Dopers Who have done DisneyWorld 3yrs<

Factual Questions
1

I’ll IMHO on what I should see – even if this is destined to end up there, First I wanted to get some idea from you folks on the question of costs.

We are in the tentative stage of planning a trip to DisneyWorld this spring:
3 people, maybe spend 4 days there in, say the 4th week in March. We would like to stay in the resort & perhaps do “everything”?

GQ: Ignoring transportation costs, can you give me as narrow a possible range as to how much tickets, hotels, meals and other stuff(I am missing) is going to run us …

2

For costs, all I can say is: oof-tah!

I went there almost two years ago for one 24 hour period. My GF was there with her sister (sis has two kids), and I popped in for a visit. I flew in and out for free (one nice benefit of my job), but the rest of the costs were very high.

Sis was staying at the Polynesian hotel on the property. Normal room rate was $399/night. I was in the AF Reserves, and got the military good deal of 50% off: still $199/night.

We did Epcot center (mil discount: $40 for both of us to get in for the day). Lunch at the French restaurant: $40. Dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s restuarant on “Adult Island” or whatever it is: $100. Two tickets for Cirque de Soliel: $150.

Total cost for 24 hours in Mickey-land: $529 without tax and that did NOT include getting there. Granted, we did it up right, but still…ouch. Of course, the hotel room rate was for a room booked about two weeks in advance, so if you book sooner you may get a better deal.

Staying at one of the Disney hotels is probably only worth it if you have a young child and you anticipate needing to get back to your room quickly so kidlet can take a nap and settle down. Otherwise, stay off property and take a bus to the park.

If you can swing the Cirque de Soliel, I’d do it. That was the best part of the entire trip and the only thing that I felt that I actually got my money’s worth on!

3

We went two years ago with kids 3 and 5 at the time. First of all, if you think you can do “everything” in 4 days then you will be astonished when you arrive. We were there 7 full days and fell far short. However, we did not just do Disney. We went to Magic Kingdom twice, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, SeaWorld, Universal, and Adventure Island.

I’d agree with pilot more or less.

We spent 6 nights and 7 days. We stayed at the Disney Hilton (not owned by Disney but considered a Disney hotel, with discounts, early admission, free shutttle bus, etc.) and had a Junior Suite, which is really just a big room, with two double beds and a convertible sofa for $1546.

We spent $1058 on park tickets, stroller rental, and parking for the non-Disney parks that we had to drive to. The park tickets for Disney are discounted when you buy for several days, although there is no such thing as a hidden bargain on Disney tickets. (You don’t say how old your kids are but I highly recommend strollers even for older kids. There can be an enormous amount of walking and kids will tire of that quickly. A double stroller rented at the parks worked out great for my kids.)

We rented a car for $330 for the week.

We spent $937 on meals and did not go to any adults-only type restaurants. We had an excellent experience having lunch at “The Sea” at EPCOT. My wife and I had a meal suitable for a good upscale restaurant while the kids sat next to us eating PB&J and drawing with crayons. The only restaurant I’ve ever been in that caters to adults and children at the same time. Also one wall of the restaurant is an aquarium. I highly recommend it, make reservations ahead.

I also recommend the character breakfasts at various venues around Disney. Make reservations.

We spent a whopping $200 on T-shirts, caps, photos, pins, and other souvenir type stuff.

About another $750 on air fare from DC.

After a few other odds & ends, total damage: $4900.

We didn’t go all out, but neither were we trying to save money. There are lots of cheaper options if you want to save and I’ll bet you could spend 60% of what we did if you stay off site and go easy on meals. One hotel that looked good to me was a local Holiday Inn that has rooms specifically designed for families with young children. Check Expedia.

4

Costs? Bend over, hon.

5

I highly recommend The UNofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. It’s very useful in helping you decide which attractions you want to see, advising how to use your time efficiently, how to get into the parks before their official opening times, interesting hidden attractions, etc. etc.

I used it for both my trips, and swear by it.

6

I go to Disney pretty often, one of the advantages of living in Atlanta, Ga. Here is a web site you should go to in order to help plan your trip.

7

Unless you’ve been there before, there is no way in hell you’ll do everything the World has to offer in four days. We’ve been there eight times now (for a week each) and have really streamlined what we do, etc, and we still barely get it all done. Regardless, don’t worry too much about seeing everything, but instead merely appreciate being there. It’s truly a great place.

8

Also, if you can afford it, I highly recommend staying at one of Disney’s many hotels (Port Orlease, River Side, being my favorite). Once you arrive at the hotel, you can catch Disney’s busses to anywhere else in the World; it’s really convenient.

9

Wow. Some of you need to be a little more careful about planning your vacations.

I took my whole family from washington state (there were six of us) to disneyland on a plan we set up through a travel agent.
It was 6 days 5 nights, and also included magic mountain, knots berry farm and universal studios, as well as 5 days od disney entrances and transportation to everywhere.
Our TOTAL cost minus transportation was 1600$

For DisneyWORLD my wife and I got a package deal for 399$ each that included 4 nights hotel stays, Disneyworld admission, an overnight cruise to Atlantis casino, transportation and dinner for 3 of the 4 nights.

10

The Disney resort hotels can be very expensive. I stay off property and you can save a lot of money that way. There are many hotels in the Lake Buena Vista area, particularly on Palm Parkway. I usually stay at the Hampton for about $60 a night. Next door to it is the Homewood Suites (also a Hilton property), where I am staying for two nights this week at $89 for a 2 room suite.

If you want to stay at a Disney resort but not spend too much, try Pop Century - a new resort that opened just last month. It is supposed to be for the more economically-minded, but certainly does not have the luxury of places like the Polynesian and Grand Floridian.

11

My Disneyphile co-worker refers you to
www.wdwinfo.com and www.mousesavers.com.
Don’t forget the Doombuggy!

12

When I lived in Florida I went to WDW 6 times in one year. I have done as cheap as it comes and as expensive.

If you want to stay on property the best value is to stay at the All Star Resort. And get a 4 day park hopper ticket. You will get to go in and out of all the parks for four days. And by staying on property you can use the park buses to get from the hotel to the parks. Also make sure and ask which day the hotel has early open access. The people staying on property get to go into the parks an hour before everyone else. I hope all that helps.

The number to book your vacation through guest services is 1-407-WDISNEY