Disneyworld

[Ginnotgym]

Looking to book for next summer and wondering if there's typically any benefit from going via an independent travel agent Vs going to a high st (Virgin holidays?) store.

Totally clueless about the process (so not keen on DIY) and what we need to consider, so looking for lots of advice from someone, and obviously the best deal.

Planning on going for 10 days in total, my DD will be 4.5 then. She's princess mad, and we're hoping to stay at a Disney hotel.

Thanks in advance x

You will have such a great time. So exciting.

We have just booked via the Walt Disney world website(Disney world.co.uk). For our dates it was slightly cheaper to book both hotel and flight via Walt Disney travel agency rather than separately (i.e. Flight and hotel). I have used them before and have been impressed with the service. They can walk you through the process and will remind you to book dinner etc

The deal at the moment is good, free dining plan depending on where you stay plus $200 dollars gift card that you collect when you are there. The photo plus offer is also great as you get everyone in the same photo and can link it to the rides. I have also booked separately, as wanted to do more of a fly drive, and it isnt too complicated.

Whilst I remember, the things that I would do are

1. Identify hotel and dates
2. Book flights
3. Sort out esta, this should cost $12 each
4. Sort out uk travel to and from airport
5. Make sure that I have booked the magical express from Orlando airport to hotel and return
6. Book dining
7. Book fastpasses
8. Sit back and enjoy

Staying onsite is brilliant. You can book the bus from the airport to the hotel (and return) and then onsite transport for everything else. We have stayed in old key west and Saratoga springs - both of which are villas rather than hotels as we prefer them. These have less theming but a bit more space. You may want to see which park you are likely to spend more time in and stay closer to that. We have also stayed in a good neighbour hotel, the b hotel, and could walk to Disney springs. It had no theming but was cheaper.

When you arrive at a Disney hotel you should be given a magic band. You can customise the colour on line before you arrive and put names on them. They act as your park tickets and door key. It is also a nice souvenir.

The important things will be to book any character breakfasts or meals 180 days(I think) in advance and book fastpasses 60 days before. There is a meal in cinderellas castle which is visited by the princesses and these tend to be a lot more interactive than just queuing to get photos however you may not get the princess that you particularly want. The queues for meet and greets with princesses can be very long but I think that you can get fastpasses for them. It is worthwhile booking table service meals but quick service is also good. We have had some good salads in the hotels and the earl of sandwich does nice hot and cold wraps. If you are not on the dining plan then it is cheaper to eat off the wdw site, but you do need transportation.

Best place for more info is dibb forum www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/

One final thing. It is big and there is a lot of walking. You may want to start everyone doing some long walks to get used to it!

Whoops. That was a bit longer than I thought!

Everything Rabel said, with one additional note:
We booked through the Walt Disney Travel Company using Quidco and got 3% cash back. It doesn't sound much but because we had flights x 5 and a villa it was a nice additional chunk of spending money.

You'll have an amazing time :) Make sure you use the dining plan to get a couple of character meals - they're expensive without so you'd only probably do one but the bonus of them being free is it overcomes the risks of DC getting a bit overwhelmed by everything. We did three character meals over our holiday. The first time DD (then 2) looked but didn't go near Mickey and friends but the second and third time any shyness was gone and she was cuddling them and chatting away, high fiving and all that gibbons.

Gubbins. No gibbons.

Thank you so so much guys. Super helpful! X

If you want to do it cheaper, then stay off site in a villa or condo.
Sometimes it's good to be away from all the busy busy.
Caribe cove is very nice.
Huge apartments with community pool and usually peaceful.
Dd stayed twice there

Hi ginnotgym. How are you getting on with your planning? What have you decided to do?

Hi! We booked today! 🙌
Staying at the Animal Kingdom hotel for 10 days next May sooooo excited! Xx

Oh that is wonderful. Well done, such a good choice. I loved the sanaa restaurant there. The night safari where you can watch the animals using night vision goggles was excellent. You will have such a good time.

FYI When you get to the parks, you can ask for a badge (they call them buttons) to celebrate your first visit.

We will be there in January, but not in the same hotel. Cannot wait! Spent yesterday booking some of the meals and managed to get the one in cinderellas castle but couldn't get the be our guest for the days that we are there. Slots may open up closer to the time so will try again later.

Have you told your daughter yet or is it a surprise? I've seen some lovely reveals on the web.

Aaahh exciting!!

No we haven't told her yet but planning on telling her this afternoon 😀

I'm already feeling anxious about missing out on availability for stuff.

Def want to do Cinderellas royal table, Be our guest and bibbedy bobbety boutique

Any other must-dos? Xx

Everyone has their own "best bits". My favourite thing to do is drinking a coffee sitting on tables just off the side of Main Street in magic kingdom under the music teacher. It is a lovely way to start a day!

www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/reservations.htm Is a good place to get some dining tips. It also has a count down so you know when the bookings open. I haven't been to the royal table before but it looks good. The "be our guest" restaurant looks very impressive inside but I haven't eaten there. I was hoping for dinner reservations but lunch or breakfast were free so you should get in. I'm not great on preplanning so tend to only book the difficult to get restaurants this far in advance, we do walk ups for the others.

You are there for a while so you may want to have a look around and visit the other hotels. It sounds odd but the theming is very good and it is less hectic than doing all of the parks. Also the buses, boats and monorail are fun and you may get to see armadillos in the wild 😜

Flicking through the website, we thought enchanted tales with belle was good (FYI 2adukts and no kids at the time), but I would do it early as it is very small and slow. Soarin is excellent. So is turtle talk with crush and the sea area is lovely. We also like Kilimanjaro safari. But it really does depend on your taste. fireworks are excellent in magic kingdom. Some rides are intense and may be too much for a small one. The haunted mansion is intimidating in the stretching room, there is a spooky tale, thunder and lightning and the lights go out before a hanging body is lit up. That may be intense for a little one. Pirates is good but there are two drops, I think, in the dark. They aren't very long and not as intense as Paris or Los Angeles. It's tough to be a bug has interactive seats that make you think that insects are around you plus spiders dropping from the ceiling.

Sorry this is long. Im looking forward to my hols and excited for you and your daughter! It is a lovely place, relax and go with the flow and take lots of pictures.

You should watch some dfb (Disney food blog) on YouTube, they go into which are the best character meals to hit - I think they like akerhus over Cinderella table, but I'm excited about the new rider Flynn / tangled meal at trattoria al forno because they say the characters have more time with guests.

Ooh I didn't know about that! Off to have a look now!thanks jenni