Orlando / Walt Disney World - 7 days
 

Hi - I am planning an Orlando Trip for 7 full days. We have 2 kids aged 3 and 8 (sons).

Needed advise on what we should do in those 7 days to make it a once in a lifetime experience.

We have seen everything in Florida apart from the Disney/Sea World /Universal Parkas/Downtown Disney.

I am going to rent a car and going to stay within 10 miles of the Disney Resort.

Any tips on cost savings on Disney tickets/parking costs/ experiences etc...?

Please advise.

mousesavers.com is a good source of money saving tips for WDW. Disboards.com is a source of info as is allearsnet.com. We haven't been to WDW in over 7 years so my info is dated, but for what its worth...

We stayed on site at WDW for each of the 5 trips we made. Found it more conventient. Twice we made use of the meal plans - Disney was offering tremendous deals at the time, but htey have made significant changes to the plans so it may not be that good of a deal anymore.

With the ages of your kids, plan on down time every afternoon for pool and/or nap time. WDW is very stimulating and kids get easily overwhelmed. I would find a place as close to WDW as possible. It can be too attempting to try to push the kids beyond their limits if it isn't convenient to go back to the hotel for a nap.

Characters - they can be very overwhelming for a 3yo. The "face" characters less so than the fully costumed ones - like Cinderella (face) vs. Goofy. Goofy can really be scary to a little one. Don't force your kid to have their picture taken if they show signs of being scared. Your older child will love all the characters - just the right age to have fun with them.

Hve a great time - we loved our visits to WDW and have great memories.

Compare the price of a value resort on site with off site + rental car. I would recommend Pop Century because the busses at all stars sometimes stop at all three resorts. If you are on-site, it is very convenient to come back for a nap/pool time during the day.

I would not pay the $$$ extra for park-hoppers if I were you. One park per day works just fine.

Use a touring plan. tourguidemike.com costs no more than a guide book and is so worth it.

We always get ParkHopper tickets but we are two adults and we have no children in tow. I agree that with kids you'd be better off not getting hoppers.

Do you REALLY thinbk you are going to save a whole lot of money by renting a car and staying off the property AND....

you have to drive back and forth every day

you have to park

all of that takes time. Do yourself a favor and even if you stay at the very cheapest on-site property I think you'll find it to be as better deal in the long run

Usually I recommend staying onsite as well but the OP seems to want to visit other parks as well. Perhaps other hotels would be more centrally located. Lots of people we know enjoy the Sheraton Vistana - you get more room for your money and they have nice pools.