Parents - Disney World?

[red95gts]

Thank you all for the great info. I'll be picking that book up soon (HenryJ, I appreciate the offer but I'm in Houston) and making some decisions. I don't even know the price of the meal plan, but judging by Adam's lunch tab, it's gotta be cheaper than feeding 6 without the plan.

Thanks again!

[jdgregory84]

We ate at some little diner across at the Dolphin hotel just because it was close by.

2 hamburgers (awful quality)
1 basket of fries
2 cokes

$40.

Damn. Whenever we'd eat lunch at the hotel, my brother and I would split a large pizza. I think the pizza was around $18 and was the cheapest way to feed us both. The pizza was actually pretty good, too.

Crap......now I want some pizza.

[AdamLX]

Thank you all for the great info. I'll be picking that book up soon (HenryJ, I appreciate the offer but I'm in Houston) and making some decisions. I don't even know the price of the meal plan, but judging by Adam's lunch tab, it's gotta be cheaper than feeding 6 without the plan.

Thanks again!

The meal plan is the way to go if you have kids and need to eat in the parks. Our trip was basically comped so we just did everything on the cheap. When we had lunch in the park it was around $18 for two small drinks and two basic hamburgers. Just remember to eat in the parks for most everything and use the meal plan.

[Lyn]

My wife and I are looking into making a trip to Disney World this summer with our kids (ages 13, 9, 4, and 2). We've never been before and the number of vacation packages is overwhelming.

Any suggestions or do's & don'ts from people that have been?

Thanks

Ok, DO you only plan to go to Disney World? If you plan on other attractions in the area ie... Universal Studios, Sea World, Busch Gardens, kennedy Space Center, or the beach. Then I suggest you staying off Disney property and getting a rental car. There is a street called International drive that has tons of hotel with all price ranges as well as food. This will save you money! However if you just plan to go to Disney then I'll suggest you staying on property and take advantage of the free transportation, ie... bus, boat, or monorail. My suggestion to keep cost down is staying at one of the all star resorts. They are Disney's budget resorts, and very common to book 2 rooms to accomidate a family. Most Disney hotels will only allow 4 per room. The meal plans are good, and usually they always have a deal going with them. You need to find an Authorized Disney agent. To take advantage of the deals. Now staying on property or what you think is on property, usually isn't. Ie... The Dolphin and Swan hotels are on property, however are NOT Disney owned. Being an Orlando native, and a former Cast member, feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Lyn

[94StangFiveO]

Damn, I want to take my fiancé and her little girl to Disney World now. I'll keep an eye on this thread.

[yellowstang]

2 Words:
Don't go

Fixed.

Disney is the Devil.

[michelleCTSV]

Lyn has a good suggestion, if you are doing a lot of stuff other than just disney, then I-drive has good options, including some with suites. Hell, you can rent a house complete with four bedrooms and pool as an option too- often cheaper than Disney's deluxe hotels. But they do offer the values, which can be affordable. The All Star Music resort has a family suite, which is basically like two rooms together. It would accomodate your family and is a value and on property. The Port Orleans Riverside is a moderate and can sleep 5 as well- it has a 'trundle' if you call it that, basically a really thin mattress (talking like 3 inches! lol), but we managed there comfortably a number of times.

if staying on site, you get the perks of:

1. magical express- transportation to and from airport
2. transportation at disney (bus, boat, monorail)
3. access to food court, great pools etc.
4. EMH- extra magic hours- one park a day opens either an hour earlier or stays open 3 hours later for resort guests only

If you book with disney, you can also qualify for the dining plan for FREE. There are a ton of deals out there right now. Check out this site for the latest-http://www.wdwinfo.com/discounts.html

I have a touringplans subscription (you have to pay to see months further out) if you want me to check out the crowd levels for you for a certain week.

depending on when you go, you might get free dining, which is usually $41.99 a day for adults (and in disney, if you are 10 or older, you are an adult). Children are $11.99. It usually requires you book a room and ticket package to get the free dining, but it is a good deal when you consider the cost. For every night of your stay, You definitely need to make reservations (ADRs- advanced dining reservations), they are available at 180 days out from your trip. The restaurants fill up (sit down) especially due to free dining- everyone is trying to get the most bang for their buck and eat at the nice restaurants for 'free' (and ordering the most expensive steak on the menu, lol).

got any specific questions, shoot me a pm - Lyn is really knowledgable too! Alan just bought us DVC- the disney vacation club last year for our 10 year anniversary, so we go quite often now. Heading back in october for the food and wine festival and halloween party.

Steve is right, the key is planning. it sounds overboard, but many people come back and say how crowded it was, and they were miserable, but it was because they didn't plan and had no idea about fastpass, ADRs, extra magic hours or what parks to avoid on what day or special activities like the Pirate League or Jedi Training Academy (kids can fight Darth Vader or Darth Maul!). A little planning goes a long way to make sure you have a good time and get the most for your money (which you will drop a lot).

LEAH- have fun in DL- i just did a girls trip in September- be sure and check out World of Color, it's amazing. We are waiting until CARSland opens in a year or two to take Will out there- go up on the ferris wheel and you can see the construction and get a good view of it at CA Adventure.

[FordMustangLove]

Wow, everything that needs to be said has been said. In order to get the fast pass you will have to get there the minute the park opens or you could risk not getting one. Try to get some good walking shoes as well. Meal plan is perfect for the family and works at any snack shop in the park or official Disney hotel. I think the contemporary resort has some decent meal plan food. Also, people are dirty and touch everything so if you know one of your kids gets easily sick then prepare for that.

[Frank]

So how much $$$$ range are we talking for 2 adults and a 6 & 7 yo? just trying to figure out what to budget.

[michelleCTSV]

Wow, everything that needs to be said has been said. In order to get the fast pass you will have to get there the minute the park opens or you could risk not getting one. Try to get some good walking shoes as well. Meal plan is perfect for the family and works at any snack shop in the park or official Disney hotel. I think the contemporary resort has some decent meal plan food. Also, people are dirty and touch everything so if you know one of your kids gets easily sick then prepare for that.

The only ride you have to get a fastpass (FP) for right away at opening is Toy Story Mania at Disney's Hollywood Studios. They run out of fastpasses usually between 10am-noon due to its popularity. You are fine getting FP for anything else usually before like 2pm or so. Rides like Splash Mtn, Space Mtn, Buzz, Expedition Everest, Safari, Test Track, Soarin etc. usually don't run out until the afternoon, if then. Most will usually have FPs until early evening and many don't ever run out (I've gotten a FP for TT at 8pm at night). Toy Story Mania is the only one that is crazy......it is literally like the running of the bulls and the lines for the FP machines are 20-30 minutes long in the am too. It's insane (standby lines are usually an hour up to 2 hours). We refuse to wait in line longer than 20 minutes for anything. With good planning, doing rope drop (when they open) and using FP, you don't have to wait long.

So how much $$$$ range are we talking for 2 adults and a 6 & 7 yo? just trying to figure out what to budget.

Depends- what time of year? The costs vary for the hotels depending on the time of year- Christmas, Spring Break, Easter etc. are all the most expensive- followed by summer. Basically anytime the kids are out of school = more $$. The slowest times are usually Jan/Feb (except President's Day)- early Dec isn't bad, and Sept isn't either (but hot). Rooms can run from as low as $80 a night (off season with a discount) to over a thousand for concierge level suites at the deluxes. Depends on time of year, discounts and what sort of room you want. You can also rent DVC points to stay in a deluxe a lot cheaper than paying out of pocket too.

Park tickets - it depends on how long you want to be there and if you want to 'park hop' or not. A one day ticket is $82 for an adult, but if you do a 'magic your way' package with room, you can get more days for less money. If you end up going like 6-7 days, then it is only a few bucks to add another day to your ticket. the more days you have, the cheaper it gets. you can add the park hopper option (can move between the four major parks) or the no expiration option.

We took Alan's mom, his niece and then us and Will in early December (off season). Here's what we paid per adult basically-
$330 for airfare- RT, direct on AA
$50 for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party ticket (extra event)
$250 for 8 day park hopper ticket

We spent about $1200 or more on food, including 8 sit down meals. The rest was fast food or we ate in our villa (we had a full kitchen in our DVC room). We didn't pay for the room since it is part of our vacation club (like a timeshare).

you can view resort rates here.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/disney-rates-2011.htm

[AdamLX]

The only ride you have to get a fastpass (FP) for right away at opening is Toy Story Mania at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

That is no lie. We were in the park 15 minutes after opening and casually walked back to Toy Story to get a FP and by the time we got there the FastPass return times were already up to 730pm. If you miss a FP on a ride like this you might as well just wait in line (we waited 45mins) otherwise you might as well scratch it off your list for the day.

[BP]

I've always used Priceline for Orlando and haven't ever stayed on property. I'm talking under $50 a night for what'd be considered a 3 star in DFW. They have all the same chain restaurants we have here so off property meals aren't much different. Yeah at Disney or at one of their hotels it'll be very expensive, expect to pay double what it'd be anywhere else.

Last time I went parking was free at Blizzard Beach and it has the same bus service as everywhere else. It was probably just an oversight, I doubt it's still free. Parking at the Animal Kingdom seemed to be a whole lot closer to the hotels though and it exits right on 192, instead of making you use all of the Disney roads.

[michelleCTSV]

I've always used Priceline for Orlando and haven't ever stayed on property. I'm talking under $50 a night for what'd be considered a 3 star in DFW. They have all the same chain restaurants we have here so off property meals aren't much different. Yeah at Disney or at one of their hotels it'll be very expensive, expect to pay double what it'd be anywhere else.

Last time I went parking was free at Blizzard Beach and it has the same bus service as everywhere else. It was probably just an oversight, I doubt it's still free. Parking at the Animal Kingdom seemed to be a whole lot closer to the hotels though and it exits right on 192, instead of making you use all of the Disney roads.

yep, there are a TON of off site options that are really inexpensive and close- either off i-drive, 535 or 192. Renting a house is a great choice for many taking large families too. My boss did that and loved it- you would need a car though obviously then. Keep in mind when you stay off site, you have to pay for parking at disney- and it ain't cheap either. $14 a day. Once you park at say the Magic Kingdom and pay, then you can park at another park using that same ticket, but the next day, you pay again. They don't allow you to park at the resorts and then walk/monorail/boat over-----a lot of folks try and park at say the Polynesian and take the monorail to the MK to avoid parking fees. But they will mark your tires and only let you stay 3-4 hours in their lot unless you are staying there. We've seen them tow. lol they gotta make the almighty dollar, right? everything is super pricey, so just be prepared.

you can check out the menus for the sit down restaurants and all their prices here- in case anyone is looking at meal prices. Some can be really pricey.

http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

[michelleCTSV]

That is no lie. We were in the park 15 minutes after opening and casually walked back to Toy Story to get a FP and by the time we got there the FastPass return times were already up to 730pm. If you miss a FP on a ride like this you might as well just wait in line (we waited 45mins) otherwise you might as well scratch it off your list for the day.

Toy Story Mania is just nuts. it was fun, but we might pass on it this year. Not worth the hassle when we've ridden it a few times now. for all you sci fi nerds like us, they are opening new the Star Tours ride in May, so we will probably be heading there first instead!