I can't stand the thought of being in Orlando and not going to WDW

[Metro West]

Originally Posted by fitnessmouse

Really? You mean you can walk out of the huge Disney Store without buying something?

Yup...I haven't purchased anything in years.

[GreenCntryGirl]

Five years ago I was pained about going to Florida and not being able to go to Orlando.

[Planogirl]

We were in Orlando this past October just to see HHN at Universal and we only went to Universal. It felt odd but we had a great time.

[peyjax]

We have done it several times pre cruise so I am not sure if that counts as the cruise gives us that Disney feel we look for. We always hit DTD.

The price for a one day visit is enough to deter me from wanting to do it.

[cluvsdisney]

I have been in Disney resorts without going to parks and would have no problem staying in Orlando without stepping foot on Disney property.

[nkereina]

If you make room for at least one day at Disney, you will be aching for more. It will just be a tease. My thought would be to either allot multiple days for Disney parks or not at all. We stayed at a Disney resort for one night post cruise last year, and opted not to get park tickets. We knew if we went into one, we'd want more.

[KapBoy77]

Originally Posted by nkereina

If you make room for at least one day at Disney, you will be aching for more. It will just be a tease.

I agree with this 100%.

[ccgirl]

Originally Posted by lisagirl88

Hope this is the right spot for this post. We are going to be in Orlando for vacation for 4 full days and 1 1/2 day the beginning of March. It will be me, DH and our two older kids(ages 10 and 8). Our kids have never been to any of the parks in the Orlando area except WDW. So we were thinking of making this a non-WDW trip and hitting SW, Discovery Cove, Legoland and possibly Aquatica. HOWEVER, I just can't imagine being that close to WDW and not going in!!!! I love Disney. We were in Disney for 5 days last march and also did a Disney Cruise.

I guess my question is: Will I totally regret at least not making room for 1 day at Disney? Has anyone gone to Orlando and not done Disney?

Just did it our last trip and it was one of our best yet. My children (DD9 and DS4) actually preferred it. We did Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Sea WOrld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens. It was less expensive and more fun than WDW, IMHO. I know not everyone feels that way. I thought the same as you at first, my DH as well but we decided the $80 pp per day was just not worth it for one day so we didn't do WDW and loved it!

[RedHeadedFairy]

I agree that one day would be a kind of a tease. We're either all or nothing with WDW. Either we've got AP & it's the ONLY Orlando park/area that we visit or we only do OTHER stuff.

Honestly, we're all Disney addicts but we have fun together as a family no matter where we are & all of the other parks have a lot to offer! (Personally, I love being able to buy a margarita almost everywhere... like every 15 ft, or so it seemed, lol, .... throughout Universal's parks & shopping district.)

I think I'd stay away & really dig into all the other non-disney attractions & hit DTD if you REALLY can't do without it.

[DisneyFive]

I feel your pain. I presented at a large conference in Orlando last April and didn't get to ANY parks. It's tough being in Orlando (our defacto vacation spot) and not doing anything "vacation" related.

I could even see SeaWorld from my hotel!

Regarding your situation, I would consider this your exploritory trip. See the other options, and then you'll be able to figure out if you want to include them on future WDW stays. We added a SW day to our trip this last Sept and loved it, but I wouldn't spend more than one day there.

Dan

[sbevione]

Originally Posted by Metro West

You could always stop by DTD to get your Disney fix if you wanted. Wouldn't cost you anything either.

That is exactly what we did when we went to Universal to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We spent a week at the Universal parks, Sea World, Discovery Cove - it was a truly magical vacation, and going to DTD was enough of a Disney "fix" for us.

[married2mm]

we've been to Orlando ten times and only done Disney!
in fact this year,we are finally going to universal,and I feel like we're letting Disney down- kind of cheating on wdw!

my sil has visited Orlando once,and they didn't do Disney- but didn't realise what they were missing.
I agree one day is not better than none.
dtd is a good suggestion.

[disfan4life1]

We tried it once. And succeeded. But not before dd cried at DTD because she just had to go to MK. Unfortunately we didn't have the funds to do it then so we planned a wdw trip for a few months later. Now if I even mention the idea of going to Orlando but not Disney I get thrown into the fire.

[LekiaHall]

We're relatively new to traveling to WDW, but I also can't imagine going to Florida (let alone Orlando) without some Disney time.

My husband and I are taking a couples trip this September and while I wanted to go to Puerto Rico, I also *really* wanted a Disney fix so that I'd make it to my 2014 trip. So, I switched my plans to Miami (never been, so still something new to explore) and we're going to Disney for 2 days.

Puerto Rico will be there in 2014

[lisagirl88]

Thank you all so much for sharing!! I never thought of the fact that 1 day at Disney would be a tease. That is such a good point and I think that would be totally true for us.

I think I will take this great advice, make this our non-Disney trip and explore all the other parks Orlando has to offer. My boys are lego lovers and so we wanted to hit Legoland this trip before they age out of it(I'm afraid our 10 year old may be a little old for it, but oh well.). So I think we will go with Legoland, DC, SW and Aquatica with a visit to DTD if we need a fix I think a monorail ride would put the kids over the edge so we would probably skip that.

Thanks again.

One more follow up question...Any suggestions for good hotels for 4 people in the SW area?