Family trip, need help

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bakerboy

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Dec 29, 2015
205
Chino/CA
So, the wifey is asking if we can take a trip to Disney World in Florida for a family vaca this year, I said, sure!!!

We have 2 small children (9y/o girl & 5y/o boy).

We've really only done the "local" stuff and are ready to start venturing out of the state. Neither of us have done a trip like this and Im looking for suggestions on company's to use or anything to look out for. If possible, we would like to get some type of "all inclusive" so we know more or less the expenses before hand. Also, when would be a good time to book for the locals (weather).

So, any info would be appreciated.

T.I.A.
 
Re: All inclusive trip to Florida (Disney World)

October is a BEAUTIFUL time of year to be in Orlando. the weather is not too horrible and the parks aren't as crowded. Of course there is no time off for school during this month so that is why it is a little more tolerable. I have done a vacation package through Universal Studios before and got a great deal on a hotel and park tickets, and it came with extra perks like getting in the park an hour early (perfect for the always busy Harry Potter land) but I am not sure what the Disney packages are like. More expensive I am sure. As far as all inclusive, I am not sure what you mean. Unless you book with a travel agent that does all the flights, hotels, and tickets for you then you're not going to get a total price picture (unless you add it up yourself).

Most parks allow soft coolers so what we did is bought a backpack cooler on amazon (around $35) You can use it as a carry on on your flight here and then use it to store bottled waters and pbj's to try to keep your expenses down while in the parks.

If you want to book it all yourself, flying into Orlando is pretty easy and you will want to rent a car as the Orlando airport to the Disney area is probably about 30 mins - hour depending on traffic. It will also be good to have a car as Disney World is a little drive from the International Drive touristy stuff (restaurants, shopping, etc)

Check out airbnb for houses or condos to rent and you'll have a nice space to spread out and maybe even a pool to enjoy!!

If you have any more questions feel free to ask I live about an hour from Orlando and visit Universal as often as I can.

xx
 
Re: All inclusive trip to Florida (Disney World)

One of the slowest times for Disney is Thanksgiving week. much lower crowds and weather is tolerable. good advice above. if you stay at disney brand hotel, you can take the buses to/from disney which is really nice. not really a savings as most charge $20 per day to park, and the parking at the parks is around the same, but the buses drop you off right at the front gate. also, you can get in the parks 1 hour before it opens as well.
 
Re: All inclusive trip to Florida (Disney World)

Are you military? The Shades of Green hotel is for military (AD, Ret) as well as DOD persons. It is right on the property next to the Grand Floridean. The rooms are ENORMOUS and reasonably priced.

Shades of Green Resort is a military resort serving the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, Reserves, Retirees, Military Community by giving special military rates and special military discounts with convenient and secure military conference facilities for a military reunion military conferences or intimate wedding.
 
Re: All inclusive trip to Florida (Disney World)

Not sure of what can be offered by other companies, but Disney itself offers packages that include hotel, park tickets, and meal plans. Staying onsite has benefits, they will pick you up at the airport if you fly and there is transportation to anyplace in the complex. You also get the bracelets which are your room key, meal charge, park tickets, and can be customized for each person (plenty of Frozen and Star Wars options if your children are like mine). I don't know what type of budget you are looking at but they do have budget hotels that can help the price. If budget is not a concern I recommend The Contemporary Resort. Beautiful A-Frame design, great rooms, and walking distance to the Magic Kingdom (catching a bus or monorail after the fireworks is not fun). 100% personal opinion though, can't go wrong with any onsite hotel.

I am a Disney Vacation Club member and we are staying at the Bay Lake Tower at Contemporary Resort in January. It will be my daughter's first trip there so we are saving up to try to make it a trip where she doesn't get told no quite as often ;) I highly recommend DISboards.com , it is a fantastic resource with people as familiar with Disney as we are of pools!
 
Re: All inclusive trip to Florida (Disney World)

Thank you everyone for your responses!!!

No, neither my wife nor I are military, though we do work for local gov't.
We're more than willing to stay at a Disney resort, Id say budget wise we were thinking about 4k-5k total for everything..

I did go to the Disney website, I wasn't aware that there were so many Disney resorts, are there any that anyone has been to that they can recommend?

The wife and I have been looking at travel sites like Expedia and Orbitz, but I think they place you at Hotels in the area, not Disney resorts

We would be flying in, as we live in California.

Im starting to re-think the July time-frame of going because of the weather and crowds.
 
Re: All inclusive trip to Florida (Disney World)

I will update you as soon as me and the family get back. Our flight leaves Pittsburgh at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning , were staying at the resort from Saturday to saturday. Then the new pool gets installed the thursday we return..lots of excitement the next couple weeks

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Re: All inclusive trip to Florida (Disney World)

I have gone twice in July, it is quite hot and storms every afternoon. EVERY SINGLE AFTERNOON... That said, the time before is muggy but calm and the time after is cooler, just plan dinner around it. It is fairly busy but not insane. Never go during the week between Christmas and New Years... They literally close the entrance sometimes during that time.

As I said, if it is in the budget I absolutely love the Contemporary Resort. With the monorail going through it you can get to both Magic Kingdom and Epcot without taking a bus, and frankly you can very easily walk to MK. That said there is not a bad choice in resorts, figure out what fits in your budget and then jump on Youtube and watch some tours of the rooms in some of the resorts in your price range. Yes, every single place has several video tours of every type of room. Every resort has busing or monorail to all the parks, water parks, and Downtown Disney. They really go out of their way to make your stay magic and convince you that you don't need to go visit those "other parks" ;)

Drywall Guy, which hotel are you staying at?
 
Re: All inclusive trip to Florida (Disney World)

Donldson said:
I have gone twice in July, it is quite hot and storms every afternoon. EVERY SINGLE AFTERNOON... That said, the time before is muggy but calm and the time after is cooler, just plan dinner around it. It is fairly busy but not insane. Never go during the week between Christmas and New Years... They literally close the entrance sometimes during that time.

As I said, if it is in the budget I absolutely love the Contemporary Resort. With the monorail going through it you can get to both Magic Kingdom and Epcot without taking a bus, and frankly you can very easily walk to MK. That said there is not a bad choice in resorts, figure out what fits in your budget and then jump on Youtube and watch some tours of the rooms in some of the resorts in your price range. Yes, every single place has several video tours of every type of room. Every resort has busing or monorail to all the parks, water parks, and Downtown Disney. They really go out of their way to make your stay magic and convince you that you don't need to go visit those "other parks" ;)

Drywall Guy, which hotel are you staying at?
Click to expand...
All star movies is where we will be staying

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Re: All inclusive trip to Florida (Disney World)

My wife stayed there when she was in college and went with her roommate. The All Star resorts have pretty neat designs, though I am partial to the older ones myself. Have a great time!
 

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Re: All inclusive trip to Florida (Disney World)

$5,000 is what I estimated when I crunched the numbers in my head quickly (I'm an accountant) but I didn't account for the Disney resort hotels. I agree with the other guys that staying at a Disney resort will be easiest and it's super convenient for the parks and all that. And they're super nice. It's neat cuz the monorail goes through the Contemporary, it looks really cool. I *think* they can only be booked directly through Disney though. I'm sure you can get a quoted price through their website.

There's a parade every night at the magic kingdom and then fireworks.

I wouldn't recommend July. It's hot and humid, but if it's your only option, then I would definitely recommend a Disney resort so you can leave the park easily and go refresh at the hotel and take a rest.

:)
 
Re: All inclusive trip to Florida (Disney World)

I just want to share a funny experience we had. We were living in Europe so went to the opening of EuroDisney in Paris (I believe it has changed names since?). Booked it all and had saved cash to pay for the Disney hotel bill. But of course you have to put a credit card on file for the reservation.

We get there and its...precious. The French employees met us in the hotel parking lot in cowboy costume and in the best French sounding English say "Howdeeee!" It was an interesting time seeing how the Europeans reacted to such an American park. Every feature in the room (TV, billing, menus in multiple languages for example) Very neat to see it early but they were confused many times dealing with so many different languages. Anyway.....

So on check out day I go down to the desk to pay the bill in cash and the desk clerk was confused and couldn't find our bill at first and in her best English said "they already put it on your credit card". Now, we had splurged on hotel, meals, shopping and I had the travelers checques (back in the day huh?). So I figured I'd just use them to pay the bill when it came.

...... I'm still waiting for that bill to come...... LOL! :slidehalo:;-):thequeen::dwarf: ( <---Yip, kiddo, Skippy, kiddo)
 
Re: All inclusive trip to Florida (Disney World)

If you want to save a little money by staying in one of the mid-range properties, we really liked Port Orleans Riverside. The grounds are gorgeous. And you can take a ferry boat to Downtown Disney.

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Our kids also enjoyed the cabins at Fort Wilderness. There are a lot of activities there in the campground itself, without even going to the parks. The Magic Kingdom and transportation center is also available by boat (we like boat rides!)



Definitely take advantage of the free shuttle from the airport. They even pick up your luggage for you. Call ahead and let them know you've arrived, and they'll have a reception waiting for you when you get to your hotel. Makes you feel special!



Also, I definitely recommend the meal plan. Once you figure out what is and isn't covered, it's a good deal.
 
Re: All inclusive trip to Florida (Disney World)

We just got back from Disney Saturday. It wasnt too bad. 5 days at the resort, staying in a disney hotel was about $2600 give or take. Expect to spend another $1500 on food and drinks and merchandise. My 7 yr old had a blast. Be sure to plan your fast passes correctly. We didnt plan ours exactly right and were all over the park trying to meet our times. Get a fast pass for the seven darfs mine train, peter pans flight, and big thunder mountain railroad. Those 3 were the most crowded in magic kingdom. If you hit animal kingdom, get a fast pass for the jungle safari and expedition everest. You'll need them. The safari is always a 60 min wait.

Get to Magic Kingdom early and hit Tomorrow land. We were there 2 days in a row with less than 5 min wait for every ride in the place....space mountain included. If you have any questions, PM me, i'll try to answer them while its all still fresh in my mind....

We stayed at Art of Animation Resort. It wasnt the fanciest place in the world, but it was one of the cheaper resorts and the pool was awesome....It had underwater music....LOL The rooms were nice, Easily slept 6 ppl if we would have had them. 2 bathrooms, living area, fridge, microwave, took about 10-15 mins to get to Magic Kingdom via bus.
 
Re: All inclusive trip to Florida (Disney World)

It has been about 10-12 years since I was last at Disney world (stayed at the Contemporary Hotel on a business trip), we were there in late September and the place was EMPTY, no lines for anything, the downside was a few of the rides were closed for renovation, and there was NO fast food open in the Magic Kingdom, food choices in the park were ice cream, or sit down dining. Speaking of food, be aware food prices at the Disney properties including the hotels are sky high ($10 hot dog at the snack bar at the hotel was about the cheapest option, expect $30+ per person per meal a decade ago), also at that time there were package deals for theme park tickets if you stay at one of the disney hotels. If you go don't miss the fire and water fireworks show at Epcot, the traditional fireworks at the magic kingdom are good, but the one at Epcot is out of this world in the high tech Epcot way.
 
Re: All inclusive trip to Florida (Disney World)

Well everyone, the final verdict is in...........


We're booked for Kauai Hawaii on the south shore!!!!! Will be there for about a week, staying at the wifey's uncle's time share!!


Anyone stayed around that area?
 

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