re: Disney recomendations

I'm a Disney travel agent, go probably 10 or so times a year (mostly weekend trips with the wife with 1 big trip with kids). Just got back Saturday from a 10 day trip.

Stay at Pop. The bag transfer to and from MCO alone makes it worth it plus the food court is good enough and the skyliner makes life easier.

We've stayed at almost all the resorts besides the monorail resorts (The Contemporary, The Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, The Grand Floridian) If you don't stay at Pop, we love Port Orleans French Quarter and Boardwalk the most. The All Stars are good enough but you get what you pay for with them.

A day in each park with Lightning Lanes is perfect with an extra day in Magic Kingdom squeezed in.

Keep in mind that there is construction going on at every park except Epcot at the moment.

There are plenty of character meet and greets at every park.

Every park has a night time fireworks show except Animal Kingdom. I'd see them all with Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios being 1st, Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom 2nd and Luminous at Epcot a close 3rd.

Animal Kingdom opens early and closes early so keep that in mind.

Epcot is absolutely a park for every age. There's plenty of stuff for kids and depending on what time of year, there's usually a festival going on with booths that offer different food and drinks than the regular restaurants around the parks.

Don't push the kids too hard, they'll make it miserable for you. We were park open to close people for our first few trips and found it more enjoyable when we took breaks after lunch for an hour or 2.

If you have Walmart+, make a snack/water order to get delivered to the resort. It'll save you some money plus is pretty convenient to have snacks yall like and water to bring with you in the stroller.

The Dining plan is great if you don't want to have to worry about paying for food while there. It ends up being a wash money wise but paying for it ahead of time is a seller for some. Not sure if it would be worth it with a toddler though.

I'd recommend buying the Individual Lightning Lane for Guardians in Epcot. It's usually around $20 pp but saves you at least an hour and a half and is easily the best ride on property. There's a 42" height requirement.

Disney Springs is a great place for good food if you don't want to eat in the parks every day. Also plenty of shopping.

On your check in day, you can go to either water parks for free. Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something but if you have any questions, let me know.

Never go in middle of summer.

My suggestion is to stay off property. Rent a house with a pool in Indian Springs area. You'll pay less than a value resort. Yeah you won't get busses but then you don't have to deal with busses.
Your close to the back entrance of the world near Animal Kingdom. You'll still get to any gate pretty fast. You'll have to pay to park but no big deal. When you ready to leave you'll have a car not a bus line.
I've started in moderate resorts and they are all motels mostly. Not that great. The Deluxe are akin to decent hotels but your paying $600 a night.
The only real benefit is if you stay at a resort on property with a lot to do or on the monorail. The skyliner is nice but only to the back of epcot or Hollywood studios. You'll still bus to the other parks.
I hate the busses.
Another great budget option is to stay at a hotel at Disney Springs. Those are third party and better quality than most Disney owned hotels for less than a value.
Now there are some really nice on property resorts. But given the price point I like to save on accommodations.
Having a house with every kid having their own room and you having a pool is a bigger plus than any amenity a resort could give.

We just returned from Disney World for five days. Stayed at Pop Century.

Overall, A+ experience.

Yes, it was hot, but we went prepared. I carried the backpack cooler with water and luckily all the Lightning Lane bookings fell right into place. We got to ride everything we wanted and rode most of the major rides twice. The only time we had to wait was for Rock N Roller Coaster (it was down all the way til 1pm) and the second time we rode Tron and Guardians. We spent very little time waiting thanks to Lightning Lane. An underrated tip: use AI to assist with strategies.

We also stayed at Pop Century and it was an excellent experience. The Disney bus for Animal Kingdom/Magic Kingdom and the sky liner for Epcot/Hollywood Studios worked out very well. Buses flowed in and out quickly and we didn't have to wait long at all.

The four of us had an absolute blast. It was a little pricey but we spent about the same for a Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge trip three years ago. It was nice going somewhere that was always clean, friendly guest service, knowledgeable workers (I NEVER had a staff member say 'i don't know' when asking a question).

I don't like Disney's political stances but I will say that with the money you spend there, you definitely get your money's worth at the resorts and parks.