Disney - Florida - where do I start??

[EmilyEmmabob]

After years of not being bothered about Disney my 11 and 9 year old DSs have decided it now really appeals. I'm looking for next year but have no clue where to start in planning - does anyone have any go to agents/websites or any advice which might help me please?
(I do have another thread on here about Tenerife but that's for this year. This would be next summer).
Thank you in advance!

Try here.

Once you get your head round the parks, and the Disney resorts, it all becomes easier.

How exciting - the place is amazing!

The DIBB forums. https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/index.php

Happy planning!

There is a book that covers everything you could ever need to know:

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2024 (Unofficial Guides) https://amzn.eu/d/grZW91N

There's also a really useful Facebook group called Walt Disney World Tips and Tricks.

Have a play with the touring plans website too - loads of info there.

Finally, find someone who has been recently who can answer all the basic qus, it will save loads of time. If you don't know anyone IRL, feel free to PM!

A new universal park is due to open next year so if may be busier than usual. I would factor that into any planning.

Don't overthink it. We went with virgin, stayed in a Disney hotel for 7 days. Had an amazing time. August was bloody hot and humid.
Our children researched what they wanted to do which helped with planning.

It cost a lot, we don't regret it. Have fun.

Don’t go at Easter!! In fact avoid March & April at all costs as it’s spring break

accept that you’ll pay thousands for the tickets and still maybe have to pay extra on genie + to get on any rides.

all of the parks charge £30 per day to park, so factor that in when looking whether you want to stay at a Disney resort or a villa

Depending on your budget I would always recommend booking with Virgin at a Disney hotel. If you do it far enough in advance you can take advantage of their offers. Staying at a Disney property also can mean you don't need a hire car. We used ubers/taxis to visit Universal in the past but if you want to just visit Disney parks the Disney buses are great. Parking costs at the parks can stack up. Also check which Airport you are flying in to if you don't use Virgin. Orlando Airport is far better than Sanford. I've stayed at a number of the Disney properties so can give some opinions on our experiences, depending on what you are looking for. I have also stayed at properties outside Disney and having a private pool at a villa can also be nice. What month are you thinking of going?

Thank you all so much! This is all so helpful!

I know it's already been said, but Virgin were great. Maybe not the cheapest but easiest.

Staying in a Disney hotel, with meal plan, fast passes, Disney photos that are taken included on the app, transport to and from the parks to hotel and multi-park pass for the entire stay.

We did have to book the Disney restaurants as soon as the slots opened, I think 6 or 9 months in advance.

It's 60 days now for restaurants/experiences😊

If you want to keep costs down but stay at Disney then I cant recommend the All Star resorts enough. My family recently stayed in the sports one and the rooms are all similar in size to the other more premium hotels. The Art of Animation is a beautiful and newer resort but I don't think it is worth the increase in price. You won't spend that much time in the room, except to sleep.

That's better!

We were in quite a large group and still didn't get all the restaurants we wanted even booking months in advance!

Yes definitely! Still a bit stressful but we went in January and stayed on site so got everything we wanted, I imagine Easter or Christmas is mad. DD starts school in September so we'll be stuck to school holidays in future and I can't decide whether to brave the Easter crowds or the August humidity... not great either way!

Check out the forums on DIBB. We planned our Florida holiday using tips from there and it was a godsend.

Top tips:
Get to the parks early and immediately head to the back of the park. Work your way back to the entrance and you'll miss the crowds.

Sign up to Landrys and other restaurants for vouchers and discounts. Your birthday just happens to coincide with your holiday... 😉

I’ll second this book, it also has plans of the best times to go to avoid queues then when you’re there the past parks on whichever days are likely to be the quietest. For example if you stay at a Disney hotel certain parks allow early entry on certain days for guests. This is great for the hour you get before the general public but then that particular park is significantly busier than others.
you also have access to a queue app that tells you the wait time for rides and if any are closed.

Single rider is also worth looking at as you get to skip the main queue, we did a ride 3 times in 20 minutes using single rider when the actual queue was 90 minutes.

Best advice though is to always plan time to just chill it’s a very busy holiday.

As to where to stay etc it’s a very easy holiday to plan, work out your budget and do you drive or need to rely on public transport, pick up a few brochures and see what appeals.

Strongly recommend you book park tickets in advance from the UK it’s the ways to get the best deals.

August humidity every time, they have plenty of very vicious air conditioning. Often you can feel it from the middle of the street. Hate to consider the environmental impact.

Don't discount universal. We actually loved it more than Disney and ended up doing extra days there.

Disney springs for shopping is great, and two highlights of our Orlando trip was Kennedy space centre (we paid extra for lunch with an astronaut) and gatorland (which is about a half day visit).

We stayed in a villa off site and drove everywhere.

Nowadays it's 30 mins early entry for any Disney hotel at any of the Disney parks and deluxe get 1 night late entry at Epcot and Magic Kingdom. I miss the hour but its nice to have free reign on any park!

*free rein not reign - why can't I edit 😤

We're going on Wednesday, I'll post an update when I'm back!

I’d start with what sort of accommodation you want - do you want a villa (more space, own pool, kitchen facilities but will need to drive) or are you happy to be in a hotel? What’s your budget - hotels can be as cheap or expensive as you want. Are you planning to hire a car? If not then don’t rely on “free shuttles” from your hotel - plan to hire a car or use taxis. Will your kids need car seats?

The Touringplans app is really good. You have to subscribe but it tells you busy days and expected crowds at each ride during the day.

Work out a budget then plan accordingly, it is very expensive. Is it the rides, the Disney experience, the bragging rights that's they have been which appeals to them? If it's more just to have been and the whole Disney thing more than rides I highly recommend doing a cruise and stay package, you do a few days at the parks (honestly 3-4 days was plenty, it was like boot camp, very tiring but you won't get on everything as there's so much) then do a Disney cruise during which there's plenty of character meets and excellent food, shows etc. Virgin holidays do packages as do Tui for just the parks and tui have a deal on free meal plan currently but I've not actually booked.

Word of warning, summer holidays in Florida are humid, expect heavy downpours and thunderstorms. Unfortunately hurricanes are a possibility too, Orlando gets one hit it periodically but often gets the edge. I went in early July (before they started school) and I still have the Mickey umbrella 20 years later, well made! As I said before I did a shorter park visit and the cruise, whilst the exact park arrangements have changed, the queues are definitely worse

Save a shit load of money. Mine are same age and some of their friends have been and it cost an obscene amount of money. C £10k all in. I’ve been (when it was affordable!) And it’s not worth it IMO. Most people I know who’ve been didn’t pay it all themselves it was “grandparents’ treat”

That being said. We are going to Disneyland Paris this coming half term. That cost well over £1.5k accommodation and park tickets for 3 days (travel extra). 😳

We’ve just got back. My top tips are to stay in one of the Disney hotels & get the buses/monorail/boats to the Disney parks (really easy & efficient), go to the parks in the early morning & evening then chill out round the pool or at the water park in the middle of the day to avoid the worst of the crowds, get a Target supermarket delivery to the hotel via Instacart for breakfast/snacks/packed lunch (it will save you a ton of money) and if you’re eating out, eat at Disney Springs as the food in the parks is overpriced & awful.

We had a blast & particularly loved Hollywood Studios (the Star Wars stuff at night is epic) and the water park but would definitely do things a bit differently if we went back.