Walt Disney World Advice

Good Luck in finding a hotel for $225 a night at Disney. It is soooo expensive. I would suggest getting the book The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008. We have it and it gives great tips on where to go, when, hotels, etc etc. Worth the money. Especially since it helps you navigate with kids. Enjoy your trip.

It sounds like you've already gotten a lot of great advice, but many of the hotels that are near Disney but not actual Disney properties run shuttles frequently back and forth to the parks. That would be one way to go if you want to save a little money. I think we stayed at a Marriot that did that and I have heard the nearby Holiday Inn is very kid-friendly with themed rooms. I would also look into MGM a little more. I can't remember if it has attractions for little ones like yours. They will love the Magic Kingdom though and you could probably spend two days there, taking a break in the afternoon for rest or naps. I also saw that there have been prior postings here about WDW and you can look those up from the main website. Have fun!

Hi A.,

You will have a blast! My husband and I just took our 3.5 year old there over Thanksgiving (also my 12 Stepson but there aren't the nap issues for that age etc). I would ABSOLUTELY recommend that you stay in the WDW park at one of their properties. THey provide shuttle service either by buss (you won't need the car seats), monorail, or ferry etc. We tried to stay in one of the more elaborate resorts but it got totally booked for Thanksgiving so we ended up staying at one of the Disney All-Star resorts (which have different themes)which are considered the budget resorts for families. We stayed in the All-star sports resort and totally loved it! The kids thought it was real cool and the price was low! There is a fun movie themed one or music one that your girls would probably love. When we go back next time I will try to stay at one a bit closer to Magic Kingdom because we found that a really delightful place for the youngest. There are great resorts located right off of Magic Kingdom - I'd recommend Wilderness Lodge. Very cool place and all the major comforts. The Grand Floridian is more expensive but also an amazing location and both provide easy accessibility for napping. To be honest, even though we were closer to Animal Kingdom (which was a ton of fun for the 3.5 year old too)the bus ride to Magic Kingdom was a good 15 minutes. It is just fine if you aren't trying to fight a nap etc. ALso, if you are looking at which parks to visit for the young ones, I'd avoid MGM. That was the least favorite of our 3.5 year old but big fave of our 12 year old. Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom were really fun and one day at each is not enough! You may want to consider just doing 2 days at Magic Kingdom. Oh, one more thing. if you stay at the WDW resorts you get shuttle service from the airport to the resort so you don't need to worry about renting a car etc. It is awesome! Hope this helps!

Hi A.,
We went to Walt Disney World a few years ago and stayed at the Villas. The resort was nice but the restaurants were horribly expensive. (Kid's meals were $8 a piece). We toured the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Pop Century. The Pop Century was definitely more crowded but probably more reasonably priced. We did end up renting a car and it was worth every penny.

C.

I don't know what's in it, but there was an add in the paper a couple of weeks ago for "The Unofficial Guide to Disney" and I think there is one that caters to the special needs of traveling with kids.

Also, have you tried Travelocity or another website for travel deals? I didn't see if you already had your flights, but those sorts of websites always have Disney deals.

We are going to WDW in 2 weeks and booked a value resort for approx $120 on property! And that was the expensive rate because it is a holiday weekend (president's). We got the meal plan added on as well. It is approx. $38/day for adults and $20? for kids over 3. Kids under 3 are free to the park and can't get on the plan because they don't pay for tickets. The meal plan is only available if you stay on property and buy tickets as a package. I have heard great things about the meal plans. We are using our dinner vouchers to go to character meals and are having dinner with Pooh and Friends and doing a brunch with all the princesses. There totally are value options, you just have to look for them. Also try disboards.com and mousesavers.com. They have great budget ideas!!! You certainly don't need to spend $200/night! Have fun!

I can't remember where we stayed, but a lot of the hotels around the area offer free shuttles. We just took the shuttle over each time. It was great! Yes, three fulll days is a lot for little ones. Mine were 4 and 2. We went for a little while in the morning and then took the shuttle back for a rest or break. The evening seems to be less longer lines, so if you can maybe take a big break or go later one day. It was so beautiful and I think there is an area where all the characters hang out. I believe it was toon town. Have fun!! Bring some of your own snacks.

Definitely take one day to just veg out and relax. We went for 5 days and packed each day with something and it was just too much for the kids & parents! We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and LOVED it! You get free shuttles to all of the parks so that's nice. I'm not sure on the cost though, but it was really nice. There are giraffes, & zebras and african cows, birds, etc. on the grounds and we were able to wake up every morning and have coffee on the tiny balcony attached to your room and watch the keepers feed the animals. Also, the rooms have bunkbeds and a queen size bed which was nice.

Good luck.
A.

I have been going to WDW for years with adults but just recently went with my 2 five year old nephews and 18 month old neice.
We stayed at a house that we rented while we were there and it was great. Our family loved being able to cook our own meals and had our own pool connected to the house.
We did not stay on Disney property that time but it is definitely worth it to do so. There are cabins at Disney's Fort Wilderness. They have a bedroom, bathroom, full kitchen and living room with Murphy bed. They also have a nice deck and grill as well. You could put the kids down for a nap in the room and shut the door and still watch tv or hang out on the deck and not disturb the kids. It has all the usual transportation options to the parks. I believe the cabins are probably your most affordable "suite" like option on Disney property.

Disney also has (as another poster mentioned) a shuttle service from the airport directly to your hotel/resort. I believe it is called Disney's Magical Express. They send you tags for your bags ahead of time and you put these on before you fly. Then they pick up your bags for you and deliver them to your hotel. So you don't need to schlup kids and luggage around at the same time. You then ride in a nice, air-conditioned bus to your Disney resort.

Also, if you don't end up with a room with a kitchen Disney has meal plans. During off-seasons these plans can actually be quite affordable (when I say affordable, please keep in mind that all food and drink in the parks and at the resorts is very expensive so even "affordable" might seem like a lot to you). I've never done one but you pay a certain amount for the plan and then you get 3 meals and a snack (I believe). I would either contact Disney's travel planning group directly (you should be able to get the number on their website) or contact a local travel agent to help you if you are interested in the Magical Express airport shuttle or the meal plan. There are lots of other perks of being a Disney resort guest and they can clue you in. If you want to do any character breakfasts or eat at any of the sit-down restaurants you must make reservations before you go! Really, even at off times these fill up fast and I believe that resort guests might have priority in making reservations.

As for which parks to check out - I would totally skip MGM with little kids - my 5 year old nephews didn't like much there besides the nighttime show (Fantasmic) which might be a bit too scary and loud for your younger children. The Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom are the best ones for little kids. At the Magic Kingdom there is a little play area called Pooh's Corner at the back of Fantasyland. This was a life saver! We could sit down in the shade and let the kids just run a bit - there are small water jets back there for them to play in as well if you happen to get one of those beautiful warm February Florida days :o) We just brought a change of clothes for each kid and let them run wild. Even though they get tired at the parks, they had a lot of pent up energy from just standing and waiting for things and this helped. There is usually a convenient popsicle/ice cream concession stand right outside the play area and one of us would run over there and get popsicles for the kids. We would put them in their dry clothes, let them eat their popsicles and then head back out to do more. It was a nice break for all of us. Another tip, Disney allows you to bring in small, soft-sided coolers. We froze some water bottles over night to use as ice packs (and then drank them as they melted throughout the day) and filled our cooler with pb&j sandwiches and lots of liquids (water and capri suns). Disney doesn't have any rules against bringing food and drink in and it lowered our costs and was much more convenient then standing in line for lunch and drinks when the kids were thirsty, hungry and crabby. The kids would actually ask if we were "eating from the cooler today" and they by far preferred that.

A word on Animal Kingdom, this park doesn't stay open very late. They close down before dark because of the animals. So you do want to get there early and try to stay a bit longer then you would at Magic Kingdom because it probably won't be an option to take naps in the afternoon and come back in the evening (like at Magic Kingdom). There is a playground area in the Dinosaur section that might let the kids unwind a bit but if it is sunny and warm there is no shade so we didn't spend a lot of time there.

Hope some of this helps. Don't forget to get your MM ears. There is a little shop on Main Street in Magic Kingdom that still embroiders names on the back of the ears! Have a great time and take lots of pictures!

Have you looked at the Pop Century resort? It's rated as the best "Value" resort and they have family suites (with a bedroom for the kids). If you stay on DW property you get free transportation.

We were just at Magic Kingdom in August and stayed at Pop Century which is one of the value resorts. My kids loved it and it is the newest hotel on property

I would recommend staying at Disney World because the parking there is astronomical. The hotels are quite nice and the packages offer just about everything you could possibly need. There is even a store in the hotel where you can get milk, etc. (yes, it is high priced milk, but probably what you would spend at any convenience store. We took my daughter when she was six years old. Here's the thing to remember: don't overdo. It's very tempting (my husband and I like to wear ourselves out when we travel) but it's too much for small ones. Get up, have breakfast, go to the park, have lunch and then about noon-1:00 go back to the hotel and hang out watching tv, swim, etc. (do family stuff) and then if you are feeling up to it, take in a show at the end of the day. We saw so many kids (including our own) who were driven to tears by mom and dad's planning of a full-day agenda. Believe me, what you save in hotel off-site, you would end up paying in parking and other fees.

We were there about five years ago so my advice on hotels wouldn't be that great but it does help to stay on property so you can either take the tram, boat or bus to the parks in the morning. The one thing I would highly recommend doing is buying a guide book on Walt Disney World. It made a world of difference in how we planned our time there and honestly, with the fast passes with never waited more than 10 minutes for a ride. There was an article in the Star Tribune about a month ago on the book, I think it's called the Unofficial Guide to WDW. Have fun!
K.

I agree with the other posters on the guidebook - very helpful! Also read travel message boards for tips from frequent Disney travelers or reviews on lodging - I like tripadvisor.com. We've stayed at the Polynesian (small rooms but super covenient to the Magic Kingdom via monorail), the Wilderness Lodge (loved the atmosphere, they have bunkbeds in some rooms and maybe junior suites), and the Beach Club (back door to Epcot, walking distance). There are some camping/cabin type options too - maybe near Wilderness Lodge? The beauty of the monorail from the Polynesian is being able to push a stroller right onto the monorail - no carrying tired kids and strollers. I think we brought a light umbrella type stroller, although they do have some for rent there as well (easier and time saver to bring your own if you own a lightweight one). Plan a stroller for your 3.5 year old as well - that's a lot of walking for little feet. Disney properties are ideal for the mid-day naps or for a mid-day break with a dip in the pool because they are close and convenient. There may be other offsite properties just as easy for this, but I don't have experience with them.

We are also going in February! The best book I have found that reviews everything in much detail is "the Unofficial guide to WDW 08" . It is extensive in info, which I like. We are staying at our families time share, but the book reviews all the WDW hotels and some of the other non-WDW favorites. It also has touring plans, that help figure out the best/worst times to go on certain rides. We plan to follow alot of the ideas. I am not an overly schedule/structure follower on vacation, but with 3 boys 6 and under I want to eliminate much of the long line wait times! Feb is a less crowded time to go, but there will always be crowds, so I am trying to be somewhat prepared! We are there for a week and only doing 3 days at parks (2 at magic kingdom and one at seaworld) so I like your idea to have a flex day to relax and do the hotel pool!
I would highly recommend the book, I have learned so much from it! Also, if you plan on doing any character meals, I would call and reserve them now b/f you go.
Enjoy your trip, it will be nice to leave the cold weather for awhile!!
K.

Wow, A., you've got some great advise from all the posters today. I was very interested too, as I'll be going to WDW at the end of February with my 3 year old daughter. We took her last year at this time and it turned out to be such a great visit, we planned another trip. Here's a different point of view, however. We stayed at a timeshare last year that I purchased on eBay - yes, risky was my first thought, but it turned out to be a great experience. For the trade off of listening to a two hour presentation (we were steadfast NOT interested and there was no hard-sell tactics used), we were able to stay in a beautiful two bedroom, two bath villa - with a fully equiped kitchen and washer/dryer, all for $300 for a six night stay. My husband and I enjoyed the master bedroom (seriously, the biggest king sized bed I've ever seen!), while my Mom and daughter shared the second bedroom with two queen beds that we just shoved together (thought was that the daughter would fall out of bed, as it turned out, she pretty much slept right next to Grandma the whole time!). We rented a minivan (rates are great from Expedia) and brought our own car seat. I liked the ability to cook my own meals in my "villa" and go to the parks on my own time. I agree completely with the other posts that you should give Animal Kingdom a try. We did last year and we all had a great time. We only did one day at Magic Kingdom, but I think we'll try two this year. The added benefit of a timeshare is that we could drive back, eat lunch, and take a nice nap before returning to the parks. Here's a link to my post on TripAdvisor on the Silver Lake Resort that we stayed at. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g34352-d87998-...
Feel free to contact me with any questions.

We were in Disney this week and they have these cart type things you can rent and put a blanket down so they can sleep while you continue on with your day. My daughter is 11 months old and she was a trooper. There is so much awesome stimulation that we figured she will catch up on her sleep when we get home. Same with me. I hope you have a wonderful time!!! We stay in a time share off of the disney property, but there are a lot of places near that run shuttles to the parks.