(Vanity) Anyone been to Disney World lately?

First, October is a good time to go.

Second, where to stay depends a lot on your kids’ ages, how many of them you have, and your budget. If you can afford it, I recommend the Polynesian or the Contemporary - direct monorail access to the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT is tremendously convenient. The Grand Floridian has the same transportation advantages, but it is not as much geared to kids.

I know I am going against the grain here, but my experience is transportation at on-site hotels that are served only by bus is not worth the extra cost of those hotels, especially if you can stay within 15 minutes’ drive of the parks. The TTC is not *that* bad, and it is fast and easy to get to the gate at Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios.

Unlike the other posters, we did NOT enjoy the on-site budget resort we stayed at (All-Star Movies). The rooms are tiny and the walls are thin. True, you are not there much, but when you are, you are probably tired and want to sleep. The noise level was so bad late into the night that we got very little rest. The lines in the cafeteria were long and the food was not very good (even for cafeteria food). The budget properties have huge numbers of rooms, so at peak times the lines for the buses to and from the parks are long. Once we had to wait almost an hour just to get ON a bus after EPCOT closed, and then our hotel was the last stop, so the trip took close to 90 minutes. That was not fun, since we were already exhausted and carrying sleeping kids. The long walk from the bus stop was one final “joy.” You’re going in October so maybe the closing time bus service won’t be as bad. But after that trip we decided we would never stay in a Disney budget property again.

I’ve stayed in a moderate property (French Quarter) and really liked the hotel, but I wasn’t impressed with the speed of the bus service.

The last time we went, we rented a house off-site. You can get a 3-4 bedroom house with its own yard and screened-in pool for $1000-$1200 a week, including taxes. (Since I have a big family that would need two hotel rooms, I cut my lodging costs in half by staying in a rental house compared to a Disney moderate hotel.) Most of these houses are quite nice, very clean and well-maintained. They are fully-equipped and furnished, just BYO paper goods, laundry and dishwashing detergents, and food. My kids liked the rental house better than any other place we’ve stayed.

We have also stayed in condos - not timeshare presentation deals, just rented condos. This has many of the same advantages and disadvantages as a house, but usually more noise, less privacy, and cheaper. It’s another good option for large families on a budget, since 3 bedrooms that sleep 6-8 are fairly common.

The main disadvantages to renting a house or condo are (1) no maid service during your stay, (2) you usually have to rent by the week, and (3) you’re on your own for transportation. Definitely pay attention to location/drive times, and expect the rental agencies to low-ball drive time estimates. (Off-site hotels tend to underestimate drive times, too.)

I don’t have any off-site hotel recommendations (haven’t stayed in any), but many of them have shuttle buses that go to the parks’ gates. Most of the buses are on a multi-hotel route, so the transit times are probably longer than on-site hotel buses.

I’ve never done it, but for people who like to camp, I’ve heard good things about the Fort Wilderness Campground...they have sing-alongs and s’mores around the campfire and other fun activities for kids.
As for touring the parks, basically the idea is this: if you don’t like lines, “zig” when the crowd “zags.” There are lots of books and websites that tell you exactly how to do this in varying degrees of detail. I don’t want to advertise for any particular site, so you can PM me if you want to know which website I used. It was really helpful in avoiding lines and getting more rides in per day. But you have to be willing to take the time to make a plan and be willing to stick to it.

If you don’t want to stick to a plan, one general tip is to get to the park early, waiting at the gate for opening time. Find out in advance which rides and attractions are “must-do” activities for your family at that park. Then as soon as you enter the park, walk past all the photographers and attractions near the entrance and go straight to your highest-priority attractions. You will get to ride with a minimal wait. If you really liked something, grab a Fast Pass to come back later and skip the (long) line to ride it one more time. Now you can relax and tour at your own pace, since everyone has already done their “must-do” activities.

Another way I am going to go against the grain of the other posters is that I *actively avoid* whichever park has the extra early opening hour. Why? More people go to the park with early opening, and they tend to stay - meaning longer lines all day. So I think you lose that hour later on. Also watch for special events...unless you really want to attend the event, go to a different park and the extra event crowds.

For meals in the park, eat at off-peak times when possible. If you want to eat at a sit-down place, make reservations. This is really important, since you often have long lines or can’t even get into the best places without reservations.

If you have fish/shark lovers, try to get reservations for the Coral Reef restaurant when you’re at Epcot. It’s very expensive (especially at dinner), but eating underwater with fish and sharks swimming around you is an experience.

If you want to do character meals for your kids, I have tried three: Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary was pretty good, the Crystal Palace was a dud (crowded, buffet food which was not as good as I expected from Disney, not much interaction with the characters), and the breakfast at ‘Ohana at the Polynesian was really enjoyable...both the food and the characters. You will need reservations for any character dining, and some reservations are very hard to get, especially Cinderella’s Royal Table.

If your kids aren’t like fireworks and light shows, definitely try to catch both the EPCOT closing show and the Fantasmic closing show at Hollywood Studios. Animal Kingdom is nice if the kids like animals or dinosaurs, and it’s small enough to do everything in one day.

Oh, and I agree that park-hopping is rarely worth it due to the long travel times. IMO, it’s only worthwhile to go between EPCOT and the Magic Kingdom on the monorail. And it doesn’t make sense to pay extra to for a park-hopper ticket if you aren’t going to park-hop much.

Hope you have a great vacation!

We drove from Jacksonville, NC and it took us about 11 hours. Of course, it takes us forever to get to 95. We have stayed on and off park, and we GREATLY preferred on. If you are military, they have some great discounts and you can get your Hopper tickets at ITT. We went when hubby got home from Afghanistan, and when they found out, they gave us a day-long fast pass and were just wonderful. My husband has the fast pass thing down to a science. My kids are older, so we spent most of our time at Epcot and Hollywood studios. If you want to do the Toy Story arcade ride, do it on a day when you get in early if. You are on property, and do it FIRST. the fast passes for that ride vanish early. The line is crazy for it. Enjoy!!

We actually got a better price using the military discount at Carribean Beach than we could have gotten at Shades Of Green. Plus, Shades doesn’t offer the meal plan, and we saved a lot using that. In addition, honestly, I go on vacation to get away from being surrounded by all things military. Shades prices by rank, so younger families may benefit, but if you are an Officer or senior Enlisted, you may do better using the military discount at another on-property resort.

and they hire illegal aliens to clean their hotels/restaurants etc.

They do have many foreign people working there but 99.9% are students on visa's.

Been there 4 times. If you’ve been to D-Land, the Magic Kingdom in Orlando is similar with more space.

EPCOT was meant to be like a world’s fair. Different countries and whatever the exhibit or ride it always empties into the inevitable gift shop.

I recommend the trip and hope you have some funds for the occasion.

If you go to Central Florida, tour the space center. It’s real and you want to see it before Obama turns it into a ghost town.

Hotels can be expensive, especially on the Disney grounds. If you have a family member or friend with time share, it may be easier to pay them and get a good suite with a kitchen.

Book your flights early, especially if you’re going during school breaks or summer.

>> “They do have many foreign people working there but 99.9% are students on visa’s.” <<

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That is unlawful.

A student visa does not permit working for wages except on the campus they are enrolled to.
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Someone noticed

Tx

Nobody goes there any more, it’s too crowded!