<p>abasket, two of my Ds and their boyfriends went to DW late last summer. All had been there before, but not since they were young. None of them planned to spend much time at Animal Kingdom and, lo and behold, they all loved it and can’t wait to go back! It’s sometimes hard to know ahead of time what will catch your fancy. 
I agree with those who recommend staying on site if at all possible.</p>
<p>abasket - There are many, many suites style hotels in the Disney area. Just dump DisneyWorld suites into Google and you’ll see. We like the Buena Vista Suites at 8203 World Center Drive because it’s just 10 minutes to Disney by shuttle. The more upscale Caribe Royal Suites is next door at 8101 World Center Drive.</p>
<p>Universal, Sea World, and Wet 'n Wild parks are located in north-central Orlando. The Disney properties are south of Orlando. A rental car is recommended. Consider extra insurance as there are many “out of town drivers” about. </p>
<p>BTW, splitting up is a wonderful learning experience. Just make sure each group has a cell phone so you can get back together! Finding each other in the theme parks is a challenge.</p>
<p>We went last feb. Probably our one and only trip to Disneyworld. Kids were 13,18,20. We splurged and stayed at one of the Disney resorts. I had lots of points with membership rewards at American Express and used those to pay for the room. It took all the points I had at the time to pay for 3 nights. It was probably the most expensive place we had stayed at aside from Hawaii. We all liked being onsite. We had a car but left it in the parking lot. I can’t recall offhand what place we stayed at but I do remember that the bargain resorts don’t fit 5 in a room. Our room was spacious. I think two queens and 1 twin daybed type of setup. We were rarely in the room. At one point I think two of us were at Epcot and three of us at MGM. It also was nice for the kids to be able to go off on there own. They also enjoyed the pool.
I would not discount spending time at Animal Kingdom. I was surprised at how much we enjoyed it. We might have gotten lucky that the day was cool and the animals were all out and active. Not sure how they would be in summer.
It was worth staying on site at least once if you can swing it.
My kids would have liked to do Universal but we did not have time.</p>
<p>Being on the west coast, we tend to go to Disneyland. My DD and I have made it a bit of a father daughter thing - we normally go for 3 days and leave wishing we had another day. We have also done Disneyworld as well as Disneyland Paris. </p>
<p>From our experience with the various disney parks, your first stop should be a bookstore to buy the unofficial guide to disneyworld. Simply the best travel book ever written on any subject!!! It has some neat touring plans in the back that will really help you to get the most out of your trip. </p>
<p>I would recommend staying in a Disney hotel - it is just part of the whole experience - and the transportation is better. You are also likely to get early admission to one or more of the parks as a part of your package - don’t miss that as you will be able to ride 4 or 5 major rides before the crowds come in.</p>
<p>You might want to try this link:</p>
<p>[Walt</a> Disney World Resort - Detecting Browser Properties . . .](<a href=“http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/special/promo/genericPromoLandingNav?id=GroupTravelPromoPage&bhcp=1]Walt”>http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/special/promo/genericPromoLandingNav?id=GroupTravelPromoPage&bhcp=1)</p>
<p>It has disney rooms for larger parties…</p>
<p>Have a blast!!!</p>
<p>Staying on site means you can do Disney Magical Express – free transportation from the airport to your hotel. </p>
<p>In your situation I would be <em>so</em> tempted to stay onsite … although there are lots of rental homes relatively close by. </p>
<p>The overall factor for me would be – maximizing your time having fun and minimizing your time driving around and in traffic. I would suggest doing as much reseach as possible – the Unofficial Guide is an excellent choice. Also getting everyone to sit down and list their priorities and then making a schedule and a plan would help a lot. </p>
<p>I’ve stayed on I Drive, at Fort Wilderness, a rental house in Kissimmee, a Sheraton close to Downtown Disney, and at the Coronado Springs resort (for convention 3x). Each trip is different, and each place has something to recommend it. </p>
<p>I would NOT suggest the “cabins” at Ft. Wilderness for your family – just too small unless you are very small also.</p>
<p>If you are risk takers, I’d wait until May to book when I think the last minute agencies will be giving trips away and you can probably stay affordably in the park. Travel deals are looking better every day in this economy. The first thing to go is vacations for many families. </p>
<p>A good source to check for cheap condos is VRBO.com. You can get a spacious place for less than hotels.</p>
<p>I am also going to second the notion of visiting the mousesavers website as well as the disboards. Disney World also has the option of the Villas as various resorts which are their time share properties with two bedrooms, kitchen, laundry etc all with resort amenities including transportation. If you look on the disney website they are prohibitively expensive per night, but you are allowed to “rent” points directly from Disney Owners at much lower price per points. There is much less flexibility than booking directly through Disney regarding cancellation etc, but you still get full resort access etc.<br>
On the disboards ([The</a> DIS Discussion Forums - DISboards.com - Powered by vBulletin](<a href=“http://www.disboards.com%5DThe”>http://www.disboards.com)) scroll down and read the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) threads, including the rent/trade board if this is a prospect that may interest you!</p>
<p>Sounds like fun!
I would take my younger children out of school and travel as soon as your oldest returns home for the summer to avoid the crowds. One of our best Disney vacations was in May.
Consider a long weekend, as Disney is LESS crowded on Saturday and Sunday! My source for this statement is what has always been our family’s official guide, “The Unofficial Guide to Disney World,” which was mentioned by a previous poster.
Keep in mind that you are going to spend very little time in that hotel room!
I am not suggesting trying this, but our family arrived at the water park many years ago with the wrong type of multi day pass purchased by a travel agent and when the wonderful Disney people saw the look on our childrens’ faces they let us in anyway!
Have a wonderful time!</p>
<p>Going earlier (May) is not an option - college D doesn’t get done till the third week of May and that is a week before exams for my junior HS son and tournament time for his tennis season. </p>
<p>It’s sounding more like since we are first-timers we might want to maximize our time/$$/transportation options by staying at a Disney property. I remember reading something about something like “Disney Good Neighbor” options too- have to check into that.</p>
<p>I agree that staying on the Disney property is probably worth it. My biggest tip–which might be a challenge with teenagers–is to get up in the morning and go to the parks when they open, especially if you are entitled to early entry. There is nothing more frustrating than going to the park at 10:00, finding huge crowds and long lines, and finishing the day having done only a couple of rides and attractions.
Other tips: make restaurant reservations in advance. Plan ahead on everything.</p>
<p>I agree with hunt about the parks, esp. in June, bc it is so hot at in the middle of the day. Enjoy the parks when they have special hours for hotel guests in the morning or late at night. Sleep, or enjoy the hotel’s pool during the heat of day when the parks are packed!</p>
<p>If you cannot get the dining reservations that you would like, keep trying even the same day. There are always cancellations. Hold your second or third choice dining option, and just call dining reservations until you get the place and time that you prefer. Also, when selecting, try to see which park you will most likely be in. If MK has late hours, and you’d like to eat dinner a 7pm, you might not want to hold dining reservations at a country in Epcot (too much needless running around). Perhaps if you do not want to eat within the MK, you might prefer eating at 7 in one of the restaurants within one of the hotels and then go to the MK (perhaps a restaurant in a hotel along the monorail would be ideal for that evening).</p>
<p>Been to Disney many time with 3 kids. Summer is horribly hot and crowded, so be prepared. That said, we love it. My advice would be to consider staying on property. Get 2 rooms at a budget like All Star Movies or Pop Century. Trust me, the extra bathroom is heavenly! Visit the water parks. Use the free bus service, and also the free transfer service from airport. Definately get a guide book and do your homework. Have a plan for each day. Also, previous poster mentioned Port Orleans. It’s a lovely property, but 1 room is not permissable for 5 people unless one is very young since the 5th bed is a trundle. They won’t do it. I tried. your kids would love Universal, but in that case, get a car. Then consider the Space Center also. Lots of fun! Enjoy!</p>
<p>I third, fourth (?) Mousesavers and the Disboards. WDW has a promotion going on right now, where you pay for four nights and tickets and get three free. They have all the details at both Mousesavers and the Disboards. If you want a mid-day break, there is nothing like staying on site at a Disney resort and using transportation to get back to your hotel. Disney also has great pools at their resorts.</p>
<p>I could give you pages of advice but I’ll stop with one tip: Tour Guide Mike is worth the money. tourguidemike.com It is a subscription web site, but it costs less than a guidebook. ($20, but I think that Mousesavers sometimes can save you $2.) If you really study his site and touring plans, you can go at a busy time and have minimal waits. We have been Memorial Day week and Thanksgiving week and have never waited in line for over 15 minutes for any ride.</p>
<p>One more thing: If you go to Universal at a busy time, you must stay at one of their hotels - you get front of the line priveleges.</p>
<p>If you have a military or military civillian job connection check out Shades of Green. This is a military run hotel on Disney property. Rates are based on rank. We don’t qualify but friends and family who do think it is a great deal</p>
<p>“Sleep, or enjoy the hotel’s pool during the heat of day when the parks are packed!”</p>
<p>Strongly agree that it’s worth the money to stay in a Disney hotel for this reason. It’s a Godsend to be able to come and go as you please, and the whole family doesn’t have to arrive and leave at the same time as you would with a rental car. Arrive at the park during the special early hours, and go straight to your favorite ride. I got to go on Space Mountain four times in a row without any line at all.</p>
<p>Has anyone done the “dining plan” package thing? Opinions? It’s where you pay ahead and get something like one quick service, one sit-down dining and 2 snacks a day - per person, per day. I believe you book your dining places ahead of time.</p>
<p>I saw the buy 4 days, get 3 free deal — I’m working on trying to see if we can swing the time to do that. We’d be paying for 4 days likely anyway…wonder if it would matter if we just left on the 6th day???</p>
<p>abasket, we have done the meal plan twice. It is worthwhile, IMO. It was once a better deal bc appetizers were included, but on our last trip they were no longer included. Frankly, there is enough food without them! We paid for the one table service per day plan (the rest were counter service/quick meals). You can divide the table service any way that want so it does not have to be once per day, but that just makes the most sense. Who would want two massive sit down meals in one day? Some of the elegant dining requires 2 table service meals, but we did not go to those restaurants. Again, a matter of choice.</p>
<p>Also, my kids figured out where to get the best deals for their quick/counterservice meals.</p>
<p>Disney does not care if you leave on the 6th day - they just won’t give you any more than 3 days “free”. I have never done the dining plan, because I think it’s really way more than we would eat, but I know it’s VERY popular with many Disney goers.</p>
<p>IMO, the meal plan is designed to keep you and your money at Disney. This means that they know that you are most likely not going to spend money to dine outside of Disney, and less likely to go to Universal or Sea World if they have you on this meal plan. Another thing to think about. We loved the dining plan, but we knew that we were not going to the Space Center, or other parks in the area.</p>
<p>Make dining reservations in advance whether you take their dining plan or not.</p>