Another Florida one...

[ILikeToClean]

We have decided to go to Florida in August 2015. DH is adamant that he does not want to drive so we have decided that if we stay at a Disney hotel for a week and then transfer to a Universal hotel for the second week this will give us access and transportation to all the attractions we want to go to (i.e. all the Disney stuff in first week, Universal, IOA, Sea World, Wet n Wild second week). Has anyone done one week at each?

Was looking at the Port Orleans for Disney which has good reviews, then either Hard Rock or Loews Pacific. Will do the DDP for the first week. Any thoughts and idea of price (I know it will be expensive!)? TIA.

Thanks timetopost - reassuring to hear that it is fine not to drive. The reason we want to stay at Universal is to benefit from their early entry/fast passes and also they do transportation to the other parks. The Universal hotels look really plush!

Think both the Port Orleans hotels are good so I don't mind which one we end up going for. Are you doing the dining plan?

Have been looking on the Dibb - it is a minefield but luckily I like lists and planning

What is qsdp? I'm probably being thick!

I must admit am not really into the whole booking meals months in advance thing, but presume it'll have to be done!

DDs will be 12 and 11 when we go, we waited so they would be tall enough to go on all the rides and also have the stamina! Both DH and I have been before (separately) but a loooong time ago and I remember it being knackering!

Have you been in August before? How is that? We're going to book the last 2 weeks as I've heard it's slightly quieter then.

What is qsdp? I'm probably being thick!

I must admit am not really into the whole booking meals months in advance thing, but presume it'll have to be done!

DDs will be 12 and 11 when we go, we waited so they would be tall enough to go on all the rides and also have the stamina! Both DH and I have been before (separately) but a loooong time ago and I remember it being knackering!

Have you been in August before? How is that? We're going to book the last 2 weeks as I've heard it's slightly quieter then.

Thanks - all makes sense now, I will just see what we can get when we go to book, tbh not too fussed about food as I think food will just be to refuel rather than going out for sumptuous meals!

DDs are very excited! We've promised them for years that we'd go when dd2 finished year 6!

Hope you have a wonderful time

So - to clarify - if you book the qsdp you don't need to book meals as it's counter service? That does sound easier

Thank you! Well we actually booked it today! Ended up going for Animal Kingdom as DH really liked it and then Hard Rock - so got the DDP but the booking rep said unless you want particular themed restaurants you don't necessarily need to book so far in advance. Cost £10k but that includes everything except food the second week - still but it really is once in a lifetime for us!

Thanks for your advice, going to try and forget about it all now (still got this years holiday to sort out!) and do my planning next year (if I can resist!)

Congratulations! We went in May this year and stayed at Port Orleans.

Re being on the DDP you need to figure in the gratuity payment of 18%+ for every table service meal you have so even though you have paid for your DDP, you need to pay more in tipping.

This is the reason we went with QSDP, because we didn't want to book in advance and trust me people do book 6 months (180 days) before they go.

I have a mate who goes every year and gets DDP but they use that for Cinderella's Royal Table breakfast with the princesses because her daughters are 4 and 5. And Cinderella's table is 2 table service credits as is Le Cellier in Epcot.

here is a list of all restaurants participating in the dining plan for 2014. Click on the link to see the prices of food. On QSDP we often spent over $50, that was for 3 adults and 1 child. Ds1 is 11.

Both your children will class as adults so have to choose off the adult menu. There isn't wriggle room because their Magic Bands tell staff that they are adults. ie Ds1 had to enter the Disney Parks with the MagicBand and a finger print, Ds2 didn't as he is 8 and therefore a child's ticket price and didn't have to provide the finger print.

Just something to consider. Would rather you are informed about it now to think about it. As well as the Dibb can I recommend EasyWDW, we followed their which park to go to today guide and their maps were brilliant. Meant finding toilets and places to eat really simple.

Oh, and we said ooooh it's a once in a lifetime trip and we are now trying to work out when we can go back

Thank you that's really useful to know. Probably would have booked QSDP if I'd have realised that but hey ho it's done now and I doubt we can change it can we? AK only offers DDP I think? Will check.

Have ventured onto the dibb site but trying not to think about it too far in advance - I'm a control freak organiser so I'll get my chance next year

I've heard lots of people saying it's once in a lifetime and then rebooking!

I'm an organiser and we booked it without really doing any research because all the flights were becoming non-direct

So we knew Port Orleans was lovely so went with that and as that is a moderate and comes with free QSDP. We initially were looking at Wilderness Lodge but the DDP put us off. I do believe you can downgrade to QSDP but no refund is given (I could be wrong)

My advice is try to think about what kind of meals you want, we tended to have a quick breakfast so used snack credits for pastries and you get free coffee/tea in your reusable mug. Then have an early lunch at around 11am then a dinner around 5pm.

We would get something to eat later on around 9-10pm whether a snack or shared something.

We didn't get through all our meal credits or our snack credits! It's a lot of food. The dibb has some trip reports that feature dining so you can see for yourself.

I booked and started planning 8 months in advance. It really is magical, and to be honest booking table service isn't difficult. We booked Chef Mickeys for breakfast for my son's 8th birthday. Got on a bus at 6.50am and got to Magic Kingdom, then caught the monorail into the Contemporary resort. Nothing like seeing your child meet Pluto who he has loved from 2!

Bet your DS loved it! It's v expensive but memories like that are priceless (keep telling DH that anyway!).

I'm going to start planning in the new year - saw on the dibb a plan of best days to do the various parks, so will start with that and once I've figured out where we'll be on a given day then I'll look at restaurants to book.

Exciting!

How exciting. I love the look of AK

We're booked for September 2015, stating off site but DB is going to drive.

Can't wait, roll on September and I'm going to start booking stuff

Hi ILTC. We stayed at AKL last year ( end of august). It was amazing. A few pointers that maybe useful.. Do try and book your evening meal in the restaurant before you go, preferably as soon as booking lines open for your departure date. The main restaurant on site - Boma, got booked up very quickly and after a day in the park you may not want to move away from base!
The pool is fab, worth a lazy day. The AKL is further out of the main Disney area so do factor in extra transfer time to all park except AK which is just up the road.Finally, though an upgraded room with safari views is nice, it probably is not worth the extra money. The animals tend to be active early and late, when we were asleep or eating! Furthermore, Disney position food and water right next to public viewing platforms so views from there are far better than dots from your balcony! Have a great trip

Thanks for the tips, really helpful! I'm sure I'll be bombarding everyone with more questions nearer the time but am getting an idea now of what to do etc