Q&A with Virgin Holidays - Ask your questions & share your tips on going to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida - 3x £100 vouchers to be won

[EllieMumsnet]

We're going to have the Virgin Holidays experts online on Monday 17th June from 1:30pm - 3:00pm to answer your questions on how to get the most out of a trip to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, from the great value Disney Dining Plans to what to take with you into the Disney Parks, best attractions for different ages or how the Disney FastPass+ service works. This Q&A will work a little like our Live Webchats if any of you have taken part in one before - just ask a question below for the experts at Virgin Holidays to answer!

Not only would we love you to ask your questions below for Virgin Holidays to answer but we’d also like you to share any top tips or helpful advice you may have for other MNers thinking of going to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

Here’s what Virgin Holidays have to say: “Planning a dream family holiday to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida can seem a little daunting. What was once ‘just’ the amazing Magic Kingdom Park, is now four entertainment-filled theme parks, plus two water parks, covering a total area the size of San Francisco. And that’s before you add in Disney Springs — packed with shopping, restaurants and attractions in its own right.

Don’t leave the holiday of a lifetime to chance. Here at Virgin Holiday’s we’ve got a whole team of Disney experts to help you with the planning now so you can enjoy the Disney magic even more.”

Post your question for Virgin Holidays and they will be online to answer them on Monday 17th June . Everyone who posts a question or shares a tip will be entered into a prize draw where 3 MNers will win a £100 voucher each of their choice (from a list).*

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply
Webchat guidelines - one question each (follow-ups allowed if there’s time)

*The Walt Disney Company Limited has no responsibility whatsoever with the running of this Prize Draw and shall not be liable for any losses, damages, or costs should a reader make any claim against the promoter as a result of the running of this Prize Draw.

When you are travelling with a baby who needs to sleep by about 7pm, how do you not end up sitting in hotel room in the dark watching tv with subtitles on!

Is it really worth taking very young children or waiting until they are older? Or do they get too old??

Sarat, stay in a villa, then you can sit out by the pool of an evening.
Bristol mum, we took our 2 year old it's a totally different holiday than with older kids , she doesn't remember but we do, it was magical.
Iced water is available for free at all disney food counters that have a soda machine (not available at the carts or where drinks are sold in bottles) you can take the robinsons little squirt squash bottles if you want to add flavour, saves carrying around bottled water all day.
Dont drink the water at the water fountains in magic kingdom, it is the oldest park and was never fitted with filters so the water although clean and safe has a swampy taste and smell. All subsequent parks have filtered water in the fountains.
Look out for the characters in training, they come out next to the American pavillion in epcot.
(Ds was a cast member and told us these tips )

My tip is to book when the free dining offers on. I've not managed to find it cheaper without the free dining. Stay onsite and dont worry about hiring a car. Uber and Lyft are useful for offsite shops etc but disneys transport is brilliant. Oh and v-room, book v-room. (Please start offering light lunch options)

Not been to WDW yet mainly because I have a child with special needs and uses a wheel chair. The thought of organising a trip and ensuring all her needs are taken care of is stressful and often you speak to advisers that have no experience or information on how best to deal with this. Do you have specialists that are experienced enough to help organise these trips and and make the process a lot easier?

My biggest tip is to not try and pack everything in to two weeks! I’ve been 15 times, and there’s still so much that I haven’t done. Orlando is going nowhere, it’ll be there next trip, plus it’s a great excuse to plan another trip!

@crosser62 parking is currently $25 per day at Disney parks (excluding the water parks which are free), parking is valid all day and can transfer into the different parks if you are park hopping

What age is too old for Disney? Is it more girl friendly than boy friendly (lots of adverts seem to be princess and castle focussed)? Is it somewhere a single parent would be comfortable and what’s the best place to stay/best option as a single parent?

@enigma222 WDW are fantastic at dealing with disability and their newer rides have easy access now, they also have the Disability Access Service which is fantastic and can be used in addition to fast passes, basically you register with guest services and they will give you a return time to the ride/attraction you want so you don’t have to wait, it’s not necessarily for wheelchair users as their queues are accessible (but Disney has more hills then you’d imagine when using a chair) however if you do have a wheelchair it doesn’t discount you using it if getting knocked etc will cause problems.

Virgin do have special assistance however I’ve found them to be poor, especially on this latest Disney trip when I flew with them but everyone has different experiences just be extremely clear to them about what the needs are

Thank you for sharing your experience, hopefully when I go it will be an amazing trip! 🙂

Although it was lovely having a villa, I think if we went again we'd prefer to stay in a hotel nearer the parks, especially if we could get a diving deal.
Are there buses that run between hotels and parks or would we still need a car?

loving all the comments- disneyworld is on the bucketlist

Be aware of 'Disney Adults' up to the age of 9 kids have reduced cost entry to parks, and if you're on dining plan they get a kids meal package. Note, it is only the table service meal element where you must order off the kids menu. However, there is very little difference between a 9yo and a 10yo in terms of size and appetite. My dd at 10 was too small for the biggest rides still, and no way could she have eaten a 3 course adult meal. If you are in dining plan 2uth a child sized/fussy eater, you may do well to pay out of pocket for a kids meal and bank the table service credit die for another day. This is especially true now that beverages are included in the dining plan. The markup between a bottle of water and a cabernet sauvignon is huge.

Haven't been for years (1993?) but have done Eurodisney a lot... is WDW worth the extra travel time? What fast pass systems are in place? Do you get early park entry if you stay in a Disney hotel?

We have been going for over 10 years and always stay in a Disney hotel. Its great for free transport to the parks and extra magic hours.
My tip would be check out the times were you get free dining - its a big money saver and the plans are great- especially now you can get alcohol.
I would love to know if any more Marvel characters are coming to the parks, tricky because of the universal issue, but I loved the marvel shows at Disney Land Paris and would love to see something similar in Florida.
Really excited for Galaxy's edge

We are looking at taking DS (3.5) this October. Virgin holidays would be our choice of holiday provider. If we stay at a Disney resort and use the Disney transportation- how easy is it to access supermarkets for supplies and food etc? We are worried about not having a hire car.

Get to the parks early, bank on opening time.

Leave at lunchtime when it's way too hot, back to the hotel and cool off in the pool for the afternoon.

Watch thunderstorms at 4/5pm while getting ready to go out for dinner!

We just got back from an Orlando holiday. :) Here are a few tips:

Don't forget to look beyond Disney! Kennedy Space Center is only around an hour away by car and is well worth the trip for some edutainment. For older children or Harry Potter fans, there's a lot worth doing at the Universal Studios parks. We also enjoyed taking an airboat ride.

When you're pricing up your holiday, unless you're staying on-site at the hotel then parking is a daily charge at the theme parks that you need to factor in. When we were there, it was $25 per day.

Depending on the time of year, Florida can be extremely hot and humid. The parks generally open early and close late, so it's a good idea to arrive early and spend the morning in the parks. Then go to your villa/hotel around lunchtime for a nap or a dip in the pool, before heading back for more fun at the parks in the evening. Your parking ticket will last all day, so you don't need to pay twice.

Don't miss the evening shows at the Disney parks. They are amazing! However, unless you have a fast pass or are visiting during a quiet period, aim to arrive enthusiastically early or you may not get a seat.

I found the planning tools at touringplans.com really useful. You need to pay to access some of the more advanced tools, but it's not a huge expense (around $15 for the year IIRC) and it saved us so much queuing time in the parks that it was well worth it.

It's on the expensive side, but if you need shade and want a bit of privacy then it's well worth hiring a cabana at the water parks. During busy periods you'll need to book it before you go, as they're popular. You normally also get a locker, unlimited towels and free drinks for the day.

For the most part, wet rides mean WET. Not slightly splashed, not a little bit damp... You may as well jump in the pool fully dressed.

My partner and I love visiting Disney world and have both visited since we were children. Now we get to take our children it's even better.

Never expect to do everything in one trip, it's a huge place with so much to do! Our tip is to stay on site. We always stay in a Disney hotel and it makes it much easier. Especially when we visited during hurricane Irma. Disney had provided us with a little bag of supplies.

We fly Virgin, hire a car and head to Disney. We will be getting married in Disney world in the next few years.

We visit September as our children are still young but have also visited in November (just bring a jacket for the evenings!).

Best piece of advice is too download the disney world app!.
You can see all the wait times for the rides,make dinner reservations and order food from some of the outlets, so all you need to do is collect!.
They is a second app to that gives you disney games you can plau whilst you explore.
Also pack the essentials in your bag, dont forget the suncream and ponchos ready for that florida weather! 😁

My tips - plan plan plan!!!
• Make sure to book your must have dining reservations as soon as possible (180 days if your staying onsite),
• book your fast passes for early in the day (10am onwards as it's usually quiet for the first hour or so) 60/30 days depending if your staying on site or not. Then once you've used your 3 fast passes you can book another one.
• keep refreshing the my Disney app during the day if you want a certain fast pass - it will usually appear if you keep at it.
• plan downtime - going to the pool, boat ride round bay lake/ seven seas lagoon/ Disney springs, especially if you have young children.
• use websites like touring plans, kenny the pirate, WDW prep school, undercover tourist to plan what days you want to go to a park. Mainly Pick quieter days.
• If you're staying offsite, don't go to a park that has early extra magic hours as on site guests will take advantage and it will be busier.

My question - I'm going for the first time in November with a toddler (previously been over 20 times). What tips would you give for travelling on a plane with a 2 1/2 year old (on a virgin plane 😁) and dealing with the time difference on the first few days? Not looking forward to getting up at his up at his usual time of 6am which is 1am Florida time. 😩

We are staying in a villa when we holiday in the summer. How do the magicbands work? Where do we buy them when we arrive? The literature we have says that you only need your card, but then the photo experience says you won't get everything without a magicband? Can you explain how this works?

We have one 6y/o that really wants to go and an 11y/o that’s distinctly against, currently planning that we split up and holiday in two halves..how can we convince our older child that the holiday is worth doing?

How do you manage the balance of relaxing on hol and wdw fun? I would want some respite from the craziness.

MrsFrTedCrilly there's something for everyone in Disney so I'd look at your 11yo's interests and show them YouTube videos/articles relating to that. Tim Tracker is the best for Disney videos!