Thinking of going to disney at easter 2010, tell me everything you think will be useful to know

[kbaby]

Ive never been before and so I dont know much about whats there apart from what ive read in the brochures.
DD will be 6 and DS will be 4. Will there be much for them to do there?
If we go for 14 days is that too long? We were thinking of staying at a disney hotel and just doing epcot, magic of disney and animal kingdom.

What other than disney is there to do there?

Tell me anything you think will be useful to know about the place, where to stay/go etc

Thanks in advance

14 days is quite long. I would say even a week is a bit long. 5 days would be good to see most things. It's quite nice to get away from the crowds and Disney branding after a while! I'd recommend staying in a Disney hotel since it's so much easier to get around. The rooms are quite small though. Animal Lodge rooms with a view of the savannah means the kids can look out on giraffes etc.
Book restaurants as far in advance as you can!
We went to Disney World in Orlando in October without booking anywhere and basically were forced to eat crap, fast food for three days. Kids choices are Kraft mac and cheese, peanut butter sandwiches, nuggets and chips. We were barely able to buy our 2 year old daughter a carton of fruit juice since the choice at this end is so limited. Also, 'character dining' is more in demand so even if you book nothing else you might want to book this.
Girls can get princess makeovers in a place called Bibbidy Bobbidy (or something) which has to be booked really far in advance. Our 7 year old was heartbroken!
You might want to hire a buggy in case of aching feet. You have to leave them beside some rides so don't take your own.
I haven't been to The Animal Kingdom but there's loads in The Magic Kingdom. Hollywood Studios and Epcot for 4 and 6 year olds. I first went as a 6 year old and LOVED it. You'll have a fab time!

You must read www.amazon.co.uk/Unofficial-Guide-Disney-World-Guides/dp/0470285702. If you are staying for that long I recommend 5 days ish in a Disney hotel and then rent a house for the rest. We enjoyed Sea World/Universal probably more than Disney. Staying in the hotel at the beginning was good as you can easily go early (as will wake up early due to jetlag), go back to the hotel for a rest in the middle of the day and return to the parks for evening activities. After 5 days we were ready for life outside the Disney bubble.

Just to confuse you, I am going to say the opposite of above! We have done disney for past 4 years and spend every day of the 14 at a park. I have 4 kidswho are now 9,8,3 and 1 so they have been pretty young and absolutely up for it. We just pace ourselves when there. We have always gone in july so its very hot but there are plenty ways to ensure the kids and adults cope with it. Agree that if you want character dining then book in advance. The Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom is great and we just book for lunch when we arrive at the park. Never failed to get in. We always take out own buggy even though you leave them to go on rides. Never known this to be a problem! Food for kids is pretty crap in the parks but its only lunch so I just make sure they have a decent evening meal and breakfast. I would thorougly recommend a private villa with pool. your kids will probably find the pool the highlight of the holiday. I also like a villa just to be able to chill out at and be able to eat when and what I want. I also obviously need the space they provide. We don't do much at night due to age of kids so a villa is great to come back to and get them all in bed and catch up with my husband. Its my holiday too! We usually book everything privately and a 4/5 bed villa costs us £550 a week.All the parks have plenty for the age of your children. I have just asked my lot what they liked the most- Magic Kingdom, Seaworld and Animal kingdom.The shows are spectacular and your kids are a great age for them. I could go on and on as I love our holidays there and yes, we are going back again this year.

Loads more than Disney in Florida. On 2 trips we have not done any Disney at all and still stuggled to fit everything in. Don't forget the waterparks (4 in all) and Discovery Cove plus non-Disney parks. We actually prefer Universal to Disney. Florida has some beautiful beaches and wildlife things, it's not all about theme parks. We have yet to visit Kennedy Space Center although we were in Orlando for a shuttle launch once. Ideally, I would go there for 3 weeks to allow chill out time.

Also would second a villa but only if dcs are confident in water as there is no shallow end to your private pool. Floridian food can be delicious, not all chips and burgers. Lots of Caribbean and Southern influenced stuff - baked sweet potatoes, good fish etc. Yum.

We also book everything independently. My biggest tip at the moment is to keep an eye on the $ exchange rate.

meadow6, where do you buy your ticket package from for the parks, there seem to many offering it.

www.thedibb.co.uk is excellent for info too (and for villas)

WE went at EAster. Be prepared for it to be crowded

Totally agree with meadow. My DDs have been 3 times, aged 2 & 5, aged 5 & 7 and before Christmas when they were 9 & 6. Each time we have spent 14 days there and have been to a park every day of the holiday! We stay in apartments in Lake Buena Vista, they do not have a private pool but are very close to Disney and are equipped with everything you will need and more. We love all the parks and waterparks. This time the DD's favourites were Aquatica,Seaworld and Hollywood studios.

We also loved Discovery cove and Cirque Du Soleil. There is something for everyone and every age there. Floridian food is great, not just burgers and chips but lots of Caribbean and the seafood is amazing.

We did an airboat ride this time which was amazing.

We get our tickets from Attraction Tickets.com. have used them before, excellent.

We have always booked a 14 day ultimate ticket and discovery cove and done it through a tour operator eg travel city, virgin. This is my DH responsibility and he says there are probably cheaper ways of doing it but to be honest he does it this way for ease.
Would love to do airboat ride but youngest is still too little.
We usually go for 3 weeks so in the third week we look for other things other than the parks to do.
Last year we took the kids to a petting zoo which was fab.
We also like to go to Celebration Village for an afternoon. There is a large fountain area in the centre which the kids love playing in. Nice restaurants for lunch.
The upside down building on International Drive (can't remember proper name) is sort of science museum seemed to go down well with older 2.
We are going to give Universal/ Islands of Adventure a miss this year as we found only the 9 year old really enjoyed it. Not an awful lot for the youngest ones. However not everyone will agree.

thanks for ticket advice

i saw dibb recommended on another thread, so will go and check that out.

From a villa, I would say that you will need a hire car.

Definitely a car if staying in a villa.

I dont really want to use a car. If I stayed outside disney ie in the hotels on international drive etc is the public transport good or do I really need a car.

If I did take the plunge and hired a car and stayed in a villa is getting about disney /florida easy?

The only thing im afraid of when getting a villa is that if we want a break from disney or the kids get tired that we will end up spending all day driving back and forth. Does that seem likely? is it a pain?

Me again- What would be the ideal itinery to spend the 14 days?

Thanks for all your help.

We are going this Easter - we leave on Easter Monday and will be there for 11 days.

We are staying here. I picked it as I didn't want to be Disneyfied for the whole time and I chose it over a villa as I figured we would need to drive everywhere from a villa. We like to potter about and go out for dinner within walking distance - we both like our wine so would be arguing about whose turn it was to drive!

Our 'plan' is very loose at the moment! Won't be doing parks every day that is for sure. I want some shopping time on my own. We also want lounging around time.

I will let you know how it all goes!

kbaby,hard to give you an ideal itinery as it depends how often you visit the parks. We always do Sea world on our first day as it is less hectic than disney parks and we are still tired from flight. We do Magic Kingdom 2nd or 3rd day as the kids always want to go back at least once in the 2nd week. I love Sea world at night, so we will have morning shopping and go there about 4 for dinner and Shamu show. Highly recommend Dine with Shamu, saves having to queue for an hour before show and its fab seeing whales so close up. The other parks we visit once. We find this is enough. We actually print out an itinery before we go which is fexible. I laughed the first time my DH did this but it was such a good idea.