Disney World

[abcmom]

I know this has been asked here many times, but we are planning a trip to Disney World in Oct. I have never planned a big vacation and don't know where to start. We are looking to go the economy route if that is possible at Disney. Also, what are your favorite parks. My dc are all teens so I don't think Magic Kingdom will appeal to them. Any help would be wonderful.

[Jennifer in MI]

Do you have reservations yet? How long are you planning to stay? Do you want to stay on property or off?

The answers to these questions will help me in my response. We did a budget DW vacation once. We stayed off property in a house with another family. So, we cooked all our own meals, which saved a HUGE amount of money. We basically only paid for the trip down, the house (this was CHEAP!), and our tickets. It was very cheap. I think our total was less than $1000 (but our two boys were young enough that they were free!).

We're going again in Sept and getting their free dining plan. So, we're staying on property. We'll be there for 5 nights, 6 days and for our family of 6 it's costing less than $2000.

I can tell you the details of either of our trips if you'd like! We've also done a more expensive trip there, so I can let you know what we did that time too!

And, you may be surprised that your kids like Magic Kingdom. There are SO many of the traditional rides there - Dumbo, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Pirates, etc. My boys love MK because of the atmosphere. The fireworks show is wonderful too!

[plansrme]

The very best thing I did before my first trip was buy The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and research obsessively. I read it cover-to-cover, 'cause I love fine print, but most people probably don't do that. A lot of libraries have this, but it is reissued every year, so make sure you get a recent edition. Also, look at www.mousesavers.com (http://www.mousesavers.com) for special deals and budget-friendly tips, especially on ways not to pay rack rate for Disney hotels. Another great site for evaluating onsite hotels is www.allearsnet.com (http://www.allearsnet.com). There are pictures and detailed information on every single WD property. Especially for your first trip, I highly recommend staying onsite, even in one of the budget options. You get a lot more of the "magic." Also, with older teens, you can give them some freedom to go out by themselves because of the Disney transportation. Depending on where you stay, there is even magic in the Disney transportation--the ferries, for instance, are very fun.
And don't think your teens won't enjoy Magic Kingdom--there is a lot there for all ages. As far as a favorite, we really love all of the parks. Don't overlook Animal Kingdom--Expedition Everest is hands-down our favorite ride out of all of the parks.
Hope that gives you enough to get started. We love Disney!
Terri

[abcmom]

We are planning on being there 7 days/ 6 nights. We don't care if we stay on the property or not as long as there is a shuttle or bus to get us around. Most of the hotels that I have looked at close by at least have a refigerator and a microwave that we could use.

Thanks

[Tracey in TX]

My favorite park is EPCOT, and within it is the World Showcase. Plan on dining there if you're interested in foreign culture and foods.

[Jennifer in MI]

We are planning on being there 7 days/ 6 nights. We don't care if we stay on the property or not as long as there is a shuttle or bus to get us around. Most of the hotels that I have looked at close by at least have a refigerator and a microwave that we could use.

Thanks

Oh- that's a nice long time!! Definately look over at Mousesavers for discount codes for packages and hotels when you're planning to go. One of the best things we did was to take a couple days off in the middle so we could discover Downtown Disney and DisneyQuest and a few other things. Also, take a look over at the Dis Boards (do a google search). The people there are wonderful at coming up with ways to save money!

You could definately stay at one of the value resorts on property fairly cheap. You can request a fridge there too. If you are driving, you can take a cheap microwave too. (We usually travel with a microwave and food). (Oh - and on the Dis boards you can meet up with other people who will be there your same month who want to share a fridge or microwave. It's SO much cheaper that way!)

If you can bump your trip up to September, they are offering free dining. That would make the trip easier for you! And, you'd get to taste wonderful food! At this point, you may have a difficult time getting reservations for sit-down meals, but if you are willing to eat at off times, you could still get something, I'm sure!

Enjoy!!! I LOVE Disney!

[Ferdie]

The very best thing I did before my first trip was buy The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and research obsessively. I read it cover-to-cover, 'cause I love fine print, but most people probably don't do that. A lot of libraries have this, but it is reissued every year, so make sure you get a recent edition. Also, look at www.mousesavers.com (http://www.mousesavers.com) for special deals and budget-friendly tips, especially on ways not to pay rack rate for Disney hotels. Another great site for evaluating onsite hotels is www.allearsnet.com (http://www.allearsnet.com). There are pictures and detailed information on every single WD property. Especially for your first trip, I highly recommend staying onsite, even in one of the budget options. You get a lot more of the "magic." Also, with older teens, you can give them some freedom to go out by themselves because of the Disney transportation. Depending on where you stay, there is even magic in the Disney transportation--the ferries, for instance, are very fun.
And don't think your teens won't enjoy Magic Kingdom--there is a lot there for all ages. As far as a favorite, we really love all of the parks. Don't overlook Animal Kingdom--Expedition Everest is hands-down our favorite ride out of all of the parks.
Hope that gives you enough to get started. We love Disney!
Terri

:iagree: Ditto to the Unoffical Guide to Walt Disney World. We bought it on Amazon and ended up ripping out the touring guides and carrying them in our backpack at the park. It was like we had a little Disney tour guide in our pocket.

Have fun!

[Karenciavo]

How many people are going?

BTW, my teens love the Magic Kingdom, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion are some of their favorites. There is one section (Fantasyland) that they don't care for, the rest is not to be missed.

ETA: Try to sign up for Mousesavers today (http://www.mousesavers.com/newsletter.html) because their newsletter comes out tomorrow and if you miss it you can't get another until August 15. Their newsletter has even more discounts than their website does and you need the newsletter links to get them.

[Karenciavo]

If you can bump your trip up to September, they are offering free dining. That would make the trip easier for you! And, you'd get to taste wonderful food! At this point, you may have a difficult time getting reservations for sit-down meals, but if you are willing to eat at off times, you could still get something, I'm sure!

The free dining offer is expired, but there is another discount code for September that's pretty good, $69 a night at the Value resorts, $109 a night at the moderates, I think the cabins at Ft Wilderness are $179 a night, you need to book by 7/27.

[Tarheel Heather]

We're going again in Sept and getting their free dining plan. So, we're staying on property. We'll be there for 5 nights, 6 days and for our family of 6 it's costing less than $2000.




How did you get that price? We would love to go back! I have used the trip planner on their website and the price is not pretty.

[Jennifer in MI]

Heather - try giving them a call. They don't really advertise specials, so get yourself on the Mousesavers newsletter list. THey'll email you all the new codes and then you call Disney and they'll give you a price with the code.

That price for us was 6 of us (but dd is still 2 and we don't have to pay for her yet), staying at Port Orleans Riverside (they allow 5 in some of their rooms), free dining, non-park hopper passes for 5 days. I think the total was $1942 or something like that. Now, that doesn't include our trip down. We'll be driving and staying with relatives and bringing food for the road. So, we'll really just be paying for gas. So, the actual cost with gas will be a bit over $2000. I hope you can get a good price!!!

[Angela in GA]

I think your teens would LOVE Magic Kingdom. It's really a park that offers something for everyone! My dh and I recently stayed at All Stars Music. It was very convenient to be able to use Disney Transportation, as well as have a food court in our hotel. Have a great trip!

[LadyNancy]

We're also going in September. Four people at Pop Century Resort for 6 nights, free dining, 6-day park hopper pass - we paid $1600. The free dining was offered in April for booking a trip in September. They did last year also, so I suspect they will do it again next year.