Planning Disney World Florida Trip?

Question

We are planning to take our children to Walt Disney World Florida this spring. Was wanting any valuable tips on the trips: places we must visit, stay in resort or off resort, fly or drive?

Answer 1

I am a disney expert!! Ok, flying or driving its all about personal preference! But, if you do decide to fly you dont even need to waste your time on a rental car if you stay at one of the hotels at Disney. They will come and pick you up, and it is a very enjoyable trip. I have done it myself and on the 45 minute trip from the orlando airport they fill you with knowledge of the DisneyWorld Resort and Park. And for the kids they usually have a new popular kids moving playing. If you would like to stay in a lower price range for hotels, I would reccomend: Disneys Pop Century Hotel, Disneys All-Star Movies Resort, or Disneys All-Star Sport. These hotels start from only $82 dollars a night. If you want to stay in the middle price range starting from $145 a night then I would stay at Disneys Carribean Beach Resort. If you want to go all out prices starting from $205 , I love the Animal Kingdom Resort! The rooms are really great because you can watch Safari animals all day long! If you want to spend a little more money I would go for the Contemporary Resort, Grand Floridian or Polynesian because they have monorail systems to most the parks and it is so easy! Must see is the fireworks show at Epcot and the countries at epcot! It is truly a worldly experience. Also at Magic Kingdon Cinderellas Castle. At MGM Studios The Big Mickey Hat. Some must do's are: The new ride at Epcot called Mission Space its truly a great experience, At magic kingdom I would reccomend Big Thunder Mountain. At animal Kingdom Expedition Everest is great I just went there!! I hope this helps!

Answer 2

The spring is a great time to visit because the weather should be temperate and the crowds will be low. Just be sure to avoid weekends at the theme parks. Save those days for the beach or other local attractions.
Staying at a Disney Resort is a lot of fun and comes with many perks. For expample, you can have any item you buy inside the parks or at Downtown Disney delivered to your room at no charge. You receive free Disney transportation to anywhere on Disney property, and you have the opportunity to enter a Disney theme park an hour early with extra magic hours - which is exclusive for Walt Disney World Resort guests.
However, staying at a Disney Resort can be quite expensive. If you are on a budget, I recommend staying at Disney's All Star Resort - Disney's Value hotels. Or one of Disney's moderately-priced resorts. The delux resorts, while extremely nice, can cost you $300 a night and up.

If you would like to save even more money, you can stay off property, but nearby. I recommend two nearby resorts which both have excellent rates and nice rooms:

1. The Best Western Lakeside - this resort has very nice rooms, curteous and friendly staff, several sparkling pools, a miniature golf course, arcade, restaurant, and is only minutes from the Disney parks. It is located on Hwy 192 in Kissimmee.

2. The Sheraton Safari Resort - you'll feel like you've just entered a jungle! This beautiful hotel is located across the street from the Downtown Disney Marketplace on Apolpka Vineland Rd. in Lake Buena Vista and is a favorite among guests traveling with children.

You can purchase discounted park tickets for Disney at your local Disney Store, AAA office or through your Costco or Sam's Club Memberships.

If you would like help planning your trip or if you would just like to read up on some fun tips and ideas that are updated monthly, visit my Disney Vacation Services Website, I'm All Ears at:

http://im-all-ears-disney-vacation-services.blogspot.com/

Have a great time!

Answer 3

Going on a Disney vacation you have a lot options; you sound like you want all 9 of your family in one room -- Disney has few suites and they are very expensive. A suggestion, book 2 rooms and ask when you make the reservation to have adjoining rooms. However, not all resorts have rooms that can have 5 people in them; check to make sure when making the reservation. Last year my wife and I and 7 teenagers stayed at 2 rooms in Poly. Finding disney rooms at a discount is difficult - Disney does not discount the Deluxe Resorts very often. As mentioned in the previous post check out those 2 web sites they are 2 of the best. Another thought - for the last 2 years in September Disney has offered free Disney Dining Experience (DDE) so if you stay in a resort, food is free (Hopefully the hurricanes stay away). One last idea - if you are planning on going twice within a year - buying an Annual Pass to get into the parks is cost effective -- expensive when you buy the pass, but if you go more than 2 weeks in a year they pay for themselves. Enjoy your trip - if you stay at AKL get the savannah view -- it is a wonderful experience.

Answer 4

There are 4 main parks at Disney:

Magic Kingdom - lots of rides for kids (Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Carribbean, Space Mountain, It's a Small World). The very traditional 'Disney' park.

EPCOT - consists of 2 parts: Future World more high-tech rides (Mission:Space, Soarin', Journey in Imagination, Honey I Shrunk the Audience) and the World Showcase: 9 international countries and the US have showcases with films, shopping and food from each country.

MGM - a park dedicated to movies and movie lovers. Highlights include the Rockin' Roller Coaster, the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, Tower of Terror, Muppet-Vision 4-D.

Animal Kingdom - an animal based park with Expedition Everest (the newest roller coaster), Kali Riverrapids, the Festival of the Lion King, It's Tough to be a Bug.

There are also Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, Cirque du Soleil, great shopping at Downtown Disney and all of the resorts are showpieces in and of themselves.

It is a little on the pricey side, but the experience and the service are incredible. Depending on the ages of your kids, you will probably want to plan at least 1 day per park and 1 day of exploring elsewhere around Disney (shopping, lounging by the pool, checking out some of the restaurants at the resorts, miniature golf, DisneyQuest, etc).

We usually drive to Disney, but if you are planning on staying at the resorts, you don't necessarily need a car. Disney transportation is very good; buses, monorails and boats move everyone around pretty well.

There are plenty of great deals out there. Just google "Disney Deals" or try one of the forums out there.

Answer 5

I'm not an expert on Orlando and Disney, but have been there many times, mostly on business. I like the area near the convention center along International Drive and Universal Blvd. There are a lot of lodging and eating options there, walking is easy, there are some entertainment venues, and it's attractive/clean. As I recall, it's about 20 minutes from Disney World. See link for a map view of this area.

Answer 6

Staying in one of the WDW resorts is nice and convenient. If you are going to WDW during spring break......will be pricey, even the value resorts. If looking to cut costs on a room, you might consider staying off of Disney property.
Depending on where you are coming from......FLY!!!! It is about an 18 hour drive to WDW from where I live. Being in a vehicle for that LONG drive is draining. Just when I started to feel better after the drive, we had to load up and drive back. Flying there adds onto your vacation and it is easier to mentally and physically recover from (my opinion). Rent a car.
I would definitely see the Fantasmic show at MGM. Magic Kindom...a must. If you want a seriously great meal (and ALOT of food) make a reservation for Ohana at the Polynesian resort. It is worth the money.
Pack some snacks to take with you into the park, so you have something for the kids to munch on. If you plan on staying at a Disney resport, I would recommend the DIsney Dining Plan. If you have kids that aren't picky eaters, it is worth the money.
My most important tip is to get out there and SEE and DO stuff! I have heard many stories from people taking kids down to WDW, spending a large amount of money, only to be going to water parks and the hotel pool. Get out there and have fun.

Answer 7

Fly here and rent a car. Some of the best values for the money are the outlying area's in Florida. Within two hours you have the Atlantic Ocean, NASA at Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach with some cool surf shops, Gulf of Mexico, Everglades (swamp), Ocala (horse country), orange groves up the kazoo, spring training for all most all of the east coast baseball teams, NASCAR at Daytona Beach, deep sea fishing, Venice Beach where you can search for sharks teeth laying all over the beach, and oh yeah, a ton of tourists traps. If you live somewhere where they sell the Entertainment Books, get one for the Orlando area (you can order on line) and save even more money on hotels, rental cars, cruises etc. Oh by the way, forgot. You are fairly close to Silver Springs, where they used to film all the old Tarzan movies, and "Creature from the Black Lagoon". They have these old glass bottom boats. Pretty cool.
Enjoy the stay....more to see than just Disney and such.

Answer 8

If youre outside florida, fly and rent a car. Book a hotell at walt disney world, youre kids gonna love it!

Dont do more than one park a day plus things like blizzard beach or the shopping area or dinner shows. Tired kids and adult arent funny!

If you want to do seperate things inside one park or go to seperate parks then split up! Its much more fun to do what you want to rather to spend an hour in a que because of one of your sisiters must do!

Be at the parks when theyre opening for shorter ques. Do youre must dos early, especeally if theyre the big atractions! Some parks have excepted que times or prime times (when the ques are longest) on the map/guide/web page. Except over 1 and 1/2 hour for top atractions in major park in prime time.

Plan a head! Eat regulary and have a lot of drinks. If youre kids are young then except more rests and down time.

If youre kids love disney characters then a charactar breakfast at one of the wdw hotells that have one is a must.

On my own top list are: All WDW parks, Sea World, Discovery Cove (dolphin swiming), kennedy space center, Universals parks. But there are many more! Look at the web pages for tips and info! Have fun! Johan

Answer 9

Stay IN Disney World. If you would like a cheap resort stay at one of the All Star Resorts, they're themed and fun, the kids will love it.. If you've got a little more money, stay at Animal Kingdom. you'll get animals like giraffes and zebras right outside the windom (get a savannah view!) and it's a beautiful hotel..

Go to all the parks if possible, but if you can only go to one, go to Magic Kingdom. MGM is my second favourite. Don't miss Fantasmic at MGM! See all the parades, and take the kids to a character meal!

Answer 10

Staying in a resort gives you the benefit of free transportation to anywhere on Disney property. You'll also be eligible for Extra Magic Hours where every day, each park is open either one hour earlier or closes three hours later.

If you have children, character dining is a must. Here is a list of places that offer character dining.

- Contemporary Resort (Chef Mickey's)
- Beach Club Resort (Cape May Cafe)
- Polynesian Resort (Ohana)
- Fort Wilderness (Mickey's Backyard BBQ)
- Grand Floridian Resort (1900 Park Fare)
- Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom
- Garden Grill at Epcot
- Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot (Norway pavilion)
- Garden Grove Cafe at the Swan Resort
- Liberty Tree Tavern at the Magic Kingdom
- Hollywood and Vine at Disney-MGM Studios
- Restaurantosaurus at Animal Kingdom (breakfast only)
- Gulliver's at the Swan Resort

For more dining options, visit http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/dining/diningFinder?id=DiningFinderPage

As for places to visit, each of the parks has something to offer. Magic Kingdom has the SpectroMagic parade and the Wishes fireworks display at night; it also has classics such as Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and the Haunted Mansion; Epcot has IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, a spectacular nightly fireworks display, as well as rides such as Soarin' and Test Track. Disney-MGM Studios has the Fantasmic nighttime light show and Animal Kingdom offers such attractions as Kilimanjaro Safaris, Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest. Downtown Disney is the resorts shopping center filled with numerous shops and restaurants; it even includes a Cirque du Soleil show and a 24-screen movie theater. You can also visit two water parks - Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach.

I recommend flying if outside the state of Florida, but also because Disney offers Disney's Magical Express service. By staying at a Disney resort, this service allows you to skip baggage claim when you arrive in Orlando because your luggage will be taken to your resort room before you arrive.

If you do stay at a Disney resort, here are some suggestions.

Deluxe:
Yacht Club Resort
Beach Club Resort
Polynesian Resort
Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Wilderness Lodge
Animal Kingdom Lodge

Moderate:
Port Orleans Riverside
Caribbean Beach Resort
Coronado Springs Resort

Value:
Pop Century Resort
All-Star Music Resort

The Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach Club and Swan/Dolphin resorts offer boat transportation to Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios. Port Orleans and Saratoga Springs offer boat transportation to Downtown Disney.

For some more trip planning tips, visit
http://allears.net/pl/planning.htm

I hope I've helped!