Disney - Orlando

[tefal]

I know...loads of threads on the subject before but wonder if anyone can help me specifically!

Thinking about heading for 14 nights in March time. Is anyone aware of what the weather is at that time?

It will be me and DS and DS who will be almost 3 then.

I am not convinced by a villa. I like someone else to do the washing up for me when I am on holiday but then again, with a villa you've got laundry facilities and a pool on tap. Anyone with any good pros and cons between disney hotels v villas?

It will be my 40th while we are away so would also want something special for dinner on my birthday - any suggestions?

If we go with a hotel, do we really need a car? We can get taxi from the airport (will fly either BA or virgin) and I believe the hotels do transfers to and from the parks.

Anything else you can tell me? I know I am being highly lazy not searching here and other websites on teh internet but we've just moved back to the UK from a period in Australia. The thought of planning another trip does not appeal that much to me at the moment but I know if we want to go I need to book!

right - a lot of the hotels have a self service laundrey.

It's not horribly hot at time time of year

and

can't help with the food as we went with IL and SIL and niece was a pita who would only eat in shitholes

I've been to Florida many times and used to always stay in hotels/timeshare apartments. However I was converted by villas and ended up buying one so I'm biased

If you stay in one of the Disney hotels then of course you will get transfers between all the Disney parks. Not sure about you getting to other attractions such as Seaworld and Universal though, not sure they'd provide transport there. Some of the hotels on International drive also provide transport.

Obviously with Disney hotels it won't cheap but you do get perks such as getting into the parks earlier on certain days which can be handy.

I love the villa as we have a private pool (no fighting for sun loungers or having to get up at 5am to put towels out) and also have the washing machine/tumble dryer etc. I'm just packing to go in a few days for 3 weeks and its lovely knowing I don't have to take too many clothes for the DC.

Also handy to be able to do breakfast/lunch and some dinners in the house although we do tend to eat out a lot as it is so cheap.
We often eat places like Sizzler and Ponderosa steakhouses which are pretty reasonable and do eat all you can buffets which are fab when you've got kids who are fussy as there is always something they will eat.

For your 40th there are lots of options. You could do a 'dinner show', there are loads of these. A nice one is the polynesian one at Seaworld. They will have info on their website. Another nice restaurant is the Kobe japanese steakhouse which is a fun eating experience.

March is a nice time to go, not too hot and not too busy (except if close to easter/spring break)

Lovely. Thanks. Lots to think about.

Please rethink about March! That is usually Spring Break time, and horrendously crowded, as many US schools and groups descend onto WDW for various events ( sports, marching bands etc) and the parks and waterparks are VERY busy - take it from someone who made that mistake on their second trip!
You can check the American school and college holidays online - they are not all off together, it spans a month, so some weeks are busier than others. The middle two weeks are the worst.
IMO, the nicest time to go is late April, into May. No school holidays, quieter parks and waterparks, and usually good weather.( although last time I went we had temps in the 90's which was a bit too hot really).
Our trip in March was also quite chilly, and a bit too cold for me to enjoy the waterparks properly ( if I could have found room in the water, that is!) There was actually frost on the ground in the mornings!
October is also a good time - usually good weather and low rainfall, and no American holidays. Avoid the hotter summer months, with more likelihood of tropical storms, rain in the afternoons, and high humidity.
If you stay in a Villa, you will need a hire car to get around, as just WDW is a huge area in itself.It depends if you are confident driving in the USA.
We have always stayed in All Star Movies hotel onsite ( Disney budget hotel) and used the free Disney buses around resort. We got a taxi from/ to the hotel when we visited places outside Disney -( Universal, IOA, Seaworld, Aquatica, Discovery Cove) taxis are not very expensive.You can catch a shuttle bus to Busch Gardens park in Tampa from Seaworld, but you have to book this. We also went on a coach to the Space Centre, and a trip to the Everglades and Gulf of Mexico.
I suggest you look on the Trip Advisor website, Orlando forum. The people there can answer just about anything you need to know.

Hi - you can also try the DIBB website - lots of experts with loads of advice.

We went end April/start May this year and it was a good time to go although already pretty hot in the daytime. Definitely hot enough for the waterparks and a bit too hot in the day time on a couple of occasions. We are about to go again this week.

We stayed and will stay again in a suite hotel. I think they offer good value for money - I think we are paying about £60 a night for a two roomed suite which will come with a kitchen and a separate bedroom for the dc's. There are loads - we will be in Lake Beuena Vista and last time on I Drive.

That way you can try out local restaurants but also self cater if you want to to save money. The hotels all do free buffet breakfasts and often free drinks and snacks in the evenings. Also some have free wifi.

There are about a zillion restaurants in Disney and Orlando so I am sure you will find something you like for your birthday. If you want to book one of the nice Disney ones you will have to make advanced reservations - look on the disney website under dining. We are also staying on site at Universal Studios for two nights to get early entry to the new Harry Potter world (so we don't have to queue for hours) and have booked at a restaurant called Tchoup Tchoup for our last night - the Brits Orlando Guide votes it their favourite in Orlando.

Any other questions please feel free. I did a lot of research for these trips!

We have stayed in both a villa and a disney hotel. To be honest if I ever went back I would not stay in a disney hotel again.

You had to reply on the buses or taxis for everything. We made the mistake of not taking the car option.

It felt very claustraphobic and the taxis do add up over 2 weeks.

The hotel was lovely but we got fed up of the food and unless we wanted to eat their or at park or downtime disney, we had to get a taxi or work out the bus routes to link in to where we could get the free disney bus. Where as with a villa if you have had a long day you can just pick up a pizza on the way home and crash out round the pool when you get back.

Hotels do have laundry facilities but they get every well used and can be expensive. And not a fun way to spend you time. Lot easier to be able to put on a load whilst you are watching tv at the villa and not worry about what time your wash will be finished in case some one dumps it on a bench all wet.

if you stay in a disney hotel than get a car. Unless you live and breathe disney you will want to escape :)

As the other have said it will be busy in March. Check the US holiday times.

As for restaurants, I agree with the suggestion about Kobe. That was lovely food and a different experience.

I think it depends if you are confident driving really. We have friends who live in Kissimmee, and have stayed with them twice, but did not fancy driving, so we had to call a taxi every morning to go to the parks. We found it cheaper to go to Animal Kingdom Lodge, then catch a Disney bus from there. Same thing coming back at night. When we have been outside Disney to other parks, we take a taxi to Downtown Disney, then catch a Disney bus from there to save some money. We are out all day until very late, and out again very early morning, so I only used the villa pool once in two weeks, when DS had a lie in one morning. We prefer the waterparks like Aquatica, Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, and we had a lovely day in Discovery Cove. We caught the free bus from Seaworld to Busch Gardens.
There is no ' best' way to enjoy WDW/ Orlando, you have to think of what suits your family the best. My husband is not interested in driving on holiday - he likes to relax and be driven. I don't really feel confident enough to drive around myself, so we find the Disney buses and taxis work best. When my friend moved to Florida from the UK, she said it took her quite a while to get used to driving over there, even with a satnav.Other people find it very easy. It depends on the individual.

strandedatsea sounds like you might be going to the Sheraton Vistana resort? If so, it is lovely, I stayed there years ago before I bought my villa and it really was very nice.

Us MNers need a secret handshake or something, looks like lots of us going to be there next week

We have stayed in both and would choose a villa every time now. We stayed in a villa in the gated community of windsor hills last year. It was literally 5 minutes from disney and had a shuttle service to the parks if you didn't fancy driving. I found it on VRBO.com but sourced a whole host of information from www.thedibb.co.uk

If you hire a car, try out caronthedrive.com They pick you up from the airport and take you to your villa where your car is waiting for you. Takes all the stress out of queing for the rental car when you arrive. If you do hire a car make sure you have a stash of quarters because there are some toll roads between the airport and the disney area.

I would also second using Attraction tickets direct. Their prices were really competative and the tickets arrived in good time. Have a wonderful holiday. I'm soo jealous. We love it but aren't going back until Nov 2012

I also recommend ATD. We always use them for our WDW and Orlando tickets, and they give very good priced tickets for DLP as well - cheaper than the cheapest tickets on the Disneyland Paris website.( apart from Francilien tickets).
In 3 stays, we never had any problems getting sunbeds around the pool at the All Star Movies hotel ( there are 2 pools there).You can buy a large plastic Disney mug, which you then use for free hot and cold drinks in your hotel during your stay. Great hot chocolate when you get back at night!You can then use these same mugs on future stays in Disney hotels - you don't have to buy new ones each time. We always pack ours.They have handy lids that seal, so you can fill them to take to the parks if you wish.
Extra Magic Hours are very handy at busy times. We had an extra 3 hours in the morning or at night in different parks. We were in the Magic Kingdom until 3am!Then it opened again at 7am for morning EMH.
Animal Kingdom park closes quite early, around 5pm, so being able to stay there until 8pm was very good.You can get a lot done during EMH before the general public arrive.In the evening, they give you a wristband to show you are eligible for EMH rides.
Good tip about caronthedrive.com. I would not fancy driving to and from the airport really. I have heard about people having car accidents on arrival, before they have even got to their accommodation.Sad way to begin your holiday.

I'm in Orlando at the moment and have to make a recommendation.
Yesterday we went to Magic Kingdom and did the breakfast at Cinderellas Table. Its not cheap, around $220 for 6 of us but was fabulous. On the way in we had photos taken with Cinderella who did autographs then we were called upstairs for our breakfast in a fabulous room and then other princesses were announced one by one and came around to see us at our table. We saw Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Princess Jasmine and Belle and DD aged 4 absolutely loved it. Surpising, DS aged 20 months was also full of it and was beaming at all the princesses and fluttering his very long eyelashes at them from his highchair and was positively beaming when they were fussing over him and telling him how gorgeous he was We had time for individual photos with them at our table and of course autographs which saved a lot of time/stress and avoided having to spend hours queuing to see them.
Food was pretty good too, fruit, pastries and a cooked breakfast but it wasn't really about the food.
We'd previously done the Winnie the Pooh Character lunch at Crystal Palance but this was much much better. Word of warning though, booking starts 180 days in advance although I booked at the beginning of June.