Disney Florida

[Felldownabackdonhole]

DPs parents have offered to pay for us to go to Disney in Florida next year (they are coming too). This would otherwise be well out of our price range. We will need to pay for flights and spending money (it will be in a Disney hotel so we get some food vouchers).

I have heard that if you are going to Disney World you need to plan it like a military operation. How much do we need to save? What are the best things to do ( 2 DC age 4)? It seems so massive I don’t know where to start.

Look at AerLingus flights via Dublin. Although it means a slightly longer trip, it means you can clear USA immigration in Dublin airport. You arrive in Florida in the domestic terminal and can walk straight out. I find it much less stressful than having to potentially queue at the end of a very long and tiring day.

The Dibb is a great forum. I also like Touring Plans (look at the resort guides and request your preferred room/area a few days in advance eg close to transportation or food court or whatever is important to you). And Disney Food Blog is great for all the restaurant reviews and iconic snacks.

You will be amazed and overwhelmed by the scale of the place! Don't underestimate travel times. And sign up for Lyft/Uber - invaluable for early starts, late finishes, shopping trips. We don't bother with a car.

When are you going ?

I have booked for Feb 22 and was told by Disney when I booked last month that I need to do my theme park bookings ASAP (you have to plan ahead which parks you visit on which day) so I have reserved mine .

I am there for 10 days so I have averaged out visiting each park twice

I also believe you can reserve dinning 60 days ahead .

Highly recommend you download the disney experience app as you will link this to your account or even use a magic band as your pass for getting in your room, charging things to your room and getting in to parks

One place I am paying to visit which is not included in the disney tickets is blizzard beach water park. Take a look it's amazing,,, but pricey .

I also agree you need to plan well but also leave some free days to just stay at the hotel or do things away from the parks etc

Planning can now be complicated by covid constraints. Something tells me that it is necessary to count on the fact that everything will be completely closed. There is still a lot of time and everything is constantly changing. They write correctly that all possible groups should be monitored

We are going in June. I do hope everything will be fully open by then but you never do know.

I would like to look at the food because we are veggie and my past experience of America was that so much of the standard food is terrible. I would not pay £14 for a McDonalds style thing. Some of the restaurants look nice but they are going to be £££. Apparently we have fridges in our rooms so we can bring food that the kids will like.

I'm loving this thread as I'd absolutely love to take the kids..... but how on earth does anyone afford it? It sounds excessively expensive and I've got 4 kids so even more so I'd absolutely love to take them though

@Felldownabackdonhole

We are going in June. I do hope everything will be fully open by then but you never do know.

I would like to look at the food because we are veggie and my past experience of America was that so much of the standard food is terrible. I would not pay £14 for a McDonalds style thing. Some of the restaurants look nice but they are going to be £££. Apparently we have fridges in our rooms so we can bring food that the kids will like.

I'm veggie and found the quick service food great, it's definitely not the same quality as McDonald's and there are some really nice places. Again do your research of places you'd like to eat. Me as a veggie and two fussy eaters it helped to check menus out first.

Have a look at indirect flights. We are thinking of going next Easter (admittedly most expensive time) and the difference in price for a family of 4 is literally thousands.

Indirect flights is a good idea. We are not going in school holidays so that should save a bit but it is possibly our biggest expense. I think it would be less stressful to go through immigration in Dublin too.

I am pleased the veggie food service is good.

@orangepeelsz we would not be able to afford this on our own. I had looked at Disneyland Paris which is much more affordable. But I know how lucky we are to have the chance to do it.

You are so lucky for them to be taking some of the cost away and I'm sure you'll really enjoy it! As others have said, depending on when you're going, allow around £1k for flights and around the same for theme park tickets. I always think if you're paying for your food to budget around $50pppn but if you're wanting to do character dining such as the Winnie The Pooh breakfast then you'll need to budget much more than that. All of the prices for food are available on Disney World's website, under each restaurant. The dining credits you'll receive from staying at Caribbean Beach will nowhere near be enough, they may suffice for breakfast and a few snacks. To get the most you do need to plan but if you don't want to do that, a lot of people just take it as it comes. For character dining you really need to make reservations early (bookings open 60 days in advance). There are lots of good forums online and It's Orlando Time on Facebook is good for advice as they have a massive community.

If you are on Facebook I'd recommend you join It's Orlando Time.

DH and I usually budget $350 per day and as the holiday goes on, that amount will increase as we won't always spend that much. Some days we spend a lot - all meals out and all the souvenirs we like, plus parking, but it rarely comes to that.

We like to bring our own packed lunch and buy at Walmart as we find we just can't eat junk or pasta all day every day. Kiddies might prefer this too! At the parks, you can ask for iced water at any restaurant or in kiosks and this is free. This is not advertised of course as bottled water is at least $3 per bottle and available everywhere. That saved us tons last time we went.

We liked to plan a little. For example, we knew a couple of days in advance which parks we would visit on a given day and tried to book the three fast passes close together early in the morning so that we could use whatever, whenever after that. However, we did stay in a villa with our own pool and it was lovely just to have chilled pool days as well. Some evenings we would just order a dominos pizza and that would feed 4 adults and a child for $9.99, plus tip.

As a previous poster said, if you can, fly indirect. Saves so much money. Pre covid (so don't know if this is still the case!) I found that United Airlines were the only company that included baggage in their prices. It would say at the time of booking that it didn't, then on the booking confirmation it was included 🤷‍♀️. Just something to keep in mind. We went to the USA twice in 2019 and flew with United both times and this was the case on both occasion. Flown with United a number of times before that too.

I've never booked through the airline directly either, I search sky scanner for months and on occasion, we've booked weeks (and even once the day before) we wanted to go to get the best price on flights. Of course this isn't practical to book just before with children to factor in, but never go directly to the airline first!

You will have a fantastic time! I miss Florida sooo much and the moment we can book flights out there, me, DH and our DD will be off.

www.thedibb.co.uk

Is invaluable!!! All info you could possibly ever need.

Decide which parks you want to do & how many days at each then decide on which tickets. Aged 4 we only took DD to Disney & sea world, she's been 3 times in total but still not done universal because she was too short for the big rides & not into Harry Potter enough to justify paying loads more on tickets. We'll take her next year aged almost 10.

Use Wdw prep school crowd calendar to choose when to go, you might get a cheap term time deal here but it's rammed there.

Would advise 2 cars, we went with ILs & so glad we had a car each because i couldn't spend all day everyday with them by week 2. I know a family who went, big 8 seater minibus, all fell out by the end of the holiday.

Villa or condo for loads of space, easier to have snacks in for the kids or to make picnics than hotel rooms. There are villas & condo rentals on DIBB, much more reliable than air bnb/trip advisor etc which can just be cancelled (happened to us recently). Also avoid travel agents villas allocated on arrival, likely to be a dump & miles away.

Disney is brilliant for dietary requirements, really accomodating and being veggie was really easy.

Flights could be up to £900 each depending on when you go

You will need a lot of spending money- I can't remember how much we took, but including flights, car hire, villa, NASA, Disney, food, souvenirs etc when we went to Florida as a family of 5 (youngest was 1, so free for a lot of things) we spent about £10k in total.

I would take a double buggy for kids your age tbh. It gives them somewhere to sit and rest, and also means if they are exhausted you can still stay for the fireworks etc in the evening without having to carry them round, and they may even sleep! Plus it gives you somewhere to dump all the "stuff" so you're not carrying that around too

We have been to Disneyworld many, many times. You used to be able to wing it, but now you do need to carry out a good deal of advance preparation to make the most of your trip. I recommend TheDis - it has a British section. They have videos etc of all restaurants/resorts/rooms to give you an idea of how things lie.

Set aside preconceptions about food. The food in Disneyworld is extremely diverse and restaurants are well used to fussy Americans!

I think you mean by “food vouchers” the Dining Plan, of which there are several different types. (There used to be regular free dining with Disney accommodation bookings but that ain’t gonna happen post covid.) the dining plans are pricey BUT then you can eat what you want without the “let’s share one meal between five” thing which is a bit depressing. You need to book popular eateries in advance (although atm I think the window is not so long) otherwise you run the risk of issuing out. There is no “walk up” at many places; they are just too popular.

Actually there are only two rules:

1. COMFORTABLE SHOES - as worn-in as possible.
2. MIDDAY REST - you need to hit the parks at opening times (or before) and then quit at lunchtime. Otherwise everyone starts getting hot, tired, ratty - you all argue etc etc. Then you go off out again late afternoon.

On the food issue - there is no need or excuse to eat junk when you go to Disney. There are hundreds of places to eat, all different cuisines. If you eat crap at Disneyworld it's because you've not planned. And as a PP mentioned - they are amazing with dietary requirements, the chefs will even come to your table to discuss if need be. Some of my favs...

Japenese teppanyaki at Teppan Edo
Be Our Guest for French style dining
Mama Melrose for Italian
Kona Cafe
Sanaa

Not to mention more upscale like California Grill, Grand Floridian Cafe.

So many options. No need to eat burgers every day.

Just reading some other posts - a Disney holiday is often a once-in-a-lifetime experience (unless you become addicts like us and live in rags to go!) so trying to cut corners and do it on the cheap is just not worth it . Indirect flights may save a few bucks, but connections can be stressful and everyone arrives exhausted. I have done it all ways, and I’m afraid that going direct at a normal hour is worth every single penny.

Also for a first-time visitor staying on Disney property is absolutely worthwhile. Disney guests have various privileges (early/late entry) not to mention the “magic” of a resort which are all themed fantastically. If you stay in a villa there are good points, but you are not in the “Disney bubble” which I think is vital for a wonderful experience.

We are going next year for the 4th time. First time we went when DS was 7 and it was great. We have never really been into the spreadsheet planning - we prefer a more relaxed approach to a holiday - but if you want dining reservations you do have to move quickly when they are available to book your place. Fast passes are great for rides but once you have used the three you have booked per day (when they are in operation, currently suspended due to Covid) you get more on a one by one basis so I'd recommend booking your three FPs for the morning and then you can still book more and queue less.

First time, we went with my parents and sister. Second time we went alone but my parents were having their last night on our first night so we met up for a meal. Third time DS and I went alone after DH had died and then met my sister and her partner for the second week. This time its just us and it will be even more relaxed! Download the Disney parks app though and use it to help you prioritise what rides and experiences to do each day.

Honestly it’s too late now but I would not choose to go next year it is going to be rammed because people aren’t being able to travel so far this year from the UK and there is no end in sight of the UK to US restrictions being lifted.
Demand and Prices for next year are astronomical and as you’ve discovered there are no dining plans at the moment but Disney meal credit instead
I’m sure it will be a fantastic experience because it’s the 50th anniversary celebrations next year but again that will make it busier
Agree with others have said join some of the Facebook groups I follow Walt Disney world planning for brits which is good and get the guidebook for brits at Disney.

That is good to hear about the food. It makes this much easier . Dining plans are not available at the moment so we get dining credit.

How do fast passes work? Do you need to pay extra for them?

We are unlikely to be able to afford to go again so it will be worth saving up so we can have a brilliant experience.

Fast passes are not operating at the moment and there’s a lot of discussion about whether they will need to be paid for when/if they come back. So don’t worry about fast passes for now and, if there are developments, it will be on the dibb (and everywhere else)

I think it depends how long you are going for and how many days you want to go into Disneyland I know some people go and do just Disney but we have been a couple of times and I think a 3/4 or maybe a 5-7 day ticket if you are going for a fortnight is enough as there is so much more stuff to do. We liked dining in Epcot sampling different world foods for lunch can be good when at Disney.

Are you hiring a car because we went all over. We went to the zoo, wet n wild, day trip out to look at alligators and for a ride across the Everglades, crazy golf on a Christmas themed course. Hi light was Dh put his drink on top of a box at a hole. As dd potted her ball the box lit up and the lid popped open and dhs drink went flying.
There are other theme parks and loads of other stuff to do

I don’t think you can imagine just how big the place is if you haven’t been before. When we came home I remember driving from the airport through the town and feeling like the buildings were closing in on me.

We have never found food that expensive (also vegetarians) I think it depends where you go because some places the portion sizes are so humongous that dc and I could share a starter for $8 and we would have had enough left over for breakfast for the following 3 days.
I ordered hummus and pitta bread at one place and when it came there was a massive bowl of hummus (think equivalent of 12 tubs of the stuff you get from Tesco) and a pile of pita bread that was about a foot tall. Probably 50 mini pita breads.
This was considered a starter.
It was a very nice hotel in a beautiful setting. Dc wanted some desert so we ordered what was described as 3 mini cup cakes.

The waitress assured us they were just little things.
When they came they were the size of birthday cakes

Also if you have a car and are going to drive into Disney to park.

MAKE A DETAILED NOTE OF WHERE YOU PARKED YOUR CAR.

Came out one evening as it was nearly closing and there was a British couple who couldn’t remember where they had parked. They knew their car was a blue one (which accounted for 1/3 of the rental cars in the car parks. There is a “train of shame” you have to sit on and when everyone else has left they drive you round trying to spot which is your car from what is still parked.

It is an amazing place.

My advice is - Don’t go next year, wait till 2023. You need to book park days up until the end of 2022.
There is still no news on whether fastpasses are returning ( or if you will need to pay for them if they do.
If you do want to go next year - end October/November, fab weather , Halloween then Xmas decorations.
If staying onsite is too expensive/no availability, look at the partner hotels close to Disney springs - The Hilton and The Wyndham are both very good.
Disney tickets are £450 each or you can get slightly cheaper ones from the U.S disney site or Undercover Tourist.
Plan on hitting the parks EARLY, Brits have the advantage due to the time difference, Leave mid afternoon for a swim/nap then out again in the evening.

At 4, I would hire one of the big plastic buggies for them, it’s a LOT of walking. £150 a day for food/spends for the 4 of you.
Which onsite hotels are you considering?

If you are going to do indirect flight please try to avoid a certain airline. Not sure I can say it on here.

I am not normally scared of flying but the planes (like the pilot) were so old it made me quite worried. The screens I swear were in sepia.
Also dd and Ds who were sat across the aisle next to us were screamed at by the stewardess for leaving rubbish out in the kitchen area. I think she saw teens and profiled them as being the culprit.
They hadn’t got out of their seats and it was a woman who had been looking for a bin and failing to find it or anyone to ask.

Goes down as the worse flight so far

Consider flying Aer lingus via Dublin, you clear immigration before you fly so it’s straight off the plane, avoiding 1-3 hours of standing in a line if a couple of international flights arrive together.
Be aware that there is no longer Magical express from Orlando airport to Disney hotels. You can get an uber or car service, last time we were picked up in a huge Escalade!

If only doing Disney you don’t need a car, if you have one, it’s $25 a day to park at resort.

Oh, and subscribe to Touring plans.com
it will save you hours of queuing and make things far less stressful.
The Disney food blog , All Ears and Tim Tracker on youtube have fantastic information

That’s a good thought about next year being busy, but the best-laid plans… One time we went at a traditionally very low time of year, only to be hit with a surprise inset-style day in both Georgia and Florida (on a Monday so people were making a long weekend out of it) and the parks were rammed . Also many more states than used to be the case now have an autumn half-term… grrrrrr

I would re-iterate that for a blow-out holiday don’t nickel and dime it. Take the cost on the chin, have a fab time and then eat beans for six months.