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Disney for Spring Break - Help Me Plan!
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Anonymous
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I'm overwhelmed, dizzy, and confused trying to plan our families spring break trip to Disney World.
Where do I begin? Recommendations on where to stay please, as well as proposed itineraries. Or just plan the whole darn thing for me!! |
Anonymous
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I did this a few years back and just wanted to warn you that it was so unbelieveably crowded. If you can, get to the parks on Saturday and Sunday because by Monday it was wall to wall people. Also, when you get there, get the brochures from each park you intend to visit and try to preplan your day so that as soon as you get into the park you can get those advance tickets where you just show up and immediately get on the ride or into the show.
I would also suggest that if you want more help planning, give us some more information about you. How old are your kids (I'm assuming you have kids since you are going on Spring Break instead of the week before  ). Are you on a budget? How much are you wanting to spend for rooms. Do you want to be in the park. Are you going to have a car?
When I did Disney this last time, I did it on a shoestring which is a very different experience (not better or worse, just different) than times when I had more money to spend. Anyway, have fun! |
Anonymous
If you do it on a non-shoestring, and in the park, and you have two kids, what's the ballpark figure for travel, room, food and incidentals? |
Anonymous
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We went there Spring break 2008 in March - stayed at the Polynesian Hotel so we could take the tram to the parks. We also bought the food plan. It was one of the best vacations we ever had and my husband was very skeptical at first, but he really enjoyed it.
We basically created a strict itinerary ahead of time and that also included going to the parks on the days when they open at 6AM the "Magic Hour" (this is only for visitors who stay at one of the Disney resorts) We also traveled with my brother and his family. The parks can get crowded but you need to decide in advance the must do rides and plan for those. We went to all of the parks but the only two we really enjoyed were DisneyLand and Epcot. We drove down to Florida and stayed Mon-Fri (5 days, four nights) As a family of four we ended up spending roughly $3500 on accomodations and food and we booked through AAA. Even though it is not that well organized I used this website alot to plan www.allearsnet.com. Good Luck! |
Anonymous
| Tour Guide Mike is the best to plan a Disney vacation. Like allearsnet it is not well organized but really helps! |
Anonymous
FYI - We're going the first week in March. Two kids (4yo and 8mo) and two adults at a moderate resort for 7 nights including a meal plan and excluding airfare. $2500. |
Anonymous
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Unfortunately, you're probably too late to do any character meals as those book out 6 months in advance, especially around holidays. You might luck out and get 2 spots so you or your DH can take your 4 yo.
My husband is from Orlando, so my kids have been going to Disney since they were about 2. 8 months is pretty young, and with the crowds I would HIGHLY recommend a backpack carrier or Ergo type thing. That will allow you to navigate the park sans stroller, though I do recommend renting a stroller. You can park it for periods of time at any of the stroller parking areas. I suggest the book The Unofficial Guide to WDW. It was priceless for us. Finally, no matter what you plan make sure you have realistic expectations of just how much your children can handle. I cannot tell you how many melting down/exhausted/overwhelmed families you will see where the kids just want to go back to the hotel to swim and the parents are screaming, "BUT WE PAID ALL THIS $$ AND WE HAVE TO SEE SMALL WORLD!" WDW is a magical place for adults and children, you will have a blast! |
Anonymous
Only if you want to at through the nose! A double stroller rental at WDW is $32/day. |
Anonymous
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I am in the same boat as the original poster. We have a 5 year old and a 2 year old. Upon learning from one of the above posters that it's too late to get a character meal, do you think it will be too hot to go in early June? Also, could I actually save money by hiring a travel agent to book everything? I'd like to spend less than $3500, stay in the park area in a nicer resort. I've stayed in the Dolphin for business before, and I would like something comparable for us and the kids but more kid friendly.
Thanks for any help! |
Anonymous
The monorail with a stroller can be a total nightmare, especially in super crowded times. $32/day would be worth it to avoid that fiasco. Or try taking a double umbrella stroller that is lightweight and folds down easily. If you are driving, I think you can try to get there early and park as close as possible and avoid the trams from the parking lot and just walk with your stroller. Though maybe that was Animal Kingdom? |
Anonymous
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I just found this link: http://disneyworldforum.disney.go.com/home.aspx
It seems to be a terrific forum where any and all questions are answered. |
Anonymous
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Tourguidemike and disboards.com are great resources.
Also, they just changed the reservation window to 90 days for most restaurants (it used to be 180 days), so you may still be able to make reservations for Spring Break, but you need to make plans very soon. It's nuts there during spring break though, and may be too crowded to be enjoyable. |
Anonymous
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go to wdwinfo.com - it is far and away the best site (I am a big Disney geek.) Staying off site might be an option for you. You can get a 3br condo/townhouse (many with a pool) for a lot less than you can get a hotel room on site. Of course then you have to drive the 10min to the parks each day - but you will have a kitchen to makes breakfasts, etc and more room to spread out.
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Anonymous
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We went in November with friends. They stayed at the Floridays Resort which was new, convenient to the parks and very reasonably priced. I was able to get character meals (but not princess) for the girls less than a month in advance. We went to all the parks but IMO the only ones worth it for the really young are Magic Kingdom and Sea world.
http://www.floridaysresort.com/ |
Anonymous
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We went with our four year old daughter this past July. We had an absolute blast. We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which I highly recommend. We flew and did not rent a car. We relied on the WDW complimentary transportation, which I also highly recommend. We had the meal plan, just the regular level, which we loved. I was able to get all the reservations we wanted, including character meals, with no problem what so ever.
We used the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, and we booked out trip through AAA. There are some great sites out there to help you plan as well. I think you have PLENTY of time to plan a great trip for your family. I started to plan in late May for a trip in July and we did every thing we wanted to do. One thing that may work in your favor is the poor state of the economy...you may not be up against such tough crowds...etc. |