Topic: Disney Theme Parks

[stewil007]

We are thinking of going in a few years time, my daughter will be 18, my son will be 13 and my youngest will be about 4.

Going to be in the summer holidays, probably no way around it. For 2 weeks.

What sort of budget am I going to have to find to fund this sort of trip - not sure even what parks to go to and what to avoid.

Its a nightmare trying to think about all the options and what to give a wide berthetc.

So any beginners guide would be nice

[Nobby Reserve]

We are thinking of going in a few years time, my daughter will be 18, my son will be 13 and my youngest will be about 4.

Going to be in the summer holidays, probably no way around it. For 2 weeks.

What sort of budget am I going to have to find to fund this sort of trip - not sure even what parks to go to and what to avoid.

Its a nightmare trying to think about all the options and what to give a wide berthetc.

So any beginners guide would be nice

This is a good site that tells you when the parks are busiest. This link is for Universal, but mooch about and it'll show all parks. In short, avoid June & July, along with the first half of August unless you fancy mega-queues.

https://orlandoinformer.com/universal/crowd-calendar/?month=aug&yr=2019#crowdCalendar


For 5 of you at those ages, you're likely talking £3k flights & car. A good villa can be got for about £800/week if you're ok being a little away from the bustle. Don't know about hotels.

Parks are stupidly pricey.

With spending cash, I'd go north of £7k for a fortnight.

https://orlandoinformer.com/universal/crowd-calendar/?month=aug&yr=2019#crowdCalendar

[Jookie]

We are thinking of going in a few years time, my daughter will be 18, my son will be 13 and my youngest will be about 4.

Going to be in the summer holidays, probably no way around it. For 2 weeks.

What sort of budget am I going to have to find to fund this sort of trip - not sure even what parks to go to and what to avoid.

Its a nightmare trying to think about all the options and what to give a wide berthetc.

So any beginners guide would be nice

I'm sure it's been said in here before but you need to do your prep before going. Work out exactly what you want to do park wise before you book anything to do with the holiday. Once you've done that have an idea what you want to do each day and potentially book restaurants and 'Fast-Pass' rides months in advance of going.

In terms of budget, I reckon you are talking 8k at the very least for 5 people for a fortnight. Depends also if you are going in a school holiday or not. That would probably include reasonably priced flights (3-4k), car hire (0.5k), park tickets (1-2k) and a villa (1.5-2k) not necessarily right by the park. That might be a bit tight of spending money though.

If you want to stay at Disney then it could be more. I booked about 10-12 months in advance and got free food. Saved me about 1k at least. Think I spent 10 days at Disney and a week elsewhere and it cost about 10-11k without spending money included. Staying at Disney was amazing though. Being able to get in the park early was brilliant for getting on rides.

I thought Orlando was an amazing holdiay with kids. But if you don't plan it could be really frustrating waiting hours in queues for rides. We spent hours planning stuff and when we got there we were sorted. No problem for food since tables were booked. Got on at least 10-12 rides/shows a day and probably only stayed on the parks for about 7-8 hours a day due to my kids age.

[AndyMuller]

Has the Disney Dining Plan been scrapped completely?

I'm going in a few weeks and staying in Cabana Bay and not doing Disney but last time that I checked the Dine Plan had been scrapped which is a shame.

[Jookie]

Has the Disney Dining Plan been scrapped completely?

I'm going in a few weeks and staying in Cabana Bay and not doing Disney but last time that I checked the Dine Plan had been scrapped which is a shame.

Don't think so. You can still book it on Disney's website if you are booking accommodation on the park.

There's a 3 tiered dining plan. The mid-one is probably the best and costs about £2000 for 2 weeks for 4 people. I got it free when I went a few years ago. Think I got the mid plan free at the time because I was booked into 'club level' at Animal Lodge, which is designated as a Disney Deluxe Resort. Got 'free' alcohol in the hotel as well. Pretty much didn't spend a penny on food and drink for the 10 days I was there.

[owens_2k]

Whats the cheapest way to book this for a family then? Gonna go down the Villa route and just hire a car. So many options though!

[rob1966]

We are thinking of going in a few years time, my daughter will be 18, my son will be 13 and my youngest will be about 4.

Going to be in the summer holidays, probably no way around it. For 2 weeks.

What sort of budget am I going to have to find to fund this sort of trip - not sure even what parks to go to and what to avoid.

Its a nightmare trying to think about all the options and what to give a wide berthetc.

So any beginners guide would be nice

We got back last week from Florida, 8 of us went. Went with Virgin Holidays. Including spends it cost us £7k for 2 adults and 2 kids. Direct flight into MCO airport from Manchester, stayed at the Enclave suites, just off International drive - great location for the non disney parks. The hotel was great, 2 bedroom suites. Parks wise we did Universal/Islands of adventure, Volcano Bay, Seaworld, Discovery Cove (the kids swam with Dolphins) and Busch Gardens. We could have done Aquatica as that was included in the tickets, but were knackered after the CL Final.

Universal/Islands of adventure and Volcano Bay all fall under one set of tickets and if you book Discovery Cove (its a day at Seaworlds all inclusive resort), you get Seaworld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens as well. Park tickets in total cost about £1600, but it is unlimited access. We were told by someone while there that if you buy a 12 month pass instead for each park, it works out cheaper - I'm going to look into that for next time.

Aquatica was a bit run down when we went in 2017, but they have spent money since. Universal/Islands/Seaworld/Volcano Bay and Busch all have to be done, the coasters are brilliant at each resort. Look at you tube for Manta, Kraken, Mako, Rip Ride Rockit, Hulk, Tigris, Falcons Fury to get an idea of how good they are.

We either walked or got the I trolley to get to the parks, hired 2 cars to go to Busch. Her sister had book a Mustang for 3 days, that cost about £260 all in, I paid £80 for a Nissan Altima for the day.

Avoid the end of May, it is when the US schools break up and memorial day weekend. The parks are packed with schoolkids and the queues hit an hour very quickly. Temps were mad too, over 40c/100f at times. Hurricane season starts on the 1st June.

We honeymooned there in Sept/Oct 2007, still mids 30's, but a hell of a lot quieter, didn't have to queue for rides at all.

[Frank Becton]

Best time to go is April if you miss Easter and early October for a good balance of nice weather and low-ish crowds, though I don't think you can say it's quiet there anymore.

[Frank Becton]

We are thinking of going in a few years time, my daughter will be 18, my son will be 13 and my youngest will be about 4.

Going to be in the summer holidays, probably no way around it. For 2 weeks.

What sort of budget am I going to have to find to fund this sort of trip - not sure even what parks to go to and what to avoid.

Its a nightmare trying to think about all the options and what to give a wide berthetc.

So any beginners guide would be nice

Been lucky to go over a dozen times and the simple best advice is not to try and overdo it, you will struggle in the heat to try and cram everything in so have a think at what are the must do's.
Do some research on the parks - there is a great forum called https://www.thedibb.co.uk/ I can recommend.
If you try and do WDW, Sea World, Universal and the water parks that is just too much in my opinion. You will be rushing around all the time and a lot of the enjoyment will be lost. Plus frankly doing that in the heat of summer when it's going to be very busy would be exhausting.

There are loads of good guides for the parks on youtube so speak with your family about the parks, rides they favour.
Getting to the parks early in summer is vital as you miss the worst of the heat and crowds, plan in rest days also.
I know it sounds like an assault course but at least you will be ready for it.
Magic Kingdom and EPCOT are the most popular, and best, parks at WDW I can highly recommend them, you just need to think whether you want to do WDW and Universal also, as I say it will be crowded and hot so it's important not to try and do too much.

We always rent a private villa as it means we can relax when we want to, have a car to get around easier and if you stay in Kissimmee you are close to everything also.
Booking flghts, tickets etc separately can save money.

https://www.attraction-tickets-direct.co.uk/ is a good guide at prices for the parks

Will you be renting a car?

[owens_2k]

You get good value staying in a Disney Hotel but I dont think I would be able to cope on the non park days being cooped up in a little room with my Mrs and 3 kids (13, 10 and 6). So a villa I think will be ideal.

Does anyone know what the dining plan is like for people with allergies? My 10 year old has coeliac so has to stick to a gluten free diet.

[Frank Becton]

You get good value staying in a Disney Hotel but I dont think I would be able to cope on the non park days being cooped up in a little room with my Mrs and 3 kids (13, 10 and 6). So a villa I think will be ideal.

Does anyone know what the dining plan is like for people with allergies? My 10 year old has coeliac so has to stick to a gluten free diet.

Any use?

https://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-world/dining/dietary-needs-food-allergies.htm
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_GB/guest-services/special-dietary-requests/

[owens_2k]

Any use?

https://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-world/dining/dietary-needs-food-allergies.htm
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_GB/guest-services/special-dietary-requests/

Thanks. I have seen that online but I usually like to take peoples first hand accounts because what they publish on their website and what they actually do are always different. I lived in Florida for 6 months and actually used to work for Disney at the Carribbean Beach Resort but i've forgotton pretty much everything!

Has anyone stayed in the Disney hotels with kids before? Or are villas defo the best way?

[Frank Becton]

Thanks. I have seen that online but I usually like to take peoples first hand accounts because what they publish on their website and what they actually do are always different. I lived in Florida for 6 months and actually used to work for Disney at the Carribbean Beach Resort but i've forgotton pretty much everything!

Has anyone stayed in the Disney hotels with kids before? Or are villas defo the best way?

A villa holiday is completely different, you must have a car, you get that extra room, privacy, your own pool and for us it makes it far easier overall.
Especially if you just don't want to do Disney and want that flexibility to relax a little also. They are often located within reach of all the parks anyway.

Obviously if you don't want to drive a Disney hotel has the location factor and being onsite as it were the transportation system is there to take you everywhere you want to go, however if you want to spread your wings outside of Disney it's obviously better to have your own car.

If you are just 'doing Disney' and not bothered about much else then a Disney hotel is great, personally we do more than that and like that extra room a villa provides.
No right or wrong way just what suits you best.

[tubby]

We stayed in a hotel close to Universal and they offered free shuttles to all the parks a few times a day, I assume most hotels do similar.  Took about 30-45 minutes to get to the Disney parks so it was fine.

[owens_2k]

A villa holiday is completely different, you must have a car, you get that extra room, privacy, your own pool and for us it makes it far easier overall.
Especially if you just don't want to do Disney and want that flexibility to relax a little also. They are often located within reach of all the parks anyway.

Obviously if you don't want to drive a Disney hotel has the location factor and being onsite as it were the transportation system is there to take you everywhere you want to go, however if you want to spread your wings outside of Disney it's obviously better to have your own car.

If you are just 'doing Disney' and not bothered about much else then a Disney hotel is great, personally we do more than that and like that extra room a villa provides.
No right or wrong way just what suits you best.

I would go crazy if it was just Disney! Got to do the space center, busch gardens, universal etc so I think a villa is the best way to go. Now just to find one cheap enough.

[rob1966]

I would go crazy if it was just Disney! Got to do the space center, busch gardens, universal etc so I think a villa is the best way to go. Now just to find one cheap enough.

Do you really need a Villa if you are intending to do all that? You might better off staying in a hotel on International Drive if you aren't going to be in the place that much. We are quite active anyway, so we were happy to walk to Universal, pay $10 for a cab back to the hotel and use the I trolley buses to get to Seaworld and to the area around the Orlando Eye of a night and then walk back. The hotels also do park shuttles. We only used the cars to get to Busch as it meant staying until 7pm, we wanted the freedom to leave when we were ready.

[owens_2k]

Do you really need a Villa if you are intending to do all that? You might better off staying in a hotel on International Drive if you aren't going to be in the place that much. We are quite active anyway, so we were happy to walk to Universal, pay $10 for a cab back to the hotel and use the I trolley buses to get to Seaworld and to the area around the Orlando Eye of a night and then walk back. The hotels also do park shuttles. We only used the cars to get to Busch as it meant staying until 7pm, we wanted the freedom to leave when we were ready.

Well I imagine we'll have days where we won't go to any parks and we'll just chill in the villa. I might even mix it up and stay at Disney for a week then a Villa for a week+. As most have said in this thread a lot of this is going to be about planning.

[Frank Becton]

Well I imagine we'll have days where we won't go to any parks and we'll just chill in the villa. I might even mix it up and stay at Disney for a week then a Villa for a week+. As most have said in this thread a lot of this is going to be about planning.

If you stay in a villa in Kissimmee just off the 192, near Formosa Gardens area, you are just a few minutes drive from Disney and Universal is easily reached too.

Having a car gives you so much more freedom.

I think especially if you have children, a villa is best. As ever though do what suits you.

[Nobby Reserve]

Just be aware that there's car park charges. For Universal it was $12 a day iirc

[CHOPPER]

If you decide to use the public transport on I-drive, don't what ever you do, use the Iride-trolley, its full of fucking English.


Get the local bus. A much more polite and civil ride.

[owens_2k]

Are these deals any good? There so much info to consume!

[Jm55]

Going on November 6th, can’t wait (well I’m going to Orlando and staying the Universal end of iDrive but I can’t see a general Orlando threa.)

I’ve been a few times before, love both resorts, in personally more of a Universal fan as I don’t have kids and prefer the parks, plus they’re usually quieter.

This will be my 7th time (I’m a bit of a theme park geek, it’s a real passion of mine,) so if anyone has any questions then let me know as they’ll be a decent chance I’ll be able to answer them.

[CHOPPER]

Mister, who was the fattest person you've ever seen at Florida?

[tubby]

Mister, who was the fattest person you've ever seen at Florida?

I saw a whole bunch of proper lardos when I went in May, unfeasibly large people.  They had to walk one leg around the other.  Loads of mobility scooters too, and weirdly there were kids around 6/7 years old getting pushed around in prams.  It's a whole other world.

[Jm55]

Mister, who was the fattest person you've ever seen at Florida?

Can’t  possibly answer that one.

[rob1966]

I saw a whole bunch of proper lardos when I went in May, unfeasibly large people.  They had to walk one leg around the other.  Loads of mobility scooters too, and weirdly there were kids around 6/7 years old getting pushed around in prams.  It's a whole other world.

Saw one in 2017 on a scooter, her arse cheeks were almost dragging on the ground - utter fat twat.

Going on November 6th, can’t wait (well I’m going to Orlando and staying the Universal end of iDrive but I can’t see a general Orlando threa.)

I’ve been a few times before, love both resorts, in personally more of a Universal fan as I don’t have kids and prefer the parks, plus they’re usually quieter.

This will be my 7th time (I’m a bit of a theme park geek, it’s a real passion of mine,) so if anyone has any questions then let me know as they’ll be a decent chance I’ll be able to answer them.

Make sure you go across to Busch and do the Tigris.

[owens_2k]

Can anyone recommend a decent website for finding a Villa in Kissimmee?

[neilmc74]

Last time we went to Orlando we used holidayhomes.co.uk  We stayed at this one  - https://www.vrbo.com/en-gb/p338196?adultsCount=2&arrival=2023-09-10&departure=2023-09-17&uni_id=3128609  great location handy to Kissimmee and the parks etc and a decent sized Target very nearby.  The owner of the villa was great - excellent comms with him.  We discovered dad had left his new hoodie in his wardrobe in the haste to get to the airport and the owner got it sent to us a few days later.

[Nobby Reserve]

Mister, who was the fattest person you've ever seen at Florida?

We'd been on the Jurassic Park ride at Universal earlier in our stay but decided to go on again on our last Universal day. Queues were way longer, and it was sweltering. The first time, we'd sat 4 of us across (each row takes up to 5) which was great. Second time, they were squeezing people on to fill all 5 spaces. We initially sat spread across the row with me and the wife either side of the girls but the attendant asked us to budge up a bit. We did, and this enormous fat c*nt wobbled forward towards us and slowly lowered himself into the 'boat' next to me. He must have weighed about 25 stone and was dripping with sweat.

The safety bar came down and stopped at his huge gut. It stopped a good half foot away from me, even further away from my kids, who could barely reach it to grab. The bloke turned to me and gave a goofy "Huh, sorry!" My youngest (9 at the time) was next to me and, although the ride is pretty sedate in the main, we knew from riding it previously that there was the drop at the end. I spent the entire ride clinging onto my little one so she wouldn't fall out.

[owens_2k]

Last time we went to Orlando we used holidayhomes.co.uk  We stayed at this one  - https://www.vrbo.com/en-gb/p338196?adultsCount=2&arrival=2023-09-10&departure=2023-09-17&uni_id=3128609  great location handy to Kissimmee and the parks etc and a decent sized Target very nearby.  The owner of the villa was great - excellent comms with him.  We discovered dad had left his new hoodie in his wardrobe in the haste to get to the airport and the owner got it sent to us a few days later.

Thanks mate!

[owens_2k]

Did anyone ever book a disney hotel through a third party like Trivago?

The resort I want is not available on my dates on the Disney website but on Trivago it is. Not sure if it would be an issue booking the room through one company and the tickets through Disney as I know the room cards double up as theme park tickets too.

Strange how its available on Trivago but not their own website.