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

We took in mini 'picnics'. Froze bottle water over night and just put snacks and fruit into a mini cool bag. I saw people with pull along coolboxes!

They definitely don't mind, you will be searched thoroughly.

We went to seaworld and thought it was horrendously cruel. Discovery Cove is run by the same company, personally I would never give them my money again!

I love animal kingdom lodge jambo house, we've stayed there twice and are booking again for next year.

I've had 8 trips there and number 9 is in four weeks, number 10 next August.

It's extortionate for a family of 6 though if you want to stay on site (we're doing a 10/4 split between Disney and universal next year). It's better catered for families of four, cost wise.

I think it's worth it but we love it, there's something for everyone and it's different every trip for us!

The BA Sale was Dec time. I'll admit I was pished and has never seen flights for 5 of us for £1800 (not £1500 sorry) even with a Heathrow connection.

I'll use my avois points for car hire and I kept checking hotel prices to book lowest but on hotels.com so I have free cancellation in case something better comes up.

The beach house I found on AirBnB

So far we're all in for £3300 for 15night for 6 but I still have to choose which park tickets to buy & thatll add up.

Mummybex we could be there at the same time.

We don't stay at the Disney Hotels though. We prefer being off site about 10 minutes drive away in a Sheraton apartment complex.

chocolit with kids that age and staying at Cabana bay i'd just go for Universal tickets. The pools at cabana with the lazy river are great, we don't bother with a waterpark when we stay there.

If you want a bit of disney the halloween party at magic kingdom is fun and you can get in at 4pm on a party ticket - party is 7pm til midnight. Costs less than a day at disney too.

Come on over to the dibb forum if you haven't been. My trip reports are on there - stayed at cabana bay last two octobers.

Our holiday in Orlando was a completely Sea world -free experience. From things I've read, it won't be around for much longer. It seems that people have finally seen the light regarding thI'd type of entertainment - visitor numbers down by something crazy like 80% I've read.

Aworldofmyown they were turning people away with cool boxes last week. Security is very tight now. We weren't self catering so didn't have access to a freezer and couldn't make up sandwiches. I didn't fancy eating food that I had been carrying around in 35 degree heat for several hours.

You can't take in selfie sticks or tripods either, and we saw someone having some beer confiscated.

They've always confiscated anything in glass bottles like beer. I think the Magic Kingdom is completely alcohol free anyway. We just used to take bits and pieces in a rucksack, hubby got used to having his bag searched every morning. Lugging a cool box around all day would be a nightmare anyway.

Didn't enjoy Seaworld - AND they confiscated every scrap of food we had on the way in and then wanted to charge $8 for a shitty hotdog.

The beer was in tins. I can totally understand the no glass bottles rule. I wouldn't fancy lugging a coolbox around all day either. What would you do with it when you wanted to go on a ride?

People leave their cool boxes in the boot of their cars. Once you've paid for parking once in the day you can park as often as you like so works well if say you are going to the Magic Kingdom early (when it's less busy) then hop over to a different park at lunchtime .

I've stayed at both medium and the nicer WDW hotels (never at AllStar grade tho) and I don't think you HAVE to stay on site. WDW is so vast many Lake Buena Vista hotels are closer to the parks than some Disney hotels in terms of distance and travelling time (and a fraction of the cost both for hotels and eating out). .

With children I'd prefer to stay off site in somewhere like an Embassy or Homewood suite with more space ,separate sleeping areas so parents can sit, relax,watch tv etc after The kids have crashed rather than have four squashed into a room with two double beds . We don't sleep that way at home so why do it on holiday when there's a better alternative at a better price .

Indeed - we've booked Vista Cay which gives us a three bed apartment with a kitchen and things like washing machine and dryer. Kids need some downtime away from each other as well and they can retreat to their rooms and watch telly or read after a hectic day. We're self-catering and although I imagine we will eat out quite a bit, having a proper kitchen makes life a lot easier too.

Since youve actually already been to disney twice, once to florida and once to paris, then surely you can decide yourself if you think its worth it??.
Ive never been to any of them, and theres no way in hell id pay thousands for the family to have a theme park holiday, but its relative. Youve probably got more money and are more into disney than me. Its pretty far down te list of things id spend that sort of money on

and 6-7k is not a normal expenditure for going abroad as a family of 5.

Define normal though? Normal to you? Normal to me? Average? Depends on the ages of the children, whether you're going self-catering, all inclusive, long haul, short haul, 2 star, 5 star etc etc etc.

Branleuse it's not up to you to define what's normal.
If you mean 'average', then £6-7K may well be above average, but that is how averages are made. It's not particularly excessive. I've paid more for a family of 4, but it's not something we would do every year. What if it was that amount for a holiday abroad every other year? That would work out at about £3k per year - that's a good price!
We might stay in a caravan in the UK one year, then go abroad the next.

And Orlando doesn't have to be a theme park holiday, especially if you don't stay onsite. There is so much to do, you could easily spend 2 weeks there without visiting the parks if you didn't want to.

We love it, and find it totally worth the money.

We buy when the offers come out, so booked in April last year for October this year. We are staying at Disney in a moderate resort, so got free quick service dining, a $200 gift card and the Memory Maker photo package included.

We have been many times, and find that we don't need to spend any more money, unless we want souvenirs and a few dollars a day for tips for Mousekeeping. We use Disney transport so no parking charges, but when we did hire a car it was free parking at Disney if you stayed on site anyway.

It isn't the only type of holiday we go on, it is one of several types we enjoy. What we enjoy about Disneyworld is the way everything is done so well, the level of detail and customer service is astonishingly good. The four Disney parks and the Disney Water Parks are superb, and all are very different.

We never go to Seaworld or Discovery Cove because we disagree with keeping the animals in captivity.

Before I went the first time I was very anti the idea of a holiday at Disney. I was completely wrong. It really has something for everyone. I will never forget DD's first trip there. She might not remember it (she was 2) but she enjoyed it immensely and I loved watching her enjoy herself. I can't wait to go back in October!

So in theory I should be able to book for October 2017 now ? I'm struggling, aside of the hotels. Flights don't seem to be available. I think I have s plan now. 4 days in a Disney hotel, 7 days in a condo with car hire and three days in a universal hotel

Try 'EuropaPark', so much closer and so so much better than Disney

You'll struggle with flights atm for october 2017 unless you book a package. I've been looking this morning. There are a couple of options but they're more expensive.

I'd wait a few weeks until the october fights are all released.

Flights don't seem to be available

Scheduled flights arent released until 11 months before. So check around 11 months before your return date.

I've booked Buena Vista, I prefer there and Kissemee to International Drive.

It's a good base if your driving, as everywhere is a short drive.

Equally it's a five minute walk to Disney Village, and runs regular shuttle buses to the major attractions if you don't.

Plus it has a fabulous looking pool.

As we are driving and have a kitchen we'll nip over to Walmart and grab some groceries.

Ok so I've done all the maths, all the comparisons and seem to have come up with : 14 day passes for Disney, waiter service dining plan, £100 gift card, memory maker and transfers for £3940.

That seems good to me ?

I'm guessing flights will be £2000 for one adult and 4 kids

I shall need a holiday after booking this holiday quite honestly