Florida Disney....?

Question

Help please! My family and I are going to Disney in April for the first time. My daughters are almost 3 and 7 years old.

I need any help and advice on where to stay, how to do it sanely, preordering time slots for rides/events (I once heard you can do this), What is the most worth doing... ANYTHING really!

My husband hates chaos, and likes to "call it a day" fairly early. Help??????

Thanks!

Answer 1

No need to panic!! Making reservations to go to Disney are easy, and they can be fun too. You are going to Disney after all! Make sure to do something fun to countdown the days until you go. We make a paper chain and take off a piece every night before we go to bed. Only 35 days to go as of this morning!

First, where to stay. In order to get all of the perks Disney has to offer, and there are a lot of them, staying on the property IS A MUST, especially with kids. There are competitively priced resorts on property to stay, and you are treated like a king whether it is a value resort or a deluxe resort. My suggestion for your kids is the All-Star Movies resort. The resort is geared towards families, especially the decor. Every wing of the resort is decorated for a different Disney movie, inside and out and the price is reasonable. The only real drawback I found is that the size of the rooms is a little on the small side, but they do the job intended. I have stayed there twice with my family, and my kids were about the same age the first time we stayed there. There is no sit down restaurant, but there is a pretty decent food court. If All-Star Movies is booked, the Sports, Music, and Pop Century resorts are all priced the same. If you dont mind spending the extra money, the Caribbean Beach resort from the moderate priced resorts is really excellent. We stayed there during our last visit. There is a sit down restaruant as well as the food court, rooms are a little bigger, pool is huge. From the Deluxe, my favorite is the Polynessian. You truly feel like you have gone to some exotic location, but you can see Cinderella's castle just across the lagoon. However, try Movies first. Your kids will love it.

Staying on property is the only way to go to Disney. One reason is that resort guests are always allowed into the parks. If you are not a Disney resort guest and the park is crowded on a particluar day, they may make you wait to get in. I have witnessed this a few times, where I walked into the park even though there was a line to get in. Also, they offer "Extra Magic hours" for resort guests. Every day one of the parks is open 2 hours early or stays open late for resort guests only. If you are staying late, you have to get a special armband, but you can find out at guest services. Again, for Disney resort guests only. You also have unlimited use of their transportation. Busses pick you up and take you to which ever resort you are staying at. They usually run every 10 to 15 min. and run late to make sure everyone gets to where they need to be. The off-site resorts offer shuttle service, however sometimes you have to pay extra, and you have to schedule it or run on their schedule. Either way, it is a pain.

When you book your room, you can also purchase passes as one package, that way everything is waiting for you at check-in. I Highly recommend adding the park-hopper option to your passes. As I said, the parks tend to be crowded sometimes. if you have the park hopper option, you have the ability to shift gears and go to another park if the one you intended to go to is too crowded. Also, my family and I like to go to one park in the A.M., then a different one in the evening. You don't get bored with one park on one day. Make sure to see all of the parks as well. There is something for your age kids to see at all of the parks, not just the Magic Kingdom. (Although if they are like mine, you will end up spending most of your time at the Magic Kingdom).

You can pre-order time slots for things like special meals (we are doing a character breakfast when we go in April) or seeing certain shows, like the Fantasmic show in MGM. You can have dinner and then get priority seating. For rides though, the only way it works is using the Fastpass system. Using your park passes/room key, you go to the ride of your choice, and get a free Fastpass. The fastpass lets you stand in a shorter line, but gives you a time range when you can board the ride. It works really well, however fastpasses have a tendency to run out pretty early on some of the more popular rides, so make sure to get to those early.

When booking your trip, I have always found that doing it yourself is the best way to go. I just can't see paying someone to do it for me, and Disney makes it very easy to do. First, go to www.disneyworld.com. There you can get a quote on how much you will spend for your package. You can book it online, or if you are a little paranoid like me, call them and make the reservations. You can also book character breakfasts and dinners too, up to 180 days in advance. The other source I would suggest is the Birnbaum's guide to Disney. There are TONS of guidebooks out there, but I have always found that one to work the best for us. There is also a Birnbaum's guide to Disney for kids, written for kids by kids. They can pick out their favorite rides and attractions, and you can make a list of must see favorites. I have taken my family quite a bit over the last 10 years, and my kids (11 and 7) still get the guide and make a list of what they want to see. There are the old favorites (It's a small world), the new rides (Expedition Everest is on the list) and the old fav's that have been re-vamped (Pirates of the Caribbean now has Capt. Jack Sparrow in the ride, my son can't wait.)
When going to Disney, a good strategy is to go early in the A.M., hit some of the attractions, then go back for a late lunch to your resort. Take a rest, eat and swim for a while. Eat dinner, then as most of the crowd is coming back for dinner, you are rested and ready to go back for the evening. Don't miss the nighttime parades and fireworks at the Magic Kingdom or Epcot, and the Fantasmic light and water show at MGM. They are truly spectacular.

Hope you have a great trip. Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions, I love to help. I don't work for any travel agency or anything like that, I just love going to Disney (I went there on my honeymoon 14 years ago!) and taking my kids there. The look on their faces when I tell them I booked our latest trip, then the look when we enter the Magic Kingdom is worth every penny I have ever spent. So much so that we joined the Disney Vacation Club, so we can make it there even more now! Again, have fun and good luck with the plans.

Answer 2

Ok I know others said it, but you need to stay on property. First it allows you to have early entry and late nights at one park every day of the week, you don't have to pay to park, and those places that are 2 miles from Disney still take 30 minutes to get to, and for your first time it is just not worth the hassle. Also when you purchase things in the park you can request it be sent back to your resort and it will be available for you to pick up in the gift shop the next day. A great way to get something like a snowglobe or a gift you don't want your kids to see. Another factor I would consider is staying on property might allow your husband a break in the middle of the day so he is up to staying for the fireworks and parades at night, they should not be missed. The least expensive places are the all star resorts and Pop Century. They are very nice and fun for kids the age you have and the food courts have some great choices. I would recommend a preferred room. They are $10 more per night, but unless you are taking your own stroller, a sleeping 3 year old is HEAVY when you are walking to the back of the resort. Even with the stroller the 7 year old will be tired too and it is nice to be close to the bus, food court, and pool.

Definately get the park hopper option, there are days it is pouring in Magic Kingdom, but nice in EPCOT. Animal Kingdom closes at 5 and there is still a lot you could do that night. Make the most of your time.

Drink water. Don't get soda when you are walking around. I know people will say they don't like water or whatever and I don't either, but the surest way to get worn down and sick is to drink soda only. With all you are doing you will be amazed how good the water tastes. Save sodas and tea for with your meals if you have to have it. Schedule a sit down meal everyday if at all possible. We usually do lunch because it is cheaper except at character meals where we do dinner because it is a better value to do dinner. For example Crystal Palace lunch with pooh is cold cuts and things. Dinner is a few $ more and has shrimp and a carved meat station. Disney has a lot of great restaurants in the parks and hotels. Take the time to enjoy them. Relax. Talk about your day. Plan where you are going next, STOP and enjoy your family. It is easy to run, run, run and miss the point.

Look at http://www.allearsnet.com/. The dining section has menues with prices for every restaurant on property. Decide where you want to go and call NOW for reservations. They fill up fast lately because so many people are getting the meal plan. Look at the section called Anitas Answer. There are a lot of great tips there.

Use fastpass. When you get to an area, figure out what has the longest line and get a fast pass for that. Do everything else in the area while you wait for your time to roll around.

Be sure to spend time in Animal Kingdom. It is a really great park and often overlooked. The Lion King show is great, the safari, kids love Rafiki's, and just overall walking through the park is a joy. Don't miss letting the kids dig in the dino playland. Love the sand, it is tiny pebbles so it brushes off easily.

Well I guess that is it. HAVE FUN! If you have a question email.

Answer 3

I just went to Disney for the first time last year. It was a great experience and everyone had an amazing time. For places to stay, there are plenty to choose from within a 5-10 min drive and much less expensive than stay AT Disney resorts or something like that. Nearly every hotel has Concierge to help you find things to do nearby.
I think the Park Hopper passes are great and worth the money, if you plan on visiting more than one spot.
Of course, you should plan as much as possible, but I would also suggest leaving some free time available to relax a bit and enjoy the whole area. There are a lot of attractions and fun stuff just outside Orlando as well.
I was surprised that the wait for most rides was not that long, and you can scan your tickets at the ride entrance and then come back. Lots to explore and you will probably not be able to do everything, but Have Fun! and Good Luck!

Answer 4

Check out the steve Birnbaum books on disney. He gives lots of ideas on how to effectively move around the park so you have less of the crowd with you. The last 2 times we went we got package deals that included park passes, hotel or campground, and some meals. If you camp their campground is wonderful and no matter where you stay, if you stay at the resort you can get in earlier or stay later in the parks, plus there are lots of swimming pools at the hotels and campground. It's great for a break during the day. Last time we went, some of the rides had fast pass, so you get a ticket with a time on it and come back then to the front of the line. Works like a charm.

The rides are fun, as well as the shows. Watching the animators work on the next disney movie is cool. At Epcot there are all kinds of different things, some of the pavilions like Land before Time have rides and shows, some have interactive games like making music by stepping on colored circles. In the different countries at Epcot, some like Mexico, have rides and some like USA have singing and a show, China has a 360 movie. Then there are the waterparks...we enjoyed them all!

Answer 5

If you can afford to stay at one of the Disney resorts, do it. There are a wide variety of price-range choices. it's just logistically better to do so. When we went, we stayed at a resort about an hour away, and didn't have a car, so it was all about calling for a car and waiting. UG! Never again. Go to the Disney World website to check out the lodging options and what's available to do at the different attraction venues. The site is very user friendly.

My husband and I went on our honeymoon, just the two of us, and we LOVED it. We've been hoping to find time to get back there ever since. Now, we liked Epcot a lot, but with your little ones, that may be over their heads, so probably all the other parks would be more suitable.

Enjoy...I'm extremely envious!

Answer 6

For hotel choices, it will all depend on your budget. Disney hotels fall into the following price range:

Value Resorts - $82 - $120 a night
Moderate Resorts - $148 - $250 a night
Delux Resorts - $289 on up

Visit http://www.disneyworld.com and click on resorts. Then click on either Value, Moderate, or Delux (depending on which price category you guys fall into) and take a virtual tour of the different resorts you have to choose from in your price range! My favorites in each category are the following:

Value : All Star Music
Moderate: Coronado Springs
Delux: Animal Kingdom Lodge

If $82 a night is too much, I recommend you guys stay off Disney property, but nearby. A great way to save money, and have plenty of room for everyone, is to book a condo style resort. The Lake Suites in Kissimmee is one of those. You can get a bi-level suite or a single level family suite for as little as $69 a night. And they come complete with a full kithen so you can save money on meals! They also offer a complimentary shuttle to and from the parks which leaves every 30 minutes, so there is no need for a rental car. The Lake Suites are located on Hwy 192 in Kissimmee.
Another great locations is the Best Western Lakeside. Also located on Hwy 192 in Kissimmee (and only 3 minutes from Disney's Animal Kingdom and Blizzard Beach), this hotel has rates as low as $59 a night in the off season. They have 3 beautiful pools, a min. golf course, an arcade/game room, bar and grill, buffet-style restaurant, friendly staff and free shuttle service to the parks!

As for time-slotting rides, I don't recommend it. I'm a planner, but I believe that is going too far. Some folks like to plan their day down to the minute and which ride they should go on first. I can't see how this makes a day enjoyable. It would stress me out, personally. And it sounds like your husband would go crazy if you did that. Follow a Disney golden rule instead for all 4 theme parks: start at the rear and work your way forward. Also be sure to visit popular or new attractions first as they fill up fast. So for example, Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom and the Kilimanjaro Safari - both attractions should be visited early in the day. Otherwise, just relax and enjoy yourselves!

If you would like help planning for your next 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 My space page, at:

http://www.myspace.com/disneymickeyvacation

Have a great time!

Answer 7

You will get an incredible value, if you book and get the Disney meal plan.

If you are going with a 3 and 7 year old, paying the extra dollars and staying on property, preferably one of the monorail, will save so much aggravation. Waiting for those buses can be tedious, especially if the little one is tired or cranky after a full day. It can take an half hour/forty five minutes to get to your property on those buses and with the little ones that can be 15 minutes too much for every ones comfort.

Talk with a local travel professional and the set the trip up right

Answer 8

I recomand staying at one of the resorts many properties. There are various price ranges. I stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and now am a member of the Disney Vacation Club, and the perks are worth it. You get free transportation around the resort ( by either boat or bus). Also if you are staying at one of Disney's hotels you can aslo get extra hours into the different parks. I also recomand seeing if you can do a meal at the Akershouse in EPCOT with your daughters. It is in the Norway pavilion and you dine with all of the Disney princesses. Well worth the money. I also second the making reservations. I made reservations for all of the character breakfasts, but none for dinner....let's just say we learned our lesson for next time.

Answer 9

I am going to Disney for the first time in 15 days (I can hardly wait!). I was very overwhelmed by the vast amounts of information out there, but I feel better...but I didn't feel better until I just dove in and called Disney directly. www.allears.net is awesome. You can search tips from lots of categories (see the tabs near the top?) and just overall get great info. From the sounds of it, I am like your husband. Check out www.tourguidemike.com, it is a pay site, but it made me feel better about the trip too. In the end I just called Disney and ordered the hotel and tickets. When they ask if you have a discount code, ask them if there is one available. I just got MYW base tickets (no park hopping or water parks) because we are only planning on visiting one park per day. Go to the park, take a break away from the park and go back again later after you've chilled out. I added the dining plan because it is awesome, you get lots of choices of sit down meals, character dining, etc. Have fun!

Answer 10

My family and I just returned from our first trip to Disney last Sunday. I would HIGHLY recommend that you speak with a AAA Member Representative, go to your local office and book your trip through them. My husband is a member rep and booked our trip.

For you first time, I would stay at one of the value resorts (we did) try the All Star Movie (that is where we stayed) it is themed like 101 Dalmatians, Toy Story, Herbie the Love Bug and Fantasia.
Rooms are snug but for the amount of time you are in them they work well.

Book the park Hopper and meal plan for sure....if we had not had the meal plan we would have spent $400.00 in food within the first three nights of dinner. I

If you plan to have a sit down dinner, make reservations! Seriously, I thought my husband was crazy but once on property it was nearly impossible to get reservations.

If you want to talk more via e-mail, feel free to e-mail me. While I've only been once, I learned a lot.

Also there is a great website to check out it's www.allears.net.

For your youngsters I would start with Magic Kingdom. Epcot is more young adult/adult. Disney offers great transportation and while I agree with others who posted here the wait can be somewhat long and tedious, we used this time to recap our days events and talk about our "funniest" moments of the day. It was a good time to talk to others too and learn thier "secrets".

You said your husbands like to turn in early, you have to at least see one of the nighttime parades.

Many of the attractions/rides have what they call fast pass you can scan your admission ticket and the machine spits back a ticket with a return time and you "jump" the line so to speak.

Have a magical time...we did.

Answer 11

As far as where to stay that all depends on your budget. I love the Polynesian. I have also stayed at the Beach Club and Port Orleans. Port Orleans is the most budget friendly. The wonderful thing about the Polynesian is that you can travel between the Magic Kingdom and Epcot without taking your girls our of the stroller. You have to take them out of the stroller in order to get onto the busses. There is also a boat that goes between The International Gateway at Epcot, over to MGM. You are aloud to keep your children in the stroller for the boat ride.
Here are a few words of advise that I hope will help make your trip wonderful.
1.Make your priority seating reservations as soon as possible. Most of the restaurants accept them 180 days from the first day of your vacation. You are aloud to start calling at 7:00 am. Start dialing at 6:58 am and keep hitting redial until you are through. You might even want to call ahead of time and write down the number sequence that you have to punch in. You can get through to a real person faster that way. For instance Cinderella’s Castle usually books up by 7:05am. Call (407) WDW-DINE and ask them the exact date that you can call.
2.If you want to do Fantasmic ask them about the Dinner and a Show option. Be sure to leave yourself plenty of time between the reservation and the show. I think that they will let you have dinner around 2 and still give you priority seating at Fantasmic in the evening.
3.I always buy the park hopper pass, because I try never to stay at the Magic Kingdom after 11:30am. I get there when they open. The opening celebration is really neat. They sometimes open early for Disney Hotel Guests. Check on line for the extra magic hours. You can find them at www.Disney.com. I go directly to the rides that my kids want to ride. We may pick up a Fast Pass on the way. If you have more adults then kids then you can spread out your fast passes. (pick up more than 1 ride at a time, One adult with each child). For instance my daughter loves the Honey Pots so we go directly there sometimes at 7:00 am. We never have a line. Sometimes they even let us ride 2 or three times without getting out of our car.
4.Mickey’s Toon Town Fair usually opens later then the park. Plan to be there when it opens. You will have Minnie’s House and Mickey’s House practically to yourself. And no line to see Mickey.
5.Always plan your afternoon reservations at one of the other parks. Unless you have lunch at the Castle (try to make it early)
6.The Hoop – De – Doo and the Luau (at the Polynesian) are great evening shows. Your ticket covers an all you can eat meal at your table (not a buffet) and all you can drink Beer, Wine and soft drinks. I believe that you can call up to 2 years in advance. Call ASAP for the best table.

Have Fun!!!!

Oh check out this web-site www.allearsnet.com
It is a fantastic web-site and you will be able to find all of the info that you need.