Going to WDW in May

[Trvlnlite]

Hi all, I am taking my 4 grandchildren and daughter to Disney World in May to celebrate my birthday. We will be there for 9 days. This is a milestone birthday for me and I wanted to share this wonderful date with my grandchildren. I want it to be a special time for them as well. We have been planning and saving for the last yr and half . I have reserved a beautfiul 4 bedroom room home about 10 mins from disney and will buy several days of hopper tickets at WDW and Universal. Also, I want to do Cirque de soliel and the pirate dinner for the kids. Do you all think this will be enough for them to have a memorable trip? This will be the first time we have traveled together to another state.

We are planning on traveling by Amtrak. They will be heading out from Boston and they will meet me at Union St. in Washington DC. where I live. I am planning on booking a sleeper room on the train and bring my laptop where the kids can watch movies.

Although I have been researching the cost and where to stay for our trip since Oct 2002, I still have a few questions. I hope you all can assist me.

The first question is what train station is the best to arrive at
Kissimmee or Orlando. Our rental is in Kissimmee but I plan on renting a van for transporation.
Second question: since there will be 2 teenagers (boy and girl), one 8 yr old and one 7yr old (boys) should we get the walkie talkie things (for the teenagers) to let them go off on their own and keep in contact with them that way. I don't want to hinder them experiencing all they want because I might not be able to keep up with them.
third question: I have been reading about the food vouchers. Would it be advantageous for a family of 6 to purchase these?

Thank you all for reading and I look forward to all responses of knowledge and help.
Linda

 

[justhat]

I would think that letting the teenagers go off on their own would be a good idea. I went with my family when I was 16 and brought a friend with me, and it was so nice to be able to go off by ourselves when we didn't want to hang out with the younger members of my family.

 

[HeatherC]

What a wonderful grandma!!!! I'm sure you are all going to have a wonderful trip.

The walkie talkie's are a great idea. We have used them several times and find that we have saved a lot of time not trying to hook up with each other. Everyone can go their own way and touch base when you need to.

You mentioned renting a car...be sure to check out MOUSESAVERS.com for discount codes. Theses codes really do save you a lot of money.

Also not sure where you are planning on getting your tickets from, but TICKETMANIA and Paramount International Travel have really good prices.

Sounds like you have a lot of fun things planned! Hope this helps. Have a wonderful trip.
Heather C

 

[HeatherC]

One other thing I wanted to mention is that Disney is very easy going about letting you bring snacks and drinks into the parks. A lot of people bring in a soft cooler filled with munchies. Security has always just told us to have a great day. This can save a lot of money AND TIME because you don't have to wait in line for drinks or a quick snack.

Also...if you plan on eating at any of the Disney restaurants, you may want to make a priority seating. You can call WDWDINE. This guarantees you the first available seat after your check in time. If the parks are crowded, it can save you time over waiting in lines to get in somewhere to eat. We like the Crystal Palace for an early lunch...it's an all you can eat buffet....gets you out of the heat for a while and if you book it around 11:15 it will hold you the rest of the day. Plus...you get to see Pooh, TIgger and friends.
Heather