Disney advice needed.

[EddieWalker]

Steph and I want to take the kids to Disney World in March. We've never been and are starting to research it to see what's available, what we can do and where to stay.

As with everything, we don't want to spend any more than we have to, but we don't want to miss out on anything either. Steph has the week off, so we want to do as much as possible. The kids will be 9 and 6 years old.

We've been to the official Disney site a bunch of times, but would love to learn of any other sites that talk about the parks, or that might give us some different perspectives and reviews.

We'd also really appreciate any recomondations on places to stay. We're not into fancy hotels, just clean with easy access to the parks is all we really need. Shuttles work great for us!!!! We'd rather spend our time at the park than the hotel pool or in our room.

Our plan as of now is to drive there from Eastern Texas. It's about a thousand miles each way, so we'll need at least one place to spend the night in both directions. Are there any fun places for the kids along the way? Maybe in the Alabama/Florida border area? We have a full week, so a detour isn't out of the question either, and are more than willing to spend an additional day or two on the road if there's something fun and interesting that might be in the area.

We're thinking a three day pass should be good. We don't want to miss anything, but don't want to overdo it on the kids either. Or maybe Steph and I wont' be able to keep up with the kids. hahaha

Since we've never been there, or even this part of the country, we're totally open to all suggestions and advice.

Thank you,
Eddie & Steph

 

[MrJimi]

Hello, Eddie and Steph, This may not help you much but try the site
Walt Disney World Resort

Try and plan your trip and they always have discounts etc. but its not cheap and you may even check their on site hotel for park rates. Living here, its a see once thing.
You should have a great time. And count on 2 days per park or longer? Take 2 weeks off and have a great time. And Sea world is real good
SeaWorld Orlando

And a bac-pac or fanny pac would be a plus for you both
Jim

 

[mscheer772]

Bring comfortable shoes,patience,and lots of $$$$$$$$$$.
It is worth it to buy the fast passes.

-Mike-

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Steph and I want to take the kids to Disney World in March. We've never been...

Eddie, I've been there about 10 times in the past 6 or 7 years. Just me, but I would strongly recommend staying on the Disney property if you can fit it into the budget. Staying on property gives you FREE benefits like the ability to get "FAST PASS" cuts in lines, and since some of those lines for a 5 minute ride can be 90 minutes of waiting, the Fast Pass is a big deal to give you more time spent doing fun things and less time standing in long lines. Staying on property also cuts down the travel times into the parks. My favorite hotel is the Boardwalk, but it is one of the more expensive (but not the most expensive) of the hotels. Slightly lower priced and just as conveniently located are the Yacht Club and the Beach Club. From any of those 3 hotels you can walk right into to side entrance (International Gateway) to EPCOT, and it is easy to spend a day or two in EPCOT. Do not miss, DO NOT MISS, the fireworks in EPCOT. There is also a parade through the International Showcase in EPCOT that is worth watching.

You can take a short boat ride directly from the dock at those same 3 hotels to go into the MGM theme park. So if you use the Boardwalk, Yacht or Beach Club as one of your hotels you have very easy access both EPCOT and to MGM.

You can take a shuttle bus to the wildlife park (I forget the name) but that is a great park to spend a day in. A shuttle bus is also needed to get to the Magic Kingdom, but you can get there directly from the Boardwalk without having to change buses at the transporation center (a big PITA and time waster as far as I am concerned). At the Magic Kingdom there are "behind the scenes" tours that are fantastic.

I stayed off property ONCE. While the hotels are cheaper, and sometimes nicer, off property, I found that the added time lost was not worth the effort. It costs an arm and a leg to spend a day in the park, I prefer to enjoy the time inside the park rather than waiting in lines, being forced to park miles from the entrance, etc. JMO.

Since you have my personal email, feel free to contact me with more specific questions.

 

[jjcc246]

As stated, lots of money. But every cent is well spent at disney. Try to figure what the family will like and go to those parks first. Magic Kingdom is a must. Plan on a day or two there. Epcot in my opinion one day and the same with the other theme parks. Also as stated, staying on disney property with their packages is probally the cheapest way to go. Staying out of the property you'll have to rent a car (about $400) for the week. You won't need a car at Disney, the have shuttles to get you around and trams. Plenty of spots to eat. A freind of mine went not to long ago with a family of four and stayed in disney. The total trip with air ran him around $5000, just to give you an idea. But he picked the best hotel disney offers. They also have "meal tickets" that for a weekly cost give you dinners (or three meals if you want)at their resturants which works out to be pretty reasonable. Best bet is to look through the Disney web site or better yet go through AAA, they have great Disney packages. Have Fun.

 

[SkyPup]

If you are going to go there, be sure to stay in their hotels too so you do not have to leave the area, you can skip a rental car too and just use their transportation.

I avoid Disney like the plague, we take the kids and grandkids all to Busch Gardens in Tampa instead.

 

[BB_TX]

Great fun. We took our kids over 15 years ago. So much fun, my wife and I went back by ourselves a couple years later. Then 2 yrs ago, we went back with our son, his wife, and our 2 grandkids. We stayed at Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort ORLANDO Hotels | LAKE BUENA VISTA | Welcome A Holiday Inn with "kidsuites" that caters to families with kids. They have 3 room suites, a king bed in one room, 2 bunk beds in another, plus a living area. Just a few minutes from all parks and a lot less expensive that Disney hotels. Currently showing $108 / night + tax for March. They had a pretty good breakfast buffet + kids eat free. Also a game room if the kids still had energy left after a long day. Disney hotels are impressive but a lot to pay for a place to sleep.

And be sure to learn the "Fast Pass" system and how to use it to the max. Saves a LOT of waiting. Read this link for info.Fast Pass Is Free For Everybody

Edit: Actually looking at Maquest, I think we stayed at this Holiday Inn last time. Nickelodeon Family Suites by Holiday Inn ORLANDO Hotels | NICKELODEON FAMILY SUITES | Welcome I don't remember it being called Nickelodeon then, but it may have. Still a Holiday Inn Kidsuites type hotel about a mile from the other one.

 

[Dozernut]

We have not been to Disney World in over 30 years, Epcot Center was just in the ground breaking stage when we last went. When we go back, hopefully in the next couple of years, we are going to hook up the fifth wheel and stay on grounds at Fort Wilderness. Don't know if you have a camper or not but if you do the kids probably would have a good time at the campgrounds with all the activities offered. There is transportation from the campground by boat, shuttle and monorail so you would not have to drive to the park everyday and you could go back to the camper to eat lunch (big money saver)and relax then go back for round two.

 

[dmccarty]

Eddie,

My family used to live in Orlando and we went to Disney all of the time. We would leave home early in the morning and get home late. I don't know how my mom and aunts did it to be honest. I got to sleep going there and getting home. We started going when Disney opened. Riding the monorail through the Contemporary hotel was and still is a treat. I always wanted to stay there and three decades later I did.

If at all possible stay at a Disney hotel. You get special treatment in that some of the parks will open earlier for hotel guests. Depending on the package you might also get a couple of "freebies" There are backstage things you can do if you ask. For instance in Epcot there is a pavilion called The Land. Its a cheesy boat ride but they have some hydroponic gardens. There is a pass you can buy but might be included in the package that allows you to go behind the scenes on a tour to see the gardens and such. You can't see what is on the tour from the ride. We really got a kick out of it. There are other tours like this but you have to dig to find them.

There is also a tour under the Magic Kingdom. One day I'll take it.

The Contempory over looks the Magic Kingdom. There is an awesome resturaunt on the top floor that overlooks the Magic Kingdom. Try to eat there if you can. Even if you can't, there is an observation deck that you can get too. From either place the fireworks are AWESOME. Your almost eye level with them.

The other nice thing about the Contemporary is that you can just walk out the door and you will be at the Magic Kingdom.

You can't see all of Disney World in a week. Don't try too either. We have not been in 6/7 years unfortunately. I Like going there because it relaxing. Grab some cash and your room key and off you go. The room key is your pass and you can charge most things to the room. Since I have seen almost all of Epcot and Magic Kingdom we just do what we want to do. No hurry. With kids its different. Our kids are getting old enough to take and I can't wait to go. It will be a blast.

Epcot is not so much for kids. Its mainly about food and seeing things though there are a few rides there now. The water parks are fun as well. I have not been to the movie park yet.

The Animal Kingdom should be seen early in the morning if you want to see the animals. This is an advantage to staying in the park since they will open the park earlier for hotel guests.

Food. Eat the "expensive" food in the park. Don't eat hot dogs and fries since you don't get much and they charge a fortune for it. Go for the salmon type of stuff. You might pay a dollar or two more but its better than paying $5-6 for a small burger.

Disney like every other place now adays makes a fortune off of bottled water. They have water fountains all over the place. The water does not taste that great but its better than a couple of dollars for a bottle of water.

Crowds. If the crowd goes left. You go right. Remember that.

The other nice thing about staying at the park is if you get tired its no big deal to go to your room to take a break. You can simply head back out. Its not that easy when you have to leave Disney. With kids I would think this would be real important.

We got a package through Delta that included the flight to Orlando, a "limo" aka van to Disney, the hotel, and park passes. It might be cheaper to fly rather than drive.

If you do drive, if Mobile has recovered stop and see the USS Alabama. I think you and the kids would like it.

Later,
Dan

 

[BB_TX]

Eddie - I would suggest a 4 day pass. There are 4 main parks, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and MGM Studios. You would want to see them all. And you really can't do 2 parks in a day and see everything. You may not want to spend a full day at every park, but you may want to spend more than a full day at one or more of the parks. A 4 day pass would give you a lot more options.