Disney World Planning for a Disneyland Expert

[LKing]

I glanced at the advice that you are being given on the WDW side of this site. It is so interesting to read the different perspectives.

 

[juxtapose]

I glanced at the advice that you are being given on the WDW side of this site. It is so interesting to read the different perspectives.

I just saw those too and I change my advice based on the comments there. I would not stay at CBR with 6 people, especially with an au pair. She needs her own room and based on those comments it didn't appear that she would be staying separate at CBR. I would stay somewhere off site where she can have her own room for privacy.

 

[monkeypat83]

I just saw those too and I change my advice based on the comments there. I would not stay at CBR with 6 people, especially with an au pair. She needs her own room and based on those comments it didn't appear that she would be staying separate at CBR. I would stay somewhere off site where she can have her own room for privacy.

Based on all the advice here and on my thread on the Disney World one I am now thinking we will do 2 rooms at Pop Century (hoping it is not an issue getting connecting rooms) which is a bit more expensive and slightly less convenient but I think worth it. She will still not have her own room but we will have 2 bathrooms and more space overall. When we asked her if she wanted to come on the trip (she will not be working on the trip just coming as a member of the family so she had the option to stay home if she wanted) we made sure she knew she would for sure have her own bed but probably wouldn't have her own room and she was fine with it. She has been to Disneyland with us (in the same capacity as a family member) and it was just me, her and the two older kids on that trip so she had one bed, I shared the other bed with one kid and the other kid had the fold down bed and we all shared one bathroom and it worked well. For the first part of our trip we will be in Tampa for 3 nights and she will have her own room while we are there though not her own bathroom.

 

[irlandaise]

I just saw those too and I change my advice based on the comments there. I would not stay at CBR with 6 people, especially with an au pair. She needs her own room and based on those comments it didn't appear that she would be staying separate at CBR. I would stay somewhere off site where she can have her own room for privacy.

Gosh, I would almost never suggest that someone stay off property at WDW. That would make the trip much less convenient--and much less magical.

 

[juxtapose]

Gosh, I would almost never suggest that someone stay off property at WDW. That would make the trip much less convenient--and much less magical.

I've never actually stayed off-site. However, I don't feel comfortable recommending a situation in which an au pair shares a small room with the 2 parents and a bed with one of the kids as the pull down bed is made for a child. CBR only has 3 sleeping surfaces and there are 3 adults and 3 kids so they'd need all 5 bed spaces plus a pack-n-play).

 

[juxtapose]

Based on all the advice here and on my thread on the Disney World one I am now thinking we will do 2 rooms at Pop Century (hoping it is not an issue getting connecting rooms) which is a bit more expensive and slightly less convenient but I think worth it. She will still not have her own room but we will have 2 bathrooms and more space overall. When we asked her if she wanted to come on the trip (she will not be working on the trip just coming as a member of the family so she had the option to stay home if she wanted) we made sure she knew she would for sure have her own bed but probably wouldn't have her own room and she was fine with it. She has been to Disneyland with us (in the same capacity as a family member) and it was just me, her and the two older kids on that trip so she had one bed, I shared the other bed with one kid and the other kid had the fold down bed and we all shared one bathroom and it worked well. For the first part of our trip we will be in Tampa for 3 nights and she will have her own room while we are there though not her own bathroom.

We found Pop fun and pretty convenient due to the skyliner and food court. While the pools aren't as nice when they're little they don't seem to care as much. I'd call in advance after booking and add the connecting room request to increase your chances of getting it.

 

[Cuadrm]

Biggest tip with young kids is to get there early, do a lot before lunch and then lunch and then take a long hotel/nap/pool break before going back at night….orlando is SO hot the heat and humidity adds another element u may not expect to hit as hard as it will….fans, stroller fans, etc anything to help…also strategically place shows in the ac during high heat times if u cannot take a pm. Break
If u have not already…try to get topolinos character breakfast on a HS or Epcot day as u can use the skyliner. Reserve close to noon and use it as brunch/lunch…great character interaction, better food than most places, and most of the time the servers let u order more than one meal. For MK totally agree leave the park nd go to steakhouse 71 or Ohana or grand Floridian cafe - if u get Ohana at night they also pipe in the fireworks music.
Epcot..tons of restaurants in park or in Epcot hotels.
Hollywood - Pre reserve slinky dog in advance if u cannot take or asap…it will run out for hs and is awesome for kids - also go the frozen show in hs funny and great ac.
Epcot…reserve remy or frozen ever after early ll reserve and rope drop the one u do not get.
MK - reserve space early if u want to ride it…note the cars are like Matterhorn single file vs Disneyland side by side so if not interested then reserve Peter Pan.
Florida water is HORRIBLE - especially at magic kingdom - get grocery bottled water delivered or be prepared to pay for it.
In general quick service food will not be near as good as disneyland…do not get a churro in the world, u will be sad.
There is so much that is different that is amazing so take it in and enjoy…sharing to help others prepared so u can make it the best ever .

 

[irlandaise]

Gosh, I would almost never suggest that someone stay off property at WDW. That would make the trip much less convenient--and much less magical.

I've never actually stayed off-site. However, I don't feel comfortable recommending a situation in which an au pair shares a small room with the 2 parents and a bed with one of the kids as the pull down bed is made for a child. CBR only has 3 sleeping surfaces and there are 3 adults and 3 kids so they'd need all 5 bed spaces plus a pack-n-play).

Sure, but there are other alternatives to CBR that could be considered before deciding to go offsite.

 

[monkeypat83]

Biggest tip with young kids is to get there early, do a lot before lunch and then lunch and then take a long hotel/nap/pool break before going back at night….orlando is SO hot the heat and humidity adds another element u may not expect to hit as hard as it will….fans, stroller fans, etc anything to help…also strategically place shows in the ac during high heat times if u cannot take a pm. Break
If u have not already…try to get topolinos character breakfast on a HS or Epcot day as u can use the skyliner. Reserve close to noon and use it as brunch/lunch…great character interaction, better food than most places, and most of the time the servers let u order more than one meal. For MK totally agree leave the park nd go to steakhouse 71 or Ohana or grand Floridian cafe - if u get Ohana at night they also pipe in the fireworks music.
Epcot..tons of restaurants in park or in Epcot hotels.
Hollywood - Pre reserve slinky dog in advance if u cannot take or asap…it will run out for hs and is awesome for kids - also go the frozen show in hs funny and great ac.
Epcot…reserve remy or frozen ever after early ll reserve and rope drop the one u do not get.
MK - reserve space early if u want to ride it…note the cars are like Matterhorn single file vs Disneyland side by side so if not interested then reserve Peter Pan.
Florida water is HORRIBLE - especially at magic kingdom - get grocery bottled water delivered or be prepared to pay for it.
In general quick service food will not be near as good as disneyland…do not get a churro in the world, u will be sad.
There is so much that is different that is amazing so take it in and enjoy…sharing to help others prepared so u can make it the best ever .

Thank you! I always either get groceries delivered or pick things up when we go to Disneyland too! I don't need to pay $5 for a bottle of water We are driving from Tampa to Orlando so we plan to stop at a grocery store on the way and grab water and snacks and breakfast foods etc before we get to the hotel.

We are planning on taking a break after lunch at the hotel for sure and actually my youngest and my husband may stay at the hotel after that and I will take the older 2 back to the parks. We are going to play that by ear each day. My kids are not late night kids so even with a break I am not sure we will make it much past about 7 PM in the parks so i am not too worried about the nighttime shows. My oldest has been to Disneyland about 10 times and has only ever seen the fireworks from the window of the E-club lounge at the Disneyland Hotel bathed and in her pajamas so she could go to sleep 5 minutes after they ended and my son has never seen them at all.

We are actually planning to do a pool/character meal day so I was thinking Topolinos would be a convenient one and I have heard the food is good.

Thank you for the Epcot tip! That is exactly what I was thinking we would do. Is there one or the other that is better to rope drop vs fastpass (or whatever it is called now). Most of us (those who are tall enough) want to ride Slinky Dog so we will make sure to reserve that and for Space we are going to have to make a decision right at the last minute depending on if we think my oldest is tall enough for it because it is a 44 inch ride and she is going to be super borderline on whether she is tall enough or not. She would like to ride it so if she is tall enough we will but if she isn't then we will probably skip it altogether because I can take it or leave it. If we don't ride Space we don't care about Tiana's or Peter Pan really so it would either be Jungle Cruise or just 3 from Tier 2. If we do Tier 2 rides which 3 are the best to pick and is the best way to do Seven Dwarfs without paying to just try and rope drop it? I am the only one who wants (and is tall enough) to do Tron so I am just going to pay to do that one by myself. I am also planning to pay to ride Guardians with my oldest since just the two of us want to ride.

Any other advice on which rides to choose for multi pass in the other parks? For the most part we are not prioritizing rides that are basically the same as the ones in Disneyland but are not opposed to going on them.

 

[mouschievous]

If you can swing two rooms, or if CBR has suddenly grown suites, I would 100% stay at CBR. We found it SO convenient, with an easy skyliner ride to two separate parks. I timed it and I think it was 3 minutes to Hollywood Studios and 11 to Epcot? Something like that - very short and easy, and when we were going there were never terribly long lines at the skyliner. Even the one time we did see a really long line - at the end of Harmonious - it still was less than 20 minutes to get on and get back to CBR.

If you can't do two rooms at CBR, see if you can do it at Pop or Art of Animation (and I think they might have family suites?). Truly, I think the skyliner will be a major game changer for you, especially for afternoon breaks.

If you do end up staying at CBR, the food is pretty good, and it's an easy skyliner ride to Riviera if you want something different. Another reason I advocate for staying there when possible.

If it were me, I would do rope drop, go hard until lunch, then head back to the room for lunch and rest. Back to the parks, a sit down dinner, and close down the park. BUT I don't have kids, so take that for what it's worth!

We found MK to be...fine. Things are in the wrong place and there aren't as many things to do as at DL, so while it's big, it also felt a little lacking. H and I agreed that on a future trip we'd make MK a half day or evening-only park because of that. That said, the "don't miss" things for us there are Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, Country Bear Jamboree and Seven Dwarves Mine Train. Also, the queue for Peter Pan is way better than at DL. Jungle Cruise has an additional scene which is fun, Haunted Mansion is basically the same but you can barely see the mansion, Big Thunder goes the wrong direction, and Pirates is way shorter.

 

[danceintherain]

I'm glad you're getting two rooms somewhere. I think you're underestimating the sheer amount of time it takes to get to/from the parks at WDW. This isn't a problem in and of itself, but we spend more time in our room at WDW as a result.