Hi All, We are planning a 10 day trip to Disney (also MGM and Universal) in October with out 6 and 4 year olds. Both kids are good travelers. We have done two big motor coach trips in the past and had a blast. My husband suggested we do the same at Disney but I think it might be more fun to experience the full Disney effect in a Disney Hotel or vacation property. We are fortunate to have a nice vacation budget so my main concern is location to the park and the best suited type of hotel for our family. I am open to any and all suggestions. I will be taking both kids out of school for the week so timing is also flexible. Any input will be greatly appreciated as I have only been twice (once as a child and once when I was single and in my 20's.) and my husband has never been. Thanks!
Well we always stay at the Old Key West Resort. They are like little condo's with full kitchens. So not only are they roomy but you can go back 'home" for lunch and rest in between activities. We usually get a rental car since we have friends in the area, so we'll go to a local grocery store and stock up on the basics. It's on property and the bus line so it's convenient to everything Disney.
Have fun!
Well if you love the "roughing" it type vacations, Disney does have the Wilderness Lodge resort that has cabins as well as RV hookups if you'd like. My favorite resorts of all time are The Boardwalk (it's connected to Epcot so it's w/in great walking distance) as well as The Contemporary (this is connected to the Magic Kingdom). However, w/Disney any resort you choose will become your new favorite is what I have found. Disney is so HUGE that staying off property can get difficult with little ones that may need a break. If you are on property it's super easy to catch the shuttle bus, monorail or fairy boats (depending on where you are staying) right back to your resort vs. trying to make your way back to the massive parking lots and then finding your car and then getting on the freeway and finally getting back to your hotel....total time suck. Are you driving or flying? If you fly, Disney has a service that is included, they will pick you up from the airport and deliver your luggage to your room, you get to skip baggage claim, it's totally awesome!! I hope you have a ton of fun! It's Disney, of course you'll have a ton of fun, there is absolutely no way you can't;)
I would absolutely do the Polynesian. It is connected to the Magic Kingdom by the monorail so it is really close and easy. It also just has a terrific vibe! It has a wonderful pool, really good restaurants and great atmosphere. We stay here whenever we can. We have also done the Floridian-which I would not suggest. Decor is just too stuffy for a Disney vacation. The Beach Club has the best Disney pool hands down. Its beyond incredible. The location is right on the boardwalk and connects to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
One more thing....October should be a terrific time to go HOWEVER...my friend happened to go in the one week in Oct when there was a Canadian holiday and the place was mobbed. I would find out when that is and plan around it. There are crowd projection calenders you can google.
I vote for the Polynesian. Love the volcano pool, decor, awesome restaurants, watching fireworks from the beach! It is just so extremely nice to be on a monorail resort for ease of getting back to your hotel for a rest and swim break, and not have to worry about parking, long waits for buses, trams, etc. especially with small kids. We've stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is wonderful, but not the most conveniently located. We never made it back to the parks for evening fun and shows after returning to swim, and I'm sure we would have if it was monorail convenient.
We have been to Disney 4 times and stayed on site each time. My boys are 8, 5, and 1 right now and. Old Key West one bedroom, Animal Kingdom savannah view (reg. room), nad the Contemporary's Bay Lake Towers in a one bedroom which is by far our favorite! The room was amazing! Check out the Unofficial Guide to Disney 2011. It will answer every question you may have. For recommendation on hotels and restaurants, go to disboards.com and read through the message boards. The people on there are wonderful! Pay the small fee and sign up at touringplans.com to see the crowd calendars. They have always been right on when we have went. They tell you what days will be busy on a rating scale of 1-10. Love them! They also have an iphone app with wait times. My big suggestions are to plan days for just swimming to take a break. Disney is tiring!!! Follow the touring plans listed in the Unofficial guide. We have been in June, April, May, and October and the plans have always worked for us. The June trip is the only one that ever left us feeling crowded and we expected that. Make sure you sign up right away to get the free planning dvd's and watch the specials tab on the website to get the deals. I have never paid full price for a Disney Vacation. October is usually a time when they offer free dining plan. We did the deluxe plan last year and ate in all the nice restaurants at the nice hotels. We saved about 25 percent by buying the plan. We made reservations for every lunch and dinner right after booking the trip. Its all done online. The lines at lunch time are usually long at lunchtime so we usually opted for a sit down restaurant inside the parks to have a nice lunch. Disney gets you in and out fast (an hour at most). Universal can be done in 2 days, three maximum if you want to repeat rides. We have been twice and stayed in a kidsuite at the Hard Rock. Watch for deals on the rooms there because I would certainly recommend it! I book my room at the normal rate and just call if the price goes down. Sign up for email lists to get deals! If you stay on property at Universal, you get to use your room key as a 'fastpass' and skip the regular lines with no additional cost. This is well worth the extra cost of staying on property. I would switch hotels after Disney to one of the Universal hotels for this reason alone! You can walk to the parks and Citywalk (where all the restaurants are) from the hotel. No buses or cars needed at Universal! Okay, this is getting too long so I will stop writing now...can you tell Disney is my favorite subject?? Have a great time and message me if you have any questions you can't get answered. Most of all, have a fabulous time!!
Stay on Disney property, but not necessarily a Disney resort. We just took my 2 1/2 y/o and WE loved every minute!!! We stayed at the Hilton next to Downtown Disney-- which is a great place to go after being at the parks all day and a little down time at the hotel. For the money the Waldorf Astoria would be my pick- cheapier than the Disney resorts with bigger rooms and amazing amenities! Check out the Disney Mom Bloggers on WDW's website... they have answers for questions that I didn't even think about.
Some of my favorite tips:
Don't skip out on EPCOT. You can meet every character in one spot (Mickey,Minnie, Donald, Pluto, and Goofy)... Plus each country in the world showcase has a craft for the kids. They collect, color, and decorate a passport. She loved it.
Do a Disney character dinning! We met the princesses at Belle's Breakfast in Norway. Absolutely Amazing with wonderful memories.
Speaking of memories, my batteries on my camera ran out but Disney has you covered. Everywhere there are photographers that use "Photo-pass" so all of your pictures can be captured together and already online to view, share, and purchase. But they lost a set of our pics and I didn't even take a backup with my iphone :(
The line to meet Rupunzel is always long- good luck during an off season would have been better.
You can bring snacks into the park!!! You can bring in a whole cooler and they have lockers available!
Get a "Celebrating 1st Visit" badge from City Hall on Main St USA (Magic Kingdom. Also don't miss the Celebrations parade daily at 3pm. My favorite spot was the circle patch at the front end of Main St facing the Castle. You could view the whole parade, loop around, get really close and shake hands/ high fives, and get pics with the castle in the back ground.
Ok, now I want to go back!!! What memories! Have fun!
We stayed at the Polynesian once (loved it) and the Boardwalk villas most recently. We chose the Boardwalk villas because we needed a suite with a separate bedroom. But...we will never again stay in a property that is not on the monorail or water route. The bus system was horrible, and this was supposed to be a deluxe property. It could take up to 20 minutes or more just to catch the bus and then another 20 minutes to reach the magic kingdom. On the monorail or boat, you just hop right on and you are there in minutes. We really wanted the Wilderness lodge (on the water boat line) or contemporary bay lake (already booked) on the monorail. We went in October a few years back and it was hot and crowded, Disney makes a big deal out of Halloween. April before Easter was horrible for crowds. I have heard that the first 2 weeks of Nov and the first week of May are the best times to go. If you want to do any restaurant events like Chef Mickeys, or Cinderella breakfast, get your reservations 6 months in advance, as they book fast. Other restaurants other book up fast so reserve before you go.
Get on the Dining Plan! It is worth every penny! I never ate so well on a vacation as I did at DisneyWorld.
We stayed at the Movies Resort, because for my daughter, Disney was all about the movies. Our room was decorated as 101 Dalmations and very fun. The only problem was that there was a zillion Brazilian teenagers there on a class trip and they loved to stay up all night. We ended up with a few free nights because of their rowdiness.
Ok so depending on what you can afford. Really Really nice place is of course the Floridian. And regardless if you stay there or not I'd sign up for the character breakfast at 1100 park fair. By best, the Best character breafast in Disney. Also the Disney Beach club is an amazing place to stay. Also has the best buffet called May Fare or some such cant remember off hand.. Now thats delux. Ok now when we go we go more moderate and stay at Disney's Carribbean beach. Has a fridge and a coffee pot in the room. Food is weird at Disney depending where you eat. I'd set up dinner reservations every night now not when you get there or you can miss out on the good ones.. If you are on any budget the disney meal deal is excelent. If you have no worries about pricing for each park the best is at World Kingdom Cynderellas royal table and for more modest Liberty tree tavern. Hollywood Studios the best is the brown derby. Wasn't to happy with any casual dining there. Tried a few. I've tried quite a few different restuarants so if I know if its more $$$ or $$f I can help better. We go up every year. Get a fast pass for Toy story and buzz light year. Fast passes are very important. Unless you want to wait on lines forever especially if you are going in the summer. It gets really hot. As for character catches for the kids the character meals are really a lot better because at their ages they dont want to wait on line forever. I'd definitely stay in the park.
With a 6 and 4 year old, I would definitely stay in Disney. It will make your life much easier. Mid October is a great time to go, or you may want to consider the end of October and take advantage of the Not So Scary Halloween activiites at Disney.
Personally I would skip the Disney water parks. If you want water/swim time, the hotels have beautiful pools and there's always something going on for the kids.
i used to go to disney for a week every year when my niece was little. we would stay on park in the value resorts. the way i looked at it was, we weren't in the rooms that much so i didn't want to spend a ton of money on rooms that provided more than what i needed. the All Star Resorts was awesome, they have an arcade, 2 pools, plus a kiddie pool, an on site restaurant, and delivery pizza. they also have a store. they have bus pickup and drop off every 20 mins to and from all the parks. and they have reasonable pricing. they also have a playground.
