bp

I am going to Disney World this December; 2 adults and 3 yound teenagers. How many days should I plan on spending there for the kids to totally enjoy themselves? They are coming from Singapore and this will be a once in a life time trip there most likely.
Thank you,
bp

Postal

Are you only going to Disney? Universal's Islands of Adventure has the best rides by far, and Universal Studios is a great park too. Plus Sea World is great for those interested in sea life.

Disney alone has four different parks - Magic Kingdom (where the castle is), EPCOT (like a World's Fair with pavilions for different countries), MGM (based on movies), and Animal Kingdom. Early December is usually uncrowded at Disney so I think you could see everything you want in three days. But I would trade Islands of Adventure foor a Disney park anyday.

eri

3 days.

penel523

Well, if I were going with my family with teens--and I just did--I'd stay about a week. There are the four main Disney parks, plus water parks, plus Universal if you want to go there. You'd just scratch the surface if you stay any fewer than, say, five days.

What is your budget like? Can you afford to stay on WDW property? If you can, do so. It's much more convenient, and the kids can go off on their own easily. Right now I think Disney is offering seven days or nights for the price of four, which includes passes. Check out wdwinfo.com or wdwig.com or mousesavers.com for more (intense!) Disney info. You'll also find info about other Orlando attractions.

Hope this helps!

irishdame

Recommended length of stay at disney world?

Not one damn minute, even if you paid me.

etc0414

BP, 4 days would be the minimum. Universal should not be missed. Islands of Adventure is so much better than any Disney Park for teens. Don't miss the Hulk, Spiderman, Back to the Future and Men in Black rides. Awesome. We took our nephews (all teens) and they voted Universal hands down over Disney. Blizzard Beach at Disney is fun for a water park. Magic Kingdom is mild in comparison to Islands of Adventure. Space Mountain Ride in the Magic Kingdom the teens might like. The Universal part at Universal Studios is better than the movie park at WDW. The rides are fantastic too,. Also, at Universal, the teens would love City Walk where they can shop, eat, see movies, walk around and just enjoy. If we had it to do over again, Universal would be our mainstay and then off to Sea World and a day at Wet n Wild. A fabulous 5 days. Enjoy. Hope I helped.

mrsbu

We were ther in February just 2 adults no kids and we needed one day per park. So you should figure 4 days for Disney and 2 Days for Universal as they are actually better parks then WDW. Now also lets not forget Sea World and the loveley Shamu so 7 days at least as the adults will get tired and maybe need a aday for rest byt he pool.

panhandle

Leave yourself time . I and my wife went on a park a day trip and we were exahausted by the third day. If you can...take at least two days to just relax. Maybe take in a trip to see some of Florida that isnt themed!

gail

Agree with above poster - you will not want to pack theme parks non-stop into your days if you can avoid it. Kids will want a half day off here and there, you will need time to deal with time change and length of flight. So I would plan on about 6 days, with not all day every day spent touring WDW and related attractions.

bp

Irishdame,
Why the negative answer? Bad experience at WDW?
Thank you,
bp

bp

Thank all of you for your responses, they are very much appreciated. Also, thanks for the tip on Universal Islands of Adventure.

One more question; won't it be too cold to go swimming in Orlando in late December?
Thank you,
bp

girlonthego

Hi you will need a week. I would also recommend that the teens will enjoy Universal the most because the rides are geared towards the latest pop flicks. Disney has alot of Christmas themed events in December. Check into it now and buy tickets. If this is your holiday, Epcot has a show for christmas, and Magic Kingdom closes the park and has a christmas party with snow and hot chocolate and shows. All are great. You must buy tickets in advance. Go to Disney's website. We went last December(early). It was still a little crowded (especially on the weekends.)Also, it was so cold we need winter coats! (We are from Virginia.)It was in the forties. We were getting snow back home. You may or may not be able to swim. It depends on the year, so plan for everything! We stayed at the hilton in downtown disney. It was a very nice hotel. If you stay on the monorail at Disney, it will be easier to let the teens go and meet back. These hotels are more expensive.
Have a great time.

stacey

Sounds like a ton of fun!! My family of 5 (2 adults; girls 12,10 & 7) have gone twice and since we are coming from the West Coast .. we really feel like we need to stay there 2 weeks minimum. We love Disney and my girls are not into the scary, thrill-seeking rides, so we have not attempted Universal as of yet. May I suggest some GREAT sites to look at for many discounts:
www.mousesavers.com (great super savor site,info)
www.connects123.com (vouchers for meals)
www.wdwig.com (another super savor, info site)
http://www.disboards.com/

Good luck and have a super time in Florida

karebear4567

SInce this is a once in a lifetime trip, 5 nights would be good.

Austin

Agree that Universal may be more exciting than Disney for Teens. They may like MGM however. I say a week, esp if coming from Singapore. Won't they need at least a day to recover from the flight?

Rachel

If you dont mind switching hotels during your stay-the best way to go to both WDW and Universal is to stay at hotels at both parks, so you have the privileges granted to those staying at the parks. Stay a few days at a Disney hotel, then stay a few days at a Universal Hotel. If you plan on doing nothing but the theme parks, you wont even need to rent a car. Also, check out the web sites given by a previous poster-its a great way to learn and plan. Finally, you may want to plan a side trip to visit the NASA space center which is about 1 hour away if you have enuf time.

Carib_Ruby

It is hard to say what the weather will be like in December. I can rememeber a few chilly ones, however in recent years we have gone to the beach on Christmas!