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Hi! I usually post in the SAHM forum but thought i'd pop in here & see if anyone could help me. We want to take our 5 year old to disney world. I went on the website but didn't really get anywhere with it. Anyone have any good ideas, suggestions? It's easier if you've been there!
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I got some good ideas from some other ladies in the SAHM forum but you can never had too many ideas/suggestions when planning something this big!!
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Hi Shelbysmom. We've been to Disneyworld 5 times. Here's some suggestions. If you can stay on site do it. The benefits are great. There including transportation from the airport to your resorts. You can have early access to some parks and sometimes even stay late at the parks. When you stay on site you can use the disney transportation so you don't have to worry about a rental car. The meal plan is wonderful and if you plan it right you can save money this way. I have lots of suggestions so if you need more what are some of your questions.
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Thanks for your response Chris. Well I went on the website once again and looked at their packages. The current one is at Disneys Pop Century resort, includes 5 night stay, magic your way with dining, 5 day park hopper tickets for 3 for $1,825.00. Or you can stay at Port Orleans resort and get all the above for $2,126.00. Do these prices sound reasonable? What is the dining plan - does this include a character meal? My little girl really wants to eat with Cinderella! Can you have food of your own at the resort (sandwich meats, drinks, etc) Just any suggestions you have are welcome.
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I am willing to answer any questions you have. I have a 3yr old and our family would be seen as Disney NUTS. I have been to Disney 3 times in the last 2 years. I am planning another trip currently. Me and my husband are both self employeed so we take off like 2+ weeks when we go, and it is wonderful. We have stayed on and off property. They both have there benefits.
If you are flying I would suggest staying on property. I have stayed at Pop Century. It is a nice resort. Try not to stay at any of the All star resorts because all three resorts share buses and make several stops. Pop Century buses only go to Pop Century. The meal plan alows you to eat at any of the resorts or at any of the parks. You only can eat at the nicer restaurants X amount of times. You can eat at the castle on the meal plan but only once during your stay. The number one suggestion is make all your dining reservations months before you arrive in Florida. The best package that Disney offers is in September you pay to stay and play but all your dinning is free. The only negative about this big money saving package is that Sep. is love bug season. The love bugs are everywhere. They don't bite but they are very annoying. I also don't recommend going to Disney between June 1 and Sep. 1 just because it is toooooo Hot and my family is just miserable in 100 heat. I am a big fan of all the character buffets and dinners that way you don't have to stand in line waiting to see the characters. The only one we do not like is in Epcot, it is the Princess buffet and the food is well...BAD. Please ask any questions, you might have. = |
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Thanks!
1) When you book the package with the dining plan will they give you a list of the restaurants you can dine at so you can make reservations? 2) We were thinking of going in around April 21st, is that a good time? 3) Can you take sandwich stuff to your resort room? = |
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Hi Shelby,
For the dining plan you can check on the internet or they can send you a pamplet that lists all the restuarants. But to be honest most of the resturants are on the list that are in the parks. You have to be careful at Downtown Disney and the Rainforest Cafe these are the ones that generally are not included on the list. You can use the meal plan to book the Character breakfast but here's my suggestion for Cinderalla's Castle we had 4 people and it included pictures the price was $123 but it was 2 meal plan points. For that price I would not use the meal plan. The reason why I wouldn't is to give you an example we ate dinner at the Coral Reef in Epcot and the meal plus tip came out to $118. We used our points for this and it was only worth 1 point on the meal plan. Or what I mean is one sit down dinner. The other character breakfast are generally 1 sit down dinner we've been to all of them and think there great. The only difference with the Cinderalla's Castle and The Princess one in Epcot is they are not buffet. All the other's are buffet. Also think about when you go to MGM there's three resturants you can eat at that come under the meal plan that include reserved seating for the Fantasmic Show. It's $10 extra but the price is included in the meal plan. To be honest we had a refrig in our room this last time and kept some drinks in there but we had so much food with our meal plan we didn't want to take anything back. Remember the meal plan also comes with counter service tickets you can use those to get a sandwich. I'll give you an example we ate at Pinnocho's Haus we had a club sandwich a bag of Lays baked chips a drink and a shake for lunch and this was all covered on the meal plan. Remember your counter service always includes a desert so what we would do is save the desert and eat it later as a snack and use our snack ticket to buy drinks to go with our desert. My honest opinion on the resorts is there's only about a $400 difference I would stay at the Port Orleans. The reason why I would is your going to see the difference in travel time. It's closer to the Magic Kingdom. Also where you see the difference is the resort may not be as large so you may not have all the people as at the Pop Century. I agree with LeshaPa make all your reservations in advance. When you check into the hotel they will give you a list of all the reservations you have. Just remember that the reservation does not guarentee you will eat exactly at 5 but you will definately get a table and not have to wait an hour. Here's a tip we ate at the Crystal Palace Character breakfast they have Winnie the Pooh but we picked a morning when the park did not open up the hour early for the people staying at the resort so only the people with reservations could get in so by the time we ate breakfast and got out we were one of the first in line to go into the park. We did that also at Animal kingdom if you eat at the Donaldsauraus resturant your right by all the kid rides you can get all those rides with out a wait and hit the other parts of the park where you can get a fast pass for the busier rides. If you have more questions let me know. = |
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I've been twice...1st time i was seriously ill so I didnt have much fun...in fact i was a boring old fart....the second i was pregnant and didnt know it...had a big belly and was sick all the itme but it didnt register....
I would reccomend staying at a disney hotel we stayed in the Animal kingdom lodge which was lovely and its great as you can go between the parks whenever you like really and the hotels have a lovely atmosphere. We booked a breakfast for my sister...it wasnt what we expected...they characters just wonder round and take a photo then disppear and there was no princesses or owt, it was just pluto, mickey and goofy and donald. My sister was 6 or 7 i think when we went. = |
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I'm a twelve year old; i have been in Disney World in Florida twice-once when i was four and once when i was 8.When i was four, my dad took my older brother to go on "big kid" rides, and my mom, grandma, and grandpa took me on the little rides. I loved it, i didnt see any problem that i couldnt go on more rides. I still had to nap at that age so while my brother and whoever went to the pool someone stayed with me and i naped. My mom said it went fine and i still have memories that will last forever! Your child will love it no matter what you do, and you wont even know how much it will impact them. But Disney has changed a lot since '98 (when i was four)
but good luck! = |
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oh! and you said about your daughter wanting to eat with cindercella- i did on my trip when i was four! We ate in the Cinderella castle with all the characters- it was a brekfast. BUT now they rent out some rooms for vacations, so i dont know if eating breakfast their is still an option. Sorry that i dont have many details-im only twelve... but if your still intrested i could get my mom to help you. I just dont know if you have already gone or if you still want help!
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We've been to WDW twice. I would suggest that you take a big water bottle for each person in your party and plenty of snacks. Eating in the parks (even snacks) can get really expensive.
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In Feburary of 08, we took our fifth trip to Disney World. I do recommend staying on site since the transportation on site is grest. All of the resorts are go. As for the meal plan, it has changed and not for the good. You still pay the same for the package, but tips are nolonger included and only includes the main course and desert and drink. If you order a salad, it is extra and very expensive. Tip and a salad for a family of four can easily add $65.00 to a meal. The waters are embarsed to let you know that the tip is nolonger included. The wait staff is wonderful. I was very very disapointed in the change in the meal plan. The meals for the most part are a little abouve average. The atmosphere of the restaurants is wonderful and you lose track of the fact that you are not getting that great a meal even though you are paying a very high price for the meal. It use to be a real deal and I wish they would go back to it. I am a little cool about going back for a while.
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Hi,
We just took our 8 and 5 year old in December. We booked thru AAA and I definitely recommend you stay on Disney property and get the dining plan. We stayed for 7 days and took both grandmothers and we all had a ball. Here's a link I used to pick our dining adventures http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/dining/dinin gDetail?id=CinderellasRoyalTableDiningPage. If you want to do the princess dining or character dining you have to book 180 days in advance. I recommend planning everything out around your dining adventures. Enjoy!!! = |
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We are planning to go in June. 3 Adults 3 children ages 12, 8, and 4. I found alot of helpful information through friends through the local travel agency and online. Most helpful was AllEars.net I believe this is the web site It has the most ..helpful information and lots of tips for parents and specific questions are answered. Their search category worked better than the WDW site search on answers and questions we had on laundry servicing( ourself and costs) character experiences, my pal mickey interactive tour guide. It also gave me great information on other optional childrens activities.( tea parties the princess salon and pirate boat tours) It even posted a guide for meals and approxiamate pricing including some photos of characters at the meals. It has helpful hints on what you can bring into park as far as snacks and other items, tips on what to bring for the kids and how to occupy them flight or drive even in lines at the park. It answered our check in / check out time questions. Also showed pictures of the rooms in the resort hotel we were staying in and featured pools. They give so much information-like parades and ride info.Magic hours questions. Also check out the Disney Rewards Program where you can earn "free Disney Rewards" with member benefits- saving you and rewarding you! Free Stroller rentals, character meet & greet ( cardholders only in Epcot) and you can use your rewards in other ways. My helpful operator suggested putting everthing on the card like gas, grocery and regular bills that rack up in the month then pay it all off like you would have done anyway. Rack up the disney reward points and you even get discounts for tickets through them - I found that out after we had paid for the trip and tickets... so right off the bat you will pay for the hotel booking passes and such. Might as well rack up the free spending points and spend it at Disney. Hope this helped some of you!! Jody in LA
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