Random I know - is Disney worth it ?

[Pisssssedofff]

We went when the kids were 8,6,4 and I remember it being horribly expensive, a bit stressful but yes fun with the Ariel photos etc and we loved discovery bay with the Dolphins.
I have an additional child now that never been aged 6, he loved Lego land and they all really enjoyed Disney Paris at Halloween last year.
I'm trying to talk myself into booking but god it's a lot of money isn't it? I'm looking at £6000 for a fortnight I think being conservative and not eating in Disney ever

I think euro Disney is a very different experience to Florida. I hated ED the first time, 5,3 and 1 year olds and it rained 😩

FayaMAMA - Disneyworld is much better and bigger than EuroDisney, but ultimately it's not different, as they are both just theme parks.

There are other things to do in Florida - DH absolutely loved the day at Kennedy Space Centre and DS enjoyed Universal Studios more than we thought he would at 7, we also had a great boat tour to see crocodiles. However it wouldn't be my favourite long haul holiday destination in the world - that would be our Canadian road trip.

See how much the US trip is - October is apparently a good time to go weather and queue wise - before you make any commitments.

Oh and by the way we didn't do Sea World, not just because of the cruelty issues, but also because we have no interest in that sort of thing - it seems weird to pay hundreds of dollars to swim with dolphins in captivity and for that to be your life dream.

Disneyland Paris has far more in common with Disneyland in California. Both are relatively small and are a short break destination.

WDW is many times the size has five parks versus two all differently themed, far more entertainment of differing types , more educational value (EPCOT),two water parks, access to other theme parks and attractions and you'd be hard pushed to see and do everything in a fortnight.

It really depends what you want from a holiday.

Took my 2 kids to Orlando this month for a holiday of a lifetime. Basically I finally sold my house after years of scraping by after split.

It was something I had always wanted to do never mind the kids (universal more than disney)

I spent hours online getting cheapest flights and cheap but great accomodation (appartment in a hotel not at a park) and getting the tickets online cheaper than source. I was so worried, swithering about spending the money (as up till now had to count every penny) I phoned my closest relative and asked them about it, they said dont be a dick just bloody click the button, you all deserve it, I took a deep breath and pressed the button

We had a whale of a time, memories to last a lifetime. If I won the lottery I would do it again (not in high summer heat nearly killed me at times lol) and do other attractions like space centre, airboats and do Universal again as there wasnt enough time to do it all. We had to have odd days at 'hotel' just to chill out (the parks are so big you seem to walk miles!) and kids had to be dragged out the pool at night

If you have the money whether its because you saved up for years, or you can afford it without hardship then its up to you how much you spend on a holiday. TBH I got 3 direct flights and a nice appartment (with breakfast) for under £3k tickets were £1200 for unlimited 2 week access for 3 adults (kids over 9 = adults!) for all the disney and universal parks (except seaworld) so less than a lot of people spend just going to euro disney for 2 weeks.

If it appeals to you go, enjoy!

As I said wont be doing it again anytime soon but it was definately worth it for us. Its horses for courses, not everyones cup of tea. I couldnt go and lie on a beach in spain for 2 weeks, would be bored to tears, cant even do it at home and we live 5 minutes from 2 lovely beaches. Half an hour and I am twitching to do something!

"WDW is many times the size has five parks versus two all differently themed, far more entertainment of differing types , more educational value (EPCOT),two water parks, access to other theme parks and attractions and you'd be hard pushed to see and do everything in a fortnight.

It really depends what you want from a holiday."

This ^^. We had no interest in the water parks, or Sea World - for ethical reasons. In the end we visited the two parks at Universal and 4 Disney parks. We has 11 days there and it was plenty. We also visited Kennedy Space Centre and did an airboat ride to try and find some alligators.

For me it wasn't my idea of "a holiday of a lifetime". DD and I went because she has always wanted to go and it was a combined 16th birthday present and posts GCSE break. It was nice though and I enjoyed it. It was a holiday of a lifetime for DD I am glad to say.

My "holidays of a lifetime" have been a road trip round California, Hong Kong and Indonesia, including a trip to Komodo and a holiday to Northern Finland one February where we were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights.

Ooh we have been to komodo

Scary fucking beasts...though dh did get to touch one

I think holiday of a lifetime for a 16 year old do far is probably spot, they will have many many adventures without us cramping their style I guess I just want to make some memories with them whilst they still let me hang out

OP and rookiemere - The rain is the major downside to Euro Disney! We were lucky last year but I bet it would have been miserable otherwise! The Kennedy Space Centre is the one Florida thing that I would really want to go for. The Canadian road trip sounds fun! I think I would probably prefer to do something like that with my DDs in terms of a long haul trip but I think it would be pretty difficult for me to do alone (single mum). Hmmm

What ethical reasons do you have not to visit water parks?
I get not wanting to visit aquarium type places but I'm struggling that unless you follow a very strict dress code why water parks especially lumping them together the way you did with Seaworld as if they were the same kind of attraction.

Sorry, the ethical reasons were just for Sea world only.

That's why I inserted a comma before the "or".

If you loved it first time then you'll love it this time. My advice:

Don't stay in a disney resort, stay somewhere with cooking facilities, we were always knackered by the end of the day and just wanted to veg in the hotel most nights

If your kids are older stay near I drive (within walking distance of universal studios) all hotels have a free shuttle to Disney.

The 14 day passes are well worth it (when we bought, there was a deal on. Fourteen days for the price of 10).

We never hire a car (because I'm too scared to drive there).

Our holiday would have been severely restricted without a car, but I am a confident driver. I would have struggled without a sat nav though.