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.

We went in August. It was kind of hell but you get used to it. We were racking up 10-15 miles of walking in a day, it didn't necessarily hold us back. Lots of pool, water and air con breaks helped. I went in the Easter hols as a child, that was better, but I still remember being too hot all the time.

I echo what lots of others have said - the crowds and flights are going to be crazy - just take a look at some of the photos from American visitors there are the minute on the facebook groups - the lines just to get from the carpark into the parks are insane, as are some of the queues for rides that are usually less popular.
Check everything is planning to be up and running and normal (parades, fireworks, character meet and greets, restaurants, water parks (not all open since start of pandamic) as this will impact overall experience.
If you do go, I would recommend planning not least to get the most out of fast passes which you can book months in advance.
It also depends on how long you are going for and what you intend to do- you can be more relaxed if you are there for longer or only intend to do Disney rather than all the theme parks for example.

Lush - there are NO fastpasses at all currently, nobody knows if and when they will come back.
Late August is usually ok, apart from the hurricane risk, American schools go back by mid August so lower crowds apart from weekends.

If you are there for 10-14 days and doing Disney only, it becomes much less stressful, I can’t stress enough that the very best strategy, regardless of park, is to be there for opening during the first week, you are up at 5am anyway so make the most of it, then the 2nd week you can do the night time fireworks etc.

We went end of July as we are restricted to school holidays (love paying £££'s more for that 🤬) it was very hot but we soon go used to it. We took our time and had plenty of water and got shade and air conditioning when needed. It rained but that didn't ruin anything as it was always short sharp blasts of rain rather than full days like we get here. I'm presuming June will be similar in terms of the weather.

@PizzaPiePizzaPie I've been in August a few times. Usually go the last two weeks as the American children are mainly back to school then and the parks are a bit quieter. Still rammed of course but a noticeable difference.

Hi we stayed at the Caribbean resort in 2019 - we stayed at Martinique which is the area of the resort (it’s a massive resort and if you stayed in another part you would have a longer walk or take the internal bus). I would recommend paying for the preferred room and trying to stay in Martinique.

We went with a 2year old and a 4 year old and using Disney shuttle buses and Disney Dining plan it was easy. Remember to use your snack credits for things like slushies/ice creams as you might end up with loads of snack credits at the end of your holiday - if you take Disney dining plan that is.

Plan everything - I got a couple of Disney guide books and planned it all. Check height restrictions - some may surprise you - my average height 4 year old rode Slinky dog dash (toy story land at HS), tower of terror (hs), new star wars rides (HS), and Snow White -(MK) I didn’t think she would be tall enough!

Obviously you know what interests your family have - if it’s dining get your dinners booked pronto - chef mickeys, loads of fantastic dinners or fast food places if you aren’t so bothered as dining. Get your fast passes booked.

You will need to research what you plan to do but tbh that’s the fun part. We plan to go again maybe 2023 (I’ve been to all the Disney resorts but the Florida resort is the most magical IMO).

Sounds stressful all that planning. It's supposed to be a holiday.
We went a couple of years ago. 2 adults, 2 teens. £10k all including spending money. Discovery Cove was the only thing we booked in advance and that was nearly £1k on its own.
The rest of the time we just did what we felt like. Had tickets for all of the parks, visited Kennedy space station, went to Tampa for a baseball game, day or so shopping...
You don't need to have it all laid out military style. Just go and relax.
We stayed at Fantasy world resort i Kissimee - great villa/hotel feel combo.
Had a few pool days too.
Spent what we liked each day withoit worrying. It really doesn't need to cost the earth.

People are giving out of date information. There is no longer any Dining plan - you get a cash credit per room now, so you could either splurge the lot on one or two meals or spread it out. I think I prefer the new way, even though it has less value when staying in the moderate resorts line CBR.

CrazyCatMamma - it HAS to be planned for the forseeable future, you can’t rock up at one of the Disney parks, you have to have a reservation!!
Thanksgiving and Christmas week at Magic Kingdom are already fully booked up.
Next year will be mental whenever someone travels, 50 year anniversary + pent up demand from overseas visitors = full to bursting parks.

It’s crazy at the moment just with US visitors. I know some Brits who own DVC or villas out there have got round the restrictions by staying in Mexico/Barbados/Bahamas for 15 days before flying to Orlando but there are very few foreign tourists in th US currently.

I think the change from dining plan to dining credits might work better for us as you can order adult meal for kids to share there are more adult veggie options than children’s.

I do hope they bring back some kind of fast passes that would be better for social distancing than queuing.

We probably will spend a lot of time in the pool to keep cool.

If you are on a budget, look for options with a kitchenette at least so you can prepare some meals, eating out in the USA contrary to what some people say isn't cheap, but you do get enormous portions and they won't mind you having extra plates for the kids negating the need for kids meals.

If you are eating out every meal in Disney get a meal plan.

Buy costumes if they want one here and take with you. Take water bottles (and concentrated squash drops if they resist plain water) saves huge amounts.

@Felldownabackdonhole

I think the change from dining plan to dining credits might work better for us as you can order adult meal for kids to share there are more adult veggie options than children’s.

I do hope they bring back some kind of fast passes that would be better for social distancing than queuing.

We probably will spend a lot of time in the pool to keep cool.

The main pool and quiet pools at CBR are great and don't forget there are the 2 water parks. Perfect for a chilled day

Hi, we have been before and loved it. We booked straight away for the next year on our return. Due to covid we have moved our booking to next November. We are staying at the Caribbean beach resort and got $850 in credit, $250 gift card,$120 gift basket plus loads of other stuff.

Last night we booked our park days for the 2 weeks and we have been watching Tim tracker.

You will absolutely love it, it's so amazing.

Disney can be as expensive or as budget as you want it to be. You can plan or just go with the flow. For me personally I love the planning stage and writing lists of what to do/buy.

Remember that you will all need ESTAS to travel to America. We use the post office travel card to pop money onto and use once there.

The first time we went we stayed off site and got indirect flights. Personally I would never do this again as both were a nightmare. On doing our budget we have found it much cheaper to stay onsite this time with direct flights.

I have budgeted $3K for our 2 week stay for food/gift shops etc. Disney springs is good and cheaper to buy gifts etc.

We are massive food people and found the food at Disney to be really varied and basically had every food you can imagine.

We are going to get a food shop delivered to us onsite with things like water/snacks for the room.

I would recommend taking your own buggy as the ones to hire are expensive. Definitely buy a good bag for using in the park and really comfy trainers. We take a few pairs of trainers each.

Tipping is a big thing so budget for that at sit down dinning.

Sometimes lines for rides can be big (we waited 3 hours for a ride) but the time passes quickly as there is so much to see/take in with the decor etc.

Sorry for my long post. I am happy to help you with questions.

Happy planning and hope you have a fantastic time.

Take cereals and plastic or bamboo bowls/spoons/cups for breakfast in the room, the resort will have a shop selling milk etc. Bottled water is expensive in Disney, you can get stuff delivered or get an uber to Walmart or Target - they also do fab Disney merchandise much cheaper than in the parks 😉

Rainforest cafe and T-rex cafe at Disney springs are brilliant with small kids.

At least they will be too small for the rigmarole of getting boarding passes for the newest Star wars ride 🤣
In fact most of the headline, massive queue rides have a height limit.

Ofallthebarsintheworld You have booked which parks you are going to on which day already! We better get cracking then. I think DFIL got the same deal.

We would love the dinosaurs restaurant as all of us are obsessed with dinosaurs. It is good to know that about the rides. We probably won’t go on to many of the ones with height restrictions. We do have to go on Star Wars though.

Which Star wars? There are now 3.
It’s Rise of the resistance that you have to try to get a boarding pass at 7am on the dot, I’m assuming they have child swap so one adult rides/ one stays in a dedicated area with younglings then you swap over.

Star wars land wasn’t open the last time we went, it was just the old Star tours ride, which is good.

I can’t emphasise enough how much planning you need to do, Touring plans is a few dollars to subscribe to and you can tweak your plans to your heart’s content 😉

Aw that's fab he got the same deal. Yeah we have started our list and organizing already lol. It was so exciting last night booking the parks I can't wait to get back.

I break my list down to:
A full to do list
Weekly list
Monthly list
A week before we go list
A travel day list

I love a list and a notebook lol.

Then to me it doesn't seem overwhelming and all last minute. each item that gets done adds to the excitement as we are a step closer.

I have a budget list also with things to be paid/saved in x amount by x date.

God I am sad lol

You will honestly love it and have a ball. I am so excited for you.

Sorry just to add. Once we are there we don't plan each day we just go with the flow and relax.

You need to make reservations for any sit down meals in the parks-we planned one sit down meal a day and had breakfast in the resort dining area and a quick casual meal for whichever other meal. You can order groceries and local stores deliver to your room which we used to purchase bottled drinks and had small refrigerator in room.

Hi just a word of warning re the Star Wars ride the resistance. We went last March so not mega busy. My husband and son got there about 6.30am to get a slot as soon as they entered the park, it took over ten hours for them to be called to go on it, by which time they'd gone back to the villa and called it a day so Star Wars rides can be a long wait with v young children.

Also, at the moment, any person over the age of 2 has to wear a mask for the duration of the flight. This may change by June, but no guarantee.

Check flights before you commit as well. We've booked for next April. Virgin direct from Manchester 2k per person, Aer Lingus direct from Manchester £1400 per person. Cheapest we could find direct was £1100 to Melbourne airport.

We were looking at indirect flights, but you then have to follow various countries laws depending on the airline and where you stop. Lufthansa stopping in France, you can only wear specific surgical grade masks for example.
It's a great holiday though, just a lot to consider with v young kids and covid at the moment

I think that I would look at what it will cost to do it really well.
Consider delaying and going in 2023 or 4. You will have more time to save and tbh a year older they are more likely to appreciate it, not less.

@Felldownabackdonhole

We are going through the offer so it is dining credit we get rather than a meal plan. I don’t really understand the difference but I realise there is one.

They would absolutely love the Winnie the Pooh breakfast as he is one of their favourites.

I don’t want to plan too much for each day as they will get tired. When we go on days out at the moment we still take the pushchair, they might be a bit big for that in a years time.

Yes, totally different. The meal plans are not available atm

@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.

The fridges are tiny and not very cold. There will be plenty of good your children will like. The more expensive restaurants are your best bet for quality veggie food. It's going to be expensive. 1k plus for flights. I would budget for 2.5-3k on food for 4 of you if you want to eat well and not skimp on treats etc. I would not go if you cannot afford that unless you are sure it really won't bother you to be budgeting all the time. I know people go and do it frequently on small budgets but that doesn't work for most people

I would highly recommend easy acc fans from Amazon, great when standing in queues or just generally too gotm they charge with USB c so charge then each night ready for the next day