Planning a Disney Vacation!!!

[pilen13]

Dear All,

I am planning a vacation for my family of 4, our kids are 8 & 12 years old. Since we've never been to Disney and Florida, I am open to any recommendations.
I would request that these questions be answered. Thanks.

1. How long of a vacation is enough to fulfill my kids needs?
2. What areas of Disney to you recommend?
3. Do I need a car?
4. Should I fly or Drive?
5. WHERE DO YOU RECOMMEND WE STAY ( KID FRIENDLY)?
6. Any recommended excursions you recommend?
7. Best place to book the vacation?
8. How much should I budget a week to cost? ( includings flights, meals , everything)
9. Are there better savings booking / or flying thru Buffalo?

Your input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Pilen

 

[goldfinger]

was there in 2000.

Bring sun screen as it was hot when I went 28c and no wind.

If you book with Dis you stay on site, get a car if you plan on going off site etc. Dis has shuttle service between resorts.

4 days to a week would be enough.

Fly is faster 3 hours vs drive time.

figure on $50-60 per person per day to be safe ( rides and gift shops etc )

Check with different travel agents or look at disney itself for bookings and rates.

 

[Mr Bret]

I don't have all the answers, but here are a few thoughts.
There are four main theme parks. They each have excellent attractions for "kids" of all ages. You typically need at least one full day at each park.
There are two great water parks. You can add the water parks to your Disney passes for a very reasonable fee. If the weather is hot when you go the water parks will be busy.
Yo only need a car if you stay off site. If you get an onsite package, you can use the Disney transportation. There are tons of other things to do, but for a first timer, Disney should be able to fill your week.
Fly or drive is a personal preference. I've done both, but always rent a car when I fly there.
If you can get an onsite package, it's a treat for the kids to stay at a Disney resort. There are perks like early entrance to the parks. Beats the crowds for the big attraction rides.
There's a book you can get at Chapters called Planning a Disney Trip with Kids (or something like that). It's well worth teh $25 or so. Very helpful.
Cost can vary greatly depending on where you stay and eat.
All the Disney pass packages are explained on their website. If you stay off site, you could save a few $$ by buying your passes at http://www.orlandofuntickets.com/
I was hesitant to buy anywhere other than directly from Disney, but these guys were top notch. The savings were enough for us to add the Water Parks virtually for free on a five day pass.
The best piece of advice I can give is to be realistic. You will probably not be able to see everything in one week, so allow each person to choose their 3 or 4 top priorities and focus on them.

Have fun!

 

[The Saint]

Took the grandsons last spring,book everything on line and by phone direct with Disney except flight (west jet). Stay right in the place,accommodations to suit all budgets,get the all in one with a meal plan and pre book at least one character breakfast..You don't need a car,you don't need to leave WDW.Stay the whole week and you still won't see everything.

 

[Plan B]

Disney World is huge, comprised of different theme parks, all of which take at least a day to do, such as the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, etc. Buy a Park Hopper pass for each family member(you can look it up), and it will save you time and money, allowing you to take in more than one park in a day if you wish. I would probably buy a 5 day Park Hopper pass. If you stay at a Disney Resort, you can get free shuttle bus transportation between your resort and the parks. I highly recommend this.

Now if you want to broaden your horizons, and see places like Universal and Sea World, then you could stay on the popular International Drive strip at an hotel there

 

[freespirit]

How exciting!! I was there a few years ago. We booked with dreamsunlimitedtravel.com. I highly recommend. They knew everything there was to know about Disney World and are beyond helpful in planning.
We stayed on the resort at one of the Value resorts. Very basic room but that is all we needed since we were only sleeping there. The rest of the time is spent out and about. Very easy to get to the parks. Separate buses for each park.
Definitely get the meal plan. Will save you a ton of money and help plan each day. I would definitely suggest going to the Japanese restaurant in Epcot. It was awesome!

Have a great time!!

Diana

 

[TeasePlease]

All good advice above.

1. If you just want to do Disney, one week is enough. If you want to hit Universal, SeaWorld, etc...plan for

2. If you shop around a bit, staying at a Disney property isn't that much more expensive. You'll get the convenience of the monorail that takes you around to all the parks, and the ability to head back to your room to rest. The downside is that the Disney grounds are HUGE. So, if you stay on the grounds, you're really not going to be able to step out to Orlando/Kissimmee very easily.

I would recommend Floridays Resort as an alternative. It's minutes from Universal and maybe 10-15min from Disney? It has full suites with kitchen so it's easy to cook, etc. We were there recently and it cost less than $500 all in for five nights. The staff are great and it has many amenities to keep the kids occupied (incl a zero entry pool and an arcade). IT's also close to one of the two Premium Outlets.

2. If you're not staying on the grounds, I would recommend getting a car. You'll have to pay for parking at the parks but it's just easier to get around. Your dining options are also much better if you're mobile.

3. Flying through Buffalo is cheap. I think we paid $250 per person; definitely less than $300. But if you do choose to go that route, leave ample time (3-4 hours) for the border. Ideally, stay in Buffalo the night before. Trust me.

4. Everything is EXPENSIVE. The going rate for a one-day pass is about $100. That's right. $100. So you're looking at dropping $400/day just to get on the grounds. Buying multiday passes gets cheaper (down to $65 if you buy 7 days, i think). But, if you add the Park-hopper option, it gets more expensive again. With food and souvenirs, I would budget somewhere between $120 to $150/day.

You'll see various ticket stores selling discount tickets. This is an option you might consider. These places sell unusued portions of multi-day passes. They're located all around the parks districts.



Say hi to Mickey for me.

 

[mrsCALoki]

I spent a week there last year, and have just finished a 3 day visit to another Disney park.

Disney world was amazing. Each park was like a small world. The Disney people can set everything up for you. They meet your plane and your luggage appears in your room. If you buy anything in the park they deliver it to your room. Transportation is available from all their hotels to all the parks. I found the main advantage was that it added usable hours to each day. Minimum travel time, and you get in an hour before everyone else. You also get to jump ahead of the lines. For example on one ride that saved us about 3 hours. I am guessing that all in all we were able to enjoy the equivalent of 10 days of Disney during the 7 days we were there if we had stayed off property.

The reason the time savings is so important is that you need several weeks to see everything. At the very least a week to see the best thing.

Unless you want to see Orlando I cannot imagine wanting a car.

You can check out the onsite properties at their web site. We stayed at the Grand Floridian and it was amazing and glorious. When I was 12 I would have adored the princess tea there. It was selected because it was on the monorail and gave us the fastest connecting time . I think the less expensive the property, the less it is part of the Disney experience and the more it is just a hotel. Also the longer time it takes to get to the things you want to see.

I love Disney The Animal Kingdom Safari was my favorite. The behind the scenes tour was not for me. It
eroded the magic.

I hope that helped

 

[Keebler Elf]

Memories! Used to go to Disney World regularly as a kid. Great fun!! It takes at least a day to do each theme park and that's rushing it.

 

[guelph]

If Budget is an issue -- try go during a Maintenance Week -- meal plan is free downside is some attractions are not open.

My grandson and I enjoyed the EPCOT centre the most.

 

[toughb]

There is a lot of excellent advise in this thread.

I stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. Excellent hotel. Direct boat ride to The Magic Kingdom.

A week was not quite enough time of us and would recommend nothing less. I also strongly recommend staying on the property. You will waste a lot of time if you don't. I went in November and found the temperatures were good and the crowds weren't that bad.

No one has really touched on cost and that can vary widely. Mine was $8,000 for a week all inclusive. We didn't spare the horses so to speak.

Go my good man and you'll have many fine memories.

 

[Butler1000]

I have been there there several times (orlando/kissimmee). Disney is 100 per day per person. You can get a parkhopper pass. It really depends on what you want.
If you want theme rides then Universal is way better. 2 parks. The park happer was cheaper (about 120 for 2 days). The Harry Potter area is outstanding! Also the spiderman ride and the coasters are better too.
Considering the ages of your kids seriously consider 2 days there. 5isney is nice but you will be in stroller hell.
Good luck.

 

[Smash]

Im going in a few weeks for 10 days meals inc plus car rental for 3 days (univer studios). The whole trip is $1400. everything inc flight.

 

[FAST]

Not for everybody

A little off subject,...but.

If you plan on going on MISSION TO MARS, understand that it is VERY intense,...uses centrifugal force to generate acceleration,... distorts you face !!!

FAST

 

[Petzel]

Fly into Orlando.......it's the closest major city.
Rent a car.
2 weeks should be plenty.
Most hotels are kid friendly and family orientated.

 

[TeasePlease]

Im going in a few weeks for 10 days meals inc plus car rental for 3 days (univer studios). The whole trip is $1400. everything inc flight.

$1,400 pp? Including parks admission?

 

[Mr Bret]

A little of subject,...but.

If you plan on going on MISSION TO MARS, understand that it is VERY intense,...uses centrifugal force to generate acceleration,... distorts you face !!!

FAST

If you're talking about Mission Space at EPCOT, they have two versions. One is purely visual, no g-force to deal with.

 

[FAST]

Correction

If you're talking about Mission Space at EPCOT, they have two versions. One is purely visual, no g-force to deal with.

YEP,...your right, forgot about the "option", and about the name change !!!

FAST

 

[d_jedi]

Each park was like a small world.

It's a small world, after all

 

[Buick Mackane]

Tell the family that Darien Lake is far better, you'll save $5000 you can spend on whores. :thumb: