How long is long enough?

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  • June 19, 2020 at 6:39 am #135491

    cdolan1990
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    Thanks again for all the replies guys, i really appreciate it :) I’m looking now perhaps at a 10 days stay (budget permitting) but i’ve got a few questions as i’m a little out of date as i’ve not been in ten years! not to mention the last visit was paid for by my parents haha

    Sorry for the bombardment in advance!

    1) Whats a sensible food budget per adult for a day in WDW if not on a dining plan? I used to only ever really use quick service
    2) WDW hotels would be useful to avoid having to rent a car and parking fee however i’ve been made aware that you can buy DVC point from DVC memebers which they don’t want to use. Has anyone ever done this before and if so, could you recommend any website / services? I’ve taken a look on Davids Disney Vacation Club and i can rent points on there for $20 per point, making a stay at Animal Kingdom Villas cheaper than the same week in Art of Animation (around $1,300)
    3) If we do stay on property (which i’ve never done before) how easy is it to get around from the resorts to the park? Also is it easy enough to get out of WDW? EG to Universal or to International drive for days off from the parks? (i imagine this will vary from resort to resort)
    4) Of the value resorts which would be best for just two adult? I feel Pop centruy particularly would be a little ‘in your face’ for a Honeymoon trip haha

    Please feel free to feed in on any or all of the points :)

    June 19, 2020 at 9:57 am #135496

    bosoxx113
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    1). It really depends on whether you want to rely fully on quick service or mix and match with some table service dinners. We usually stay for 8 days and rely on quick service for all of breakfast and lunch and usually do 5-6 table service restaurants over the 8 nights. The nights you are just doing quick service, you can probably get in under $75-100 bucks a day if not less. You’re more likely looking at $125-$150 a day if you include table service for dinner.

    There are a bunch of ways to save money however. I don’t know if you and your husband like a lot of the same foods but my wife & I share whenever we can. Staying at Port Orleans Riverside, we usually split one of the breakfast platters every morning and grab a cheese danish for a later morning snack. There are some other places you can easily share lunch/dinner based on portions at places like Flame Tree BBQ and Satu’li Canteen in Animal Kingdom, Columbia Harbour House in Magic Kingdom as well as Yorkshire Fish & Chips & Sunshine Seasons in Epcot. Our favorite dinner to split is the Shawarma Platter at Tangerine Cafe in Epcot.

    We also bring down granola bars with us and bring a couple into the parks with us each day for snacks as well as have 3 to 4 water bottles and refill those as opposed to buying a new one every time one is needed.

    3). It’s easier to get around property than a lot of people make it out to be. We aren’t rope drop people but we do show up at the park shortly after rope drop and usually plan on 30-40 minutes for actually waiting for a bus until you are in the park after security. Living and working in a city, our biggest pet peeve with the buses is rarely do people ever move all the way down to make room for others. There are a few good bus drivers that do force people to move down however. We’ve always stayed in the parks but I’m sure (just like families heading back to the airport), you can schedule a taxi to pick you up and bring you to Universal. I’m sure Uber works as well but haven’t used that one ever.

    4). Unfortunately I can’t help you out on this one but we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside for our honeymoon which is a moderate resort and loved it. We’ve been back 3 times since and every time Port Orleans Riverside is our home base.

    Best of Luck!

    June 19, 2020 at 10:37 am #135503

    cdolan1990
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    Thank you :)

    I think for that type of price difference we’ll stick with quick service LOL It gets a little difficult because my wife is Lactose Intolerant so that takes a lot of quick service off the menu, we may not know whats on the allergy menu until we get there and ask for it :) I”d always brings snacks from Walmart when we enter the park on the morning. Drinks in the florida heat are a pretty much a necessary cost

    I do always wonder, because i’ve always heard people complaining about it! Not so much EPCOT or MK because of the monorail, but that MGM and AK are a nightmare to get too! ITs all just a case of advance planning i guess and making sure you leave enough time to get around.

    I did just look at prices for POFQ as it seems to be cheaper than Riverside, not too sure why. I’m glad you enjoyed your honeymoon and your return visits :D

    June 19, 2020 at 1:32 pm #135522

    cdolan1990
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    @Ccoop73 it says you’ve replied but i can’t seem to see it?

    June 19, 2020 at 3:17 pm #135526

    Ccoop73
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    Oh No! Man, I had a bunch of info on there for you. I don’t see it in the Activity feed either? I’ll try to recap. #2 – We Rented DVC points from The DVC Rental Store (https://dvcrentalstore.com/) They were great to deal with. They have a lot of information on the website to help you and also they will check availability for you for free. It seems like they charge about the same price per point as David’s. But instead of you having to pay all up front like David’s, you can pay an initial deposit and then pay as you can. They also have an option for point protection insurance and the ability to add tickets & dining plan also. We rented points last year for a ten day stay at the Boardwalk Resort with the regular dining plan & point protection insurance for about $4400 for the two of us. It worked out great! We dealt with Kate Guthmiller and she very helpful and answered any questions we had. Also, a thing to think about too is that you now have to pay nightly for parking if you are not staying in a DVC room. Each resort charges a different amount. If you have any questions or would like some additional information PM me and I would be more than happy to do what I can.

    June 20, 2020 at 6:49 am #135559

    cdolan1990
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    Spot on ,thank you! I’ll be sure to take a look :)

    It always handy to know someone who’s sucesfully used these services as some type of assurance they’re actually legitimate LOL. we may now have offer free use of a Villa which would be by far cheaper to then rent a car. But i’ll be sure to take a look at the options on DVC rental store :D

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