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Started By
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Disney Pros, is it worth it to stay on site?
Posted on 10/30/17 at 8:32 am
Posted on 10/30/17 at 8:32 am
Me and the wife do not have kids and we are just thinking about going because we may be in orlando during the week of christmas. We know it will be a crowded time.
14
Posted on 10/30/17 at 8:38 am to Civildawg
They will all tell you yes and it's too late for reservations at the restaurants. 
Go have fun despite the huge crowds
Go have fun despite the huge crowds
Posted on 10/30/17 at 8:44 am to Civildawg
quote:So you already have a place to stay?
we may be in orlando during the week of christmas
Posted on 10/30/17 at 9:00 am to Civildawg
Since you don't have kids I would just save the money and stay offsite
Posted on 10/30/17 at 9:12 am to ell_13
quote:
So you already have a place to stay?
We will for one or two nights but if we decide to stay for Disney we will have to either get a hotel or stay on at the resort.
Posted on 10/30/17 at 10:01 am to Civildawg
quote:How many days? In which parks do you plan on spending the most time? I assume you will have a car? Do you belong to any hotel awards program? Budget?
we will have to either get a hotel or stay on at the resort.
There's a pretty good chance most Disney hotels are booked anyway. And the close ones may not have availability either. If you can get onsite, I would. That week is the busiest of the year and driving in and out of the parks will be a nightmare. A taxi or uber would help but you'll still be spending extra time on the road. Staying onsite means you get access to the disney transportation system. The buses will be full, but they'll bring you right to the gates of each park.
Posted on 10/30/17 at 11:24 am to ell_13
It depends on where you stay
No kids, I would stay offsite.
With kids, ideally stay on the monorail route directly to Magic Kingdom, if you can afford Polynesian or Grand Floridian.
Otherwise, hit or miss depending on where you stay and if you want to wait on buses.
No kids, I would stay offsite.
With kids, ideally stay on the monorail route directly to Magic Kingdom, if you can afford Polynesian or Grand Floridian.
Otherwise, hit or miss depending on where you stay and if you want to wait on buses.
Posted on 10/30/17 at 11:33 am to nicholastiger
quote:What? You contradicted yourself. Does it depend on kids or location?
It depends on where you stay
No kids, I would stay offsite.
IMO, I want to get the most out of my time along with convenience. This is why I asked which parks they want to spend their time in? If it's MK, then they shouldn't stay in the low-end hotels on site because they're so far away. But if they like AK, HS, and EPCOT, then those are fine. Not long bus rides. However, if they love EPCOT solely, then the hotels around Disney Springs would be a great choice if they still have rooms.
quote:The best place with kids is the Contemporary. Forget transportation at all, you can just walk to the Magic Kingdom. And when you're tired at the end of the day and you don't want to walk 10 minutes more, then it's the first monorail stop. You also get Chef Mickey's on site, but it's just as easy to get to the Poly and GF for other meals that kids would enjoy.
With kids, ideally stay on the monorail route directly to Magic Kingdom, if you can afford Polynesian or Grand Floridian.
quote:It's not "hit or miss" if you know the things I mentioned above.
hit or miss depending on where you stay and if you want to wait on buses.
If MK is the park they'll be at 3 out of 4 days, then stay away from the cheap on-site resorts. Try for Wilderness Lodge as a "less expensive" option compared to the monorail resorts.
If EPCOT, then go with the Disney Springs hotels that are onsite and offer their own transportation.
If HS or AK, then any non-MK resort/hotel would be fine. I'd look for deals at the Swan and Dolphin where you can walk to both Epcot and HS.
Posted on 10/30/17 at 11:50 am to ell_13
Ell has the hook up.
Springing for one of the nicer hotels on the monorail for that short of a stay would be the way I would go if you are going to Magic Kingdom. Your kids will love it.
Springing for one of the nicer hotels on the monorail for that short of a stay would be the way I would go if you are going to Magic Kingdom. Your kids will love it.
Posted on 10/30/17 at 1:18 pm to ell_13
HIJACK: ELL since you seem to know you shite about Disney< we are taking our 3 year old Dec. 12th-14th. Any advice?
She loves the princesses, and I have no clue how he will react to the rides. She is 40" tall which will get her on most rides. Anything to avoid? Like, I have heard there isn't much at Epcot (beside the Frozen ride) and HS for her to do. Should we just to MK and AK. We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside, and my parents will be there with us.
We plan on getting to the park when it opens and go until the little one is done. Then, my folks will take her back so the wife and I can ride the big rides. We have 3 day park hopper passes 12th-14th, and got tickets to that Christmas parade at night thing.
She loves the princesses, and I have no clue how he will react to the rides. She is 40" tall which will get her on most rides. Anything to avoid? Like, I have heard there isn't much at Epcot (beside the Frozen ride) and HS for her to do. Should we just to MK and AK. We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside, and my parents will be there with us.
We plan on getting to the park when it opens and go until the little one is done. Then, my folks will take her back so the wife and I can ride the big rides. We have 3 day park hopper passes 12th-14th, and got tickets to that Christmas parade at night thing.
Posted on 10/30/17 at 1:40 pm to CoachChappy
Be careful with Pirates til you know how she likes rides and can maybe deal with drops. That one scared my 2 year old (at the time) off wanting to ride new rides for a short time the first time she went on it. She loves it now though.
Frozen has a small drop as well. It's the old Norway ride with a facelift. That one didn't bother her though because Frozen.
HS isn't a total write off for young kids, it has some good shows if she likes that and can sit still.
Ya'll got any dinners/lunches with Princesses?
Frozen has a small drop as well. It's the old Norway ride with a facelift. That one didn't bother her though because Frozen.
HS isn't a total write off for young kids, it has some good shows if she likes that and can sit still.
Ya'll got any dinners/lunches with Princesses?
This post was edited on 10/30/17 at 1:47 pm
Posted on 10/30/17 at 1:57 pm to CoachChappy
quote:GREAT age to go and time, too. We took our 3-yo son last November.
we are taking our 3 year old Dec. 12th-14th. Any advice?
quote:Magic Kingdom will be her favorite. There's Princess Fairytale Hall. Basically a meet and greet. Might be a long wait. But there's also Enchanted Tales with Belle (the furniture talks which is neat), The Ariel ride and Ariel's grotto. That's all mostly around fantasyland behind the castle. You can also meet Minnie and Daisy in Storybook Circus where there's a small roller coaster and the flying Dumbo ride that isn't too intense. And the lines are never long there. Mickey's PHilharmonic is great and so is Peter Pan but the wait can be crazy for that one.
She loves the princesses
EPCOT isn't a total wash. Yes, there's the Elsa and Ana ride, but it's really not a "must do" thing and it's only 90 seconds long. There are some good meet and greets around the World Showcase (Belle by France, Snow White by Germany) but those are hit and miss. The stuff she would enjoy would be to the right of big ball: The Living Seas - Finding Nemo ride and an aquarium. Inside there you can also meet Crush from Finding Nemo. He can have conversation with the kids and it's funny/cool even for the parents. There are also a couple of easy, short-wait boatrides in The Land and Mexico. Easy entertainment. Also by The Land is a theater that was playing 5 or 6 of the Pixar shorts which was another good place to rest and keep the kid entertained. EPCOT is our favorite.
Hollywood Studios may actually be her least favorite. It's getting a remodel so some things have closed. What she'll enjoy is a couple shows: Journey of the Little Mermaid (inside) and the Beauty and the Beast musical (outside). The only other thing she might like is the Toy Story ride. EVERYONE loves that one. But because there's so little to do in HS right now, it's the longest wait there by far. I'd throw in the Muppets but she may not be familiar with them. You'd probably enjoy that more than her.
You may be surprised at how much she likes animal kingdom but be prepared for long walks between attractions. It's the largest park and meant to immerse you in a jungle in a way. There's the A Bug's Life show right in the middle in the tree. Festival of the Lion King. Finding Nemo Musical. A train that takes you to and from a petting zoo and area meant for smaller kids. The Safari is also a good "ride". Better to go in the morning when most of the animals are up and moving.
quote:Awesome. You are really close to EPCOT and can take a boat to Disney Springs (shopping and food) but that would be a waste on a 3-day trip. But your wife may like to go there one evening. Everything is open pretty late.
We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside
quote:Not really knowing what your plans are for food and fastpasses, I would do something like this:
We plan on getting to the park when it opens and go until the little one is done. Then, my folks will take her back so the wife and I can ride the big rides.
Whatever day you have the Christmas party: Magic Kingdom all day as long as you can with the kid. Send her back with the parents to nap around 3 or 4, use fast passes for Space mountain, Splash mountain, Runaway Mine Train, Thunder mountain, etc. Bring your daughter back well rested at 7 or 8 for the Christmas party. It's way more than a parade. Special characters, treats, fireworks, parade, and very few people riding rides.
Use one of the other two days for Animal kingdom all day following the same formula I mentioned above where you do Avatar while she's resting and maybe Expedition Everest. If you're done with that park "early" meet your daughter and your parents at EPCOT instead to do some of the stuff I mentioned above.
The next day, do the same but start back at Magic Kingdom. Do anything she missed or wants to do again. Get her tired, send her back to rest, and then do whatever y'all want at either MK or EPCOT, again, utilizing fastpasses. It's easy to get from one to the other using the Monorail.
The reason I have you ending your day at EPCOT is because it's so close to your resort and would be easier/quicker to wing it from there since you are close to your resort and just a monorail ride to MK. There are also buses that take you directly from park to park which would be helpful getting between AK and the other two.
This post was edited on 10/30/17 at 2:03 pm
Posted on 10/30/17 at 2:11 pm to ell_13
quote:
GREAT age to go and time, too
Yeah, my daughter and I are the people who sing jingle bells in the car in July. We are pumped.
quote:
. Yes, there's the Elsa and Ana ride, but it's really not a "must do" thing and it's only 90 seconds long.
I should've probaly explained that my daughter is a blue eyed blond who gets into character when she is playing. Calls my wife Ahna, me Christoph, and the dog Sven and walks around with her 2 foot tall stuffed Olaf. Like seriously, will probably cry when she meets Elsa the character and not know what to do.
quote:
Not really knowing what your plans are for food
My mom mapped this out. We have he dining plan for each of us.
quote:
Magic Kingdom all day as long as you can with the kid. Send her back with the parents to nap around 3 or 4, use fast passes for Space mountain, Splash mountain, Runaway Mine Train, Thunder mountain, etc. Bring your daughter back well rested at 7 or 8 for the Christmas party. It's way more than a parade. Special characters, treats, fireworks, parade, and very few people riding rides.
This was more or less our "plan"
quote:
fastpasses
How do those work exactly. I went to Disney several times as a kid, but was never "in charge"
This post was edited on 10/30/17 at 2:13 pm
Posted on 10/30/17 at 2:17 pm to CoachChappy
quote:You should be able to schedule them now. Whoever is in charge of the planning/scheduling should know about "My Disney Experience" which is disney's website where you can manage your plans and your wristbands. There, you can plan your meals, link them along with your hotel stay, and your fastpasses. All of these will be to your wristband which has a sensor you use to get in the fastpass line instead of the "long wait" line, get into your room, and to charge meals to your meal plan.
How do those work exactly. I went to Disney several times as a kid, but was never "in charge"
For the fastpass, you schedule a time, a one-hour window, where you will show up at the ride and be allowed to get in a shorter line. You can schedule 3 of these per day ahead of time and add more if they are available in the park once you use them up.
Posted on 10/30/17 at 2:23 pm to CoachChappy
quote:Read This
will probably cry when she meets Elsa the character and not know what to do
Only place to meet them is in Norway in EPCOT close to the ride. Both will be VERY long waits unless you have a fastpass.
I have a similar experience with my son. In Magic Kingdom, you can meet Mickey Mouse and he talks, mouth moving and all. My son didn't know what the hell to do.
Just lots of smiling. Mickey eventually broke with ice by doing the "Hot Dog" dance with him. We are going back this January. I started a thread with my plans a while back but photobucket killed all my pictures so I need to redo it. Last thing we have to do is our fastpasses which we can start book this Friday night.
This post was edited on 10/30/17 at 2:24 pm
Posted on 10/30/17 at 2:35 pm to ell_13
Thanks! It just really hit me today that we are going in 6 weeks! I don;t know who is the most excited, my wife and I, our daughter, or my parents.
Posted on 10/30/17 at 4:03 pm to Civildawg
OP, there few times I'm really interested in paying the on site premium, but Decemeber is a month I'd strongly consider it because of the Christmas decorations. The resorts should be well decorated and add something to the feel of the trip.
Posted on 10/30/17 at 4:53 pm to Civildawg
Look at Beach Club, Yacht Club, Boardwalk, Swan, or Dolphin. All are walking distance to Epcot.
Epcot will have the International Holiday Festival going on which is going to have 15 food booths this year.
Epcot will have the International Holiday Festival going on which is going to have 15 food booths this year.
Posted on 10/31/17 at 1:07 pm to CoachChappy
Tip: go and make your fastpasses now if you haven't already. They allow booking them 3 months in advance, so most of the good time slots and rides may be fully booked already.
Posted on 10/31/17 at 1:10 pm to Civildawg
No kids? I would not go to Disney then. It is literally the busiest week of the year at Disney. Wait times for a ride will top 1 hours and the most popular will be over 2 hours.
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