Trying to pull this off..

[Californiacruizers]

My son's (13yrs old) friend recently traveled to Disneyworld for a few days. In passing my son mentioned the trip to me. My reply "Disneyland is practically in our backyard...been there done that." My son walked away saying to himself,"But Disneyworld would be the trip of a lifetime". This statement tugged at my heart strings. A trip to DW is NOT in the budget...shhh don't tell Dave Ramsey.

However to be fair my son NEVER asks for anything. He has consistently earned a prefect grade point average, volunteers at a local nursing home on the weekends and plays on his schools football team. He is graduating from middle school in June(I tear up at the very thought) and is preparing for the HSPT exam and academic decathlon at the same time he has a lot on his plate and never complains.

Considering all things I really want to surprise him with this "Trip of Lifetime"during spring break April 2017 he also turns 14 during this time. I also have a VERY ACTIVE/meltdown in a heartbeat 4 year old daughter who will be thrilled.

We reside in Los Angeles and will fly into MCO. I plan to rent a condo or house for 4-5 days(Non-DVC) I found this option will save me lots of $$$(on average the total cost is about 500-600 total) and I am able to pay half now and half a month or so prior to our arrival. I am also planning to visit Universal Adventure Island.

Here are a few questions:

1.) DW is understandably larger than DL; can we really experience most of DW in one day or will two days allow us to see and do more?

2.) If DW can be done in one day, what is the ONE other must visit Disney Park given the ages of the kids 4,13?

3.) Are FP's worth the expense?

4.) Do you find the food prices in the park to be comparable with the prices in DL?

Thank you all in advance. I there is so much information on the boards, that I didn't know where to start.


-Helena

 

[mjkacmom]

Disney World is four main theme parks, and it can take some time traveling from one to another. You could go for 2 weeks and not see everything. That week will be very crowded, Easter week, plus a lot of NE schools have that week off every year, regardless of when Easter is. You need at least 2 days to just touch Magic Kingdom. Get a guidebook, I like Unofficially Guide. The amount of information is overwhelming!
ETA,fast passes are free, you just have to learn how to use them. If you want any sit down meals, plan months ahead of time.

 

[Imagineer5]

First, I think your son will be so thrilled - when do you think you'll reveal the surprise??

Second, as someone who visits WDW and DL, I will state that on average, I spend 3 days at DL when I go for a vacation, whereas I spent 6-10 days+ when I go to WDW. I hope you can try and get as much time there as possible, because there is a LOT to do. Considering you have limited time, and have Universal Studios near you, I might consider sticking to Disney.

1.) DW is understandably larger than DL; can we really experience most of DW in one day or will two days allow us to see and do more?

I am assuming you're asking about Magic Kingdom? Disney world as a whole has 4 parks, 2 water parks, plus Disney Springs, and tons of resorts, restaurants, etc. MK itself cannot be done in 1 day, but on a time crunch you could limit what you want to see and do it in 1 day. I would suggest 2 full days.

2.) If DW can be done in one day, what is the ONE other must visit Disney Park given the ages of the kids 4,13?

EPCOT? Again, I would suggest more time at Disney. AK and Hollywood Studios have a lot to offer too, but if you can only choose two parks, I would do Magic Kingdom and EPCOT.

3.) Are FP's worth the expense?

Before your trip you'll purchase tickets and link them to your Mydisneyexperience.com account. At 30 days out (since you'll be offsite) you can book Fastpasses for FREE - 3 per day pre-booked then once you use those, you can go on the app and add another one, use it, add another, and so on.

4.) Do you find the food prices in the park to be comparable with the prices in DL?

Yes. But be sure you look into the special experiences and meals (for your DD, a princess meal, etc). A WDW trip is unlike DL because you can pre-plan a LOT more (i.e. dining reservations at 180 days out, FP at 30-60 days out) and dining at Disney is a HUGE part of the fun, IMO! Maybe plan for a fun sit-down breakfast or lunch, or eat breakfast in your villa to save money so you can do a table service for lunch or dinner...

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

That is so exciting - the planning is so much fun. First of all I think you mean Magic Kingdom (MK) instead of DW. All 4 parks equal Disney World. I can't imagine doing DW or even MK in 1 day. I understand you wanting to do Universal also but I would put all the days in DW. I would do MK for 2 days and 1 day somewhere else. Not sure how your kids feel about Animals or Star Wars. That makes a difference. Even though we love EPCOT - I would probably miss that with only a few days. I would pick either Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom.

Fastpasses at DW are free. So don't worry about that. Food can be pricey but if can also be affordable - it just depends where you eat. What kind of food do you and your kids like?

I hope that helps.
Ask any other questions.

 

[Mousemommy1]

So, I think it's super cool of you to be planning this trip for your son.
You've already got the accommodations figured out, but you're looking at 4 parks (MK, Epcot, DHS, and AK). DW is HUGE!!! If you've got 5 days there, you should try to hit all four parks. The ticket prices are front loaded, so once you're past 3 days, the per day add on is minimal.
Fast passes are free - included in the ticket price, so yes - use them!
Food is pricey for sure, but you could do QS and make out ok - maybe plan one special sit down dinner/character meal.

 

[Soarin4us]

Visiting Universal Islands of Adventure in addition to WDW will add $200 or more for EACH of you. If budget is a concern you'd be better off adding another day or 2 to WDW tickets and skipping universal.

 

[Nancyg56]

Your plan in not realistic, IMO. You have not budgeted enough time for WDW, let alone adding Universal into the mix. This is a lot of money for a short time stay during a crowded time of year.

If you choose not to stay onsite, you need to rent a car, and you must add parking onto the daily expenses. Still a savings, perhaps, although I would be doing the math to see for sure,

If I was traveling from the west coast I would plan to go when I could allocate at least 6 days so you can go to all four parks, spend 2 full days in the MK, which I think the little one would like, and two days in Epcot.

I just plugged in April 17 thru 21 into the WDW website. I have no idea when your spring break falls.

POP Century: 864.00
CSR: 1137.00

So for a few hundred more you stay onsite, lose the rental costs and parking fees. It would probably be about a wash if you stayed at POP. You get your travel back and forth from MCO, and use Disney transportation.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

Just to give you an idea of size, the parking lot at Magic Kingdom at WDW is larger than all of Disneyland and California Adventure put together. Just the parking lot. WDW is huge.
It will be very different than you are used to. But, it will be awesome. So very nice of you to do this for your son. What a lucky boy!
Just have each child pick their three "must dos" and focus on that. Everything else will just be extra fun. You will not be able to do everything this trip, but as long as you adjust your expectations you will have a magical trip. Have fun!

 

[Princess Minnie321]

Definately book fast passes when your window opens, 60 days if you decide to stay onsight, and 30 days if you stay offsite. We just got back and the waits without a fast pass were crazy long! We waited only 15 minutes with a fast pass for a ride that had a standby wait of 120 minutes.

If your son likes Star Wars, do Hollywood studios. This was my son's favorite park because of the Star Wars attractions. We did three days at magic kingdom and did not see everything. Disney is huge and so crowded, but just prioritize the rides and shows you want to see and know you cannot see everything. No matter how much you see, you are at Disney and will have fun!

 

[Hikergirl]

What a sweet thing for you to do for your ds.
If this is your first trip to WDW then I would reconsider visiting Universal while you are there. I would take as many days as you had and use them to visit all the WDW parks.
Also, like a pp said, you could stay at one of the Value resorts and use Disney transportation. The cost may be equal to staying in a condo, renting a car and paying for parking. There is nothing like being in the Disney bubble IMO, especially if you want a "trip of a lifetime"

 

[crazylady]

This sounds like a fun and exciting trip for your family!

As much as my family LOVES Universal, I would skip it for this trip. The cost of your trip is so much more to add one day at Univ. Since you now have a good Harry Potter option close to home, I would skip Univ to concentrate on Disney.

Did you see that Disney announced a new ticket deal today? For $279 per person, you get one day in each of the four parks (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios). This ticket does not allow you to hop between parks or go to the same park more than one day. I think this ticket would allow you to experience each park while still watching the budget. Also, one day in Magic Kingdom might be enough for you because I understand there is a good amount of duplicate experiences between the two Magic Kingdoms.

I would also consider staying on-site at one of the value or moderate resorts to avoid dealing with a rental car. By the time you add parking and a rental car costs to the condo you've priced out, it will prob cost less to stay onsite in a value or a little more in a moderate.

Have fun planning.

 

[TLM2015]

I agree with the overall sentiment that you skip Universal since WDW is so big and with 4 parks to explore there is a lot to see at WDW. Beyond the parks the various different resorts are nice to see too although on my trips there I have been too busy to really look at them. I’m not sure how much a surprise you would like the trip to be but involving your son in the planning would probably help narrow down which parks and what activities he would be interested in going to. Personally, Hollywood Studios is a park that I could skip (and probably will skip on my next visit if there are no objections) easily since there is not much to do there unless you are a huge Star Wars fan then Star Tours and the other Star Wars features might be a must. Otherwise, last time I visited I was there less than half a day. Animal Kingdom is another place that many people do not spend too much time at. It used to close at 5 pm or so but now that they are adding in night features, it is opened later and there is more to do and eventually the new land will open up there but those with no interest in animals might find it boring. I like Animal Kingdom and would highly recommend the Lion King show which I think is awesome. Anywho, letting him pick what he’s interested in could narrow down the parks or attractions. That being said your 4 year old might want to spend all the days in MK which mine did when I took her last March.

I will second that looking at what is available onsite might be good because aside from being able to eliminate the transportation and parking cost, you also get Extra Magic Hours, which are only available to onsite people. Many people advise to avoid the EMH park but I find that the late night EMH are great especially at MK. When I went with my younger siblings we were able to see and do a lot at a relaxed pace before going back to MK the next day and with the crowds only saw about half the park but we had done the other half the night before so it was not that big of a deal. If you are spending a limited amt of time at WDW then that could be advantageous. This is assuming that your 4 year old is either a night owl or you are travelling with someone else who doesn’t mind staying behind. I think MK at night is really nice and kinda magical without the crowds. If you have an early riser, then the morning EMH can be great to get a lot done too especially if you have a park hopper and can move to another less crowded park or take a mid day swim break. I will warn you that hopping between parks at WDW can take about 30+ minutes even if you stay onsite and rent a car. I usually park hop anyway but usually with a hotel break inbetween. I think it’s possible to not get a park hopper but I prefer them because of the flexibility and because I do like to go to Animal Kingdom but don’t necessarily stay all day and it allows me to have dinner reservations at any park without worrying. If you are going to do only a few days at WDW and then Universal, you might not need the park hopper though and that could save additional money. Adding in Universal would add substantially more to the budget than adding another day at Disney.

 

[Lavitz]

First off amazing idea, sounds like your son really deserves all the work you're putting into this!

I am also recommending just not doing Universal. Pricing it out it is very expensive to do either WDW or Universal for 2-3 days, and gets much cheaper if you push these into the 4-5 day mark. Budget is always something my family looks at and it makes more sense for us to have 5 great days at WDW than 2 days each at Universal and WDW but have to cut back on a lot of things.

Also Magic Kingdom can't be done in one day. We're going on our third trip next week, our first trip was 4 days 3 nights and we thought we'd see all and do all no problem. We didn't come close. We spent 2 days our first trip at MK and felt like we missed everything. It was a blast, but we knew there was so much more to do. Spend the 5 days at WDW, it'll be much cheaper than splitting the trip and you'll do much more.

 

[jlovesee]

I think if you are planning on never coming back to Orlando that it is absolutely worth trying to do Universal and Disney, as long as you keep in mind you are not going to be able to do everything. Spend 1-2 days at Universal, and 2-3 days at Disney. I mean you have Disneyland right next door to you, and Universal is so very different but the quality is very similar.

I would also be concerned about staying off site, but I don't think its as big a deal as some would think. Please keep in mind that spring break is insanely crowded, so you will need to add extra time for transportation from your condo to the parks (as in double or triple whatever your directions ap is telling you), that is why I think many are telling you to stay on site, and yes it would definitely save you some time. However, if you allow enough time, and GET TO THE PARKS AT OPENING, you should be ok.

As far as the Disney parks, you are not going to do them all that's a fact. I would definitely visit EPCOT since it is so different than anything in California you could easily spend 2 days there its HUGE. By all means see Illuminations at night, since again there is nothing like it in California. Hollywood Studios isn't all that different than what is in California (except TOT which IS better in Florida than California), and about half the park is closed and under construction anyway. I would try to hit Magic Kingdom and EPCOT and then Universal. Everything else is gravy.

Jennifer