Disney/Orlando tips?

[Fat Tone]

Woohoo! I've just booked flights for two weeks mid August (Tuesday-Tuesday). We earned enough points for two flights on the CC, so that brings the average cost down quite a lot.

So, does anyone have any tips/tricks for staying in the Orlando area? Renting a 'home' with its own pool looks very affordable, but the Disney hotels would go down well with the kids too. Perhaps do half/half?

We'll need to do some Disney for the kids (aged 5,10), but I want to explore more. Last time I was there (before kids) we did all the Disney, Universal etc. I defo want to go to Kennedy Space Centre this time. I fancy a go on an air boat on the everglades too.

All suggestions for what/where and how to keep costs down gratefully received.

TIA,

T.

[Jammrock]

August is a prime season still for Orlando, so I would recommend staying at the theme park. Traffic in Orlando can get pretty nasty. Early mornings and later in teh evenings (before 8 AM, after 6:30'ish PM) are about the only decent times to travel and not get jammed in traffic.

Public transport is okay, but nothing like you are likely used to, so renting a car would be best if you want to go off the reservation often, so to speak, if can used to driving on the correct side of the road. Even if you go elsewhere, I would still recommend staying at Disney. They have great hotels, and days you are at the park you won't have to fit traffic and pay for outrageous parking.

[cjolley]

Staying in the Disney owned properties gets you the front of the line for some things like restaurants. It can be well worth it.

Also, there was a trick to getting the days you want when the place is booked.
Get a day, virtually any day, ahead of your target date and then ask for them to give you the next day too when a cancellation occurs. Then drop the first day if it's not one you want. Repeat as necessary, walking you reservations forward in time, until you get the days you want.
It works because so many people book so far ahead and their plans get changed.

At least these worked 20 years ago when we went there on our honeymoon.
Look through some guide books at the book store and pick the one or two that seem the most helpful.

[ND66]

I’ve been to WDW twice, September 2006 & May 2007, I can give you a little feed back on that.

Look for current deals and discounts for WDW in HERE: , keep checking the upper right corner.

It could save you quite a bit. They had codes for ticket upgrades like Park Hoppers and Water Parks for free. I used them and they work.

If you plan on Character Dining a lot, A Dining Plan could save you some money there too. Also you need to make reservation way ahead of time for that.

When talking kids and hotel, we just loved the POP Century value resort. The newest, biggest and nicest from all of the Value Resorts. Not that the others are bad.

When it comes to Ocean, we prefer to stay on the Gulf site, where the Ocean is warmer and calm. Beaches are shallow & the kids loved it without us worrying about the tides pulling them in.

Last time we got a condo directly on the beach, around 5~10 miles south of Clearwater Beach. Loved it! Very quiet, that time was like off-season time for rentals there, the condo was only at 50% occupancy at that time.


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PS. You can browse the Forum here, but some members are waaay to crazy there.

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[Mehen]

I really enjoyed Busch Gardens when we went. Lot's of roller coasters, water rides, and animals galore!
Me and my brother were 10 and 12 though, and both easily (I've always been tall) met height requirements. It might not be the best place for a 5 and 10 year old

[High_Jumbllama]

I stayed in one of the houses in the Orlando area when I went. It was very comfrtable and quiet. You would have to rent a car to get there, but parking is not too bad especially when you are going to be walking all day long. Enjoy the excessive heat. Scope out all the air conditioned rides/shows ahead of time.

[degrub]

forget what Disney called it , but check out the "prescheduled , priority tickets for the lines - save you a bundle of time and misery in the heat - think 45 c equivalent with the humidity and sun that time of year. WHen we did it a few years ago it made the ordeal more or less pleasant. Also that is prime hurricane season - so think about some travel cancellation insurance or get it in writing up front with whoever you stay with.

Disney hotels on the site for the days there - more time saver and less hassle. Then check out a rental on the coast for a few days if you like beach.

[Gurm]

Speedpass is NECESSARY in August. We went there in August for our anniversary and it was hellish. I mean, GREAT. But the heat was just unreal.

I will get Julie to log in here and post all her tips. Julie is a Disney fiend, there are a million tips. I DEFINITELY recommend staying on park, and in the heat I recommend staying someplace with a monorail stop... or the ferry.

[Mehen]

We went the first 2 weeks in December (BEFORE xmas break), weather was all but perfect. I think we only had rain 1 maybe 2 days. And it wasn't super hot.

[Fat Tone]

Thanks for all the advice guys, keep em coming

Car hire seems pretty reasonable at ~$400-$500 for whatever for the two weeks, so I'm maybe thinking of doing things in two halves with one week on/near Disney and another maybe near a beach so it can be a bit more relaxing, have new stuff to see/do on hand and keep the kids happy too.

Anyway, its early days. The only thing fixed so far are the flights.

[ND66]

Have couple more links for you.

2008 Disney World Vacation Packages

Walt Disney World Events

Park Hours, Parades, Fireworks

I do advice you to stay ON the Disney Property to Benefit from many things, this is the biggest on I'd say:

On designated days, a Walt Disney World theme park will be open an hour early and three hours later for Disney Resort guests only and includes guests staying at the Walt Disney World Swan/Dolphin Hotels and the Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort.

Disney World Extra Magic Hour/s

Getting around Disney parks I'd advice you not to get a rental car. Stay on the property and use their Buses & Monorail service. They take you directly from your resort to any park, or from park to park.

If you drive, you have to park long way away and sometimes still take monorail to get you there. We drove one time and still used Disney transportation the whole time there.

From the airport they'll take you to the resort & you don't have to worry about your luggage, it'll be in your room few hours later. They take care of that, it's called Disney's Magical Express.


Disney Transportation Information

Get a car for the second part of the trip.

For Character Dining I give for

Chef Mickey's Buffet (Fun place)
Crystal Palace (Great food)
Cinderella's Royal Table (your little Princess will love you for this one)
Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House (Great Breakfest)
Hollywood and Vine (Great Lunch)
Mickey's Backyard BBQ (more of a dance party with Country Music Band)

Read more here: Character Dining at Walt Disney World

As for the food in general places (like a Food Court in the Resort or a Food Stand in the park), it's OK considering they're feeding masses.....


Walt Disney World Theme Park Guides


Happy Planning.
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[WxDude]

I'll try to get my wife to log in too and post some tips (since we are going in a few weeks and like
Gurm's wife she is a Disney planning fiend) but here are a few things I've learned over the years.


Great place to stay that is right off the property - Orange Lake Country Club

http://www.orangelake.com/

This is a time share/condo resort. It is about 5-10 minutes from the Disney property on the
Kissimmee, FL side (less traffic). The units have in unit laundry (if you want that), Full
kitchens, some units are right on the fairways of the golf course (again if you want it) and
can sleep a bunch of people. They rent wave runners on their private lake, have several pools
throughout the resort (some with water slides) and other things. This may be a nice option
since you are staying for a long time. We've stayed here before and it is nice. It also help on
food costs if you don't mind cooking some of your own meals.

We are staying at the Disney's Coronado Springs resort for our upcoming trip. We've stayed
here in the past and it is very nice. The pools here are great.

One of the things that staying in a Disney Resort gets you is Free Parking to all of the parks.
Parking ~ US$10/day (if I recall correctly).

http://www.mousesavers.com/
This website has a huge amount of information on saving money when going to Disney.
One tip we are going to use is if you are looking to do a Character breakfast (like Chef Mickey's)
try to get one of the last time slots for breakfast (usually around 11:30 AM or so). The crowds
will be smaller and you can usually get pictures with all of the characters (not as likely with
earlier times). Think of it as a brunch instead of breakfast.

And like Gurm said, use the "Fast Pass" as much as possible. This will allow you to get on
the busier rides quicker without waiting in a line for an hour or 2 (yes 2 hour waits are not
uncommon on the popular rides at Disney).

If you are going to Animal Kingdom for the Safari ride, get there EARLY. It gets very hot in
Florida during the summer. The animals will go into the shade before noon and you will not
see them. If you go here, this should be your first ride in the morning.


Bring some rain gear (ponchos) as it will rain every day in the afternoon. You can almost set
your watch to it

Make sure you plan some down time while you are here. It can really be a GRIND if you try
to get to everything. On our last trip, because of the people we had with us for a limited
amount of time, we did all 4 Disney parks plus the 2 Universal Studios parks in 3 days.
It was fun but tiring.

Disney will allow you to bring sandwiches and I think water bottles into the parks in your bags,
but not juice boxes (you can have the boxes but not the straws).

Sorry if this post is in a kind of stream of consciousness mode. Just writing things down as I remember them.

Have fun and take a lot of pictures.

- Wx

[WxDude]

Oh.. One thing about ND66's suggestion about the early opening admission. The park that
opens early WILL be mobbed. It might make sense to avoid the park that opens early.
Especially the Magic Kingdom as that is what everyone thinks of when they think of Disney.

And avoid the Magic Kingdom on Saturday/Sunday. In the US most people go for 1 week
(Saturday-Saturday). And the first place all kids want to go is the Magic Kingdom. So it is
mobbed on those days. Also figure that since it is the weekend, you get a larger number
of Florida residents visiting the parks too.

- Wx

[ND66]

Disney will allow you to bring sandwiches and I think water bottles into the parks in your bags,
but not juice boxes (you can have the boxes but not the straws).



- Wx

Only to the Animal Kingdom Park.

The following are not allowed to be brought into the Disney Theme Parks:

Items with wheels, such as wagons, skateboards, scooters, inline skates, shoes with built-in wheels, two-wheeled or three-wheeled conveyances, strollers larger than 36" x 52", suitcases, coolers, or backpacks with or without wheels larger than 24" long x 15" wide x 18" high (coolers required for medication may be stored in a locker or at Guest Relations), and any trailer-like object that is pushed or towed by an ECV wheelchair or stroller

Alcoholic beverages

Weapons of any kind

Folding chairs

Glass containers (excluding baby food jars and perfume bottles)

Pets (unless they are service animals)

In Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park (for the safety of the wildlife), balloons, straws and drink lids are not permitted. Note: they now have biodegradable paper straws.

The whole list of do, don't and more is here:

Walt Disney World Planning Guides


And since it's going to be a hot one:

Cooler Policy

Theme Parks:

Full size coolers whether with or without wheels are not permitted
Coolers smaller than 24"L x 15"W x 18"H (the size of the large lockers) are allowed
Neither glass or alcoholic beverages are permitted

Water Parks:

Coolers are permitted, including those with wheels
Neither glass or alcoholic beverages are allowed
No cooler storage is available
Wagons are not permitted

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[cjolley]

Also, their camp sites are (were?) wonderful and relatively cheap.
Same benefits as all the other on-site resorts.
Only applies if you like camping of course.

They are (were?) on crushed seashell bases that simply let the daily rain drain through.
It rained every day in the afternoon and the campsites stayed dry.

PS I agree with the others who said stay on-site and skip the car for that part of the trip.
Using a car there would seriously slow you down compared to Disney transportation.

PS we stayed the second week in May 1986