The Sofia Chiropractic & Herbie's Heros
2010 Disney Trip
- The Basics
- First Step
- Activities
- Room Rates
- Meal Plan
- When: October 13th to October 20th 2010
- Where: Walt Disney World Resort, Olrando FL
- Accomodation Choices:
Some of the activities from the 2005 trip included:
- Halloween Party
- Surf Lessons
- Party for the Senses
- Richard Petty Driving Experience
- Cirque du Soleil
- Hoop Dee Doo Revue
and many more...want to see how much fun we had in 2005?
If you would like to participate in the fun, or have more suggestions to contribute, please complete this feedback form and we will keep you up to date on the plans.
If you have helpful advice you would like to share with the others planning on attending, please submit them to our tip board.
Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort
Disney's All Star Movies Resort
Answer these questions as soon as you can and complete this feedback form
Those of you considering this trip NEED to answer a few questions in order for me to HOLD enough rooms. There is NO FINANCIAL OBLIGATION at this point but if you don’t let me know which type of accommodation you might be interested in I won’t be able to hold them. This is important. You can hold a room and always cancel your request later, but you may not get a room at this rate if you decide last minute that you want to go. We had a lot of people make this mistake in 2005. Even after you have paid for your room (which you won’t need to do for months) you can cancel for a FULL REFUND with as little as 60 days notification, possibly even 30 days once we finalize the contract.
So these are you choices and it gets a little confusing so don’t hesitate to email or call me with any questions.
First I need to know what type of accommodations you want. Luxury or Economy
Second I would need to know if you want a Meal Plan booking or baseline booking. The difference is the Meal Plan booking allows you to make use of the “Meal Plan” option if you so desire. The baseline option excludes you from the option to make use of the “Meal Plan” but adds a significant savings to your room rate whether you have an Economy or luxury accommodation.
Third I need to know which of the days you plan to attend our group vacation.
I need these answers this week in order to secure the SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS we are afforded because of the size of our group and our Non-Profit status. This is a snooze or you lose situation.
First Decision
All Star Resorts (economy accommodation) as low as $74 per night (regular $136.00)
Or
The Wilderness Lodge Resort (not to be confused with “Fort Wilderness”) this is a 5 star luxury hotel not a campground. As low as $179 per night (regular $290.00)
Second Decision
Meal Plan… increases the room rate and adds a cost per person for the meal plan. (It’s worth it if you use it right)
Or
No Meal Plan…Save as much money as possible… Cheaper room rate, eat where and whenever you want.
Third Decision
Our group window reservation is from Wed Oct 13th 2010 through Wed Oct 20th 2010
I will be staying all week but most people in the past opted for a long 4 or 5 day weekend. You can stay as long or as short as you like but I need to hold the rooms and will need to report how many of each room type we will need each night to close this deal. Once again there is no money needed at this point. There is no obligation you can cancel at any time up to 60 days before, but if you don’t hold a spot now you may not be going at all. Better safe than sorry I always say.
Please email me your answers so we can all move forward on this.
Once again,
Pick your hotel… (example) All-Star Resort
Pick your Meal Option… (example) NO Meal Plan
Pick your time frame… (example) Thurs- Sun
How many people will be in your party… (example) four
Email these answers to me.
Using the easy form provided here
Don’t forget to tell me who you are as some peoples email addresses I won’t recognize.
Join Our Disney Adventure!
Click on each link to learn more
Activity |
Estimated Cost |
Fantasmic Dinner Combo |
$50.00 |
Cirque du Soleil La Nouba |
$70.00 |
Richard Petty Driving Experience |
$400.00 |
Party for the Senses |
$135.00 |
Fireworks Cruise |
$40.00 |
Surf Party |
$200.00 |
Hoop Dee Doo Revue |
$52.99 |
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party |
$57.46 |
Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure |
$0.00 |
Free VIP Ride Passes (no lines!) |
$0.00 |
Biergarten Dinner Show |
$39.99 |
Jellyrolls Night Club |
$10.00 |
Camp Fire w/Chip and Dale |
$0.00 |
RoomsEconomy or Deluxe |
|
 |
 |
EconomyAll Star Movies Resort
|
DeluxeWilderness Lodge Resort
|
Only on our
|
|
The Meal Plan
Detailed information on the disney Dining Plans can be found here.
This question was asked by a friend of mine and I posted my response in hopes of helping clarify for all.
Q: I am somewhat confused however by your email which perhaps I am misinterpreting, does getting the meal plan increase the room rate?
A: Yes very confusing but you did understand it correctly. The room rate with the meal plan option is higher than the same room without it. The room is $290.00 per night for that time frame if you called WDW on the phone or booked online or with your travel agent. They discounted the room down to $226.00 per night which allows you the option for a meal plan. For a further discount if you want to give up the option for the meal plan they have discounted the room even more because basically the meal plan cost them money. If you don’t want the meal plan the room rate can be discounted further to $179.00 per night. But they won’t allow you to add the meal plan. The same can be said for the price on the All Star rooms reg price is $136.00 if you call direct, which they discounted for us down to $86.00 per night with the meal plan and even further discounted down to $74.00 per night if you don’t want the meal plan option. I hope this makes more sense to everyone as I do appreciate it gets confusing.
Meal Plan 39.00 per day includes:
1 snack
1 counter service meal
1 table service meal
Snack:
$2 to $5 value. A snack can be any one of the following things - Popcorn, coke, ice cream, water, apple banana, churro, etc.
Counter service:
This is a $10 to $15 value and can be any lunch combination of food from a window service (no waitress, no reservation). We are basically talking about hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken fingers, ribs. With a counter service meal, you get typically the whole “combo” of whatever you are ordering. For example if you ordered a hamburger it would include fries, a drink and most likely something like an applesauce or pudding. The same applies for the other “counter service” choices.
Table service:
This is a $20 to $30 value; now we are talking about making a Priority Seating reservation in any one of the full service sit down restaurants(some restrictions do apply and I’ll get to that in a minute). You will get a Soft drink, a full entrée and a desert, depending on the restaurant. Most likely, this will also include a salad and bread. ****Restrictions**** some of the pricey restaurants like the high end California Grill on the top of the Contemporary hotel or dinner shows like the Hoop Dee Doo Revue, because of their associated expense, you can’t use one day’s “meal” but you can use two days worth of your plan to cover the expense. This means no out of pocket expense but it also means one night you won’t have a dinner available on your plan. This sounds terrible but if you think about on your check out day you probably won’t be able to use most of that days meals anyway so I usually make use of the meal plan to double up on an expensive restaurant just to get my money’s worth. Confused yet?
Pros and cons
Cons:
• If you’re a “grazer” and you are going to snack all day long rather than plan a sit down meal, you will get burnt on this plan.
• If you order inexpensive things as opposed to expensive things you will get burnt.
Example: Snack= banana $2
Lunch= hot dog combo $8
Dinner= spaghetti $12
This totals $22 dollars worth of food when you actually paid $39…dummy!
Pros:
• If you plan accordingly, you can beat this system.
Example:
Snack= chocolate covered ice cream $4
Lunch= BBQ Rib combo $12
Dinner= steak & lobster $30
The total for this option is $39 for $46 worth of food…it adds up after seven days!
• You can trade or exchange items.
Example: you can turn one counter lunch into multiple snacks. Or you can turn one sit down meal into one counter service and multiple snacks. Or you can combine lunches to equal a sit down meal. Or you can use your snacks to purchase food in the convenient store in your hotel such as, a 2 liter bottle of coke or a sleeve of donuts, etc. Most common use will be combining two dinner meals into one expensive meal like the Hoop Dee Doo or the Luau.
I hope I was able to explain this clearly enough because I realize how difficult it is to follow. If you don’t... I have two words for you:
Bag Lunch! Ha ha
I recently Received this information from a good friend...
Hi Mark,
I would add this to help novices understand better.
"The discount received on the cost of food when purchasing the meal plan is estimated at roughly 30% over being financially responsible for your own meals. With that said, if you are not the type of person, or group, who seek to enjoy a sit down (table service) meal every day, the meal plan is not the deal it initially appears to be."
"My average food bill for 2 adults and 1 child for 6 nights and 7 days is $600 30% of that is $180 (I eat mainly at counter service with about 3 table service in a week, accounting for more Table Service: $750 meals, $225 30% discount). The price difference in the rooms is for the Wilderness Lodge is $47 per night. That works out to $329 savings. For the All Stars however is a $21 difference which is only a $147 savings for the week. Another important point in the dining plan it is based on the NIGHTS you stay NOT DAYS. If you arrive early morning and leave late in the day you will be on your own for 1 day."
"The other thing to consider is the difficulty in interpreting what constitutes a 'snack' 'counter service' and 'table service' option when placing your order. This comes into play far more often at the food courts in the All Stars than it does in the Wilderness Lodge or any of the parks. However, in the parks 1 bottle of water is considered a snack, as is 1 ice cream bar or 1 popcorn. So for those of you who will wish to take advantage of the dining plan be prepared to do some research before arriving at WDW. There are several discussion boards available, and you may always contact me (Gary Young, at gjy5199@msn.com) with any questions or concerns. Please place 'Sofia 2010 Trip in the subject line of any message so it can be filtered into a separate folder and I am certain to read it."
"If you find dining with the characters to be a favorite part of your vacation experience, the meal plan can greatly benefit you. The average cost for a character meal is between $28 and $35 for adults and $18- $25 for children. The meal plan has changed for those of you who may have used it in the past. It no longer includes either gratuities or appetizers, so take this into consideration when choosing."
Mark,
I hope this helps. I am happy to receive questions and respond with any advice I can to help 'non-Main Streeters' understand what to expect.