Walt Disney World Resort help needed
 

Hello to everyone. Thank you for taking the time to read this and answer if you are able to. Our family is planning our first vacation out of state (and even our first time flying....we're so excited for that) to Disney Resort at Christmas for 8 days. I'd like to get anyones opinion on places that would be nice to stay at? places to eat? places to avoid? and so on. We have 2 (wonderful) kids, ages 13 and 11, and we want so much to make this such a great trip for all of us. I've read as much as I can find but you folks are so good at answering with great detail I thought I would ask you all for help. If you had 8 days and 7 nights, how would you plan your trip? We would like to stay in a place that has a great pool area (and activities for the kids) while us adults rest from all the walking. How many days should we plan for certain areas? (like Epcot and so on) I've read many posts on here about the Walt Disney World and found them very informative. Anything anyone could post for us would be very helpful to us and I am very appreciative to all who do. There is so much to read out there on this place that it could take me a year to sort through it all. Any hints for other things I might not have addressed would be appreciative also. Thanks

Have been to Disney 5 times in the last 6 years. Stayed on property and off. I would never stay off again. You wont need a rental and transportation is great to the parks. My preference is the Dolphin Hotel near Epcot. You can pay a little more and get a view of epcot and see the lasor and fireworks every night from the room. <BR>I would alot 5 days for the parks. First and last day at Magic Kingdom and one day at each of the other parks. <BR>Favorite places to eat include: <BR>Seafood resturaunt at the Sea in Epcot (cant remember the name) <BR>SciFi Dinner Theater at MGM <BR>The Charactor Dinner Liberty Tree Tavern (good home style cooking served family style). <BR>If you want a charactor breakfast I prefer Chef Mickey at the contemporary. <BR>I recomend the two days at MK since crouds will be larger and waits longer. To do all the different items you want you will need 2 days. <BR>Best show is Tarzan Rocks at Animal Kingdom. <BR> <BR>Email me if you have specific questions. <BR>

Intiata, <BR> <BR>I hope you and your kids have a great time! <BR> <BR>You might want to consult two other sites, wdwinfo.com and wdwig.com for more specific information. wdwinfo has a forum with more information than you could possibly want. <BR> <BR>It would help to know your budget before recommending a place to stay--though I agree with the earlier poster who said stay on-site. Particularly with children as old as yours, you can split up and even let your kids take the bus or monorail to the parks on their own. If you're off-site, you may not feel as comfortable doing that. <BR> <BR>If you're more budget-minded, people do like the All-Star resorts, though I hear the rooms are quite small. We've never stayed there. From the moderate class, we really like Dixie Landings. If you can afford to pay a bit more, I'd recommend either the Beach Club or the Polynesian. Both offer a day bed in addition to the two other beds--so your kids then don't have to share a bed. We ourselves are going in September, and we've just decided on Beach Club, because I read that Boardwalk, another hotel in that category, is going to have construction going on through the end of the year. <BR> <BR>Also go to mousesavers.com for information about discounts you can get to the hotels. <BR> <BR>Our favorite places to eat are: <BR>the Sci-Fi Dine-in at MGM <BR>Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom <BR>San Angel Inn at Mexico Pavilion, Epcot <BR>Whispering Cliffs (or is it Canyons?) at the Wilderness Lodge <BR>Boatwrights Tavern at Dixie Landings <BR>Toy Story Pizza Planet (for fast pizza) at Disney MGM <BR> <BR>I'll try to post more about specific places to go. <BR> <BR>You might want to pick up a copy of Disney World with Kids--can't remember the specific title. It's very helpful with advice about rides for specific age groups, restaurants, etc.

As a lifelong resident of orlando and wife of a disney employee (my husband is a stunt man in the indiana jones show at mgm) i have a grat deal of advice to offer you. I agree with the 5 day plan, although since you will have a park hopper pass, you can mix the parks up a bit. Say, do Magic Kingdom every morning very early and leave by 11 to another park. I would highly recommend staying on property. Dixie Landings is nice. I have had family stay there before. The pool is a lot of fun. The boardwalk construction is nothing that would keep me from recommending it. i was just there last week and they are keeping the construction very low-key. also, the new animal kingdom lodge is supposed to be neat. and the wilderness lodge offers many activities such as hotel tours, a geiser, nice pool, and bike trails. I would say to give yourself time to enjoy your hoetl as well as the parks. I think you should consider getting the 4 day park hopper pass and then spend your other 3 days exploring disney property or even take in Universal Studios or their Island's of Adventure thrill park. <BR>FOOD: <BR>*Cinderella's Castle for the character breakfast (you should make reservations NOW) <BR>*The Hollywood Brown Derby at MGM for lunch or dinner (be sure to try the grapefruit cake) <BR>*The french restaraunt in EPCOT <BR>*If you can shed the kids for the evening, have dinner and drinks at the Rose and Crown Pub, but be sure to schedule it so you can watch EPCOT's night lasor show, Illuminations <BR>* You also should definetly get a dinner package one night at EPCOT for the Candlelight Processional. This is the most incredibly moving show that Disney has ever put on. They have a huge mass choir and a celebrity narrator who reads the christams story in between songs sung by the amazing choir. It is reallly difficuly to get into the show unless you buy a dinner package. You can choose from several different restaraunts, and it is SOOO worth it. My husband and I see candlelight at least twice every season. <BR>*The california Grill for dinner(on top of the contemporary hotel) Schedule it so you can see the MK fireworks. Don't take the kids, very adult place. <BR> <BR>I know that someone said Tarzan is the best show, but i have to differ in my opinion. i may be biased, but the indiana jones show at mgm will no doubt be the best show you will see (besides candlelight processional. <BR> <BR>Be sure to schedule time to tour the Osborne Family Spoectacle of Lights at mgm. There are over 5 million lights and it is so amazing. <BR> <BR>Have a great time at the most magical place on earth!

Wherever you stay, take plenty of money! The happiest place on earth is also one of the most expensive! If you live near a Disney Store, go there and buy your tickets ahead of time. A Park Hopper pass doesn't expire (at least I don't think they do) and buying them a few months before you go will keep your wallet from taking a gigantic hit all at once. Try to stay on property if you can. The transportation system at Disney is top notch. Do NOT be tempted to stop at one of the roadside shacks and get suckered into buying discounted tickets. Not only are you likely to get ripped off, but if Disney finds out, your tickets are history. Have a great trip.

You rec'd some excellent advice--Dolphin and Beach Club have water taxis to Epcot and MGM Studios (very convenient). Dixie Landings is more moderate (great food court), but very nice. All-Star would work if that is your budget. ON-SITE is a must!! Get a hopper pass and have a ball.

Is it better to book a "whole" package or should I book the resort package I want and then set up my own airfare?

Okay, I would also stay on site...much better. Again it would help to know your nightly budget...of the moderates the Coronado is the newest. Dixie is very nice, but the food court in all of the moderates offers food that is just okay and sometimes not even. Coronado got away from the food court idea and offers a station style restaurant...either takeout or eat in...more pricey but good quality. The Beach/Yacht club is my favourite location on site...in Epcot's backyard.If you have the time, price out a package on your own and compare it to a ready made package. I would defintitely get a pass that would allow you freedom to go from park to park. We would get to the park 40 minutes prior to opening...stay until around noon...go back to the pool and head back out to the same or different park for supper time. Hope this helps some.

Being that I live in Orlando and have relatives who would rather stay at one of the Disney All-Star resorts than with me (they don't want to have to drive to Disney), I would say go with the All Stars to save money. Yes, the rooms are very small but you'll spend very few waking hours in them so save your money for other things! And I would also highly suggest visiting some of the other places Orlando has to offer because Disney is just one part of this "vacation capital" and there are plenty of other places and attractions worth seeing!

Definitely book everything yourself, it will be much cheaper that way. Be sure and go to mousesavers.com and the other 2 sites recommended as they have a lot of info to offer. If you can, find out when the last day of value season is before Christmas, and if possible, check in that day. Your rate for the entire stay will be the value season rate, not the holiday rate, which is much more expensive. We stayed at Dixie Landings (which is now Port Orleans Riverside) in May and enjoyed it. We have also stayed at Port Orleans, (which I liked better because it was smaller) All Stars sports, which my daughter liked better, but is my last choice to stay because so many people!, and Disney Institute bungalows, which I really liked, but does not have the typical Disney theming. My daughter thought it was "boring". We have been 4 times and still have not "seen it all", but we do move at a leisurely pace and do take breaks every afternoon. (My kids think swimming in the pool at the hotel is just as much fun as the theme parks!) Have lots of fun!

We went in June and stayed at Carribean Beach Resort. We booked directly through Disney ($98 special, usually $149).The rooms had just been refurbished in the Jamaica section and were brand new. It too has a food court and the food was really pretty decent and a good variety. The kids liked it. The pool was nice, but assuming you can swim (never been in Dec.) you really need to go to a Disney water park. Typhoon Lagoon was lots of fun-fast water slides, lazy river, rafts, etc. You need Parkhopper Plus to include the water park. A new resort, All Star Sports, will open soon and it is a budget resort. Anything Disney does is good. <BR>If you stay on property you have no need for a car. Cab from the airport was about $40. The Disney buses get crowded, but they are very efficient. You really feel away from the world when you stay on park and it is worth the extra money. <BR>The food in the park is generally expensive and just ok. The Prime Time Cafe (might be in MGM) was alot of fun-home cooking with waiters and waitresses that boss you around like your mother. Sci-Fi is neat setting, but food isn't too great. Rainforest Cafe at Animal Kingdom was good (make reservations). We also enjoyed the Mexican restaurant. <BR>Buy the Unofficial Guide Book-the advice they give is good. You'll save money if you make your own reservations. <BR>While you are there, I would go to Universal, also. We just had time for the Studios park and it was fun. Some of the 3D was better than Disney, especially Terminator. Wanted to do Islands of Adventure-hear the rides are exciting and your kids would probably enjoy it. With the time you have, you can enjoy yourselves without being rushed. <BR>You'll have a great time! <BR>

Try to get yourself the Disney Club card (www.disneyclub.com). It entitles you to discounts off of hotel, tickets and merchandise purchased at Disney Marketplace. We used the card on our trip in January and saved quite a bit, thus the card paid for itself.

Is anyone in your party a teacher? The Swan and Dolphin have a great rate of $99/night for teachers. They are also the only on-site hotel to offer discounts on the hotel discount sites like hoteldiscount.com, hotelkingdom, quickbook, expedia, etc, etc. It's a beautiful hotel in a great location. We have also stayed at Port Orleans and loved it. It is a moderate priced hotel. For much more and better info go to wdinfo.com. Tons of info on resorts, discounts etc. Have fun!

Sorry, the site is wdwinfo.com, not wdinfo.com!

If you book your own trip and your going to stay for a week or so....I would book my air, room, and what else? By that question I mean, what tickets or passes should I get to give us unlimited access to everything? I realize we can't see everything in our stay. We like the idea of going early in the morning and then cmoing back to the hotel for a rest and going back after dinner.

You will want to get Park Hopper passes. The types of passes are escaping me at the moment, but you can get that info off Deb Wills' site, wdwig.com (the best site around), or wdwinfo.com or the disney site. Park Hopper Passes give you unlimited access to the parks. You will also want to make your priority seating arrangements for any restaurants you desire. In addition, consider if you want to see any dinner shows which will require tickets.

If you stay on-site, you're eligible to go to the early park openings, which change from day to day (one day, MGM might open early, another day, Magic Kingdom, etc.). You might want to plan your trip by planning to do those parks on those days. You also will want to look at which parks are open late on which nights. <BR> <BR>Definitely get up early in the mornings--now that our kids are teens, we still make them get up, and it's worth it. We go early, come back after lunch and rest, then go back. <BR> <BR>Since you're going to be there 8 days, plan to spend some time away from the parks. We went there once for 8 days and our kids were begging NOT to go to parks. We couldn't believe it. That's when we investigated the millions of other things you can do: rent boats, rent bikes, go fishing, play in arcades. Now there's Winter Summerland (or Summer Winterland), the mini golf course, which we love. There are two different 18-hole courses (you can guess the theme of each), so you can even go back twice. <BR> <BR>Think about going to Universal. Our kids haven't been interested in going in recent years, so I can't speak to you about the relatively new Islands of Adventure. (If you do plan to go to Universal, I believe you can get discount passes from your local AAA office beforehand.) <BR> <BR>There are two Pirate's Cove miniature golf courses in the Orlando area--we love them, too. <BR> <BR>When we went last summer, we tried Pleasure Island for the first time with the kids, and we all absolutely loved the Comedy Warehouse. I wish I had a photo of my son's face when he realized what fun the show would be--sheer glee. And I laughed so hard I couldn't stop crying and could barely stay in my chair. It's definitely being added to our usual repertoire of stops. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps.

We have gone to Disneyworld 4 times in the last 5 years and the Beach Club, which we have stayed at twice is great! <BR>It is more spendy but worth it, as it has a great pool area, restaurants (try the Cape May Cafe Clambake nightly) & is easily accessable to Epcot, MGM and Boardwalk. You can rent boats there & walk over to the Boarkwalk and rent scully bikes. At Magic Kingdom, Tonys Town Square Restaurant, on Main St., is a good Italian place to eat, as the the Crystal Palace, which has a buffet and character dining. At MGM, Sci-Fi drive-in is a fun place to eat, and make sure you stay for "Fantasmic" which is a nightly fireworks show and the "walk of lights" during the month of December. As far as how long to spend at each theme park, the 1st two times we went, we didn't have park hopper passes, so we went to each theme park the day it opened early and stayed the full day. It is a long day, but if you go to a sit-down restaurant and watch the parades, it helps to break apart the day a little bit. Also, if you have time and like to shop, go to Disney Village Marketplace.

Definately make plans to spend a full day at Universal's Islands of Adventure. (2 days if you hit the Universal Studios amusement park, next door.) <BR> <BR>The rides at Universal are really great and in some ways are better than Disney's. (Don't miss the Spiderman ride!) <BR>

A couple of other things to be aware of: <BR> <BR>At Disney some rides have "Fastpass." TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS. Basically, they will give you a set time to return for the ride. This allows you to walk to the FRONT of the line. I was shocked that people stood in line for an hour at SpaceMountain. We did Fastpass, hit another ride, came back and went to the front of the line! <BR> <BR>Also, with older children, we thought it worked better to stay by the pool until the early afternoon and then hit the park and stay until closing. Our theory was that parents with small children would generally start to leave around 6 or 7, making it somewhat easier to get onto some rides. It worked for us. <BR> <BR>Have fun! <BR> <BR>