PP I realize you don't advocate the dining plan unless you're getting the free as part of a discount package. However, *can* you 'buy' the dining plan if you rent the DVC rooms via the brokers as you mention here? We splurge on the dining plan as DD has lots of food allergies and it is an utter luxury to have Disney's chefs ensure that she gets all-safe, all-nutritious meals when we're on vacation. Your approach to lodging sounds great -- I just want to make I can buy the meal plan through Disney if I go this route. (PS I agree that the best deals come if you get the Disney Chase card: I've gotten great deals even in 'high' season with this card.)

I hate to actually reveal the secret on such a public forum but. . .the best rooms are the ones you book through the Disney Vacation Club. Of course I'd never join the club but lots of people don't use their week and try to sell it to someone.

You can buy it privately but there are companies that serve as brokers. You pay a little more but still save a lot and if you use a broker, it's safer. You know they will guarantee that you get the room. It was really simple to link the room reservation they did for us with our park tickets.

We went in January and got a 2 bedroom/3 full bathroom villa (full kitchen and laundry inside villa) at Animal Kingdom Lodge for $440 a night. Since we needed two rooms anyway because my parents came alone and wanted to make our own breakfast - this was worth it.

You can book all kinds of rooms at various WDW hotels - regular studio hotel rooms and 1-3 bedroom villas.

Find a broker online and see if they have any promotions. We did pay their full price though and still saved a lot. It's genuinely a good deal and after 11 trips to Disney staying in hotels ranging from All Star Sports to the Grand Floridian - I'd never book it any other way now. The deal is just too good.

*The only time the DVC option might not be the best is if there is a Free Dining promotion when you go. You wouldn't be eligible for it if you book through DVC - only if you stay in a Disney resort room during the promotion and book it through a travel agent or directly with Disney.

The Free Dining plan is great and saves you some money so you have to weigh that against the room savings to see which is a better deal. If there is no FREE Dining Plan added to the Disney rooms, the dining plan is a waste of money and you should book the Disney vacation club rooms to get the best deal.

Before I realized this - I had stayed at hotels all over WDW. The Port Orleans French Quarter was the worst hotel I've ever stayed in at WDW. We had 3 rooms for our family members and all were filthy. I even had really dirty sheets the night we checked in. Nobody vacuumed before we arrived or during our stay. It's not that cheap so I really felt like we got a bad deal. I'd rather stay at the All Star resort and at least save a lot of money than pay $200 a night for Port Orleans. (And the buses from there take forever too)

Anonymous wrote:We are headed to Art of Animation...I'll let you know the review in a few weeks!

We have heard good things but only because the facility is pretty new.

also check out allears.net, undercover tourist and wdw prep school.com

Anonymous wrote:Google mousekeplanners - they will do everything and be honest if they don't have the best deal. They don't make a penny off you, I honestly don't know how they stay in business. I found a 15% off deal thru Orbitz and they were honest with me and told me they couldn't beat it...

They have to be getting a kickback from disney. We just called the mainline and got our hotel reservations directly (we could not do it online due to military). Southwest was the cheapest and flies direct. We used Dollar for our car rental and it was really cheap (but they do not allow two drivers which sucked).

We are headed to Art of Animation...I'll let you know the review in a few weeks!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Military but even some of those are not that great. It is slightly cheaper. Go online and watch as the prices go up and down. We just got back from a moderate resort and were not impressed at all. It was very run down, the staff were unresponsive and the food made us sick. Next time we will stay near Disney but off site. Some of the off site hotels are not any further.

Which resort?

Port Orleans French Quarter. The good news is they didn't have bed bugs. We looked at the Riverside. The food court was slightly better but it was pretty dirty for an off time we went (staff was nicer). It was also very quiet, which was nice.

Anonymous wrote:Military but even some of those are not that great. It is slightly cheaper. Go online and watch as the prices go up and down. We just got back from a moderate resort and were not impressed at all. It was very run down, the staff were unresponsive and the food made us sick. Next time we will stay near Disney but off site. Some of the off site hotels are not any further.

Which resort?

Google mousekeplanners - they will do everything and be honest if they don't have the best deal. They don't make a penny off you, I honestly don't know how they stay in business. I found a 15% off deal thru Orbitz and they were honest with me and told me they couldn't beat it...

Military but even some of those are not that great. It is slightly cheaper. Go online and watch as the prices go up and down. We just got back from a moderate resort and were not impressed at all. It was very run down, the staff were unresponsive and the food made us sick. Next time we will stay near Disney but off site. Some of the off site hotels are not any further.

Any chance you or DH are military? They sometimes offer very good deals for active and retired members of the military.

The best deals inside Disney are usually free meal plans (if you stay at a value or moderate hotel) or 30-40% of rack rates. They usually offer the deals in Sept, Jan, Feb the most but you can get 30% in the summer too.

AAA, mousesavers, pin codes directly from Disney (not sure how you get on the list but if you order the DVD it might get you in their system for discounts).

Expedia and Travelocity offer some packages.

If you have a Disney Chase visa you will get discount offerings regularly.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have tips on how to get the best deal on a Disney resort? I'd like to stay on property. Do Expedia and the like ever offer rooms?

http://www.mousesavers.com/walt-disney-world-vacation-discounts-and-deals/disney-world-resort-hotel-discounts-codes/
Mousesavers should step you through the basics. It's mostly going to depend on when you are going.

Does anyone have tips on how to get the best deal on a Disney resort? I'd like to stay on property. Do Expedia and the like ever offer rooms?