Please,i need so much help!!!!

[tommyvegas]

First i just want to say thanks to poohBWV for the help with this!!!

I have so many questions,i hope everyone can help me!
This is going to a long one,so please bear with me. lol
The background,i live in the states,my girlfriend,and 3 daughters (10,7,5) live in CANADA. We are planning a trip for NOV to DW for at least 15 days.
I want to know if i should get passports for all of them just to make sure customs is smooth,we will be flying out of toronto,will they have to go through customs there or in orlando?
As for where we will stay,i was thinking of spliting time between CONTEMPORARY,and AK.How hard will it be to get suites? there will be 6 of us all together,i am planning on bringing their nanny.(ok it will be my b-day that week and i wanted to spend some alone time with mom lol)
How hard is it going to be for me to get the governor,or royal suite?and does anyone know anything about the larger suites at the CONTEMPORARY?
for airfare,i was able to find a quoted price $6349.00 for all of us,business class,in US dollars. this seems ok by me,but if someone knows where i can get better pricing for business clas,i would luv to know.
im going to stop here,i have alot more questions,but i think i should start out slow.

thankyou everyone in advace for your help

 

[grover]

whewwww, if your nanny can't make it let me know!! sorry no help here-only reg rooms and airfare for this bunch!

Grover in Winnipeg

 

[MaMudduck]

Can't help with the suites issue, you might want to post over on Hotel board.
but I can suggest that you book flights from Buffalo to Orlando, in Canada we get hit really hard with taxes on flights to the U.S.
Passports: there is another thread going on that right now, but I'm always of the opinion that anyone that travels back and forth should have a passport. Since 9/11, it just makes it that much easier, it's not mandatory (yet!) but it is easier. There may also be some parental/ custody issues, that if they had pasports may resolve those too.
Customs: if you fly from Toronto, you will go through U.S. customs in Toronto.

grover - bite your tongue, there's always wishful thinking (& lotto 649)

 

[tommyvegas]

grover be scared,be very scared. I think the girls are angels,but mom thinks they are devils,myself i think they are just like their mom. lol ok she can be a devil too sometimes.
MaMudduck,wow i can tell you are a mom,you have esp,if it wasnt for the lotto 2 years ago none of this would have ever happened,now im scared that you figured it out. lol
the flying out of BUF thing i have looked into alot,i just cant seem to find a direct flight,its hard enough to get this clan through 1 airport let alone 2 lol,you have to remember,im the only guy going on this trip with 5 girls,i have a little grey hair now,i dont want to end up bald. lol
i have checked out the other thread about the passports,and myself,i think its a good idea to have them no matter what,i am just using this post to convince mom.she can be stubborn lol
omg i just typed that and now shes gonna read it,im in trouble!!!

thanks for the help you 2

 

[grover]

LOL-Wendy---I have been waiting for hubby's numbers to hit for a longgggg time-I'm done waiting!

Regarding airports and the little ones, many airlines allow families with small children to board first-so that may make things a bit easier for you guys. It is alot cheaper to fly out of the usa,we saved 1600.00 doing it that way last Nov, we did have to change planes in Atlanta but it was pretty painless. Oh and AKL was perfect in Nov-there were no crowds at the resort-we loved it-will stay there again!

Grover in Winnipeg

 

[MikeJ]

For a group of that size, you might want to give some thought to taking a 2- or 3-bedroom unit at one of the DVC properties. I would think either the Beach Club Villas or Boardwalk Villas would fit your needs very well (the 3BR are available only at BW, not BC).

I'm a DVC owner and we had 6 in a 2BR at the Boardwalk last Christmas (4 adults, 2 pre-teens) and it was very spacious. A cheaper alternative to getting a room from CRO would be to rent points from a DVC owner and have them make the reservation for you. You can find more information about this on both the DVC Discussion and the DVC Rental boards here. Or ask me or one of the other DVC owners here.

- Mike

 

[PoohBWV]

Hi Tommy:

Your welcome for the help in getting you here. Glad you're with us. As far as suites go, you need to get those booked right now. There are a lot of options at WDW for groups of six including villas at the Boardwalk and Old Key West, cabins at Fort Wilderness etc. Definitely have a look over on the Resorts board here as well. And keep asking questions.

 

[bunnyfoo]

I've flown both business and coach to Orlando on Air Canada and I can honestly say there isn't much of a difference. I thought there might be more leg room for my boyfriend who is 6' tall, but there wasn't any difference ... the seats were a bit wider but that's about it.... the snacks are also the same Well, I guess you'd get on and off the plane first ... I don't know if that will help or not, but you might be able to save some money if you fly coach.

 

[Jo-Anne]

I thought Southwest out of Buffalo had direct flights (and pretty cheap too). My family of 4 has stayed in a studio at Boardwalk Villas and it was plenty room for all of us...they have a fridge, microwave, toaster sink in room. The one and two bedrooms at Boardwalk have full kitchens I think. We love the Boardwalk area...walking distance to Epcot, boat to MGM and buses to other parks. I would definately get passports for everyone...makes life a lot more simple. However, if you don't, ensure you have photo ID and a birth certificate for everyone. Have a great time and ask a lot of questions in advance....it helps so much to have a good plan in advance even if you don't stick to it!!

 

[tommyvegas]

thanks everyone for the help,i knew i came to the right place with my questions!!!

i did some checking today,and we can fly out of BUF with only 1 stop on delta,and save about $600 US dollars,im sure the girls will find away to spend the money we save on the airfare. lol
it is just a quick trip across the bridge and we can be at the airport,so im leaning that way now.

We have been looking at the villa's,my question is with the girls ages,i figured that being close to MK would be better,i think thats where we will spend most of the time.

this is the first time any of them have been to WDW, and the first time i have ever gone with such a large group,let alone so many kids. i just want to make sure that the girls have the time of their lifes,and do nothing but smile!!!

please any tips or hints anyone has would really help,im still kind of new to this family trip thing,and alittle scared. lol

 

[emmalgin]

Southwest is cheaper and flights are direct to Orlando. I did it and it was very easy. Spent the night before at a Suite Hotel that includes parking for up to two weeks and a shuttle.

Flight with 6 and 9 year old is simple and under 3 hours......

15 days and Disney only...... I always say you should maybe split and do Umiversal. Their hotels are very nice, on-site and loads of extras....

I don't think there is enough at MK for 15 days....

 

[grover]

Our family LOVES lslands of Adventure but we could do 15 days at Disney easily-there is so much to do!
MK could be 3 days no problem,then there are the other 3 parks-you can easily spend more than one day at each of them,plus the water parks-2 of them,minigolf-loads of fun!
There is also your resort and if you are at AKL you will for sure want to have a couple days to just chill out and take it all in,they have numerous daily activities-they give you a list at check in and they are so worth taking in!
There is also downtown disney-always worth a couple of visits-and if you love to shop you could spend even more time there! Boardwalk is nice for a evening-have dinner there.
But if your family likes coasters then you have to check out Islands of Adventure, if they like movies then Universal is much tamer,if they like Animals then do Seaworld,seaworld usually has tickets at par for Canadians. I could go on and on-no shortage of disney stuff to do if you only plan on staying onsite!

Grover in Winnipeg

 

[tommyvegas]

sorry about that we were out of town for the weekend,and i got yelled at everytime i went near the laptop to sign on. lol

we were planning on doing seaworld,and universal at least for a few days,i too think 15 days at WDW is a little too much,but i thought that the girls would like staying there the whole time. i dont mean to sound bad,but im really scared about moving 5 ladies to different hotels 3 times,its going to be bad enough fighting with them about packing and getting to use the bathroom,let alone trying to move this traveling circus to different hotels. lol
please dont get me wrong,but im still kinda new to the family thing,and having 5 girls to deal with on a long vacation is a big task lol
we are really getting alot of info from all of you,and it is starting to make me think that we can pull this off!!!

any tips would be great,food,packing,travel tips for the kids,things to do,things to see,just about anything you can think of would be of great help.

 

[MikeJ]

For a bunch of planning tips, check out the planning page over at Deb Wills' site. There are a number of excellent suggestions in the various planning guides.

- Mike

 

[marli]

hi, we just got back from a disney vacation- just to add my 2 cents worth- when going thru customs we were asked to see passports both ways. My three kids are all on my passport ( this will no longer be allowed since they have changed the law but it is still ok until my passport expires. On the way back I was also asked to show ID for the kids and all I had was one of their birth certificates, the customs guy told me that I really ought to have ID (birth cert) for the kids as well as the passports. He still let us through but he did ask the kids a lot of questions such as where did they go, who did they see, who are we (pointing to me and my husband). Considering that my little one still can't talk, I was kind of surprised with the interogation. My advice would be to have all the ID you can get just in case! Good luck with the planning- that's half the fun.

 

[tommyvegas]

marli,
thanks for the heads up!!
We went this week and got the girls there passports,i dont want to mess around with the little things lol

ok, i have booked us flights on Delta,with a change of planes in ATL, we have an hour layover,so im sure i can move the herd in that amount of time. lol we have res's. for 7 nights at AK,and 7 nights at CONTEMPORARY.We are renting a car,when we are there,how is the parking at the hotels? can anyone help me with this?
we are planning on doing seaworld for 1 day at least,and UNIVERSAL for at least 2 days.
So,i am that far,now time for more questions, the girls are 5,7,and 10, im a middle aged guy i have no clue as to what they like,please can all you moms help me here and let my know how to make this too much fun for them!!!

 

[neo's white rabbit]

I think a nice long chat with their Mum/your girlfriend (?) should sort out what each of the girls like. Have you not managed to spend much time with the girls up till now? A nice baptism of fire you have arranged for yourself

Make sure you have some quiet/downtime planned in - too much input/excitement can lead to v.tired young frazzled nerves!

 

[MaMudduck]

With all those girls, you HAVE to go to the Princess' breakfast @ Norway in Epcot or Cinderella's Royal Table Breakfast ( I think they also do dinners too.) a must for little princess' !
http://wdwig.com/cb.htm There's more info there and at the home page of the DIS. Make PS ressie's at CRO.