Planning a disney vacation?

Hi,

We are a family of 6 now! After being asked to help people plan their trips so many times, I finally put it all up on a website. See link below. It will walk you through all aspects of planning a Disney trip. Some of the first things you'll want to look at are the crowd calendar and the weather page.

Have a great time!

September, November, January and Early February are great times provided you watch out for 3 day weekends and Holidays. Most of the locals have Annual Passes and on three day Holidays even in the off season you will see a large influx in the attendance.

Also these temps tend to be more temperate, with September being the largest risk due to Hurricane Season.

This will also be based on how comfortable you are allowing two teenage boys to run around Disney World. If you aren't very at ease with the idea, you will have to have more of a strategy involved in your planning of touring the parks, making sure you go on rides for everybody. However this can be managed, and also if you stay on Property you get the benefit of Extra Magic Hours. These are closed to all but resort guests, and the evening ones can be a perfect opportunity for your teens to run a bit while you lag behind with the 6 year old.

You don't have to be continually exclusive of one another. There are many rides that all of you will enjoy together: Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Fantasmic, Expedition Everest, Test Track, Soarin', Haunted Mansion, Kilamanjaro Safaris, Dinosaur, Big Thunder MOuntain Railroad all come to mind. But some of the rides the teens will love: Aerosmith Rockin Rollercoaster, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Mission to Mars might be too intense for your 6 year old.

I prefer the moderate resorts or Animal Kingdom Lodge as far as being on property. These are a great value for the money spent. I don't really like the value resorts, they just never have appealed to me. The AKL is BEAUTIFUL, and if you splurge and get the Savannah view you all can sit on your balcony and watch wild animals graze throughout the day. However of note, Animal Kingdom Lodge is the furthest hotel out on property so it may take you awhile to get to your destination if it isn't Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Closest beach would be Cocoa Beach, 45 minutes away. Also of interest in that area is the Kennedy Space Center.

The off season is best in Feb. Check Disney's web site for discounts, and even with the discounts this is way overpriced.

The nearest beach will be about 50 miles east in Coco. Get on the Bee Line (528) and follow the signs. It seem every road in Orlando is TOLL! So is 528. Where to stay? Are you a multi millionaire? If not, I'd stay off property. Rooms are less and you aren't paying Disney's prices for food too. For a decent hotel and a wide range of eating places I have found near the airport to be best. (There are cheaper hotels, but if you don't know the neighborhoods you might not like where you end up.) The airport is about 20 miles from the Disney main gate. They are also close to Universal and Sea World. Stop in a Denny's and pick up one of the Hotel discount books, by the front door. They are great. Look for an AmeriSuites coupon. We have found them to be very nice, clean, and in good areas.

I'm not sure what your budget is but if you can afford to get two rooms, 1 for your boys and 1 for you and your little girl, that might be nice. Then, you could pretty much stay anywhere. But otherwise, I think some resorts, like, Port Orleans Riverside has like trundle beds and such. (not that you have to use them.)

Also, getting the refillable mugs are definitely a good value. I always got them and ended up filling them in the morning, dinner, and whenever we were back at the resort.

I, personally, would stay at one of the value resorts because my family and I spend all our time at the parks and such and don't even come back til late. So, we're just sleeping and showering in our rooms. I think it'd be a waste to stay in a more expensive resort. IMO.

Go to allearsnet.com, they'll have everything you'll want to know.

Have fun! :)

With the number of people on vacation, you will have to consider a larger resort if you want to stay on Disney property (the best bet if you are outside Florida). The best source for Disney tricks and tips would be the following e-book:

http://www.dw-secrets.com/

This is a one-time purchase e-book that was written by a cast member of Disney. It gets constantly updated as new deals are released and has TONS of info.

Whenever we visit Orlando, we are there for Disney only, so I can't provide any information about beaches in the area except the water parks of course.

Good Luck with your planning---it can be very addicting!!

The first time I family went I was about six. What we did that really worked out was we'd go to the park and stay all morning, then leave for a few hours, get lunch, rest, and then come back in the afternoon. It keeps the kids from getting too tired and cranky.

hi, i would recommend staying on disney property so that the teenage boys could take the bus, off to the parks if they wanted to. i would also recommend going the second week in january! we go every year and it is EMPTY! make all your dinner reservation way in advanced so you don't lose out, and also have fun!