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.

@Maiyakat

Driving is v easy there, all cars are automatic, there's no roundabouts, nice straight roads & all signs in English

DH always drives there but I definitely would & I wouldn't want to drive in a European country!

@Maiyakat

Also Uber & Lyft are really accessible, some hotels have shuttles too but with those you are restricted to their time table

@AgeingDurannie

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?

Hi AgeingDurannie I would definitely recommend travelling to WDW in Florida - there are four main parks, two water parks and Disney Springs area with loads of restaurants and shops. At Virgin Holidays we offer early check in at Disney Springs so you can enjoy the last day of your holiday without the suitcases. Simply check in there and head straight to security at the airport.

You get three free fast passes per person per day. When staying on site you can book these 60 days in advance, when offsite you can book them 30 days in advance. Top tip: book the three fast passes early - once they're used another one is released and so on!

If you stay at a Disney Hotel you get Disney Magic Hours which is either early park access before it opens or late access once the park has closed.

@kateandme

always know where the food places are. go early.about an hour earlier than you plan to!

do you have any or would you consider working with people who have autism so they could enjoy the park. ive seen other having special times slot or chillout rooms for kids who have autism.how would you suggest we do the day to make it manageable or would it just not be recommended at all.

Hi kateandme. I completely understand, don't worry, we do everything we can to make the experience as awesome as it can be for everyone. There are ‘chill’ out zones for when things become too overwhelming. Just ask a cast member and they will direct you. Alternatively download Disney’s booklet prior to travel, which is full of helpful hints and tips to make the day more enjoyable secure.cdn1.wdpromedia.com/dam/wdpro-assets/help/guest-services/guests-with-disabilities/WDW_Cognitive_Guide_compressed.pdf

@TwirlyWitch

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.

Hey @TwirlyWitch there are onsite grocery stores where you can pick up supplies like bread, milk, snacks, toiletries etc. but the Disney transportation doesn't take you out to larger supermarkets.

@JudgeRulesNutterButter

Are the queues insane now? I went to Disneyland and WDW multiple times as a child but now it just all seems So. Much. Bigger.

I’m mentally comparing it to a trip to Legoland recently in the school holidays where we barely managed to go on anything because the queues were so long that it felt like every ride was Wimbledon. I don’t fancy factoring in loo trips and snacks and activities to stand still for half an hour for every different thing we do.

Hi JudgeRulesNutterButter, this is a great question. I'm not going to shy away from it, as it's the most magical place on Earth, it does draw the crowds! One thing Disney are great at doing, is making the queuing system as pain free as possible. With the introduction of the FastPasses, whereby you can select 3 attractions before travel and allocate a FastPass for to skip the main queue, it has become a lot easier and less stressful! Also, when you do have to queue, the queues are now filled with a lot more interactive experiences and things to keep everyone entertained. I would absolutely also download the MyDisneyExperience app, whereby you can actually see live queue times for each and every attraction, it's super handy!

@EuromumAussiekid

On average, how much do I need to budget for including flights, hotels, food and spending money?

Is it as 'commercial' as euro Disney? I assume so but wanted to ask anyway.

How long a visit is recommended to get the best from the park?

Also what's the silliest complaint you have heard about or dealt with?

Hi EuromumAussiekid! This is a great question, but in all honesty, it completely depends on when you want to travel, what level of hotel, if you want to eat out every night, if you will be buying all the merch. I know this isn't super helpful, however our Expert's can help guide you, either give us on 0333 230 7750 or pop into one of our lovely Retail stores around the country, they can then look in more detail for you.

If by commercial, you mean awesome, absolutely!

To really get the absolute best out of Walt Disney World and Orlando, I would say you do need to go for a minimum of 10-14 nights. But, I often go for a week, as holiday time from work is precious, and sometimes the budget just won't allow. If you are going to do one BIG trip, and are going to go all out, 14-21 nights will give you the best amount of time to see and do everything!

@Figmentofimagination

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. 😩

Hi @Figmentofimagination how exciting - your little one will love it! When I went with my son when he was that age I packed a Trunki full of his favourite snacks, activity books, toys etc, to keep him amused. Virgin Atlantic have a dedicated kids channel with all their favourite films and tv shows so he can watch Pepper Pig to his heart's content!

My little one didn't feel the time difference. When you get to Orlando and settled it's normally early evening so they're pretty wiped out. The days in the park are so jam packed that they'll sleep right through (in my experience anyway! )

@EuromumAussiekid

On average, how much do I need to budget for including flights, hotels, food and spending money?

Is it as 'commercial' as euro Disney? I assume so but wanted to ask anyway.

How long a visit is recommended to get the best from the park?

Also what's the silliest complaint you have heard about or dealt with?

And in answer to the silliest complaint I've ever had, I once had someone mention that their beach in the Caribbean was too sandy!

@DonkeyHohtay

We've booked to go to Disney with Virgin at the end of June 2020, cannot WAIT!1

We've been before, but still a few questions...

Is the Star Wars section in Hollywood Studios open, and what is there to see there?

I read that you're going to have to give your social media account names to get an ESTA, is this true?

Any top tips for shopping in the Orlando area?

How exciting, 1 year and counting! Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opens in Walt Disney World Resort in Florida on 29th August. It will be the most immersive, interactive and ambitious land that Disney have ever built. 14 acres of pure Star Wars, and the opportunity for guests to fully immerse themselves, whether it's riding the Millennium Falcon, eating in Oga's Cantina with characters or designing your very own lightsaber in Savi's Workshop, there is something for all budding Jedi's!
Regarding ESTAs, there is a box to include this if you wish however it is not mandatory.

There's 2 amazing shopping malls; The Mall at Millennia which is the high end mall with designer brands and worth visiting alone just for the Cheesecake Factory (a personal favourite of mine and there's no booking ahead needed!). The second mall is The Florida Mall which is much larger than the other with a large variety of shops to choose from! Another favourite outlet of mine is Basspro which is purely for the outdoor adventurer. Happy Shopping and have an amazing holiday!!

• Chris, Virgin Holidays

@monsieurmarius

We went three years ago and my biggest piece of advice would be to hire a house and self cater as much as you can to keep costs down.

One thing id love to know is what are the catering provisions for children with dietary restrictions? I understand you can't bring food in but for my 2 year old with coeliacs disease I would prefer to provide my own- will this be allowed?

Hi monsieurmarius! That is a great tip - I love staying in a villa! In terms of bringing food into the US, it is best to check the CBP website as to exactly what can and can't be brought in, but you safe with quite a few things, mainly meat and fresh products are a no-go. In terms of dining out - especially within Disney, they have thousands of guests every day with dietary requirements, so they are pro's at ensuring there is something on the menu for everyone. You can even pop a note on your reservation when you do your dining reservations to ensure the chef has warning of any tweaks they will need to make for you. If you don't make a reservation, just make sure your server is aware when you are seated at the restaurant.

@Eisley

When do prices for summer 2021 get released?

We'll be travelling with my 12 yr old niece who has severe special needs, what provisions can we expect/ask for from the virgin cabin crew?

Hi Eisley, I like your forward planning! At the moment, we are on sale up until April 2021 for some properties, but for Summer 2021, we are hoping to have prices out in September this year, I hope this helps!

@SuzCG

With my kids a little older now (13 & 10) what would you say were the best & relevant things for them to do now at 'Disney'? I worry that now they have outgrown the princess/character stage that it wouldn't give us the amazing holiday this should be. Honestly, are the alternative parks out there better for older children?

Having been over 20 times, and each time I visit all the parks, I can honestly say that Disney caters for absolutely everyone! I'm 33 and my wife is 27 and she's all about the princesses and cartoons whereas I am more of a thrill seeker and prefer the faster rides like Rock N Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror in Disney's Hollywood Studios. Test Track at Epcot is also brilliant for older kids who want to experience the thrill but not too scary! An absolute must would be Pandora - World of Avatar in Animal Kingdom. If you can get fast passes for Flight of Passage grab them because it's an amazing experience like no other. I would definitely say Disney is for all ages not just little kids as there are 6 parks including 2 water parks so it really does cater for everyone!

• Chris, Virgin Holidays

@EuromumAussiekid

I really would love to go but someone recently told me that the descent into Orlando airport is a tricky one for pilots and has quite a bit of turbulence . That makes me nervous

As a Orlando veteran, I have landed into Orlando International at least 25 times, and I've never had any kind of issue. Virgin Atlantic are one of the biggest airlines that fly into Orlando International, on peak days, we can have 3 aircraft flying in from London, a further 2 from Manchester, a Glasgow and a Belfast arrival. We are super proud of our awesome pilots, and they really are the best in the business and are pro's at flying into Orlando International now. We started flying to Orlando over 27 years ago, so our pilots are very experienced!

@Eisley

When do prices for summer 2021 get released?

We'll be travelling with my 12 yr old niece who has severe special needs, what provisions can we expect/ask for from the virgin cabin crew?

Hi Eisley, great question! In terms of special assistance on board, we really do have the best crew in the business. They are specially training to assist when our passengers do have specific requirements. If you would like more tailored information with regards to what you can expect on board, it would be best to speak to our dedicated Special Assistance teams, we have dedicated specialists who can help organise various different types of assistance, both at the airport, on board our aircraft and whilst in resort.

@ALemonyPea

I would love to take my children, but it's always looked so expensive.

What's the best way to do things? Book early?
Buy everything in a package or separately?

Also, my husband isn't keen to drive in America, is it always necessary to drive, or is busing it also an option?

From my experience booking individually is an option however, IF anything was to go wrong, you can imagine you may have six individual companies to deal with, your car, your hotel, your parks, your flights, your other excursions. It is nice knowing that it's all under one company with an easy to use Manage My Booking service. You can book everything you will want to do through us and if there is something we don't offer, we have our concierge team in Florida who can assist and are just at the end of the phone. With regards to driving in Florida, I can't recommend it enough. The roads are easy to navigate as long as you have a sat nav (included with our Gold + Package as standard) and there's just so much to see out there, especially with the both the Atlantic and Gulf Coast within east driving distance. Busses and public transportation are an option also but Uber is really affordable over there.

• Chris, Virgin Holidays

@hollyjollychristmas

My tip would be to stay onsite at a Disney hotel if you have little ones and Disney is your main focus as Orlando is huge, so having a day in the park, staying into the evening to see the fireworks and then having an hour journey to get out of the park and back to your villa or hotel is probably not ideal with little ones. Also worth noting the Disney transport system is very good, plenty of buses to all resorts as well as a monorail, ferry and soon sky gondolas.

My question would be is it worth only staying in a Disney hotel for a few nights? We are travelling to Orlando in May 2020 for our honeymoon and plan on having two weeks in a villa and a week in hotels. However just staying in a Disney hotel for one or two nights seems quite expensive.

Hi hollyjollychristmas, this is a great question, I am travelling on my honeymoon to Disney this October, so I can share my experience with you. We started looking at our WDW honeymoon last year, when the early booking offers for 2019 were on, just like they are now for 2020 departures. We weighed up all the different options, villas, hotels and then on site at Disney. We are travelling for 2 weeks and worked out an average food spend of roughly $80 per day for breaklast, lunch, dinner and snacks for the 2 of us. Looking at villa's, which are a great option for big families, seemed a bit of a waste for just the 2 of us, as they normally have a minimum of 3 or 4 bedrooms. Staying in a nice property closer to the parks, these hotels are normally on a room only basis, sometimes have a buffet breakfast thrown in. Once we factored in driving time, and all the benefits of staying on site at Disney, we started looking further into staying on site at Disney. Disney have incredible early booking offers, and you can actually get free dining thrown into your package when you book your on site Walt Disney Resort hotel package for 2020. They have a huge array of different properties, from super fun Value properties, right up to the luxurious Deluxe resorts, so there really is something for every budget. We decided on 10 nights at a Disney on site resort to get our complimentary Disney Dining Plan and then we are staying 5 nights on the Gulf Coast beaches for some ultimate relaxation after the parks.

@dontneedthesunshine

I'm amazed you can take your own food, I'd always heard you couldn't so thought my family couldn't visit (many issues). Is there anywhere to leave your coolbag or would you need to carry it around?

Hi dontneedthesunshine! I would absolutely recommend carrying any food you take in with you - The lockers are there for only whilst you are on specific rides, and have timers on them, if you go over the timer limit (timed to the current wait time for that ride) you will need to pay. The parks are also very vast, so you don't want to be having to trek back and forth to the same locked - Always better to keep your food with you!

@crosser62

We LOVE WDW and are planning on going next year. My questions are around prices. It is overwhelming the volume of information and selling sites on the internet so it would be lovely to have specific advice from virgin who are the absolute masters of WDW from our experience So, where is the best place for park tickets?

Hi crosser62, this is a great question! Hand on heart, it is best value to buy your tickets in the UK with Virgin Holidays before you travel. If you are going for a big trip, with 7-21 nights in Orlando, you will want one of our Disney Ultimate Tickets. This gives you unlimited access to all 4 of the Disney theme parks; Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. It also gives access to the 2 epic water parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. On top of access to these 6 parks, you also get access to the Walt Disney World miniature golf, fun for all the family! And to top it off, all Virgin Holidays guests receive Disney's Memory Maker as part of their ticket, which is Disney's photo package, which ensures that everyone is part of the photo's, and you get access to all your digital prints of all photos taken of you in the parks, including those epic shots of you on the rides! For value, the Ultimate ticket really is the best value, a one day ticket on the gate can cost roughly $150 per person, just for one day! And one day is absolutely never enough!

@crosser62

We LOVE WDW and are planning on going next year. My questions are around prices. How much extra should we expect to pay for fast passes if we are not staying at a WDW resort place? !

Hi crosser62, another awesome question! Great news - Disney do not charge for their FastPasses. You can book 3 FastPasses per person for each day, I would recommend booking these for the mornings, as once you have used these 3, you can then log onto the MyDisneyExperience app when you're in the parks (using Disney's free, awesome WiFi!) and get another one. If you don't have the app, or you left your phone at the hotel, don't worry, there are pods located around the park for you to book your FastPasses, the Disney guys really have thought of everything!

@anxiouswaiting

we want to stay in a house or villa with a private pool, can you get a package for that with flights or would we have to book all parts standalone?

Really good question! As we are the number one tour operator to the Sunshine State, you can get everything booked on one package with Virgin Holidays. We have an amazing array of villa options available. The great news is, when you book a package through Virgin Holidays, we can take care of everything from your UK airport parking, an exclusive lounge at your UK departure airport, your car hire, your accommodation and all the park tickets and experiences on one booking, meaning you are fully ATOL protected and ABTA bonded, and you only pay one deposit Awesome!

@crosser62

We LOVE WDW and are planning on going next year. Is it true that you can’t take your own packed lunches into the parks?

Hi crosser62, I love breaking a myth! You can absolutely take your own food into the parks! You will need to ensure it stays with you, so I would recommend getting insulated coolbags to go in backpacks and getting some ice packs to pop in there to keep those sandwiches cool. Nobody likes a warm sandwich!

@lottietiger

Im a little confused with comments above. are you allowed to take your own food and drinks in? If so are there plenty of picnic areas where we can rest up and eat. We would much rather stay in a villa and make packed lunches and supplement with snacks than eat from outlets every day. Also what do you recommend as a two centre holiday with the second week having plenty of downtime.

Hi lottietiger! I wouldn't say there are a huge amount of picnic areas to sit down and eat, or a huge number of seating areas, except for in restaurants. As a great twin destination option, I always like to do a week in Orlando doing the parks, then a week on the coast getting some ultimate relaxation in. Clearwater is my favourite!

@Aintreeraces

When can you book you book your premium seats for September 2020 please.

You can book your holiday with Premium seats now if you would like however in terms of choosing your seats it will be 11 months out from your return date and seat selection is free of charge :)

• Chris, Virgin Holidays

@crosser62

We LOVE WDW and are planning on going next year. How much should we expect to pay for car parking at each of the parks as we need to factor this in to our budget

Hi crosser62, if you are staying at a Disney Resort hotel, and travelling in 2019, onsite parking is actually complimentary. However, if you are staying offsite, or travelling in 2020 onwards, you will need to pay for parking when visiting the parks, which is roughly $25 per day. There is some good news however, you only pay once per day, so if you spent the morning at Magic Kingdom, and paid for parking then, you can drive over to Epcot for the afternoon, not pay again for parking, then go back to Magic Kingdom in the evening for their epic fireworks, and only have paid once. I hope this helps.