OKW and Boardwalk Villas are Disney Vacation Club resorts - Disney timeshares. They are available to the general public, but a better deal is to go to www.disboards.com (the board part of www.wdwinfo.com ) and “rent” points from a member. The points will rent for about $10 per. You want to rent them 7-11 months in advance. A week in a two bedroom villa at the Boardwalk in October is 278 points (IIRC - I’m a member and that’s our “normal” trip). Rooms have a higher point cost Friday and Saturday night, so you could do a cheap five days in a studio at OKW 40 points in September (as cheap as you can get) or a week in a three bedroom condo over Easter with a view of Epcot for about 1000 points ($10,000!) about as expensive as it gets. There is nothing on the monorail that is DVC, but if you want to be near the Magic Kingdom, Wilderness Lodge has a DVC wing. Disney does give the freedom of allowing some family members to stay in a $300 night hotel room and others to stay for $80 and have them meet up during the day, which isn’t bad. Remember, Disney is far from “all inclusive” - park tickets and food will get expensive. But its a great place for a four year old!
We’ve also done the Disney cruise thing. The same boards have a forum dedicated to Disney cruises. Disney cruising is great - the kids have a wonderful time in the kids clubs (free and unlimited access) - they keep their adult areas kids free - and there is lots to do as a family. They have an incredible private island. You need to budget for tips and drinks in addition to the cruise fare (and souvieniers) but its pretty all inclusive and Disney will let you bring your own rum on board (and supply the coke free!). You can do a three or four day cruise fairly reasonably (although Disney is one of the more expensive lines - you do pay for brand).
Of the all inclusives I know of, only Beaches goes out of their way to cater to families. Friends did a grownup trip and a Barcelo on the Mexican riveria (I’m not sure on the spelling), and had a great time, but wouldn’t have brought the kids. Dude ranches aren’t going to be a great place for a four year old - many of them don’t let the kids trail ride until seven or nine (or older).
Consider a cruise. Since they provide all the food you could possibly want, that makes them VERY reasonable from a total cost standpoint. You can easily get a 7 night caribbean cruise out of Miami for about $800 per person. Throw in $200 round trip airfare, and you’re out the door for $4,000, additional expenses are minimal, and you’d pay for them if you stayed at a hotel anyway.
Very good food, very good service, lots of activities on the ship, for seniors and kids. The room is no more than 5 minutes away, if he wants a nap.
Just some thoughts I had after writing the last bit…
All the hotels on Disney property, from the cheapest to the swankiest, will give guests who arrive with a car a parking pass that entitles guests to park free of charge at any parking lot. So if you want to drive to the theme parks, water parks, etc., you can. For us, we found it more convenient to leave the car in the hotel lot and use the buses most of the time. Different strokes, &c. It was sure good to know both options were there. There are other nice perks, too. You’re allowed in the theme parks just a little longer than guests staying at other hotels, for instance, and you can have the souvenirs you buy sent back to your hotel room for you at no charge.
Part of the reason planning a Disney World vacation seems so overwhelming is that the place is SO HUGE. Four theme parks, two water parks, two “shopping, dining, and entertainment venues”, and more recreational opportunities than I care to count. And two of the theme parks (Magic Kingdom and Epcot) qualify as huge all by themselves. And we haven’t even left Disney property yet; start adding in all the other attractions in Orlando or within day-trip range, and it’s enough to make anyone’s head spin.
All of this choice is what makes the area such an attractive vacation destination - but ironically enough it’s also what makes it seem so damned intimidating :eek:
It sounds like you (the OP) and your mom really want to do this. My advice would be to ease yourself into some research. On the Disney World homepage you can order a “vacation planning kit” - a DVD and some brochures, basically - it’s free and they don’t send you junk mail afterwards. Get that and the Birnbaum’s guidebook. Both of these are Official with a capital O, and they present the happy cheery sunny side of Disney - and they don’t mention anything of what’s available just beyond the Disney Compound - so don’t rely on them exclusively! But they will give you an overview of what you’ll find and let you know where to get started with further planning if you decide that this is where you want to go.
And if you do decide to do it, ask for advice here and let your fellow Dopers overwhelm you with our lists of favorite guide books, websites, rides, shows, restaurants…
Please please please. If we can’t be there, at least let us talk about it.
Recently at work a vendor gave a presentation which included a diagram of his product’s past, present and future functions. “Oooh, look,” I commented. “It looks like the Magic Kingdom. There’s Frontierland (past), Main Street (present), and Tomorrowland (future).” A fellow Disney nut coworker started laughing and pointed to a circle on the chart that showed our group’s wish list: “And look, there’s Fantasy Land.”
My parents own a timeshare at this place. (Link is to Expedia.com). The one in Kississimee is but a mile from Disneyland.
The place has a full kitchen, laundry, pools, spas, and plenty of space. My parents, sister, husband and 2 girls all stay there. Plus there are larger places for huge families.
It is nice to have a kitchen at the very least for breakfast before the parks and midnight snacks. They also have activities for the kids and adults as well. It is a hell of a lot better service than a hotel.
