Florida & Disney with a 3 year old and a 5.5 year old

[ChestnutsRoastingonanOpenFlier]

Am I mad to even consider going?

Can anyone give me any tips an where to stay, where not to stay or go, should I take a buggy for 3 year old?

I have the virgin brochure but there is so much info and choice, I just don't know where to start!

Also, teh longest flight my DCs have been on is around 4 hours - How do you cope with your energetic DCs on the flight?

Definitely stay in a villa. We've been going every year for around 15 years and the first few years stayed in hotels/apartments but in the end bought a villa there 12 years ago as its so much better (in my opinion) when you have young kids. If you get a villa with a private pool it will be safer for the kids and more relaxing for you not having to try to watch them in a big hotel pool.
You can get some really good deals on villas a the moment. Recently someone stayed at mine and it was actually cheaper for them to stay in a 4 bed villa with a private pool than to stay in the local holiday inn as they needed a minimum of 3 bedrooms. Have a look at this website www.loyaltyusa.com It is an english lady who runs a management company and she only deals in luxury properties within 4 miles of disney.

ref flights, I agree that scheduled carriers are better as they fly into Orlando as opposed to Sanford (and no stopovers like a lot of charter flights) however, be warned ref BA. They brought in a ridiculous new rule last Jan/Feb with regards to only being allowed to check in one bag each. No matter how small/light the bag is you can only have one. Friends of ours flew out in January before the rule came in and on the way back they got hit with huge penalties for having two bags each, even though they were below the baggage limit weightwise.

Agree you need to go for at least 2 weeks, its really not worth going for less as there is so much to do. Not just Disney but Seaworld, Universal, waterparks plus some relaxation days.

Hi mumoverseas,

Actually that rule you write of has now been resinded:-

Allowances for USA, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, South America, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana

Passenger Free checked allowance
Adults and children
aged 2 years and over FIRST and Club World - 3 bags
World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy) and World Traveller (Economy) - 2 bags
Maximum dimensions per bag (H+W+L): 158cm (62in)
Maximum weight per bag: 23kg (51lbs)*
Children
(aged 2 - 11) FIRST and Club World - 3 bags
World Traveller Plus and World Traveller - 2 bags
Maximum dimensions per bag (H+W+L): 158cm (62in)
Maximum weight per bag: 23kg (51lbs)*
Plus one fully collapsible pushchair (stroller) and one car seat
Infants under 2 years One bag
Maximum dimensions per bag (H+W+L): 158cm (62in)
Maximum weight per bag: 23kg (51lbs)*
Plus one fully collapsible pushchair (stroller) and one car seat

*Charges apply to bags weighing more than 23kg (51lbs). That's £25 per bag.

Hi ATM, thank god they've seen sense then as that was the most stupid rule they've ever brought in. Clearly it didn't last too long. We flew business class in the summer which was fine as we still had our 3 bags each but at that time they were still saying 1 bag each or excess baggage charges. Unfortunately for BA, several people we know who were charged excess baggage charges will never fly with them again.

We have bee twice with our kids to Florida. Both times we have not had a car and have used shuttles/ I Ride and Lynx buses to get us from I drive to Disney. TBH, it takes ages as you have to get on and off i rides an lynx buses. If we could have afforded to tae taxis to all the parks we would have done. We did on one day and it really made a big difference. We would def get a car next time we go as we now have 3 children.

On our first trip with the kids our dd was 4 and ds was 12 months so we took 2 buggies. ONe ended up breaking half way through the hol but to be honest dd didn't really go in it much as her cousin was there with MIL & FIL so they just ran around togther. We sisn't bother with a buggy for dd last year and she coped just fine.

I would def say that if you want to do Disney then, if you can afford to stay onsite then do that. We will be next time. We wouldn't really need a car either as we could use the buses to get around. WE would also get a taxi to Seaworld a couple of times.

If you stay from September - November onsite you can get deals on their dining plans - its free! Saves you over £500. You have to book with Disney direct or with someone like Virgin. I found a fab site that gave me loads of info www.thedibb.co.uk

thanks for that, claret1980, I will take a look at the website in a mo.