Random planning thoughts .. brainstorm with me

[TammyLynn33]

So this is what I’m debating . Let me preface by saying my big kid will be grade 12 next year so school times are a no because he has I have no clue where he will be for college/uni a victory lap” so I have to look at def off times .
Plan 1. Hilton Head Island for a 5 day stretch in August .. whose been? Is it a horrible drive ?
Then a quick trip at Christmas .. his bad are crowds ? It can be chilly . Airfare looks similar to August
Plan 2. Longer trip to Disney in August thoughts ?
I’ve never booked just tickets through Disney or tickets and dining package as we are dvc now. If o book through Disney can I pay just a deposit on tickets or combo ticket and dining ? Or all upfront as it’s not a room package ? Obviously they’d have to be ordered60 days prior to for FP reasons
Any thoughts .. help me figure this out lol

 

[isabellea]

Deposit is usually 200$ for a package that needs to be paid in full 45 days (or 30 I’m not sure) before the start of your stay. That’s with a regular room, I don’t know about DVC.

Went to WDW for NYE this year and crowds were manageable imo. Very expensive trip but I’m happy we did it. We had perfect weather and the kids enjoyed the pool a lot but I know it’s not a guarantee.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

For the dining plan you can add it to your DVC reservation up to 48 hours before you check in. Although with your DVC membership you will get a discount on many restaurants so you might be better off not getting the dining plan. I believe you have to pay for the tickets in full when you purchase them, but you could get them from Undercover Tourist or somewhere other than Disney and save a few bucks.

To decide when you should go, take a look and see what availability there is first. You will need more points to stay during Christmas break vs. August, so that might be a deciding factor as well for you.

 

[bankr63]

HHI is lovely and a lot of fun if you are into water sports, beaching, and bicycle riding (we bring our bikes, but you can rent). We find the drive easy enough, much easier than Disney buy YMMV. It's 6 hours less drive than Orlando for us, so makes our usual short+long day drive much more bearable. We arrive on HHI mid to late afternoon; for Disney it is usually closer to midnight. You (can) also do it with very little driving on I-95 which is one of the busiest interstates in the US. I find that I-95 exhausts me because you have to be 100% on 100% of the time. I-81/77/26 is a much more relaxed route.

 

[BSBNess]

Deposit is usually 200$ for a package that needs to be paid in full 45 days (or 30 I’m not sure) before the start of your stay. That’s with a regular room, I don’t know about DVC.

Went to WDW for NYE this year and crowds were manageable imo. Very expensive trip but I’m happy we did it. We had perfect weather and the kids enjoyed the pool a lot but I know it’s not a guarantee.

You have to pay in full 30 days before your trip now.

 

[TammyLynn33]

See if I look this summer for Hilton head there’s rooms left so if I book right at 7 months out I’m hoping I’d be safe but i def wouldn’t be heartbroken
If I do decide Christmas I will def book home resort at 11 out and hopefully shouldn’t have a problem.
I think hope that makes sense ..

 

[bababear_50]

Hi TammyLynn are you looking for Christmas 2020 or this year 2019?

I would definitely look at booking a Christmas Holiday at Disney because we have done the August *Hotter than Hades* trip before and never will again.

I find Christmas break averages around 70 and up.(Although one year it got down into the 50's).
It's nice to walk around in your shorts and t-shirt and get a break from Canadian weather.
We are going the very end of Dec 2019 into first week of Jan 2020 this year.
We fly out of YYZ Toronto because we live a 15 min drive to this airport.

Keep in mind that Christmas flights are expensive and many people have already booked opening date flights for Christmas 2019.
We have flown out of Hamilton airport YHM on Air Canada at Christmas.

Air Transat /Air Canada/Westjet are a few options OR drive to the states--get a hotel room for the night (leave car in park N Fly) and fly out of Buffalo,,,,but allow lots of traveling time due to our nasty winter weather and border crossing. One year we had no snow here but as soon as we got near the border Buffalo was a SNOW blizzard and flights were being cancelled.
Another option is to fly on an American airline like Delta,, American, Southwest etc) but try for as short a layover as you can,,Like YYZ to JFK John F Kennedy (2 hour layover)then onto --MCO Orlando.


Keep in mind June/July/Aug/ Sept are PRIME ,,popular,,,busy times at H.H. due to summer vacations.
Definitely check for August 2020 at the 7 month. (Jan 2020).
Hugs
Mel

 

[TammyLynn33]

Looking at 2020 Christmas and 2020 Hilton head
If I’m right I will have my 2019 points banked for the August trip to Hilton head . My 2020 points dec use year will be good for Xmas trip and I can borrow needed extras from the next year correct ?
I need to talk to my lawyer bc I think the wording in custody papers is I have the little kiddos the first week of every Xmas break. I know I would never agree to alternate but I need to double check the wording..
I’d be perfectly ok with a few fast passes a day and get the heck out if it’s nuts
I just need to use points eventually and with big kid going to school ? Where who knows? His breaks? Again who knows but for one more set of vacations I want all of the kiddos together


QUOTE="bababear_50, post: 60618526, member: 138340"]Hi TammyLynn are you looking for Christmas 2020 or this year 2019?

I would definitely look at booking a Christmas Holiday at Disney because we have done the August *Hotter than Hades* trip before and never will again.

I find Christmas break averages around 70 and up.(Although one year it got down into the 50's).
It's nice to walk around in your shorts and t-shirt and get a break from Canadian weather.
We are going the very end of Dec 2019 into first week of Jan 2020 this year.
We fly out of YYZ Toronto because we live a 15 min drive to this airport.

Keep in mind that Christmas flights are expensive and many people have already booked opening date flights for Christmas 2019.
We have flown out of Hamilton airport YHM on Air Canada at Christmas.

Air Transat /Air Canada/Westjet are a few options OR drive to the states--get a hotel room for the night (leave car in park N Fly) and fly out of Buffalo,,,,but allow lots of traveling time due to our nasty winter weather and border crossing. One year we had no snow here but as soon as we got near the border Buffalo was a SNOW blizzard and flights were being cancelled.
Another option is to fly on an American airline like Delta,, American, Southwest etc) but try for as short a layover as you can,,Like YYZ to JFK John F Kennedy (2 hour layover)then onto --MCO Orlando.


Keep in mind June/July/Aug/ Sept are PRIME ,,popular,,,busy times at H.H. due to summer vacations.
Definitely check for August 2020 at the 7 month. (Jan 2020).
Hugs
Mel[/QUOTE]

 

[mort1331]

HH all the way. Itching to go back. The beach is great staff amazing and such a relaxing island. Little suprise we got there are no street lights at night. The wjole island is a turtle sanctuary which is nice. But crazy for driving at night. If the kids are old enough kayak with the Disney reps might be a buck ir 2 more. But the look after everythin launch kayaks right there and very easy for 1st timers.

Sorry i have no info on wdw at xmas no experience ....yet

 

[Days In the Sun]

We've booked a lot in August because that is what worked best for our university kids who usually had summer jobs and their own activities. If you can handle hot, it's a great time to go (lower crowds).

Christmas/New Years is pretty insane really but such a magical time to go. If you are ok with three fastpass rides and using ropedrop to get a few more rides in, it can be a great time. You can still expect reasonable wait times for attractions you'd consider walk-ons at other times of the year. Our last Christmas trip we mixed it up with a Tampa Lightning hockey game and a trip to Kennedy Space Center.

Never been to Hilton Head but it's on my list to do some time (we have a cottage so harder to justify going). I would caution you though as a new member that you have bought into one resort and while you'll have many opportunities to stay at other resorts, they are never guaranteed. Most people get reservations at non-home resorts when they are willing to do split stays or reduce the number of days they want, increasing the unit size (studios are often fully booked by resort members) and revising your dates. So if you are looking at Hilton Head during summer which is prime time, I would suggest a backup vacation plan and hope for some pixie dust.

 

[TammyLynn33]

Thank you so much.. and yeah def aware of that 7 month availability thing. My heart will not be broken if it doesn’t happen or I’m ok with a night or two as I also have 8 free Marriott use nights a year ( my divorce lawyer rocked that one lol)
And yes I think we’d be ok with our three fastpasses rope drops EMMs etc and trips off site ..my big kid absolutely would be up for a bolts game or fla depending on the schedules as he knows a few kids playing on various teams so that would be lovely if the hockey gods aligned the schedule so he could catch up with one or two guys. I think Christmas would just be more for the atmosphere . Big kids are having a hard time with being separated from their little brothers for holidays etc . ( only a week at Christmas and one week per summer so it’s not awful but even the one weekend a month has been hard ) so I think making our holidays when we have them together extra special is important.

We've booked a lot in August because that is what worked best for our university kids who usually had summer jobs and their own activities. If you can handle hot, it's a great time to go (lower crowds).

Christmas/New Years is pretty insane really but such a magical time to go. If you are ok with three fastpass rides and using ropedrop to get a few more rides in, it can be a great time. You can still expect reasonable wait times for attractions you'd consider walk-ons at other times of the year. Our last Christmas trip we mixed it up with a Tampa Lightning hockey game and a trip to Kennedy Space Center.

Never been to Hilton Head but it's on my list to do some time (we have a cottage so harder to justify going). I would caution you though as a new member that you have bought into one resort and while you'll have many opportunities to stay at other resorts, they are never guaranteed. Most people get reservations at non-home resorts when they are willing to do split stays or reduce the number of days they want, increasing the unit size (studios are often fully booked by resort members) and revising your dates. So if you are looking at Hilton Head during summer which is prime time, I would suggest a backup vacation plan and hope for some pixie dust.

 

[Days In the Sun]

Thank you so much.. and yeah def aware of that 7 month availability thing. My heart will not be broken if it doesn’t happen or I’m ok with a night or two as I also have 8 free Marriott use nights a year ( my divorce lawyer rocked that one lol)
And yes I think we’d be ok with our three fastpasses rope drops EMMs etc and trips off site ..my big kid absolutely would be up for a bolts game or fla depending on the schedules as he knows a few kids playing on various teams so that would be lovely if the hockey gods aligned the schedule so he could catch up with one or two guys. I think Christmas would just be more for the atmosphere . Big kids are having a hard time with being separated from their little brothers for holidays etc . ( only a week at Christmas and one week per summer so it’s not awful but even the one weekend a month has been hard ) so I think making our holidays when we have them together extra special is important.

Sounds like you have lots of backup plans in the works so you are well covered. For atmosphere, Christmas at Disney can't be beat IMHO, there is such excitement on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.

Have fun with your decisions!