1 day only and first timers - lots of questions!

[bcwife76]

So we are going to WDW for 1 day only, Friday January 13th. We will arrive in Orlando late on the 12th and then we embark on the Disney Fantasy on January 14th.

We are debating between visiting Epcot that day or just touring around outside the parks doing all the 'free' stuff that is offered, plus Disney Springs etc. Here are my questions:

1. Magical Express is FREE from the Orlando airport to our Disney resort hotel?
2. Best place to book Disney resort hotel - on WDW website itself?
3. Dining reservations 180 days out, correct?
4. Does every disney resort hotel offer parking, in case we decide to rent a car instead of using ME? Is parking included or extra with each hotel?

I won't ask about FP's because I know there are separate threads I can read through. Sorry if these seem like dumb questions! We are Disneyland people and have never had the opportunity to visit WDW until now (only wish it were for longer, but one day we'll return!)

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

1. Magical Express is FREE from the Orlando airport to our Disney resort hotel?
2. Best place to book Disney resort hotel - on WDW website itself?
3. Dining reservations 180 days out, correct?
4. Does every disney resort hotel offer parking, in case we decide to rent a car instead of using ME? Is parking included or extra with each hotel?

1. Yes.
2. I personally like to have control of my own booking, so I always booked direct when I was visiting as a guest. Some folks do like Orbitz, travel agents, etc for discounts.
3. Yes.
4. Yep, and no charge for parking at resort hotels. Theme park parking is also free for resort guests.

 

[bcwife76]

Thank you @ravenclawtrekkie !!

 

[Alesia]

There are 2 airports in Orlando. DME only runs to and from MCO. It does not go to Sanford (SFB.)

 

[mshanson3121]

So we are going to WDW for 1 day only, Friday January 13th. We will arrive in Orlando late on the 12th and then we embark on the Disney Fantasy on January 14th.

We are debating between visiting Epcot that day or just touring around outside the parks doing all the 'free' stuff that is offered, plus Disney Springs etc. Here are my questions:

1. Magical Express is FREE from the Orlando airport to our Disney resort hotel?
2. Best place to book Disney resort hotel - on WDW website itself?
3. Dining reservations 180 days out, correct?
4. Does every disney resort hotel offer parking, in case we decide to rent a car instead of using ME? Is parking included or extra with each hotel?

I won't ask about FP's because I know there are separate threads I can read through. Sorry if these seem like dumb questions! We are Disneyland people and have never had the opportunity to visit WDW until now (only wish it were for longer, but one day we'll return!)

Hehe, I had to cringe a little at your date

As others mentioned, ME is free from Orlando MCO only, not Sanford. You can book direct, but I believe Undercover Tourist offers discounts on Disney hotels as well? Dining is 180 days out, so soon! And they all offer parking.

If you only have one day, myself personally, I might get a Park Hopper, and perhaps spend my morning/afternoon at Magic Kingdom, and then my afternoon/evening at Epcot.

 

[bcwife76]

There are 2 airports in Orlando. DME only runs to and from MCO. It does not go to Sanford (SFB.)

I didn't know that! But we will be flying into MCO.

 

[bcwife76]

@mshanson3121 haha, did you cringe because it's FRIDAY the 13th? Or because it's the start of the MLK long weekend? I'm expecting crowds to be heavy

4 park hopper tickets for us for one day would be $628US (with the current CDN exchange that is nearly $800) for one day yeah.....not happening! lol

 

[mshanson3121]

@mshanson3121 haha, did you cringe because it's FRIDAY the 13th? Or because it's the start of the MLK long weekend? I'm expecting crowds to be heavy

4 park hopper tickets for us for one day would be $628US (with the current CDN exchange that is nearly $800) for one day yeah.....not happening! lol

lol. Haha, yeah because of the date. Even better, you miss the full moon by 1 day.
Didn't realize you were CDN, or there was four of you, yeah that would be pricey.
Myself personally, I'd never spend the money to spend just one day there. I'd spend the day doing other things and then go watch Wishes from one of the resorts.

 

[bcwife76]

@mshanson3121 sorry, I should have put in my original post that we are CDN and the size of our travel party. That's what we're leaning towards - eating at some of the restaurants, walking around outside the parks, doing Disney Springs, catching the shows at night. It is pretty pricey for one day. Oh the things we do for Disney love

 

[minniebeth]

We've done countless trips and most of the time, have booked directly with Disney. I also like having control over our reservation. However, this past year, I went out of my box because I really needed to cut costs where I could, and booked with Orbitz since I had a one night add-on to a trip because of flights. I read up about it on the Budget Board and it worked great! If you are just doing hotel reservation only, with no dining plan, no tickets, just for one, two, or a few nights, it's easy peasy and it can save you some $. You'll still get magic bands, Magical Express, etc. With the money you save, you can put it towards dinner, shopping, etc. Just something to think about! If you decide to go that route, make sure to look for a discount code to apply (again, Budget Board people will often share the current promotion).

I'd be so torn with going to Epcot for the day or doing 'resort' activities, but I would lean towards the resort activities/Disney Springs. Epcot is such a big day~ to get your ticket's worth, it would be an all day adventure, and it can be exhausting. So much walking, so much to do. If you are ever planning on taking a WDW trip, I would save it for that. This way, your time spent can be at your leisure and there are lots of fun things to do in Disney Springs and around the resorts. You can start your cruise off with having your Disney fix and not being already tired. You can enjoy your own resort as well and swim, etc. if the weather is nice enough.

But of course, you will have a great time no matter which option you choose!!!

 

[mawatcha]

I'd recommend non-park activities too for a one day trip. There's certainly a day's worth of activities just at your resort and Disney Springs, I'd highly recommend getting the monorail from MK and doing the loop, such a nice way to glimpse the castle and see three of the deluxe resorts.

 

[bcwife76]

I agree - I think we'll just spend the day touring resorts, going to Disney Springs and such. I like the idea of riding the monorail around!

 

[SplashMo]

I would say you have to go to the parks. Epcot would by my first choice as it is different than Disneyland and you indicated Epcot. AK is also very unique.

 

[HelloMimi]

Last November, we booked our resort (All-Star Music) through Orbitz for January 11-15th. Orbitz had a 25% off code for Black Friday weekend, so we were able to book the room for $65/night! I'm not sure if they'll offer the same deal this year, but I definitely think it's worth the wait/risk.

 

[bcwife76]

I'll definitely check out Orbitz. Plus I can get some cash back (not sure how much) on ebates

 

[TJA]

Hi, I've seen you on the cruise section! We are veterans at WDW so I can actually help with this one. For one day and that cost for tickets, I would not go to the parks either. But the cool thing about staying on the grounds is that you can see what the resorts are like and pick one you'd like to stay at in the future! When my girls were your girls' ages, we loved staying at the Beach Club. The pool is awesome! One section is all sandy on the bottom and also has mounds of sand to play in. Another section has a small side. Another section has a larger slide. My girls are twins so we always stuck together and the spaciousness of the pool never affected us. My girls would literally spend an entire day in that pool! Other great things about the Beach Club: You are a short walk away from Epcot, and even though you won't actually enter the park, you can still enjoy the views of the fireworks show. You will be on a boardwalk which is super relaxing to stroll around on. You can rent a surrey bike and ride around the boardwalk. You can walk to mini golf course. You can rent a boat. There are a couple carnival-type games on the boardwalk, along with a couple food stands and entertainment (magicians at certain times...). There's a movie on the beach at night...campfire with smores too. Beaches & Cream 50's style restaurant with burgers and all kinds of ice cream treats. It's a really fun place to stay when you're not going to parks!

On the flip side of that, we also love the Polynesian and Grand Floridian (both on the monorail). Poly has a relaxed, tropical theme. GF is more of an elegant theme. You can watch Wishes (MK fireworks show) from both of these resorts. Both have great restaurants. And you can hop on the monorail to visit the other monorail resorts!

Ok I just saw your date is in January and I know the weather can be cool at times, so I'm not sure if your kids would want to spend a day at the pool. I guess it's hard to predict what the temperature will be on that day...

 

[TJA]

...and I believe your original questions were all answered, but just wanted to add that we like just utilizing Magical Express and Disney transportation throughout our stay. It's all included and free. No matter which resort you stay at, you'll have Disney transportation available to the parks (including to Disney Springs). It's nice to let other people worry about the driving!

I usually book right on the WDW website. It will automatically put your reservation in your My Disney Experience account (easy to make your account if you don't have one). I only book through Orbitz if the savings are that much of a difference. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it's just not worth it. So be sure you compare totals first.

Yes I do believe dining reservations are still 180 days out. If you have a popular place you'll be booking, then I'd be ready around the 180 days to book it. Popular dining spots NOT in the parks include Chef Mickeys at Contemporary (probably the most fun character meal, but food not overly outstanding) and Ohana dinner at Polynesian (VERY hard to get, excellent dinner served family style all-you-can-eat). We also enjoy 1900 Park Fare at Grand Floridian (character meal, good food), but we don't usually have a hard time getting that reservation. Cape May at Beach Club has a cute character breakfast, sort of low key and we've never had an issue getting a reservation there either.

 

[ktlm]

We would spend the money and go to EPCOT. We love both DLR and WDW and when we go to DLR, the one thing we miss is EPCOT. Now, I will say if you are all about the rides, not the atmosphere, then that may not be the place for you. What we love about EPCOT that we don't get at DLR is the World Showcase side. We like exploring the countries; talking to the CMs there from those countries; seeing the entertainment throughout the countries (bands, juggler, acrobats, drummers), the adults like all the specialty drinks (grey goose slush for me); the kid AND DH love doing the Agent P missions; and a meal at Biergarten is a must on every WDW trip (the atmosphere is great; the German buffet has good food, and there is a German band that does a show). DD loves the fact that there are a ton of characters throughout World Showcase (lots of Princesses, Mary Poppins, Alice, Donald etc.) My DD could actually probably spend all day doing the Agent P missions. Also, another fun thing for the kids are the kidcot stations. You can buy a passport ($10 I think) and then the kids can take it to the station in each country and get it stamped--- the stations also have a Duffy or Perry on a stick you can pick up for free- that you can color there and you can take it around to each station and they will stamp the back or stick on it (actually I don't know if they still have the Duffy stick since the ended his meet and greet). EPCOT does have rides and being DLR people- I would suggest the boat ride through Mexico; Living with the Land; Spaceship Earth; Mission Space (I only do the green tamer side); Journey Into Imagination and I suppose the new Frozen ride as those are all going to be entirely different experiences from what you experience at DLR. Soarin will be the same ride at DLR and TT is just a VERY inferior version of RSR-- they are fun, but nothing you have not seen before.

Also-- If you have been to Goofy's Kitchen, I wouldn't bother with Chef Mickeys. Goofy's Kitchen has much better food and is a cleaner place.
As far as the resorts, Beach Club/Yacht Club definitely has the best pool on property- but it looks like you are going in January, so you may not have swimming weather. We have gone in December several times, and we don't spend the money to stay there in December because we rarely wind up swimming when we go that time of year. You just never know what the weather is going to be. In December, we have been there when it was 50 degrees for a high and we were in gloves and coats all day, and we have been there when it was 80 and we were in shorts--- we have actually been there and had BOTH the SAME week!

 

[bcwife76]

I was wondering about the weather in January and if we should bother focussing on a hotel that has a great pool. Beach Club sounds fab but if we don't end up using the amenities then it's just a waste.

My dh is leaning towards no parks, just wandering around and seeing everything where I am leaning towards doing Epcot. We'll see who wins out He is also pushing for an overnight flight that gets us into Orlando at 7am on the Friday and I'm like ARE YOU NUTS?!!! I don't sleep on planes so I'd rather not be up for 36 hours and wandering around WDW etc thankyouverymuch. As it is the flight I'm looking at gets us in at 11:40pm on the Thursday and that's late enough!

 

[TiggerBouncy]

I guess I am in the unusual crowd. When I go on DCL, I always do a hotel night at Disney World the night before because I prefer to take the bus to Port Canaveral and I don't want to fly in the day of the cruise (too many bad experiences about almost missing a ship). However, I always prefer to kick off our cruise with that one day in EPCOT. I would definitely do EPCOT over MK if you are familiar with DisneyLand.

Us? We like to start our trip with a visit to via Nappoli on our EPCOT day before the cruise. Of course everyone has their own favorite food type, but I feel a day in the park gets you in the right mood before the cruise.