DisneyWorld Florida advice

[Rayyan]

We are looking at booking a Disney Florida holiday for 14nights.

Family of 5 our children will be 12, 6 and 5 years old.

Any recommendations on where to stay, we’d ideally like a nice hotel close to the parks.

Any advice for tickets? Is there a better way to purchase them other than with the travel agent? Is two weeks in the parks too much?

Disney Dos and don’ts?

Best time of year to go that won’t be too busy?

Any recommendations/advice is appreciated!

Thank you

**Update**
I found some useful information here as well: Where are some pretty places to visit in Florida near the beach?

 

[tofubeast]

You should ask this on the WDW board. I am sure the Mod might move this post for you.

While two weeks at Disney does sound fun... As a Floridian, I would suggest shortening the stay unless you plan on hitting up Universal or other Orlando sites. Otherwise, if two weeks, I'd explore other parts of Florida....road trip to the Gulf, Keys, or Emerald Coast. Brightline to South Florida. Perhaps consider a short cruise out of nearby Port Canerval? There are many beautiful spots in our state.

Year-round is pretty busy nowadays. The least busy time of the year (late Aug and Sept) comes with high heat and humidity (and rain). Also hurricanes can affect plans. There are some good less-crowded times before Thanksgiving in Nov, after the holidays in January, and most of February, and late April/May.

If this is your first visit, I'd recommend using a travel agent. It won't cost you anything to do so.

 

[Iceman93]

Nice hotel close to the parks? I recommend splitting your stay between the Grand Floridian and the Boardwalk.

Is two weeks too much? Not at all, and I disagree with the above poster that you need to hit other sites around Florida. There is so much to see at Disney just with the four theme parks and two water parks, plus you'll want some "down days" in between to just relax by the pool, do some shopping, or whatever. I find two weeks to be pretty much perfect for a WDW-only vacation.

 

[Wesley815]

While two weeks at Disney does sound fun... As a Floridian, I would suggest shortening the stay unless you plan on hitting up Universal or other Orlando sites.

I disagree with that. Perhaps living in Florida causes a different point of view however (to me) two weeks is perfect to visit Disney and have time between parks- maybe throw in Universal if interested.

Is two weeks too much? Not at all, and I disagree with the above poster that you need to hit other sites around Florida. There is so much to see at Disney just with the four theme parks and two water parks, plus you'll want some "down days" in between to just relax by the pool, do some shopping, or whatever. I find two weeks to be pretty much perfect for a WDW-only vacation.

I agree. My last visit (from California) was a week and didn't feel long enough with basically 2 days of travel time and trying to see a lot in each park. Next trip will be at least a week and a half or two if possible.

 

[We’reAllMadHere]

You might want to start with learning some of the basics from the Disney World site and perhaps some of the more popular blogs our YouTube. Everything at WDW is so subjective that asking such a broad question here is going to yield a wide variety of answers. Disney lists 25 hotels on property and hundreds of restaurants - which doesn’t even include the many many hotels near WDW property. If you list your budget and interests, that might help.

If you’re really struggling, there are some good travel agents that can be helpful for people who are new to Disney.

 

[miksicnarf]

I strongly recommend staying onsite, and the options vary wildly according to your budget. When we made our first trip to WDW when our 3 kids were young, in 1997, we considered either 2 rooms at a Value resort, or a 2BR DVC resort. We went with DVC and ended up buying but I wouldn't necessarily recommend that today. Maybe check out renting DVC. For a 2 week stay the extra space and amenities can add a lot of value--kitchen and laundry in the unit for example. Have fun planning!

 

[LAS2AMS]

“Nice hotel” depends on what you’re looking for and your budget.

Disney’s cheapest resorts (All Stars) typically sell for over $200 (including taxes and fees) most of the year. They’re glorified motels with few amenities, smaller rooms and poor soundproofing. For a similar price, you can stay at a much nicer resort - anything from the Hiltons in Disney Sorings to a 2,000 sq ft room on the outskirts of Orlando. But many people just prefer the Disney Bubble.

Orlando has more options than any other market. You need to be specific .

 

[Boopuff]

Download the MDE (My Disney Experience app) play around with it, learn how to navigate around the app, it has everything. If you need a more visual help, go to youtube and watch many of the excellent helpful vloggers (Mr. Morrow, Mammoth club to name a few). There are tons of hotel tours/reviews as well. Do a bit of research if this is your first trip. Good luck

 

[subtchr]

There are a couple of clues in your post that indicate you are from the UK, am I right?

If so, be sure to look into the ticket deals available to you as a UK resident. They are MUCH better than those here in the US. That includes the ability to purchase a 14-day ticket.

 

[cruising spud]

I would suggest you buy the book," The Unofficial Guide to Disney," and read these boards every day. Learn about Disney before doing anything.
I would not use a travel agent. You can do all of the planning yourself.
I would recommend staying at a Disney hotel.

 

[Rayyan]

Alright folks, what about the prices?
I don't like to spend a fortune...

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

Alright folks, what about the prices?
I don't like to spend a fortune...

lol, you’ve come to the wrong place.

Assuming you are from the UK (calling it a holiday is a tipoff), you should be able to get a decent ticket deal. On-site hotels are expensive, especially for 14 days. You can save a lot of money by staying offsite, but you lose the convenience factor, the “bubble” factor, and you probably have to rent a car. If you give us an idea of your budget we can give you an idea of what’s realistic.

Pricing is also going to really depend on time of year. You go at a high crowd time (school breaks/holidays in the US) and it will be expensive. Low crowd times are cheaper.

 

[LKing]

Alright folks, what about the prices?
I don't like to spend a fortune...

There is a Budget Board on this website. A lot of the conversations on the Budget Board are about topics unrelated to WDW. I've linked to a couple of recent threads that are related to trip planning.

• How to Visit WDW on a Budget
• March Trip - Help me safe $$

 

[Narcoossee11]

WDW trip(holiday) = a fortune. $$$$
You should be able to 'play' on the WDW website. You will get an idea of the cost.

You will be able to save money by renting a whole house. Save on your food also.
There are whole neighborhoods in Davenport/ Haines city that UK citizens own and rent out there homes.

 

[kmill99]

I would say: do not bother pricing thru Disney's website. Unless you want to be excited how much money you can save booking with more savvy.

14 day tickets thru Orlando Attractions or Attraction Tickets are expensive, but a pretty solid deal, as they also include park hopping, memory maker, and also water parks - not to mention they're actually good for up to 18 days. You get 14 days of park visits plus up to 14 water park visits - which can be on different days. Or to say it differently, you could hit the parks for 14 days and also the waterparks for 4 other days (as one example) - to use the passes for 18 days of fun. The more days you use it the better the value looks. I got tickets for this summer last fall, and our avg price per day (14 days "only") is about $41. If we were able to use it for the full 18 days that would be about $32 a day avg! That's some bigley fun Disney math.

Rent a house for savings. Rent DVC points for savings and staying in the bubble. If you go that route, do a split stay for some added fun. There are some great options on this board - I'd be wary of Facebook deals. Too wild west for me.

Even though it sounds like a good time, for most people the dining plans are a scam.

A longer stay would be easy to enjoy, avoiding the stress of "missing something," as you have ample time to circle back. You can skip pouring extra money into lightning lanes. Enjoy some resort days, wander around the bubble on all the different free transportation means, and explore the different resorts, restaurants, and sights.

 

[DL1WDW2]

We definitely need more info …when you say “ holiday” ; I immediately think of
Easter Week or Thanksgiving or Xmas . That would be expensive and recommend you start getting serious about making those plans . The longer you delay you risk availability and price increase…
I also wonder if you have looked into booking at the Fort Wilderness Cabins .
That would be very memorable first time visit to DisneyWorld for your family and 2 week stay!
Also might want to research these online sites for more help :

 

[cruising spud]

Alright folks, what about the prices?
I don't like to spend a fortune...

When we go to Disney it is a more expensive holiday than any other vacation we take. You can certainly keep costs down in a number of ways. HOWEVER, keep in mind-you don't want to get too cheap and ruin your vacation. If you are thinking of going to Disney, realize it is going to be a costly trip.

Again, and I can't stress this enough-buy the "Unofficial Guide to Disney." Start planning a year to ten months out. A fourteen-day Disney trip is a big deal. You want to get this right.

First, I would say-stay at a Disney hotel. Yes, there are less expensive off-site options, but, IN MY OPIONION, on-site hotels will definitely give you a less stressful, more opportunity packed vacation, most especially with rope drop, which to me is a necessity.

Ways to save money-if you are flying in-get a car company (maybe you can do this with Uber?) that takes you to a grocery store before going to your hotel (you have to order on the store's app ahead of time). Buy the Disney cups sold at the hotel. Play around with all of the hotel options. Two rooms in a value, a cabin at Fort Wilderness, Swan or Dolphin (on-site, non-Disney hotels). etc. See which one makes sense for your family and saves you money.

And, find out which add-ons are most important to your family. Consider LLMP and LLSP. Extra Magic Hours, Rope Drop, etc.

Best wishes.