First Disney/USA trip! : )

[~kathryn~]

We're staying at the Comfort Suites Maingate East - I doubt we'll use a car as it's not far from all the places.

Perhaps I'll hold off on the MVMCP party for now and buy on the day if it's Christmassy in the evenings anyway - do they sell out do you know?

I'm hoping to have a disney-sunday this weekend and get planning properly, it seems so vast I don't know where to start!

 

[paulh]

We're staying at the Comfort Suites Maingate East - I doubt we'll use a car as it's not far from all the places.

Perhaps I'll hold off on the MVMCP party for now and buy on the day if it's Christmassy in the evenings anyway - do they sell out do you know?

I'm hoping to have a disney-sunday this weekend and get planning properly, it seems so vast I don't know where to start!

I personally think you will need a car as things are not as close as you think,even satying onsite with a car some of the parks ar 15-20min drive.take into account that WDW is 42 square miles
Paul

 

[~kathryn~]

42 square miles?! Wow, I hadn't realised that. There are shuttle buses from the hotel apparently (I assume they're regular?)

Anybody stayed at that hotel before?

Thanks for sharing the pics wayneg, it looks lovely.

These forums are so useful, I'll definitely try to help others when I come back.

I feel I need the holiday now, thank goodness it's friday!

 

[paulh]

well it was when walt bought it up in the 60`s but its a little bit smaller as the crossroads and celebration were part of Disney before they were hived off.But its one piece off trivia that always sticks in my head
Shuttles should be ok but never used as had a car or used on-site transport
Paul

 

[wayneg]

Many people manage fine without a car, personally I wouldn't even goto Florida without one, the freedom of a car is just part of what makes Florida special to us. As Paul says its far bigger than you think its going to be. I believe they say Disney land is approx size of Greater Manchester.
If you can drive I would highly recommend a car, if not I an sure you will get by without.

 

[j9000]

42 square miles?! Wow, I hadn't realised that. There are shuttle buses from the hotel apparently (I assume they're regular?)

Anybody stayed at that hotel before?

Thanks for sharing the pics wayneg, it looks lovely.

These forums are so useful, I'll definitely try to help others when I come back.

I feel I need the holiday now, thank goodness it's friday!

i would double check with the hotel before you leave about shuttle times, and make your mind up about a car.
the hotel im staying at has 1 shuttle per day. You go early, and leave at a set time, (regardless of closing time)

Personally i wouldn't go without a car, the freedom and ability to go somewhere other than the parks is nice, (sometimes an afternoon doing something else is needed)

 

[~kathryn~]

Only 1 a day? Oh dear...
I hadn't considered hiring a car before, I will look into companies today. Do you know how much taxis are on average between parks?

 

[Elise79]

Not sure on taxi prices as we always have a car now (only one trip did we not have a car and that is when me & DH (then DBF were both under 25)) but I am sure someone else will give you an idea.

Just remember the distances are more than you imagine. WDW to universal is a good 20-25 min drive.

Have a look at google earth to get an idea.

 

[wayneg]

Only 1 a day? Oh dear...
I hadn't considered hiring a car before, I will look into companies today. Do you know how much taxis are on average between parks?

Once you are within Disney you can get around using their transport free.
To give you an idea of taxi fares use this estimator http://www.mearstransportation.com/services/taxi-fare-estimator.asp
For Example 192 (Old Town) to Universal will be approx $32+tip so you are looking at $70 round trip, you will also have to consider airport arrival and departure, that will cost approx $120 with tip.

A car will cost you around £125/week incl insurance depending on size you want but then you have car parking to pay at the parks at approx $15/day. A good starting place for car rental is Dollar.co.uk or usrentacar.co.uk but there are many more.

 

[WizardLarz]

The number of shuttles from a hotel will differ from once to several set times each day. Most drop off at The Ticket & Transportation Center; from there you'll take Disney bus, boat or Monorail to the park of your choice. Other hotels take you directly to each Theme Park.

Each hotel is different so you will want to check on how your hotel operates their shuttle service.

 

[stacy87]

Hi everyone!

I'm 5 weeks away from my first ever trip to Disneyworld (and America!) - it's been my childhood dream to go and now age 25 I'm finally getting to go!

Just a few questions I was wondering if you could help with:

1) Where would you recommend getting theme park tickets from and with an 11 day trip how much can you realistically do?
(I had visions of doing disney, orlando, busch gardens, seaworld and everything but from reading some of these threads that may be a bit much! Would disney and universal be a good combo? I'd love to do the harry potter world as well as disney.)

2) Is Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party not to be missed? I'm going with my partner and it's not cheap to get in but obviously if it's worth going we could make that our Christmas present to each other. Has anyone been? Or is it Christmassy enough without getting tickets to the evening?

3) Is the Cinderella Holiday Wish Stage Show free? And does it apply to people not staying in a disney hotel? (The same with the Osborne lights).

4) If you have a breakfast ADR, I assume you can't access the park earlier? I know the earlier the booking the quieter it tends to be but as I say I'm not staying in disney itself.

Thank you so much! Any advice or tips would be gratefully received!

Regarding your first question - myself and my best friend went for 10 days in July, and we managed to go to 3 of the 4 Disney parks, Seaworld, Universal & IOA, Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove. we had an awesome time and just went at our own pace. We purchased our Disney tickets on arrival at our hotel, but we bought the Orlando Flexticket and Discovery Cove package before we left through First Choice.

 

[Andrew*A]

I agree with all of the advice given so far. I only want to add how important it is to hire a car. Although having to pay for parking at the parks can add up over two weeks, this is easily justified by the freedom and flexibility you get with a car.

My family holiday in Disney every couple of years and always have a car. However on my parents last trip they chose to just use the Disney transport as they were staying on site. When they came home they said that they would never go without a car again. This was coming from people who are not big drivers in the first place. Also bear in mind that the Disney transport will be far superior to that offered at a non disney hotel. You do not want to have to miss something at a park because you have to get the last shuttle back to the hotel.

It is also nice to just drive around Disney and the surrounding areas. You will be amazed how much there is to do outside the parks. The boardwalk area has become a family favourite and I don't think we would have discovered it without a car.

 

[BRiTMiCK]

Hi, I just wanted to add my tuppence worth into the mix as we never hire a car. We go as often as we can and always stay in Disney these days as thats our main destination. If you're in Disney and only venturing out a couple of times to other parks/shopping I really don't think you need one. Mears run shuttles as well as taxis so it can be chepaer and less hassle not to bother.

Staying out of Disney it is REALLY important you check out what the shuttle service is like. I've stayed at the Carribe Royale (a few years a go now)and they were perfect - lots of shuttles to all the destinations we wanted, and we just grabbed a cab for the odd thing that wasn't spot on. But we stayed in a fairly cheap hotel on I-Drive once and they really were terrible. They only dropped and picked up in Epcot for Disney, which was fine but the latest one back left at the same time as Wishes finished so you couldn't see that and get back to the shuttle in time. And once they didn't turn up at all and half the hotel was waiting and had to get cabs back. We ended up doing Universal and Sea World at the beginning of our trip and then moving to a Disney hotel for the second half (for more reasons than just the shuttles!)

I guess what I'm trying to say is Disney (and not going elsewhere too often)/good shuttle service - don't feel that you have to, unless you want to. Poorer shuttle service - definitely get the car!