Sorry for another Disney related thread

Good stuff

both girls. All rides will be kid friendly. Do you think Animal Kingdom is worth it? Is it basically a zoo on steroids?

Looking to do a dinner/something with a Disney princess. Also, not sure on ADR's. I guess so. I know we arent doing the meal plan

there are still a fair amount of rides at AK including Everest which is my favorite roller coaster on property. If your kids like animals there is a ton of stuff to do and the Lion King show is entertaining. Not really any princess stuff at AK that I can recall and I can't recall HS having any princess stuff either(I have boys so we avoid that stuff).

Maybe show your girls what is at each park online if you deciding between doing only one of AK and HS and let them decide? You should definitely do MK and reconsider Epcot, especially if you will be there during food and wine. They have the new frozen ride and meet and greets there and I think there is a princess breakfast at Epcot as well(also have one at MK)

Thanks. Ok I like that idea of Epcot over Universal

I saw Caribbean and it looked nice. Any other similar to that one that is worth a look?

Do you recommend a Disney resort over a generic hotel nearby?

Definitely stay on site. What's your lodging budget? At Caribbean for a basic 2 bed hotel room for $30 more you could rent DVC points at Bay lake tower(right next to MK) in a standard studio. That's what we are doing for our October trip. We rented points two years ago and paid roughly $1000 for a studio at AK lodge. If you are planning to just get a basic hotel room and your budget for a week is $1800 or less you should consider renting DVC points. There are plenty of websites out there that act as a broker or allow you to reach out directly to a DVC owner.

Davids DVC rentals and disboards are a good place to start. Renting DVC points allows you to stay in a deluxe hotel(bay lake/contemporary) for the price of a moderate(Caribbean)

quote:

---

Which of the DVC rentals do you recommend?

---

Depending what you decide on the park you attend, Boardwalk & Beach Club are walking distance or a short boat ride to The Studios and Epcot. Poly, Grand Floridian, and Bay Lake are on the monorail loop so they are ideal for Magic Kingdom. I really liked Wilderness Lodge, a short boat ride to MK, buses to the other parks, we had a good experience with buses here. Animal Kingdom is one of the nicest but furthest away from the MK, we had a savanna view which was cool and didn't have any issue with the buses. I have read stories of bad bus experiences there though.

I would probably choose AK over the Studios if I were you, especially having 2 girls. The Avatar area should be open and that will be a cool area to see. Definitely 2 days at Magic Kingdom.

If you are going in the fall, do not skip EPCOT. The Food and Wine fest is great. We will be there in the fall as well. As far as rooms, you may be hard pressed to get any EPCOT area resorts in the fall with DVC point rental as they are usually the first to go. I would look up David's DVC rental and stay in Bay Lake Towers. You are literally one block from the Magic Kingdom entrance so it is a very short walk into the park. The Wilderness Lodge is beautiful but they will still be building the new DVC cabins by the lake so it may not be your best bet right now. Sign up at Disboards. You will find a HUGE base of Disney fans there that can help guide you through every step of your planning process. The best thing you have done so far is to start planning now. If your girls are Princesses, the Bippity Boppity Boutique is a great time for the girls. You can save a good bit by bringing your own princess dresses. Cinderellas Royal Table is a great meal for meeting princesses as well. The food is standard buffet fare but the food is secondary to meeting the princes and princesses. Animal Kingdom should have Avatar up and runnig as well as Rivers Of Light(here's hoping!) so it should be a full day park by then. Just my 10 cents.
One more FYI, September 16 is Mexican Independence Day and you will have larger than normal crowds around that week. We went three years ago and was shocked at how crowded it was. Usually by the weeks end, the crowds are back to normal though.

Isn't half of Hollywood Studios currently under construction?

Port Orleans Riverside building 14 room 1404 has proven to be great for us. Very short walk to bus stop one way and lobby/food court another way. Bus service excellent from POR and boat ride to Disney Springs easy and quick.