Disney Help

www.mousesavers.com

www.touringplans.com (and his book - "Unofficial Guide to Disney World" is HIGHLY worth it!)

Never, ever go anywhere near Orlando, FL without a plan, a contingency plan, a budget, and rain gear. The entire place exists to separate you from your money (and sometimes sanity). :P

Don't get me wrong - have been a Floridian for almost a decade and we love Orlando (live about 3.5 hours south). Our family goal is to have as much fun as possible, in as little time as possible, as inexpensively as possible. Every minute you spend researching will yield hours of saved time and money (JMO).

I frequently disagree with other moms here about staying in "The World." We love Staybridge Suites at Lake Buena Vista where you can get a 2 bed/2bath/3 TV's suite for less than a single room at a nice Disney resort (excluding the Value resorts where the rooms are TINY!). That being said, we always have our car (and Staybridge LBV is only about 5 minutes away from Downtown Disney). The only downside to Staybridge LBV is that the pool area is not that great (but we usually go to water parks anyway). Even if you fly into Orlando it may very well be worth it to rent a car (run the numbers).

I find car transportation much easier and FASTER, unless you are going to spring for one of the nicest hotels on the monorail line (Contemporary, Poleynesian, or Grand Floridian).

I also find that it is MUCH cheaper to eat outside Disney.

Another secret of ours - hit the Walmart (Mapquest it from your hotel if you have a car). They have an entire Disney section where you will buy goodies for a fraction of the cost in the parks. My husband never got over me blowing $40 for two battery-powered fan water bottles in the park one year (when we could have had two for less than $10). Your kids can get their Disney "fix" much cheaper that way (if you go to Walmart).

Make sure you understand how FastPass works at Disney. It's free in the Disney Parks but you pay in the Universal Parks (unless you are staying at one of the Universal hotels).

To save time and money in the morning plan to eat breakfast out of your cooler or fridge at the hotel. While everyone else is rolling in at 10:00 am you will already have an hour under your belts at the park (with any luck). The early bird definitely catches the worm in Orlando. NEVER WASTE TIME ON BREAKFAST AT A RESTAURANT! :P

And finally, build in a day when you don't hit the parks - just plan to sleep in, rest and hang out, or go to a water park. You may need a vacation from your vacation when you get home. :)

Good luck and have a GREAT time!

My friends just came back from there this weekend. They mentioned that the food there is overpriced and that they bought a foam cooler from the walmart there and filled it with drinks and sandwiches and snacks each day when they went into the parks. You can bring your own food into the parks and this is a super cheap way to save some money while there. :)

When we went to Disney two years ago, we got discounted tickets through Undercovertourist.com. We saved quite a bit of money going through them. The tickets were legitimate and worked fine.

We had to subscribe to Mousesavers newsletter to get the discount, which is a free newsletter. Good luck!

Check out allears.net
Stay on property its so much easier to get to the parks. And you don't pay the 15$ a day parking.
Sometimes you can get a good deal on tickets through the disney site.
Or if you are military disney has special military deals.
Illuminations is good, Fantasmic is great, the main street electric light parade isn't worth it. Wishes is worth it.
Don't do the dining plan unless you like all your meals restricted.
There are several books out that can help you plan as well.
You can take food and drinks into the park, that can save on snacks.

So excited for you and your family! What a fun trip! My family went for the first time last June. (it was hotter than you know what) Some suggestions that I have is to bring a stroller (if possible), my kids were 5 & 7 and we ended up renting one for $40/day/park. Also, I packed a suitcase of snack food to take along. It was nice to have a little something for the kids munch on until we had a meal. Also, they sell these water fans to cool you off for $15 which you can get cheaper anywhere else! If you want to talk more... let me know and I will give you my email.

jen
i am out the door but i will give you an extensive answer later.

Hey Jen! We will be leaving Disney right around the time you are coming! It's a great time of year to go (we go to Disney at least once a year and normally around that time). As far as cheap tickets go, I really don't know that anything saves you crazy amounts of money. AAA may be able to give you a deal, but they may also want you to buy the hotel, food, etc. through them.

As for what to see, PM me with ages of your kids and what you are looking for, and I can definitely give you our family's favorites. Like I said, we go every year and have been over 20 times now, so we know quite a bit about Disney. I love helping people plan their trip, so just let me know what you are looking for, and I will help you out!

M.

http://www.MouseSavers.com/

I've been a Disney lover since i was a kid and have been there many, many times. THis site really does have the best info.

I'm a Florida resident, so I have purchase the Florida resident tickets when we've gone. If you are from out-of-state, http://www.undercovertourist.com/ really does have the best prices. You can link to them through Mouse Savers too. The more days purchased, the cheaper your tickets are. You may want to consider going to one of their water parks also. they really are great.

Have fun and welcome to the Sunshine State!