Florida Vacation
 

You need to provide us with a bot more info, like how long will the trip be, what is your hotel budget, are there any places that you must include, what time of year are you looking at, etc.

I'm planning on vacationing in Orlando in June (hot, I know!)have a 9 yr. old and want her to get the most out of Disney, MGM Studio, Animal Kingdom. We're planning on 6 days. Looking for reasonable hotel or resort. Prefer resort with kitchen, pool, etc. Does anyone have any suggestions? Don't want to have to drive too far to attractions. Looking at Cypress Pointe, Westgate Lakes, The Seasons, kind of pricey. Please Help.

Carol, <BR> <BR>You should check out Boardwalk Villas & Hotel. They have studios, 1,2,bedrooms. <BR>We stay with out daughter and she loves it. Several pools, bus trans to parks and walk to Epcot. Very clean and safe.

We have "done" Disney twice; once on a tight budget with 4 kids and in 1998 stayed on property with only 2 kids. The budget trip was twelve years ago and we stayed in Kissimee at a Days Inn and had a room with living, large kitchen and bedroom. Lots of space for a family of six but was needing updating back then. Staying in Kissimee was remarkably easy to get in and out of the Disney Parks (there was only Epcot and Magic Kingdom back then) we even came back to our hotel for afternoon naps. I certainly preferred staying on the property (stayed at Dixie Landings). You can get a refrigerator in your room for an additional charge. The transportation on the property is wonderful, no need for a car. You have lots of options both on property and off - good luck with your planning!

We went to Walt Disney World last Summer. Expect temps in the 90's! Epcot has the Coca-Cola Cool Zone-take advantage of it! The Worldshowcase is <BR>awesome! Magic Kingdom was really neat-quite a bit of rides. We stayed at a two floor suite at the Kissimee Doubletree Guest Suites. "U" can e-mail me, if you have any questions. I did keep a journal of our vacation!

Carol, I have been to WDW 18 times; we are going back for my 19th in January, 2001. I recommend staying on property for the convenience. The Disney property is huge and you will be doing a lot of schlepping around in your car otherwise. The Disney transportaiton system is very efficient. I know you want a place with a kitchen, but it is possible to do Disney on a budget and stay on property. Consider looking at the All-Star Resorts. We stayed at All-Star Movies for part of our last trip and were quite pleased. With our Magic Kingdom Club card, we paid about $62/night (rates were $79 at the time). You can rent a refrigerator for about $5.00/day. It will allow you to breakfast in the room, or make sandwiches to take with you (technically, you aren't supposed to bring food into the parks, but no one will stop you). There are nearby grocery stores to purchase supplies. Boardwalk is fabulous; we also stayed there on the last trip. However, it is very expensive. Rooms start at $269; we paid $206 with our MKC Card. Be sure to get the card before purchasing park tickets or making on-site hotel reservations. The card will give you 10% off those as well as purchases in Disney Marketplace and select restaurants throughout the parks. We saved several hundred dollars on our last trip. Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have. I would love to help. Also, I posted a trip report in November entitled "The Smell of Disney" (don't ask).

See the discussion I posted entitled, <BR>'Taking Disney to Task' <BR> <BR>Why not stay somewhere on the coast and enjoy the ocean or gulf breezes? <BR>

Carol, <BR> <BR>Try the Holiday Inn Family suites. They just opened in 1999 so it's brand new. <BR>It's one mile outside of the disney gates. <BR> <BR>They many different kinds of room all reasonably priced. <BR>You may also want to try renting a house which I have heard runs less expensive than hotels. <BR> <BR>