Going to Disneyworld

My family just went and the end of September, and it was a great time to do. I agree with Amy P look online at all the places that give better rates like Expedia or Hotwire, there are lots of them out there. And you can wait awhile to do this too, just keep going back and prices may change. I heard Sept was the best time to go for money savings. We did not stay in a Disney hotel because we thought they were too much $ and my kids are older anyway so they didn't care. We did not have to wait in line at any of the parks either, and that was awesome!! Hope you have a great time.

I am always booking my next Disney vacation since being hooked 3 years ago :) Right now Expedia has the best hotel deals. Disney website has a section for specials but now everything is for up to June or July. You obviously have to fly so check out how much packaging everything is compared to getting airfare and hotel separately. Pop Century is a great value resort BUT since you have 3 kids, look into All Star Music because they have an awesome and affordable family suite. They just opened the Art of Animation family suite value resort but they are super expensive right now.
DO book the disney dining and book your restaurants 6 mos in advance!!! Even if you don't have your trip set in stone, you can book. The best ones to get to make sure you are getting your money's worth are in my opinion: sitdown are: Ohana's dinner, Cape May seafood buffet dinner, Chef Mickey's anytime, Akershus princess lunch or dinner, Animal kingdom Tusker house character breakfast. * This is where we choose to see the character's because our family does not like to waste time standing in the lines at the parks.
Good luck, have a magical time, and wish I was going with you.
PS; we went end of september and bought the Mickey's not so scary halloween party tickets and it's worth every penny!!!
And if you pay with the Disney citi credit card they give you 0% for 6 mos and points to use on your trip :)

Stay on-site. Park hopper passes. Meal plan. Have fun.

My best friend has gone twice in the past 2 years, She has a 4 year old. They booked with a travel agent both times. The first trip cost aprrox. 2600 with airfare. The 2nd time was 1700 driving. They used meal credits and a lot of times she and her husband would split something. You may want to try a travel agent. Good Luck!

Well, you picked the best time to go so you are ahead of many.

We found out we didn't need the waterpark passes as we would not have time to do them.That saves about $60 per person.
Also, only buy the park passes for the number of days you will be there. You can not legally resell them so why give Disney extra money.

There are FREE Disney planners out there that will help you make the most of your vacation. My niece is one! If you have a facebook account. Look up Krystin Harris Turner and look for her link to her Disney planning service. She would be thrilled to help you out!!

The best place to stay in on property, The value hotels are great, except for the pop century hotel. I'd recommend the All Star movies resort.
Staying at a disney hotel , you get extra hours in the parks, and don't have to pay the parking fee of 15$ a day. And you don't use gas , you can catch a bus, boat or monorail to the parks.
We did not see value in the dining plan, We didn't want to have to plan every meal. we ate once a day in the parks and had other things in our hotel. The food isn't really anymore expensive than mall food. You can take food and drinks into the park. Id suggest a small back pack with snacks for each child. We spent about 1200 on hotel and food for a week. We got a great deal on the hotel ON the disney website.

With 5 of you it's going to be expensive staying on the property because the value resorts only have 4 per room, although I beleive there are some family suites available. NO, you can not order a roll away bed, the rooms are too small for that.

I've heard good things about the meal plan, however, when we drove down quite a few years ago, we did not use the meal plan. We had some food and snacks in the cooler from the drive down, and paid a few extra $$ a day for a fridge in the room. The gift shop has a mini convenience store in the back where you can get items like bread, milk, and juice. It's full retail price. I also recommend eating a meal or two off site.

You can bring food into the park, so plan on carrying a back pack with you.

It will probably rain, so be sure to bring rain ponchos. They cost a fortune in the park.

If you choose the park hopper pass, the more days you stay the less expensive it becomes per day. To stay 5 days vs 4 is only like $7 more.

Forget the water parks. They aren't included with the park hopper tickets. The hotels have great pools if you want some water time.