Disney Vacation Advice/help

Oh, have fun, my children are the same age, we just went. I just got a park pass. That was plenty enough. We were sooo busy with just that. We were only there 5 days. We had just enough time for every park and time at the hotel pool. Much more and I would have been completely overwhelmed! We did not do the food packages, as I think it "forced" you to eat more than you need. We ate at the cafateria a lot, by the pool. Do the pin trading, if you can. Get fast passes at the parks for the best rides. The rides are at the back of the park, start there first, get a fast pass and do the simpler rides while you wait.

Check out www.disneyworld.com/moms

It is a fantastic site with independent moms that are experts on Disney and are part of a panel. You can ask them questions and they have great advice for planning your trip! Good luck!

I've been to Disney in August, too hot! Go inApril if at all possible.

A friend of mine is somewhat of a Disney groupie and has been there over 50 times. She now specializes in planning Disney vacations. Her name is Sue Opp and her email address is ____@____.com you contact her, just tell her B. from Chicago recommended her and she'll treat you right.

FYI, I took my kids (5 and 8) last year over Christmas and we really liked Universal as much if not more than Disney.
I would suggest going to both parks.

Have fun!

R.,

How lucky are you! There are quite a few options out there when in comes to Walt Disney, right now they have a special Buy 4 Nights, Get 3 Free this would cover you if you went in April and is well worth it(this would include your hotel and theme park tickets):
Buy 4 Nights, Get 3 FREE at select Disney Value Resorts!
Buy a 4-night/4-day package and get 3 nights FREE including Theme Park tickets! Package available most nights between Febuary 9 - April 4, 2009 and April 10 -June 27, 2009. Example package: A standard room at a Disney Value Resort priced at $1271 for a family of 4 — that's like paying only $46 a night per person.

There are many other ways you can do it to and depends on where you would like to stay, on property or off and how long you would like to stay. Are you driving or flying? As others have said August is very hot and humid, but it can be done if that is the only time you can go. Last August Disney had the Free Meal program, which is usually announced in the spring and when you book a package with them you get free meals, which is really a good deal. My suggestion is to start with your budget and work from there to see where you can stay and what you can afford, but you can do it all no matter what you budget is, I know we have don it. Have fun!

Sams club.com
Sams travel. That is where we did ours from. Great prices and packages.

You can plan right on Disney's website. I do recommend staying on the grounds. You won't need a car, transporation is included and they even pick you and your luggage up at the Orlando airport-it's included in the price and you don't have to wait at the baggage carousel. I just ordered the book "Disney with kids 2009" from Amazon (around $11) because we have not been there in several years. I would also recommend calling Disney to plan. The "cast members" are VERY helpful. When I called to book some character meals, the woman I spoke to gave me alot of helpful hints regarding what to bring to the meals so my child would have all the right stuff (princess dress for breakfast with Cinderella, autograph book, etc. She also told me how long the travel time would be including walking from the gates to the castle so I could plan accordingly). I would also suggest the Travel Channel. They seem to be showing Disney specials quite often & I just watched one called "Disney on a Dime" or something similar. April can be pricey, but August is within hurricane season. I understand from a relative who belongs to the Disney vacation club that October and November are two of the best months to go, but with kids in school, that's hard. Once yo have your dates, call to book character meals. They book up quickly (up to 6 months in advance). Also, if your daughter is in to dress up, you may want to consider buying a princess dress ahead of time. The Bippity Boppity Boutique does makeovers (hair, nails and make-up) but it's $50-60 for just the make-over and $200+ if you get the costume and photo package. I found a costume for $25 and plan to bring it because the "cast member" told me the girls all wear them to the Cinderella breakfast at the Castle and she has seen many parents making a mad dash to buy the dress when they get there and their daughter sees all the other kids dressed like a princess. I bought some t-shirts on Etsy.com. They have so many items to wear. They are called "disney vacation clothes" on that site. Good luck and feel free to contact me if you want more info.

we've been using Anne at www.smallworldvacations.com -- my parents have used her several times, and now she's doing a land/sea disney cruise for my family, my parents, and my in-laws. so far so good. www.mousesavers.com also has tons of good info.

Hi R.,
I have an excellent travel agent for you to call. Her name is Carolyn from CBS Travel. Her number is ###-###-#### and she specializes in Disney packages! Give her a call anytime and I am sure that she would love to help you plan your fantastic vacation!

Good Luck,
Cari

I'm also planning a BIG family trip (4 families) at the end of September/beginning of October. I can't recommend a travel agent but here are some great websites to check out to help with planning.

www.allears.net
www.disboards.com

They have so much information to help you plan and if you have any questions, the people on the Disney Boards are more than happy to answer your question. There are some die hard Disney people there.

Since this is your first trip I would stick to the Disney Parks unless you plan to stay for at least a week or longer. I mean there are 4 major theme parks, two water parks, and then you also have Downtown Disney and the Boardwalk. Universal is great but appeals more to the teenage group. They do have some great things for all ages but I would save it for your next trip unless this is a one time only trip.

Also, April is considered peak season, for spring break. I believe August is regular season for the summer. If you do go in April, Disney is having a discount where you pay for 4 nights and get 3 free I believe. I hear the Disney agents are full travel agents as well so they can also help you book your airfare too.

Really since this is your first time I strongly recommend checking out All Ears. It's the best non-official Disney website. It will help you decide if you want to stay on the resort or off-site. I love that it has tons of pictures of all the resort hotels also. It pretty much covers everything at the parks and is pretty up to date, such as construction at certain hotels. Has great planning tips as well. Anyway, hope that helps a little.

Hi R.,

I have been to Disney Several times with and without kids. Your kids are at a great age to go! As many people said in other posts. Some times in April can be peak season, so avoid spring beak weeks and Easter. Aim for the later part of April. April is also one of the best weather times to visit. Spring in Florida boasts perfect temps and minimal rainfall (around 3 inches)
August does tend to be less crowded towards the end of the month due to children going back to school. The weather also gets much hotter and humid (Hi 80's and some 90's) and the rain becomes more frequent, but if you're prepared you can use that to your advantage.

As others have mentioned there is a buy 4 get 3 free deal going on now. This applies to value resorts only. Disney does these offers to fill the hotels and parks; I would recommend taking advantage of it if you can. I did for my family of 4.

Disney has different levels of hotels. Deluxe (average $349 per night, moderate (average $149 per night) and value (average $89 per night) rooms accommodate 4. for 5+ you'll need to get a suite or an adjoining room.

I have stayed in all of the levels that Disney has to offer. If you can afford to splurge stay at a Deluxe resort. They are closer to the magic kingdom and offer great views at night of the fireworks not to mention easier access to the action. My favorite if the Polynesian. If you're on a budget as most of us are right now. The value resorts also offer that great Disney magic. The rooms are a little smaller, but still nice and you'll end up walking a little farther to get to the busses that take you to the parks. I recommend Pop century. It's the newest value resort and we found everything there to be top notch. I was very skeptical at staying there on my last trip because I had always stayed at Moderate resorts prior. We liked it enough to book if for our next trip this May.

I used the dining plan for the first time in 2007, and we found that it saved us a ton of money. There are different levels to this plan as well. We are going with the standard plan(which is recommended by Disney) Each day every member in our family gets 1 snack credit (can be used for small milk and cereal chips fruit...), 1 counter service credit(used at any place that serves fast food type meals and includes you meal, and drink and I believe dessert) and 1 dinner credit (includes the same as counter service but at a sit down restaurant. Kids meals include an appetizer as well) We saved all of our receipts. They give you one that shows the actual cost of the meal. We tallied them up when we got home and found out we saved close to $1000 on our dining by purchasing the meal plan. I think that's worth it. Yes, you sometimes do get too much food depending on where you're eating, but I'd rather have more than not enough. BTW, my sister just got back and paid out of pocket for her family of 5. One sit down meal alone ran them $160! That would have been just 1 dining credit. You can also use the credits any way you choose, in any order.

As for touring advice. You need to go with a plan. The first time I went to Disney(on my honeymoon) we had no idea what we were doing. It makes for a frustrating trip and is a waste of money. So you're already on the right path by asking for advice. the websites everyone has given you are great ways to find out what you want to ____@____.com your kids read the ride descriptions with you and make a list of the ones you really want to go on. as well as where you want to eat. and leave the rest for another trip. I highly recommend at leave a full 7 days for a first trip to be able to see everything.

Others have mentioned adding a park hopper on to you tickets. This allows you to go to as many parks a day as you want. This is good if you're going to be there 4 days or less. if your there longer, save the $$ and don't get it. 1 perk per day is plenty. You can enter and reenter the same park as many times as you like once, you ticket is scanned. I recommend getting to the parks BEFORE they open for what they call "rope drop" tour the park leave for an afternoon break and then go back for dinner and stay until closing. To avoid needing a vacation from your vacation make sure you plan 1 day in the middle of your trip that doesn't involve going to a theme park.

Also just because you're staying at one type of resort, doesn't mean you can't "visit" the others. The fancier resorts have great restaurants. You can use your dining plan at most of them. Make sure you make your reservations as soon as you can. You can book them 90 days from the start of your trip. So if you go in April, you can start making your reservations ASAP. On our first trip I had no idea that we we're supposed to do that and we ate counter service the entire time. We were miserable seeing that we had just gotten off the Disney cruise where we were pampered with wonderful meals whenever we wanted them!

I hope this info has been a help. Enjoy your trip!