first time to Disney. need advice!
 

I will be traveling with 2 children, ages3 and 6 to Disney in May. We are reluctant to spend the money to stay on the property. Are there any ideas of places to stay nearby? Is it worth it or should we splurge and stay there? I'm a first timer, so any suggestions would be great!

I went to Walt Disney World with 3 kids, 8, 6 and 2 years old and we stayed at the All-Star Sports Resort in WDW. I would suggest you stay in WDW so you can rest/swim at the hotel in the afternoon. The buses are so convenient to & from the attractions. I would say it was worth it to stay on rather than off site. You can also get into Magic Kingdom, EPCOT or MGM 1 hour early (8 am.) on certain days if you stay at their properties. If your kids are like mine, they're up at 7 a.m. anyway, rarin' to go. Sometimes they open even 1/2 hour earlier than that. We were at Magic Kingdom and riding DUMBO at 7:30 a.m. By 11 a.m. we decided to go back to the hotel, have lunch and swim before heading back to the Magic Kingdom for the afternoon and evening fireworks. Do the haunted house at night! It's a really long day with 3 kids if you stay all day! The All-Star Resort had cafeteria style restaurants to cater to kids' different tastes. It was also easy to grab cereal boxes & juice to eat on the bus in the mornings. You can buy a reusable mug for $7? and get unlimited drinks for your entire stay. The kids thought it was great just to help themselves with pop, milk, juice and hot chocolate any time! There's 2 pools for them to enjoy. Pick up one of the guides to WDW - they're very helpful. Make sure you reserve a character meal. Don't forget to go to the water parks. Have fun!

I went to Disney during the 20th anniversary so it's
been a while, but I would definitely advise you to stay
on the property. You can take the bus, which is not
only convenient, but saves you the hassle of parking.
Plus, as already stated, you get in early and you can
go back to your hotel and swim or take a nap, then
return to the park when all the really tired people
are heading for their off property hotel. I'd pick up
the "Walt Disney World With Kids" guide too. It gives
you some good tips on where to eat, etc. and some sample
itineraries so that you can see the most stuff in the
time you are there. Have a great trip!

When we went 7 years ago a friend told me to stay at the Caribbean Beach Resort and boy are we glad we followed her advice. It was more fun than Disneyland. My son loved the pool, with spouting cannons(?) and the lagoon with white sand and paddle boats. You want to stay on the property to get the whole "experience" plus you get free transportation in and out and believe your feet will need it.The resort was $80 a night and one of the nicest rooms we ever stayed in. Ask for a ground floor facing the lagoon. Keep an eye on your little ones with all that water or get them swimming lessons before you go. We got swim lesson for our then 5 year old son and taught him how to paddle to the side. The teacher drilled it into his head. (I'm a worry wart about those things) Have fun. And Disney world does have a website. And I think you call 1/800 DISNEY and can get brochures etc, but the website is the best! Try the EXCITE search engine.

don't be afraid of parking in Disney. It is very good and the only thing you should remember is the parking area sign (so you can find your car fast).

We've been going to WDW every two or three years
since it opened in 1971. We have stayed inside the
park and out. With small children, we would highly
recommend staying inside the park. It can be expense, compared to excellent hotels outside of the Disney complex, but staying in WDW can save you time
and energy.

T.R.C.

We just returned from WDW and stayed both on and off
the property for our 7 day visit. We stayed at the
All-Star-Music for the first 4 nights then at a Ramada the last 3. We all really enjoyed our stay at WDW, and really missed staying when we were at the Ramada. Next time we visit, we will only stay on site. We visited all the resorts pretty much, one that we would have like to stayed at is Dixie Landings. If you would like any more info, I'd be happy to help.

Guess everybody loves Disney! Have stayed in a Town House on the golf course, at Fort Wilderness, the Yacht Club, and two times at Caribbean Beach. Have stayed off the property several times as well. The extra money is well worth it - especially with young children. Enjoy!

You would be doing your family and yourself a great disservice not to stay on Disney grounds. There are many great hotels to fit each persons budget. When you compare the benefits of: Disney's special attention, closer proximity, transportation system (not always the best, but still better than driving in everyday) to the problems of parking, getting in and out of hot cars. As well as using the Disney Day care is much eaier being on grounds.
If you can fit it into your budget, it will make your stay all that much memorable for you and your wife. My personal favorite is the Contemporary. However, the Port Orleans and the Dixie Landings can offer quite a lot of fun.
Good luck and have fun.
P.S. Our favorite resturaunt is Marakesh at Epcot!

I have been to Disney manytimes and stayed at several Hotels. My wife and I recently stayed at The Contemporary Resort and Loved it! We would like to back and try a new Hotel. We were thinking about the Boardwalk Inn. But we don't know where to request a room there. We requested a Tower room on the Park side as high as possible at the Cont. Any ideas as to the best locations at Th Boardwalk?

I can see you've had plenty of Disney advice....all of it very good. We are Florida residents and visit Disney 2 or 3 times a year. We most enjoy staying at Fort Wilderness Campground (on property). You don't need your own RV, you can rent a "wilderness home". The campground is one of the nicest I've ever stayed in. As with everything Disney does it is 1st class. There is biking, swimming, canoeing, outside movies in the evening, hay ride, horseback riding, petting zoo, boating, convenience stores, Hoopdy Doo Revue (the best show at Disney)and restaurants.....all right there at the campground. You can also rent a golf cart to tool around the campground in; which is one of my son's favorite things to do. In addition to the beach they have a small water park right there at the campground (River Country). If you stay on property, you can go to any of the other resorts/hotels and use their facilities. My kids like to "pool hop" from property to property. Although this is my favorite Disney "resort" it is definitely not the cheapest.

I am also a travel consultant. If I can help you in any way you can contact me via email and I will give you my phone number. No matter where you stay you will have a WONDERFUL time (but do stay on property).

Katrina Budreau

I live about 15 minutes from Disney and unfortunately (because they're such a rip-off) I have to agree you should stay on the property with children those ages. Be aware, however, that if money is an issue, you can find very decent off-property hotels for as little as $40 per night. The drive and parking nightmare IS terrible with that scenario, tho. I doubt you'll find anything under $120 at Disney. Don't visit the area without checking out the local residents' favorite places, like Sea World and Universal Studios, which I like much better than Disney. If you're willing to do the off-Disney property accommodation shuffle, check out the South International Drive area. It's been developed recently (and very tastefully compared to the North International Drive area) and is about 15 minutes to the Disney gates. And for an Orlando park with a giant playground, consider a picnic at Turkey Lake Park near Universal!

My best advice is to get "the unofficial guide to
WDW". Since it is not official it can be open with
all of the good and the bad. It will give you good advice on what rides are best and the best time to ride them. Staying on the grounds were very good.
We stayed at the contemporary hotel and found the
location very helpful. We just used the transit system within the park and had no troubles.

A good place to find info on Disneyland and Disneyworld is at the Disney web site at disney.com you will find out everything about the hotel and the parks and things like that

Having been to both Disneyworld and Disneyland more times than I can keep track of, I have to agree that in Florida, you must stay on the grounds, especially with kids. The extra travelling time after a long day is very hard on everybody. We stayed at a campground with a shuttle that advertised itself to be 10 minutes from Disneyword. That would be true perhaps at 2 in the afternoon, but it never took less than 45 minutes even very early in the morning with the rush hour, and sometimes longer than an hour. Multiply that by 2 and you have taken a real chunk out of your day. Taking a car wouldn't be that much better.

In Disneyland however, there are lots of reasonably priced hotels within walking distance of the gate, and even those have shuttles.

(p.s. We prefer California to Florida just because of the ease of getting around.)

We just returned yesterday from a trip to WDW that began on New Year's Day. We took my husband's two teen-aged nieces. We did not stay on property so I cannot comment about the Disney experience to that extent, but what I can tell you is that we visited during one of the busiest times of the year (during the holidays) plus the 25th anniversary. We stayed at a hotel in Eastgate on 192 East and had absolutely no problems driving to Disney or parking. Once you are parked, the trams run continuously to take you into the park. The drive in is well marked and from where we stayed, was a 10 minute drive to the entrance, maximum. However, with little children in tow, you might do yourself a favor and stay on property, just because Disney is a working vacation. Perhaps in May it won't be as bad, but between the lines, all of the other strollers, small children, wheelchairs, heat and humidity, your little ones will likely tire easily, and staying on property will be easier for your family to retire for a rest. With adults and teens, however, we were glad we rented a car and stayed off property. We visited Disney Town, Universal and the Boardwalk as well and didn't have to wait or rely on a hotel shuttle and came and went as we pleased. I have to admit, our days were all 12 hours long and we came home exhausted, so consider the amount of time you are staying so you can fit everything in. The lines to see the characters for autographs and photos (which our nieces were insistent on) were also long. As for seeing the characters, one spot that we had great access to was in the Centorium shop in Epcot. All the characters were there at night and we got many photos.
I would suggest what one other poster stated and that is to buy the Unofficial Guide to WDW. Our nieces got this before the trip, read up on everything they wanted to see, and when we got there it was like they were our official guides, telling us what attractions we needed to see and those we did not.
If you have any specific questions, please e-mail me.

My main advice would be to read a book before you go and be aware of the shows, resturants, etc. before you go. You really need to plan your day to maximize your time. I love staying on site and my last visit was at the All Sports Hotel. It is a moderate price Disney Hotel and was fine. Very little time is spent in the room. I always started early and rested in the middle of the day and went back late afteroon for the parade and fireworks. You really need to know times of all the events beforehand so you won't miss anything. Disneyland is GREAT and I have been several times and will go again. I think is is well worth the money to stay on site.

Hi. All great advice above. We have stayed off and on property. I must say, it is exciting to stay on property. Little kids will love the Music or Sports All star resorts. I believe the price is $74.00 per night. It is right by Blizzard beach, which is the most awsome water park I've ever seen (although all disney water parks are awsome. Don't miss them) taking the disney bus service is very convenient, and it goes everywhere on the grounds. It is a lot of fun to visit the different hotels while your there and some of the restaurants are very fun for kids. ie: dinner in the cafe in Wilderness lodge. My kids loved the cafeteria at Dixi Landings, I think my daughter (aged 8) ate spaghetti every single night while we where there. I don't know how crowded it is in May, but during holiday season it is essencial you stay on property. Off season it's not as important. Make sure you go to these restaurants while there (kids love them):
Raintree - Village
Planet Hollywood - pleasure Island
Sci fi - MGM
Prime time cafe - MGM
Mexico Pavillion - EPCOT
Character Breakfast - hotels, lots to choose from
Hoop de doo Musical review -Fort Wilderness (Show and Dinner)
Ohana - Polynesian resort -all you can eat!! very good.Lots of jumbo shrimp!!!!!

Go to the library and get all the books you can on Disney World. READ, READ,READ. Call to get an info package sent to you from Orlando and Kissimee
Kissimee - 800-327-9159
Orlando visitor b. 1800-643-9492 - or www.goflorida.com/orlando for an orlando magic card, for great rates on hotels and attractions.
www.disney.com - lots of disney info
Have fun. Planning is almost like being there.
C.

Our family has been to Disney World three times, and will return there again in May this year. We have stayed on property once, and will always do that in the future. Ask yourself a question: How much time will you spend in your hotel room? If you will be spending most of your time in the parks like we do, it is silly to invest a lot of money in an expensive room. We stayed at the All-Star Music resort the last time, and that is where we will book this time, too. The rooms are fine, though I've heard they aren't as fancy as the higher priced Disney resorts. The food court was great for the kids, and the quality of the food suited my husband and I just fine for the price. The best advice is to hit the parks early, take a break at midday if your tired, then go back in the evening and stay till closing. And don't miss Blizzard Beach. It's our favorite part of the whole place! My husband was worse than the kids about wanting to run from water slide to water slide! Have fun!
Jean

Absolutely stay on WDW property. We have been 6 times and the last time stayed at the Carribean. The first 5 times we stayed outside the park, never again! We are planning to go again next Nov and have already booked at the Carribean. The thing that most impressed me was the transportation system - it is great. There are always plenty of buses and the timing is perfect. Plus you get a lot of extas staying at WDW, free package return to your room, early entry, guarenteed admission, etc. It is really worth it!