I got a good deal on Spirit Air to Orland !! We will be at the Disney world from 19th-24th of Dec. We plan to visit the parks starting 20th for 4 days. Does anyone have an idea of how much crowded the parks will be at that time ?
Thanks to all your suggestions I think I am no longer the Disney novice ha ha ha..
We will be getting the 4 day parkhopper so just like you guys said will not be spending 2 days at Animal kingdom !!
The hotels that we have zeroed in are Dolphin(129$ a night) or All Star movie resort(bduget 77$!!)..
Thanks in advance !!
Also we can get by w/o having to buy my son a pass..He turns 3 in January so that was one advantage !!
-Ash

Sounds like a good deal. I should expect the parks to be fairly crowded given that schools are out.

A few ways to avoid the lines are to use the Fast Pass system whenever possible and find out which park is the one that is open late that night. Believe it's called "E ticket" which means for an extra $10 or so, guests of any Disney Hotel get two extra hours in the Park that night.

dabsjad: I have not stayed in either hotel, but I would think the Dolphin would be a lot nicer than the All Star resorts. The All Stars are truly budget hotels.

I agree with GirlontheGo -- the Dolphin over the All Star Resorts - definitely!!!! The location alone is worth the difference!!!!

dabsjad, while the dolphin is definitely nicer, it is not owned by disney - it is a starwood property and therefore has little to none of the disney 'magic.' The All Star Movies however, is full of magic, with huge disney movie icons that your 3 y/o will likely recognize and love.

As they say, you can't put a price on some things...

Also as an earlier poster said, check out disboards.com for absolutely everything you could possibly need to know about disney, including lively discussions of disney resorts.

Did you try any of the moderate priced resorts? They are nicer. I still think you would enjoy the dolphin more. Since you are mostly only sleeping there, I like a nice comfortable room to sleep in. If it is cramped or loud, and I can't sleep, I won't have a good time anyway! I am a light sleeper. That is just me I guess!

For a lot of good information about the Disney Parks, check out mousesavers.com

The Dolphin is wonderful. Although it is not owned by Disney, you get all the perks the Disney hotels get (except the character wake up calls). You still get early park entry and use of the WDW transporation system. The location of the Dolphin is GREAT. It's so convenient to get to any of the parks and to just walk to the Boardwalk. The pools are also very relaxing. The All Stars really is not in the same class.

Scherml is correct. The Dolphin and the All Star Resorts are not in the same class. Go with the Dolphin.

With kids of 3 and 1 years, go with the most convenient hotel you can afford. Err on the side of convenience.

Also, I suggest making the Magic Kingdom your first visit and starting with "it's a small world." It's a great ride to introduce the kids to disney type rides. It's bright, friendly and there are no dark moments. Very kid friendly. Avoid Pirates of the Carribean until they've gotten use to disney rides. It's much darker and there's a teeny hill in it that can frighten young kids.

There is no comparison between The Dolphine and the All Stars because The Dolphine and the Swan are HUGE convention hotels & the All Stars are definitely more Disney-ish.
We spent one vacation at The Swan and kept being run over by masses of people rushing to their meetings. Neve again.
The All Stars are very convenient and family friendly as other posters have said.
Or check out the moderates.
And think about how much you will be in your room?
You can use the saved cash for character breakfasts, souvenirs and other fun stuff.
Or just the price of tickets, they've just gone up in price!

Also don't take our word on it, I would definitely visit the Disney exclusive forums like DISBOARDS and MOUSESAVERS for more extremely detailed Info on everything DISNEY that you could possibly want!

Ryan - Eride ticket night is only at the Magic Kingdom, and usually one night a week. The first 5000 people staying in on-site Disney Hotels can buy the pass (wristband) for that day. And it's $12.75 for adults and $10.60 per child 3-9.

Incidentally, try this site as well:
http://allearsnet.com/
Tons of excellent information, and particularly for photos of all the hotels (and interiors of the rooms).

If you can afford a moderate hotel at Disney (e.g., Caribbean Beach Resort, Port Orleans French Quarter or Riverside or Coronado Springs), you would have the best of both worlds. Disney "magic" and a very nice resort. The All Stars are budget hotels.

Good luck to you and definitely go over to disboards.com - there is a ton of information (and opinions) over there.

First off you will have a blast wherever you stay at Disney!

Just my .02-
A+ for the All Stars if your vacation is geared for the kids enjoyment! We stayed at the All Star Movies Dalmation building and it was PERFECT for little ones and big ones! Our room had a Dalmation theme. There is also a Buzz Lightyear area and the rest of the Toy Story gang.. Very Disney! It is like you never left the park! You have to see it to believe it...
The kids were in awe of the supersized characters. Even the pools are themed! Our DD (7) thought that the hotel WAS DisneyWorld!
We did not have a car and the shuttles were quick and easy..

If this is more of a mom/dad vacation and you want a upscale resort.. I would go with the higher priced properties but remember that the Disney Character theme is only at the All Stars.

Another info website you may want to try is Disneycentral.com -specifically the forums. They have a budget board
(REALLY HELPFUL!)and inside info on all the hotels, parks ect. Even a traveling with kids section. I use all the sites mentioned above but find this site to be my favorite. This site is abundant with info on Disney World. FYI.. Some other sites have more info on Disneyland so look around until you find what you need...

The other posters on Disney Central love helping plan vacations. And helping Disney Newbies! Keeps the Disney withdrawals at bay

Ditto about AK.. Not a 2 day park.. But it was neat. And MGM is alot of fun for kids!

Just a suggestion, on our last trip, we took our trusted Babysitter (17) with and she stayed w/ DD at the hotel a couple evenings so we could see DTD ect. It was also really helpful on rides that mom and dad wanted to check out ex. Tower of Terror and when DD wanted to go to the pool every other hour!


Final word of advice is the key to a successful WDW vacation is plan, plan, plan...
I wish you a wonderful trip!

~Zoey

Lots of good advice above. My one word of advice is to not try to do everything. Your kids are at an age when schedules and naps are usually important. Do not be one of those families dragging kids to "just one more ride" when they are obviously tired, whining and just want some down time. Remember, the purpose of trip is to have fun - not to see how many rides/attractions you can see in the least time. Make sure you h ave a stroller for both - even though the 3 year old probably does not usually ride in one. Tired kids can make a trip torture for everyone.

Whichever park you pick, the kids will have a good time. Our daughter went to WDW when she was 1, rode around in the stroller like she does at the mall - obviously trip was lost on her.