Disneyworld?

[akantar]

We are thinking of going to Disneyworld. I would love some honest opinions about whether it is worth the money? What you liked and did not like.
I joined a Disney facebook group and the posts on there are about how awesome and amazing it is, but nowhere is 100% amazing, so I do not trust the posts. So I want to know from families who have been there what you really thought of it? Is it better or worse for certain ages of children? Thanks.

We love it, but I recognise it is a marmite holiday.

Pick your timings carefully. I'd avoid the summer holidays if at all possible. We really rate around Halloween into November if possible (but will depend if you have school age kids). There is a sweet spot where you can attend the last Halloween party, then have some time where the Magic Kingdom doesn't close early a few times a week for the parties and then start to see the Christmas decorations go up.

I really recommend disboards as a good resource.

We took my SIl and her family a few years ago when her kids were 10 and 13. To our surprise everybody absolutely loved it. Kids are nearly 18 now and want to go again!

We went to Disneyland Paris with our 4yo and 4 month old. 4yo loved it - we're entitled to a disability pass so not much queuing. We're taking dcs to Disneyworld Florida this year, they will be 6 and 2. We have family in another part of Florida so we're visiting them anyway, and dcs seem fine with jet lag and the heat (we fly to Florida once a year, but not done Disneyworld before). We never go in the summer though, we've done October half term, Easter and Christmas school holidays.

We’ve been a few times, but in May. There would a few super hot days but was manageable.
we didn’t have days off but we had later starts and then stayed out later. Occasionally there’s bad weather so you end up back in the hotel for an early day/night anyway.
We did do lots of planning but that’s because of the free dining plan they used to give, to make sure we had dinner bookings we wanted. That would dictate where we might be that day, or at least dinner time.
I have a friend who doesn’t plan but she’s been loads of times and I’m still shocked how little she’s seen after 6 times. They spend a lot of time going to the bars, evening stuff.

We've been quite a few times over the years, last time was 2022.
Really enjoy it BUT I do think it's gone downhill a bit with the additional fees of Genie Plus. You obviously don't need to pay for this, but the queues can be massive depending on when you choose to go and considering you used to be able to "book" times for rides for free it smarts a bit. It's not a couple of dollars per ride either, it's bloody expensive.
We prefer Universal (I have teens though so they can go on all the rides, not so suitable for tinies).
We probably won't go for a while now, although we will be back in Florida.
I'm sure you'll have a brilliant time if you do choose to go!

We go nearly every year and LOVE it (obviously)
Yes it needs some planning, yes it’s very tiring but it is just so magical.

It is expensive so do give a lot of thought to whether it’s your type of holiday, there’s lots of vlogs available of peoples trips that will give you a good idea of what to expect.

As mentioned above, The Dibb is an excellent website with lots of tips and some very in depth trip reports.

I haven't read the other replies but I needed to comment haha!

I LOVE Disney! We went in 2018 which was my first time and before I had children

We then went again in 2022, when I had a 2yr 2 month old and I was 21 weeks pregnant with our second (wed booked it before I found out I was pregnant)

It's amazing. All of it I love it. Yes it's hot, yes it can be humid but it's so worth it!

I'll talk about the time we went with our 2 year old.
Flight - he was absolutely fine! We bought an airline approved harness for the plane for take off and landing which helped him feel secure and like he was in a pram. He was honestly an angel.
Sleep - went to absolute shit. Didn't help that he decided holiday was the perfect time to learn how to climb out of the cot. We co-slept for nearly 3 weeks but whatever it worked, the bed was huge
Parks - ir was fine. Not much for him to do in some parks but he loved magic kingdom, animal kingdom, Epcot and the water parks. He was up early every day, we would do parks for opening time and come back in the afternoon where he would nap (and me lol) and go back out in the evening

Honestly I feel like 2/3 is probably one of the hardest ages to take them but he had the most amazing time as did we (I would have enjoyed it more not pregnant) but there we go.

We definitely plan to go back again when our youngest is 3/4 (eldest will be 5/6)

It's tough but it really is an amazing place

I will add we stayed in a massive villa with MIL,FIL,SIL her husband and 3 kids so did have some help.
But we also got stuck in Florida for an extra 3 days due to a hurricane 🫠

Join https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums there is SO much helpful information on here for a first timer, or anyone for that matter.

We went in October just gone and though DP and I had both gone numerous times as children and teens. We felt like Disney and universal had both lost the magic!
It's not (universal studios and Disney) enough of a theme park ride wise and both had got rid of rides/ the extras which made them magic. Such as the back lot tours, animators working on the next film. Universal studios have gone down the 3d route for a lot of their rides which to us was boring - we were lucky that we didn't queue for long times mostly 20 mins but know if we had queued hours for the rides we would have been miffed! However we did love the rides at universal island of adventure as we are thrill seekers.

We actually preferred Disneyland Paris that had more magic for us, had better shows even though was in French and then English. However the fireworks at WDW were amazing!

Thank you Fraley!

People who say - we went years ago and didn’t plan - things have changed…massively. A lot because of covid and just generally.

The first time we went in 2018 I planned to within an inch of my life and it was completely worth it. But then I enjoy doing that kinda thing!

it’s expensive but completely worth it. In my opinion.

It is amazing, and absolutely worth the money.

But you can’t just wing it and go with the flow, you need to plan it if you want to fit stuff in and be able to attend certain events and table service restaurants.

If you’ve never been you cannot understand what it is like to be there - the magic, the atmosphere. It really is something else.

We ended going 3 times and I wouldn't have thought we were your typical family to do it.
I couldn't stay at a Disney resort though, and we have always rented a car. This meant we could go to Cape Canaveral, gator land and we always had chill out time in the villa.

You’re very welcome. I found this site in around 2010 & it has been priceless in terms of planning not only Disney trips but other U.S trips also.

Absolutely agree with this.

I’ve been every few years since I was 5- back then, you could rock up to whatever park you fancied on whatever day and it was fine, no real need to plan.

Now with restrictions on park hopping (thankfully now ending), Genie Plus, Lightning Lanes, more dining options, the My Disney Experience app, you just can’t wing it anymore! It seems like so much work for a holiday, and I know the place well- it must be really daunting for first timers.

We’re heading over in November as a big family holiday with my parents, sister and BIL and despite the headaches caused by planning, I can’t wait!

Imo, April is the best time to go - lovely weather, not too hot.

I would also make sure that all children going could cope with the long flight and were of an age to fully enjoy it/remember the experience. Mine were 11 & 9 when we first went and I wished we’d gone a couple of years earlier, but no younger.

You can get lots of advice on TripAdvisor and also ask for help there too:

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowForum-g34515-i19-Orlando_Florida.html

A holiday to WDW Florida needs planning like a military campaign- for me, that was always part of the fun, but it’s not for everyone. I second those PPse who have stressed that you can’t just ‘wing it’.

why can you not wing it

1. Dining reservations go out 6 months in advance. The best ones fill up really quickly and most of them are in parks. That means you need to decide what parks you want to do and on what day. Otherwise you won’t get tables at eg cinderellas castle, Be my guest and a lot of character dining
2. Disney had a restriction on park numbers for a long time due to covid so you had to book the park you wanted and couldn’t park hop. Restrictions are all ending/ended now but that made it difficult for a while and made planning essential
3. There is a lot to do there and you can’t physically do everything in 2 weeks so you need to plan. How many days in Disney? Are you going to do Universal, Seaworld, Busch gardens as well? How about. Trip to the space centre…etc
4. What about accommodation? Villa or onsite. Have you balanced the cost of parking and car hire etc against the cost of staying onsite. Lot to think about there
5. Queues. They can be horrendous. Are you going to get there very early and go straight to the rides you want. Are you going to book the Fast pass systems? (Called something different in each place)
6. What evening shows do you want to see? Fireworks, laser show etc. Need to make sure you are in the right park in time to get a good space

There are loads of other things to take into account but that’s to give you an idea. We have been 10+ times and never go without a plan

We’re going this year. We want to eat at places like Cinderella’s Royal Table and other popular restaurants so this required knowing exactly where we wanted to eat at each park and booking restaurants for our trip 60 days in advance (we’re staying onsite), as soon as slots opened!

Same for booking experiences like Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, which I wouldn’t even have been aware of if we’d just turned up and winged it.

There has been a lot of planning involved so far. Luckily I enjoy it!

I really wouldn't wing a theme park based Florida holiday -this has been explained very well by the poster above so I won't repeat anything.
To be honest I didn't find the planning part particularly hard -I enjoyed looking at what we could do and when. There are loads of tools online saying which days are busy/quiet at each park and what rides to do at what time. For example, catching Kilimanjaro Safari early in the day usually means you will see the animals more active while the weather isn't as hot (depending when you go obviously!).
We travel a lot while there (going to Tampa and Clearwater etc) so I've always made sure I look at where parking is, what events are on, what resteraunts are best. I've managed to catch some great local events that way that I wouldn't necessarily have just happened across.
There are also loads and loads of Disney vloggers on YouTube who can give you endless advice and ideas.
Honestly, it may be seem daunting but it's not at all. It's part of the fun for me!

The only planning we've ever done is to decide which park we're going to do on each day for the first week or so.

So if it's just Disney, the 'plan' might be:

Epcot
Magic Kingdom
Animal Kingdom
Hollywood Studios
Typhoon Lagoon
Blizzard Beach

Then we go back to each park to do anything we didn't get a chance to do the first go-around, or to repeat rides. The water parks might be done in the a.m, with a round of mini golf in the pm, or vice versa, depending on the weather. Or shopping, if anyone wants to go.

However- none of us ever wanted to do character dining or anything, so if you want to do those then you need to book well in advance.

If you have to go in school summer holidays, go for the last two weeks of August. Flights are often a little cheaper, and it isn't quite as humid in Florida. It will rain though, but that's ok- it rarely lasts long and is still fairly warm. (Having said that- the last two times we've been it has rained quite a lot on one or two days. Take several pairs of trainers to allow them to dry out.)

We've done onsite accommodation (Saratoga Springs) and villas offsite. Loved the dining plan when staying onsite, and the ease of transport, but prefer a villa because none of us want to share a room with each other!

We've done a mix, too, of car hire, shuttle busses and Uber/Lyft. Uber/Lyft actually worked very well- but we are a group of three adults and an older teen, so easier than it would be with young children and their gear.

All of this and more.

We are just back from a two week trip, with a week in Disney, 5 nights at universal (including a day trip to the space station) and then 3 nights at the Gulf coast. There was our family with two children (teen and pre-teen) and another family.

We had an amazing time, but found it knackering and spent an absolute fortune. However, we had decided to use some inheritance on a family trip of a lifetime, so really we spared no expense, staying on site and having a number of character dining experiences etc.

We planned our days to the extent that we booked our character dining at 60 days in advance and then organised our park days around that. We didn't micro-plan them, but we had a broad idea for each day of what we wanted to do. It worked fine for us, giving us structure without being too rigid.

Disney World is amazing place to go and an incredible experience. The sheer scale of it, the attention to detail, and the care and attention put into maintaining the Disney bubble is something to behold. Everything is perfect, to the extent that we joked it was almost bordering on being a bit 'Stepford wives' 🫣🤣

Would I go back? Not sure. There are plenty of other places in the world I'd like to see, but it was tremendous nonetheless!

Oh I so want to go. My husband wants to do the space station.

Can you do disney in 2 weeks?

And how much do you reckon it was altogether?