First Trip to WDW (as a Canadian Resident) - Opinions PLEASE!

[katekirisit]

Hey everyone!

I am need of some guidance, advice, tips & tricks, and general public opinion.

I am planning our very first trip to Disney World in Orlando for mine and my husbands honeymoon and I am curious if the price I was given for my vacation package is worth it or not, and I thought some seasoned WDW fans may be able to shed some light for me.

I am using a licensed Disney travel agent and have done extensive research on pretty much all things WDW. (to the point where I am now only finding reviews and forums I have already read LOL)

I understand everyone has different needs, desires, expectations, experiences etc.. but this is mine and my husbands first trip so we have none of that to go off of (only other people's opinions) - our budget for this trip is $11,000 (this includes everything including flight, vacation package, and spending money) it may be worth repeating that this is for a honeymoon and as you will see--we have opted for the dining plan as this is a great option for me and my husband.

The problem is.. every forum or review I read regarding WDW pricing is always shown in USD which throws me right off because of how much I am paying in CAD. (I know our exchange rate blows at the moment) I just want to know if the pricing you see below seems like a proper price point or not. We have already placed a deposit down, we are fully intending to take this trip regardless. again---just looking for other Canadian's opinions who have done this before.

Here the vacation details:

TRAVEL DATES: February 4th to 11th 2024
# OF TRAVELERS: 2 adults
PARK TICKETS: 4-day park tickets (2 people - NO park hopper)
DISNEY RESORT: Coronado Springs Resort (staying in Gran Destino Tower, standard view)
DISNEY DINING PLAN: yes - Standard DDP (we know this is controversial for some people -- my husband and I WILL get the value out of this)
FLIGHTS: Covered with Aeroplan points

VACATION PACKAGE TOTAL: $7001.11 CAD (for everything listed above minus the flights obviously lol)

Does this price for what we are getting seem worth it to you?

Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[disneyfan123]

$3500 CAD/person for 7 nights at Disney sounds pretty reasonable to me; you'll be flying in as we are flying back to Halifax. Congratulations on your wedding! We wanted to do our honeymoon at Disney but we got married in August, and thought it was too hot at that time of year. Now we are heading down in a week for our 20th anniversary...I guess we'll find out if we were right or not!

A couple of options you could look into which may not lower your cost, but could upgrade your stay while staying within that $7K range is buy the UK Disney tickets (https://www.attractiontickets.com/e...walt-disney-world-resort/disney-14-day-ticket) and rent DVC points.

The UK tickets are totally fine to use for Canadians (we used them on our last trip) and while you obviously won't use all the park days, it will give you park hopping, and photo pass (or whatever it's called now...memory maker?). It's a great value.

Renting DVC points locks you in, as cancellation rules are very strict (and you may not be able to at all), but it may be worth looking into. Staying at a deluxe resort gives you some extra perks (evening extra magic hours are really great) and nice accommodations.

Do you have a cost breakdown available for tickets/hotels? I'd be curious to know what you are budgeting for those.

Have a great trip!

 

[KeroKero]

Congratulations!! I quickly priced your vacation out (based on the info you proved) on the WDW site and it came to apx $4,600 USD. I converted that on xe.com into CAD and it only comes to $6,100 apx. Did your agent give you that converted price? I recently booked our 2024 trip via an agent as well (our first time ever using an agent) and we were quoted in USD.

 

[Skippyboo]

Congratulations!! I quickly priced your vacation out (based on the info you proved) on the WDW site and it came to apx $4,600 USD. I converted that on xe.com into CAD and it only comes to $6,100 apx. Did your agent give you that converted price? I recently booked our 2024 trip via an agent as well (our first time ever using an agent) and we were quoted in USD.

Did you factor dining plan in your calculations that may explain the difference?

 

[2Lunds]

Good price. Early Feb is right in the middle of the range for high/low season. Before buying DVC we spent between 7K and 10K (CAD) per trip, depending on the hotel.

Coronado is a great choice for a honeymoon - not as many kids, slightly off the beaten path (though still convenient to parks) and really nice restaurant/lounge options.

Try to find a seat sale for your airfare and you can officially start patting yourself on the back

EDIT: "flights covered by Aeroplan" WELL THEN - LET THE BACK-PATTING COMMENCE!!

 

[Shellyred8]

I priced this out on Disney's site using the DDP (not quick serve DDP) and came up with about 5161.16 usd. Using an exchange rate of 1.32, that puts it at about 6812.73 CAD. So, the price your agent gave seems reasonable.

A few thoughts based on my honeymoon experience using the DDP (back in 2011): While we did get our money's worth out of it, we had to work to make that happen. I felt like we had to spend more time than I wanted making reservations. I also always felt like we were eating and I always felt really full. It was fun to try restaurants that we wouldn't normally go to though. Since then, we've only done the DDP for a couple of 2-3 night stays. I won't do it again for a longer trip as we just don't eat that much. If you feel like you will get your money's worth out of it, go for it.

Make sure to have your TA watch for discounts for your time frame. There aren't any out there right now, but there most likely will be some in the future. They should be able to get you the discounted price if something comes up.

Happy planning and Congrats!!

 

[old feller]

Seems about right
Please get the memory maker

 

[2Lunds]

Seems about right
Please get the memory maker

YES!

 

[KeroKero]

I do apologize. I added in the wrong dining plan. Corrected, its $5161.16 USD, which is still a bit less at $6800 CAD (as per the xe converter 1.316). It's in the same ballpark I guess. As @Shellyred8 suggested, make sure your TA keeps an eye out for any upcoming discounts and yes; the memory maker would make a great add on for this very special trip.

 

[katekirisit]

Thank you everyone! these responses are great! - keep em coming! anything you can think of is greatly appreciated by this first timer