Going to WDW for the first time with two daughters!!!

[redears]

Hi,

We are planning a trip to Florida for the first time with our girls May 2005. They will be 12 and just shy of 15 at the time. I am starting early to read and get all the info I possibly can to make this the best trip for them. I would love to make it an annual, but if not, I want it to be so memorable for them. I have only been twice myself...in 1983 and 1987. So I know there are very many changes.

What I am hoping is from all you veterans is some info on how many days is a comfortable visit to Florida if we take in Busch Gardens, Seaworld, Universal and perhaps the Space Center.

Even though we have timeshares, I am getting the impression, we would have the best time staying at a resort inside WDW,...even if we cannot get into a timeshare there. I am thinking about All-Star Movies. Any feeling about that?

I have been reading up on the restaurants and thought Rainforest Cafe was a must, but I see more people writing about Ohana's, etc. Does anyone strongly recommend or not recommend a restaurant or counter-service?


As you can see, any help would be MUCH appreciated!!!

redears

 

[kaylajr]

First WELCOME !!!!!!!!!!!

This is a great place to get all the info you could ever need.

we have always gone for one week and spent 4 at WDW
1 at sea world one at universal and one down day

however we always felt rushed so this year we are taking 12 days

2 travel days
5 @ WDW
1@ sea world
1@ universal
leaving 3 open days

HOpefully that will make for a better trip for us

I know several people will say the only way to experience WDW is on site
I don't know we have always rent a time share condo (my MOM"S)
or now the way we go is a private pool home
we like the room it give us ansd the flexiblity

well have FUN planning
as several here will tell you planning is almost as much fun as the trip

also have you called for the free planning video from Disney if you haven't been since 1987 you may want to check it out to see some of the new stuff

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I would take at least 5 days for WDW, 2 for the Universal parks (3 is better), 1 for Seaworld, and on for KSC and 1 for Busch Gardens. That is at least 10 days.

I have mixed feelings about staying onsite at WDW (advantages either way), but I would really recommend staying onsite while you are at Universal. You get the front-of-the line privledges if you are an onsite guest and the hotels are wonderful.

I would not stay in one place for all the parks. Your kids are old enough that it isn't such a hassle to move and you could then try out several different hotels/resorts. We stayed at Pop Century last month and enjoyed it.

You also might want to give yourself a day at the beach at the end of your trip, either after KSC if you want an ocean beach or after Busch Gardens if you want the gulf side. Check out the Ron Jon Resort. They were booked for our April trip, but it looks wonderful and would be a nice way to end a vacation.

T&B

 

[BriarRose59]

Welcome to the DIS redears!

My girls are about the same difference in ages: now 13 and 16 1/2. We did what you are planning to do several years ago. We took 2 1/2 weeks and really enjoyed being able to take our time. We stayed at Cocoa Beach first for 2 nights and went to the space center. We drove from there to Orlando stopping at Jungle Adventures. You really need to stop at one of these roadside attractions to get the feel of the old family roadtrips. We drove on to WDW and stayed at OKW the rest of the trip. We drove to USF and SeaWorld from there. That was back before the resorts were built at USF though. This year we are staying at the Royal Pacific for 3 nights so we can get front of the line privileges. This is just my opinion, but, we have stayed at all tiers of Disney resorts and enjoy the home away from home resorts the best. Don't feel that you have to be able to trade your timeshare for a DVC resort, you can pay cash and stay there. That is what we have done until this year when we bought into DVC. The ability to do laundrey in the room is an important perk for me as well as the kitchen where you can at least have breakfast in the morning and sandwiches if you don't want to cook big meals. We have tried to have the 4 of us in one regular room but I have to tell you that 3 females and 1 bathroom just don't mix. We stay in 2 bdrms now. A good way to get a good discount on the room is to buy at least 1 annual pass. You can then get the AP rate for the room which can be a significant savings. Also know that if you want to buy park passes now, you can and that way you can get them before the next price increase because they don't expire.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Micca]

Welcome to the Dis redears I agree that 10 days to two weeks would be a fair amount of time for all those activities(and maybe a little "down" time).

May I suggest spending some time on the various boards here at the Dis, then posting some specific questions? There is sooo much info here it is mind boggling. Fortunately, you wisely have started the process early enough to make some sense of all this data and plan the ideal trip.

 

[Sarahsmom85]

We are going this May and have rented a Villa offsite for 15 days. Even with this I don't feel I have enough time. LOL If they come out with a FITS pass next yr, (this yr they end May 31) this is the way to go for over a 7 day stay. This pass gives you addmission to all parks, the water parks, Disney Quest, Pleasure Island, other offsite places and even Kennedy Space Center and a bonus is a Breakfast. Your girls sound like they are at the age where they would love the water parks and Disney Quest. They price is great $311.

As long as you are renting a car anyway why not stay offsite. I think if you are only doing Disney staying on site is for you. But if you plan to do a lot more than just Disney, staying elsewhere is fine.

Money saving, If you don't already belong to My Points PM me and i will send you a link. Use My Points to earn Rainforest Cafe GC's. I have $50 for this trip. Get a charge card 2000 points and use it for things you would get everyday and pay it off and the points will add up fast. I wish i had gotten mine before Christmas or I'd have more GC's my now. I also have GC for Olive Garden, Uno's, and I'm getting my bottled water at Staples. All free from Reward programs.

Universal Studio offers all kinds of deals on tickets so keep and eye on that site as the time gets closer. You can get a mulit day pass for around $89. Right now a radio station is offering 1/2 food tickets but they have expiration dates.

Check out the site ibidusa.com they offer offsite deals. I have picked up some mini golf and food discounts.

I'm going with two 18 yr olds and we plan on having a busy, active, fun time with out breaking the bank.
i will be writing a Trip report when we return. Targeting a Budget, Offsite, Disablity vacation.

Pm me, I love helping people plan. I'm helping a friend plan a two day universal vacation for july. Yikes......

Plan ahead and you make the best of your time and money.
Linda

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Hi there.

Well, we stayed in a timeshare approx 15 minutes from the various WDW parking lots and we liked it better than staying onsite. Having a car was great too. I can not stress enough how great it was being able to come and go as we pleased and not have to wait for Disney / Resort transport.

The only plus I have ever found (aside from the theming and pools) to staying onsite is the availability of Ultimate Park Hopper (UPH) passes, which are passes to everywhere within WDW (including pleasure Island, Disney Quest & the waterparks). Pleasure Island and the Water Parks can be used as plus features on the Park Hopper Plus tickets but Disney Quest is ONLY included with the UPH pass.

I have never been to Busch Gardens or The Space Center.

But I will tell you from my experience at the other places, you will want at least 5 or more days at Disney (WDW). There are 4 different parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Disney Studios) and a downtown area (shows, shopping, clubs, dining and Disney Quest), mini golf (2 of them), backstage programs (swim with dolphins, go behind the scenes at the parks etc.), and in May you might want to hit the 2 water parks (Typhoon Lagoon & Blizzard Beach). There's also boating, parasailing, resort hopping etc.

I can't imagine doing less than 5 days during a moderate attendance period like May.

Likely, you'll want more time there than that. There is no way ANYONE can do all of what is at WDW in less than several months .

Now, I don't know your daughters, but I do know that when I was their ages, you could barely drag me out of WDW

Universal & Islands of Adventure, with girls that age you will likely want at least 2.5 days. If they like thrill rides. There is more than thrill rides there. I , myself, do not like Universal Studios much at all, but it is quite popular with teens. The Spider man ride is NOT to be missed. It's worth the price of admission alone. US is two parks. I think AAA offers a 3 days for the price of 2 pass you can use there. Worth getting for you, I think. When I last went, it was just two adults, and it was during a slow time and we did everything we wanted to do in one day at both parks. But we don't like thrill rides and we felt the movie rides paled in comparison to Disney Studios.

Seaworld can be done in a day. Seaworld also has Discovery Cove which is another opportunity to swim with dolphins.

If you are renting a car, you might also want to check out some offsite dinner shows. Medieval Times, Pirates Dinner Adventure and Arabian Nights are all great. On site, I think you'd like the Luau or the Hoop Dee Doo Review.

Dining at Disney is great. Book a few character meals. They are great! The characters walk around to each table, and honestly, sit down dining at WDW does not always cost much more than counter service ( for 2 adults on my last trip, counter service cost us about $22 , sit down meals at most restaraunts cost us about $32).

I think 2 weeks should be enough time to do everything you have listed and not feel rushed.