A couple of questions about WDW

[mg0205]

Hi!
I am new to this website and am planning my family's first trip to Walt Disney World. We are from Saskatchewan and are driving there. I have a couple of questions that I'm hoping someone can answer for me.

First, I've been reading some planning books and it is always recommended to bring a variety of things into the park with you - glowsticks, ponchos, fans, maps, autograph books, water bottles, snacks, changes of clothes, etc.. and to carry around a backpack or a bag that goes around your waist. I'm just wondering how many of the rides will allow you to carry a bag on with you? There are four of us and there probably won't be any rides that we don't all want to go on. It also seems like a lot of wasted time for someone to be constantly running back to a locker across the park to grab something. What is the best way to handle this?

My second question is about the monorail and boats. This is the one thing I don't understand that is holding me back on deciding where to stay because my son would be really disappointed if we couldn't ride the monorail. Do you have to stay at a disney resort to be able to ride it? And if you can ride, would you be able to get off and explore a resort if you weren't a guest at any of them?

 

[Cdn Gal]

How old are your kids? I think that would determine as to how much stuff you bring into the park. if you are planning an all day thing, including staying there throughout the afternoon with no breaks and into the evening, then bring a back pack and use a locker. We try to bring very little with us into the parks as we don't want to be lugging things around. As for the monorails you don't have to stay at a Disney monorail resort to use the monorail. If you stay off site, you will go to the main ticket center and then you take the monorail into the MK. Or, if you are at a moderate resort, some evening, or whenever, take time out and do the loop around the resorts so you can ride the monorail. Hope this helps! Have a fantastic vacation!

 

[mtmbyck]

Every guests has to take the monorail or ferry to Magic Kingdom. I have always travelled with a pack stuffed with all kinds of things (but cans are not allowed). The only rides you wouldn't be able to take these on are high speed rides of which there are 2 or 3 and I don't ride "thrill rides". Otherwise I lug it around everywhere with me. not an issue at all.

 

[fan1080]

Every guests has to take the monorail or ferry to Magic Kingdom. I have always travelled with a pack stuffed with all kinds of things (but cans are not allowed). The only rides you wouldn't be able to take these on are high speed rides of which there are 2 or 3 and I don't ride "thrill rides". Otherwise I lug it around everywhere with me. not an issue at all.

Bolded above..... is this new? I always took my bag on all the rides with no issue in the past.

OP.... all Disney transportation can be used by any guest at Disney, even if you are not staying on site. Therefore, yes, you can use the monorail.

Touring other resorts is also not a problem. It's actually really neat to go over to other resorts and look around. We've done it in the past.

For taking stuff into the parks; I always take my camera bag, fanny pack, and my wife and daughters take a bag as well. For the items that are meant for emergency only (such as extra clothes, night time use stuff such as the glow sticks, etc), that all goes into a locker. We only carry what we need.

Have fun planning, and have a wonderful vacation.

 

[CindyV]

last year we went in july with 4 of us(a 5 year old and 17). I brought a backpack with a couple snacks and with drinks. Thats about it for the bag. If it rained, there is so many places to take cover that i didnt feel the need to have ponchos. I have found with orlando rain, it doesnt last long. Yes there are days where it lasts all day, but we have never been rained out at a park. Only a brief shower. But thats just us. The backpack wasnt heavy at all and i wouldnt want to add anymore.
I dont go on thrill rides(space mountain and a few more) but i stayed off with the backpack on those few, but everyother ride it went on.
And about the monorail and ferry its the same as the previous poster said, at magic kingdom you can ride both there to get to the park.

 

[bankr63]

Rather than a classic backpack, each member of the family (from about 8 yrs up) carries a sling pack. Ours are all from MEC (here: http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Packs/SlingPacks.jsp) but there are others. Adults have the large, kids have the small.

The advantage of the sling bag is that it slips around in front when you board most rides, so you aren't always getting in and out of the harness. It stops you from overpacking but holds everything we really need (lunch, panchos, sun screen, extra water) and has room for souveniers. Also, we've worn them all day, and they don't get too hot on the back, or too heavy.

I have always taken my bag on all Disney rides including RnR and EE. The big rides at UNI require you to stow everything in a locker and that is a good thing.

 

[Disney-Chick]

When we first started going to Disney we used a locker once and found it to be a hassle and a waste of money. As for a change of clothes, we use to bring some but now we don't bother. If we do Splash Mountain and don't want to get wet we use a poncho. We do sometimes bring a bag if it is calling for rain just so we can carry the poncho's/camera etc. I don't know how old your children are but my daughter was 9 when we started going and she will be 15 next month and we use to bring a change of clothes for her.

At one point we would over pack and the bag would hurt our back/shoulders. lol My DH counted the shoes I brought into the parks and I had 2 extra pairs in the bag. I had blisters on our first trip and made sure I had shoes incase that happened. Now I don't have that problem as we take breaks throughout the day.

As for taking bags on the rides, yes you are able to do this on ALL rides. We do every ride and all 3 of us will get on and we always have a bookbag or a camera bag.

Yes you will be able to do the monorails. If you do stay on resort and go to MK you will take a bus and will not use the monorail/ferry for this (unless you stay at a resort as the Contemporary for example that has monorail in it) but can always take it over to other resorts or even to EPCOT.

When do you plan on going?

 

[mg0205]

My children are 7 and 9 years old. We are going in the beginning of May, spending three days at Universal Studios first for my oldest, he's a huge Harry Potter fan.
The slingpacks look great, thanks, I've never seen those before, I'll have to find a store that sells them here.

For anyone who has been to the All-Star resorts or Pop Century resort, I'm wondering if they are worth it when compared to off-site hotels that offer so much more for less money? The only benefits I see are the extra magic hours and free parking if we drive to the parks.
We are trying to save money and I've seen so many online deals for off-site hotels that offer fridges, microwaves, free breakfasts, free internet, better pools with slides (at least compared to the All-Star ones), even washers and dryers for clothing. I have a hotel deal bookmarked right now that offers most of these things and the total price for an 8 night stay is 534. Our total for the same amount of days at the pop century resort is 1071.

 

[Disney-Chick]

My children are 7 and 9 years old. We are going in the beginning of May, spending three days at Universal Studios first for my oldest, he's a huge Harry Potter fan.
The slingpacks look great, thanks, I've never seen those before, I'll have to find a store that sells them here.

For anyone who has been to the All-Star resorts or Pop Century resort, I'm wondering if they are worth it when compared to off-site hotels that offer so much more for less money? The only benefits I see are the extra magic hours and free parking if we drive to the parks.
We are trying to save money and I've seen so many online deals for off-site hotels that offer fridges, microwaves, free breakfasts, free internet, better pools with slides (at least compared to the All-Star ones), even washers and dryers for clothing. I have a hotel deal bookmarked right now that offers most of these things and the total price for an 8 night stay is 534. Our total for the same amount of days at the pop century resort is 1071.

Your kids are great ages to go to Disney. For Universal you will have to rent a locker if you all want to get on a ride as they do not allow you to take on the bags. We love Universal & Harry Potter was nice to visit, not as big as I thought but it was great either way.

We always stay at POP. Love the food court and we drive so always have a room closer to the parking lots. We did stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge for our wedding and it was beautiful. You should really check to see if there are any offers out for the time you are going. I can't remember the dates for free dining and they may not even fall within your time that you are arriving but you may be able to get a room discount. I would always recommend staying onsite as the EMH/feeling of Disney 24/7/and we usually get FD. They do have washers/dryers that you can use as well. I know the ones at POP are located by the pool but usually I do a wash and just go back to my room and return within 30 minutes to put in the dryer.

They do not have microwaves or fridges but you could rent a fridge for $10/day. We don't do that, my DH will take the recycle bin and fill it with ice to keep some drinks cold. Actually my DD & DH would make it a routine at night they would do together and she would always get a snack.

 

[mg0205]

There is actually a discount for Canadian guests through the Disney site, not sure for how long but it was there last time I checked prices. We'll probably end up at Disney just because it seems easier. We can always find a grocery store for some snack type foods and drinks.

I would always recommend staying onsite as the EMH/feeling of Disney 24/7/and we usually get FD.

EMH? FD?

 

[Disney-Chick]

There is actually a discount for Canadian guests through the Disney site, not sure for how long but it was there last time I checked prices. We'll probably end up at Disney just because it seems easier. We can always find a grocery store for some snack type foods and drinks.



EMH? FD?

I would just call Disney and ask about discounts. You never know maybe you could get a good deal and make it even better staying at Disney.

EMH = Extra Magic Hours
FD = Free Dining

 

[YukiPhnx]

There is usually a room-only discount deal going on. When we went in August, we booked Pop for 60/night!

Haha, I laughed when you said "only benefits are extra magic hours". That is a great benefit! The Magic Kingdom was open until 3am one day. We didn't try to tough it out and spend all day there, instead we went back to our room when the afternoon got really hot and returned to a much cooler and emptier park in the evening.

Morning EMH is a great way to get in all the top rides at the beginning of your day so you can simply enjoy the atmosphere of the park after. Both EMHs are the great bonuses of staying on-site.

Also, if you head over to the Budget board, a free fridge swap is usually going on where members of this board take turns using a fridge that's left at the resort.

If cost is a huge concern, then staying off-site is not a bad option (I've done this too), but for convenience and the perks of being a short bus ride away from your hotel (for when you want to take mid-day break) it pays to stay on-site.

About your bag question, my DBF (dear boyfriend) had the backpack with all our essentials ie.water bottle, extra flip flops for me, umbrella and water mister while I carried my own smaller pack for my camcorder and wallet. You don't have to put everything that's suggested in the bag. Ask yourself what your family really needs and start from there.

Bankr63, thanks for the slingbag recommendation! Looks like a great bag.

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Deciding to stay on or offsite is a personal decision although there are many a thread on the disboards about it. Figure out what works for your family and go with it. We fly down and only visit Disney parks so onsite works for us.

Just remember when staying off site to calculate the price of parking into your stay. There are some wonderful private homes you might want to look into too. Have you visited the mousesavers website? They link to some great offsite discounts.

About the pack thing, I have never had any problem taking my pack with me on rides. I don't carry a change of clothes. But I do carry ponchos. The dollar store kind that can be carried in a pocket they are so small. I go in August and there is always rain. I could just slip into a store but then I would miss out on all the great touring that can be done while others are in the stores not the rides. Only time there was no lineup for dumbo! There are also many threads here on the disboards about what to carry in your bag and what type of bag to carry. Again it's a personal choice.

 

[holidaygirl]

Just kidding...not.... anyways our family of 4 has been to WDW too many times to count, it truly is our favourite place. We have always flown down, I am not sure where you live in SK, but we fly out of Minot, ND and save a ton on airfare every year. We have stayed on property every time but once, the benefits outweigh any savings you can imagine. I cannot stress enough - use the Disney Bus service - no parking fees, no driving hassles, less walking (they drop you off at the door and pick you up at the door) nothing like blowing past all the cars in the parking lot! We always go the parks in the morning until about 1:00 when they start to get really busy, we then hop the bus and go back to the resort for lunch and an afternoon swim, and then back to the park that has late opening. Park hoppers are also a must, that way if the park you go to is jamb packed, hop on the bus and go somewhere else. Our fist stay there was for 14 days and we did not get to do everything there was to do! Do not stress out about doing everything in one visit, it is not worth it, enjoy your vacation, take time for the little things, it truly is a magical place. This year we went to Aulani in Hawaii, just for a change, it was beautiful but my 14 year old said “lets go back to Disney next year” on day 2! Enjoy your vacation any vacation with your family is a great one.