Ultimate Orlando trip!!

[Aäsiela]

Ok people I haven't been to Disney since 2011 and a lot of things have changed. I am planning to go in Aug 30 2021- Sept 12, 2021. This will be our once in a life time kind of trip as I don't anticipate being to go back till at least 2027. I will have a seven almost eight year old girl, a four yr old boy and 1 1/2 yr boy myself and my hubby.

If money was no option and you had to stay on Disney property what would be your dream trip?
Where would you stay? (not a dvc member)
what are you have to do's at each park for the kids? (not rides)
what are your must do rides?
would you visit other parks? if so which ones and for how long?
Since you'd be staying on property would you rent a car or just uber if you go off property?
Would you use an in room sitter for a date night? if so which company
Renting a stroller is a must but which one with the new restrictions on sizes?
Would you do an amazon shipment to the hotel for essentials? i.e. sunscreen diapers etc.
Anything extra you would for sure buy like an annual pass or a food/firework event etc.?
Any else I missed?

 

[marchingstar]

my most honest answer is that if it were a once-in-a-decade trip and the only time my kids would all go as kids, i would wait until at least 2022.

disney parks have a lot of restrictions and reduced experiences right now. and although a vaccine is coming, i don’t think the experience will be back to normal by aug 2021.

even as someone who visits often, i see value in waiting. i think that would be even more true if i visited once every 10ish years.

i do love thinking about disney trips and talking about what’s felt most “worth it,” but it would be insincere to jump right there without saying something about timing.

 

[ottawamom]

I have got to say I totally agree with the advice @marchingstar has given you. Your children will enjoy the trip in 2022 or 2023 just as much and things will be a lot more normal at Disney by them.

I would recommend that you pick up a good Disney touring book and spend the next few months reading and researching. (Touring Plans writes a good book) Everyone has their own ideas of what suits their family so asking what others would do may not work for you.

Once you have narrowed some ideas down please by all means come back and ask for opions on your choices but you are asking for someone to plan a trip without particulars of your families likes and dislikes/needs.

 

[Aäsiela]

Thank you for your candor I do appreciate it.

We have put off this trip for three years now. Another year will not make a big difference except in price. The longer we have put it off the more we have had to save I finally got a second job this year to make it work. (yes i know crazy during covid) Our original budget was $5000 with flights and now it has to be at least $9000. Thank you @ottawamom I have lots Disney world books and I agree touring plans unofficial guides to Disney are awesome. so is DFB guide and adam hattan. I have booked this trip four times. now I just want to go for broke and overdue everything and anything.

so if you have suggestions on how to over due it experience wise that would great. I personally know what i would do if it was just me but with kids I'm at a loss. I know we'll definitely need to do breaks during the day. I guess I'm looking for peoples dream trips that I can rip apart and piece back together for us, if that makes sense

 

[wdwmom3]

Thank you for your candor I do appreciate it.

We have put off this trip for three years now. Another year will not make a big difference except in price. The longer we have put it off the more we have had to save I finally got a second job this year to make it work. (yes i know crazy during covid) Our original budget was $5000 with flights and now it has to be at least $9000. Thank you @ottawamom I have lots Disney world books and I agree touring plans unofficial guides to Disney are awesome. so is DFB guide and adam hattan. I have booked this trip four times. now I just want to go for broke and overdue everything and anything.

so if you have suggestions on how to over due it experience wise that would great. I personally know what i would do if it was just me but with kids I'm at a loss. I know we'll definitely need to do breaks during the day. I guess I'm looking for peoples dream trips that I can rip apart and piece back together for us, if that makes sense

Honestly I think this is really hard to answer right now. Many things that people would do as part of dream trips, some dining, dessert parties, club level etc just aren’t operating right now. We have no idea when they will return or how things will look in the future.

 

[happily single]

Since I feel planning is as fun as the trip, I say Start Planning!
i would do a split stay, renting points from a reputable rental agency. I used both Dave’s and another large rental company, whose name escapes me, for out “big trip”. We stayed in a studio at the Poly and a studio at both Animal Kingdom lodges.

I would also spend the money to get a rental car. While Disney transport to and from the parks is great we enjoy being able to leave property for breakfast or shopping.

 

[badiggio]

As long as it's safe by then,I wouldn't put it off.Life happens as you've already experienced.i'd rent points and stay at wilderness lodge.Transportation is a breeze,especially with the boats to magic.I wouldn't rent a vehicle,but i would get park hoppers .This way you could take your time wherever you go, not be rushed,and go to any park as many times as you want.

 

[Best_Vacation_EVER!]

I think the main thing for me would be what offerings are back to being offered then (fireworks, tours, fireworks cruises, parties, restaurants, FP+, etc...) --- with the current offerings available --- a once in a lifetime trip will miss a lot right now. I have no idea what will be coming for the time period you're planning but here are the splurges we done in the past that we've enjoyed....
- Club level (some people don't like it but we do --- especially in the morning and for our days we do pool days)
- We split stay between an Epcot Resort and Magic Kingdom resort. We love Beach Club Resort and love the CR
Theme Park view when fireworks are on.
- We love the tours and special events (Savor the Savannah, Disney After Hours, Highway in the Sky, etc...)
- We like the Epcot and Animal Kingdom dessert parties -- for us the MK and DS are still okay but I'm not
sure I'd recommend them. We enjoyed the Fantasmic offering --- while not a real dessert party we
had a good experience with that.
- We'd usually go to the Cirque show (can't wait to see the new one.)
- You'll be there during the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot -- lots to do there for adults. (Our DS aged out of the
childcare center awhile back --- never used anything else though...)
- We do go to Universal as well. We've did one day visit to Legoland and DS enjoyed it at the time (he was 5 at the
time.) We've also gone to Cape Canaveral (the 8 and 4 year old might enjoy it if there's a launch going on then...)
a few times and DS enjoyed it.
- If you're staying at a resort with pool Cabana's that may be worth for you.... or at the Water Parks
- For a "date" brunch the one they normally have offered one at Cali Grill on Sunday mornings that was awesome.
- DH loves golf and each trip he has golfed at the Disney golf courses --- reserving is very easy and they offer
morning and evening specials.
- We've done a couple of in-room offerings from Disney Florist and were happy with what they provided. (Just
a heads up if you order something other than an in-room and it's for day of arrival they may just hand it to you as
you arrive at the front desk.... distinctly unmagical.)
- If money is truly no object then VIP tours would be awesome.
- If you have a car (rental or you drive there) you can check out the malls, outlet malls, etc...
- a V&A reservation would also be amazing for a date night if offered.
- Fireworks Cruise (we prefer the Epcot version since usually they'll go to DHS as well if the show times are slightly
different. We'd done birthday cakes, champagne, etc... on the cruises. We loved it each time we've done them.

 

[Minniemoo15]

If you can splurge - deluxe on property is hard to beat. Our favourite is Polynesian but we also love Beach Club and Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We love the After Hours events if those are back. It truly feels like you have the park to yourself .

I wouldn’t rent a car - part of the fun for me is the Magical Express experience. Ubers (or MinnieVans - if they are back) are great options when you don’t want to take Disney transportation.

The water parks are a lot of fun -our favourite is Typhoon Lagoon.

We love the dining plan (again, covid dependant). Some of our favourite restaurants are Ohana, 1900 Park Fare, Yachtsman Steakhouse, Le Cellier, Biergarten, Homecomin, Sci Fi Dine In and Artist Point. If you can swing it, dinner in Cinderella’s Castle is pretty special for a first time visit.

Ahhh - how I miss dreaming about Disney! Have fun planning. I can’t wait to start planning our next trip. Hopefully for March 2022.

 

[tinkerone]

Since there are 5 of you you will need a resort that will accommodate 5, keep that in mind.
If money was no issue, with the children the ages they are, I would stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge with a savannah view room. That way the children would be able to watch the animals in the morning while eating breakfast. They could watch them in the evening before bed or even when the youngest is having a nap they can go out and see the animals. It's lovely and educational for the children. If you went concierge it could offset the cost of food and drink but I'm not totally sold on the value. That is all personal. We tried it once and had I not got a incredible deal on the room I would have felt it was a waste but with three children it could show a better value. You wouldn't have to purchase breakfast or some snacks. They would have a small lunch selection and a small dinner selection, kind of tapas style.
But yes, for the times I would not be at the park, with children of those ages, I would go with AK.
However, there are pros and cons with everything.
Also, if the parks stay below capacity for a while, 2021 would not be a bad year to go. At full capacity I would be second guessing the trip, it gets crowded, and once the gates are fully open you will want a resort you can relax at. JMO.

 

[kuhltiffany]

I would go a week earlier so your kids don't miss the first week of school. In Florida they go back earlier so it's quiet then.

 

[TammyLynn33]

Uggh I feel like we are in the same place . We’ve cancelled august this year ( Disney discovery cove tampa trip) and now Christmas.
We currently have May and mid august 2021 booked.
for august it depends on for us the quarantine policy when we get back ( because of school timing )and honestly we are on the verge of canceling as we don’t believe the mask mandate will be gone and worry about masks in summer fla heat.
We have DVC and now a sizeable travel
Bank with JetBlue so I’d be ok going and not ha I guess the full experience but I don’t want to go and be miserable either and trying to keep masks on in the heat.. I just don’t know.

Our ultimate trip Disney and discovery cove for a down day. Our trip in May has us at Ak savanna view and riviera ( bought haven't stayed yet ) we usually attend own after hours party of some sort and have one character meal. And always MK day one .

We will be renting a car, no matter when we go for awhile. Which we don’t normally do but I’m not a crowd person and the buses .. I don’t know if my new pandemic anxiety will like buses to and from the parks. I currently don’t go to the grocery store if it looks too busy.

so many things to think about.. planning so the best though , have fun with that ..

 

[grantclaire]

Hi, we usually stay offsite, but did stay twice at The Beach Club resort was very nice. Great pool and it was nice to be able to walk to Epcot. We were given a free upgrade to Club level which had breakfast and snacks during the day which the kids liked!

 

[caisland]

I think your budget is going to make a lot of the decisions for you.
If the budget is $9,000 and prob at least $3,000 for flights only leaves $6,000.

Pop Century and tickets for that time is $4,886 US or almost $6,500 CDN. Then there is food, snacks and transportation. I really think the rental is out. Would cost you $1,000 CDN including parking fees at resort.

AK - Savanah is $10,870 US or $14,000 CDN. So see what your budget does and decide from there whether to save more or settle for less of a room