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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

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Original poster

Disney Orlando help!

63 replies

Goose22 · 27/12/2023 17:07

Hi MNetters,

I’m hoping there are some seasoned Disney fans out there that can help.
Me, DH & two sons (4 & 1) will be going to Disney Orlando in September 2024. I realise some people think this age isn’t ideal for Disney, but it’s a great opportunity so we’re going & we would love to know how to make the most of it! We’re staying at Loews Portofino Bay hotel for a week.
which restaurants should we book? Which resorts should we visit/avoid? Any general Disney tips?
TIA!

OP posts:

beetr00 · 27/12/2023 17:20

Although you're staying at Universal, this is a great site for information

https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=48

qpalbfy · 27/12/2023 17:22

Are you only staying a week? What theme parks are you aiming to do?

HalfasleepChrisintheMorning · 27/12/2023 17:24

You are staying at Universal so for a week I would stick to Universal and skip Disney. Although at those ages Disney far better. Can you change hotels?

Oppositioblue · 27/12/2023 17:25

My first question is why have you booked a Universal Studios based hotel but wanting to do Disney? Can you changed to a Disney based hotel?

A week really isn’t long enough but it it’s all you’ve got, I’d look at the Disney resorts online and pick what appeals. Hollywood studios for Toy Story might be a good fit. You can’t go wrong with Magic Kingdom.

user701 · 27/12/2023 17:26

The main reason people stay at the universal hotels is to get the universal park perks so it’s a bit strange to have booked that hotel. Can you switch it for a Disney hotel?

NotARealWookiie · 27/12/2023 17:27

Disney would be better for the ages but you will still have a great time !

CheersToAMerryChristmas · 27/12/2023 17:28

How will you get from Universal to the Disney parks? It's a fair old journey by car or cab.

randomstress · 27/12/2023 17:34

I would mostly focus on Universal if you are going for a week and staying at a universal hotel.
We enjoyed the water park more than we expected.
You could get an Uber to go to Disney for a couple of days though.
The last hotel we stayed in was a Universal one and we saw people doing this.

ReindeerShelter · 27/12/2023 17:36

Universal is not great for those ages. Why did you book a Universal hotel?

user701 · 27/12/2023 17:36

Adding universal tickets is going to add a lot of cost though. Better to switch the hotel to a Disney hotel and then you won’t need a car or the universal tickets. That will save over £1500

Quartz2208 · 27/12/2023 17:41

Portofino isalovely hotel (stayed there) but is a universal hotel, walking distance to that but quite far from Disney. A week is fine for universaL but not for Disney and is a pain for jet lag.

portifino is as well a more grown up hotel as well

ReindeerShelter · 27/12/2023 17:44

Yeah with those ages you want to be looking at the Disney All Star resorts to stay in.

CountTo10 · 27/12/2023 17:57

As others have said you will need a car or cab as it's about a half hour drive from Universal to Disney. We stayed at Cabana Bay at Universal which is really child friendly and fun and hired a car so we could get to Disney and some of the outlet shopping malls.

bowtop · 27/12/2023 18:06

I'm another seasoned Disney/Universal person saying why that hotel? We have stayed at Hard Rock, Cabana Bay and Royal Pacific but my children were much older and we were there specifically for Universal. For Disney we stay onsite in Disney hotels.

Disney has its own transport between the hotels and the parks. For young children I would say either staying at the monorail hotels for naps etc or staying at Pop or Art of Animation would be best as the hotels are brilliant for young children.

Disney has far more to offer for those ages than Universal. Is there a reason you booked a Universal hotel? As it is the most expensive Universal hotel you could easily afford Disney and a week is not long enough when you take into account that you will lose a day travelling out there and with the 5 hour time difference it can hit children very hard. ie flight is 10am so check in is from 7am, flight lands 3pm local time (8pm UK time) getting through customs/immigration collecting cases (possibly using their 2 carousel system if you have pushchairs etc) then transfer to the hotel, check in, get to room etc.

The Dibb as mentioned above is great plus there are lots of videos on youtube with travel days from UK airport showing you what is involved. It is a fantastic holiday but you need to do a lot of research to get the best out of it.

Original poster

Goose22 · 27/12/2023 18:41

Thanks so much, which Disney hotel would you all recommend?
We’ve been gifted the trip by some very lovely family members and this was the hotel that was booked, but we would be very willing to change based on these recommendations 😊 we will just be staying for a week.

OP posts:

Isyesterdaytomorrowtoday · 27/12/2023 18:44

Are you flying from uk for the week or is it part of a longer trip? Are you able to change the hotel? Have you got Disney or universal tickets?

Quartz2208 · 27/12/2023 18:48

Art of animation or Caribbean Beach on the gondolas for Epcot and Hollywood Studios

what characters do your children like for character meal interaction

Original poster

Goose22 · 27/12/2023 18:48

So we’ll be flying from the UK to Orlando, just for the week. We’ll be able to change hotels & are happy to do so - you all have excellent intel so please do let me know recommendations!

we’re very happy to do other things other than Disney if there are other attractions around the hotel, but by the sounds of it Disney seems the place to be and we don’t seem to have enough time to enjoy all of that! :)

OP posts:

qpalbfy · 27/12/2023 18:49

@Goose22 ah that's lovely. If you're doing Disney it would be better to be at a Disney hotel to benefit from the (admittedly limited these days) perks. The cheapest are All stars resorts, we did Pop Century which is still good value but benefits from the sky liner for quick transport to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. Then it gets progressively more expensive with moderates and deluxes. If on a budget I really recommend Pop Century, if a good resort with better pools are more important for you you'll want to look at moderates. Will depend on your budget.

Original poster

Goose22 · 27/12/2023 18:49

my youngest will be almost 1 by the time we go, so I think he’ll be happy to just tag along. My eldest will be just shy of 4 so I think the experiences will be geared towards him. He loves frozen!

OP posts:

qpalbfy · 27/12/2023 18:50

If only doing a week I would stick to Disney. And with kids the ages the are you can do mornings at theme park, then pm for some down time in the pool, and potentially out again in the evening when it's quieter but that might not be ideal with a baby (suppose one adult could take the child).

CheersToAMerryChristmas · 27/12/2023 18:50

That's good.
Depending on budget I'd look at the monorail resorts (Grand Floridian, Polynesian or Contemporary) for easy access to Magic Kingdom.

My (cheaper) preference is Port Orleans Riverside or French Quarter but it's a bus ride away. The small pools at Riverside are dotted around and are quiet.

Original poster

Goose22 · 27/12/2023 18:50

As for budget we’re happy to go a little more as it’s a once in a lifetime trip. Our son has been in and out of ICU so it’s really just an extra extra special treat (I appreciate we’re very lucky!)

OP posts:

qpalbfy · 27/12/2023 18:51

Make sure you have good travel insurance if he has any ongoing needs

Quartz2208 · 27/12/2023 18:52

allears do all the menus in a very easy to use fashion

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