Disneyland Plans For 2012

[Keilmeister]

Okay, so I'm pretty naive here I've never had to plan a family holiday before ... It was always my parents responsibility when I was younger and we could never afford it during University.

This year, I realised that every child should have a chance to go to Disney World and I want my kids to have that opportunity while they were still young enough to understand the magic.

The only problem is that I have no idea where to even begin ... Can someone please help us?

 

[OrlandoMagic]

Hi and welcome to the boards! You have come to the right place for help planning your next Disney holiday!

You say Disneyland, do you mean Disney World? Disney World is in Florida and is the biggest of the Disney Parks/Resorts and the most popular to visit. Disneyland is the name of the other Disney parks around the world, located in California and Paris amongst other places.

What time of the year are you thinking of visiting?
How many of you are going?
Do you want to stay onsite or offsite (normally the cheaper option)?

Just need a little more specific infomation to help us to help you more.

 

[Keilmeister]

Wow that was quick We plan on going to Disney World, Florida hopefully either July or August and there should be six of us going ... I'm not sure about where to stay, does anyone have advantages and disadvantages of both?

 

[Sapper383]

Welcome

What ages are the children.

As it stands at the moment, not sure if they will still offer it in 2012....Disney are offering free dining Aug - Nov and they are giving 40% off their Old Key West and Saratogo Springs resorts.

We prefer to stay on Disney property, but others will prefer to stay off Property...it's all down to personal preference.

 

[2Tiggies]

Hi

Welcome to DISboards!

One more question (I know it's rude to answer a question with a question ), but would you be thinking of hiring a car/are you absolutely all for it/dead against it? That also becomes a factor as to where to stay.

 

[Keilmeister]

I'll have a boy (6), girl (4), boy (2) and girl (0) by that point Also it doesn't have to be 1012, if we could get it organised in time we could try 2011

I was looking through the resort hotels and figured it would easier if the kids decided they have had enough during the afternoon I looked at the Bay Contempory and wondered if anyone had any opinions on it?

My husband says he would be fine driving but it's always such a fuss to find a hire car that fits all of us plus luggage

 

[Sapper383]

You have your hands full

I personally like the conveniance of staying at a Disney resort and with the free dining, I think its a no brainer.

We've stayed at All Stars Movies and Port Orleans Riverside, our next trip we will be staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We always go Sept/Oct because we find the weather a bit cooler, the parks are quieter and we love Mickeys not so scary Halloween party...oh and Epcot Food and Wine Festival

As there is going to be six of you, it might be worth looking at a villa at OKW or SS

 

[Keilmeister]

I looked at the rooms at the Bay Contempory and it looks like I can get a suite to fit us all if the kids are happy to share a room which I think they would be so I think we might go with them

 

[Sapper383]

I've had a quick look at some prices for you

Virgin, September,14 nights at Disney OKW 2 bed Villa, Free Disney Dining plan and car £6217.70 you will also have to purchase park tickets on top of this to get the free dining.

Disney:September, 14 nights at Disney OKW 3,792.00, includes Disney Dining plan and park tickets, magical express transport from the airport to holtel......you will need to book flights seperatly

Complete Orlando, September 14 nights at disney beach club 3,571 includes disney dining plan and park tickets...you will need to book flights seperatly...looks a good deal to me

 

[Sapper383]

Its going to be alot dearer to stay at Bay Lake Towers £5,442.00 for 14 nights in Sept with Disney dining plan and park tickets.....flights need to be booked seperatly.

 

[Keilmeister]

Can anyone suggest a good plane company to go with if you have kids who have never flown?

 

[2Tiggies]

Can anyone suggest a good plane company to go with if you have kids who have never flown?

From Scotland? Only direct flights to MCO (Orlando International Airport) is with Virgin Atlantic from Glasgow. However if you will have transport or don't mind forking out some cash for a transfer, you could price up flights to Sanford with the charter airlines.

If you are going to try fly from another UK airport you may as well look into an indirect flight from Glasgow or Edinburgh. You either have to change in the UK or change in the US for a connection and having done it in the UK in the past, I am now looking at going indirect via another US airport for future trips.

Honestly, flying with kids is going to make little difference to what airline. You just have to hope you don't get delayed, but that is impossible to tell in advance. The trick is to pack a little flight pack for each of them for the plane. They usually do sleep a while anyway. Take lots of snacks and some colouring in things or whatever they enjoy doing and hand them out at intervals, not all at once to stretch out the benefits.

As far as your resort choices I think you are wise to look at the monorail resorts. It would allow you to nip back from the Magic Kingdom for a midday nap very quickly compared to other resorts. However wherever you stay you will be close to some parks and far from others. I just assume that you will spend a lot of time at the MK due to the ages of your children and the fact that this is a first visit for you. So I think you are looking in the right direction for accommodation if you do want to stay onsite.

 

[Keilmeister]

Great Is there any airport which is particulary easy to navigate or good to handle with children and has nice places to shop and eat?

 

[2Tiggies]

Great Is there any airport which is particulary easy to navigate or good to handle with children and has nice places to shop and eat?

In the UK or the US? I have never flown with Continental via Newark, but that gets very good reports. You probably won't have much time for shopping and eating unless you pick a later connection there though. Someone else on here loved Delta, but I can't think where you change over on that one.

 

[Keilmeister]

Someone mentioned to me that the London airports are quite nice and I figured that would be a good ease in the kids with a short flight first off I figured we would fly from Glasgow/Edinburgh down to Heathrow/Gatwick so if anyone has a suggestion on which one I should prefer?

 

[2Tiggies]

Have a read on some of these threads to get you started. As I say, never done it myself so I am not the best person to advise you on this, other than to say it is looking more attractive to me than direct for next year for various reasons.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2368210&highlight=newark

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2084192&highlight=newark

EDIT TO ADD: Delta flies via Detroit. Not sure if they fly from Scotland though. Continental flies from Glasgow and Edinburgh.

 

[Keilmeister]

Hey, I just wondered if anyone had any recent photos of the Bay Tower ... I've seen the ones on the site but would feel better seeing other peoples' experiences

 

[catherine]

We've been travelling backwards and forwards to the US since our DDs were a few months old (DH is from CA) and if you can afford to I would say fly direct! It was hard enough work with just the two children I can't imagine what it would have been like with four! If you are planning on staying on site and having your own car I would suggest getting a two bedroom villa at OKW. There's lots of room for the little ones to take naps and I find it very relaxing plus you have all the extras fridge/feezer. washer/drier etc, which I've found invaulable.

 

[Dave_uk]

hi can any one tell me how to book the 42% off at OKW thanks every one

 

[2Tiggies]

Hey, I just wondered if anyone had any recent photos of the Bay Tower ... I've seen the ones on the site but would feel better seeing other peoples' experiences

Try this thread. There will be more scattered around but you are probably best looking on the resort boards for this.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2474360&highlight=blt&page=2