First Family Trip to Disney

[4forMe]

Why are you set on doing all parks? Will this be your only trip to Orlando ever?

If you figure ~$80pp/day times four parks = $320pp for tickets

A 4 days Disney ticket is $247. 5 days is $252. 6 days is $258.

My advice? stick to Disney for this trip. Buy the 6 day tickets - on the "relaxation days" go to a park for 1/2 the day or just after dark when a park is open until 10 or 11pm.

I think you mentioned the beach. Remember that the beach is an hour from Orlando. That's a lot of time and gas. Your kids would probably have more fun riding Splash Mountain or Kali River Rapids multiple times.


If you are dead set on trying to do MK, Universal, and SW, please let us know cause you're going to get a lot more posters trying to convince you otherwise.

My guess is that the OP is trying to do Disney AND Universal to appease her older teens that are 17 and 19 years old. Most teens that age want to do the thrill rides at Universal. If this is their only family trip to Orlando for awhile, I can see why the OP is trying to do both.

 

[mommyof3sons2004]

Thank you all for your thoughts and advise - the reason for the four parks is as follows - my husband wants to do Sea World (the only thing he has asked for specifically for the whole trip plus my twins love whales, dolphins, etc) - the older boys want Universal - and I want the twins to experience Magic Kingdom because they are so sweet and innocent I want to see their eyes light up at the characters, castle, etc. This is very likely the one and only "family" trip we will take to Orlando with the older two as we won't be able to afford it for a few more years (three in college at the same time) and by then they will be in college and/or have jobs and vacationing with mom and dad won't be nearly as fun as going with friends. Thanks again - I am loving the advise and suggestions.

 

[Marionnette]

Thank you all for your thoughts and advise - the reason for the four parks is as follows - my husband wants to do Sea World (the only thing he has asked for specifically for the whole trip plus my twins love whales, dolphins, etc) - the older boys want Universal - and I want the twins to experience Magic Kingdom because they are so sweet and innocent I want to see their eyes light up at the characters, castle, etc. This is very likely the one and only "family" trip we will take to Orlando with the older two as we won't be able to afford it for a few more years (three in college at the same time) and by then they will be in college and/or have jobs and vacationing with mom and dad won't be nearly as fun as going with friends. Thanks again - I am loving the advise and suggestions.

Totally understand where you're coming from. It's so hard to please everyone!

Do the older kids even want to do the MK? Would it make sense to split up on the days that they want to do Universal or are the younger kids looking forward to WWoHP? If you split up, you would only need 2 tickets to Universal for the older kids (and no Disney tickets) and then Disney tickets for parents and the little ones for a couple of days (and no Universal tix).

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

A few random thoughts...

I recommend the Orlando Flex ticket, which covers Universal, IoA, Seaworld, Aquatica, and Wet N Wild, for 14 days. Honestly, I'd skip WDW entirely due to the price of adding just one day there.

If you rent a townhouse or condo with a pool, you might not want to bother going to the beach. OTOH, if you get the flex ticket, you could do a water park if you wanted to.

Renting is going to be cheaper if you go closer to Universal/Seaworld, rather than Windsor Hills (which I LOVE--but it's a little pricier since it's right next to WDW). The Unofficial Guide has a ncie map of where the different developments are--they all start to look alike when you're surfing vrbo. Your little guys may not want to leave the house if it has a pool.

Speaking of the little ones--you might want to consider 2 days at Seaworld (again, with that flex ticket, no extra cost involved, beyond parking). When my yonger DD was 6, we took her, and she just couldn't get enough! We ended up doing a second day, and she would have gone all week if we'd let her.

I have 4 kids, too--they'll be DD16, DS14, DD8, and DS5 when we go this summer. I completely understand the budgeting and planning issues you're facing, with trying to keep everyone happy and entertained. I will tell you, the one thing they agree on about an Orlando vacation is, they all love, love, LOVE the house with the private pool! They love other aspects (free wifi, free videogame rentals, etc.), but they ALL agree on loving the pool. Seriously, how often does that happen?

 

[mrsklamc]

If you want your 1-day WDW experience to include the castle...well, yes, you're stuck with MK. But characters are at all 4 parks and I really think you'll get more 'eyes lighting up' with a DHS or EPCOT day. But, I'll include a disclaimer that newer things like Turtle Talk with Crush and Soarin' are more what I love about Disney than Fantasyland. To me, I can take my nieces and nephews on a spoke and wheel ride similar to Dumbo anywhere- but other things at Disney are more magical & uniquely Disney.

Also, some families continue to travel as a large group after college, and I think you increase your chances future buy-in from your oldest kids if you take them to HS or Epcot.

Whatever you do I hope you have a wonderful vacation!