Disney world
 

i am plg to trvl to Disney with 7 year old twins (boy and girl ) .

Have a few questions .

is it really worth staying on property ??

Is the dinning plan worth the money or do kids get sick of eating off the childrens menus which are soo boringly same !!

is 5 days enough for this age group if we do not visit the water parks ?

Also if staying on [property is it worth staying in a Beach club over say a port riverside at additional cost of $800 I can buy an ipad with this money or another holiday !!! :) That said I am picky about resorts having worked for 5 star resorts all my life !!!!!!

thanks for advice

A 5 star resort at Disney is not the same as a 5 star resort in the real world (say a Four Seasons or Aman Resort). They aren't bad by any stretch, just not really comparable.

I like staying on property as it just kinda immerses you in the entire Disney experience. The resorts are themed very well. Others like the greater amount of space you get for the money by staying off site. Really depends on what you are looking for on your vacation.

In my calculation, the Dining plan is worth it if you plan on doing a lot of character meals. They tend to get really pricey and if you do a bunch of those or are big eaters (app, dessert with every meal) then the Plan is worth it. Otherwise, it probably makes more sense to pay out of pocket.

5 days is probably a perfect amount of time. Assume you will do the Magic Kingdom at least two of those 5 days and maybe one day each at the other parks?

If you are going during warm weather months, the Beach or Yacht clubs are great. They have amazing pools and with 7 year olds, no doubt you will take mid-day breaks from the park for a nice swim and nap or quiet time before heading back out. If you are going when it is too cold to swim, not sure if I would spend the extra money.

Go to Disboards and EVERY SINGLE QUESTION you could possibly EVER imagine will be answered there. Seriously. The amount of minutiae on those boards is startling.

I think you could skip DisneyMGM studio with 7 year olds. Concentrate on Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.

Meal Plan? Depends on whether or not meal-time is a big deal for you. Some people don't like interrupting their day at Magic Kingdom just because they have a 5pm reservation for the Coral Reef Aquarium restaurant. It takes a good deal of planning.

thank u Taitai , get yr point about deluxe since i have just finished working for one of the chains u mention ! :)

My kids have a spicy palate and normally find the kid menus in america very very bland and boring and that was my biggest worry that they will hv to eat from the kids menus while they would much prefer food from the main menu even if the two share one main !

does anyone hv any comments on how convenient Port Riverside is to get to Epcot and magic Kingdom

Tracey i was plg two days Mk , two epcot , one ak ,

thanks for yr comments

First, go to disboards.com for information regarding planning a trip to Walt Disney World. There is so much information on that forum. You can ask any question and get most of the information you need to plan a trip to Disney. The people on that forum live and breathe Disney.

FYI - the basic Disney Dining plan does not include an appetizer. The Plan includes one table-service meal (entree, dessert and non-alcoholic beverage), one quick-service meal (think fast food like) and a snack per person, per night of your package. You can use your dining credits any way you choose. If you arrive at Disney late in the day, you might not use a table-service that day, so you could use two the next. Disney also offers a Quick-Service Dining plan (no table service) and a Deluxe Dining Plan (you can have three table service meals every day if you want - that would be a lot of food, but some people like it).

I like staying on-site. I was there in December with a friend and we stayed at Coronado Springs, which was very nice. The rooms at Coronado Springs have been renovated and include queen sized beds and flat screen tv's. Port Orleans Riverside is nice, but I prefer Port Orleans French Quarter (Disney's smallest resort). My favorite is the Boardwalk Inn in the Epcot Resort Area. I also think the Beach Club and Yacht Club are both beautiful and the pool is amazing. I like the Epcot area because you can walk to Epcot and Disney Studios (or take a water taxi).

It's really all about choosing a location and theming. (Of course, cost is always a factor).

The Wilderness Lodge could be a good choice for you. Close proximity to the Magic Kingdom and nice theming. It is considered a Deluxe resort, but is more moderate in price than some of the others.

You should also go to disneyworld.com and register on their website. Order a free planning DVD. Also, click on "Special Offers" to see if there any deals for the dates of your trip. By registering on disneyworld.com, you may receive a "pin code" from Disney offering you special deals.

Have fun planning your trip!

I forgot to mention that the Deluxe Dining Plan includes an appetizer. Also, table-service meals include buffets and there are some "Signature" restaurants that require two table-service credits.

I like Contemporary, Grand Floridian, and Polynesian. To me, the only way to do Disneyworld is on the monorail.
I wouldn't skip anything. I would plan for a day each at MGM, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and a waterpark. Waterparks are our favorite thing. They have two of the best. I would only do one or two character meals. I wouldn't do the meal plan.

Don't fuss about staying in a five star, at Disney all your time is spent navigating the parks, finding your way from place to place, standing in line for transportation. You did not come to Disney to enjoy the furniture, and won't have much success trying to get the 7 year olds to relax by the pool for a couple of hours.

The meal plan/ reservations required etc does tie you down to a schedule of sorts. There were times when we FINALLY got to the front of the line for the haunted house and then realized that we had a dinner reservation in five minutes that was 20 minutes away. The meal plan is a good way for Disney to get hundreds of people out of the queues for rides, and into the restaurants. Reservations are seldom available for the times that you'd like. So you end up making a 5pm reservation when you'd really rather dine at 7:30pm. This keeps the dining halls full from 4:30pm to 11pm for Disney.

We are going to Disney in May and also contemplated the meal plan. We decided against it, with the thought that we didn't need all that much food. The kids, ages 12, 10, and 5 are picky eaters and do not eat alot. The 10 year old would have to have an adult meal plan since the cut off is 9. We are definitely there to do the rides and the shows, we are planning one character breakfast and one nice sit down the last night when we are going to a special show (package deal), but the rest will probably be counter meals. We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside because they have space for 5 (only moderate resort offering a trundle bed). It can drive a person nuts with all the "research" to do, all the "insider tips" you can read. I've been reading, but once we get there I really just want to relax. The disboards.com were really helpful to us. Have fun on your vacation. Cannot wait for ours!

Wish I could go with you! It sounds like a great vacation!

Totally agree with clarkg---you don't realize how huge and sprawled out Disneyworld is until you actually get there and find out how much time is spent traveling between parks, hotels, parking lots, etc. I also agree that staying at a hotel with the monorail station inside the hotel is most convenient, especially if you have small children. We stayed at the Contemporary on one trip and at MK we were able to hop on the monorail in the middle of the day, rest up and take a nap, then go back to MK until closing. That way we were able to spend as much time as possible at the park. Contemporary has a character breakfast too.
Another timesaver is taking snacks into the park with you. Otherwise, when the kids get hungry, you will have to stop and look for a restaurant, wait in line, and wait again for your food. If you have snacks and water on hand you can stop anywhere for a short break, and keep going, making the most of your time in the park, then stop for a meal when you want to relax for a bit.

Also, if you plan on seeing Epcot 2 days, I would go to MGM first on your 2nd day and see if you really want to return to Epcot--you may want to spend half a day at MGM, see the parade, then revisit Epcot for their light show at night. You might as well try to see as much as you can.

thanks all !! the monorail resorts are really out of budget for all six nights , Would it make sense to slit and do three nighta at say Port riverside and do Mk and ak from there and then move to beach club or Poly ?

Conorado sound like a good moderate but is unavailable over my dates .


Also will welcome any more comments on dinning plan ? Not sure if character dinning is high on our list . do u not meet characters in the parks ? i am traveling 3rd to 9th june

Will the kids still be in school or will the summer rush hv hit the parks ??


thanks all !!!!!!!!!!

One thing to check out if importatnt to you, is that at Coronado, Disney promised "free wifi" and it was only in the Conference area..so if wifi is important whereever you decise to stay ask..also ask about where the rooms is in advance. My room ended up as far away as possible from the Main Lobby...

Meals were outrageous for mediocre food..5 dollars for a midget size yoghurt..I'd bring snacks, stay soemwhere w/kitchenette and at least a refrdgerator..and then have groceries delivered or shop yourself...