Disney world.....please, Please Help

I would start with picking up the Unofficial Guide to Disney World - a new edition comes out every year. It can be overwhelming but this book has proven to be very helpful every time we've gone.

We went for a week. One thing we did to save money was to eat a simple breakfast every morning (cereal in the hotel room), pack sandwiches, fruit, chips, drinks, etc., and eat it in the part. We did go out for dinner each night, sometimes at the park.

We payed for the Park Hopper, but felt it was a complete waste of money. We were very happy staying at the same park all day long. It honestly felt like it would have been a huge ordeal to change parks. We were with family, had grandparents and there were four kids (16 months, 2 1/2 years, 5 and 7), so if it had just been our family, it might not have seemed like as big a deal.

You can learn a lot on www.disboards.com I also recommend the unofficial guide to walt disney world. I think the park hoppers are not needed when you have young children. It's too much effort to get everything packed up, get it all on a bus, and get to a different park. I don't plan to even look into hoppers until I no longer need to have a stroller at WDW. If you don't get a dining plan, it's a real money saver to bring in your own food and drinks. We go 1-2 times a year for a week at a time. We tend to eat breakfast in the room in the morning (I stay in the marriott vacation club outside of the resort in a 2bdrm villa). Then I pack lunches for everyone and snacks. I plan one in park meal a day (usually sit down) and it saves a lot of money.

Can you go the 1st or 2nd week in December. Christmas is the busiest time of year I suspect.

Stay at the value resorts. sports, music, pop century etc. you really only sleep in the rooms. we always bring snack stuff in the rooms and eat breakfast at the hotel plan at least one big meal a day. we always go for that at lunch time and something smaller in the evenings. you don't say how old your kids are. we always do the park hopper then you can do all the parks. december is great but not "hot" like the summer months. we went one year in december and they had snow flurries lol. only in the evening and only the one day but it was cold. we love disney and if your going this december you will need to book your special places for dinner soon. "cinerella's castle etc"

November and December are perfect times to go. The longer you go, the cheaper it is. We're planning our 6th trip in Nov ourselves, going for 10 days. Feel free to PM me :)

www.allearsnet.com is a good comprehensive website.

December can still be warm, or finally getting cooler. All the parts are pretty amazing, tho try to stay away from buying too much souvenirs and such. You may want to bring 1-2 lunchbags and pack drinks and food for everyone... meals are EXPENSIVE there, even for just a burger or hot dog.

Try to have one full day per park... and allow 3 year old to nap when it's needed in the stroller.

We've gone to Disney two times in early December. One time we went it was packed and the other time we went it wasn't so packed. So, you never know for sure how crowded it's going to be.

We booked through Disney. We've stayed at a resort both times. If you don't plan on going anywhere other than Disney then staying there is your best bet. That way you don't have to bring your car. If you book through Disney it's usually all inclusive i.e. airfare, hotel, park tickets, sometimes meals, and transportation from the airport and back and all around Disney including to Downtown Disney.

Most resorts have a restaraunt of some sort. We usually ate there for breakfast before we went to the parks and ate our other meals at the parks. You can bring tons of snacks for your kids and drinks, but in all honestly how much stuff do you want to be carrying around with two children??? Just a thought.

Bring clothes for all weather. Poncho's from home are a good idea as well and you'll save some money.

I'd either bring a small stroller for your little one or even rent one because your 3 year old will be tired from all the walking as mine did. They have these cool double like strollers that even your 8 year old can sit it. Be sure to check them out.

We've stayed for 5 days and feel like that's plenty of time if you are only going to the parks. Make sure you goto Magic Kingdom. That's the park that's going to be best especially for your 3 year old when it comes to rides and shows. Your 8 year old will definately enjoy it as well. We've found that every time we goto Animal Kingdom we are never there a full day because there's not as much to do as the other parks and keep in mind that Animal Kingdom does close earlier than the other parks.

We stayed at the Shades of Green and the Disney All-Star Resort. I love the Shades of Green as the rooms were huge. But that doesn't really matter because you will only be sleeping and showering there.

If you have any other questions just message me! I hope I helped! :)

if you go to the disney website you can get a free dvd that gives a lot of good information. we have not been but the dvd is awesome - good luck and have fun!

We went to Disney over Christmas in 2009. My biggest part of advice would be to get to the parks when they open! They are SO busy this time of year it's not even funny and we missed out on a lot because we literally took a vacation and took our time getting up and out. We stayed at a Marriott timeshare, Royal Palms. Amazing if you can get in. We are going in September and staying at they Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort - looks gorgeous online! The weather can be up and down. Some days we were in jeans and t-shirts, other days we had on sweatshirts, and we were able to swim outside on Christmas Eve - so it really varies. Definitely bring your own drinks - I did not find the food (for lunch) to be unreasonable in the parks...but the drinks were. Bring a backpack with some water bottles. We always go for a full week and do 4 days of parks...so we have a few other days to do water parks, golf, swim, etc.

Call a travel agency that specializes in Disney. My friend did this for her family's trip this December, including their 3yo twins. They got great info and tips, like: while some hotels do have the free shuttle, do you really want to wait in the long shuttle lines with your young children, do you want to have to rely on waiting in line again if you have to return to your hotel for a nap or some unexpected reason? The agency helped her think things thru and they're really excited.

Personally, I've been between Christmas and NYE - it was chilly/rainy and completely empty. My friends decided to go the week after Thanksgiving, when supposedly the holiday rush will be gone, but prices are still reasonable.

Good luck!

I think it would be beautiful at Christmas.

We've been about 8 times. Our daughter is 16 now so our Disney days are over.

I ALWAYS deal directly with Disney to book hotel, character dinners, etc. When you call them, or check online... they will send you an informative DVD with the main hotels, parks, etc and you can figure out what you might like to see.

We have always stayed at the Polynesian which is on the monorail line. It is pricier but you get what you pay for. We don't do cheap when we vacation. It is SO easy to hop on the monorail, be at MK within minutes or take the boat taxi which only serves the Grand Floridian and Polynesian. It is easy to go back and forth to MK this way.

We love Animal Kingdom and last time we were there, we had a private safari which was awesome. It is the same safari as the regular ride but you are in a private vehicle, you go off the track and see animals up close and personal. LOVED it.

There is no need for a car. We fly to Orlando and take a private cab ($80) each way last time we were there. There are "free" Disney shuttles but you have no idea where your hotel is and how long you will be on the shuttle until it is your turn to get off. The taxi is less than an hour to and from hotel/airport.

Whatever you do, enjoy!

We stayed at Fort Wilderness, it was just like camping. We had a cabin with a kitchen which with kids is a great thing. We had breakfast and dinner in our cabin and lunch we either brought with us or bought at the park. That saved a lot of money. The Fort has shuttle buses that can take you to any park and has a boat that takes you directly to the Magic Kingdom.
We were only there for 3 days and that was not long enough. We are planning for two weeks because you can spend 3 days just at Magic Kingdom alone. Weather in December is decent, not hot.

go book it @ triple A and stay @ the very cheep hotels (music resort) and i would not go in dec because if it cold u cant swim and get the food plan ur kids will eat free. just get dinner and lunch and a snack and u have to have reservations to eat with the char. 6 month in advance and this aug )(he last week till setp 24th) ---every 1 eats FREE...we were going in october but now we r going in sept we got a suite and every thing included except surioneers----spedded wrong i mean everything hopper passes and hotel and air fare for 4,600 for 7 days...so call AAA and book it. good luck we got every 3 years....u will love it.when u eat they will book the dinners for u too

Oh , wow ! What fun you will have ! December is iffy. It can be 70 or 40. Pack accordingly. A jacket which you will obviously wear on the plane anyway. Hoodies, one bathing suit in case. Pants and shorts . Wear layers and you will be ok.

Stay on property. You will get picked up from the airport on the Magical Express(Disney's bus). You won't need a car seat at all then. I would stay at the Wilderness Lodge. It is a Deluxe hotel but is on the low end of pricing. You can take the boat over to the Magic Kingdom . You will spend lots of time there. Lots to do. I would get tickets to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Also , get the disney dining plan and book some Character Meals. Crystal Palace(Tigger,pooh,Piglet,Eyore),1900 Park Fare (Cinderella,Prince,Stepmother and Stepsisters),Chef mickeys(Fab Five)
There are lots of tips on allears web site and of course on the disney website.
Have a blast!

Read the newest version of "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World". Follow their "map" of where to go and what rides to ride when~!

We stayed at a TimeShare (my parents knew the owners and we got to stay for free.....) So we ate all our own food and packed our own lunches to eat during the day. CHECK AND SEE IF DISNEY IS RUNNING THE MEAL PLAN SPECIAL. If you get it free with your reservations, go that way! We brought a couple bottles of water and just refilled them during the day.

Bring a stroller! We went last year and our kids were almost 5 and 2 1/2. It was great to be able to push them everywhere. (WAY TOO MUCH WALKING FOR THEM!) And, it also gave us a place to leave our backpack full of food!

Animal Kingdom only takes 1/2 day. We spent 1 and a 1/2 days at Magic Kingdom. And a whole day and another morning (to do Toy Story Ride again!!!) at Universal Studios. We skipped Epcot as we felt our kids would have more fun at MK.

allears.net was very helpful to me. Disney in December can be awesome. A bit rainy, but put on your poncho and keep on. Dress in layers as when the sun does come out it can get warm, but rain and nighttime will make it cooler.

To me staying on site (while more expensive) was a sanity saver. Being able to use their transportation was a life saver. Traffic looked horrible getting into the parks... The value resorts are just fine, like someone else said all you do is sleep. The downside of them, is without even a balcony no where for you to go once kids asleep
we did end up using the park hopper, we would switch parks later in day. But it is not a necessity.
If your kids are early risers I would head to park early. If not plan a few days of relaxing at the pool and head over later. Crowds seemed less at night and then you are there for the fireworks and stuff
Loved the dining plan, depending on where you stay if you do not have access for fridge bringing food is just not practical. I would highly recommend Chef Mickey's and the Cystal Palace.