Walt Disney World, FL

[Katie]

I need help! We've been to Disneyland a few times, but the size and variety of the parks and accommodation options at Walt Disney World is overwhelming me!!! :shock:

We are planning on spending a week in Orlando at WDW in late Sept; myself, my BFF, Mr Katie, and Little Miss almost 9. 4 days at the Disney parks, 1-2 days at Universal and a day trip to Kennedy Space centre.

I'm thinking we'll stay somewhere within the resort. But I can't figure out where! We'd also prefer two rooms - one for the two of us & one for my friend and Little Miss to share. When I search on the WDW site, they don't give me an option for two rooms & only list rooms with sufficient bedding to accommodate all of us together.

Where have you stayed and would stay again?
Any dining recommendations?
Park hopper - yay or nay?
Any other thoughts or experiences to add to the volume of info that's already swirling around my brain??!!

 

[Princess Fiona]

Park Hopper definitely. Been to WDW a few times but not stayed at Disney Resort so can't comment.
Get a car, MCO is not good without one. Also do Universal Studios, Harry Potter attractions are unmissable IMO.
As far as WDW goes we liked Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot in order from best to worst. Epcot itself is very over rated IMO unless the idea of seeing the world split into caricatures around a lake is your idea of travelling :shock:

 

[Homer]

I agree with Princess Fiona's ordering of the parks. Hollywood Studios and Epcot are arguably the weakest and you've already seen most of Hollywood Studios at Disneyland. But there's nothing like Animal Kingdom in Anaheim so for somebody that has been to Disneyland a few times you might even want to put it top of your list.

We have been to Disneyland three times and still found it difficult to adequately cover WDW in about 10 days...so I think your 4 days might feel pretty busy. We also planned to go to KSS but dropped it so that we could spend more time at WDW and have every other day off to recover. It's very big and very spread out. Just to get to the Magic Kingdom, for example, required a 15 minute drive to the carpark, to board the disney cart that you'll recognise from Anaheim, to go through security and turnstiles and then board either a ferry or monorail for a ride into the park proper (which is an additional step that Disneyland doesn't have). We did the ferry once but then opted for the monorail on all other days as it's faster and more frequent.

 

[Katie]

I had been planning 2 days at Magic Kingom, 1 Epcot, and 1 Hollywood Studios. I was thinking of NOT doing Animal Kingdom.
Also on one night, possibly our arrival night, doing Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween party.
I've heard that our Sept school hols are often very quiet at WDW, relatively speaking???

I would only spend one day at Universal, but I believe there's Harry Potter rides/areas in both parks? Could we cut that down to one day?

This is my BFFs first trip to the US, we will also be having a few days in Charleston, Boston, and NYC before we three come home. She'll then do a bit more by herself.

 

[straitman]

I had been planning 2 days at Magic Kingom, 1 Epcot, and 1 Hollywood Studios. I was thinking of NOT doing Animal Kingdom.
Also on one night, possibly our arrival night, doing Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween party.
I've heard that our Sept school hols are often very quiet at WDW, relatively speaking???

I would only spend one day at Universal, but I believe there's Harry Potter rides/areas in both parks? Could we cut that down to one day?

This is my BFFs first trip to the US, we will also be having a few days in Charleston, Boston, and NYC before we three come home. She'll then do a bit more by herself.

Katie,

I'll get my daughter to answer you on this in more detail but I highly recommend you go to a costume shop and get dressed for the part and go to Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween party. It's great for big and little kids.

 

[Austff]

Definitely hire a car , the roads are very good & MCO would have to be one of the cheapest places in USA for car hire .
Our best stays have been at condo's close to WDW , usually 2 or 3 bedrooms but best of all is having a washer & dryer .
Can recommend Windsor Hills condo thru " magical vacation homes " or Oakwater condo thru " go disney vacation " .
The amount of good value resturants close by is amazing ,our favourite is Longhorn .
Definitely see Universal , especially if you like Harry Potter , the train gets you between parks .
Try to see Magic Kingdom when they have the " electrical light show parade" ,very worthwhile .

 

[Princess Fiona]

I had been planning 2 days at Magic Kingom, 1 Epcot, and 1 Hollywood Studios. I was thinking of NOT doing Animal Kingdom.
Also on one night, possibly our arrival night, doing Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween party.
I've heard that our Sept school hols are often very quiet at WDW, relatively speaking???

I would only spend one day at Universal, but I believe there's Harry Potter rides/areas in both parks? Could we cut that down to one day?

This is my BFFs first trip to the US, we will also be having a few days in Charleston, Boston, and NYC before we three come home. She'll then do a bit more by herself.

IMO Magic Kingdom can be done in one day plus night for the Fireworks.
Animal Kingdom is a real surprise and definitely worth going to.
Hit me up if you want to know about accommodation outside Disney. We stayed at the Hilton Orlando Convention centre (6 of us) in adjoining rooms plus parlor it was perfect.

 

[jakplus1]

Hey Katie.

How exciting for you... We've done two trips now - one we were in Orlando for 3 weeks and then most recently for 2 weeks.

I have spent HOURS researching Disney and have a massive amount of info I can share with you. And it will save you a FORTUNE! Our last trip, our accommodation, food etc was quoted by a couple of Travel Agents at around $11,000 - I managed to do it all for $5200!!!!! (For a 2 weeks stay for 3 adults and 1 child)

The first thing I would recommend is to buy this Ebook. I bought it before the first trip, and then again before the 2nd (because i couldn't find my original details) The value in this book is incredible so I was more than happy to pay for it a second time ($USD19.95), rather than have Beth go searching for my info! This book literally saved me thousands of dollars!!! I am an affiliate of this product but only because I strongly believe in the info it contains! In fact, when i last downloaded there is a testimonial from me in the first few pages raving about it - I had emailed the Author after we got back from the first trip to thank her!!! I don't know the lady that made this, but I do strongly recommend it!!!! There are soooo many hints and tips, but it is broken down very well, which REALLY helps with the whole info overload that I know you are feeling!!!

The Ebook is all I used for the first trip... but I'll also give you some other info that helped me tremendously when planning the 2nd!

Accommodation
As you will have discovered, Disney has a massive array of accommodation - We've stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Bay Lake Towers (awesome location especially for fireworks!), Caribbean Beach Resort, and Mum and Dad have stayed also at Wilderness Lodge. All of these are 4 and 5 star and normally anywhere from $300 - $600 a night - I managed to get them for $100-$150 a night which is the equivalent of staying at their 3 star Basic Accommodation locations!

You do this through timeshare points - but you don't need to have time share - you simply purchase points from Disney Vacation Club Owners - they do all the hard work for you - but they sell you the points at a price that dramatically reduces the amount it costs to stay at these places! The actual process for doing this is in the Ebook. I'd highly recommend any of these places - they aren't just places to stay, they are experiences in their own right with the detail put into each different resort.

Another option for this is to book your accommodation through a UK travel agent - we used Netflights. It did involve 2 phone calls to the UK in the middle of the night but well worth the effort and cost.

The reason we used them is because Disney have AMAZING deals available for the UK - which we can't get here in Australia but you can purchase them from the UK - you do not have to be a UK resident. These are the packages that i got for over 50% off (as mentioned above!) These packages can involve Free Dining Plan options PLUS there are UK Park Entry Tickets (Buy Disney Theme Park Tickets | Walt Disney World® Official Site) Depending how long you are staying you can save a fortune... as an example they have a special 21 day pass which is the equivalent cost of a 10 day pass if you bought it at the gate!!!!

Staying at Disney v's offsite
There are lots of benefits to staying onsite at Disney - Magic Hours (gives you extra hours in the AM or PM where the park is open ONLY to guests staying onsite), free transport between accommodation and parks etc (although I think having a car was far more convenient, especially if you do actually want to leave Disney at some stage), Disney Dining Plans, and in general, the whole Disney Experience - you miss out on so much staying offsite. BUT, it is far more expensive.

If you want to save a bit and get nice accommodation that is only 10 min or so away look up sites like AirBNB or Stayz.com - you can get 2 and 3 bedroom apartments for crazy cheap prices!!! Plus, then you can get out and about and experience Orlando as well!

Dining Plans - DETAILS HERE
Highly recommend the dining plans, particularly if you don't want to have to put your hand in your pocket constantly... It is expensive, but if you book through Netflights mentioned above, they regularly have FREE dining offers! These plans allow you a certain number of meals each day ie. 1 Quick Service Meal (a takeaway type meal), a Snack and a Table Service Meal (full sit down meal). With a little bit of organisation you can get these three inclusions to cover your whole day of meals!!! There are plans that include more Table Service etc, but remember that the meals are massive!!! If you time Breakfast for about 10am and then a snack mid arvo and an early dinner, you'll still eat way more than you need and never be hungry!!! LOL

Dining Reservations

• Book your character dining experiences EARLY - these can be booked 180 days out (and for some of them you NEED to book 180 days in advance to get a booking!!!). So, for example, 180 days before your first day at DW you go online at 9am their time and make reservations for your first day. The next night you book for your 2nd day and so on. Alternatively, if you are staying at a Disney Resort you can call them 10 days earlier (190 days in advance) and make all of your reservations for your whole stay in one go.
• Highly recommend Cinderella's Royal Table (all of the Princes and Princesses), Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review (AWESOME!) Crystal Palace (Winnie the Pooh and gang - even straitman LOVED this both times!!!), T-Rex, Whispering Canyon Cafe, 50's Prime Time Diner, Rainforest Cafe, Tusker House, Chef Mickeys

Tickets
Park Hopper tickets are great IF you are going to go between parks on the same day. Generally, there is so much to do in a park for a single day that you are unlikely to jump between them - you certainly could but you very quickly get to the stage where you are absolutely exhausted. It is worth getting the extras for the Water Parks - they have 2 awesome water parks - so much fun, and well worth spending a day at each.

Car Hire
I would strongly recommend hiring a car whilst in Orlando - it definitely makes getting around a lot easier and if you normally drive on the left, it's fun trying to drive on the right!! LOL

The Parks
All of the parks are fantastic for their own reasons - with kids, Magic Kingdom is definitely worth a couple of days however if you've done Disneyland, you will have experienced a lot of what it has to offer... I actually love Animal Kingdom. Epcot is probably my least favourite, but if you can fit a day in at each then it's worthwhile!
I do recommend the water parks, and loved Disney Quest at Downtown Disney or Disney Springs as it is being renamed! If you like rollercoasters you have to try the rollercoaster simulator!

Planning your Days

• Definitely register for My Disney Experience with Disney. There is an App you can download and this can be used to check ride times, book dining reservations, for Fast Pass etc.
• Check out Touring Plans | Disney World | Disneyland | Universal Orlando | Disney Cruise Line - Vacation Planning Tools if you want to get the most out of each day - they will give you guides to help you plan out each day so you can fit as much in as possible!! The other thing I really loved from them was the park predictions - they will rate each park out of 10 each day (in advance) to give you an idea of the expected crowd. They obviously know their stuff as they were on the money!!!
• Memory Maker - by purchasing the memory maker package - where ever you go in the park, photographs that are taken of you, be it on rides, in front of different sites etc, are all available for you to download at the end of your holiday. Super easy and well worth it!

Outside of Disney
There is soooo much to do outside of Disney - I've listed a few of our favourites below:

• Universal Studios - LOVED IT... sadly we didn't go on our last trip though. Harry Potter has been split over the two parks - Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure - you definitely need a day at each of the parks though, because they are both amazing parks in their own right... and to see all of Harry Potter you do need to buy a pass to both parks!
• Medieval Times - AWESOME experience - Mum and Dad raved about it throughout our childhood and we've now been twice, with out kids and have loved every second of them...
• Kennedy Space Center - well worth the trip!

Gifts
To buy Disney Merchandise, the absolute best place to buy it, is either at the Disney Outlet Stores or Walmart/Target Super Stores. Walmart and Target have massive ranges of toys and clothing, and I saw EXACTLY the same things there for up to 70% off the cost of buying in the park.

There is loads more, but now my head is spinning... maybe I should be the one writing an Ebook!!! LOL Message me if you want and I'll shoot you my email address - happy to answer any questions you have!

Hope you have an absolute ball!

Karen

 

[Katie]

Thanks, Karen!
We three have done Disneyland, and my friend has done Hong Kong Disney.

Straitman has already suggested Mediaeval Times to me

I have been reading the Unofficial Guide/Touring Plan, and have wigned up for their Lines app. At the moment, the days we are looking at are 3-4 for crowds.
I wasn't thinking of the water parks, just relying on the hotel's pool if we needed it. Maybe hiring a car to get to Universal and Kennedy ...

 

[jgm]

We stayed at Pop Century in March 2011. Our package included Disney Dining (really worthwhile), and ground transportation. Disney do attractions really well, but transportation abysmally. Pop Century was huge with over 5,000 guests, and they were building an identical complex at the other side of the lake. The various parks are a long way apart, & travel from Pop Century to the closest was around 20 minutes with over 30 minutes to others. There is ONE bus terminus for the whole resort, with each park having a separate loading area. Buses typically run to each park once every 20 minutes. If there is a wheelchair passenger (the usual case when we were there), the driver closes the front door, opens the rear door, lowers a ramp, gets the chair & accompanying passengers on board, anchors the chair, raises the ramp, closes the rear door, and opens the front door before passengers can board. Only once during our 8 days did a driver insist on moving standing passengers to fill up the rear of the bus so that the bus could leave fully loaded. My estimation is that they usually left about 2/3 full. In the mornings, or late at night just after the parks close, the bus queues were invariably long enough so that you would have to wait for at least the 3rd bus. They NEVER put on more buses.

The parks themselves were really crowded. I was at Disneyland with my son on New Years Eve a few years back, and it was only slightly worse. There seemed to be a roaring trade in hired mobility scooters. It wasn't because of any disability from what I could see, but it appeared to be mostly laziness. The occupants would ride travel form one ride to the next, park the scooter in the stroller area, and waddle into the ride queue. I'm far from being slim, but felt positively skinny in comparison to the local crowd.

You had to be REALLY early to get a fast pass for the most popular rides. We usually found that they were all gone by 9.30 AM. The standby queues for these were usually over 3 hours.

All transportation between parks is outside security. You have to go through screening again at the destination. There is a monorail between Magic Kingdom and Epcot, but most of the rest is by bus. We found that the time taken and amount of walking to transfer meant that it was better to stay at the one park for the day.

It's an item I've ticked off on the bucket list, but would much rather go to Disneyland than Disney World.

 

[mimishat]

The others have provided awesome advice, just wanted to add we found a park hopper to be great value - it allowed us to visit a park on opening, spend a few hours, go back to the hotel for lunch then spend the afternoon at another park or water park (which was most days). We decided to stay offsite and hire a car as we wanted the freedom to go where we liked (and also visit the outlet stores, local IHOP and taco bell ). We also made a day trip down to Busch Gardens in Tampa which was good fun and visited the town of Celebration for lunch one day. We found the couple of days we spent at Universal to be full days as there was a lot to see and do. Animal Kingdom was surprisingly entertaining and I quite liked it. I also liked Hollywood Studios Looking forward to taking my 2 kidlets back in a couple of years. We visited downtown disney a few times - saw a Cirque du Soleil show and visited the massive legoshop (my avatar is one of the lego dragons they have at downtown). They also had (a few years ago now) an open air bar/club.

 

[digpomi]

Mh
Y. By g p

 

[straitman]

jgm,
The fast pass system at WDW has evolved quite a lot in the last couple of years. The availability still runs out early but it is mostly done via the Disney wifi network and smartphones. This gives you the ability to login and see wait times at all rides and to adjust you smartpasses as required.

I can't see that its been mentioned here but Downtown Disney is currently undergoing a major rebuild so is a little slower than normal to navigate through.

 

[justinn]

Everyone here has provided you very good information. I live in Orlando so if you have any more questions feel free to ask. Are you committed to staying on Disney property, is ta budget in mind? Car rental (hire) is very inexpensive and fuel is also inexpensive. The toll roads 528 and 417, and I4 (non toll but not worth the waste of time.) essentially connect Disney, Airport and the space center. September is not a bad time to visit, the school season is started for all the US by then so the crowds are not terrible, the summer is ended so the park hours may be slightly reduced by then but that will allow you to do things such as Downtown Disney ( Refused to call it "Marketplace")

 

[Dr Ralph]

You HAVE to stay inside the resort area. Getting around is very easy via the bus system provided.

 

[ozmouse]

jakplus1 has got it in 1. lots of good information there, and highlights the point, that with knowledge and planning you will have a much cheaper trip, BUT more to the point, you will not be following the crowd, and have a much BETTER trip!

and it is that sort of detail you need to know and plan for. pick what is important and plan around it.

I am believer of on-site acoom, park hoppers, and utilizing all the pre opening, after closing, parties that hotel guests are extended.

And to get to other parks we just used town car services. Was a very different holiday when someone did not have to drive! for either the stressed driver, the stressed navigator, or the exhausted kids.

 

[Katie]

Right, well thanks to jakplis1's tips, we've booked 5 nights at Disney's Old Key West in a 1br villa, rather than all 4 of us in a single Disney hotel room, for about the same price (only 1brs available for our full range of dates). I'm now thinking we'll hire a car for the week, as Sunday-Thursday is WDW, Friday check out & go to Kennedy Space Center, check in to Universal hotel Fri night & Universal on Sat and Sun.

We're already too late for a dining reservation at Ohana, but I'll kepp checking, as I know that can change over time.

I'm inclining against the dining plan, just not sure we would take full advantage of it. And with magic bands, or even gift cards like we've used at Disneyland, we've found that sufficiently convenient.