Anyone got a Disneyworld / Florida holiday planned - Part 4

[ChippyMinton]

Hope no-one minds if I start another thread as the old one is full?

Or are you all in Orlando now?

I can finally join this thread instead of lurking

We have just booked 2 weeks in Orlando in a villa, hire car and flights. I got a massive bargain by booking flights where we have to change and saved nearly 6k in comparison to the same resort through Virgin. It will be cheap and cheerful insofar as Florida can be but I can't wait.

There will be 5 of us and we're staying at Bahama Bay.

I'm going to check out the dibb, it will be 15 years since we were last there so I think a lot will have changed.

Sorry, meant to say that's for August 2017.

Hi All, How is your planning going? Think I'm close to being finished, I have to do my Fast Passes on the 21st December and booking our excursions for the disney cruise a few days. I'm still waiting to hear about the rivers of light show that Animal kingdom is meant to be doing...

Ooh, can I join in?

We're going at the end of March. I've been many times before, but this will be my first time as a parent - so it's going to be a different experience this time! DS turns 2 about a month before we go.

Any tips for the parks with toddlers? We've booked a character breakfast so he can meet Mickey.

Also... Fast Passes. Last time we visited (2013) it wasn't possible to book them in advance, so that's all new to us. Are they all likely to run out if we don't get them so far in advance? I had hoped to be quite flexible in our plans because of DS...

I recommend booking your fast passes as early as you can. You can then change them if you need to, we changed a couple before we went. If you don't book them early then you may not get the rides you want. Bearing in mind queues are long, you want your fastpasses sorted. We only did one ride that wasn't fastpass on our recent trip. That was an hour queue.
I found Disney world the least flexible and spontaneous holiday I have ever been on. Planning in advance pays dividends but it's not relaxing when you are on a schedule whilst you are there. That's the downside.

We tried to amend some fast passes whilst we were there but there were not fastpasses left for the more popular rides.

Thank you mouldy, that's helpful. I keep reading blog posts about doing Disney with toddlers and everyone says you have to be flexible but that may be easier said than done! Looks like we'll need to book our FPs early and then just change a few if needed.

"Are they all likely to run out if we don't get them so far in advance? I had hoped to be quite flexible in our plans because of DS."

I really dislike having rigid plans on holiday so we didn't book any fast passes until we got into the parks. We went in July this year, so a very busy time, but we got all the rides we wanted without any problems.

That's good to know, Nickname. Our last few trips have been in July / August so we've got used to crowds and queues. The parks may feel very quiet to us now that we're going during school term time!

Little Ostrich, my top tip for young children that you don't find among all the usual practical suggestions is pack some Disney outfits for them. DS (3 yrs) dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow, Peter Pan (both for MK) & Captain America (for HS). He got so much attention and interaction from the cast members. During the parade the characters were saluting him / feigning fright when he was Captain Jack. As Peter Pan at a character breakfast Donald Duck kept stealing his dagger and encouraged DS to chase him for it.

He is normally quite shy but they were all so gentle and good with him that he just loved it.

Also, try to book Be Our Guest for an early breakfast an hour before the park opens (not on a Magic Hours day). They'll let you in about 20 minutes before your reservation so it's a great opportunity to get some empty park photos. Eat swiftly then nip over to Peter Pan etc where you'll get to ride several times with no queues. The rides usually open a few minutes before official opening time. It'll be a busy morning but by 10am you'll have done all the popular toddler rides while it's still cool, uncrowded and everyone has energy. You then have the rest of the day to take it easy and be flexible.

(Eeek, sorry mammoth post!)

I definitely second booking FastPasses as early as you can. There are lots that you will be able to get on the day but there are also lots that you won't be able to get at all. Best thing to do is decide roughly how many days you will want in each park and then look at the Busy Day Guide on the Dibb and work out what parks to do on what days. A lot of people don't like doing that but you know that you will be in a park so you may as well decide which one :) Then book FPs starting from around 11am - noon this gives you the opportunity for a lie-in if you want one or you can go early and have the FPs as your last rides and then come home for a nap/pool time. Also, FPs are a one-hour window so there is some flexibility there. Download the My Disney Experience app and you can alter FPs on the go.

I am having a bit of a crappy week so have been cheering myself up by adding little extras to my Disney holiday. I just booked the airport hotel which is walking distance to the terminal instead of shuttle buses etc, and I decided to treat us to the Virgin lounge. Hopefully it will all be worth it!

I also managed to score my final reservation by randomly checking if the dates were up. It is for Chef Art Smith's Homecoming and I thought I would have to wait months to book as a few weeks ago it was only showing up until the end of Dec. I am thrilled as I particularly wanted to try there. So every meal booked up now, I hope we make them all. (I did have a dream last night where I turned up at the wrong Disney restaurant and had all my bookings mixed up ) .

The only things I have left to do know are the ESTAs and book a cattery and bloody pay for it all of course

Oh and book some Fast Passes! Good reminding everyone!

I can book our FP+ tickets on 20th December.
Had the reminder to pay the rest of the balance so the holiday is creeping closer :D 77 days to go!

DD's friend - taking her with us, her first visit and her first long haul flight too - has organised her ESTA and insurance. Waiting for DD's passport to come back from passport office as it needed renewed. Taken ages as I managed to send them mine instead of DD's. Ooops. Hopefully mine will come back soon too!

Disneyworld tickets are 25% off! Gutted because I bought them a month ago because the travel agent reported they kept going up because of the weak pound and now they are £230 cheaper than we paid

That's a pain. Ours was part of a holiday package but even so. I need Universal tickets still ...

FastPass+ tickets all reserved today. Woohoo! 60 days to go :D

The fast pass date is very exciting Hulababy!

We booked our flights this week - upper class, which is our first time, which I am unfeasibly excited about 😊

Just back now hoping to go again soon. Loved the new fastpass+ app even over Christmas I could get up to 6/7 a day (and that was with a 3 hour gap back at the hotel)

We have just decided on a whim to do Florida after always say we hate theme parks and are not fussed by Disney! No to mention the weather in August.
We have kids 7,14,14.
Really need to book today as BA have a sale on.
Currently no fixed plan other than
Visit Disney because we have to and have a 7 yr old
Do some rides but not necessarily the totally extreme ones as dd is obsessed after a recent trip to Thorpe park.
Do something other than 'Disney and the beach' as we have a 14 yr old ds who hates normal things but he loves baseball.
Also plan to spend time at the beach so Dh can unwind - apparently a beach is necessary despite the fact we never manage to sit on a beach for more than 30 mins!

Wasn't keen on driving but travel agent persuaded DH !

We have trouble with hotels as we need at least 2 interconnecting rooms and 4 beds ( kids won't share)
Self catering tends to be isolated and boring!

Dh has decided this is a good idea and tasked me with sorting it out as he is " to busy at work"

Where do I start !

I am naturally travel adverse as I get to do the boring stuff and deal with the bored ,fractious or ill kids along with food and I always end up washing! Hence I usually choose a nice cottage in the uk or at a push Spain !,

Pink

I would actually consider another destination altogether given what you have written. Acting purely on a whim is rarely a good idea.

However, if you do go to FL the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team are playing at home for part of August so you may be able to catch one of their games.

We went last year, and, although theme parks aren't my thing, I enjoyed it. We also went to the Cape Kennedy Space Centre and Boggy Creek for an airboat ride to look for alligators.

They have very strict height restrictions on the rides so your 7 year old may not be allowed on all the rides he/she wants to go on.

Orlando itself is very busy traffic-wise, but once you leave it behind the roads are very quiet. The cars are automatic and easy to get used to. I highly recommend you have a sat nav with the car.

Place marking

319 sleeps
Have booked airport hotel and parking, insurance and Disney tickets came this week.

How is everyone taking money? We've always taken travellers cheques and credit card. The cheques were a bit of a pain in some places, younger cashiers not sure what to do with them.
Heard lots of bad stuff about the currency cards though?