motor_city_girl

Hello everyone. We are planning our first trip to Disney World.

We have two girls who will be 6 1/2 and 4 at the time our the trip, which will be October 2007 based on recommendations that this time of year will be less crowded.

Our thoughts so far would be two days at the Magic Kingdom and then a day at either Busch Gardens or Animal Kingdom (right name?). Then we would like to rent a car and drive further south to take the kids to the beach for a few days.

I have a list of websides to check from other threads but I have a few questions for my fellow Fodorites:

1. Would you chose Busch Gardens or Animal Kingdom with our kids ages? Or does anyone have another suggestion?

2. Where should be go for the best beach experience after Disney?

3. Anyone have any tips or don't miss things?

4. Anyone feel we are leaving out anything major at Disney (age appropriate)? We will probebly return when they are a little older for Epcot, etc.

Thank you!

Fodorite018

The girls will be perfect ages for Animal Kingdom. We were there last month and really enjoyed it.

We split our time between Cocoa Beach and Disney, and it was a good mix. Cocoa is about an hour from Disney, and a very easy drive.

motor_city_girl

Will it still be fairly warm there last Sept/early Oct or do we need to go further south?

Fodorite018

We used to live in Orlando and it was still quite warm at those times. You might check a weather source to see some historical temperatures so you can decide for yourself though. But if you go to Cocoa, you can visit Kennedy Space Center too.

Postal

Sometimes the high summer heat in Orlando doesn't dissipate until mid to late October. Cocoa Beach, or the Gulf Coast which will be two hours away, will be more than warm enough for swimming.

Orlando_Vic

2. Where should be go for the best beach experience after Disney?

Cocoa beach is an excellent choice. However, if you would be willing to drive a little further north, try Crescent Beach just south of St. Augustine. I think it is an even nicer beach and is about 2 hours driving time from Orlando. Please let me know if you want details.

emd

You could do Orlando/Disney parks and then head to Tampa for Busch Gardens (1 1/2 hrs from Orlando) and go directly from Tampa at the end of the day drive over to Clearwater Beach (another 30 min.), or better yet just south of Clearwater beach to Sand Key beach. We've doen that twice and it is nice. Water on that side is calm and clear and beach is nice.

motor_city_girl

We are willing to drive up to two hours so I am really looking for the nicest beach we can find.

We have always vacationed on NC/SC coasts and I would like the kids to experience a "clear" water beach if possible. I am not looking for anything too resorty, just some place with a nice hotel/condo on the beach. We will be spending the bulk of our budget at Disney.

Thanks again for any additional help.

otownrob

i find cocoa beach very tacky/touristy so i usually go to indialantic....about 15-20 minutes south of cocoa bch. you could go to the 5th ave boardwalk; or the beach at the end of the eau gallie causeway; or camp-out behind the crowne plaza hotel.

Dreamer2

I'd do Animal Kingdom. Then you can buy a Park Hopper pass, which lets you go in and out of different parks during the day, and maybe do a half day over at MGM, or have dinner at one of the Epcot countries.

Here's another vote for the West Coast of Florida and Clearwater Beach!

October will be a great time of year to go! Enjoy!

Cathy61

I would suggest Siesta Key for your beach holiday. The beach there is great.

birder

The West Coast beaches are much nicer, in my opinion. I would recommend Anna Maria Island ... small, family friendly island with simply stunning beaches, great ice cream places, clear greenish-blue water. I used to live right next to the island and now I get down there whenever I can.

http://www.annamariaislandchamber.org/

My husband's family just came into town and we took them down there, and they simply loved it. (We are in the Tampa area.)

ajcolorado

Clearwater Beach always gets rave reviews for families and we enjoyed it. The beach is nice, the surf is not strong, and there are restrooms & a playground. We enjoyed the nightly "Sunset at Pier 60" - take some $1 bills for the street performers.

The Campfire Sing-Along with Chip & Dale is a fun experience and it is free. See: http://www.buildabettermousetrip.com...-campfire.html

I enjoy Animal Kingdom but fear that most people overlook the wonderful live entertainment. There are shows like "Finding Nemo - the Musical" which people do see but there are great street type performances that a fun. For descriptions, click on the Animal Kingdom tab at http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/

If you decide to go to Busch Gardens, I think the Entertainment books usually carry a coupon for a discount on admission.

bkluvsNola

If you want the best beaches, you'll need to go to the Gulf Coast of Florida. I'd recommend Clearwater Beach for that time of year.

The absolute best beaches in Florida are on the Panhandle, but there's no need to drive that far. The Clearwater beaches are almost as good.

motor_city_girl

If we stay at Cocoa Beach, what is a good hotel on the beach?

Orlando_Vic

There is a Holiday Inn in Cocoa Beach <http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/...COIBE/welcome>.
It has a good central location and is oceanfront.
I have not stayed there, but have had dinner there several times (on the way home from the beach). My impression was that it was very family friendly.

Fodorite018

We stayed at the Hilton Oceanfront at Cocoa Beach. We had an oceanfront room for $129/nt. The beds were great and the living area of the room was fine. The bathroom wasn't bad, but needed some updating with maintenance. There was not a separate vanity area, which would have been nice when we were all trying to get ready. We did have a decent size refrigerator though, so kept water stocked in there. The hotel has a patio area where you can order a meal, which is right next to the pool. There is also a kiosk there for towels to use on the beach and you can take surfing lessons (for a fee). if your girls are young enough that the vanity/bathroom setup works, then it is a fine place to stay.

We were at the Doubletree just down the road, also right on the beach, and that looked better maintained. We didn't go in any of the rooms so I can't comment on that, but we were in the hotel for an event and everything was very nice. When we were there it was about $100 per night MORE than the Hilton.

We really debated between the two hotels, and if we were not splurging so much at Disney then we would have taken the Doubletree at CB.

marilynl

I would also recommend the Gulf Coast over the Atlantic Coast--the beaches are much nicer, with that fine white sand, and weather has always seemed better to me. We recently enjoyed Anna Maria Island, which I think would be the perfect scale for a relaxed family vacation with your young children. The Anna Maria Beach Cottages (www.annamariabeachcottages.com) were perfect for us: attractive accomodations, small pool, quiet neighborhood, beach a house away, and bikes, beach chairs, sand toys, board games, videos all free to enjoy.

luv2plan

We are also going to beach/WDW in October! My boys will be 4 and 7 1/2.

We are renting a condo with other family members on Cocoa Beach.

As for Disney, I highly recommend:
Staying on property somewhere, Port Orleans French Quarter is nice and has a food court which is handy.
Getting parkhopper tickets, go to one park before opening so there are no lines, go back to your room to swim & take a rest, then go to a park in the afternoon.
Go to the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, it is a separate ticket, I think $30 and is from 7pm-midnight (but you can get into MK @4pm), there are short lines for rides, special Halloween parade & fireworks, they take your picture (free) and they have trick r treating throughout the park. The kids & adults dress in costumes and it is great fun. This is why we are going back in October!
Go to MGM studios and see Fantasmic, it is the best evening show at WDW.
Go to Animal Kingdom & go on the safari first thing. Have lunch at Rainforest Cafe if you've never been there. I like the food and it is really fun.
Go to a character meal, princess meal. I prefer lunch or dinner b/c I hate to "waste" time eating breakfast when the lines are so short for the rides, but I know most people like a sit down breakfast.

For an all-Disney message board go to: www.disboards.com

Happy Planning!

Autoeng

Another vote for Siesta Key for your beach time. The sand is white so it doesn't get hot and burn little feet. There are shells but not so many to hut little feet. The water is shallow and calm for little one's as well. If you can afford to stay on the beach stay on the southern end away from the crowds for a great experience.