the error and my grammar in general!

 

[North7]

Hi CdnMom2,

I would recommend going ahead and making your reservations now. January is normally a slower time, especially the last 2 weeks, but why take a chance. Add a couple of days to the front and back to be sure you are covered. Once your dates are firmed up, you can call and have the extra days dropped. There are no penalties for this unless you wait until, I believe 5 days, before your reservation. I am also a Disney Club member but I have not booked my reservations through them, so I'm not sure what their policy is. I was able to get a much better discount with an Annual Pass. If you book through the 407-WDISNEY phone number, you will have to pay for 1 night in advance. I have never seen anything with respect to insurance... this may be something with a DC reservation only!?! I would definitely ask about it if you are booking through the Disney Club.

The 1500 loop sounds like it should be perfect for you. It is located near the centre of the campground and with 4 children, FW is definitely the right spot for you

If you have any other questions or need a 'Canadian' perspective, ask away. Good luck with the planning.

Jeff

 

[CdnMom2]

Thank you North 7. It's great to get a Canadian perspective too as we sometimes face last-minute surprises because of our international status (reservations, discount availability, credit cards, cheque acceptance...). I have read about Annual Pass discounts on lodging and am debating getting one for husband or me, BUT then there's the usual 7-Day Park Hopper Plus special in early part of year. Since there are an even number of us (2 adults, 4 kids) purchasing the Annual Pass for 1 may not work out to the best. I am, of course, praying the Buy 1, 2nd Half-Price special is on again next January. As I said the debate (with myself LOL!) continues. This will be our only trip within a year for sure. I promised husband we'd do Canadian Maritimes next year for a drive/camp vacation (NOT in January though!). Have always vowed we'd do our own country first, but I recently discovered 10 year olds are considered "Adults" at Disney & Orlando. Yikes! The Maritimes won't be doing that. Florida in January 2003 is looking good now that winter has finally arrived here. I figure we must have a pendulum swing the other way coming and will get plenty of winter next January here to make up for this one!

 

[North7]

The Canadian special sounds like it would be best for you. We are trying something new for us and planning an August trip this summer. We have always headed south at Christmas or in Jan/Feb. Since we are staying for 18 days, we opted for the AP's which I was able to get for $513 Cdn with a DC discount. Once I applied the 30% AP discount that we received on our reservations, it more than made up the difference in price

We are also planning an East Coast trip for summer 2003! Have fun with your Disney planning and keep watching for specials and discounts!