Where to Stay in Orlando (Disney World)

Don't worry about them "enjoying themselves". They are the PERFECT ages for Disney. I'd stay on the Disney property. It's convenient. Have a wonderful time!

Hi M.,
We drive to Florida every year from South Barrington, IL. My dh and I both enjoy driving and we have a 6 year old and a 9 week old. We will be going to DisneyWorld for Christmas break this year. I highly recommend staying at a Disney property. We always stay at the Polynesian which is one of 3 resorts on the Monorail line. This makes getting the the Magic Kingdom a lot easier. The other 2 are the Grand Floridian and the Contemporary. We always get the Disney Dining Plan. It really does save you money and everything is on your disney pass so no need to carry a lot of extra cash. My daughter was 2 when we 1st took her to Disney and she loved it. A big perk staying on Disney property is that you get to take advantage of the parks opening before and staying open late for Disney guests only.
Please let me know if you have any questions.

M.,

Disney World is so much fun! You will have a ball. Your kids are a perfect age to really enjoy it. February is a GREAT time to go. The weather is mild and the lines are minimal. The only negative is that sometimes when we go in February it is too cool (in my opinion) to do the water rides.

Don't know if you want to stay on property or off. There are advantages to both. We enjoyed the Caribbean Beach property. We've stayed at the All Star properties as well. I liked the Caribbean Beach property the best. It's nice to have the extra magic hours if you stay on property especially in February because the parks close earlier in the evening. There are also other perks for staying on property. We have stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn and the Homewood Suites off property. It's nice to get out of the Disney pace sometimes and have a slower pace.

You will enjoy your vacation I am sure. We drive from Texas every time we go. My kids are great travelers. I think it depends on how much time you have for your vacation.

If you have more questions, please feel free to send me a message. We LOVE Disney. We go 3-4 times a year.

Blessings!
L.

We drove from Tx to Disney this last Feb. The weather was great. Definitely stay on property as the hotels are comparable to staying elsewhere and it is sooo much more convenient plus you get extra magic hours. I also suggest you do the Disney dining plan it made things super easy! My kids are older ( 8,10,11&12) and they had a blast ,it was one of the best vacations we have ever had. Have fun! I am already planning our next trip.

I would stay in Disney. If you need a cheap but decent hotel stay at the Pop Century. In February you can get some decent prices. I'm not sure driving with a 3 and 6 year old but that would be expensive for flying with 4 or 5 people. Definitely stay at Pop Century in Disney.

stay on property , you can get deals for disney through their website for usually cheaper than the surrrounding hotels and staying on property you don't have to pay the huge parking fees and you get extra hours, in the parks after it closes or before it opens. Disney hospitality is second to none and they will do just about anything to make you happy. The disney value hotels are great except for the pop century , don't stay there, but the all star resorts are great and they movies one has huge replicas of characters from some of the movies out around it. so fun for the kids. Just make sure you take a break at lunch time and go back to the hotel then you can go back to the parks afterwards. Get the park hopper pass so you can go to more than one park a day. www.allears.net is a GREAT site for planning a trip to disney.

hi M..
im from fl...originally from miami, but i stay on west palm beach. depending on your budget...my boyfriend and I stay at marriott its only 10 minutes away from the park. plus it has a great night life around for dinner. the weather around that time its a lil cold not that much. you have to remember cold for floridians its around 70 degrees and below...around that time of the year the room goes around 180$ to 200$ per night...its worth it. its very comfortable. If you interested msg me and ill send you the exact adress for that hotel because theres many marriotts around the area.

Our kids were 7, 6, and 4 this past spring when we drove from the Chicago suburbs to Orlando. Get a dvd player and headphones for them .. make sure everyone pees when you stop for gas even if they "don't have to".
It was a really enjoyable trip!

I used priceline for my orlando area hotels and almost never pay more than $50 for a 3 star hotel. Most of the hotels right in the disney area offer shuttle service to the parks so you can save on parking. The cheapest hotels on property are at least $80 if not more (it's been awhile since I checked them out so I could be off base). Just do some price comparison based on what you can bid on priceline vs park hotels/parking/etc.

We live in Miami ( only 3-1/2 hrs away) and we go every year. February will be really nice. Maybe a little bit cold but we prefer the cold over the summer heat.
I would suggest that you definitely stay on a Disney property. We always like to stay on the monorail line but those hotels can be pricey. Others on property have buses to the parks, or you can drive and park for free. They'll give you airport transportation too so you may not a car at all.
The Wilderness Lodge is pretty and they have cabins your boys would love and with a kitchen it will cut some costs. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is fun for the kids and rooms are ok.
There are other themed hotels like the other mom said and those are decent and have the Disney touch. Wherever you stay, try to get a character meal or more than one. It's really fun for the kids. The food is usually ok. I also suggest getting the meal plan. It comes out cheaper and you don't feel so bad as having to pay out a bunch of cash every time you eat. Don't expect really great food. It's pretty much the same everywhere you go. But each park has a couple of good restaurants - make reservations!
Have fun and good luck!

Stay on Disney property. Their hotels have different price ranges. Get the meal plan. We also made reservations for a few special dinners. You can even make res. to eat at the other Disney hotels, so you get to see the variety of decor!

I HIGHLY recommend the Unofficial guide to Disney. It tells you the best way to manage the park and your time, plus other things to know and expect. It was my Bible to plan the trip. We went in July and had THE BEST time, even with the crowds and heat. I owe it to the book!

Last year we stayed at the Omni Hotel & Resort. So beautiful. They had 3 pools, a "lazy river" to float around, a huge waterslide, an ice cream shop, and a whole kids room (we didn't look at the kids room, not sure what was in it or the price). Plus, it had a bus that would take you to and from all the parks (it was about 10 minutes away) for free. I loved it. I used Priceline.com and typed in that I wanted to pay $75 per night and the Omni accepted it, so we stayed there for very cheap. There was also a $25 resort fee though. Anyways, much cheaper than the actual Disney resorts and still really great. If you want an actual Disney resort, it will cost you, but I haven't heard any bad things about any of them!
The weather at mid to end February is nice. Still cool, I would say anywhere from 50-70 degrees. If you do the character breakfast, remember to book early! At least 3 months in advance. Have fun!

M.,

February will be great, not as crowded and the weather should be good to, a little colder at night, but just bring sweatshirts with. I would stay on property if you can, the Pop Century can handle larger families and are one of the lower priced Disney hotels. My husband and I stayed there for a few days in May and it was very nice. The food court always had room to sit, which at some of the other resorts are hard to come by first thing in the morning.
The kids are a great age for Disney we took our boys when they were 2 and 5 and they loved it. We drove and they enjoyed that too, we would just bring snacks and things for them to do (okay no dvd players back then). My sister is driving down with her 3 to meet us in October and she is bringing games and the dvd player for them.
I would suggest to save money at the parks that you pack a back pack to bring into the parks every day with bottled water, juice boxes, granola bars, pretzels, etc. for the kids to snack on during the day, this saves spending a lot of money on buying those types of things at the park. Also as others have suggested the meal plan is well worth it, especially if you want to take the kids to a Character Breakfast as it can be used for those too. Many of the places to eat you get a lot of food so even if you did the smaller meal plan you would be good.
I have a spreadsheet I would be happy to send you which I used when we are down there to sort of plan out our time (restaurant reservations, what parks we will be going to on what days, etc.) and I also have one I made for my boss when she took her daughter for the first time with some basic info for each park, I would be happy to send that also, just send me a message.
Also there are few other things, pre buy your Photo CD and you will save 50.00 (I can send you link to this.) The Disney Photo Pass people are everywhere in the parks and will take your photos, let them! When you get home you can look at them and “add” different things to them, dates, Mickey and Minnie, etc.. and then if you brought the photo CD you can just order that and you can print them anywhere much cheaper than the Disney prices.
There are 2 Disney Outlet stores near the parks that we go to on the way in or out to get our souvenirs. They sell things from the parks (t-shirts, pins, cups, etc.) much cheaper than what you pay at the parks. This will also save you some money, we also stop there to get trading pins for the kids (okay our kids are 31 and 28 now but they are still kids at heart!) . We are taking our two nieces and one nephew in Oct. and I am make them each a little kit for the surprise (they don’t know yet or they would drive my sister nuts) with a lanyard, pins, autograph book and a pen most of which I will get off of e-Bay, which we will give them before they leave, we are flying down to meet them.
Please let me know if you have any questions, I would be happy to help!

There are a bunch of hotels just outside of Disney, right next to Downtown Disney (shopping and restaurant area) in Lake Buena Vista. There is a street, I think it is called Hotel Plaza Blvd and that road leads you right to the entrance of Disney property esp Downtown Disney.
February is beautiful weather, can get pretty cool, so definitely too cold for water parks, but great for all other parks. All of your boys will love it!! There is so much to do for all age ranges. One suggestion would be if you want to do any dining at the better restaurants at the parks or do a character breakfast or lunch, make reservations way in advance before you arrive. Character meals are very pricey, but it is usually an all you can eat meal and the characters will come to the table, pose for pictures, etc.