The last (and only) time my wife and I stayed on Disney property was for our honeymoon. Back then (22+ years ago now), we stayed in Dixie Landings (aka Port Orleans now). It was a wonderful trip, and loved the experience of ditching any transportation other than Disney’s transportation for the week.
Since then, we’ve stayed in Timeshares (a friend’s), Condos, and rented homes. Not nearly as convenient, but a WHOLE lot cheaper…particularly with kids in tow.
But in 2020, my wife and I are planning to return to Disney for our 25th wedding anniversary trip alone. No kids. Just the two of us. And we’re splurging, planning to stay on property. As a result, it will probably be our most expensive vacation ever, with or without kids.
After much discussion, we ultimately decided we want to say at The Contemporary in the rooms with a view of MK so that we watch the fireworks from our room, etc. It has also always been a dream of mine to stay at the Contemporary ever since I first visited MK when I was nine. I remember the thrill of seeing the monorail going through the hotel and feeling jealous of the folks who stayed there.
The other thing we want to do is go during the time of the Disney Holiday party…most likely the first week of December or something like that.
Anyhow, I’m wondering what advice folks might have? Also, I’m wondering how early can you book? When I go to Disney’s website to check pricing for that time period at the Contemporary, I found that the rooms we want are already all booked in December, and it is only Feb. How do we ensure we can get the room we want?
Is there any advantage to booking through a travel agent if we plan to drive down to Orlando and not fly? (We have friends who are travel agents, but I’m not sure if there is any advantage using them.)
And yes…my wife and I are notorious for being early planners.