Disneyworld and Orlando

[ChestyNut]

Anyone got a holiday booked to Orlando and the parks and want to share tips/ countdown?

Booked to stay at Animal Kingdom lodge in December, with dining plan. Have treated ourselves to premium economy and really looking forward to it!

Anyone else?

Watch Disney food blog on YouTube for great advice on restaurants, snacks and how to maximise your dining plan.

Get yourself to the outlet malls if you can

Plan for long queues at Orlando immigration and do not recheck your bags - travel light enough that you can take them on the monorail if you can

Just booked for May next year. Staying at Copper Creek at Wilderness lodge. We have a Disney timeshare which we bought on our last visit so are doing everything separately instead of a package!

Who have you booked with? Which dining plan? How old are the people going?

It's me, DH and DD going next year, we will be there for her tenth birthday. She is soooo excited.

Oh, and remember to find the snack area in premium economy and help yourselves. If there are any upstairs seats left, book them. It’s so quiet and the staff ratio is fantastic

glen we stayed at wilderness lodge last year was really impressed! Beautiful

Just myself and DM going this year, booked as a package with virgin on the Disney dining plan (1TS 1QS 2Snacks)
We are doing Disney, universal and SeaWorld. Are you doing all the parks?

Hermoine I think I remember you from the old Disney world holidays thread?
We’ve booked down stairs PE next to the doors! DM isn’t too good distance wise and with stairs.

We are doing Disney and SeaWorld this visit. Saving universal for next visit when DD is a bit older.

We love Discovery cove, it is such a relaxing day, although I will use better sun screen this time! We will also be hitting the outlets 😄

We've just booked to stay at the Beach Club and Championsgate next summer, very excited.

Have a look at the DIBB website. loads of tips and guidance on there.

Glen we love DC but decided to give it a miss this year. We’ve been 4 times in the past 6 years and had a cabana, beautiful!
Just couldn’t justify the cost for just me and DM this year.

Thinking we should have some rest days at AKL to get the full benefit of the hotel but our plan is jam packed! I have FOMO
I like the outlets but I have to drive for the first time as DB not coming and I’m really worried about it

Bacon I think you were on the old DW thread too? I’ve seem you around on the Dibb too
Am very jealous of your BC stay! I do want to stay there, we had 7 nights BC 10 nights Rosen Inn at pointe booked but really wanted to try a full Disney hotel stay and BC wasn’t available
Next booking I hope!

Have you seen the queues for Hagrids new ride?! 10 hours!! No way would I wait that long!

Praying second phase of Star Wars doesn’t open until we’re home

Hi Chesty yes I think I remember you too!

Indeed we are extremely chuffed to be going to BC, having never stayed onsite before. just have to figure a way of paying for it now

Hang on a blooming minute! A 10 hour wait for Hagrid ride? That's downright silly! We waited one hour 40 minutes for Flights of Passage in 2017, that was more than long enough! (But well,worth the wait, have you been on it?)

Oohhh Star Wars, yep that's going to be a tad busy non?

Hope it's died down by next year!

I bet AKL will be beautiful with the animals.

I would be worried too re the driving, as was DH the first time we went but after a while he said that it's just like driving a dodgem

bacon I’m not even thinking about the whole paying thing, such a small detail
I may have also booked for next September!
You can live on beans on toast for a year, right?

We did a split stay last year first time onsite, originally booked AKL and Rosen inn but got caught in the whole AKL pools refurb debarcle, Disney were amazing ( we hadn’t booked direct) and moved us to Wilderness lodge in a courtyard view, it was AMAZING!

Yep Harris was 600 mins!! Talk of a virtual queue soon. My limit is 60 mins at a push!
We managed a FOP FP last year, it was fabulous, really beautiful clever ride!

Are you doing all the parks?

FOP was so beautiful, quite moving I thought!

We're planning to do Disney, Universal and DC non-swim (with cabana, so good last time, we were right next to the Grand Reef)

Doing the Dining Plan for the first time too! There's so much gm think about!

There's so much TO think about!

All. Have you been on the website the dibb. Thousands of tips on every aspect from theme park tickets to car hire to food. Brilliant

Off to WDW in August! First time for us all. DDs are 13 and 10 with get 11th birthday out there. Split sites between WDW and US. Disney Caribbean for 10 days then 4 days in Portofino. Moving on the day of her birthday (eeek! Any thoughts?!).

All fast passes booked and only 2 dining reservations made so far (before Happily Ever After and ROL night shows). Plan on seeing Illuminations so looking for a nice restaurant in Epcot.

No DDP (has free tickets instead).

Trying to plan for Universal now but having a few days off from all the reading and planning!

Won't do Discovery Cove - too much money for us and am not entirely satisfied ethically about the place.

All advice welcome!

I second the DFG movie clips on YouTube - really watchable and useful.

We have booked Coronado Springs (quick service dining) for next May for 11 nights and Hard Rock Hotel for 3 nights for the universal express passes. Contemplating Kennedy space center, not doing anything Sea World for ethical reasons, really tempted by the legoland!! That said we plan to go back in a few years and go down the villa route so want to make the most of on site perks at Disney and universal this time around, I'm so excited, I've only ever been as a child, I can't wait to see my children's faces!

avalanching I went as a child too and going back as an adult with my DH and kids was just wonderful.

You will have a ball

We're looking at going in 2020, but not sure if first week in Feb or June would be best re weather/crowds, any advice......

@feellikezerobucks I imagine crowds may be better but weather is quite unpredictable. It was quite warm this year I gather but not sure it's quite water park weather, they usually have one of the Disney water parks shut that time of year to alternate upkeep etc.