Disney advice?

Starting to plan a Disney vacation. Advice? Thoughts on where to start? Where to stay (on property)?

Disney advice?

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it's like LIF - but for all things Disney. there's even drama on there, too

Re: Disney advice?

we just went in FEbruary with DS, who is 3. I would say stay on Disney property. its so easy, especially with young kids. you can take the Disney Magic express from the airport, and use Disney buses, monorails, etc the whole week, so no need to rent a car.
I've stayed at Pop Century before and liked it. its one of their "value" resorts, so the rooms aren't huge ( we stayed there before we had a kid, though). really cute theme (like giant Big Wheels, Mr. Potato Head, etc to walk around and look at. Its nice bc there is a separate bus right there for each park- so you don't have to transfer.
Wilderness Lodge is cool, because you can take the Ferry Boat to Magic Kingdom. SAme with Fort Wilderness campground (they have cabins you can stay in if you don't want to "camp")

Once you book, then start thinking about any meals you want to reserve. you can do that 180 days before you leave. We did Chef Mickeys which was a fun character meal where you can meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Pluto. We also liked the SCi Fi Drive In at Hollywood Studios for lunch. its indoor, and you eat in "cars", like a drive in movie. DS thought that was cool. and it was a nice, quiet break from the parks. There is also a meal at Hollywood Studios with the Disney Jr. characters, too.

then you can do Fast Pass+ for any rides/attractions you want to fast pass.

My biggest advice- especially for Magic Kindgom. Go there in the morning for a few hours. Then, go back to the hotel in the afternoon for a nap, some pool time, etc for a few hours. THEN go back to the park from like 6:30/7 until they close. we did this and the lines were SO SO Much shorter at night!!! we walked onto rides that had a 50 minute wait that afternoon!

Re: Disney advice?

It depends on your budget and what time of year you plan on going.

For us, we went in May w 4.5 yr old DS and 20 month old DD. We rented DVC points and stayed at Bay Lake Tower which is attached to the Contemporary. We had a 2 bedroom villa which had a kitchen, living room, and 3 full bathrooms. This villa is normally $1k a night but w renting points we paid $2500 for 5 days and since my parenys came it was really affordable. We did 2 days at MK, 1 at AK, 1 at Epcot, and our departure day we did HS.

My advice is to make dining reservations at exactly 180 days out. Try to go when theres free dining. If you go the Dvc route like we did unfortunately youre not eligible for free dining. You can purchase the meal plan though.

Staying on property was so easy. I highly recommend it. If youre budget allows for it def look into a monorail resort.

Re: Disney advice?

Everyone will give you different opinions.

Disney hotels are horribly overpriced & don't give much at all for what they cost. We stayed once & will likely never stay again.

Off property, there are a slew of hotels with different amenities. We like staying at places that have a few nice restaurants either in site, or close.

Likewise, Disney restaurants are overpriced & disappointing. If all of the ones we tried (the fish place at Epcot, the castle beauty & beast restaurant, some white restaurant on Main Street & t Rex cafe if it counts), we liked T. Rex best.

That being said, we love magic kingdom. We go for 2-3 days. We do it slow, relaxed, see shows & skip rides with crazy waits.

Disney advice?

We just stayed at the Yacht Club for six nights. Awesome sandy bottom pool complex, great for kids. Highly recommend it. We are at Art of Animation now since we extended our stay and Yacht Club had no rooms. We are in a Little Mermaid room, and it's cute, but a longggg walk to the main building. The Cars section is beyond adorable here, and those suites are close to main building.

When are you looking to go? Hollywood Studios has an amazing Frozen event going on until September. We had a blast there today. Must do for Frozen fans!

Message edited 7/5/2014 8:16:43 PM.