Dh and I have wanted to take the kids to Disney World for years and just didnt think we could ever afford it. We still might not be able to but are going to try next spring. My parents would like to go with us and also help pay. I know Heidi has been and I plan on picking her brain for info, but has anyone else been? Any good advice or info to share? I really dont know where to start. I just requested some info from Disney that they are sending me in the mail. I think it comes with some DVD's. But if you know of any good sites or just something to share I'd love to hear. Thanks!!
Crystal~ Those dvd's are lots of fun to watch. The girls and I will sit down now, even after our trip (hoping for another one!) and watch those. They are great to get the kids involved in the planning. And, after your trip, they are fun to watch and reminisce. There are several websites that I've gotten tips off of~ but, when it all comes down to it, the books I recommended to you~ Birnbaum's Guide to Walt Disney World 20__~ they update each year~ it's the best resource out there. It's worth the money to pick up a copy. The 2006 edition should be available now. It'll be fun to go and have your parents along too! You'll have a blast!
I've been to Disneyland a million times, but never to Disney World. And it's been a LONG time since I've been to Disneyland even---I know, cuz my kids have never been, and my oldest is 14! So I'm going to keep my eye on here and see what people may say---my kids would love to go (not that we can afford it, but....)!
Ok ladies I have been several times with my dd's and love it and would love to go again. I have a friend that goes every year since her child was one and they still go. They go between Thanksgiving and Christmas said everything is alot cheaper no one is there and they all the special attention they need. Tryed that one time and it's worth going that time of year. But, it makes Christmas hard that's why we haven't done it again. Crystal, It would be great if you all went. My advice to you is to go on line and try to find the tickets somewhere cheaper. Don't buy them there once you get there. Also, watch so they don't charge you to mail the tickets and to print them. E bay might even have some on sale take a look. I don't know. Also, if you plan on staying on the grounds look for motels on line too. They can usually give you a good deal with a group and you will have a group. Need to ask alots of question. Crystal when you book a room and they give you the prices for the room say, is that the cheaps you can give me I have a large group and we have alot of things to pay for and believe me it works sometime if you get the right person it's work for me and I only have 4 people. They will work with you if you plan ahead too. They are good. Just do those and you will be surprise how much you can just save that way. It will blow your mine away. Make sure when you buy the tickets you tell them it's for alot of people too. Should get a deal. Just try.
Christmas day is not a good day but any other day that week is good. Christmas day was so packed that we only rode 5 rides the whole day long. It was awful. Nothing is open in the area as far as food and stores outside the park that made it hard on Christmas day. We have been in September and it was nice then. Also stay outside the park area like in Kissimmee and the motels are half the price. They are only 15/20 mins away from park too. We stayed in September for only $60 dollars for all 5 of us. Nice clean motel. It was very nice. Christmas time was higher. We don't ever make reservations we just drive down and look for a cheap motel and make sure it is clean. The only time I booked online the motel wasn't very clean and we left.
You don't want to go during the summer time. Its way to hot and way tooooooo many people. The spring is the best time. Try going sometime in March. We took the kids about 4 years ago, they loved it.
I would probably try to go during the week and avoid friday, saturday and sundays. try to get a hotel about a mile away, and use the shuttle that most of them have. bring bottled water---go to a grocery store to buy not from hotel or the park. eat a good breakfast (hopefully your hotel provides at least muffins and danishes and coffee and juice--we were able to stay at a hotel that had made to order breakfast. when you go rent a locker for jackets, and such. use a fast pass when you can, its best to have every one wear them in a plastic thingy around their neck so they don't get lost. show the kids a place to meet incase they get lost or seperated so no one panics.
I have been to Disney World 4 times and each time I have LOVED IT! I prefer staying in one of their resorts where you can take a shuttle to all the theme parks. Don't go to Blizzard Beach...it sucks, but Typhoon Lagoon is awesome...they are water parks. Epcot is great! I also loved MGM a lot. We once went during the 4th of July and I wont do that again...too crowded, but still fun. We also prefer driving than flying. Well, I actually love to fly, hubby prefers to drive, but the drive is nice from Wisconsin going through the Smokies and all. You will have a BLAST! I am hoping in the next couple years we will be able to take Tanner. I would love to go as a family, just the 3 of us!
Jen, Isn't Tanner 5? I went to Disneyland my first time when I was 7. I think that's a really good age to go for the first time. You're young enough to be awed by the "magic" of it all, and there are a lot of rides for young ones that are fun. Then in 2 or 3 years go again, and it will be almost a whole new experience, well worth going!
No, actually he's only 3 and a half. He'll be 4 in July. I am thinking when he's about 6. I don't know if I'd want to take him any earlier, even though he'd have fun no matter what.
Yeah, earlier would be fun, but it's more memorable and not so "scary", and probably not as much work for you when they're a little older....
Those are my thoughts too...he's already scared of things already enough as it is. I want to make it memorable, not horrifying.
I didn't get to Disney World for the first time 'til I was 17 and a senior in high school! Icouldn't have loved it anymore! My brothers were 10 and 8 at the time. My parents had so much fun they made plans for us to all go back again 2 years later~ by then I had a good job and a car~ so I took my best friend along and we were on our own~ it was awesome! We took Ashley for the 1st time when she was 5. Gracie was 4 1/2 when we went last year. Around 5 is a great age for the first visit~ they are so in awe of everything. However, I think the older kids~ teens~ love it just as much, from a different perspective. There is so much educational stuff down there~ it is just amazing! Everyone who mentioned holidays and summer is right. In Birnbaum's Guide is says that you should basically plan to avoid going anytime that schools are off- in other words, don't go in summer, or over any holidays that give a week off or even a 3-day weekend. That's when "normal" families head there! So, as homeschoolers, make sure you go sometime when the rest of the kids are in school! If you have AAA or know someone who does, that may be a good way to get the tickets. You can get discounts through them. That's how we got them the first time. Also, you can go to the Disney Store and buy them. This is what we did this past time. We have a Disney Visa and accumulate points that way (it works like a Discover card but your 1% is in Disney points instead of cash). We had enough accumulated to buy a couple of tickets. Disney has changed the way their tickets work. Make sure you definitely get one that is a Park Hopper Pass~ this will allow you to go to more than one park on any given day. Also, I would suggest getting at least a 5-day pass.
Does anyone know how transportation works if you stay off site? We are thinking of renting a house since there will be 16 of us going.
Depends on where you stay. Some hotels provide a shuttle to the parks so call them and check them out. Otherwise you may have to rent a car...or in your case Crystal, a bus.
Crystal~ Will you be flying down, or driving? If you're flying down and renting a house, you'll probably have to rent a big van! I believe there are some developments down there that are all rental houses~ there's a possibility they may have transportation to and from the parks. The only problem with depending on the shuttles is that they only run at certain times, and it might not be the times you're wanting to come & go. If you're driving down, then just drive to the parks~ it's really not that bad. We've driven in much worse traffic around here. As for the pin trading~ Ashley had alot of fun with it. We didn't go planning to do this, but when she say all the workers wearing the pins, she wanted to try it. You can buy a starter kit that comes with like 5 pins (they are themed- like Ashley's was a Tinkerbell set- it's a lanyard with a tag at the end and had 5 Tinkerbell pins on it). Then you go up to a worker (they're called Cast Members) and they have a pin you'd like. You just trade one of yours for theirs. Ashley bought more pins to add to her collection throughout the week. Some people are so into it that they carry big pin briefcases! It's funny. After we got home, we found a really cute little Disney pin backpack at our local thrift store (it was brand new, never used) for $3! (I can imagine down there it was probably like $30.) So, Ashley has her pins in that now, and is looking forward to getting more to add to her collection on our next trip. You little ones may also enjoy getting autographs. You can pick up the autograph books down there at the park (I think they're like $6 or $7) or if you go to Wal-mart down there you can get them for $2. Also at Wal-mart we got the girls pens that were on strings~ I tied them to the autograph books (spiral-bound) so they wouldn't get lost. It worked out really well. I know I showed you my scrapbook, but did I show you the books the girls made (with their autographs)? If not, remind me, and I'll bring them along to convention. Can you tell that I LOVE Disney? I don't talk for weeks on end, but you ask me a question about Disney World and I talk and talk and talk..........
Thanks! They actually have a Disney forum!! I just joined. I am getting lots of good info from there too. Can you get the trading pins at the Disney stores around here Heidi? We are not sure if we are flying. Rod really doesnt want to drive. My aunt went down by train one yr and liked that. We'll see, it is going to cost soooo much for our family, but I soooo want to do this. With Jessie's adoption coming up, Rod adopting my children last Nov., Avarie's birth, I just want to celebrate my family! We thought for all the kids birthdays and next Christmas we would ask family to help us w/our trip in place of gifts. My one aunt likes to buy us gift cards every yr, I could see if she would buy us a Disney gift card! They could give the kids some Disney spending $ or maybe buy their autograph books. Something along those lines.
Crystal sounds like you are planning everything wonderful. One year before we went the girls had a little a bake school. Might want to do that with the homeschool group or church. They just made things and sold them during the meeting. Had soda pop which they got for a 25 cent a can and sold for 75 which was a good deal that went really fast. Alot of people would give them a dollar and say keep the change. So, you might want to try that. They raise 400 dollars to go and get what they wanted. Just idea we had.
