Honeymoon Advice?? Ask The Disney Experts Discuss Honeymoon Advice?? in the Ask The Experts forums; My fiancee and I are going to Disney World for our Honeymoon in September 2010. I have booked a room at the Grand Floridian however my fiancee really likes the ...

[endlessescape27]

My fiancee and I are going to Disney World for our Honeymoon in September 2010. I have booked a room at the Grand Floridian however my fiancee really likes the contemporary resort. He was suggesting we split the time between both resorts. I just dont see the Contemporary as a Honeymoon resort. We have not stayed at either one of the resorts before. Any thoughts or advice on the resorts or anything useful for that matter would be greatly appreciated!!!

[Sharon&Randy]

Congratulations!
Very Exciting!!

We have not stayed at either resorts but have stayed at the Polynesian.
I think it was wonderful to stay at a monorail resort!
My first thought is: How long is you trip?
For myself if I was staying a week I would chose one place and sit tight.
I think that would be more relaxing. Unless you are veteran Disney goers.

Have fun planning your wedding and honeymoon!!

[zima-cheryl]

Congratulations on the upcoming wedding!

Splitting is a nice way to try 2 different resorts. And the WDW folks will move your bags for you so it is pretty easy for you (you just have to pack/unpack). Catch is if you are doing the dining plan or anything else when you move hotels your plan ends/restarts.

Since it is your honeymoon be sure when you make any/all reservations that you let folks know. And get buttons when you get there & wear them. You'll love all the little things people do for your (free sodas, cookies, let you ride in the front of the roller coster, etc).

Keep in mind, it isn't the resort that really makes your trip, it is what you decide to do. Take advantage of the restaurants, special shows, etc. Since you are on the monorail line (at either of those 2 resorts) think about the Aloha show @ the Poly. Or an early breakfast @ Crystal Palace in MK. Takeone afternoon & have a nice dinner & do the balloon over at DTD. (Paradiso 37 & Ragalan Road are our favorite 2 over there.)

Maybe throw in something different? A tour, dinner @ Victoria & Albert's or a spa trip to help you celebrate starting your life together.

[endlessescape27]

We are staying for 2 weeks. We decided to go with the Grand Floridian for the whole two weeks. We have been to disney before and stayed at the Polynesian twice. We wanted to do something different. We were definitely going to do Paradiso 37 and the balloon in downtown disney. We are sooo excited!! Has anyone done the photopass service or the dining packages??? we have never done it but were thinking about it. Is the dining worth it/easy to use?

[zima-cheryl]

Both are very easy & convienent to use.

We use photopass every trip. I do not buy the CD ahead of time since for the 2 of us it isn't cost effective. I do buy 1 or 2 pix off the website after we get home (assuming they got some good ones of us). Also, remember, if you ask they will take the same picture w/your own camera too. Of course you can't add the nifty boarders, dates, etc. to your own shots that they have on the website, but is nice to get the pix w/both of you in it (99% of ours are only one of us since the other is taking the pix).

If you are going in Sept. you might get free dining. They always say not to expect it, but I think they've done that for quite a few years now.
We like the dining plan (regular one) but we are also the type to stop & have a nice meal each day. Some folks don't like giving up 1 - 2 hours to enjoy a nice sit down meal, and if you are in that category the quick service only plan or no plan at all would be a better fit probably. The down side of the plan is now it doesn't includ tip. And it has never included alcoholic drinks - so you still need to have some $$ for meals. Even so I like knowing the majority of the trip is paid for ahead of time (last trip when we cashed out our charges were under $200).

Also - I noticed that you said 2 weeks & you decided on the Grand Floridian. I will toss out, that is such a long trip that it is a good one for the hotel switch. Do a week at each or 10/4 on the days. For a week or less, it may not be worth it, but for that length it might be a nice change & even if you loose a few hours re-packng/unpacking, you have so much time there it won't matter so much. And they will move your bags for you - drop them at bell services that morning & they move them to your new resort. And if you are on the fence for the dining plan that would let you do just part of your trip on the plan & the other w/out it.

[Sharon&Randy]

Originally Posted by endlessescape27

We are staying for 2 weeks. We decided to go with the Grand Floridian for the whole two weeks. We have been to disney before and stayed at the Polynesian twice. We wanted to do something different. We were definitely going to do Paradiso 37 and the balloon in downtown disney. We are sooo excited!! Has anyone done the photopass service or the dining packages??? we have never done it but were thinking about it. Is the dining worth it/easy to use?

Wow! Congratulations going for 2 weeks!
I agree with zima-cheryl. It would be great to split the vacation. A week each resort. 2 thumbs up! You can even do a different area like the Beach Club and be by Epcot and the Boardwalk or the African Savannah. You have a lot of options.
We have done the free dining in September. We have always enjoyed it and it saves our family of six a lot of money. During that time there is usually room discounts available. Free dining and the room discounts cannot be used at the same time. It is one or the other.
We have used the photopass. We were able to purchase really cute photo christmas ornaments for gifts. They came out very nice.
Are you doing the planning for your trip or are you using a travel agency?
We have used Mouse Fan Travel and it is very helpful.
Hope this helps!

[HauntedGabe]

Splitting for 2 weeks would be so easy but I would not do it with the Contemporary. We have stayed there and the hotel is nice, but so many visitors that are not staying at the hotel. It was strange and awkward to come down the elevator to go to the pool and be in the middle of people.
It is also a very loud hotel.

I'd go for the GF and then to the Beach Club.

Congratulations.

[zima-cheryl]

Originally Posted by Sharon&Randy

We have done the free dining in September. We have always enjoyed it and it saves our family of six a lot of money. During that time there is usually room discounts available. Free dining and the room discounts cannot be used at the same time. It is one or the other.

Actually, our TA has stacked a couple deals for us in the past. (We use the Magic for Less.) I was shocked when she gave us the news, because I too had always thought you couldn't do that. And she couldn't do it w/every deal, but some you can evidently. It was a very pleasant surprise!

And I agree w/Sharon & Randy -- A TA is the only way to go unless you are a math genious. W/all the different deals & options they are very good at running the #'s and giving you your options. The WDW TA's are very nice, but not nearly as helpful.

[williams]

We spent our Honeymoon at Disney December 29, 2007 for two weeks and did one week at the Port Orleans Riverside and then switched to our second week at Coronado Springs. Both were great and we loved the idea of getting to experience two different hotels, pools etc.


Best Regards,