BudgetTravel

Disney does accommodate service dogs on its cruise ships. Some paperwork is required and the dog may not be able to leave the ship at certain ports. You'll need to coordinate this with Disney in advance.

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Dallas, Tex.: We planed a trip this mid Jan 2008 for WDW. We are going after the Mickey race and before the MLK Holiday weekend, yet we are told that almost ALL hotels are sold out. Our friends that wanted to go with us can only book a room for only 2 WDW hotels (YC, WLCabins). When I asked why so sold out for Jan. during this time, I was not given a reason for any kind of event either. Does this mean that WDW is going to be really full like summer, Easter or Christmas time? We booked thinking January would be the slowest time of the year.

Mary Waring: January is still an off season time at Disney World, since school is back in session and the holidays are over. It's one of my favorite times to visit. Disney World is popular year-round these days and the parks are really never "dead" anymore, but you can expect pretty light crowds in the parks in January and the first two weeks of February, except during the two events you mentioned (the Disney World marathon weekend on January 10-13 and MLK weekend, January 18-21).

Disney aggressively discounts its hotel rooms at that time of year, which may succeed in filling them on some dates. However, even if all of the Disney hotels are fully booked, the off-site hotels will be well below capacity in January. Also, locals usually don't visit the parks much at that time of year. It will not be anything like summer, Easter or Christmas, believe me!

You might have your friends check for room availability on a day by day basis, since if they ask for a range of dates that includes even one "sold out" date, they'll be told the resorts are unavailable. Maybe it's only one date during their stay that is blocking availability.

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Parma, Ohio : Mary, we have booked rooms at the Caribbean Beach Resort at Disney World for 9/18/08 through 9/27/08. We are looking to find discount tickets to Disney World—what should we do? Also is it better for us to cancel our rooms and go with a complete package (room, tickets, dinner)?

Thank you,
Cindy

Mary Waring: I would advise taking a "wait and see" approach. For the past three years, Disney has offered a "Free Dining" vacation package during that time of year. You receive the Disney Dining Plan (two meals and a snack every day for everyone in your party) for free when you book a full-price package that includes your Disney hotel room and park tickets.

The "Free Dining" package has only been offered for stays in late August and early September. It is an enticement to get people to visit the parks during the slowest time of year, and it is a phenomenal deal for most people. It usually becomes available for booking in April. If it meets your needs, just change your existing "room only" reservation to the special package.

If you end up deciding against the "Free Dining" package, or if for some reason it isn't offered in 2008, the cheapest place to buy tickets is usually through a reputable ticket broker. I recommend a very good one on my site.