Advice for not-so-rich family of six!

[Biscuitsmom31]

maxiesmom - I guess we are a family of nerds too. Epcot is far and away our favorite Disney park. (The groom is supposed to be a nerd.) How about instead of saying we're nerds, we say we're more cerebral.

 

[rcraw45425]

I just came across something neat. When we go in April AK is going to be open till 8:30PM. With an EMH evening that makes it till 11:30 , can fireworks be far behind?????

 

[mill4023]

Remember AK closes early and has no fireworks. If you do not have the park hoppers then your day would be over at 5 or 6. I would choose Epcot or MGM over AK. Also Epcot has test tract, mission space, soaring, and crunch for the little one as well as the world showcase, street performers, and make your own mask at each kidcot station. As you can see Epcot is one of my favorites!

But in your case I would seriously look at Universal package for $300 ( three ticket packages of 5 consecutive days with child free for $99) then add a one day pass to MK which would be approximately $360 (6 times $60 approximately) for a total of $660 and six full days of park fun! It would definately make your buck go further! It would be hard to be there for seven days and only 3 days at the parks. Check out the Universal threads for more information.

I agree that Universal is a really good deal for the price right now.
But I'm not sure there's enough to do there for 6 days. We haven't been to IOA yet, but one day at USF was enough for us. I did buy those tickets for our March trip, but we're only planning to use 2 days. One at IOA and one at USF. The majority of our time will be spent at Disney.

 

[marcbelt]

If you can, take your stroller (s). Saves you tons on stroller rentals. Also, if you can, take a cooler (no ice allowed) with cold drinks---especially for the kids who get thirsty easily.

I wish you luck at the souvenir shops, which are everywhere. Be patient, they're kids and don't understand that you can't buy them everything. As a parent and not the richest person in the world either, it breaks my heart to not be able to buy them everything they want in this wonderful place. It's just a fact of life...

 

[Wendy1953]

EMH's won't help original poster since they are staying offsite.....EMH is only for Disney resort guests...If the original poster and spouse were to look into some of the growing timeshare companies down in Orlando...they may be able to get some free tickets or at least very inexpensive tickets...just have to attend a 90 minute or so presentation from that company.....try Westgate.....you can actually check it out online, sign up and then get the free tickets after attending the 1 hr session...if this isn't possible....other posters are right AK closes earlier than the other 3 parks...without park hoppers I'd skip AK and do MK and then either MGM or Epcot....Epcot has a lot going on.....the children could do the Kidcot program.....bake cookies in The Land...ride Soarin, see Figment, and yes...even learn a little bit about different countries...the river ride in Mexico is great, so is the Malestrom in Norway...the Land Pavilion has the Living with the Land ride, Soarin', and Circle of Life (based around the Lion King), Innoventions (fire safety techniques-geard towards young children,the Internet Zone, Video Games of tomorrow) TestTrak, Living Seas, spaceship earth, universe of energy...mission space(not for the younger ones...or me), to name a few of them....MGM however has Fantasmic...and if you've never saw that...it's a great show at night....not to be missed.

Wishing you a magical vacation.....and if by chance you buy a lottery ticket....hope you win so you can purchase the hopper pass for your whole stay and you won't have to decide what park to cut out!!!!!

 

[Twinprincesses]

barney is at Universal.

I say definatly do Magic Kingdom and MGM.

 

[*disneybound*]

You guys are awesome, thanks so much for all your tips! I really didn't expect this much feedback- what a great place!

Off to read more

 

[Goofy4]

7 days? You can probably see all the parks.

Epcot: 3/4 day -- skip the World Showcase (Illuminations?)
MGM/Pixar/Disney Studios: 3/4 day (Skip Fantasmic?)
MK 5 or 6 hours A.M.: non-EMH morning.
MK 5-8 hours P.M.: non-EMH evening (Wishes & Spectro !!!)
Animal Kingom: 3/4 day (non-EMH)

 

[Goofy Rulz]

If only WDW were cheaper; we'd go more often too. We are going in June and will be doing 3 days at the parks. We got the basic Magic Your Way tickets for MK, MGM and AK. You can do MGM in one day, but MK may require two if your younger kids want to ride the Fantasyland rides over and over. But if you plan your day ahead of time and take advantage of the fastpasses, you could squeeze into one day, since you mentioned that you would be going again in a couple years. We will be staying off property as well and will be going back to the house for meals, which does help offset some of the costs. We also are taking advantage of the UO/IOA deal (free kid's ticket w/each adult ticket). If you can swing it, I would suggest taking advantage of that as well. Don't know when they'll offer that again.

 

[MommyPoppins]

*Disneybound* - Are you a Fl. Res.? You said you were close to Disney. If you are, well then there are more options available, and better deals.

 

[*disneybound*]

No, I'm a Georgia resident.

That UO/IOA looks interesting..

I'm feeling a little stressed today because I realize how expensive it is. I hope my hubby can sell some a lot more houses before then (and quickly!!)

 

[Trena]

It is easy to stress out when planning a trip. Don't go over your budget, that wouldn't make anyone happy. (shouldn't anyway) Just do what you can afford to do, and plan another trip in the future...giving yourself plenty of time to save up. Don't feel bad about not seeing or doing everything now...just put it on the "must do list" for next time.

You are doing a great job of reseach and learning your options. Make good choices and you'll have a great time knowing you got the most for your money possible!!

 

[luckydog]

We've been there lots over the years and started out just like you....now we are going on our Sr trip with my now 18 year old son and all his friends and their families!! See Ya there!!!

We've always thought it best to keep it to one park per day...kids that small can't do much more and the others want to swim anyway. I would vote for MGM at that age over Animal Kingdom because the show and the charaters would appeal to them more...Animal Kingdom is great, but we only still spend part of day there.
Think about stollers too....we found it best to rent one...really...not sure what they look like now, but everyone wanted a ride by the end of the day and our little stroller just won't have made it...so much to hold, food, kids, drinks...etc.
Also note if you need alittle something you've forgotten the service centers are wonderful

 

[andromedaslove]

I just wanted to add a bit if a different opinion. I have two kids (4 and 1) and although my 4 year old loves some of the things at MGM (TOT mainly) he would much rather go to Animal Kingdom. The baby is definately more thrilled with Animal Kingdom, and DH and I love it there too. I love MGM and all, but there are only a couple of things there that are Must Sees, and only a few things that keep our family interested. Animal Kingdom has so much to see and do (animals, shows, rides, etc.) that if we have to skip a park like we did this last trip we would definately skip MGM.

Also, how long is your vacation (time off work). The reason I ask is because we all know that sometimes when you are having a Disney vacation you come home needing another vacation. I don't know if it is possible to shorten your stay off site, but maybe that would be a way to save some money. Then you could use the extra to spend a bit more time at the parks, and you could get home with a days rest before having to restart your normal routine. Just an idea.

Dana

 

[maxiesmom]

Biscuitsmom31--I guess I didn't think to say cerebral because I don't feel that way at Disney, I feel like a 5 yr old!!! But that is a good way of putting it!!