Disney Vacation

Whew. There is a lot to know about Disney! Are you going to Disneyworld or Disneyland? I have only been to the World. I know there are a few chat boards dedicated to all things Disney. One is called disboards -not sure of the exact web address. It is nice to stay on the property for ease of transportation but some off site places provide it as well. If you go during a holiday, consider the park party which is after hours and requires a separate ticket. It is a great way to avoid the crowds and get all your rides in. I bought the Hopper passes online and had them shipped to me but that has been a few years ago already. A good book to check out is the Unofficial Guide to Disneyworld.

Shelly - Disneyworld - I will take a look at some chatboards and see what I can gather - we are thinking after school gets out next summer depending on work schedules etc. thank you so much for the info!

we stayed in a VRBO home just a mile outside of Disney a few years ago when my 2 boys were about this age. it was great - had 4 bedrooms and 2 baths and its own pool. was nice to do the park during the day and then be able to get away from the chaos in the evening.

If you stay in the park you'll have access to Magic Hours (extended hours for guests of the park). The park is less crowded during these hours so you can get the most popular rides checked off your list without huge lines.

Costco has some great Disney ticket and package deals. We just booked a trip to Disneyland through them.

Enjoy your trip!

I'd highly suggest adding on a few days at Universal Studio. If you stay at one of their park hotels (we stayed at Hard Rock Hotel), you get both Fast Pass and early admission - really worth it. We also loved going to Bush Gardens - a drive, but less crowded and entertaining shows.

There are some timeshare properties on Disney resorts and you can sometimes get those rooms at a pretty reasonable rate. David's vacation club is one site where the timeshare owners sell their weeks at Disney. A lot of the Disney stuff can really depend on your budget so it is difficult for me to give you advice without knowing budget constraints. I would say that if you have not traveled a lot, making this first trip there as simple as possible, without a lot of hassles would be great.

If you stay in a Disney hotel there would be no need to rent a car, there is a shuttle to the airport and transportation to the park. It cuts down a lot on headaches and stresses of travel but does limit your flexibility and some of the costs you saved by not renting a car will be spent on the more expensive food at the resort. I've stayed at the Beach Club, French Quarter, Boardwalk, and Contemporary resorts owned by Disney and they all have good qualities. The Boardwalk is placed within walking distance to two of the parks.

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I agree with @cathyfraser trying to get some time in a universal is a great idea. If your doing both staying off sit somewhere the shuttles is a great option. If you are only doing Disney I have head staying onsite is nice thanks to magic hours and the meal plans.

Just returned from Orlando this past Saturday.
1. buy Disney tickets in advance - I bought from ticketsatwork.com - included park hopper and 3 fast passes. FIND THE FAST PASS KIOSKS... once you use 3 in a day you can get more.
2. Lines were LONG! 2 hour wait on Space Mountain, 2 hour wait at Hollywood Studios for Rock N Roll Roller Coaster-- plan your rides and look at maps ahead of time. Not only were ride lines long, but meeting character lines were long too.
3. BRING YOUR OWN WATER and FOOD/SNACKS- it was over 80 a day for 4 of us to eat lunch.
4. check Sea World, I heard many people at our resort talking about the fun they had there on the rides.
5. Download the Walt Disney World APP.. it shows current wait times for all rides - helped us in planning our way around the parks.
6. BUY A PHOTO ALBUM AHEAD OF TIME ONLINE. When you do rides you can scan your pass and they will be on your app to look at.. but if you want those photos, they aren't cheap to buy. I wish I would have PRE bought our album.. and thought to take more of my own photos when meeting characters. I am only buying some photos so I can get a copy of the one attached 🙂

I suggest if you can stay on property to take advantage of the after hours- typically 11p-1a that is offered only to people who are on property AND the meal plan to save you during the day.

Outside of Disney I really suggest going to Medieval Times- BUT DO NOT EAT ALL DAY! LOL- lots of food (aka 1/4 of a chicken!)