honeymoon help!

[enigma412]

Hi Everyone! I am new to disboards and i am hoping to get lots of good information.

I am a little stressed. My fiance is out of state, so a lot of the wedding leg work has fallen on me. We have been going back and forth over ideas for a honeymoon and we finally decided on DisneyWorld (my first choice). But that is about all we decided on.

We are getting married March 27th and want to go on a honeymoon, March 29th-April 5th. We were told by various TA's that this is a peak travel time, spring break time and 2 weeks before Easter so it might be more crowded than if we would go a different time. Has anyone traveled to DW during this time? Was it really crowded? How was the weather?

Next, we are torn about where to stay. We are hoping to stay around $3000 for the trip. Every TA has told us to stay in the deluxe hotels and get the best package (gold i think). We have no idea what is the best hotel or package for the money.

I have been to DW numerous times with parents and school. I have had a wonderful time and i am very excited to go. I am concerned that we might not be able to go for $3000 and while we want to stay within a budget we do want to have a wonderful memorable time.

I know this is lengthy but any advice or recommendations you could offer would be appreciative. Thank you for the time and i am excited for joining the disboards!

Thanks!

 

[Fantasia Sam]

Ok here's what I can help with "where to stay" - Is that $3000 including meals?

Your dates I think fall into regular season room-rates for 2004 not peak time which will help you out. The best value deluxe resort is IMHO AKL and you could book a Savannah view room here that would be within your budget. It's a great resort as it's tranquil and you don't get a lot of the "just having a nose crowd" Or if you do want to get more for your money why don't you go for a Water view/King Room at one of the Moderates. I'm a fan of CBR with the beaches and the hammocks and the rooms but I love the romanticsm (is that a word?) of Port Orleans. This way you'll get more for your money but no private balcony.

Whilst I am a room-only advocate and like to try and get discounts check out www.mousesavers.com for deals - I think that an all in package would be great for a honeymoon this is where your package price includes dining at any of the restaurants on site. This way you'll know that you only have to budget for spending money whilst there and not worry about other costs.

Oh well this is a good starting point. I'd also ask your questions on the resort board as they'll have more opinions and tell you ways of saving on package and stuff - but certainly 8 nights in WDW for $3,000 can be done even for a honeymoon couple.

 

[QJ411]

Hi Enigma,

We had our Honeymoon in WDW last December and we worked off a budget also. The good thing was we booked through Disney directly instead of a travel agent and were able to pay it off little by little. (Hey we had to pay for our wedding, )

We spend a bit over your budget, BUT, we went overboard...so I think w/ $3,000 its a really good start. We stayed at WL, we didn't get the "gold" pckg...we only got the basic Honemoon pkg which included a Disney Honeymoon tote w/ a photo frame, a photo album, a small spa set, a box of chocolate, his and her Honeymoon pins and lanyards. It also included a 1hr session w/ their photographer to walk with you around any park you want to take photos and they fed-ex you the complete "honeymoon" album.

We had dinners in Cindy's Castle, at the Poly - Spirit of Aloha (Then it was just called Polynesian Luau), Chef Mickey's, etc. So it was a GREAT. Get the Mickey/Minnie wedding ears and you'll see the special treatments, you get free desserts, get your own car/boat on rides, all the smiles and congrats you can imagine and when CM's sees you, they'll make a BIG deal out of it and make LOUD announcements. Its fun, and VERY SPECIAL.

Sorry I can't tell you how the crowd is during that time, but I think w/ your budget, you can do very well.

I agree w/ Fantasia Sam, check MOUSESAVERS.COM often, they do have great deals! We did ALOT of research and this forum REALLY helped us...

Feel free to send me a PM if you want any more info or if I can help you. Relax, Enjoy, and CONGRATS!!!!

 

[Octoberbride03]

I'm going on my Disney Honeymoon in just a few days now FH and i had a great travel agent, and ny FH also lives in a different state than me, so i know where your coming from about doing all the work.
I say you take your time and book your trip yourself. The TA's you've been speaking to sound a bit high pressure. So search the net, and find what's best for you. FH and I actually booked our trip with another tour company other than disney, so look there too.
Look at ALL the hotels, not just the Deluxe ones like contemporary and the AKL. FH and i are staying at Coronado Springs, which is a moderate hotel. Lower in price but theming is just as good as any Deluxe hotel(excepting maybe AKL...live animals outside your window are to beat admittedly).
Also decide where you wanna spend your money. Do you wanna spend more on the hotel? Or more on souveniers? Look around, visit different links and scan these boards.

Good luck and congrats.
Maureen

ETA: A couple of links to get you started
our laughing place
Deb's WDW information

 

[hmp2z]

Hi! We have stayed on the gold plan, and, in my opinion, it is just TOO much food for anyone to actually eat. And if you don't eat, you don't get anywhere near your money's worth. We decided that we would stay silver plan, if we ever stay on a plan again, b/c 2 full meals are enough for us - consider that each meal includes app, entree, and dessert, and you just can't realistically eat 3 of those each day.
We have actually started going off the plan, b/c it saves money. The only way the gold plan was worth it to us on our WDW wedding trip was because we like to do it up, and we did things like go parasailing, which would have normally cost us $400. But if you aren't really into parasailing, I would either go with the regular passes, or go with the silver plan. Those honeymoon packages aren't as good - you don't get meals, and are wasting money on things like photos, that you could get for yourself for around $8! Seriously, if you look at what you get, it is definitely worth it to either buy the room only, then passes separately, or to go with the silver package that at least includes meals, too.
We have stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort (only moderate I've ever stayed at), and while the theming is pretty nice, I really missed having the private balcony and inside entrance of the deluxe hotels.
As far as deluxes, the cheaper ones are the WL and the AKL. The theming is very, very similar - both have dark lobbies and dimly lit rooms, but one is more African, and one is more Western. For me, it's a toss up between the two - I'm not a huge fan of either, but I like them better than the moderates, b/c I'm big on the balcony. At the WL, you will have a more secluded balcony, b/c at the AKL, everyone is out on their balconies all the time, watching the animals. That doesn't happen at the WL, so you will probably get more balcony privacy, if that is important to you. We stayed in the honeymoon room there, and had a beautiful view of the fireworks and a completely private balcony.
If you are going around Easter weekend, or Spring Break, it will be very, very crowded at WDW. We went there for Spring Break, when we were planning our wedding, and didn't even bother to get passes to go into the parks, b/c it was crazy how long the lines were for everything. I will say, though, that the weather was BEAUTIFUL - low 70's and sunny every single day.
Cheers!
Heather W

 

[kandmwedding]

We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside for our 6-night honeymoon this coming January. For the first three nights we booked the silver package (this will allow to do Cirque du Soleil, dinner shows, and tours for free). The other three nights we just booked the regular Dream maker package. This came to about $2000. If you add to that $300 for airfare, $80 for tranportation to/from the airport, and extra for food and souveniers that would put us just under $3000. Depending on what packages you are interested in, you can definitely come in right around $3000 also. Like a previous poster, I wouldn't go with the gold package - it's just way too much food. Check into the silver package, since you can use those wishes for food also. Or do like we're doing and use them for shows and tours and buy your own food. Check out wdwig.com for tons of information about resorts, restaurants, and packages. Look at mousesavers.com for deals and tips. And we booked through dreamsunlimitedtravel.com so you might want to check them out. They've been great to work with, and will arrange everything for you (from priority seatings to tours to whatever else you'd like). Good luck!!