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DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2013
A friend of mine asked me this spring to help me plan a trip to Disney World for her family. It would be a family of 5. The parents and three boys ranging in age from 5 to 9. She was trying to go for as cheap as possible. She doesn't care if it's hot, she wants it with the smallest crowds possible and doesn't care if the kids miss any school. They are planning to drive down and take two days to do it each way. She only wants to take one week off work. She also said she wanted to stay off site because she wasn't paying any more than $70 a night but she wanted a hotel with a shuttle to the parks because she doesn't want to drive anywhere. She wants to leave Friday after work, arrive Sunday evening, go to parks Monday-Thursday, leave Friday and get back home on Sunday. 5 days of driving for 4 days in the parks seems miserable to me but whatever. Also, she wanted to spend no more than $2000.
In those parameters I suggested she go in the first half of September. I said if I were her I would hold off for a bit and see if there would be a free dining offer, which historically there is free dining offered during that time. Given her family size she would need to stay in a moderate because the value rooms only sleep 4 (except the family suites which are expensive) during free dining. I talked her into that and we sat tight for free dining dates to be released.
I stayed on it and the day they were released I spent hours running different configurations of dates and resorts and found the best deal for her. She came over that night and, as you all know how that roll out went. The system was crashing left and right and half the time if the system didn't crash it told me there were no rooms available etc. I finally got the right dates and a good deal and told her if she wanted it she needed to book it now. She says "well, let's wait awhile. I'll book it next week." It ain't gonna be there next week.
She did not end up booking the trip which bugged me since I had spent so much time on it.
In those parameters I suggested she go in the first half of September. I said if I were her I would hold off for a bit and see if there would be a free dining offer, which historically there is free dining offered during that time. Given her family size she would need to stay in a moderate because the value rooms only sleep 4 (except the family suites which are expensive) during free dining. I talked her into that and we sat tight for free dining dates to be released.
I stayed on it and the day they were released I spent hours running different configurations of dates and resorts and found the best deal for her. She came over that night and, as you all know how that roll out went. The system was crashing left and right and half the time if the system didn't crash it told me there were no rooms available etc. I finally got the right dates and a good deal and told her if she wanted it she needed to book it now. She says "well, let's wait awhile. I'll book it next week." It ain't gonna be there next week.
She did not end up booking the trip which bugged me since I had spent so much time on it.