Disney vacation

[Mom4a_and_c]

I'm sure many of you have vacationed Disney style before. We are thinking of posssibly doing so this year. Where did you stay? How long did you stay? We were thinking at Disney but, we don't know if we could afford the 6 night 7 day package they push. I really would appreciate any imput you could provide. I am planning to call AAA and a few other local agentsd this week but, I was hoping for some pointers from all of you in advance.

Marie from PA

 

[h0kie]

We've stayed off site as well as on. I love to stay on-site. It's a wonderful experience. You don't have to worry about parking or driving to any of the parks since transportation is provided.

My favorite place to stay is the Contemporary, in the tower, Magic Kingdom side. That way we can watch the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom at night from our room. It's also great because the monorail goes right through the hotel. We can be at the Magic Kingdom in just a few moments! We've also stayed at the All-Star Sports hotel, which was neat and cheaper. As well as the resort formerly known as Dixie Landings (I believe it's part of Port Orleans now).

I've stayed anywhere from 4 days to a little over a week. If you want to see and do it all, it will take at least a week unless you want to really push yourself.

They have 4 "seasons" if you go during one of the two off seasons, things are cheaper. Christmas and mid summer are the most expensive.

Feel free to send me a private message if you have more questions. I love anything Disney and would be happy to share whatever knowledge I have with you.

 

[tillmadd]

fun in florida

My family & I drove to fla. from wisconsin long drive but lots of sights. I went on google and put in fla. vacation rentals and found some sights..we stayed 20 mins from orlando in a 4 bedroom townhome with a pool it was just recently built we were the second family that stayed there we paid $700 for the week...my kids are 10-17 yrs and enjoyed universal studios over disney they both have excellent on-line pkg deals at univ we paid 1 day and got 3 days free! have fun!

 

[bamagirl]

Disney World

We have been to Disney World 4-5 times, and they have all been great trips! I have only stayed outside of the Disney resort area one time, and we didn't enjoy it near as much. I would definitely splurge the extra money and stay inside. You can basically get anywhere you want by their buses, monorail, or even boats! No hassle of parking a vehicle everyday, and everyone can come and go as they please. My husband and I are in our mid-20s, so we would often get to the parks earlier and stay later than our parents or grandparents. Also, we would hop on the bus and head back to our hotel for lunch (to save some $$) and to rest for an hour during the middle of the day. We never had to round up everybody, and all leave at the same time.

We usually stay 5-6 nights. If you want to see all the parks (Magic Kingdom, MGM, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach, and Typhoon Lagoon), then I would definitely stay 6 nights. I would suggest buying the "hopper passes" because they will allow you to enter and exit different parks on the same day. A couple years ago, we went with our 9 and 10 year old cousins. Our parents and their parents didn't want to do the water parks, so we all went our separate ways for a day or two. We (and our cousins) would hit MGM one morning, eat lunch at the hotel, and hit a water park in the afternoon. We had a blast!

Our absolute favorite place to stay...Disney's Old Key West Resort! However, these are larger accommodations with kitchens and 2-3 bedrooms. They are great if a couple families are traveling together so you can split the cost. If you stay here, make sure you ride the boats. We have also stayed at Disney's Port Orleans (they have boats too), Disney's Boardwalk (they have an awesome waterslide in the pool), and Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. They were all really nice. Next time we go, I would like to try Disney's Grand Floridian Resort. I really don't think you can go wrong at a Disney resort/hotel. It just all depends on the amenities you want.

Fall is an outstanding time to visit Disney World. The lines are much shorter, and you can even walk right on a lot of the popular rides. If there is a line, just grab a FastPass and come back at your scheduled time. The weather is also nice during the Fall. We went a couple times during our Fall Break in early October. It was plenty warm to still do the water parks, but it wasn't scorching hot at the theme parks.

Have fun!

 

[Miller]

I was going to make this exact same thread...the package I put together for pricing reasons is going to run us about $2500 for 7 days/6 nights, with the Magic Your Way premium pass and flight while staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort. I think it's good. The only thing I think I can get a deal on is the hotel. It's rate is $175 a night.

 

[Kare]

Magical Memories Villas

I live in Florida and we visit Disney usually two times a year.
If you have kids that you are bringing along I would highly suggest staying at a home or villa of some sort. We have stayed at Magical Memories Villas the past few times. It is quite reasonably priced and excellent accomodations. The last time we stayed we were at a townhome that was just built 2 years ago. It was 3 bedroom, two and half bath, full laundry facility in the townhome, large screen tv, dvd player, full kitchen with all equipment. It was wonderful. I have also stayed on disney property and although some of it is nice, it is just not worth the money, I would rather make a 10-15 minute drive than pay a few hundred extra dollars.
Magical Memories does accept AAA discount I believe!
www.magicalmemories.com

 

[disneychic]

Stay Inside!!

You definitely need to stay at a resort inside Disney. You can get into the parks earlier than people who don't. Staying inside saves you a lot of time and energy not having to drive or shuttle into Disney. If you go ahead and book a resort like one of the All-Star Resorts, Pop-Century, or one like that you can stay for as little as about $89 a night. I have been 27 times to Disney World with my family and my dad has never used a travel agent. You don't have to buy a package if you don't want to. Just call and book your resort and decide how many days of tickets you want. If you are going to be there a week, pay for the park hopper ticket because it allows you to go back and forth between the parks and also the ticket prices get less with each day you add. I still love Disney World even at my age. I hope that you get everything worked out and have a great trip.

 

[Kristine]

Love Disney!!!

I live 45 minutes from Disney and I have been hundreds of times. We stay for the weekend quite a bit. I would suggest staying inside the park, especially if you're from out of state and don't get to go to Disney much. The All-Star resorts and Pop Century are the cheapest. The moderate hotels like Port Orleans and Caribbean Beach are a little nicer and have slides at the pools. My favorite is Port Orleans. I think you should just buy a Park Hopper and not get a package deal, unless you want to add meals to it. Have you thought about buying a yearly pass? If you could work out another trip to Disney within the next year, maybe right before it expires again, you could save money.

 

[Mom4a_and_c]

Thanks

for all of your input. It seems so confusing. My daughters are 10 & 11 and we have been wanting to go to Disney for years. If we don't do it now, we might never do it. we were thinking of going during the third week in June. (Hopefully no snow days - we are supposed to be out the June 6 so, we should be safe.)

We are thinking of staying at the sports or pop century inside the park. The triple A agent was pushing for us to stay for 6 nights. Is does get cheaper per day as you add the days. She also was pushing for the meals. It would be almost a $900 difference for the food. I don't know. I know meals add up but, I don't know if that is a good deal in the long run. Have any of you had the deal plan?

Once again, I am sure to have many other questions that I want to thank you in advance for helping us with.

Marie from PA

 

[MKat]

If you are looking for more WDW than you can possibly absorb try the message boards at disboards.com. I love that place!

 

[bamateach]

disney

Oh you will love it! You must stay on the property for the full magic benefits.
1st of all transportation is provided so that will save you time and time is money especially at disney world

2. - If you stay on property you get all the magic hour benefits and they are worth it! At times the parks will stay open late (they also pen early but I am not getting up for 1 extra hour I would rather stay up and get 3 extra hours. You don't get this benefit if you don't stay on site. There are rides and shows that we never would have done if we had had to wait in line. Most things you walked right onto. IT WAS AWESOME! I have a 5 and a 6 year old and YES they were at Disney world at 2 am. It was the highlight of their trip!

3. Also a benefit for all is the fast pass. I definetely suggest using that as much as possible. Swipe the card and go to another ride by the time you get back you won't have to wait in line.

4. As far as time I understand that you have to do what you can afford, but I wouldn't go unless I could stay 7 days.

5. I went in July. LOVED IT! Crowds will always be there I don't care when you go so go when you want. It was HOT though. Carry a spray fan bottle with each of the kids. Buy them each one at WAL MART for $5 not in park for $30.

6. Another benefit to getting the ful package is that you can get the magic plus with park hopper. The plus allows you to go to the waterparks, also it allows you to go to CYQUEST (name?) large 5 story indoor game room.

7. Get teh park hopper option so you can leave one park and go to magic hours at another.

8. If you have children go ahead and rent the stroller. We didn;'t the first day and it took forever to walk anywhere, they were tired, hot, cranky. For the remainder of the 8 days we rented a stroller and it was the best money I have ever spent. Made our trips much more enjoyable.

9. The value resorts with the package you can get through disney online are a reasonable deal. You would probably spend close to that amount or more by the time you bought the individual park tickets. We looked into staying off property and the difference in proce was not that much. Noticable - yes but not enough to make it worth it.

We went this past summer and I can't wait till we decide to go again. My husband and I also went 11 years ago on our honeymoon. Best vacations EVER! Have a blast!

 

[bamateach]

travel agent

By the way you can get the same deal that the travel agent gets just by going online. They do not give deals to travel agents. You will be paying for the package AND a travel agent fee. You could save money just by booking the package online yourself.

I would not advise the food part. BUT I would advise a character breakfast or meal. FUN FUN!

Again be sure to get the magic plus with park hopper if possible

 

[Suezie]

Disney

This last summer, we flew down to Florida, stayed at the Carribean Beach Resort and really took advantage of the Park Hopper passes, buses and extended hours. My children were 10 and 12 so they were able to last the extended hours. What a thrill it was to be on Space Mountain at 2 in the morning!! After a week of being there, the kids were very comfortable with the bus routine and entertaining themselves while waiting in the lineups.

We saved money by bringing some of our own food and a kettle to boil water. I brought cereal, granola bars, Hiker's mix, hot chocolate, applesauce, soup packages, a sharp knife, plastic utensils and plates/bowls. From the market place, we purchased bread, apples and milk. I helped myself to some extra jam and butter pkgs that were put out in the morning for breakfast. The room had a fridge for storing the perishables. for the most part, we ate breakfast in the room.

 

[Carolyn]

Disney

Marie,

You can still enjoy Disney, but for a lot less money, if you stay in one of the motels in Kissimmee, which is really close to the Magic Kingdom. We stayed in a Day's Inn. Much cheaper than the Disney Resorts. I would avoid the Disney packages. Check into Kissimmee. The only advantage to staying in the park is the slightly earlier admissiion into the park. The lodging in the park is expensive.

Carolyn

 

[Polly]

Marie-I live in FL and go to Disney a few times a year with my kids (10, 10 and 7). We have never stayed on Disney property because staying off is so much cheaper, so I can't speak to the quality of the Disney hotels. We stay at the Holiday Inn Family Suites Resort, which I think was renamed the Nickelodeon Resort. Breakfast is free, so you save money there. We pay around $90/night for a small suite. Disney food is very expensive, so you save money if you bring/make any meals yourself. Carry a backpack with snacks and water bottles--everything is overpriced! But there is no other vacation like it. I personally don't think the Park Hopper Pass is so worth getting if it costs extra, because in our experience you don't need to go from park to park in one day. Magic Kingdom takes 1-2 days, MGM is smaller, 1 day is fine, Epcot and Animal Kingdom each take 1-2 days. We've never done the water parks, so if you don't do those then one week is good. Have a wonderful time!!

 

[Kristine]

Stay inside Disney

I still say stay inside Disney. Even though I live close to Disney (45 minutes away) we always stay in a Disney hotel if we stay for the weekend. If you're from out of state and this is a once in a "long time" trip, it is worth it to get the whole Disney experience. I don't think $900.00 for food is a good deal, but I don't really know what that involves (sit down restaurants or fast food). We always ate breakfast in the room - you can buy bread and toast it at the food court. Take your own cereal and buy milk. You can rent a small refrigerator and put it in your room - it was $8.00 a day a few years ago. I also recommend a character breakfast/dinner. YOur kids will love it. Early June is not as crowded as July. The best time to go is September, but of course we're all back in school then. We never wait on a ride at all in September when we go over for the day. If your family likes to drink water, you can ask for cups of water at all the restaurants & fast food places in the parks for free. There are ways to save money. Go to your library and check out the "Unofficial Guide to Disney" and read the tips in there. Hope you have fun!