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talk to me about Disney World
we are planning to take our 1st trip next spring. our kids will be almost 5 & almost 3. i don't even know where to start. (I was there when I was a kid, but that was 25 yrs ago!)
1. where did you stay? we want a place that is toddler friendly w/a pool. how do i get a good deal? i was told to plan far in advance, but do they have good deals when you book 6+ months in advance. i don't want the most expensive, but would like a nice place. (I would like to be on the disney property)
2. what parks are really geared toward the little kids? only magic kingdom? would they like epcot or any of the other parks?
3. how long should we go for? 1 week?
4. since my dd will be under 3, i understand it is free admission. i also saw we don't need to buy the meal plan for her -but then what? do we just have to pay individually for each of her meals? does she just eat for free? do we just share our food w/her?
5. the meal plans are so confusing - which one did you use - or did you decide not to do a meal plan?
6. did you need a car? if not, did you just take a shuttle from the airport w/no carseat for your kids?
7. if you don't mind me asking, how much did your trip cost (before all of the souvineirs, etc)? even round figures would be helpful. i feel like it will cost at least $4k w/airfare, hotel, food & admission to the park.
8. did you use a travel agent or just plan it on your own?
9. can you let me know of any sites or books you used that would be helpful?
thanks so much!!!
Re: talk to me about Disney World
1. where did you stay? we want a place that is toddler friendly w/a pool. how do i get a good deal? i was told to plan far in advance, but do they have good deals when you book 6+ months in advance. i don't want the most expensive, but would like a nice place. (I would like to be on the disney property) anyone of the disney properties will meet your requirements. it will all depend on what you want to spend. we usually do the moderately priced hotels since you spend so little time in the rooms, but i have only been there pre-M...i might consider one of the higher properties bc they are closer to the parks and the rooms are bigger...
2. what parks are really geared toward the little kids? only magic kingdom? would they like epcot or any of the other parks? magic kingdom, animal kingdom & some parts of hollywood studios. i wouldn't not go to epcot though...there is the aquarium, journey into imagination, and a ton of other stuff to keep them occupied...you just need to be mindful that some of the exhibits are a little scary...
3. how long should we go for? 1 week? at least...
4. since my dd will be under 3, i understand it is free admission. i also saw we don't need to buy the meal plan for her -but then what? do we just have to pay individually for each of her meals? does she just eat for free? do we just share our food w/her? i don't know...
5. the meal plans are so confusing - which one did you use - or did you decide not to do a meal plan? the middle one...1 snack, 1 walk up, 1 table service a day...and we love to eat...it was plenty of food.
6. did you need a car? if not, did you just take a shuttle from the airport w/no carseat for your kids? no car, and yes, no carseat on the shuttle is what i saw...
7. if you don't mind me asking, how much did your trip cost (before all of the souvineirs, etc)? even round figures would be helpful. i feel like it will cost at least $4k w/airfare, hotel, food & admission to the park. i don't remember, probably around $4K...
8. did you use a travel agent or just plan it on your own? YES...denise (her contact info is in my bio) made planning soooooooo easy...she took care of all of our dinner reservations, just a doll to work with!
9. can you let me know of any sites or books you used that would be helpful? www.allears.net
Cost depends on several different things but to give you an idea....we stayed at Beach Club resort..two adult, one child, one infant. Cost of hotel, transfer to airpor, meal plans and park entrance (park hopper passes) was $3200. Airfare was another $600 for three seats, DS was a lap child. We went in December during what they consider "off peak" season.
DD is four and we did all the parks. Epcot was my least fav for her, not much to do. You are right though...most time was spent at MagicKingdom. Kids under three are free and if u do meal plan, they "eat off your plate". We went in 2010 when DD was two and that is what we did...no issues at all. We used Denise (ladyredlight) in 2010 and then booked through AAA this past trip. Denise was wonderful to work with, I highly recommend her. We did not leave Disney grounds so no need to rent a car.
Renee - If you want, you can always stop over and I can answer any questions you have regarding Disney. Jason, Josh, and I go 1-2 a year and have been for years.
- Stephanie
I do kind of consider myself an expert
We love Disney! Whenever friends or family members are planning vacations, we always help them out and give them tips. I also have several close friends who work at Walt Disney World, on the Cruise Line, and for the Corporation itself.
We own Disney Vacation Club now so through that we've stayed at Old Key West, Boardwalk Villas, and Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village. Before we bought DVC, we have stayed at all of the All-Star Resorts (Music, Movies and Sports), Coronado Springs, Port Orleans - French Quarter, and Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House.
WE are going this May and Juliet will be 2.5 by then. We are staying at the Carribean Beach Resort. We werent too picky about the room since we wont be in it often. We are going for 9 days. We havent had a vacation in a while and dont know when we would be able to take a big one again, so we are going all out now. We also plan to go to Universal while we are there so that added a few days for us. And since we are going for so long, we plan on taking a day off and just stay at the hotel or just take it slow too.
We didnt have to pay for her tickets or meal plan. We plan on having her eat off our plate when we can or just order her a kids meal. Buffets will help alot since she can have her own little plate or eat off mine. We went with the deluxe meal plan.
We are renting a car to go to Universal and probably Lego Land. I think we are bringing her car seat. Havent decided yet.
As far as cost, it was over $5k, but I called our travel agent the other day and she said the rooms were on sale and gave us the sale price so we got like almost $800 knocked off of our bill. She rocks!! This is the 3rd time we have used her and she really is great. I emailed her what we wanted and didnt want and some other info and she did her thing. Oh and we booked in Novermber for May, so 6 months out.
allears.net has been really good, the WDW site is pretty good and DIS boards is good too.