I need a sanity check. I have 2 boys (5 & 10) and we've been talking about a Disney World trip sometime in the next year. I just looked at the school calendar (I'm one who won't pull the kids from school for vacation), and my choices are Thanksgiving week, some time at Christmas break up through Jan 6, Easter weeks (before and after), Presidents' weekend and Columbus Day weekend (when this year they have both Friday and Monday off).

I dread crowds and really dislike hot, humid weather (so summer is out, I think). I'm actually considering Columbus Day weekend. Can get good airfare right now ($119/person rt) and good room rates. We would go down Thursday night and return Monday afternoon. I'm assuming we would have 3 full days (Fri,Sat,Sun) at WDW and 1/2 day Monday to do something else (even the hotel pool). We would stay offsight to get more room(s) for the $.

We don't "live" for Disney, but I do want an enjoyable trip esp for the kids. Am I nuts thinking that 3 cooler, less crowded, less expensive days will suffice?

Appreciate any advice!
--DJ

I recommend Columbus Day weekend. Thanksgiving and Christmas to New Years are the biggest crowds of the year. The weather is also riskier than the fall. Spring and fall are very pleasant in Florida. Three days are plenty with 5 and 10 year olds. Managing your time to not do too much is actually the task rather than destroy yourself putting in 18 hour days. Get to the parks early. Take pool breaks in the afternoon. Enjoy the evening parades and fireworks. Crowds are thinner early and late. Have a great trip.

That time in October is an excellent choice. By mid-October, the daytime high temps should drop below 90, the humidity begins to fall and the afternoon thunderstorms begin to abate.

There is much more to Orlando than WDW. Don't be reluctant to spend a day at Sea World or Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. A cheaper alternative for one day is the beach. Mid-October is outstanding beach weather! I'm sure your boys would love this too.

You can do Disney in three days - you can either delete one park or pick a day where you just hit the highlights of two parks - maybe combine Animal Kingdom & MGM Studios. Another option is to go for early flights and be able to spend the evening of your arrival night at one of the parks.

Trying to do 2 parks in one day will require a park hopper option on your tickets which will add an additional $50 per person.

I would have a good touring plan for whatever parks you do decide to see. I've used the Unofficial Guide to Disney World, www.buildabettermousetrip.com and www.tourguidemike.com

The Birnbaum official guide has good general information but is not specific enough for a busier weekend.

It can be done in three days, as long as you're not the type who just has to do everything at every park. One word of warning, though: Don't rush so hard you overextend the kids. Consider taking a break in the middle of the day so they can grab a nap or otherwise rest their feet.

A day at Magic Kingdom is a given. The whole park is built for kids.

Doing two parks in a day is a good idea. Animal Kingdom only has 4-5 must-sees and with crowds down, you can be out of there pretty quickly. For kids the age of yours, I'm going to suggest you do Epcot as the other half day because kids that young often don't really appreciate the World Showcase, which encompasses half the park. (I've been to Disney World multiple times and it seems fairly consistent that adults grade Epcot considerably higher than the kids, though Disney's been attempting to address this by adding more rides like the Test Track and Mission: Space.)

I'd suggest doing Animal Kingdom in the morning, when the animals will be more active. Then you can take a break around lunchtime, head over to Epcot for the afternoon, eat dinner at one of the many restaurants in the World Showcase, then catch their spectacular fireworks show.

For your third day, you could spend the entire day at Disney-MGM, which has lots of things young boys will love. Or, provided you buy a multi-day, Park Hopper pass, you can spend part of the day seeing what you missed at Epcot. The parks are right next door to each other and boats run between them.

Great time to go. I know you said that you want to stay off site but you really shd consder staying on site. It is so great to "be there". Just get up in the morning & go. Our son who is 19 still talks about walking back to the resort after dinner & fireworks @ Epcot. That was about 12 years ago!

I'll second the suggestion above about staying on-property. I've done both and very much preferred being on-grounds. Disney's free transportation essentially means you can skip the rental car you might otherwise have needed.

I think you've made a good choice. You can do it in three days. Just pick the highlights. You can't do it all - so don't even try. As stated, Magic Kingdom is one day for sure. If you have a park hopper, you could EPCOT one day and Animal Kingdom and MGM another day.

I, too, highly recommend you stay at an onsite hotel. I stayed offsite once, but we didn't enjoy it nearly as much as staying on the Disney property.

Have fun planning. Go to disboards.com for everything you need to know about planning a trip to Disney World.

It can still get hot and humid in October in Orlando. November to April would be the optimum weather months. Holiday periods are obviously going to be more crowded and accomodations more expensive.

Definitely stay at a Disney hotel.

Consider that parking is $12 per day and that you don't need to rent a car if you stay on Disney property when figuring the relative costs.

My only---and strongest---recommendation would be to NOT stay in a non-Disney hotel on Disney property because the transport system is really insufficient sub-standard (though the hotels are fine).

I prefer to rent a car and rely on some Disney transport (and I'd recommend that with 2 kids), but it does add to cost.

Anyway, 3 days is enough.

3 days is very doable so long as you plan accordingly. My recommendation is to
1. Get up early and get to the parks before the heat of the day builds. 2.Make sure you take pool breaks - select a hotel with a great pool slide. My kids always loved coming back to the pool. We have stayed at many WDW properties but have found that Coronado Springs was the best for us in terms of price, facilities and transportation.
3. As everyone has said, don't try to do everything. It just wears the kids and you out. Better to take it a bit more slowly and enjoy. Seeing the parks at night is great but just check the schedule in advance to make sure they are open in the evenings. During periods of lower attendence WDW shortens hours of operation.
4. Discuss with the kids in advance and prepare them to accept that they won't see everything.
5. Dont buy park passes for the first night (Thursday). Take advantage of the "free" things such as Downtown Disney (great Lego scultures - I hear there are some amazing Transformers there now)or swimming in the pool.
6. Plan one character meal if you can - lots of fun. We made a game of getting a picture with each character wearing my niece's Red Sox hat. It was a pretty fun way of getting the characters to interact with the girls and funny to see the characters act up.
7. Have a great time - we've had great family trips there and I'm sure you will too.

I agree with Doug that 3 days is enough. Disney can be exhausting, and we've found after 3 days we've had our fill and are ready to go.

Don't be fooled into thinking Columbus Weekend isn't busy because it is a very busy weekend. Packed.

I
Mickey has some huge very scary Halloween party the month of October and lots and lots of people take advantage of Columbus weekend to get there for it.

Also, the Epcot International Food & Wine Expo will be going on during that time.

Stay on property.

It will still be hot at that time and all of the pools and water parks are open and busy.

Here is a link to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and the dates.

http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/mk/mnssh.htm

I realize Disney World doesn't qualify, but when my daughter was in grade school we had the same concerns about taking her out of school for a California trip (that included SF, Disneyland, etc).

The teacher told us that her grades wouldn't suffer and that she'd get more of an education on the trip.

She bought post cards every place we went and upon returning the teacher asked to to make a presentation of the trip to the class. They all shared in her educational experience.

Thanks for all the input. Now I've got alot to think about! The hardest part is going to be deciding to stay on or off-site. I hear all of you saying to stay on-site, so I've got to work the budget!

--DJ

DJ--I agree with the others, stay on site. We were there in early Dec, and stayed at the Boardwalk Inn. While it is one of the higher priced places, it was great for us. The location was great...just a short walk out the back door to Epcot, lots of stuff for the kid and us on the boardwalk itself (rent the 4 seater bikes), and lots of restaurant options right there on the boardwalk. Our room had two queen beds as well as a day bed. That might be nice for your boys since the younger could use the daybed and they would each have their own space. Also, the complimentary bus transporation for the parks was always very efficient. We never waited long for a bus, and when they arrived, it seemed as if we were the first stop as there were not other passengers on the bus yet. Just a few things for you to think about. Hope the trip goes well!

I have never travelled to Disney World when I'm NOT on a budget. As a fellow budget traveller, let me urge you strongly to stay on property. Stay at one of the All-Star hotels, and you'll still enjoy the perks of the free airport-to-hotel (and vice versa) service, which means you won't need to pay for a shuttle service or car rental. Plus, Extra Magic Hours will help you gain some extra time at the parks since you're limited on time. I stayed for less than $100/night my last two trips, both the weekend after Thanksgiving. It was great to see the Xmas decorations.

Staying off property may yield you a free shuttle, but that free shuttle is shared by a number of other area hotels (i.e. standing room only sometimes) and at the end of long days when you're limited on time... you just don't want to deal w/it.

If you get Park Hopper passes, make yourself aware of park hours on the days you'll be at WDW. Animal Kingdom closes really early compared to the others. Visit that park first thing.

You can get a lot more done if you're at the park when the gates open.

Learn how the Fast Passes work and use them. Study up on the rides and attractions before your trip and let your kids help pick what they want to do. Don't feel like you have to hit every single attraction.

TouringPlans.com is a great resource. Use their crowd calendars to plan your trip. http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=14
For $7.95 you get a one-year membership to their site. Well worth it.

Have a great trip!

If you dont decide to go Columbus weekend, go right after New Years during the break. We did that one year and found the crowds left by New Years Day. The weather was cooler, so be prepared for that. Also, consider the Pop Century Resort. Their busses go directly to the parks without stopping at other hotels. Also, be sure to ask for a AAA discount when booking. This summer, our rate was $92 with discount.