Walt Disney World Tips and Ideas, Etc

In december we managed to go to DW with a family of 6 for 9 days 8 nights for about $3000. We stayed at the moderate resort....went during the free dining offer.....opened up two SW visa cards when they had a promotion (paid $400 for five RT flights from Phx to Orlando, my dh is a pilot so he flew free). All the meals were paid for and we had almost $300 reward dollars from the disney card. We will NEVER be able to go that cheap again, but if you do some major planning it can be done.

Go to disboards.com.....it is a wealth of information.

If you drive, staying off site is a good option, but staying onsite is wonderful. Especially at smaller resorts with less bus stops.

I would go at least 3 days....you will not get much done. Those three parks are good ones for the three days. The longer you stay....the slower you can take things. You cannot see it all, even in two weeks....so just plan what is most important for you to do and the rest is just icing on the cake.

For your mental health, I would find a package (resort,tickets,meal plan)
We are big fans of the meal plan. I just made things super simple, no toting a cooler, worrying if you brought the right food, remembered the cooler etc.
STROLLER, that is a must.
And from Houston, I would drive. Have fun!

DRIVE .... Gas will only cost you about $280, you'll save the cost of 3 airline tickets.

You need to either stay in Disney or stay at a hotel with shuttles. If you drive to the parks, you'll pay a small fortune in parking fees.

Food - another great savings in you drive. You can fill up a cooler and keep snacks and cold beverages in your room. You can bring food into the park as well.

Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom are the best parks for the little ones. Animal Kingdom has the best photo ops for pictures with the characters. Epcot doesn't have much for the little ones, other than a spectacular light/fireworks show at night.

Consider getting a package and staying on site. Stay at one of the value resorts, which are small rooms, but clean and have great pools and lots of activities for the kids, especially the 5 yo.

Stay in the resort!!! You can definitely do this for less than $3000 if you stay at one of the value or moderate resorts. You will not have the parking hassles, fees, etc. and the price for the packages include meals, tickets, etc. I am convinced that Disneyworld is the cleanest and most kid-friendly place on the planet, so why would you want to stay anywhere else. If you chose to fly, Disney has a complimentary bus that will take you to and from the airport... no need to rent a car. We have driven, as well (from Waco) and it wasn't too bad. The 5 year old will be fine, but I'm not so sure I would want to drive that far with a 2 year old. I would try to do a 5 or 6 day trip if it were me - 1 day for each park and 1 "down" day for the pool, Downtown Disney, etc. I totally disagree with the person that said Epcot is for adults. The reason people tend to say that is because they sell alcohol in that particular park, but the park is very educational-minded. Some of my 4 year olds favorite memories were riding Soarin' and having a conversation with the turtles from Finding Nemo. It's also more "open" which makes it feel less crowded and you can usually get a lot of great character photos because the lines are not as long. Ohhh! I wish I were going with you! You will just love it! :) It will be absolutely magical for your 5 year old and it will be priceless for you to watch him/her experience it!

I would drive. Flying is so expencive!!! We drove from Dallas area about 3 summers ago. We just stopped in Pincicola on the way there for the night and then Some where in Louisiana on the way back. We took plenty of things to do in the car. I don't have any sugestions about where to stay since we stayed on property. Our kids like Disney Studios and Animal Kingdom the best and then Magic Kingdom. You might check out park hopper passes that way you can go to what ever parks you want and not just spacific ones.

If you are planning on driving I would find a hotel a little farther away. Disney is actually in Kissimmee not Orlando. There are many nice places to stay on Rt192 and most offer a park shuttle (just look for places west of the main gate or the west side of Kissimmee). I would also recommend going to Legoland for a day that park is geared more for younger children. I will also recommend looking for a room with a kitchen so that you can make meals there and bring them with you. Disney allows small coolers and you are allowed to bring your own foods and drinks.

I would say two days at Magic Kingdom and at least one at Hollywood Studios and one at Animal Kingdom. Epcot is geared for adults (the world showcase) and there is not too much for the little ones.

I live in Victoria (2 hrs south of Htown). I went with a friend when we were 17 along with her mother and step father. We did three different parks in three days. It seems like one we could have skipped as it was totally just movies although we both LOVE movies we wanted more rides. I think 17 is too old to go to Disney. We did drive and it wasnt too bad. I might recomend driving four hours then letting your little ones out to play on a play ground for 45 mins or so. Thats a long time for little ones. We were shuddled in from a hotel and it was nice to leave or have a mickey mouse break. We did love it though. It seems like some parks will allow you to refill your plastic cup with FREE water ...a way to save. light weight clothes and sturdy shoes. Have fun!!!

You're taking two small children to disney for almost week-after no vacation for 5 years, on a budget, no less? Why don't you find someone to take care of the children and go to a gorgeous resort/even a B&B for a 4 day getaway-just with your husband?

We went to Disneyworld last year and for the days we were visiting Disney we stayed on property but the day before and the day after we stayed across the street at the Seralago hotel. It was great for our needs. They have kid suites that are themed (circus,cowboys, campout) and the kids have their own little bunk type room inside the big room with beds and a tv and game system, it was pretty cool. Also, all of the kid suites open right up to the pool. It was not a 5 star hotel but awesome for what we were doing and a great kid space and it was less than $100 a night.The room service was inexpensive as well and my kids loved it. It is literally like 5 minutes from Disneyworld. We are also and Texas and we drove, but we like that kind of thing. It was GREAT on the way down there because everybody was so excited but it was a long drive back when everyone was tired. If you have any other questions feel free send me a private message. We have four kids and did the deluxe dining plan, stayed on property for 4 nights and off property for 2 and kept in under $5000, including the drive.