Disney Florida - help!

[Kiddleywinks]

I'm thinking about going to Disney next year. I last went in 1990 and have wanted to go back ever since lol. I always said I would book a flydrive, and sort out accommodation when I got there as it was so much cheaper there than booking here (we'd have saved nearly £500) Sadly, with 2 kids in tow, and 20 years later, that probably wouldn't be the best thing to do now hahaha.
Has anyone been in the last couple of years? If so, did you stay at a disney resort and would you recommend them?
Also, any recommendations as to who best to book with?

Booking a villa is also an option, I had wanted a rest from cooking though..... hmmm, decisions, decisions

[Rick]

I'm thinking about going to Disney next year. I last went in 1990 and have wanted to go back ever since lol. I always said I would book a flydrive, and sort out accommodation when I got there as it was so much cheaper there than booking here (we'd have saved nearly £500) Sadly, with 2 kids in tow, and 20 years later, that probably wouldn't be the best thing to do now hahaha.
Has anyone been in the last couple of years? If so, did you stay at a disney resort and would you recommend them?
Also, any recommendations as to who best to book with?

Booking a villa is also an option, I had wanted a rest from cooking though..... hmmm, decisions, decisions

We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge hotel for our honeymoon in 2008 and it was amazing. As we were on our honeymoon we had access to the club level so there was food and drink there all day long. We barely paid a penny for food (apart from the odd night out) because we ate lots for breakfast and weren't hungry again until we got back to the hotel late afternoon. What I liked about staying in a Disney hotel was that the buses turn up regularly and you can go to any other hotel or park free of charge on the bus.

Can't remember who we booked with though sorry!

[hectors house]

We went about 5 or 6 years ago - booked through Virgin, stayed in Howard Johnson motel in Kissimee, had a hire car. Planned a very full itinerary before we went and stuck to it - I researched which parks we wanted to go to and which ones were included on a multi buy ticket, I made sure I knew which parks had late night fireworks and parades.

The hotel we stayed in was fine, we only used is as a crash pad as we were out by 9 am and often didn't get back in until 11 pm by the time we had eaten on way back. Depending on how old your children are, you may want to choose a hotel with more facilities so you can take a day off from the parks as it can be very exhausting(ours did have a pool but we didn't use it). We did 9 days of various parks, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Universal Studios & World of Adventure, Discovery cove (swimming with dolphins), Sea World, Bush Gardens then drove to Miami to chill for 5 days - we did have a fantastic time but by the end of 9 days we were fed up with queuing.

Work out an itinerary then work out which tickets you need to buy and if you will get your moneysworth out of multi park tickets that are valid for so many days. I think we had Discovery Cove & Bush Gardens on a joint ticket - Sea World and Universal tickets on another and we paid on the day for Magic Kingdom, kept the tickets and then got a discount when we bought tickets on the day for Epcot. Disney tickets were just for day as was Discovery Cove and Bush Gardens (Bush gardens is a couple of hours drive) Universal tickets I think we could go back again as we did go back to Sea World.

You could stay in a villa - the food is so cheap you could eat out for every meal!

[fionamal]

We went last July. Booked our flights with Virgin as they were cheaper and booked a Villa in Kissimee in a secure estate called Terra Verde. We only cooked breakfasts in the villa and ate out the rest.

Theres a Disney forum which gives you loads of info Disney and Orlando, Florida Holiday Planning - theDIBB

[Lick'le Oakes]

I came back last week!! I'm still recovering mind. We went for 3 weeks and did 18 days at theme parks / Discovery cove in the 21 days so you can imagine how exhausting it was. We booked with Thompson as it was our first time and we wanted a package. Our tickets were from Orlando attraction which were great, very helpful and reasonable priced compared to other companies. The hotel was Coco Key water resort it was ok but nothing special. The room was large but the colour sceme was very depressing and had a smell to it, so although we was hardly in it, it was beginning to get to me so I booked four nights in the All Star Movie Resort, this again was basic, but you get what you pay for and it is in the value range. It was clean, mousekeeping was great, my DH referred to it has Butlins in the 70's though. The free buses were fantastic, every twenty minutes at the most, the drivers and the hotel staff were always polite, talkative and very welcoming and helpful. If we had stayed at Coco keys for our time in Disney it was 90 dollars a time for a taxi as it was on International Drive, so I figured the money I was paying for the second hotel was better than paying for taxis, travelling and worth getting out of the dark orange smelly hotel room. My DH didn't really see the need but just kept me happy! If we did it again I would stay in a disney hotel but a higher "star" one, I would try the dinning plan as we spent a fortune on food, everyone told me the food was cheap but to be honest we didn't think so, not by the time you left a 18% tip each time. Also apparently (and I wished I knew this before) if you stay in a universal hotel you can get a fast pass and extra early hours into the park, this would be worth it as it wa soooo busy.

My children are 10 and 13 and they loved the holiday, have some fantastic memories such as swimming with Dolphins, a visit to the kennedy Space Centre and awesome rides plus experience of tropical storms!!

Hope this helps.

[tashaleee]

Ive always stayed in Villas - booked mine through The Dibb (fantastic website for anyone thinking of going out there as lots of ideas and the villas we used were owned by people in the UK with US management on hand for any issues)

As for not cooking in a villa - ummm we ate out every night so wasnt an issue for us

[bindy]

I have been for the past 20 years, every year with my very large family. We have always stayed in a private villa with swimming pool and now lots have games rooms. We never cook, well only breakfast and eat out every day but with children we found it to be the best option (kitchen on hand) All come with laundry rooms, and most are rated 5 star. Hotel rooms are often small and most have 2 double beds,not much space at all. If you decided to do villa, go on line and book direct with the owner not through a travel agent, you will have much more choice. It works out much cheaper too. I don't know how many are in your family, we always get a 7 bed room villa with private pool and games room, normally 2 eating areas a large kitchen, laundry, 2 living areas ,TV s in all rooms, free wifi list goes on. You can pay for cleaners too. We normally pay around £1000per week for the villa. It sleeps 14 people we divide between 3 families,which works out very cheap. Smaller villas are much cheaper. You will have a great time no matter what accommodation you choose

[charleyfarley]

We went to Disney last year and we are still talking about it now, what a fab place to go and a holiday you never forget

We stayed in a Disney hotel, not the cheapest option but as we were only going once we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, and got included in our package $300 Disney Dollars to spend, a Disney Meal plan plus a Virgin children eat free card in various restaurants. So look out for what is on offer.

Carol xx

[AgentTink]

We went in April/May this year, and it is a holiday filled with magic moments.

We stayed in Port Orleons Riverside onsite as out little girl was 3 and a half and we knew she would not be able to last all day and would need time to go back to the hotel and have rest time away from the parks. It was the best decision we ever made.

Disney does a special offer of is you stay in a moderate disney htoel that you can get with mosy holiday dates a Quick service dining plan which gives you 2 x meals a day (main and desert with drink), and also a snack a day, plus a free resort refillable mug for drinks at your hotel.

Lots os people see Quick service and think it is all bugers and hotdaog, but in 2 weeks we only ate 1 hotdog and 2 burgers. If you do your research using the site mention in a post above there is all sorts of resturants that you can eat in which have great food. We had flat bread pizzas, tacos, half roast chicken, beautiful sandwichs with fries, salads (massive ones), and lots of other delicious food. We took £1500 with us, and only spent £800 as we didnt but any food at all, as we took cereal for our breakfast in our room each day.

The hotel was beautiful, great pools, good location with plenty of buses to get you to all of disney parks.

It will depend on how old your kids are, and how much of the other parks they want to do, ie seaworld, universal. Etc

Some of the costs to add to a villa if you were driving to parks each day would be $15 dollars a day to park, (if you stay in a disney hotel you can park for free at all the disney theme parks), the costs of eating out every day/having food in your villa.

It really depends on what you want from your holiday, and the ages of your kids plays a big part in your decision.

we are looking to go back 2014/2015 and we are definatley staying in resort again

[kellyskidz!]

We're going next year too, all booked for June! Never been before so I'm more excited than my 4 year old!
We're staying in a villa just outside Disneyland as it was around 300 pounds pp cheaper than staying in disney world itself but my partners been before and stayed just outside so I left the villa booking up to him.
He also booked some kind of pass which gives us unlimited access to all five parks for 2 weeks so ask about that when you book. As I say, he's been before a few years ago so knows what's what, whereas I haven't a clue. Exciting times, hope it all works out for you with the booking then you can start getting excited

[Kiddleywinks]

We went about 5 or 6 years ago - booked through Virgin, stayed in Howard Johnson motel in Kissimee, had a hire car.

I stayed at a Howard Johnson in Kissimee the first time I went
There was a breakfast smorgasbord place over the road so we went there for breakfast and pigged out, then popped round the corner to the local supermarket and did a pick n mix salad type lunch pack, and put that in the cool box in the back of the car and then headed to the various parks for the day.

My kids will be 17 and 13 if we go next year, so old enough to appreciate the trip and young enough to enjoy it lol


Thanks for your advice so far, and Kellyskidz, you will have a fantastic time I'm sure, 20 years later I'm still raving about it

[LauraS]

We're going for.three and a half weeks in August, can't wait! We're staying in a villa, we'd love to try staying in a Disney hotel one day but at the moment, the thought of staying in a Disney hotel room with four kids crammed in doesnt sound too attractive. Maybe.once they've left home . Much bettter to stay in a villa where everyone has.their own space and a lovely private pool. The villa we has last time was only fifteen mins drive from Disney, this time we are even closer. We love escaping from Disney AMD.doing other things too, like seeing the state.parks and driving up to the coast.

My friend stays most years with her husband and two teenagers in a.Disney hotel, three weeks in a room together . Each to their own, though, they benefit.from free Disney.dining and only do the parks, they don't go elsewhere, so it makes sense.for them.

[Rick]

We loved our time at Animal Kingdom Lodge hotel. We had a view over the savannah where 'wild' animals roam outside your balcony! Oh I want to go back now!

[JCrakers]

We went in may 2009. My two kids were 8 and 11.

We booked through jetsave into a 3 bedroom townhouse in Kissimmee. We didn't want a hotel because we wanted the kids to have their own room, didn't want to be in a hotel room all together for 2weeks as they were prone to arguing.
The townhouse was fab with a pool, we had a car and Disney was a 5-10min drive away.

We are going back in 4weeks.....cannot wait! This time we've booked with Cosmos as it was the cheapest quote. We've got a 3 bed detached house with pool and a car again.

If your'e not tied to school hols too much I would recommend going in May as it wasn't busy at all. Now we are more tied to school holidays as children are older and can't really have a week off. I would recommend the dibb website, lots of info on there.

I did look at hiring a villa and getting a separate flight but It really didn't save any money.

[SYLVIA]

We have stayed in quite a few resorts hotels and they . all been lovely. They are all geared up for children so it really depends on your budget.We always go with virgin