Queenie - you have taken my words out of context I am afraid. I didn't mean that WDW was a big waste of time, I meant that all of the long travel times travelling backwards and forwards between hotels and the different parks seemed like alot of time wasted.
...it seems it until you finally sit down and you think....oh boy...it's nice to be off the feet
I agree though conceptually it seems it and the place is HUGE...but it isn't so much the travel time but rather the waiting time. Hence my dislike of the busses...but as I say I love the boats.
Thanks for jumping in with your thoughts everyone. I do like the idea of visiting the Kennedy Centre, and the Harry Potter World thing opening in Spring 2010 has me completely intrigued. IF we were to do the trip we would also include New York (cause we just loved it), Washington, Boston, maybe even Philly, then WDW. I think I could only get DH to do 6-8 days, probably could push him to the 8, 1 at Harry Potter, 1 at the Kennedy Centre, 4 in New York, 3-4 in Washington, how much does that add up to??? 18 days, yikes and then there is also Canada. We would love to do maybe 5 days there. Don't know whether it would be best to fly straight to Canada, then down to New York, then keep travelling downwards. Something to think about.
All those destinations are great. I think to do WDW properly then at least 8 is needed. We always do the 10 day WP and more (great water parks) although the last day is usually a wrap up hopping around etc. Universal needs no more than 1. Kennedy is GREAT.
We stay in the area for at least 2 weeks.
3-4 in Washington sounds about right. You have all the monuments (Lincoln is just so beautiful) and the museums.
There is logic in moving down...but we tend to move up? We usually do Orlando at the beginning and then LA at the end.
I'm not sure I would start with Canada....unless it was a skiing holiday. But as I say there is much logic in your thinking.
We did a 2 month US Canada driving holiday [I'm sure you are thinking how on earth did you get the time off!!! Negotiate and use the force
] and have done all those places. I too ADORE New York. The train from New York to Washington is actually not bad. It was on a different trip we did that but I really enjoyed it.
But we mostly did it fly and drive. [please excuse any incorrect ordering...I'm a bit sleepy]
We flew to Orlando - did that. Flew to NY did that, drove to Washington, Vermont (ben and jerry's factory
), Boston
, Philly, Gettysburg, etc. It was fantastic.
We drove up into Canada to Niagara Falls (A zillion times better from the Canadian side although the "town" over there is rather tacky. Sorta like the Gold Coast cavill mall.)
We went up to Quebec and Montreal [-30degrees windchill...nice huh] and Toronto.
We flew across to the west coast of Canada and did Vancouver and surrounds. Lake Louise, Banff, Sunshine [skiing one day each] and Jasper a few days skiing. Then to LA, Vegas and SFO.
I know it is a LOT of planning. This took AGES to organise. But if you take the time you can get a lot done and it really does work and I completely agree with wanting to do LOTS of stuff while you are there anyway. [noone enjoys that 12+hr flight
]
We would definitely stay onsite. The Wildnerness Lodge is making me drool and smile, but I would love to hear other recommendations. We definitely wouldn't hire a car, I think we would either use the transport available but I would be more than happy to fork out for taxis between parks and hotels. A few hundred dollars spent on my sanity for a taxis is money well spent, hehe
What am I talking about, there is no holiday, this is just me dreaming, but as I said, I am very determined, my dreams usually become reality,
We drive everywhere we go as it is so much easier and you have control. I love taxis in NY but it would drive me nuts having to use them to get around Orlando. Orlando is a city built around cars. [Once you see the size of the WDW parking lots you will understand
]
Kennedy, Universal, Any other destinations...you really need a car for that. A taxi all the way out to Kennedy would be pricy
and a tour you can be forced to leave early as it is when they are leaving.
I dunno...I just love the control you have by having your own car. The only bad part is that it dongs all the time.
[Does ANYONE know why american cars go dong dong dong dong dong until you close all the doors
and don't say safety...because donging me to death makes me an angry driver.]
For accommodations we are trying heaps out soon so I'll get back to you
I had a workmate go to WDW for the first time (to any Disney park) with family who had been before and loved it. He did some research but very little detailed planning. [he did have the advantage of those who had been before but they were still not disboard planners
]
They didn't even book the rental car - just asked at the desk on arrival. He stayed offsite and drove around. Had a wonderful time.
Planning helps you heaps and you can enjoy it and appreciate it in much greater depth (and find all the really cool stuff you might miss) if you take the time.
But it isn't something to worry about excessively.
Just sit back and take it in slowly. Starting now is great....even if it is a dream at this stage.
) 
I'm from the UK but I can tell you that WDW is worth visiting, despite the super-long flights if you live in Australia. I haven't visited Anaheim but I'm a frequent visitor of Disneyland Paris, which I heard is comparable, and yes, WDW is far bigger than these two resorts. Saying that, the internal transport system is excellent and you never feel like you're wasting time, as such. Actually, it can be nice to have a bit of a rest waiting for the bus/monorail/boat!
) and they're quite reasonably priced.
