Best way to plan Disneyworld in Florida? [Archive]

View Full Version : Best way to plan Disneyworld in Florida?

Newfie

Feb 26th, 2007, 10:43 AM

fireguy9

Feb 26th, 2007, 01:33 PM

Definitely fly out of Detroit or Buffalo for best prices.

Read some of my old posts from 06 on florida,,, we saved $1000s

booked a 5star 1200 sq ft approx condo off site (2-3miles) for like $40 night. Free tickets etc.

any questions pm me

Newfie

Feb 26th, 2007, 03:42 PM

I'll start searching your past posts.

Thanks again!

nalababe

Feb 26th, 2007, 09:26 PM

If you drive, pick up the along the I75 guide by Dave Hunter...it was great fun...

gmark2000

Feb 27th, 2007, 02:27 AM

My WDW resources (lots of tips):
www.disboards.com (http://www.disboards.com)
www.mousesavers.com (http://www.mousesavers.com)
www.wdwinfo.com (http://www.wdwinfo.com)
www.allearsnet.com (http://www.allearsnet.com)
www.mouseplanet.com (http://www.mouseplanet.com)

Newfie

Feb 28th, 2007, 11:11 AM

fireguy9

Feb 28th, 2007, 01:46 PM

Thanks for the info fireguy9 and gmark2000!

As I'm going through these timeshare offers (deal if you listen to sales pitch) they seem to want proof of income. Do you just show them a paystub?

I'm looking at the following on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=012&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=220082235526&rd=1&rd=1

Anyone have experience with these folks?

Take care,
Craig

That ebay link,, is the silver lakes resort where we stayed last yr!!!! We dealt with the seller,,, bigdogvacations on ebay. We paid less then that and sure you could get less. Dont forget, there are taxes extra. But its a unbeatable deal. Another one they sell on ebay and other places is The Oak Plantation. Stayed there 2 yrs ago,,, bit further away but it was only $25 per night for townhouse condo 1 bdrm with queen pullout in living room. Worked great for us and kids.

No proof of income,,, they ask you basic questions prior,,, want photo id to show both u and spouse are living together,,, and then they just ask if you make over a certain amt.

JWL

Feb 28th, 2007, 08:23 PM

I tend to do things on the cheap, but I would highly recommend staying on Disneyworld. The All-Star resorts are fairly reasonable. The transit system on-site is AWESOME. You can get between parks or to your resort in 10 minutes. You also get access to the early openings which is great. If you want to save a bit, get a frig (small extra fee).

Best DisneyWorld tip I know: If you stay onsite, go the the park with the early opening (obvious) but then go to another park by noon. Here's why: all the on-site park guests will go to the early opening park, plus so will a normal number of off-site guests. So it is the most packed park by noon. If you are staying off-site, make sure you know which is the early opening park and avoid it entirely that day.

tkddad

Mar 3rd, 2007, 07:47 PM

Hi All,

Our family of four (two adults and two kids, 10 and 5) is going to Florida for the first two weeks in July, with an empahsis on Disneyworld. We're CAA members.

What's the best way to begin researching and planning this trip keeping in mind that I'm an RFDer ... ;-)

Do I:
- let CAA take care of it all
- use the mousesavers and customize it all (searched the RFD forums and the site came up here)
- rent outside the park, do condos, etc.
- other ways to save

As well, we're not sure if we'll drive or fly as we haven't priced out anything yet. We live in London so we could fly from Detroit or TO.

Anybody have experiences in booking the same type of trip?

Thanks in advance,
Craig

First thing to consider is :

Is this a vacation for the adults, for the kids, or a bit of both?
Is this the only time you will go to WDW or will you likely go
back a second/third time?

That would determine what tickets you would want to buy.

With the favourable exchange rate, I would consider buying a 7 days hopper
pass. They are good for life, never expires. You can use them
on a second trip.

You might also look to buy unused days of hopper pass on ebay.
Problem is there is no way of verifying whether there is actually
any unused days left on the pass until you get to the gate.
It's a matter of whether you trust the sellers.

Your kids would most likely stick to the Magic Kingdom. For
the adults, you have to try out Mission Space and test trek
at Epcot. These might be too intense for the 10yo, let alone
the 5yo.

Make sure you have an umbrella stroller for the 5yo.

I would also consider going to Universal Studios/Island of Adventure.
They have a 7 days pass (that do expires) now for $90. There
is a RFD banner somewhere. Just "Spiderman" would be worth
the price. This compares to around $350 for the Disney pass for
7 days.

Tickets should be your second most expensive item after
travel (if you are flying).

Flights in the summer are expensive. There is hardly any deal.
Driving would eat up 1 out of your 2 weeks. Tough call.

We have stay once on highway 192 in Kissimmie, once on
International drive near Universal Studio and once on the
Hwy 435 Junction right outside of Disney. They are all
about 15 minutes drive (other than I drive )to the parking lot
with no traffic. Driving in the summer should double your
driving time with traffic. Lots of construction on 192 in the summer.

I suggest you try using priceline for your hotels. When
we last went in 2004, we got the Sheraton Safari for
$37US a night. It was a great hotel just outside the
main gate. You can get a good idea on what is
available on priceline by going to biddingfortravel.com.

http://p070.ezboard.com/Florida--OrlandoWalt-Disney-World/fpricelineandexpediabiddingorlandowaltdisneyworld

Deb Wills has a wonderful site for planning. You can get
every bits of information you want in detail there. They
have menus of every restaurant inside with prices so you
can plan your trip. You can also get hotel descriptions and
pictures,ticket comparison charts.

http://www.allearsnet.com/

Kim Wiley has a wonderful guidebook called something like
"Walt Disney World with kids". They have ranking of all
the rides by age group. You can borrow one from your
local library. I like this one better than the unofficial
guide. There are daily maps/charts in the unofficial guide
that you might find useful. Just don't pack as much rides
into a day as they suggest in there.

July will be hot and humid. If there is one thing that you
should remember, it's this.

Go early to stay ahead of the crowd. If the park opens
at 8:30, be at the gate at 7:45. Don't forget for something
like Magic Kingdom, once you get to the parking lot, you
still need to factor another 15-20 mins to take the monorail
or the Ferry to get to the gate.

Stay in the park until it gets unbearably hot (11:30/12:00).
Leave the park for lunch, get back to the hotel for a nap/swim.
Go back to the park when it's not as hot after the daily
scheduled as clock work thunderstorm (4:00/4:30) and
stay until after the fireworks (11:00 usually). It's a long and
tiring day. Don't forget to schedule a couple of non-park days
so you don't tire yourselves out.

Best of luck and have fun.

Newfie

Mar 6th, 2007, 02:59 PM

Thanks tkddad for all the great info!

observer_11

Mar 9th, 2007, 07:15 AM

We (2 adults 2boys 12 & 9) have been to Orlando 3 times over the past 9 years. We just returned 3 months ago from our most recent trip. We always seemed to end up going with another family so renting a vacation home has always worked out extremely well for us.

A couple tips we have learned through a lot of research and some first hand experience.
You need 2 weeks to enjoy orlando (1 week is not enough)
We enjoy Universal Studios and Universal Islands of Adventures every bit as much as WDW
Definitely go with multi-day hopper passes for WDW
Be sure to spend a day at one of the WDW water parks (kids will love it)
Minimize eating in the park (we would bring Subway sandwiches and water/juice in a backpack)
Definitely go to The Golden Correl (all-you-can-eat buffet chain) - great quality, huge selection, very reasonable

700mb80min

Mar 9th, 2007, 09:05 AM

and to add .... you have two kids 5 and 10 so be prepared for height restrictions on some of the bigger rollercoasters . you may have to split ( parent and younger child and parent and older child ) to try some of the rides and then switch so the other parent can try it . the younger child will want to try it with the oldest and of course they will be upset when disney wont permit them and i found them to be strict to the rule . measure the youngest and try disneys site for ride restrictions . universal studios was the toughest i `ve seen .

definately go with the fast pass on the most popular rides . get your pass ( free ) and come back at a certain time for a quicker entrance to the ride . takes a bit of planning but worth it . july will probably be slow so maybe you wont need them .

bring your own snacks and DRINKS ! hot dog and pop is $5 american and my kids didn`t like the food in the on-site eateries.

go to disney.com and order the free disney guide which includes a dvd of the park and a map so you can plan your days . you`ll need the two weeks for sure but you have to add " off days " to relax a bit .

dont forget the fireworks ! definately a highlite for us as living in " the cape "
, we dont get to see alot of the bigger shows .

as far as hotels , condos , etc ....we stayed in kississimee in a hotel which offered free dining for 12 and under and a free shuttle to all the major parks . when i booked they mistakenly gave me an off season rate of $49 night for a standard room with two queen beds .

post again if you need some more info .

fireguy9

Mar 9th, 2007, 10:04 AM

definately go with the fast pass on the most popular rides . get your pass ( free ) and come back at a certain time for a quicker entrance to the ride . takes a bit of planning but worth it . july will probably be slow so maybe you wont need them .

bring your own snacks and DRINKS ! hot dog and pop is $5 american and my kids didn`t like the food in the on-site eateries.

as far as hotels , condos , etc ....we stayed in kississimee in a hotel which offered free dining for 12 and under and a free shuttle to all the major parks . when i booked they mistakenly gave me an off season rate of $49 night for a standard room with two queen beds .

post again if you need some more info .

Best thing to bring is a cooler bag on wheels with drinks and snacks otherwise you will be broke with the prices they charge.

$49 for a hotel is ok,,, but do the timeshare promo and it works out to about $40 a night for a full size condo with every option included. Our condo was about 1400 sq ft.
Golden coral is a great buffet place to eat,,, be sure to check the orlando coupon books which are everywhere,, as they usually have a $2 off coupon per person for that restaurant. Just about every restaurant has coupons for everything.

700mb80min

Mar 9th, 2007, 10:24 AM

Best thing to bring is a cooler bag on wheels with drinks and snacks otherwise you will be broke with the prices they charge.

$49 for a hotel is ok,,, but do the timeshare promo and it works out to about $40 a night for a full size condo with every option included. Our condo was about 1400 sq ft.
Golden coral is a great buffet place to eat,,, be sure to check the orlando coupon books which are everywhere,, as they usually have a $2 off coupon per person for that restaurant. Just about every restaurant has coupons for everything.

... going the condo route next trip , didn`t have a car last trip as we generally wanted to do the parks themselves . did hit a couple of restaurants near our hotel for a buffet and $1 margaritas ;) ..... definately takes some planning to get the RFD effect !

heymikey

Mar 9th, 2007, 11:26 AM

Definitely grab at least a 4 or 5 day pass and get the "Water Park and More Option". With the "Water Park and More" option, you get access to the water parks (Blizzard Beach was freaking fun -- unfortunately, Typhoon Lagoon was closed when we were there), DisneyQuest (quite worth it), and for adults, Pleasure Island clubs. I think you also get access to that world of sports thing although we didn't bother going there. There are also golf courses in WDW but we didn't check that one out.

If you're planning on spending each day at one park only, don't bother getting that park hopper pass.

Yes, islands of adventure and universal studios are worth the visit as well. The Hulk roller coaster and Spiderman ride are worth the wait.

gmark2000

Mar 9th, 2007, 12:39 PM

There's a ton of money-saving tips on the links that I posted. Mousesavers is great for this especially.

Carebear

Mar 9th, 2007, 02:59 PM

I would second the recommendation for www.disboards.com (http://www.disboards.com) as you'll get lots of useful advice, recommendations for resorts/hotels, and trip planning ideas. There's a forum for Canadians that you will also want to check out.

Have a fantastic time at Disney World!

zensuperman

Mar 9th, 2007, 10:13 PM

The best deal for food in Orlando(my wife and i go a few times a year and are going again the end of april) is Cici's pizza on international drive. It's all you can eat pizza and italian food(awesome cinamon bun deserts) for $4.50(plus you can easily find 10 percent off coupons in most of those coupon books at walmarts etc). The pizza is great and with the coupon we pay like $11.03 for both of us(we know it already-haha) with drinks and everything(plus theres no waitress or anything so no one leaves a tip). we eat there 3 or 4 times a trip. It is the best bang for your dollar i've seen anywhere. Mousesavers also has alot of great codes for car rentals(up to date) and in there newsletter(subscribe) you can get great discounts on WDW tickets(undercover tourist).