Originally Posted By mickeymousears I am looking for any advice you can offer on a WDW Vacation. I live in California, I have NEVER been to WDW (of course I've enjoyed Dland since I was a baby), nor have I ever been to Florida. I am graduating with a Master's degree in May and would love to mark the occasion with a WDW vacation in June! sooo... what advice can you give? should I book with the WDW vacation thing, or would I save tons of money figuring it out on my own? (as you would in Cali) Is one day per park enough time? Im really not interested in the water parks and golf things. Just Epcot, the animal kingdom, and the magic kingdom. Do I need to rent a car? I really dont care about a fancy hotel, as long as the bed is comfortable and the room is clean, HOWEVER... I saw on travel channel a room you can stay in and feed the giraffes from the balcony (it would be WONDERFUL to stay there for a night) any clue where that place is? one last question, how difficult is it to see other parts of Florida from orlando? Is Orlando far from the other main cities (miami, the keys, etc)? They look far on a map, but I have found that other states aren't as spread out as Cali and maps are deceiving Thank you soo much for helping me!
Originally Posted By darcy-becker I haven't been to WDW before myself. My first trip is in April. So I can't help much. But I do know the hotel you refer to is The Animal Kingdom Lodge. Unfortunately it is a deluxe and therefore quite expensive. If money was no object that is where I would stay. We are going to eat there though.
Originally Posted By seafairy1622 I booked my June trip through disney and got 3 nights free, when you stay 7 nights. you can still get the deal if you book by Jan. 24. I have been to DW 4 times and have only stayed on disney property. There are great perks with staying with disney. Magical express, they pick you up at the airport and take you back for free. They also get your luggage. Extra magic hours for disney resort guests. One park opens early or stays open late. I love being surrounded by disney the whole time. The hotel with the giraffes is Animal Kingdom Lodge. I have stayed there. It is wonderful. We didn't have the balcony where you see the animals from your room, that was extra. But we went out in the mornings and saw the animals. That was really neat. I perfer just the magic your way base ticket. One park a day. It is cheaper and you can take your time in one park and not have to ride bus after bus. I have never rented a car there just used the disney buses. Last year we stayed at all star Music. It is one of the value resorts. I thought it was fine. We got the broadway section and loved it. The themeing was really good. Room was always clean. This June we are staying at Port Orleans Riverside for 7 nights. Then All star Movies for 3 nights. Last year we only went to Universal Studios and disney parks. This year we will go to Sea World, Discovery Cove and Weeki Watchee. I haven't explored more of Orlando yet. I would also recommend the dinning plan. It's nice to already have your food already paid for. Hope this helps.
Originally Posted By t1lersm0m Hi, yes the hotel you are speaking of is Animal Kingdom Lodge, but you cannot feed the animals. They have video cameras and you can actually get thrown out if they find you are throwing anything down from your balcony (unless things have changed). Florida is quite spread out if you are talking about going from Orlando to Miami, Key West etc etc. Yes, you would need a rental car.
Originally Posted By Disneymom443 everyone has said everyting I would. so another great sit is allearsnet.com. Deb has wonderful info on all the resorts, restaurants and parks. If you fly and stay on prop. the ME(magical express) is great. It is very easy and you don't have to worrie about your luggage. My family use the Disney buses to get around. But if you want to do to places outside of Disney you need to rent a car. Some people don't like to wait for the buses and rent a car even if they are only staying on prop. I love the DDP(Disney Dinning Plan) It is different then the one the DL has in place. Allears will also tell you about that as well. I hope you have fun and will see that WDW is much different than DL. Don't compair DL to MK(Magic Kingdom) you will be disapointed. Enjoy your trip. lots of help will be on the way from other wonderful LPers.
Originally Posted By lovesthemouse I moved to FLA from CA just two years ago, and frequent the parks regularly. Orlando is pretty much in the middle of the state, however it is quite a drive to the keys, especially Key West, you might compare it to a trip from Sacto to San Diego. That said, there is tons to do that is within reach of Disney-Kennedy Space Center is very near by, as are the beaches on either coast(Tampa/Clearwater or Daytona). If you are doing everything Disney-skip the rental car, however, the state of Fl is incredible and the beaches are well worth the cost of a rental car, it just depends on the time you want to spend in the sunshine state!
Originally Posted By EmmaJayne I'm also looking at coming to WDW this September..is there anywhere cheaper and close enough to stay that isn't on Dinsye property? If not I was looking at the value accomodation which seems fine (I'm a 20 year old student..money really is an issue) also how many nights is enough? I have 5 days at DL last year and felt it was only just enough..I thought maybe 7-8 days for WDW? Any help would be great..
Originally Posted By Disneymom443 7-8 days is good for beening on a buget. Otherwise I would stay 10-12 days. I don't know about any of the outside hotels, but if the value works for you then that is what I would do. I like the peerks. The bus trans portation, packages stent to your resort, and extra magic hours. Hope that helped. Also allearsnet.com will have infor for offsite hotels too.
Originally Posted By lovesthemouse Hi Emma Jayne, I agree, if you can stay on property-do it. The $ and time you save is well worth it, no need to get a rental car, no parking fees, and you can come and go back to your hotel room when you need to take a rest, plus the added benefit of extra magic hours. There are lots of ways to cut costs in WDW, just ask the helpful people here, at Laughing Place. Some of my choices are-order kids meals in the parks, bring a water bottle with you (fill it up at the hotel before you leave in the AM), and buy the refillable soda cup at your resort-we made our own Mochas in the morning mixing Hot Chocolate and coffee. Most of all, decide how much you can spend each day (I do that using cash each day) and stick to it, if you splurge on something one day, cut back on the next day. Have Fun!
Originally Posted By jazzfan4 Days for each park most parks will take only a day, but epcot takes 2. The buy 4 get seven worked good for us earlier this month even though we only stayed 6 nights. We used the $200 gift card to buy dinner at some of the nicer eateries. Coming in september they usually have a package with free dining but june will be more difficult. Visit the Disney site often watching for specials. You DO NOT need a car but If you want one for a few days Alamo has a rental place on proerty so you can use the magic express and then rent a car for the few days it is needed. The space center is a one day trip and Bushe Gardens in Tampa would also be a day and either has beaches close. Universal, sea world and Discovery cove are very close.
Originally Posted By grammy954 I am in Phoenix and go to DL quite often. When we go to WDW every few years, we do 2 days at Epcot and AK, 1 day at what is now Hollywood Studios, 1 day at Magic Kingdom, and 1 day at a water park. That still doesn't seem like enough time. We could spend another day at every park easy. First time we went, we stayed off property. I won't ever do that again - I like the transportation, especially after a long day when my feet hurt, we take advantage of the extra Magic hours, and we don't need a rental car.
Originally Posted By jodiefra We are frequent DLR visitors but only get to WDW every few years. Compared to DL, the place can be very overwhelming. I have read that the entire Disneyland resort can fit into the parking lot at the Magic Kingdom in WDW! If you're looking for a travel agent, "Mousefan travel" has helped us and they're awesome -- they know just about everything about WDW and can find out stuff they don't know. We have found them every bit as helpful as the Disney travel people. They also have a web site (I think it's mousefantravel.com) I recommend using the Disney.com site to preview things, print maps, etc. so you have an idea what to expect. If you have time, you should also get the free vacation DVD. There are also great podcasts if you're into those (just search Disney at iTunes). The more research you do, the better. You will have a BLAST, but I would allow at least two days per park if you can. Have fun!!
Originally Posted By markymouse Others have already said that Miami and the Keys are a long drive from Disney World. If you are renting a car and are interested in natural Florida, look into the beaches in the Tampa area and a state park called Blue Spring State Park. If you've never been in the Atlantic, or only been in the Northeast, you are in for a surprise. The Gulf and the southern Atlantic are warmer than any Californian ever realized water can be. In California, only the kids swim. In Florida, everyone is playing in the water. Blue Spring has a little of everything you need to see natural Florida. Alligators. Swimming. Not in the same place. Pike-like fish - like that scary thing that eats Nemo's mother. We've even seen river otters there. The spring puts out crystal clear water. Too cold for the alligators and too little oxygen for the scary fish. So that's where people swim, though it is chilly. You can rent a canoe - paddle into the river if you like canoeing around alligators. Or toward the spring if you don't. Its about an hour north of Disney World. One guide book called it a real Jungle Cruise. I wouldn't get a rental car just for it. But if you are renting a car, that is a good destination. If we go this summer, we want to go to the the fort at St. Augustine. But that is at least another hour north. I've heard a couple of people say that Cape Canaveral is a bit of a let down. It is not EPCOT or your favorite science museum. Its a tour of a working place. I'd only do it if I had space fans along. We're looking into a trip this summer. It seems really different from Disneyland in that there is a lot more to plan. There are more incentives to stay on site. But compared to Disneyland, the nearby off site motels are much, much cheaper. Eating at Disney World is very different, in that reservations or the Disney version there of seem to be the norm and you can't count on eating where you want without them. Look into that, and into the Dining Plan. The Magic Kingdom has fewer attractions spread out over a MUCH larger area. Planning your day should take this into account. I've just started taking this into account as I think about collecting Fastpasses. At Disneyland, only Splash Mountain seems really isolated as you're planning your day. At WDW's Magic Kingdom, things are going to be farther apart than you'd expect from the map.
