Planning a trip to disney... any advice?

id012 · July 2012

We are planning a trip to disney, we wanted to go in march of 2013. But we could go earlier in the year if its much cheaper.

So, i have never been to disney and every time i try to research hotels etc, it just get so over whelming!! Any good websites to look at? Any suggestions on a good budget friendly hotel?? Places to eat?? We should get the meal plan right?

Thanks!

Que*Syrah · July 2012

Disneyland in California or Disney World in Florida?

EllaJax · July 2012

FYI, the Daytona 500 is in the middle of Feb. This event marks the beginning of the madness in the Daytona/Orlando area. From this date until back to school time, septemberish, Disney will be crazy busy. March especially because of spring break. I would definitely look into January early Febuary time frame if you are available then. It will definitely be cheaper. Lines will be shorter. Temps will be cooler too.

Hotels down there are all pretty nice. My H and I like Embassy suites. A tad pricier then say a Hampton inn, but tons of benefits. They have made to order breakfast included as well as a managers reception in the evening with free wine and beer. Also, the rooms are suites so you can put the kids to bed, but still enjoy some cuddle time in front of the tv with the hubs without disturbing them.

Goodluck and have a great vacation!

littlemermaid · July 2012

Just don't go during spring/easter school breaks or during Christmas break time, those are very busy times of year.

disboards.com, mousesavers.com and allears.net are helpful. I also like the disney world website.

When we went we stayed at the Polynesian, it's a deluxe hotel, it's also one of the hotels that has the monorail system at its door. I would stay on property since you will have transportation from the airport and then to the parks. I used the Disney World website to help me book my trip. We had the middle of the road meal plan. I liked the meal plan because I used it to pay for the character meals we attended. It was also convenient to grab counter service lunches while we were at the parks. The only thing with the meal plan is you have to make reservations for the sit down restaurants and character meals as soon as you know when you are going because they only designate so many tables for meal plan holders so they book up fast.

cole2144 · July 2012

We are going this September for DS`s 2nd birthday. We are staying at Disney`s new Art of Animation which is a value resort. Value resorts are great because you still get the perks of staying on property such as Extra Magic Hours and transportation to all the parks and the airport at a much cheaper price. I would definitely stay on property. We are going Sept 15th which is great since most kids are back in school by then. I have also been from Oct into the beginning of November which is also very nice, much cooler weather, smaller lines. I highly recommend the dining plan, in my opinion it is definitely worth it. Check out Touring Plans online and their book, they have tons of great tips in their book! OH and you have to check out the moms panel on disneyparks.com you can ask questions and they will give lots of advice and answers to all questions Disney.

cole2144 · July 2012

amy052006:
cole2144:
We are going this September for DS`s 2nd birthday. We are staying at Disney`s new Art of Animation which is a value resort. Value resorts are great because you still get the perks of staying on property such as Extra Magic Hours and transportation to all the parks and the airport at a much cheaper price. I would definitely stay on property. We are going Sept 15th which is great since most kids are back in school by then. I have also been from Oct into the beginning of November which is also very nice, much cooler weather, smaller lines. I highly recommend the dining plan, in my opinion it is definitely worth it. Check out Touring Plans online and their book, they have tons of great tips in their book! OH and you have to check out the moms panel on disneyparks.com you can ask questions and they will give lots of advice and answers to all questions Disney.
Definitely check back in with your review of Art of Animation! We are thinking about that for our next trip, just because we will have two LOs, and I am all about the separate bedroom for naps and whatnot. I am a little leery because the Value Resorts aren't my fave, but I think the suite part will probably make up for it!
Plus, you know, OMG LIGHTNING MCQUEEN IS EVERYWHERE.

I will! We are staying in the Lion King suite. The pictures of the pool look amazing and they even play sounds from Finding Nemo underwater! The only other value resort I have stayed in is Pop. I think the kids will love AOA, it`s so colorful and kid friendly.

cole2144 · July 2012

amy052006:
Oh man, I totally disagree on Hollywood studios depending on your kid and their age! The Disney Jr. Show, Toy Story Ride, the character visits with Pixar characters -- think the afternoon parade is all Pixar.

I agree, we will be doing one day there, you can`t go to Disney and not do Fantasmic!

mrsseguin · July 2012

We are going in May 2013. We are renting a 3 bed, 3 bath townhome with a small private pool. We booked through Florida Sun Vacation Homes. It worked out to be $99/night. We thought it would be better than staying in a hotel with 2 small kids. It is 1 mile from Disney, and we are renting a car. I felt very overwhelmed looking through Disney's sites and hotels as well. We felt that renting a home would be better for us as a family.

notkateanymore · July 2012

I highly recommend the disboards.com They are a great help in planning!!

amberdl28 · July 2012

allears.net and disboards.com are great sites according to my sister.

My sister always stays at a value resort which is less then 100 a night. She likes them because they are kid oriented. THey dont spend a lot of time at the hotel so if the room is smaller shes okay with that. The kids might go to sleep earlier then her but usually not by much since they are all tired.

Dining plan is good especially if you get free dining or are doing character meals. Character meals are expensive and the dining plan covers them plus more. It just depends where you want to eat at.

They never rented a car because from the airport to the hotel they have transportation when you book through disney. There is also buses from hotels to the parks and downtown disney.

Buy things at home to give to the kids like mickey shirts and stuffed animals. Cheaper in the long run and kids dont care.

Skip park hopper tickets and just do one park a day.

Hope you have a good trip

Que*Syrah · July 2012

My only issue with the value resorts is that their bus lines are always longer than any other hotel. We usually alternate between the Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter. I think it's a deluxe resort. For me, at the end of a long day, not having to wait 2-3 buses to get back to the hotel is worth the extra cost!

notkateanymore · July 2012

If you can find a good deal, I recommend staying on the monorail line if you have younger kids...it's great for naps in the middle of the day if they need them. We LOVE the Polynesian. Hell, this is making me want to go back and I swore I wouldn't go back for a VERY long time.

March is SB here in AL, so it will be very very very busy there I bet.

Que*Syrah · July 2012

amy052006:
Que_Syrah:
My only issue with the value resorts is that their bus lines are always longer than any other hotel. We usually alternate between the Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter. I think it's a deluxe resort. For me, at the end of a long day, not having to wait 2-3 buses to get back to the hotel is worth the extra cost!
Ditto -- this is why I hate the Value Resorts. Dh and I stayed at one pre-kids, and twice needed to take cabs to make dinner reservations even after leaving the recommended one hour to get to our destination. The bus service just isn't designed to keep up with the demand, especilly with LOs. The only thing that makes me feel ok about staying at in a suite at Art of Animation is that we will be driving Griswold style anyway, so buses won't be an issue.
But I totally ditto PP - stay on the monorail if you can swing it. Last trip we got bumped to the Polynesian after a screw up on Disney's end with our original Caribbean Beach reservation. The extra room with a pack n play and stroller was clutch, and we were able to connect to my parents to avoid the whole "being trapped in the room while he sleeps" thing. We'd choose to go back there first if it was just us and I wasn't a total push over for my kid's Pixar addiction.

Yeah, DH saw the Cars themed stuff and now he wants to try it out on our next trip since we'll have DS. I will probably give in and just deal with the buses because he's totally right that DS will FLIP when he sees it.

Plus, we get a pretty hefty discount thanks to the industry DH is in, so it's going to be so cheap. And cheap makes me happy, LOL.