Please help me with Disney Florida!

[holidaymay]

2 adults 2 kids age 10 & 12
would love to do Disney Florida this summer. I have an unexpected cash sum to spend on a fantastic holiday. Can spend £10,000 happily, possibly more. Kids would be over the moon.

i don’t know where to start, it’s overwhelming.

so please help me! Tell me the best places to say, how long for, where to go etc.

I’ve got 2 week holiday in the school summer holidays.

thank you!!

We’ve been many times but decided we won’t be going back for the foreseeable. Couldn’t enjoy it right now and wouldn’t feel safe in this current climate.

We have stayed in the Disney All Star resorts and found them to be just what we needed. Also 2 adults and 2 children similar ages to yours.
With your budget you might be able to go for something a bit mote luxurious, depends if you want an on site hotel or private villa etc.
How exciting!

We stayed at Pop Century - it isn't much more expensive than the All Star resorts and the Skyliner for Hollywood Studios and Epcot is a game changer.

We stayed 8 nights then moved off site to do some other days out like Kennedy Space Centre, Gatorland, go shopping etc. That was enough time to do all the parks, the only one I would have liked to go again was the water park.

I think it is worth having a car so you can go off site for a few meals if you want to, go to a supermarket for bottled water etc.

I would seriously consider staying in a Disney Partner Hotel, some of the same benefits such as early park access, but you'll probably get more for your money. We stayed in the Drury Plaza Disney Springs, last year. It has its own transport buses to the parks, but also offers breakfast, free tea and coffee throughout the day, plus evening kickback snacks and 3 alcoholic drinks free every night for each adult. We had a view of Magic Kingdom and Epcot so could make out the fireworks from both each night. It was amazing and we would definitely consider this hotel if we go again.

Tickets will set you back about £2,500. Are you planning to do Universal as well, or only Disney? If you can stretch to it then 2 weeks would be best, although you could go for longer and still not see absolutely everything. Planning is key.

🥱

We always stayed in Lake Buena Vista and found the location perfect. Easy to get to Disney or Universal but we could walk to restaurants, iHOP, mini golf etc in the evening for a more relaxed vibe. I think I’d chose to stay nearer Disney Springs if going again though as it has so many options and is handy for buses/transport. Have hired a car previously but would recommend Uber or Lyft instead as found this easier and cheaper! Definitely plan your trip and make use of the fast passes - they come out 30 days ahead so you must know where you’ll be on which day but it makes a huge difference getting to skip the queues. Try to research what rides you want to prioritise and aim for those for fast passes, especially if they’re new/popular. I also recommend trying to get morning slots as much as possible as once you’ve used your passes, you can book more on the day! But only after you’ve used the original ones so having them early in the day increases your chances of getting more fast passes later - a handy tip to make the most of the parks! I absolutely love Orlando and am so excited when people decide to go, it’s just the best!

There’s no ‘wrong’ way to do Florida.

I’ve stayed everywhere from the most expensive Disney hotels to budget I drive / 192 motels and always have a lovely time.

My favourite is a private villa because you get so much space to stretch out and your own pool. Staying ‘on site’ is not actually on a park, there are very few hotels you can walk to a park from, so by the time you’ve caught a Disney bus you could have driven back to your villa. And waiting for a Disney bus after the fireworks is soul destroying imo.

Villas start from about £800 per week

To avoid long queues, aim for end August to avoid USA school holidays, later the better even going into 1st week September depending on when your 2 need to be back in class.

You can walk to Magic Kingdom from Disney’s Contemporary Hotel (the ‘modern’ one with the MonoRail running through it) but it’s pricey. Buses run from the Disney Hotels to all the parks and the shopping/eating area Disney Springs.

If you can stretch to 2 weeks, make sure you do Universal Studios too, especially if your kids love Harry Potter. They have 4 sites, the original Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, the brand new Epic Universe and a waterpark called Volcano Bay. Get multi park tickets to ride the Hogwarts Express between Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley.

Seaworld also sell multi park tickets for an excellent price which includes snorkelling at Discovery Cove with all inclusive food and drinks.

Kids LOVE harry potter

ive looked at some hotels, i’m not keen on 2 double beds for 4 people. Would prefer separate beds for my kids, even better separate bedroom! What would be the best option for accommodation in that basis?

we would probably be out all day, not returning until we’d finished in the park for the day. We’re just not the sort of people that would go back and forth.

We’ve just booked for next year. It’s often difficult to advise as everyone looks for different things out of the trip. Personally when we’ve been we’ve always stayed at a low budget Disney hotel. We like the benefits of being on property (and not having to drive etc). But everyone is different in that respect. All the hotels I’ve ever stayed in have been budget and have the two double beds. You may end up having to pay more for more beds so maybe for you staying off property is better. But I couldn’t say for definite regarding prices so I’m sure someone else will know better!

When we’ve been for two weeks we’ve stayed at Disney and just got a cab to universal for a couple of days. But they have an extra park since I’ve last been (epic universe) so you’ll likely need at least a third day there. Although it is possible to combine parks. It just depends if you/kids want to ride everything etc and if you’re paying for express passes etc.

We also like Disney as we like the “free” dining they are doing. We’ve booked for next year and have one free quick service meal a day included in the package. Plus we like having the photo pass and other things. So you’ll need to look into the extras that come with a package staying on property and what you can get price wise in comparison off property.

If you want to do the universal parks then stay at the hotels nearby that offer the fast passes (hard rock etc.) we do that and then switch to a villa for Disney.

It really depends how you want 'to do' Orlando. Many people choose to rope drop, so arriving at the parks 45 mins before the earliest opening time and then getting to the most popular ride as quickly as you can - that makes for a long day and a lot of walking, probably upwards of 20000 steps a day. Make sure you have good, supportive trainers.

Plan in non-park days for a bit of a rest. It's very tempting to want to take advantage of being there due to the expense, but a break helps.

I would say the majority of hotels have the 2 beds, one room set up, however of course you can find a suite option, but it will cost alot more. Do you have a price in mind? In August you will probably be paying a premium. If you plan to do Disney, Universal and SeaWorld then you are looking at £4,500 on tickets alone.

A villa might be cheaper for the set up you want, but then you will spend a lot on Uber, or spend alot on car hire and parking at the parks.

If you are in Facebook then I suggest joining the Disney World Florida for Brits group and Its Orlando Time.

@holidaymay the best resource I know of is The DIBB https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/index.php

The best advice I had was plan it like a military exercise but don’t tell the kids. Work out your must dos and plan around them.

@holidaymay I keep getting my posts put into quarantine because I included a link to another site. Hopefully they will unblock them. There is a good website called TheDIBB.

Decide if you want to stay on site in a Disney hotel or offsite. Pros and cons to both. E.g. if you stay offsite you have to pay for parking everyday. I think it might be 25 dollars a day but someone can correct me. For ease, I would stay at one of the Skyline (cable car) resorts or monorail resorts (but these are much more expensive).

You can stay at the Disney hotels a lot cheaper by buying DVC points from one of the several reputable companies but you might need to move hotels to get the full 2 weeks.

Do you just want to go to Disney or other places like Universal?

Do you want to fly direct or non-direct? The latter can be a lot cheaper.

Before you book anything, you will need to apply for ESTAs.

There is a free dining offer if you stay on site at Disney. Includes 2 meals and 1 snack per person per day if you stay at a moderate resort. Port Orleans have some rooms with a small pull down bed if that helps.
Also for universal its worth staying at a premium hotel there for a night, that includes fast passes for the parks for 2 days. The day you check in you can use them from 8am and then again on check out day. Well worth the room cost

We stayed at pop century for 3 or 4 nights to do Disney, one of the premium universal resorts for 3 nights to get the express passes for universal and a villa for the rest of the time and did sea world, aquatica and the space centre from there. If your kids like big rides, universal is better than Disney. You don’t need a car when you stay at the hotels - use uber. My kids managed to share a bed for the hotel nights- we were really only there to sleep.

I had a colour coded spreadsheet!

Love a colour coded spreadsheet.
im going to research tonight!
Sure ill be back here tomorrow 😂
fist time in Florida so I’ve no idea what I’m doing.

We’ve been 4 times, the first time we stayed in a hotel ( far too noisy and busy) after that we rented a villa with its own pool. Sooo much better. Nothing like jumping into a private pool after a busy day at the parks.

On this basis I would hire an apartment or a villa. You’ll need to hire a car but I think the space and more eating options are worth it.

if you have to go in the summer as a PP said go end of August when American schools are back

If you are doing Universal I can recommend Endless Summer Surfside which is a Universal hotel but one of the most reasonable . They have two bedrooms and one bathroom which is great to have a bit of separate space. Great pool and close to International Drive for the restaurants . Free shuttle buses every 15 mins or so. Never had to wait for one .

We've been twice and both times stayed off site with a car. This meant we could do Disney, Universal, Kennedy space centre and discovery cove.
We stayed in apartments on IDrive and in Lake Buena Vista for separate bedrooms.

Lake buena Vista Resort and Spa has a shuttle bus to the resorts, massive 2 bed apartments and an outside pool and restaurants/shops nearby.

August is very hot, so you need to decide if you are going to take a break during the day and come back , in which case Disney hotels closest to the parks are good to go back to the hotel at the top of the day or spend the whole time out there. It depends on your families tolerance for heat.

The Disney app is great to show you what sorts of lines there are for each of the rides too.

With that amount of time and given your kids ages, they would probably enjoy the more adrenaline style rides at Universal (I personally thought it was a better fit for those ages). you would have time for both.

Also, there is just so much more to Florida than the theme parks unless of course you live for theme parks. I would decide what your limit is, then plan to get to Cape Canaveral, the Everglades, maybe if you only do a week at the theme parks you could drive to Key West and the whole gulf coast Sanibel Island, Tampa are just gorgeous and relaxed.

Car hire, if you are used to Europe is amazing, you just go and pick your vehicle (would suggest a 7 seater with a tv, which has got us through many drives through the US) and the driving is pretty easy once you get used to the other side of the road.

Enjoy!

Do you have to go in the summer holidays? August/September are extremely hot, humid and wet. Easter holidays are much better weather wise.