First timer, driving from Alberta....Any advice on...

[mommy2]

Hi all!

I just found this forum and am so relieved. Can anyone help me out here?
My husband and I, our 1 year old and my sister and brother in law are all driving to Florida this summer....from Alberta (about 4400km). Interstate 4.
The reason for driving...I am terrified of planes and I'm not crazy about taking my 1 year old on one for that long of a flight also.
We are planning on renting a motor home. The nearest location to us to rent is Calgary. Can anyone suggest a place with clean, reliable units?
As for Disney world. This will be our first time there. We've been to Disneyland several times but never to Florida. I don't know what to expect. Are there rides I can take my 1 year old on? I've also heard that you can't get to the Magic Kingdom except by boat, bus or monorail. Is this true? You mean you can't walk from certain resorts or anything?
And, where should I stay? I'm looking at outside the park because of price...but is it easier to stay at a resort in the park? I seriously need some advice, tips, anything anyone can offer.
We have a wedding to go to while we're there and so we're planning on staying a total of 4 nights because of drive time. Thank you in advance for any responses. mommy2

 

[GeorgeG]

If you're going by motorhome, you might as well stay onsite at the Fort Wilderness Campground. This is a top-end facility and will be less expensive than even most off-site lodging.

The Magic Kingdon is, by comparison, within walking distance from the Contemporary Resort, but certainly not a short distance. If you're staying anywhere on-site, go with the boats, buses, and monorails. WDW is about 47 square miles and most everything is spread out.

Yes, there are many rides you can take a one-year-old on. WDW is not your typical amusement park, even though there are some rides that are best done before lunch. A lot of what WDW is about is the general atmosphere that you can experience without thrill rides. Most, if not all, bathrooms (including some men's rooms) have changing tables for doing the diaper thing, too.

 

[SandraC]

WELCOME! Good luck on your driving experience!

YES! Consider Fort Wilderness Campgrounds, Disney's own campgrounds. We had friends stay there for a week and loved it! It's reasonably priced, although I find the Value Resorts about the same price. You don't have to spend your entire trip on campground, maybe half camping, half resorts.

Visit the DISNEY FOR FAMILIES boards here as well for great tips on bringin children to WDW. Last year our ds was 15 months old and went on TONS of rides at all the parks and loved the water parks too!

Did you order your WDW Vacation planning video? Call WDW 1-407-W-DISNEY or visit the web site. www.disney.com

To get to the Magic Kingdom by car/motorhome, you drive to a parking lot, park your car (if you staying off site you'll pay $7.00 per car, I think $8.00 for motor home ~ free parking if you are staying on-site). After you park your car, you get on a tram (most zoo's have these types of trams) it's sort of like an open air bus type thing (I'm sure you can find pix of one on the internet). The tram will take you to the TTC (transportation and ticket center), from there you get your tickets, or if you have tickets just proceed to either the monorail or a ferry boat to get to MK. This can take some time. From entering the parking lot, getting on and off the tram, taking the monorail/ferry can be about 30 minutes. There are three MONORAIL resorts, Grand Floridian, Poly, Contemporary Resort. These are deluxe resorts and can get very expensive, but they are worth a walk around or have a meal there. Each of these resorts has character meal which are GREAT! Excellent way to meet characters!

Go to www.mousesavers.com for great deals on resorts and more. We got a $154.00 night USF room at a Disney moderate Coronado Springs Resort for only $94.00 USF, we saved $60 per night! We are staying 10 nights, so that's $600 USF!

If you want a character meal, you'll need to book in advanced, especially if you want to have breakfast with Cinderella, Prince Charming and other Princesses in Cinderella's Castle in magic Kingdom. See the RESTAURANT BOARDS here.

Often I see $29.00 USF per night rooms listed on the main page of this web site.

Only 4 nights????? What ticket's are you getting? You are driving such a long way, can you swing a little longer trip? WELCOME! Sandra

 

[funetics]

We're from calgary and I can honestly say that many of the RV places rent units. Some of the ones that have good reputations and sales staff that are wonderful are Novak, Western RV (they're in Airdrie and Red Deer), Majestic. Check them out! Good Luck
Nicole