Going to Disney World

In summer 2008, If I saved enought money. It's 5 os us going.

Anyone have any Ideas on going there, money saving tips??
Or anything else you want to say :)

Never Been, but my tip:

~Have Fun~

Look at renting a house instead of hotels.

My daughter and I stayed at the Pop Century Resort which was $99/night + taxes and included transportation to all the Disney parks and had 3 very cute swimming pools...

If you go there ask for the 1960s or the 1970s  :)

You're not going to be staying in your room that much anyway, right?

Oh and in the summer?  Take plenty of bottled water with you.  It costs $3 a bottle in the parks and at the hotels.  Also, take some gatorade with you too because you gotta watch your mineral balance in that heat....

Have a GREAT time!

Disney World!!! *squeals*

I went there for my 8th birthday back in 2000. From a kid's POV, it's the best place in America. From a parent's/older adult's POV, it's very enjoyable but will probably burn a hole in one's wallet. Be sure to save up plenty of money because there's a lot to do down there. I'm not exactly sure what my parents did but we got this discounted hotel price for 4 people and the hotel had a shuttle that took you directly to Disney World.

But other than money, Disney World rocks! (I also just so happen to be wearing my Disney World T-shirt right now. What a coincidence lol.)

I am a floridian.. fly in and stay at a disney resort, the budget hotels are fine.. they offer a service that picks you up from the airport and takes you to your disney hotel and when you leave they take you to the airport.. the disney hotel has a shuttle to all of the parks and also downtown disney, which is great!!!

I am 21, and I am going with a friend this summer, it can be affordable if you plan ahead..

If it is your first time you do not need a park hopper, because you will only do one park a day so you do not need the ability to hop around and it is costly.

I am a disney pro, so if you need any further advice feel free to email me- my email is listed on my profile.

I went in high school with marching band. We did some parades at Magic Kingdom or something. I personally think Disney World is overrated.

Ali- It depends on what you make out of it..

As an adult if you are just going for rides, go to Universal or 6 Flags..

But I think as a whole that Disney is more of a lifestyle trip.. like everyone is super friendly and aiming to please, whereas at a theme park like Universal they don't really care whether or not you have fun!

Personally, it has gown downhill a little (especially the future area in the Magic Kingdom- it's no longer futuristic at all! LoL, and it needs a paint job), but the bottom line is that Disney is the place where grown ups can be kids.. and Downtown Disney is A LOT of fun!!!

There's just something about Disney, it's magical.  My BF can't stand Disney and doesn't go (we have busch garden and universal annuals), but for some reason it has just always done it for me, and like I said earlier you can plan it out so it is affordable!

$$$ Saving Tip Stay in Old Town- that way you are right next to another amusement area and a whole bunch of moderately priced chain restaurants (red lobster, macaroni grill, etc..) Also, Old Town has a TON of like $5 buffett breakfast restaurants that are all edible- trust me, i've eaten there!

We just went last August and had a great time, despite the crowds and heat.  Just be smart about it. Plan your day, don't rush and DEFINITELY plan to come back to the hotel in the middle (e.g. crowded and hot) part of the day for a nap, swim (or both). It will keep you and the kids refreshed and sane.

To do that, you must stay on Disney property (DW is about the size of Boston.  It can take 20 minutes just to get to to the gates from the parking lot. Add another 30 minute drive and it's not feasible to go back to your room for a mid-day break. Then the kids get overexhausted and start to meltdown).

My recommendations:

1) Get The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2007 - read it, learn it, trust it! Just about everything you need to know to be a smart theme park visitor is there. Touring plans, ride, restaurant, hotel reviews, etc.  DW is overwhelming in size and if you don't know what you are doing, you can spend all of your time walking and waiting in line, hot and miserable.

2) Stay on property (echo?). The value resorts are still cool and clean with good services. The logistical perks of staying on park and using Disney transit outweigh the perceived cost savings, IMO.

3) Make your dining reservations AS SOON AS YOU KNOW YOUR DATES. Most park restaurants  accept reservations up to a year in advance and some popular character meals sell out that fast, too. You can change your reservations if you need to, but at least you've got something.

4) Get the dining plan if you can. When we went, it was included with our package.  Food is very expensive and can easily burst your budget. 

Have fun and go with the flow. Expedition Everest was AWESOME!

Bring your lunch!  The food there is way overpriced and not that good for you.

Pack a sandwich or something, with plenty of snacks.

Make sure you have very good walking shoes as you will be walking a lot. Make sure they are broken in and very comfortable.

I find the restaurants at Downtown Disney are way overpriced and overrated.  I love the restaurants at Epcot.  They are pricey, but they are really good.  And it gives you a chance to try some cuisine from another country.  I recommend the Moroccan restaurant and the German restaurant.

I got a 4 day park hopper pass.  I was there for a week.  I did 1 park a day.  On the 5th day, I went to SeaWorld.  SeaWorld was a nice change of pace.   Not as hectic as the Disney Parks.  If you like coasters, it has the Kraken, which was awesome.  We got there early and were the first on the coaster.  No one else was there.  We did 2 straight runs, non stop.  hehe

Try and somewhat plan your day ahead, leaving room for minor detours.  At least, pick the rides you want to do and aim for those.  You can easily wander for the whole day and not do anything.

Yes - the Biergaarten in Germany was the best!

And if you like nightlife, I had more fun at the clubs Pleasure Island than Vegas.

watch out for tigger. i hear he hits people

haha jk.

except make reservations to have dinner at the Garden Grill in Epcot...

you get to meet Mickey and Pluto and Chip and Dale!

and the food is good - but not low cal - but there are veggies

we had a good time there

also the restaurant in the Mexico part of Epcot was also cool, literally nice and cool & dark after being out in the summer heat. food was pretty good too.

OMG
Thanks all for your input.
I'm going to read these another day when my mom is with me so we can have a disney talk.

Has anyone used a travle agent??? Do we pay them or what? If so about how much? I live in Ontario.

yes, if you use a travel agent, usually you will pay them and they tack on a small fee -- which is how they make a living...

sometimes they can get you a better deal so that even with the fee, you still come out better

sometimes, you can get a better deal online, but you may have to make more effort to make all arrangements yourself...

Have a great time!  It will be hotter than blazes in FL in the summer and a thunderstorm almost every afternoon... so be prepared to sweat!  :)

I've never heard of a travel agent charging a fee for a vacation package...?

TA's had to start charging fees for booking air tickets because airlines cut their commission.  But AFAIK, they don't do it for a packages. At least, not in my region.

Http://www.mousesavers.com has a recommended agent, Small World Vacations  (don't know if it is somehow affiliated) but the service is free of charge.

I booked my hotel & park package  through the Disney website, but bought my air on travelocity.

All the travel agents I've ever used got their commission from the airlines, hotels etc.  An agent can help you find great deals, but remember, they won't reccomend the ones that don't pay them that commission.

i used to work at the walt disney world resort.. in fact, i still work for them now, although from chicago. so if you have any questions about anything, feel free to ask.

Wow, you work for Disney.
Tell me if you can, I want to book ONE room at a disney hotel for 3 kids and 2 adults. BUT it said that ONLY 4 people to a room :( I want the movie hotel, with Buzz, 101, ect...

I remember when my parents took us to Disney, as mfchill said, they rented a small house for a couple of weeks, and we got to go to Magic Kingdom,  MGM, Epcot, Universal, Wet and Wild, and around Miami a bit. (we had to visit as many places as possible as we went all the way from Peru)

Thing is, they were really worried about expenses, so we

• Rented a house instead of going to a hotel, as said before. It is better as it is not only not as expensive, but you have a cooker and everything you need to eat properly-that is if you don't mind cooking a bit.
• Planned and prepared food in advance (we got sandwiches in a SevenEleven, and mom prepared her healthy meals-she was dumbstruck when she saw the infamous turkey legs in Magic Kingdom, al wrapped in BACON!, i remember she even (we didn't have Burger King in Peru yet) got those burgers with 4 meat patties and made 4 sandwiches for all of the family! haha) Food in Disney can be expensive. Of course a treat or two would be alright. Nothing like an ice cream with Mickey Mouse ears.
• Got souvenirs, but not so many (for my dad, it's almost physically painful to get a pen for 5 dollars)
• They also hired a travel agency to get us the tickets and drive us to the parks every day.

The thing is we saved so much money we ended up burning our savings at Toys-R-Us! It was one of the best family trips ever!!!!

HAVE FUUUUUNNNNNNN

:D

Value Resorts now have family suites:  http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/resorts/ resortRates?id=AllStarMusicResortRatesListing Page

And I think the cabins at Ft. Wilderness Resort sleep 6.