Disneyworld

Parent Cafe
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<p>My favorite hotel at Disney would probably be the Beach and Yacht Club. It has an awesome set of pools with a slide and whirlpool (that literally sends you around in circles). It is also within walking distance of a special entrance to Epcot and also next to Disney’s Boardwalk, a smaller version of Downtown Disney, with a ESPN Zone, restaurants, and an awesome ice cream parlor.</p>

<p>Animal Kingdom Lodge is also really cool because it backs right up to a safari area with some cool animals. I would actually recommend spending maybe a morning and early afternoon at Animal Kingdom, to ride their new roller coaster and ride the safari ride there. That would leave the evening open to head over to Disney Studios to ride Twilight Zone, Aerosmith, and catch a showing of their signature show Fantasmic.</p>

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<p>I don’t think that you can go wrong at any of their hotels. They are all so wonderful. You can eat at any of the hotel restaurants, or visit them to just look, even if you don’t stay in one of them. The big advantage to staying in a Disney hotel is that they have extra park hours (ie: 7am til 9am) for their hotel guests at one of the parks. They sometimes have after closing hours for hotel guests (morning and evening may alternate). Look at the exact dates and find out their extra hours. Those are great ways of seeing more popular attractions with very minimal waiting times. They also offer “fast pass” for some attractions (get an assigned time and return within the listed hour window). We like to stay at one of the “value hotels”, since we once stayed at the Polynesian and we felt that the rooms were basically just rooms (nothing very special). We spend very minimal time in our hotel anyway. We have visited and eaten in various hotels. We really enjoyed eating in Boma (buffet in the Animal Kingdom Lodge), we enjoy eating in one of the countries in Epcot, and there is a restaurant inside the Coronado that we enjoyed. If you want a character meal, Park Fare in the Grand Floridian is nice too (buffet).</p>

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<p>You won’t be able to stay at value or moderate hotels because they only sleep four, with the exception of a little section in Port Orleans. If you know you are going to go to Epcot, but are NOT going to Magic Kingdom, go with one of the Epcot hotels - Beach and Yacht Club or Boardwalk- then you can walk in and out of Epcot. If you plan on going to the Magic Kingdom (which it sounds like you’re not), I’d stay at Grand Floridian or Polynesian. Any of the other hotels will require you to ride and park or use transportation to get to the parks, which adds up to 30 minutes on both ends.</p>

<p>With a family of five, I’d at least look into getting a club level room. I’m familiar with club level at the MK resorts, and they serve a nice continental breakfast, luncheon, high tea with tasties, cocktail hour with hot snacks, and desserts at night- basically food is provided around the clock. This can pay for itself, or come close, with a large family depending on how much you eat.</p>

<p>Ask about pool/lobby/facilities construction at the hotel you are considering at the time of your stay. You don’t want to get all excited about staying in a hotel with a fantastic pool, and find out it’s closed for construction upgrades the nights you’re there. For example, the Polynesian’s volcano pool will be closed in February. We’ve stayed in hotels when the entire otherwise beautiful showcase lobby was boarded up during construction projects.</p>

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<p>doubleday, what is the average daytime temperature in Orlando in February? We have been there in January, and I would not go to the pool, even if temps. were above average. When we were there, we were wearing winter coats, with hats and gloves. I would not worry too much about the pool. If they gave me a large discount I’d put up with pool construction in February. Sorry, it just did not click with me that you are more than 4 people.</p>

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<p>Today the high will be 69 (we’re in a ‘cold spell’) and it’s expected to warm up to a high of 79 next week. I don’t swim in the winter, either. Florida temps are quite variable in the winter- you can hit it at shorts and tank top weather or sweater and coat weather. As a matter of fact, a couple days ago I was jogging in a tank top. Yesterday, I jogged in a sweatshirt. When H and I go to Disney (we’ll be going next month :)), I like to sit outside in the warm sun and read or have a drink by the pool/beach area though, so the noise of construction crews is something I try to avoid, especially with all the choices. Although I believe the pools are heated to the 80’s.</p>

<p>It’s all in the perspective. My niece (from New Hampshire) came down and swam in our unheated pool last winter break. Our pool is about 68 right now. :eek: She didn’t find it that bad. Yikes. She’s used to New England beaches.</p>

<p>You make a good point- there is no ‘best’ choice at Disney. It all depends on what the family plans on doing, how much they are going to use the amenities. Are they going to be gone from the crack of dawn until late at night? Are they going to want to return to the hotel throughout the day? Are they going to utilize hotel amenities- restaurant, spa, pools? Choosing a Disney vacation package is as much about ‘fit’ as choosing a college.</p>

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<p>Well, its warmer than I thought it would be! About, Disney, “fit”, that is funny, but it is true.</p>

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<p>Mom60 – Google “Tips and Tricks for Disneyworld” and you’ll see plenty of sites for reviews and lessening expenses (i.e. <a href=“http://www.mousesavers.com%5B/url%5D”>www.mousesavers.com</a> or <a href=“http://www.passsporter.com)%5B/url%5D”>www.passsporter.com)</a>. If you belong to AAA, you can frequently save money on your vacations and park tickets but you must buy in advance at the AAA office…very few parks give AAA discounts at the window. You can also buy your ‘ticket media’ at Disney stores in advance. Disney itself runs promotions through their own website (<a href=“http://www.disney.go.com%5B/url%5D”>www.disney.go.com</a>) and you can make your reservations there as well…which means you can see what’s available at which resorts.</p>

<p>I’ve stayed at quite a few Disney on-site hotels…I would recommend your looking into Wilderness Lodge. I would also recommend that you call 407-939-7500 to talk to a Disney reservationist to see if you can stay in one of their Vacation Club Villas…with 5 people going, most of whom want their privacy undoubtedly, you could possibly stay in a Villa for about the same price as 2 hotel rooms. Alternatively, you could stay at their lesser priced properties and take 2 rooms – these include Pop Century and All-Star. The rooms are smaller but you receive all the extra values of staying ‘on-site.’ </p>

<p>Expedia.com lists a ka-zillion Orlando hotels/motels in all price ranges and ratings (though I usually call the property direct for a better price…shh). If you will have a car, it may serve you to stay ‘off-site’ though you will have to include a parking fee. </p>

<p>My last suggestion is to check out what the British do. In the last 5-10 years, Disneyworld has become a huge vacation destination for the English but they don’t come and stay for 5 days…they come for a month. So they rent condos…we did this the last time and found a 3 bed/2bath condo for 160 a night…approximately what we would have paid for a hotel room but with enough space for 8 people (including sofa bed) and a kitchen which, of course, saves money and time esp. at breakfast. Hotels.com has a whole section dedicated to condo rentals from the most basic properties to deluxe home-away units used in time-shares but often open for non-members…and you don’t even need to sit through a sales pitch!</p>

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<p>Nothing is simple! I am getting to old to make decisions when there are so many choices. Husband is no help. His only concern is what it is going to cost him.
I know the kids want to stay onsite. My preference as well. But don’t want to have to get 2 rooms. What I am understanding from Doubleplay is that most of the Disney hotels don’t fit 5 in a room. 1 night it will just be 4 of us.
We will have a car.</p>

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<p>Make it easy on yourself. Just call them on their toll free number. Ask if they offer rooms that sleep 5 (maybe 2 queens with a pull out couch). BTW, they make a big deal about the monorail, but honestly, the buses aren’t that inconvenient. Just make sure you get on line early in the morning for the bus so you get a seat rather than standing, are not made to wait for the next bus.</p>

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<p>We’ve been guests of the Disney Vacation Club (Old Key West) on several occasions, and the 2 bedroom suites always worked out well. This was many years ago, so I don’t know what their current rates are, but there was plenty of room for 4+ people, and we just took the car and parked at the various theme park lots - we even had AAA parking at the time, and it was free. There are also many suite hotels surrounding the parks - Embassy, Doubletree, etc. Maybe some of them have 2 bedroom suites/villas. Also, if you go on the Orlando tourism websites, there will probably be advertisements for reasonable 2 bedroom villa accommodations that are probably fairly close to the parks.</p>

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<p>Look at the Disney website and check out the hotels; see which ones fit your needs. If you call the reservations number, give them your dates and they can check at availability at various hotels. Ask about any special packages or discounts. If they give you something like, “Oh, we have the concierge suite available at the Grand Floridian that night for $3000”, ask for alternatives (Unless you want the concierge suite). Keep asking and asking. They don’t mind staying on the line for a long time looking stuff up. Sometimes, I’ve started feeling guilty about asking them to check this and that, but it’s the only way to get the best deal for the fit.</p>

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<p>We have stayed at Yacht and Beach, absolutely beautiful and you walk right over into Epcot.</p>

<p>When our children were older we stayed at Key West, in a 2 bdrm. villa. Worked like a charm, it had a living room, kitchen, 2 bdrms, a master bath with jacuzzi. Pool and next to Downtown Disney. Since there was a kitchen (with dishwasher, maid would load it and start it for us, or unload it) we bought lots of snacks and breakfast food at Publix, which saved us big $$$ (breakfast for a family of 5 can be @80 a day, lunch at the Old tavern would be @ the same).</p>

<p>Tricks that we learned, stay on site, you get in 1 hr early. They announce the early opening every morning to the guests. Buy a park hopper pass and do a speed pass for the most pop rides (Rockin Rollercoaster, Space Mt,Tower of terror, can only have 1 ride at a time)
Go to 1 park in the morning and another in the afternoon. It breaks it up. Staying at Key West, allows you to go back and make a quick no mess lunch.</p>

<p>My top suggestions:</p>

<ol>
<li> By the mugs they sell at the hotel, you are allowed to get re-fills for free.</li>
<li> If it is a cold have dinner at the Contemporary @ 7 , ask for a window, book prior to going. By doing so you can see the nightly fireworks from your table.</li>
<li> If your kids are older be sure you are at the park @ 3, and go to the best ride…everyone will be waiting for the parade.</li>
</ol>

<p>Look at Universal Hardrock or Portofino they have great deals.</p>

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<p>If I bit the bullet and stay onsite I think it is between Beach and Yacht or Key West. Key West is having a special and is about 120 more then either Beach or Yacht but it is a two room versus one room.
For the dates we are going with 5 people the availability appears to be those 3 or the Swan.
I don’t know about getting my two older one’s up early to enter any park.
Bulletandpima did you have to drive from Key west to the parks?
This is probably our one and only trip to Disney.</p>

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<p>I would not recommend the Swan, esp. for such a short stay, it is out of the way. Bulletandpima has very good cost savings ideas, but for such a short stay I would not waste 2 hours shopping for snacks at Publix. For a longer stay this pays! We have done this and either requested a fridge in our room, or we just bought a very inexpensive cooler and filled it with ice at the hotel.</p>

<p>Bulletandpima has the right idea about how to do the parks. You probably won’t be able to hop parks if only going for 2 days though. The nice thing about the transportation is that your older 2 can sleep in and the rest of the family can go early. We would go early, and leave midday, nap, and return after dinner until closing. Sometimes we did not go back, but our teen sons went on their own. Don’t forget there might be extended hours after closing (last time I was there they alternated extra hours for guests between eves. and morning. This does change, so again this Q and any others can be answered by Disney reservations). You might want to book your dining reservations now too, but if it is filled don’t panic. Much of it is available same day if you call in the morning. You can make a reservation elswhere, and just change it for your preferred restaurant last I checked.</p>

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<p>We stayed at Key West on many occasions, and I always took the car and parked it either in the Poly hotel parking lot and took the monorail from there, or you can probably park at one of the other hotels parking lots (Contemp, etc.) and then get on the monorail by showing your hotel/transportation passes. I never had to pay for parking - it was always free. If I went to EPCOT, then I parked at the Yacht and Beach Club hotel guest parking lot. It’s really easy, and it doesn’t take long to go from one place to another - just get a transportation/driving map of WDW, and you’ll be able to go all over the area. Also, Key West has a washer and dryer in the villa!</p>

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<p>If you have an all-parks pass, here are the rides that make my must-see list:</p>

<p>MK- Space Mountain, Splash Mountain. The old ones that I still enjoy are Haunted Mansion and Pirates.</p>

<p>Epcot- Test Track, Mission Space, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and Soaring is new, but I’ve heard it’s great. Also I LOVE the American exhibit. Restaurants- Mexico, Living Seas.</p>

<p>*Hint- on Mission Space, which is really a giant centrifuge, whatever you do, do NOT take your eyes off the monitor directly in front of you. Even when you have to hit a button, do it with peripheral vision (it really doesn’t matter if you miss the button ;)). Otherwise, prepare to feel really baaaaad.</p>

<p>MGM- Tower of Terror, Aerosmith’s Roller Coaster, Star Tours (Star Tours is a motion ride, so stay clear if they make you sick)</p>

<p>Animal Kingdom- Kilimanjaro Safaris, Dinosaur, Bug 3D movie (do not do the water ride unless you want to get completely soaked)</p>

<p>For a family of five, if you really want to eat out but save money, eat your big meal at lunch and then eat in a food court for dinner.</p>

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<p>Soarin is great. You feel like you are flying.</p>

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<p>You stated your kids are older, if they are close to college age they will want Key West…Downtown disney is across the way (you take the ferry). Key West has all of the shuttles to all of the parks so we never drove, except on the 2 days we went to Universal. </p>

<p>We had a 2 bdrm, that had a patio overlooking the golf course. The living room is quite large (Sofa, love seat and a chair all of them fold out). Then there was a dinette and ample kitchen (full fridge, dishwasher, micro, and stove). I am someone who says I am on vacation so I don’t cook, but my kids were old enough to make a bowl of cereal,(maid will put the dishes away if you run it b4 they come in, make sure you bring tablets w/u) or a sandwich for lunch, we always went to wonderful restaurants at night.
The bath in my room was larger than my own now with a jacuzzi. We also had a private deck from the master. There was a safety deposit box in our room.
The second bdrm was @ the size of the regular room at yacht and beach. and had a private ba. The villa was set up so the livingroom was in btwn the two bdrms and you had a lot of privacy ;).</p>

<p>The kids actually liked the pool better…Yacht and beach has a great whirlpool, but my kids were older and not into that anymore, so they liked the fact that it was families with older kids who horsed around. There is a small snack bar that serves burgers and sandwiches for a good price.</p>

<p>Key West has a small restaurant and bar, the Dh (Bullet)and I went to at the end of the day to unwind…oops forgot to say in laws went with us ;)</p>

<p>In the end we had 7 people and never, ever felt like we were on top of each other.</p>

<p>Also ask about Boardwalk VILLAS, it was only a few dollars more, but had no availability on our dates. That would be my top pick if I could get a villa, it has a great walking area (geared like downtown), located across from Yacht and Beach.</p>

<p>If I couldn’t get in there I would take Key West, especially if you are not the eat breakfast with Micky, you actually break even, and don’t trip over each other.</p>

<p>Do yourself a favor…go to the guest store in the hotel (or any of them) and buy the “where’s Mickey” book as soon as you get there…It shows how Disney put a Mickey emblem all over the park. I.E. Key West has one in its concrete, and if you stand at a certain site in EPCOT and look at a certain place you will see how the buildings make a Mickey face. It kept my teenagers entertained the whole time, they actually forced us to go off track to find some of them. Their favorite of all time was the key west, b/c it was literally the building next door.</p>

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<p>^Wow, thanks. That was all very informative and interesting, not that I am going (EFC you know).</p>

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<p>Key West has the largest rooms of any of the Vacation Villas. You can take buses…but you change at Downtown Disney, not all that far from the property, to get transported to the parks. </p>

<p>Speaking of Downtown Disney, if your kids are into gaming, they may want to visit DisneyQuest which is the interactive electronic ‘park’. They have state-of-the-art immersive environment games (you are in the game) as well as all the latest coin operated arcade games. For us older folks, they have a floor dedicated to the Atari '80’s era…as well as a Disney Art level and a restaurant with computer terminals at every table. It’s not cheap but it’s fun…I have to bribe my child to get her to leave. Be prepared…it’s noisy but the kids never seem to notice.</p>