Disney World?

[a4tdi130]

I'm thinking of taking my family (5 of us) to Disney World for a couple of weeks in July. What are people's thoughts on the place - is it all just over the top and not very good like an over the top Blackpool, or is it really worth going to? I have 3 kids, aged 8, 5 and 4. Are they too old / too young to appreciate it?

We usually do a Carribean holiday early each year but due to some fortunate luck I have a few grand and a few weeks spare in July and I think Disney World sounds like a good idea.

[a4tdi130]

Hmmm, maybe not... just priced it up with Virgin.com and it came in at £10,600

[mainy]

Go for it XC

Theres so much to do and its great for kids of ALL ages

Try Travel City Direct, way cheaper than Virgin.

We've been 5 times now and have loved every minute of it

[shao_khan]

We are going again later in the year (for Xmas) and I love the place, I am sure Dave has not long come back as well.

The cost depends very much on where you chose to stay - 3 star in Florida means 1 star in anywhere else on the planet and you pay accordingly.

I stayed last time in a Disney resort, great fun, easy access to everywhere disney, but hard work for anywhere else, although last time I was out there for 20 days and didnt need to venture out of disney as it took me that long to appreciate everything.

Disney resort costs more, and obviously they have grades of resort. My sister in law is staying at the animal kingdom and you can get rooms looking over the savanah and wilelife which sounds cool, i am waiting for the write up.

go for it

[a4tdi130]

Thanks guys - does sound very tempting, I will dig deeper. Upper budget is about £5,000. Problem is that there are 5 of us, and most rooms only sleep 4, and we don't want to be split over 2 rooms

[a4tdi130]

Down to £7,300 with travel city direct, found a room that will sleep 5 aswell. That's still a hell of a lot though, and it's not even all inclusive is it? £5,000 would get 2 weeks all inclusive in the Carribean.

Is a car recommended or just an optional extra - do you need a car to get round everywhere? That would knock about £600 off the price but I don't want to end up stranded or having to queue for hours for buses/taxis

[a4tdi130]

I should stop replying to myself. But managed to get it down to £5289, still including the car, by choosing a cheaper hotel. I guess the hotel itself doesn't really matter that much, as we'll just be crashing there and spending most of the time at the theme parks? I wonder how crap the cheaper hotels would really be as long as it's still a proper Disney one on the resort itself?

[shao_khan]

which hotel they offering?

if you are staying in a disney resort hotel then you wouldnt need a car for any reason at all other than getting from the airport to the hotel.

[a4tdi130]

I'm searching specifically for Disney resort hotels - but when using the TravelCityDirect website, it insists on a car... I will have a play, if I don't need a car then that's down to about £4,500 which sounds perfect!

[shao_khan]

I stayed last in the Port Orleans resort which is kind of their mid range 3+ (or something like that) * rating. Didnt get a chance to look around the All stars resort as it wasnt near us and Pop Centuary wasnt open. Looke din Animal kingdom (fab place) and the swan which also looks VVVVVVV expensive.

Have also been into a travellodge (maingate east) and didnt like this because it had all adjoining rooms with doors, they had locks but it didnt feel safe to me. Also the place felt like a real drug dealers haven.

[MarkD]

Hi xc90, I feel your pain about the cost as I also have a family of five. I’ve looked into Disney and a villa sounds allot cheaper; take a look at some villas in Kissimmee (spelling not my strongest point)

Also try:

http://www.juliesvillas.com/

http://www.villarama.com/Villas/America/

But you will then need a car to get around. If you do stay in Disney and won’t be venturing out of the parks you won’t need a car but personally I think you should see some of Florida too

[Dave]

Yea, WDW is stunning and you will have one of your best holidays ever!!

First time over we stayed in Port Orleans.. and it's just been refurbished, so that would be a good option. Last time we stayed at the Saratoga Springs resort and Spa.. bit more pricy, but was worth it!!

You should be able to get out there, accom and car for around £4500. You will have to budget for tickets into the parks, but sometimes they offer packages for brits.

let me know if you want any specifics

Cheers

Dave

[Pincher]

What has happened to the Dixie Landings hotel? I can't find it anywhere.

Russ - villa/house would probably be a better shout for you.

[a4tdi130]

Cheers guys, more digging is required - Port Orleans was the one I had been looking at but I'll also look in to an "off site" villa. The problem I have is that it's not all-inclusive, which I really like. My kids are really picky and it's nice knowing that they can get a plate full of food, not touch it, then decide they want something else, have a bit of that, then something else, etc. Likewise for drinks, my two eldest can wander off to the bar and grab a coke/lemonade or whatever, spill it, go and get another one. I can imagine that if I had to keep getting money out every 10 minutes and then they didn't eat/drink what I'd got them, I would soon get very stressed

I think disney world might be a better option next year, my youngest has only just turned 4 and I think he'd refuse to get on any of the rides, and would probably be scared of alot of the things the rest of us would want to see/go on.

[shao_khan]

I think you would struggle for all inclusive. You can get a disney card which you can use throughout the resort and it charges anythign to your room - very dangerous

[Chav]

For kids, WDW is perfect and I'm sure they'll have the holiday of a lifetime.

But really, the best way to describe the place is 5 mini- Alton towers in 40 square miles of nothingness, with a complimentary bus, boat and rail service.

Downtown disney is a nice lively place though. Although you need a fecking passport to get served beer even when your over 30 FFS.

But its all completely overrated IMO.

The best Disney parks are the water ones. On the winter-themed one, going down that huge slide at 60mph is a good buzz. (Cant remember name of it)

Universal's parks have much better rides overall though, especially if the kids are over 10/11/12 etc.

[Chav]

[ QUOTE ]

I'm thinking of taking my family to Disney World for a couple of weeks in July.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just noticed that Russ.

We were in Magic Kingdom on July 4th last year... feck me it was busy

Its 90-100 degrees every day of course and the kids need to be prepared for that.

[Chav]

Personally I'd do the caribbean again... preferably a cruise round the caribbean!!

Last year we did a week in WDW followed by a weeks cruise round the west caribbean.

The cruise was much much much much more fun than WDW.

I'd definitely recommend it to anyone! Its just non stop party atmosphere. The kids have the time of their lives.

Can't recommend it enough. We went on the Carnival Triumph. Not the most expensive, but not full of snotty twats. Dam good laugh!

[a4tdi130]

My wife fancies a cruise, as does my youngest who is a boat fanatic (the 4 year old). Might be another option to consider I think Disney World is going to definitely be put on hold for a year or two, I asked the kids and only one of them seemed interested, but when I said "...or would you rather go back to the place with the swimming pools and beach..." they all shouted "yay!"

[Pincher]

[ QUOTE ]

The best Disney parks are the water ones. On the winter-themed one, going down that huge slide at 60mph is a good buzz. (Cant remember name of it)

[/ QUOTE ]

Summit Plummet(or Plummet Summit - can't remember which way round it is)

[a4tdi130]

Decision has been made, will be booking it tomorrow Going to go for a 3 week holiday in Florida, in a "close-to-disney-but-not-in-disney" hotel, with a car. The plan will be to spend the odd day at Disney World, but also drive down to Miami beach and get out and about. Every holiday we've ever been on has always been an all-inclusive where we just stay in the resort for two weeks, so this time we're going to be a bit more adventurous.

I would have booked it today, but the website we're using (because it's the best price and package) only offers up to 2 week holidays, you need to phone them for 3 week packages, so we'll be doing that first thing tomorrow morning.

It'll work out at around £4,500 for the 5 of us, for 3 weeks including car rental and room-only hotel (3 star). Apparently most of the hotels are a bit run down and crappy, but to be honest I'm not going out there to complain about the hotel - I'm going out there to enjoy the area and attractions and can put up with a dingy room if it comes down to that (hopefully not, but better to prepare for the worst .

So - thanks guys for your input, I will drop another message on here once it's all booked and let you know what/where/when (as long as you promise not to come and steal my cars and burgle my house whilst I'm away!)

[ScottishS4]

I am from Florida and have a little insight into your pain. When I was younger, my parents used to drive me 1000 miles from Washington DC to Disney...at the time it was horrible.

Regardless of where you stay in Orlando, as long as you have a car, you are set. If you are staying at a villa or home, you just need to watch the traffic into and out of the parks in the early morning. Most villas have swimming pools, so your older kids will love that. Oh yea, Publix is the name of the super market in Florida, about the same as Tesco.

At the parks, bring LOTS of sun screen. Everything costs a bomb there and often they don't have very strong stuff (perhaps because it gets sold out so quickly). If you are taking a buggy, stock it with water as well. Oh, and watch the birds in Epcot...they dive bomb your deep fried dough!

If your kids like Space Stuff, Cape Canaveral is only 45 mins by car from Orlando. They have a great visitor centre with some lovely tours through the derilect parts of the centre. Saturn V building is a must.

The drive to Miami is particularly boring...2 hours of nothing until you hit Palm Beach county, when you get 60 miles of wall to wall traffic and roadworks. Try to arrive in Palm Beach around noon or after 19:30 to avoid rush hour.

BTW, if you are at a traffic light that is red but you are turning right, you may get a few beeps. In the US you can turn right on a red, as long as you stop first, look, and proceed. Just a little local advise.

Miami is a lot of fun if you are older. With younger children you may be advised to enjoy the beach water sports and hotel amenities. There is some nice shopping to be had at the Bal Harbor shops. Trying to think of other exciting things to do, but it is really just beach, party, and drink in Miami.

You could drive to Key West as well. It is another 1.5 to 2 hours (40-50mph all the way). Great scenery and a funky little town. Earnest Hemingway's house is there with a millino cats.

Have fun and watch the weather! Hurricanes don't threaten Florida until late August, but always look out for them

Email me if you have any questions.

Have a blast!

[shao_khan]

DOnt forget - one MUST - you can swim with Manitees in Florida, they are an endangered species, but on the increase from what we were told. Fantastic creatures - huge great 2 ton odd swimming elephants that actually encourage you to tickle their belly when you are swimming with them. Well worth the trip.

[Sparky]

Universal Studios (and Universal Island of Adventure), Wet'n'Wild, Busch Gardens (Tampa) are also highly recommended.

When you're in these parks (inc Disney ones), you can purchase a drinks container and then fill it up for free as often as you like at all the drinks stations.

[a4tdi130]

All booked! 3 weeks at "SpringHill Suites" in Buena Vista, rental car (7 seater van), 5 x 21 day ultimate disney passes, 5 x 14 day orlando 4 park tickets.

I'm now £6000 lighter, the kids better bloody appreciate it!