I need help planning 2 Orlando trips with young children

[w84no1]

We are taking 2 trips to Orlando with a 4 month old DD, 2 year old DD and a 4 year old DS. The first one we are staying at the Dolphin as my wife's work is paying for some of it, the second trip is our planned Disney trip in October and we are staying off site at our timeshare.

On the first trip we had not planned on doing anything Disney related as my wife will be in a conference, except for the character dinner at the hotel. She did want to go to Sea World though.

Are we crazy for not going to Disney even though we are at the Dolphin??

Here are our plans for each trip.

Trip 1 in June @ D/S

• Campfire @ Ft. Wilderness
• Enjoy the grotto pool
• Character dinner @ Garden Grove
• Sea World

Trip 2 in October (my DD will have turned 3, which makes us have to buy another ticket)

• International Food & Wine Festival @ Epcot
• Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
• Mickey's Backyard BBQ
• All the major theme parks

I haven't bought any tickets, but the lodging is already taken care of. I want to try and get the best deals on the tickets.

Are there any discount Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets? I was going to use Undercover Tourist to get our Disney tix.

Am I on the right track? Is there something that I should add to the list? Since we are going to Orlando twice instead of only going on our planned trip, our budget is off. I had planned on spending around $2500 - $3000 on our trip in October, but now I have to use that budget for 2 trips

I want these trips to be perfect for our little ones. Since my wife and I have been to Disney a couple of times and stayed at the GF, I think we are going to let the little ones go at their own pace instead of dragging them all over the parks and Orlando. Hopefully it will cost less also

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[w84no1]

Oh, forgot to mention that my wife and I will celebrating our 10th Wedding aniversary while we are there in October. I would like to surprise her with something special. Any ideas??

 

[scrappingizlife]

your trip in June, how long is it for? Maybe you could take them to one of the smaller parks while your wife is at the conference. Like AK. Or maybe I think it's US that has the Dr Suess land, that's really fun for the little ones.

 

[w84no1]

your trip in June, how long is it for? Maybe you could take them to one of the smaller parks while your wife is at the conference. Like AK. Or maybe I think it's US that has the Dr Suess land, that's really fun for the little ones.

We will be there 7 days. Not sure that I could go to a theme park with a 4y, 2y and a 5m alone, but that might be something that we do after my wife leaves the conference. US might be an option if I can get discount tickets.

Thanks

 

[eebadeeba]

You might consider Annual Passes or buying a ticket that would cover both trips and add non-expiring to it. I am not sure how long your trips are. You could do that for you and your older child, then buy just the ticket for the second trip for your wife and younger one. I think with the annual pass you get free parking (maybe someone can confirm that), so that can be used on your second trip. The Dolphin is within walking distance to Epcot (and a longer walk to HS) or the boat to Epcot and HS. It is so easy to get there, especially with the kids in a stroller. Do you have a carrier you could use for the 5mo. Then a double stroller for the other 2?

 

[w84no1]

My wife's conference has 2 day after 2pm tickets and 1 day after 2pm tickets. Are after 2pm tickets worth it?