Realistically how much for Disney world/Florida?

[Thedarksideofthemoon30]

Hi :)

Dd4 has been asking to go Disney for a year now and the older two (13&11) have been asking to go America for years so we thought we would kill two birds with stone. Wouldn’t be until next year.

The questions are-

Villa or hotel?

Which parks?

What to do around the area that isn’t parks?

How long to go for?

And more importantly how much spending money?

Thank you!

Agree with the comments about Hollywood Studios, with Galaxy’s Edge, and now Rise of the Resistance (not to mention Slinky, Star Tours and Toy Story Mania, our all time fav!) the studios have a lot to offer indeed!

I think a lot of people don’t really get Epcot and miss most of what it has to offer if they just skim the surface. Besides headline attractions like Test Track, Soarin’, Frozen Ever After and exploring the World Showcase, there are hidden gems like Living with the Land and the Grand Fiesta Tour (Figment is questionable at best IMHO!). I also think Epcot has some of the best meet and greets -in 2019 our meet with Ralph and Venelope from Wreck-It Ralph and with Edna and Elastagirl from the Incredibles was very memorable, they were so entertaining! There are also always seem to have the better of impromptu live entertainment, concerts and dance parties.

And then there are the festivals - Epcot Food and Wine and Eat to the Beat is just spectacular. Sampling delicious snacks and drinks from around the world whilst being entertained, could do that all day every day

I’m hoping and praying that we can go ahead with our trip this year, even if some of the restrictions remain, we’ll still go - I need the dose of escapism. DH says Disney could do whatever they like and I’d still hand them all our money. I know I have a problem

We went for 2 weeks in August 2017. It cost us about £12, 000.
2 adults and a 10 and 13 year old.
That included - 2 weeks Villa rental, Car rental, airport parking, Fuel, Visas, Flights, this came to about £5,000
Disney tickets, Gatorland, Busch Gardens tickets, another £5,000
Self catering was pricey but so were meals out £1000

And lots of unaccounted costs - car parks, drinks, gifts

It was okay - I'm glad we did it. Wouldn't go back. For the money, we've had better holidays. It really is an artificial wonderland, complete escapism and unlike anything else.

Have a look at mickeyfromtheuk
Thedibb and touringplans.
These websites have lots of information on pricing
You can even put in where you want to eat and it'll give you average prices

[quote CouchPommeFrite]@ImAllOut I try not to gush too much on MN about Disney, I save it for The Dibb. We were due to go back again this year (was there 2019) but that is shot to hell. It is quite lovely thinking someone might experience Flight of Passage and feel the breathing!

Our next try is 2022 for Universal/Disney. Club level is calling me at RPR anda long stay at POR obviously. I cannot tell you how much we love it there.[/quote]
FOP - I was like a heifer in labour. No one needs to hear that again!!!! I honestly couldn’t handle the ride at all. DH and DS loved it though so for our second fast pass, we found a mum with her son looking at the queue time which was about 3 hours. Mum didn’t want to wait. Asked him if he wanted to go with my fast pass. He cried and said yes please. His face when he came off and he was so grateful.

I would suggest 2 weeks is fine - pretty full on so tiring, we did a week in fact then went on a cruise.

Staying at Disney is nice if you are mostly visiting there, but it's pricey compared to a non Disney hotel but you won't need a car because there's transport laid on, a villa isn't necessarily cheaper per night as you will need a car but can save by cooking if you are willing and non Disney restaurants are cheaper of course.

I recommend the Kennedy space centre museum place, otherwise we just did Disney for 6 nights then (included in package) went to the space centre, stayed in a hotel near there then went on a Disney cruise for a week. My kids loved it at 3&5, but still loved Disney as teens and loved cruises too as teens.

@FudgeSundae

Understatement, Disney planning is like a military operation in our house, I'm sure it was that practice that got dd into officer training! I was just thankful the last time we went my DD's were old enough to be away from us and we retreated to the bar by 2pm each day (Paris not Florida in this instance)

Ps I preferred California and I've been to Orlando and Paris too)

Well said @billybagpuss

Not much to add as loads of great advice. Personally I think 2 weeks is enough if you are careful with managing energy levels. I know some people prefer a low octane 3 weeks but it is possible to have a fantastic time and not over do it in 2 if you use water parks for 'rest' days.

@movingonup20 hope you don't mind me asking why you prefer California? I saw another pp recommend combining Disney California with a road trip, which appeals to me more than Florida. Forgot there was even one in California! What is the difference? I do worry that I'd find 2 weeks of parks too much, as we're not massive park goers as it is. California could be the solution.

We went in 2016 and spent 15k, 3 adults, a 16 and 18 year old.
I too preferred California.

I believe California Disney is the original park but it smaller in that it doesn't have all the Disney parks they have in Florida

We go every other year and do ten nights at Disney and four nights at universal. Always stay on site and we book for when the free Disney dining is on. Now that the dc are older and classed as adults it’s very difficult to do it for under £10k. We don’t spend much because of the free Disney dining, typically about £1000 for a fortnight

Don't think the op is coming back, she's passed out at the prices!! Crazy money.

@AliceinBunniland

I believe California Disney is the original park but it smaller in that it doesn't have all the Disney parks they have in Florida

I am going to do it, I am going to get my Disney nerd hat on.

When Walt opened the California Disney Land he was saddened that the land around the park was soon filled with hotels and it spoiled the magic. So they secretly bought parcels of land in Orlando for a very cheap price under a few shell companies. He managed to buy a lot very cheaply before being rumbled by a reporter speculating on who was buying land.

Magic Kingdom in Disney World is bigger than the entire Disneyland park in Cali. Disney World is 43 square miles. Walt Disney wanted people to be immersed in the magic you cannot see one land from another that it why when you are walking around Disney World you are actually on the 2nd floor. Underneath are massive utilidors (utility corridors) where the characters can take off their costume heads. It is also why you never see anyone empty a bin, because the trash is removed from the bottom.

The 2 water parks are fun, Typhoon is the better one, Animal Kingdom Safari is incredible. To be that close to the animals, I have been less than 3m from a baby rhino, just walking along next to the jeep.

I do love Universal as well as Disney. It is a toss up between The Mummy or Transformers for my favourite ride there. But also WWoHP is awesome, Forbidden is better than Gringotts, Hulk, Jurassic park still scares me. Not the drop, but the velociraptors.

Yes it is crazy money, we originally did it as a once in a lifetime trip and I will be totally honest with you, my friend dropped dead from sepsis within 48 hours of having a "chest infection" and she wasn't even 40. She left behind 2 primary school children. Less than a year later another friend was dead from strep A, again not 40, both of them were healthy before this. That was devastating (understatement) and we decided to fuck it all and go back again, and again because we all love it and I hate to say it but can afford it.

We did 2 weeks in October 2019, 8 of us for £6.5k but we didn’t go to Disney-only universal. Took another £3k in spending money-and blew most of that in the outlets

@JoshLymanIsHotterThanSam

We did 2 weeks in October 2019, 8 of us for £6.5k but we didn’t go to Disney-only universal. Took another £3k in spending money-and blew most of that in the outlets

That’s the problem, regardless of how good a deal you get for the holiday and the parks, it’s such an expensive holiday. Even for 2 of us almost 30 years ago we spent £1000.

Minimum £10k for 5 of you for at least 2 weeks

I think ours was £9k all in in 2019. That was for two weeks, two adults and two teenagers. We didn't know what we wanted to do and thought unlikely to do it again, so we tried to cram everything in.
We spent 5 nights at Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter with the free dining. We then spent 6 nights in a villa with a pool on Anna Maria Island (during which time we visited Busch Gardens). Then we finished off the holiday with 3 nights at Universal's Royal Pacific Hotel. The benefit of staying in Universal's premium hotels is that you get to skip the lines. We thought the 3 nights at Universal was enough. But would up the Disney to a week and a full week on Anna Maria if we could do it over. We loved our holiday. I think if i went back i would like to try staying in a villa for space but then again we loved the benefits of staying on site, the transport and the food and being able to book fast passes early.

Get on the Dibb and start watching some you tube videos, its a beautiful rabbit hole. Hope some day we get to do it again.

Following- I want to take DS 5 and 8 to Orlanda in 2-3 years once DS2 is a confident swimmer and over 1m22 which seems to be a height restriction for some of the rides!

We went 4 years ago - 2 adults and 2 young teens. It cost about £12K for 2 weeks all in. That was staying in a villa, with a car, tickets to Disney and Busch and a couple of day trips to gatorland, Mall and celebration. It was ok - not the best holiday. The food was terrible, I missed the natural environment and felt like I was in the Truman show for a fortnight!

Shameless placemarking

We have been a couple of times it’s cost 6k

This didn’t include universal only Disney

Highly recommended going when they off the Disney dining plan- this way food is covered so the only spending money you
Need is for gifts

Also we stayed at the Port Orleans riverside hotel - it’s lovely

This is an old thread from January. Disney past passes are no longer a thing, it's Genie now I think which is quite different. I would definitely check out the Facebook groups and vloggers on YouTube. There's also been no mention on dining plans for this year but they're only on the first UK arrivals in the last few weeks.

A family of 5 isnt just a bit more expensive than 4.

If you do everything on a budget and go during the school term you might just scrape it in below £10k but would you be happy counting the pennies with everything and still being that out of pocket?

I'd recommend a 2 bed aparthotel around international drive, car hire, cheap flights, packed lunches, minimal meals out, Disney plus universal 2 week passes booked well in advance.

Plan plan plan like a maniac to get round everything and avoid the 2 hour queues.

Just make sure the kids don't expect extras.

Definitely villas. So much space to spread out. Get to the parks when they open if not using fast passes. It staggers me how many people turn up at 1100 wondering why its so busy!