Disney Vacation (5 Viewers)

[Osaurus]

I wanted to mention in here that Mission: Space was perhaps the most intense and amazing experience I've ever had at a theme park. It is NOT to be missed. Do not opt for the non-moving version. That said, take precautions. Don't eat right before you go. Look STRAIGHT ahead during flight. It wil eff you up if you look around. MY 8-year old was sitting next to me in the mission commander's seat and I was a little worried for him so I eyeballed over to him and wow, just trust me. Look ahead.

I've honestly never said to myself during a ride "uh oh, maybe this wasn't such a great idea", but I did in Mission:Space. That said it was a damn awesome experience.

Also not to be missed at Epcot is Soarin. Wow, people have been brought to tears at how beautiful that experience is. Not me, of course, because I'm a manly man, but others have, so I hear.

Mission Space messed me up...I had to sit for a half hour afterwards.

They toned the ride down a couple of years ago after people were dropping like flies on it. Now it seems pretty boring.....although I am glad Lt. Dan is there to send us off. I go out of my way to move my ahead around durng the ride as it makes the feeling more intense. Last time I went on it, I got out on one side of the ride and there was this kid holding his mouth with both hands and frantically looking for the exit. Classic! I wish I could have experienced it when it first opened. I really like the GM Test Track too!ETA: The Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios is also pretty fun (the last part of it anyway)

 

[Modog814]

Yes, fastpass is greatness. Don't pay attention to the end of the "window" for you using the fastpass. If it says 11:30-12:30 it's actually good from 11:30 until park close. And once it hits 11:30 you can get a fastpass for another ride.

Out last 2 trips, EPCOT would not honor this anymore. Last trip, Animal Kingdom wouldn't. Not sure if it was parkwide or just the cast members we dealt with but based on what I've read on some disney boards, it seems they are beginning to enforce this time frame more.

Wow. That sucks. When was this? We were there in Feb and never had a problem at any of the parks.

early June.

I was there in mid october and they let us use them past the expiration time. In fact, I asked several cast members if I was allowed to and they all said yes, as long as it past the "Begin" time. I believe it really depends on what cast member you go to, newer cast members tend to enforce it more, but if they won't let you on, just go on something else and try again later. It might also depend on how crowded it is. During a busy time they might be more apt to enforce the time frame. If you're concerned about this, ask when you get the fast passes and then plan accordingly.

 

[snogger]

- We ate at the following "table service" places and can give reviews as requested:Whispering Canyon Cafe - Amazing Fun, quality food served Chuckwagon style

We are heading down next week and I heard this place was great, do you need to make ressies to get a table there?

It would be a good idea as it gets busy.We stayed at the Wilderness when we went and that place was pretty well packed each and every night. One warning.. do NOT go there thinking you can just relax and have a good meal. It's about the entertainment and fun and if you act like a "bump on a log" they will get you involved. There was a Birthday for a 20 year old girl there and the Boyfriend was just sitting there while the rest of her family sang Happy birthday. So the Waitress grabbed a Microphone and had the rest of us basically corner him into walking around the lobby of the hotel singing Happy Birthday to her alone. Absolutely for all of us and a / moment for him.

 

[The Flying Turtle]

- We ate at the following "table service" places and can give reviews as requested:Whispering Canyon Cafe - Amazing Fun, quality food served Chuckwagon style

We are heading down next week and I heard this place was great, do you need to make ressies to get a table there?

Yes and it is most likely too late. However, they always have late cancellations.

 

[Godsbrother]

- We ate at the following "table service" places and can give reviews as requested:Whispering Canyon Cafe - Amazing Fun, quality food served Chuckwagon style

We are heading down next week and I heard this place was great, do you need to make ressies to get a table there?

It is a lot of fun and the food is good too. You should get reservations for pretty much all sit-down restaurants at WDW as early as possible.

 

[GreekFreak]

- We ate at the following "table service" places and can give reviews as requested:Whispering Canyon Cafe - Amazing Fun, quality food served Chuckwagon style

We are heading down next week and I heard this place was great, do you need to make ressies to get a table there?

It is a lot of fun and the food is good too. You should get reservations for pretty much all sit-down restaurants at WDW as early as possible.

This was a last minute trip we booked a few weeks ago. I called earlier for some ressies and everything was booked. All I have so far is Princess Breakfast at the Norway restaurant.

 

[Native]

Can someone please explain the different meal plan options that are available for families? How do they work?

 

[FFchamps01]

All I have so far is Princess Breakfast at the Norway restaurant.

We did the Princess Breakfast back in June. Overall, we were a bit disappointed. For what we paid, the food was meh...and time with princesses was limited to a quick stop and photo. Not really sure what we expected, but we would not do it again. We did have dinner at the Grand Floridian (Cinderella's Gala Feast), and this was much better. The character interaction was great, and my girls had a blast. Still pricey, but for dinner it's justifiable. Probably too late to get reservations, but I suppose you never know.

 

[Archie Bunker]

Can someone please explain the different meal plan options that are available for families? How do they work?

The basic meal plan is the way to go. You get one counter service meal, one sit down meal, and one snack per person per day. The counter service meal usually includes a sandwich or salad, dessert, and a drink. The sit down includes main course, dessert, and non alcoholic drinks. It used to include appetizer & tip, but no more. Even so, it is a tremendous bargain if you are staying at a Disney Resort and plan on eating most of your meals there. Some tricks:* For sit down meals, 9 & under must order off kids menu* For counter service, kids are supposed to order off kids menu, but Disney does not differentiate between kids & adult meals on the meal allotment they put on your card. You could order just adult meals if you want* The counter service meals are pretty big. If you have 4 people eating, you could potnetially spread out the value of your counter service credits by using two for breakfast & two for lunch. One breakfast was more than enough for me to share with my wife or one of my kids.* At the better restaurants, smoothies are included with the dining plan. At the steakhouse in Canada at Epcot and the Coral Reef, my kids got smoothies. Some of the cheaper restaurants did not include them. Don't ask me why.* The snacks now include things like smoothies, ice cream floats, and pretzels. Before, these were not part of the dining plan. Save your snakcs for this stuff and pay cash for things like soda & bottled water. * The plan can be used at many of the restaurants at Downtown Disney.Some of my favorite food* The steakhouse in Canada. The best restaurant that requires only 1 sit down credit. Artisan's Point at Wildness Lodge is better, but you have to use two sit down credits to eat there* If you're into buffet, the Clam Bake at the Yacht Club is good. The buffet at Hollywood & Vine at Hollywood Studios sucks. Stay away from that one.* The quick service restaurant between Liberty Square & Fantasy Land is good. Decent tuna sandwich, fried fish, not just nasty burgers. Same thing for restaurant between Pirates of the Caribbean & Splash Mountain* The Pineapple floats across from The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse are awesome. Great use of a snack credit. Pineapple Juice and Pineapple soft serve. * Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney. Great Holiday Sandwich. Hot turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy in a grilled sandwich. A lilttle light on the amount of turkey, but still really good.

 

[tdog]

Disney has a promotion "buy 4 nights get 3 free." 7 nights of hotel and park passess for the price of 4. I thought the deal excluded all the times I could go around the kids' school but if you arrive at anytime in that first week after most schools are out (around June 19), your whole stay is including in the deal. I think you have to arrive prior to June 25. Must book by December 20.

Spending one week at the Wilderness Lodge plus the dining plan for 3300 (2 adults, 2 kids under 10).

 

[snogger]

Getting close to the time to start planning my family's 2nd trip. We are taking our Daughter back down in December 2009 for her golden birthday.

We stayed at the Wilderness last time, and if I had it my way we'd stay there again.

But the wife wants to stay at: Grand Flordian so that we can view The Magic Kingdom from the shorelines.

Since the travel agent last year worked out great we are going to reuse them: themagicforless

 

[snogger]

Never too early to start planning

Already contacted the magic for less to start getting an idea on how many it is going to cost.

Think we are going to go down for 6 days and 7 nights this time. Did 5 nights and 4 days last time it was not enough.

Looks like we will be going down December 5th-12th so that we are there on the 11th for our Daughters "Golden" birthday.

Tentative plans are:

2 days at MK

1 day at Hollywood studios, or whatever they call it now

1 day at Epcot

With one of the other two days we plan on spending half a day at Animal Kingdom mainly to get over to the "Asia" side of the park which we never got to last time and do some resort hopping or just relaxing at our own resort(Wilderness again )

The other day will be for Downtown Disney and either the Resort hopping or relaxing at our own depending on what we didn't do the other day.

So, as I wait on our travel agent to get back to us, it is time to start looking/planning our Dinner places for each park ..

 

[Godsbrother]

Getting close to the time to start planning my family's 2nd trip. We are taking our Daughter back down in December 2009 for her golden birthday.

We stayed at the Wilderness last time, and if I had it my way we'd stay there again.

But the wife wants to stay at: Grand Flordian so that we can view The Magic Kingdom from the shorelines.

Since the travel agent last year worked out great we are going to reuse them: themagicforless

You should also consider the Polynesian. Great view of the MK from the beach and the only resort where you have direct access to both the MK and EPCOT monorails.

 

[GreekFreak]

- We ate at the following "table service" places and can give reviews as requested:Whispering Canyon Cafe - Amazing Fun, quality food served Chuckwagon style

We are heading down next week and I heard this place was great, do you need to make ressies to get a table there?

It would be a good idea as it gets busy.We stayed at the Wilderness when we went and that place was pretty well packed each and every night. One warning.. do NOT go there thinking you can just relax and have a good meal. It's about the entertainment and fun and if you act like a "bump on a log" they will get you involved. There was a Birthday for a 20 year old girl there and the Boyfriend was just sitting there while the rest of her family sang Happy birthday. So the Waitress grabbed a Microphone and had the rest of us basically corner him into walking around the lobby of the hotel singing Happy Birthday to her alone. Absolutely for all of us and a / moment for him.

We went down Nov 18th-23rd.We got to eat at any place we wanted with no reservations. The parks were eerily dead.Longest line was 45 minutes to see the Fairies at Toontown.

 

[Osaurus]

Never too early to start planning

Already contacted the magic for less to start getting an idea on how many it is going to cost.

Think we are going to go down for 6 days and 7 nights this time. Did 5 nights and 4 days last time it was not enough.

Looks like we will be going down December 5th-12th so that we are there on the 11th for our Daughters "Golden" birthday.

Tentative plans are:

2 days at MK

1 day at Hollywood studios, or whatever they call it now

1 day at Epcot

With one of the other two days we plan on spending half a day at Animal Kingdom mainly to get over to the "Asia" side of the park which we never got to last time and do some resort hopping or just relaxing at our own resort(Wilderness again )

The other day will be for Downtown Disney and either the Resort hopping or relaxing at our own depending on what we didn't do the other day.

So, as I wait on our travel agent to get back to us, it is time to start looking/planning our Dinner places for each park ..

The Brown Derby is

 

[snogger]

Getting close to the time to start planning my family's 2nd trip. We are taking our Daughter back down in December 2009 for her golden birthday.

We stayed at the Wilderness last time, and if I had it my way we'd stay there again.

But the wife wants to stay at: Grand Flordian so that we can view The Magic Kingdom from the shorelines.

Since the travel agent last year worked out great we are going to reuse them: themagicforless

You should also consider the Polynesian. Great view of the MK from the beach and the only resort where you have direct access to both the MK and EPCOT monorails.

Yea, we considered that.. But the price is about $100 more per night at the Poly compared to the Wilderness so we are going to go back there and do some resort hopping on one day to visit the other ones.

 

[saintsfan]

Disney has a promotion "buy 4 nights get 3 free." 7 nights of hotel and park passess for the price of 4. I thought the deal excluded all the times I could go around the kids' school but if you arrive at anytime in that first week after most schools are out (around June 19), your whole stay is including in the deal. I think you have to arrive prior to June 25. Must book by December 20.Spending one week at the Wilderness Lodge plus the dining plan for 3300 (2 adults, 2 kids under 10).

I'm taking my family over Mardi Gras this year for this deal. Unbelievable deal and I was able to get breakfast at Cinderella's Castle. PLUS, they give you a $200 Gift Card.

 

[snogger]

Disney has a promotion "buy 4 nights get 3 free." 7 nights of hotel and park passess for the price of 4. I thought the deal excluded all the times I could go around the kids' school but if you arrive at anytime in that first week after most schools are out (around June 19), your whole stay is including in the deal. I think you have to arrive prior to June 25. Must book by December 20.Spending one week at the Wilderness Lodge plus the dining plan for 3300 (2 adults, 2 kids under 10).

I'm taking my family over Mardi Gras this year for this deal. Unbelievable deal and I was able to get breakfast at Cinderella's Castle. PLUS, they give you a $200 Gift Card.

:finger:Hopefully between now and December a GREAT deal like this will come up. The nice thing about going through The Magic for less is any deals that show up between the time we book and the time we leave they will automatically add to our package. Saved us about $300 last year.

 

[saintsfan]

Disney has a promotion "buy 4 nights get 3 free." 7 nights of hotel and park passess for the price of 4. I thought the deal excluded all the times I could go around the kids' school but if you arrive at anytime in that first week after most schools are out (around June 19), your whole stay is including in the deal. I think you have to arrive prior to June 25. Must book by December 20.Spending one week at the Wilderness Lodge plus the dining plan for 3300 (2 adults, 2 kids under 10).

I'm taking my family over Mardi Gras this year for this deal. Unbelievable deal and I was able to get breakfast at Cinderella's Castle. PLUS, they give you a $200 Gift Card.

:finger:Hopefully between now and December a GREAT deal like this will come up. The nice thing about going through The Magic for less is any deals that show up between the time we book and the time we leave they will automatically add to our package. Saved us about $300 last year.

Mardi Gras is not necessarily a slow time of the year, either. I think it's the economy. For example, usually, you can't get Cinderella's Castle unless you call 6 months in advance. I was able to get it when I booked about a month ago. They had several days available.I wish my daughter was a better student, because if she was, I'd pull her out of school in early November or early December. That's supposed to be a GREAT time to go.

 

[Morton Muffley]

Never too early to start planning

Already contacted the magic for less to start getting an idea on how many it is going to cost.

Think we are going to go down for 6 days and 7 nights this time. Did 5 nights and 4 days last time it was not enough.

Looks like we will be going down December 5th-12th so that we are there on the 11th for our Daughters "Golden" birthday.

If you want to save some $, try staying at a Disney Vacation Club Villa (e.g., Wilderness Lodge). A studio (like a hotel room) will cost you about $1000 for the time period you are going if you rent directly from a DVC member. Check out this site for rentals dvc rental board. FYI, rentals can be had for around $10 per point and a Wilderness Lodge studio will cost you 104 points for the dates you are travelling (200 points for a one bedroom). And no sales tax!

 

[swidman]

Got a great WDW vacation package on Christmas day. First, my wife surfing the net for airfare and found one through American Airlines for $120 round trip from O'Hare during our daughter's spring break. It was one of those non-refundable economy super saver tickets. I was hesitant about booking the air as non-refundable. So we called WDW and talked to the CSR about hotel and perhaps booking the air as well.

We got the Magic Your Way deal (4 nights and 3 for free), staying at POFQ with tix (plus hopper) and air for only $1700 (w/cancellation insurance). When I asked about the flight to and from Orlando the times were the same as the AA flight my wife found in the morning. I asked about the chance we need to cancel, would the airfare also be refunded. As long as you get their cancellation insurance, you get everything refunded (except for the insurance).

So, we are booked for the last week in March and I feel like I just stole money from the cookie jar with this type of price during spring break.

 

[Al Czervik]

I'm long over due for my trip report from back in November. But on a cold winter day, back at work after the holidays, it will be good therapy to remember our trip...

Everything went great, a lot thanks to this thread.

Our family (son 7 years old and daughter 5 years old) stayed at The Yacht Club resort and did the dining plan (6 days/7 nights). The Yacht Club had the best pool of any resort I have ever stayed at... just awesome. The kids (and parents) loved it. The beds in the room were comfortable, and that's about all we needed. The location was great as we could walk to Epcot and take the boat to Hollywood Studios.

Following is what we did. Please note that my kids are younger and scare easily, so rides with a lot of motion or "scary darkness" were out of the picture.

Parks -

Epcot - Went to Epcot the first day and did just the "rides" area. Went back for an evening dinner and did the World Showcase a separate day. My 5 year old daughter loved the Finding Nemo ride (as we rode it 5-6 times). The very first thing we did was go to the character place at Epcot. Kids got their autographs and pics with all the majors (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Goofy), so we were in pretty good shape for the remainder of the trip. Kids also liked Spaceship Earth and GM Test Track.

Hollywood Studios - The new Toy Story ride here is a must see. Best ride we went on the whole time. We got Fastpasses for the ride around 10am to return at about 2pm. This ride was so good that we went back later in the week (waited in line for 50 minutes that time). My son (and me) also liked the Star Wars Jedi Academy performance and Indiana Jones Stunt Show. The Muppet Show Theatre and the High School Musical street show were also a hit. However, I thought the back lot tour was boring and not worth the time.

Magic Kingdom - Hit all the favorites here which included Buzz Lightyear's Spaceranger Spin (fun ride and not very crowded), Mickey's Philharmonic (love these 3D interactive shows), It's a Small World (man does that look dated), and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Animal Kingdom - We were able to clear Animal Kingdom in a half day. Did the big safari ride which as cool and I did a single rider (front car) for Expedition Everest. Very intense ride!

Dining - We went for the fun for the kids places. Food was outstanding at every place.

Coral Reef - great seafood and very cool view of the large tank. Cool to see fish, sharks, rays and sea turtles swimming around while you eat. There were also divers in the tank (I guess you can pay to go for a dive in the tank -- we were told the wet suits covering the whole leg were the Disney divers and the short wet suits were the tourists).

Sci-Fi Drive-in - again, very good food. Loved the atmosphere and the movies were hilarious.

Prime Time Cafe - great food and the decor was well done (very funny for those who were kids in the 70's). Our server "Aunt Cindy" played the role perfectly.

Princess Breakfast at the Castle - great experience for our daughter (and our son liked it too because he got a sword). I heard before hand that the food was not good, but I thought it was a good breakfast. All the princesses came around for autographs and pics. Good thing to do at least once with a young daughter. PS; Cinderella was hot.

Crystal Palace Buffet - Pooh and his friends (even though Pooh never made it around to our table). Good way to eat with characters without having to sacrifice two table services. The food was very good for a buffet.

Le Cellier - came highly recommended and lived up to it's billing. Very good steakhouse. This was for mom and dad... awesome food.

Whispering Canyon Cafe - I added this to the list based on this thread. The food here was awesome (BBQ) and the atmosphere was very fun for the kids. This was actually my wife's favorite meal... she asked me how I found the place (I gave full credit to my Football Friends). And to top it off, we went out to the beach at the Wilderness Lodge after dinner and watched the Space Shuttle launch... amazing sight.

Flaming Tree - Adding this as a bonus. This was a counter service lunch at Animal Kingdom that was recommended by some in this thread. Great BBQ sandwich... best counter service lunch the whole trip.

That's it for now. I'm sure I forgot something. Thanks again to this thread for helping put together an awesome trip.

 

[Team]

Just booked our 2nd Disney Vacation Club trip. Took numerous phone calls, but I was finally able to get 7 nights in a 2 bedroom lockoff at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge in late May/early June. My pops is tagging along and I thought he'd love the theme of the place. Haven't made any dining plans yet, but Ohana, as always, will definitely be on the list.

 

[chet]

Thinking of taking the family down the weekend of Feb 6-8. How do I find out if this is a crazy busy or "pride" weekend?

 

[Fishboy]

saving for later. Just booked the airline for 2/25 - 3/3.

Need to find hotel & tickets yet. Will most likely be looking to stay at one of the value resorts, as we'll probably be only in the room for sleeping.

 

[snogger]

Thinking of taking the family down the weekend of Feb 6-8. How do I find out if this is a crazy busy or "pride" weekend?

Disney event calendar

 

[swidman]

Thinking of picking up the PassPorter's book this weekend. Already have the 2009 edition of the Unofficial Guide to WDW. Been receiving some documents from Disney concerning our trip. One was the DVD about the parks and hotels, etc. The other was a reminder mailing about our resort and the amenities we will have while there.

March 20th can't come soon enough. Though it's only been in the 50's in the Orlando area the past few days. Still anything over 32 degrees is fine with me this time of year.

 

[Broncoholic]

Booked our trip for 13 Feb to 22 Feb. Getting excited. I'm doing things on the cheap. I'm renting a 3bd/2ba condo (Windsor Palms) for $69/night. I rented a minivan for $199/week from Dollar, and got my Disney and Seaworld tickets on base (saved about 200 bucks).

Disney experts....What am I missing or doing totally wrong?

 

[swidman]

Booked our trip for 13 Feb to 22 Feb. Getting excited. I'm doing things on the cheap. I'm renting a 3bd/2ba condo (Windsor Palms) for $69/night. I rented a minivan for $199/week from Dollar, and got my Disney and Seaworld tickets on base (saved about 200 bucks). Disney experts....What am I missing or doing totally wrong?

Sounds like you did it right to me? If you are not going to be park hopping at WDW, then your saving by not getting the park hopping option. With the minivan rental, is that the straight price for the week, or is that with a discount? If it's the straight price, I'd look for coupons and look at other rental places which might be offering other less expensive options.

 

[Broncoholic]

Booked our trip for 13 Feb to 22 Feb. Getting excited. I'm doing things on the cheap. I'm renting a 3bd/2ba condo (Windsor Palms) for $69/night. I rented a minivan for $199/week from Dollar, and got my Disney and Seaworld tickets on base (saved about 200 bucks). Disney experts....What am I missing or doing totally wrong?

Sounds like you did it right to me? If you are not going to be park hopping at WDW, then your saving by not getting the park hopping option. With the minivan rental, is that the straight price for the week, or is that with a discount? If it's the straight price, I'd look for coupons and look at other rental places which might be offering other less expensive options.

I didn't do the Parkhopper. I figure since were there for 9 days and with a 5 day ticket we wouldn't need to bother with 2 parks/day. The minivan was quite a discount using my Amex card and a code from Mousesavers. Without the code the cheapest I could find was near a Grand for 9 days.My parents and sisters family are staying at the Disney Beach Club, which has caused quite a riff, but I just couldn't justify the expense.

 

[swidman]

Booked our trip for 13 Feb to 22 Feb. Getting excited. I'm doing things on the cheap. I'm renting a 3bd/2ba condo (Windsor Palms) for $69/night. I rented a minivan for $199/week from Dollar, and got my Disney and Seaworld tickets on base (saved about 200 bucks). Disney experts....What am I missing or doing totally wrong?

Sounds like you did it right to me? If you are not going to be park hopping at WDW, then your saving by not getting the park hopping option. With the minivan rental, is that the straight price for the week, or is that with a discount? If it's the straight price, I'd look for coupons and look at other rental places which might be offering other less expensive options.

I didn't do the Parkhopper. I figure since were there for 9 days and with a 5 day ticket we wouldn't need to bother with 2 parks/day. The minivan was quite a discount using my Amex card and a code from Mousesavers. Without the code the cheapest I could find was near a Grand for 9 days.My parents and sisters family are staying at the Disney Beach Club, which has caused quite a riff, but I just couldn't justify the expense.

Beach Club is a fantastic resort, but pricey. If you don't intend on staying around the resort, then doing things the way you have them planned is the right way to go. Mousesavers is the best.

 

[ffldrew]

Booked our trip for 13 Feb to 22 Feb. Getting excited. I'm doing things on the cheap. I'm renting a 3bd/2ba condo (Windsor Palms) for $69/night. I rented a minivan for $199/week from Dollar, and got my Disney and Seaworld tickets on base (saved about 200 bucks). Disney experts....What am I missing or doing totally wrong?

Since you have a van and aren't staying at Disney you should head over to Universal and have some fun there - it is our favorite park down there.

 

[Broncoholic]

Booked our trip for 13 Feb to 22 Feb. Getting excited. I'm doing things on the cheap. I'm renting a 3bd/2ba condo (Windsor Palms) for $69/night. I rented a minivan for $199/week from Dollar, and got my Disney and Seaworld tickets on base (saved about 200 bucks). Disney experts....What am I missing or doing totally wrong?

Since you have a van and aren't staying at Disney you should head over to Universal and have some fun there - it is our favorite park down there.

I was thinking about that, but the kids are 6 and 8. Are the rides appropriate for them?

 

[Osaurus]

Booked our trip for 13 Feb to 22 Feb. Getting excited. I'm doing things on the cheap. I'm renting a 3bd/2ba condo (Windsor Palms) for $69/night. I rented a minivan for $199/week from Dollar, and got my Disney and Seaworld tickets on base (saved about 200 bucks).

Disney experts....What am I missing or doing totally wrong?

Since you have a van and aren't staying at Disney you should head over to Universal and have some fun there - it is our favorite park down there.

I was thinking about that, but the kids are 6 and 8. Are the rides appropriate for them?

I would say more at Islands of Adventure than the regular Universal, but here is a link for both.Link

 

[ffldrew]

Booked our trip for 13 Feb to 22 Feb. Getting excited. I'm doing things on the cheap. I'm renting a 3bd/2ba condo (Windsor Palms) for $69/night. I rented a minivan for $199/week from Dollar, and got my Disney and Seaworld tickets on base (saved about 200 bucks).

Disney experts....What am I missing or doing totally wrong?

Since you have a van and aren't staying at Disney you should head over to Universal and have some fun there - it is our favorite park down there.

I was thinking about that, but the kids are 6 and 8. Are the rides appropriate for them?

I would say more at Islands of Adventure than the regular Universal, but here is a link for both.Link

I think a lot of the rides are ok for 6 or 8 - of course The Mummy and Hulk and those rides won't but they have a lot of other "rides" - Some things are pretty intense like Terminator in 3d. You can get a 2 park pass - if you have AAA i think you can get a discount. But they have Jimmy Neutron, Shrek, Simpsons - the whole Dr Suess world that they will have lots of fun - and they serve beer everywhere and you see fewer kid/parent meltdowns for some reason - coincidence?

 

[Broncoholic]

Booked our trip for 13 Feb to 22 Feb. Getting excited. I'm doing things on the cheap. I'm renting a 3bd/2ba condo (Windsor Palms) for $69/night. I rented a minivan for $199/week from Dollar, and got my Disney and Seaworld tickets on base (saved about 200 bucks).

Disney experts....What am I missing or doing totally wrong?

Since you have a van and aren't staying at Disney you should head over to Universal and have some fun there - it is our favorite park down there.

I was thinking about that, but the kids are 6 and 8. Are the rides appropriate for them?

I would say more at Islands of Adventure than the regular Universal, but here is a link for both.Link

I think a lot of the rides are ok for 6 or 8 - of course The Mummy and Hulk and those rides won't but they have a lot of other "rides" - Some things are pretty intense like Terminator in 3d. You can get a 2 park pass - if you have AAA i think you can get a discount. But they have Jimmy Neutron, Shrek, Simpsons - the whole Dr Suess world that they will have lots of fun - and they serve beer everywhere and you see fewer kid/parent meltdowns for some reason - coincidence?

Wait. Beer?....taken into consideration.

 

[Early_10]

Countdown is on so I've been watching all the aforementioned sites.

From the mousesavers site:

009 Special Ticket Offer for Military Through December 23, 2009, each active or retired member of the US military may obtain one FREE 5-day "Disney's Armed Forces Salute" ticket with Park Hopper and Water Park Fun & More options. This ticket is valid for five days of admission into the four Walt Disney World theme parks, plus a total of five visits to a choice of a Disney water park, DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive Theme Park or certain other attractions.

During this offer period, active or retired US military personnel may also make a one-time purchase of up to a maximum of five 5-Day "Disney's Armed Forces Salute Companion" tickets (one theme park per day) for $99 per ticket, plus tax, for family members (including spouse) or friends. Although this ticket for family members and friends does not include either the Park Hopper or Water Park Fun & More options, this ticket can be upgraded to add either such option, or both, for an additional $25, plus tax, per option (half the regular price).

How to Get the Tickets

Complimentary "Disney's Armed Forces Salute" tickets for admission to the Walt Disney World Resort can be obtained only at participating US military base ticket offices (including Shades of Green), or at Main Entrance theme park ticket windows. Military personnel who obtain an exchange voucher at a military base or SOG will need to activate the voucher at Main Entrance theme park ticket windows in order to use those tickets (no more than one such complimentary ticket per service member will be activated).

Guests can pre-purchase the companion tickets (in the form of an exchange voucher) at Shades of Green or at a military base, TAX-FREE! The exchange voucher is then taken to a Main Entrance theme park ticket window, where it is exchanged for the actual ticket. The companion tickets can also be purchased at the Main Entrance theme park ticket windows, but if you do this, you must pay tax.

Rules

All tickets and options are non-transferable and must be used by 12/23/09.

 

[Capella]

I want to #### that Stacy chick on the motel channels.

 

[azgroover]

Booked our trip for 13 Feb to 22 Feb. Getting excited. I'm doing things on the cheap. I'm renting a 3bd/2ba condo (Windsor Palms) for $69/night. I rented a minivan for $199/week from Dollar, and got my Disney and Seaworld tickets on base (saved about 200 bucks). Disney experts....What am I missing or doing totally wrong?

Sounds good to me. We stayed at Windsor Hills last year and liked it better than any hotel we've ever stayed at. The only thing I'd do now is try to beat that minivan price on priceline.

 

[Disco Stu]

I want to #### that Stacy chick on the motel channels.

 

[Early_10]

Booked our trip for 13 Feb to 22 Feb. Getting excited. I'm doing things on the cheap. I'm renting a 3bd/2ba condo (Windsor Palms) for $69/night. I rented a minivan for $199/week from Dollar, and got my Disney and Seaworld tickets on base (saved about 200 bucks).

Disney experts....What am I missing or doing totally wrong?

It shows $152 a DAY to me. Link?

 

[Team]

LOL Capella.

 

[Parmcat]

.

 

[parasaurolophus]

Date: February 19, 2009Outlet: Wall Street JournalCirc: 2,011,999Headline: Disney Plans to Reduce Staff at Theme ParksWalt Disney Co. said Wednesday it will restructure its domestic theme-parkoperations, including an unspecified number of layoffs, amid languishingattendance and sharply reduced operating income.The announcement came less than two weeks after a deadline to acceptvoluntary buyouts that the company offered to about 600 executives in itsParks and Resorts division. Disney officials declined to say how manyexecutives took a voluntary buyout, but said the number was "satisfactory."In a memo to employees, Jay Rasulo, chairman of the parks unit, said thecuts would help build "an organization and cost structure that meet today'seconomic realities."Disney is consolidating many of its behind-the-scenes operations into oneunit. For example, separate units in charge of menu planning at Disneylandin Anaheim, Calif., and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., will becombined into one unit, according to a company official.Officials at Burbank, Calif.-based Disney declined to disclose a totalnumber for layoffs, but said the restructuring and layoffs would occur overthe next few weeks.In its most recent quarterly earnings release, Disney said that attendanceat the domestic parks for the quarter ended Dec. 27 fell 5% from a yearearlier. The parks unit's operating income declined 24% to $382 million.The restructuring comes amid continuing discounts and promotions at thedomestic parks designed to drive attendance during the recession. Guestsreceive free admission on their birthdays, and the company has been runninga promotion that offers seven hotel nights for the price of four.Company officials say such promotions have helped the parks' performance sofar this year.President and Chief Executive Robert Iger indicated during a conferencecall with analysts this month that the cuts were probably coming, and Mr.Iger has left cost-cutting decisions at Disney's various business units upto division heads.

 

[saintsfan]

The family and I just got back from Disney on Sunday. We had a great time. Got the 3 free days for 4 special they were running.

If Mardi Gras doesn't fall on the same week as President's Day, it's a good week to go. Except for the new Toy Story Mania ride, we say very few lines longer than 30 or 45 minutes and Fast Passes were almost always available, except very late in the evening or on Toy Story Mania. In fact, for the Toy Story ride, our last day, we got a Fast Pass about 10 AM that had an appointment time of 2:40. That's how busy that ride was.

Weather was perfect. A bit chilly in the morning and the evening, but nothing a light jacket couldn't cover and not a single drop of rain.

Had breakfast at Cinderella's Castle and Chef Mickey's. Really, if anybody has very small children, these two events are perfect. Lots of characters and individual attention. First class.

 

[The_Man]

We usually go every other year in November. This is our year to go, but times are definitely a little tougher. Will probably still go, but am waiting to see what kinds of deals they kick down for November. So far, it's been nothing good at all -- but my guess is that if things continue to the way they are, the deals should be flowing by then.

 

[Osaurus]

I booked a night at Port Orleans at the end of April with 2 day park tickets. The hotel was $159 (upgraded room) and the tickets for Florida residents were 2 days for $100. That's not too bad. Doing the first day and night at Magic Kingdom and 2nd day at Epcot. Planning on eating at Le Cellier. Has anyone eaten at Fulton's in Downtown Disney? Is it any good? TIA.

 

[GreekFreak]

We usually go every other year in November. This is our year to go, but times are definitely a little tougher. Will probably still go, but am waiting to see what kinds of deals they kick down for November. So far, it's been nothing good at all -- but my guess is that if things continue to the way they are, the deals should be flowing by then.

We are planning a November trip also, if I see anything out there I'll post it here.

 

[snogger]

We usually go every other year in November. This is our year to go, but times are definitely a little tougher. Will probably still go, but am waiting to see what kinds of deals they kick down for November. So far, it's been nothing good at all -- but my guess is that if things continue to the way they are, the deals should be flowing by then.

We have our December trip "Locked" in with the magic for less already. We did this last time with them and any discounts that came about they grabbed them for us.

Last time between the time we booked with them and our actual trip they were able to knock over $600 off the cost.

With the current 7 nights for 4 deal(Or whatever they are calling it) good until August, I don't expect any big deals to hit until some time this summer for the December trip.

 

[Team]

I booked a night at Port Orleans at the end of April with 2 day park tickets. The hotel was $159 (upgraded room) and the tickets for Florida residents were 2 days for $100. That's not too bad. Doing the first day and night at Magic Kingdom and 2nd day at Epcot. Planning on eating at Le Cellier. Has anyone eaten at Fulton's in Downtown Disney? Is it any good? TIA.

Sorry, haven't dined at either, but love Port Orleans. Have you stayed there before?