My family and I are going to Disneyworld in Florida for our next family vacation and wanted to find out some information from others that have gone. We homeschool so are lucky enough to go in the off season but do not want some of the fun parades and extras to not be open. We plan on attending in September or October does anyone know which would be better -- are the waterparks open during these months? Also, we know that we want to stay on property at either the inexpensive or moderate priced hotels any feedback on these hotels would be great. Is it more economical to go through disney for everything or to put the package together ourselves? Any disney/florida tips would be much appreciated since neither my husband or myself have been there since we were very young children.
Thanks for any input!
Tam
Thanks so much for all your wonderful information. We had a great trip. I highly recommend going in September when all the schools are back in session. We had hardly any wait for rides.
There are two place in Florida that I believe you would love. One is Cypress Gardens and the other is Discovery Cove. I have provided the link to both.
http://cypressgardens.com/welcome.asp
http://www.discoverycove.com/default2.aspx
We went a couple of years ago and stayed in their econo hotel. Went to the store and bought a cooler for $5 and went and got breakfast foods and cases of water. THey will let you bring in water and food to the parks.... saves $. Get the disney touring books so you know all about the parks and plan your time before you go. Otherwise you will waste time there figuring it out. Have a great time!! S.
I haven't actually been to disney yet, but we are starting the planning for one in about 2 years. We called our local AAA office and got a guide book and info/pointers they have on the theme parks/lodging.
I did talk to a friend that just got back. They stayed on the properties this time, and they said even though they paid a bit more, it was worth it. staying on the properties they said you have access to the tram so they actually went in the morning, left when the kids seemed tired, rested, then went back later. But we didn't get into much more detail. Just that they really liked not having to get a cab or hoof several blocks.
Hi T.,
I use to live in FL for several years and have been to Disney several times. I don't have much info. on hotel stay except to say that you will pay in one of two ways: money or time. If you want to splurge a little, getting a hotel near the parks is very convenient. If the kids get tired, you can just go back to your room and relax a bit, then come back out for more. If you want to get a little thrifty, there are several surrounding nice hotels that also offer great deals. For example, Holiday Inn and Suites and Country Inn and Suites and most of these places offer free shuttle.
I know it is so exciting to plan a trip, the challenge, especially here, is to overbook yourself timewise and get so stretched out that it is hard to really enjoy your time.
I know the waterparks sound fun, but Sept/Oct is the rainy season. Some days you can time the storms like clockwork, otherdays it rains all days. Perhaps you can consider a hotel with an awesome pool. There are SEVERAL choices.That way you can concentrate on the parks and all they have to offer.
Hope this info helps!
V.
Hi T.!
Disney World is an awesome place for a family vacation. We would go every year if we could.
We have stayed at both Port Orleans Riverside and the Carribean Beach resorts. Both are the moderate priced hotels. We LOVED Port Orleans Riverside. I have had friends that have stayed at the value resorts & they felt cramped.
I have traveled there in May, July and August. I was actually there when Andrew hit southern Florida. I would be cautious with September since it is Hurricane season.
As far as making the reservations go, Disney World's website is very easy to navigate and gives you all the info & add-ons to do it yourself with the option of calling their reservation line if you need help. We even booked our flight through it last time & we felt like we saved money.
If you have any questions about anything, feel free to contact me. I realize I am no expert but we certainly know our way around - things not to miss, places to eat, etc.
Happy Planning!
M.
The best "travel guide" is the annual Birnbaum's Official Guide. It gives wonderful inside tips for just about any topic you can imagine.
The dining plan is an absolute must!!!!!! You spend a fraction of what you would just eating once you get there. With it you get one table service, counter service and snack for each night you stay. It enabled us to make reservations early at the restaurants (especially character meals) that we probably would not have done otherwise.
My family went back in 2002, but my mom has gone every year since then and even went twice last year. She loves to share information with people. If you would like to email her and tell her that her daughter, K., gave you her email address and said that she could give you info on Disney World I know she would be more than happy to share. Since she has gone so many times, she knows some of the tricks and what to do and when is the best time and things like that.
I don't know which email she checks more often so I will give you both: ____@____.com and ____@____.com
Just tell her K. said she knows a lot about visiting Disney and you were wondering if she would share some info with you.
Hope that helps!
K.
I will also try to send this page to her as well, so she knows about it.
We just put a down payment on our disney vacation last week! We are going in October for our honeymoon. My fiacee has a coworker who goes at LEAST twice a year. Crazy huh? He's convinced it's the best/most affordable place to vacation. He has given us a ton of great tips. If you want to stay in a value resort, the best one is the Pop century one, I guess it's the newest so it's the most similar to the more expensive ones. He also suggested to purchase the dining plan, I guess it really does save you a ton of money, and you can use it on the meals you eat at more expensive restaurants (we've already picked the restaurants we want to eat at) The waterparks are open during those months... if you plan on going to both it's cheaper to get the waterpark & more option too. It also is a way better deal to book everything thru disney, or easier at least. We checked plane tickets from the discount websites, and it turned out to be a few dollars cheaper thru disney for us. Since you are going as a family of 4, I would highly reccommend the pop century resort, it's probably not worth the extra money to upgrade when you'll spend very little time at the actual resort and the value resorts are really nice anyway. Oh, and the parades are always open so you won't have to worry about that, you can also check what's going on during sept/oct on the website... for instance the not-so scary halloween is in october so that'd probably be fun for your girls. Sorry this is so long and random, feel free to email me (____@____.com) if you want more tips, I've been so excited to go that I've basically memorized their website and I'm calling my fiancee's coworker almost daily asking questions! Have fun planning!
The very best website to plan your vacation and to see about specials or things happening at the park when you're there is mousesavers.com. They send us a newsletter every month to let us know what is going on at both Disney World and Disneyland. Have fun - it'a a great vacation!
