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@Future Couture: Hello! Sound like a nice plan! My FI and I have gone to Disney World every year for the past 3 years, plus we got engaged there, so we know what a fantastic place it is for couples!
You'll have a great time! You're completely right that crowds, heat, and costs will be more managable in September. Definitely be on the lookout for their "free dining" promotion which usually runs through that time. This gives you one of the lower-level dining plans for free, with the option to pay the difference and upgrade.
One thing to consider too is that hours will be reduced in September as compared to June, so if it's in your budget, consider staying near the Boardwalk (either at the Boardwalk hotel, Yacht or Beach Club hotels, or Swan and Dolphin, which are not disney owned). It'll be nice for you and your new hubby to be able to easily walk to the boardwalk (a great place for romantic walks, plus they also have a dance club and a fantastic deuling piano bar) at night when the parks close early-ish and not have to take a cab back to your hotel if you're staying elsewhere.
Animal Kingdom Lodge is another great option. It's a deluxe like those others, so it's really nice, but it's a little cheaper because it's farther away from the parks. The cool thing is though that there's a savanah with live animals right at the hotel so this gives you the option to go back to your hotel after the parks close early and use their night vision goggles to check out the animals! Plus, what could be better than waking up and looking out your window to see zebras and giraffes! We've stayed there and loved it!
Sorry for writing you a novel... I'm kind of a Disney nut! Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.
Please do not apologize for the novel! I have only been once, so any information that I can get from people is helpful. I am assuming you might have a time share their since you go so often, but do you have any suggestions on the best way to book the triP? Directly through Disney, or through something/someone else? I also was hoping to include the dining plan, so I was guessing Disney or AAA would be my options. Lastly, to take advantage of that free dining, if I book the trip now but that offer comes up, do you think they would validate the free dining for me since I booked early? Or should I wait to book a little later to wait for the promotion?
We got married on December 11th. We wanted to do at least 10 days for a honeymoon, which would have put us back way too close to Christmas. So we opted to fly to Vegas for a couple of nights after the wedding and then once the holidays cleared we went on our actual honeymoon. It was perfect.
@mwitter80: Sounds like a great plan! I am not going to lie, I might be a little more excited for the honeymoon than the wedding ;)
@Future Couture: Great questions! Believe it or not, we actually don't have a time share. We book a package each time. We've booked our packages on our own, directly through disney for the past 3 times. We were planning on going for our honeymoon (in september actually!) and started working with a travel agent just so we would have someone to take care of the little details while we're busy planning the wedding. Travel agents are nice because it doesn't cost you a dime to work with them (they get a comission from disney, I think). You just have to be able to be a little bit hands off (which is hard for me, haha). Anyway, we just decided to venture over to the west coast to try Disneyland for the first time, so we're staying with the same travel agent but just having her book the disneyland package instead. (Feel free to PM me if you'd like our agen't info, she's been great so far!)
So basically I'd say go through disney if you feel comfortable (it's always fun to call and book because they usually wish you a magical day when they hang up,) or use a travel agent that specializes in Disney travel. Agents can book you a AAA rate (our agent is going to do that for our DL trip since no specials have come out yet), so you don't have to use a AAA agent to get those discounts. Just make sure you tell them you're a AAA member. (PS: some of the tours and extra stuff might have AAA discounts too, so be sure to ask when booking).
And from what I understand, if you book a trip before a discount comes out, you are eligible for the discounted price or special perk like free dining! That's another nice thing about travel agents. If you're not a nut like me and my FI (who listen to disney podcasts and are constantly up to date on the latest discount offers), a good travel agent will keep their eyes open for these deals and will adjust your package and price based on that. I'd just make sure if you go that route, that you make sure your travel agent does do this. I think the good Disney specialists do though.
Also, you'll hear both good and bad about the dining plan but IMO, it's amazing! We love the resturants at DW so we get the delux dining plan. I love the feeling of never having to take out a credit card or think about how much a meal costs while on a trip, plus always knowing you get dessert is nice too! If you and your FI are lighter eaters, this might not be for you. It definitely depends on what you're looking for.
One other random piece of advice... google a product called a hydroflask. It's the best purchase we've ever made! It's this ridiculous water bottle that somehow keeps water ice cold all day! We took it when we went for a week last August (yes, florida in august). We would fill it up with ice and water in the morning at our hotel, and it always had solid ice left by the end of the long, hot day! It's not a cheap water bottle but it paid for itself considering we didn't have to buy expensive disposable water bottles or sodas in the park. Plus then you can use your snack credits (if you get the dining plan) for goodies rather than water. :-)
@FutureMrsBondo: Thank you SO SO much for all the advice. Where did you go to find your travel agent? I will have to start asking around and see if anyone has a good one in my area. I am going to check out the local AAA agency and just to talk to them to see what they have to offer and how friendly they seem! HAHA I think the reason why we don't want to stay out of Disney is for the dining package. I originally thought about the deluxe plan, but I think we are just lighter eaters for that much food! So I think the regular dining plan is going to work best for us. Plus, we are driving so since we don't really eat breakfast, and if we do its something small, we wil bring our own breakfasts. That way we can save the other credits for other things.
And I have heard about that hydroflask from a couple of the Disney boards around. I think I will def. look into it. I think I we will probly bring water bottles, but we could easily add it to that and add those little crystal lite packs while in the park since the park's water isn't too yummy.
we are getting married in Sept but going on our honeymoon in April when its cold here and not hurricane season down south!
We are getting married in May and honeymooning in August. Bar review starts right after the wedding so we will be celebrating our honeymoon, and me being doing with the bar, and my brithday in August.
We got married in April, took a minimoon road trip for a couple of nights and then did our honeymoon one month later. :)
@elephant: Kind of sounds like what I think we are going to do. I want to book the disney trip soon so we can stay where we want to! But I think we will do a few New Hampshire days. We took our first vacation together there so it has some sentimental value to it as well.
@Future Couture: We actually used a travel agency that one of our favorite disney podcasts recommended. She's not local. We work with her via phone and internet and it's gone smoothly so far. Definitely a bonus if there's someone great nearby! Best of luck in your agent hunt and in your trip planning! You're going to have the BEST time!
our wedding is in august and we are taking our honeymoon over thanksgiving :)
We got married at the end of March (2010) and honeymooned the following June. It was nice to have a special trip to look forward to. I was also happy to not have to worry about packing for going away for a week with all of the wedding activities going on. We did go to a resort a few hours away for a 3 or 4 days following the wedding. I think you will be really happy with your decision to wait until September.
@FutureMrsBondo: Thank you :) I think we are going to hit up AAA next week, and talk with people that we know who have gone a lot to Disney. I think we decided we might do the full package through Disney or AAA cuz we def want the dining package, and might just be easier for us since we are Disney newbies.
@lampshade127: I like that idea too. Especially since we are making the 24 hour drive to Disney, it will be nice to just drive up to NH for a few days after the wedding, and then have another vacation to look forward to just a few months later :)
@vmec: Your wedding is my fiance's birthday! haha hope you have a great day/honeymoon!
Our wedding is in September, and we're not going on our honeymoon until December! I'm starting a new job in August so I won't have built up enough leave time to take off time for the wedding and a honeymoon, so we're waiting. Plus it's hurricane season in September so it was already going to be tough to find a good spot. We'll have more options in December (and more money now that I'll be out of school and working).
@Future Couture: We got married in October and didn't go on our honeymoon until May of the next year. We were in the process of moving and signed a contract on a condo two weeks before the wedding. We just didn't have the time or the money to go on a honeymoon right away. Taking it later was awesome when we were settled into our condo and neighborhood.
Thank you ladies! Good to know that we are not the only couple that is waiting for our honeymoon. While it would be our dream to go right after the wedding, I think we will enjoy it even more and love the time together even more since we are almost getting a mini vaca and a big vaca :)
Hi! This is similar to what we're doing. We're getting married Friday the 24th (Nine days...Eeek!), going away for the weekend semi-locally, cheap trip... But then in August we're taking a nine day vaca! Everyone I've told has been like--"Oh! You'll be sooo happy you're doing it that way, you'll get two trips instead of the typical 'one honeymoon', it'll be so worth it, etc!" So that's good. :) However at this point of planning I'm kinda wishing I had a week off work after the wedding to chill! All in all, though, I feel like we'll be happy we are doing it this way.
Have fun!
@JamieAnnette: oh WOW!! You are sooo close :) Congrats!!! I hate that I still have a year to go. I hope you have a blast on your big day and when your honeymoon comes! Good weather, good times, good company!
We're doing something similar too!! We didn't want to "waste" the money to travle somewhere tropical when there is nice summer weather to enjoy at home so we'll be taking a week-long trip to Punta Cana in November. :) We are doing a little "minimoon" right after the wedding - just spending a few hundred dollars for a little 2-night getaway in the Wisconsin Dells (it's pretty close for us).
I think honeymoon delays are fairly common. Even if we'd had the funds to do a honeymoon immediately after teh wedding, we couldn't have done so. We are full time college students with kids in school and we married during Spring Break week. But we don't have the money now that school is out. We might be able to do it at the end of summer, otherwise it will have to wait until...? Winter break or Spring break 2012 which at that point would be an anniversary trip but whatever. As long as we get the trip in the end!
Plus we loathe hot weather, so waiting makes more sense if we have to. We'd love a winter "honeymoon" in Colorado and might combine it with a Christmas trip with the kids but have them stay in separate lodging (eldest is 19 so it'd be ok)..
We got married in June, but aren't taking our honeymoon until October. I just started a new job less than a month ago and I didn't feel comfortable asking for a lot of time off right off the bat. Also, he has 2 kids from his previous marriage who are spending the summer with us, so this way we'll be able to spend more time with them.
Yup, we had no desire to go from wedding to a plane the next day.
Our wedding was August 7 and we did not leave for our honeymoon till mid September. The plus side is then it doesn't feel like I was gone from work as long. And I wouldn't be as stressed out. There's just too many loose ends to tie up after the wedding I would not be able to relax leaving immediately afterwards. We enjoyed the wind down time at home after the wedding.
We are in Western New York and are getting married in July. Our plan is to just go away for a few days close to home and then when it gets cooler in October to go down to the Outer Banks in NC for a week.
We're doing the same thing! Our wedding is in October, and we'll take a weekend 'mini-moon' close by, but since we're students we will have to be back in class the following Monday! We decided to do our week-long honeymoon in December so we could go during our winter break and catch the end of the "slow" season, which meant everything cost about half what it would typically be when we booked.
TOtally starting to get more excited for the honeymoon than the wedding itself. Confession: I suggested a very small wedding so that we'd have more of the budget to devote to the travels afterward....
We have a gap as well- wedding in August and honeymoon in September. It seems more traditional or maybe just more hollywood to leave for the honeymoon right after the wedding; in the real world the wedding is enough to plan and stress over I want to catch a breather in between! Plus the anticipation of traveling is a really big part of the fun, so I'm glad that it won't all be over and one with in one shot with the wedding.
@missmidcentury: I completely agree with you! Especially since we are going to have a 24 hour drive to Florida. While i cannot wait for it, I don't want to have to do it the day after the wedding! plus, we are getting a few days off and going to new hampshire, and our real honeymoon in september. i'll take to vaca's any day. hope you have a blast!
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Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue, or has gotten married and not immediately going on your honeymoon after. Our wedding will be June 10, 2012, and we want to go to Disney World. However, from what I have heard and read, this is not the most ideal time to be visiting Mickey's home. Very hot, lots of crowds. I was thinking about possibly going on our honeymoon in September since school will be back in session and crowds will have died down, along with lower prices and not as hot weather. While the "hurricane season" does come into affect, I am not sure if this is a weird concept. My thought was that we could make a couple day trip to New Hampshire (weirs beach or something) after the wedding, and then do the big honeymoon in September. Anyone else do this kind of thing?