Help with planning

[RuthieT]

Its been 12 years since we have been to DW. We have two girls that will be 4 and 10 at the time of travel. We plan on staying 2 weeks to make sure we see everything and all the parks..... So what should we see and do? Stay? Time of year to travel?

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

First, I would say you need to determine your budget, as that will help determine the rest. If you can travel at any time of year (school calendars aren't an issue, work schedule isn't an issue, etc), I would say that late January and early September offer some of the smallest crowds. You can do a search of the WDW "seasons" and find out what times have the lowest resort prices.

Lodging costs can vary tremendously. You can rent an offsite condo or timeshare or vacation home for 2 weeks for a reasonable cost. You can rent DVC points to stay in a DVC resort on Disney property, or at any of Disney's many on-site resorts. Prices will vary from $100/night to $500/night, so you need to know how much you want to spend.

What all do you want to see in Florida? If you want to do Disney and Universal and Sea World, you could get a 10-day ticket for Disney, and 1- or 2-day tickets for the other parks. If you go in a warm time of the year, you can add the Water Parks Fun & More option to your Disney tickets and be able to go to the water parks several times.

You should consider getting a guidebook like the Unofficial Guide to WDW or the Passporter and read it so you can start to make decisions on where you want to go, what you really want to see and how to accomplish it.

And no matter what, even with 2 weeks at Disney World, you won't "see everything." I've been more than 25 times and still haven't seen or done everything. That's what keeps me going back!

 

[ChitownFamily]

Its been 12 years since we have been to DW. We have two girls that will be 4 and 10 at the time of travel. We plan on staying 2 weeks to make sure we see everything and all the parks..... So what should we see and do? Stay? Time of year to travel?

We stayed for 11 days the week after thanksgiving last year. At the time- kids were 7.5 & 5.
We went to: MK 2.5days, Epcot 2.5 days,Ak (1 day), DHS (1 day), 1 day of rest,
1 day universal, 1 day islands of adventure, 1/2 day (departure day) blizzard beach
We stayed at the AOA for 5 or six nights, then moved off property - got a great hotels.com deal $98 for a night at a condo like hotel (kitchen, laundry etc)

We decided to go big or go home - that's why went went for 11days, it was our kids first vacation (outside of the Wisconsin dells)
We thought we would go back again, once the kids were teens- NOPE we are heading back in 2015 (as a family) DH & I are doing an adult only food & wine trip next year.

 

[happymommy]

I agree that you won't see everything, nor should you really try! I've been about 20 times, and still haven't seen it all.

I also agree about the point - when CAN you go? And, do you want it to definitely be warm (or hot) enough to swim a lot, or do you not mind if the high is 50 degrees (F) or so, and so well, let's just say cold (to me, which it was one trip in January as a teenager, which I failed to put on my signature, as it was just a couple of days with my mom and aunt). When the high is 50, man it's cold. But that was unusual... I get off topic easily.

Last August (end of the month) I went with just my kids (husband stayed home) and we stayed 15 nights. It was perfect for us! We relaxed a lot (of course they have been many times). For that long, I would say stay off site - you can get a condo for a lot less, and have room to stretch out (and really get a good sleep at night), have a kitchen, plus washer and dryer is great (now I much prefer that to a hotel).

PM me if you want any specific advice for a long stay!!