Disney for Spring Break - Help Me Plan!

[Anonymous]

Hi,

There are so many possibilbities. I would have to ask you if you are STRICTLY doing Disney. If yes, strongly consider staying at Disney. I used to travel for work, visiting Disney and been in Disney parades many, many times. Staying both on and off Disney - it REALLY is convenient and CHEAPER to just use the FREE ride from the airport, stay at a Disney resort and use their mealplan.

Plan for BUSY . Even in a bad ecomony it will be busy - I was just there. Going to Disney character meals is an EASY, time-saving and fun way to have a wonderful meal and meet the characters. There are so MANY dining options.

Whatever you choose I hope you are already making reservations for anything you want to do. Given spring break and Disney pushing prebooked packages for over a year; events/dining are booked or SOON will be.

The sites mentioned by some others like Tourguidemike, JimHill and WDW.com are great help. Not only for reservations but for closings, 'refurbishments' and tips for busy attractions.

BUT if you are OVERWHELMED , seriously consider a travel agent who knows Disney. They help you for FREE! (Disney still works with agents) saving HOURS on the phone and web making reservations.

I became a travel agent becuase I spent so much time with Disney travel. An AGENT will save you TIME AND MONEY

Have fun - Disney is a magical place for ALL!

[Anonymous]

We also want to go for Spring Break. Are we too late to start making plans?

[Anonymous]

I just booked for easter week and had no problems with flights or accomodations but we are not staying in a disney property.

[Anonymous]

We have never been during Spring break, but we have been during other very busy times... here are my thoughts:

1) Stay at a Disney resort if you can -- renting a car and doing the parking thing is a nightmare during busy times, and adds a hour to the beginning and end of your journey. The parking is very well run, but it just is stressful with young kids where you have a limited amount of "quality time" before they lose it. If you park, you'll wait to pay for parking, you'll find a parking spot, you'll get out, load kids into stroller, and walk a bit to the tram. fold up stroller, ride tram, unfold stroller, go to monorail, ride monorail, get off and walk/stroller -- believe me, it all adds up, and you'll be tired before you even get in the door. If you have the money, the Polynesian and other MK resorts that are a monorail/boat ride away is GREAT. It means you can quickly access the parks, and with little ones, you could actually go in the morning, return to the hotel, and then go back at night for dinner/parade/etc. If the Polynesian, etc. are too pricey, consider the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Its the cheapest of the Deluxe resorts. My two young kids (11 months and almost 3 yrs at the time) - LOVED having the animals there, and we loved having the pool for a quiet after-nap swim. The kids will need some quiet/down time, every day,... or else it just is too much. The big drawback of AKL is that it is a 10-15 bus ride to most of the parks. Its not bad (and not as bad as parking) but it still adds to your commute. When we did it, we only did the parks from about 9 to lunch every day. Then returned to the rooms for quiet/naps, then pool, then dinner. We only went back to the parks one night. Because with kids, the schlepping factor will really wear you out. I've never stayed at the Disney moderate/budget resorts, but I've heard they all have nice pools, and I think its worth it just to have bus transportation that picks you up and drops you off.

2) Take your stroller(s). If you have a narrow, in-line double, then use that. If not, get two cheap/light umbrella strollers and take those. Frankly, the two umbrella strollers are probably better. A) depending on the park and your transportation, there is a lot of walking before you GET to the stroller place. It can make you tired! B) You save the money and lines involved in renting strollers, and C) the Disney strollers are rather bulky, and it can be hard to manuever them through crowds. In addition, at Animal Kingdom park, there are wildlife trails (well paved) where they have put metal posts at the entrance to keep the strollers out (because they clog the paths), but the umbrella strollers fit right through. That's key with young kids because the paths are nice, but if your toddler walks them, they will be "done" walking for the day.

3) Unless you have lots of extra cash, skip the Park Hopper pass. One park per day is plenty with toddlers. If you really have the energy to go back, just go back to the same park at night.

4) If you're not using park hopper, look at the night time schedules (fireworks, parades) ahead of time, because not all of the evening shows are on every night, and sometimes the times change. That way, if you think you might want to see the Magic Kingdom fireworks, plan to go to the MK park on the same day, so that you can go back with your same non-park-hopper ticket.

5) Fireworks and Electrical Water Parade at MK - We took our two young kids, but made the very good call of not actually entering the park for the fireworks. They are too close and too loud for my toddlers. Instead, we hopped on the little boat that takes people from MK to the Polynesian hotel, and watched from the boat. It was really nice, and kept the fireworks at a safe distance for the kids. Plus, you don't even need to enter the park, so you really don't even need a ticket to do that. As a bonus, on the return trip, we saw the electrical water parade (probably the name of this is something different) float by.

6) Keep your kids' normal schedules as much as possible, and plan on just 3-4 hours at the park each day. That schedule worked great for my kids. But yes, its so easy to want to try to do everything... if you don't lower your expectations, your kids will be fried and miserable, and you will too.

7) go early, and pick the ONE thing you want to see. I highly recommend being at the park right when it opens. If your kids MUST see fantasy land at the MK (It's a small world, etc.) Go there IMMEDIATELY when the park opens, ride the rides 2-3 times, and by that time the lines will be 40-50 minutes long. No joke. At Animal Kingdom, go STRAIGHT to the safari ride -- its a must see. The other thing I highly recommend is the Finding Nemo musical at Animal Kingdom... its just magical... and worth the 45-min to 1-hour wait -- even with toddlers!

8) Hunt around on the Disney website, and consider lots of the "lesser" rides for young kids. And consider non-traditional entertainment. My kids favorite things when we were there? My almost 3 year old LOVED the train at the Magic Kingdom (there is never a line for it!), and my 11 month old liked feeding the ducks. Know that with your young kids, they may not like some of the key Disney things, but as long as you are flexible, they will still have a good time! Other things they liked that tend to be shorter lines: 1) The "Living with the Land" boat ride at Epcot (very low key); 2) the Animal Kingdom Express (or whatever the train is called there); riding the monorail (do you see the train theme?); riding the boat to the Polynesian village; riding the steamboat at MK; listening to the live acts at Epcot; the three caballeros boat ride in the Mexico pavillion; the Living Seas pavillion at Epcot (like a big aquarium); Ariel's playground at MK (a little mini water/play area if its hot).

There is a ton of stuff to do. I think the key to a successful Disney trip is to reasearch what you want to do ahead of time (and research food options), and have several different plans of attack. But once you get there, all plans go out the window, and you need to be flexible. If your kids are having fun feeding the ducks, don't drag them away because its time to do something else.

Have fun!

[Anonymous]

Assuming all meals are covered, how much more money did you find on incidentals (souvenirs, etc.).

[Anonymous]

gyUPtF <a href="http://zymdnzsonrsf.com/">zymdnzsonrsf</a>, vajokrnsyrep, [link=http://tzgydtpwztpe.com/]tzgydtpwztpe[/link], http://awfpeviligdj.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Assuming all meals are covered, how much more money did you find on incidentals (souvenirs, etc.).

1 thousand smackeroos.

[Anonymous]

Another wdw geek here..

mousesavers.com is a great disney planning website that has info about saving money at wdw. She also has a newsletter (and doesn't spam) where she sends special links for extra savings.

disboards.com is a disney focused message boards of over 100k users. It's broken down into various topics, travel, hotels, dining, rides, etc. They cover all disney parks and non-disney florida parks.

allearsnet.com has lots of planning info to - including a list of all the restaurants on property and all their menu's (with prices) so you can do some budget and meal planning.

The passporter guide to wdw (passporter.com) is one of the best disney travel books there is.

Hope this info helps!

[Anonymous]

What would you Disney "geeks" say is the ideal age for a trip?

[Anonymous]

Not 2. We just got back. It was okay - but my kid wasn't all that enthralled - and I was disappointed he wasn't more into it. I think 4 will be good for the next trip.

[Anonymous]

We took our 4 and 6 yr old last year during a peak time and it was crazy crowded. I usually hate theme parks and crowds, but we had a spectacular time. We used the Fodors "Disney with Kids" book, which has lots of helpful tips for beating the crowds. We stayed at a Disney property and enjoyed our resort in addition to the park itself. I highly recommend the book, staying at a Disney property. We did not pay extra money for park hopper, and didn't feel like we missed anything.
PS wear your best walking shoes--I walk everywhere here in DC, but at Disney you will be on your feet a good 7-8 hours at a stretch, often in sweltering heat shuffling through long lines. Plan your footwear accordingly!

[Anonymous]

Packing recommendations? Should we plan on chilly evenings (going next week). What about dress code - is everything casual. Should DH bring a blazer for dinner or other evening events?

[Anonymous]

Depends on where you are eating. Have you made reservations for dinner?

I saw that it was supposed to be in the mid-high 80s next week with evenings in the high 60s. A light jacket/sweater will be perfect.

[Anonymous]

We're going next week too! Will sneakers/running shoes get us in anywhere, including the nicer dinner places?

[Anonymous]

Yes, you can wear sneakers - unless you are going to Victoria and Alberts for dinner.