My wife and I will be taking 2 small children to Walt Disney World in Florida in 2 weeks. I get to go as a bonus thru my work. We are staying at the Hilton. My question is what is the weather like down there in January? Any good ideas on what to see and do with twins that are 2 years old? I am kind of looking forward to it. A chance to get out of Iowa in January. Oh well, enought blabbing. Any responses are greatly appreciated. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Amnorix:
We are considering booking our next trip to Disney. The kids are clamoring for it, and I'm thinking we "owe" them one presumably last trip there. Frankly, there's alot more of the world I need to go see, but whatever.
The key thing here is that we're likely going early in the summer, in June, so swimming/pools are suddenly an important consideration, and somethign I know NOTHING about at Disney. So a few questions:
1. is it worth it to add the water park package to the base tickets. Basically, the 8 day magic pass gets you into one park per day. Add park hopper for $234. Add water parks for another $234, and it's like "holy crap, that's $500 more just on tickets?!"
2. alternative to water parks is to stay at a lodge (we will be staying at the park unless more experienced heads on here give us a better plan) that has a great pool. Which resorts have the best pools? Our general rule is to cheap out on accomodations -- as long as it's clean and functional, we're fine. We don't loiter in the room -- we're too busy being out and about, so springing extra for rooms isn't our usual plan. But if a park has a fantastic pool with several slides, etc., maybe...?
Thoughts? I'll take referrals to websites for more insight. Glad to do my own legwork.
If you want a website that gives you everything Disney/Universal or Orlando then I would use this site:
TBH, staying offsite has it's pro's and con's just as staying on property does too. Are you going there for the "Disney" effect or is it more of an all encompassing trip?
Also.....are you flying or driving down?
I think you are crazy for going in June considering no matter where you stay the pools/parks/rides/restaurants will be excessively crowded. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mosbonian:
Also.....are you flying or driving down?
I think you are crazy for going in June considering no matter where you stay the pools/parks/rides/restaurants will be excessively crowded.
Thanks for the info. We're flying down. Boston to Orlando is not a short drive.
I know it will be crowded, but we'll be there the same reason everyone else is -- school is out. I'm either going to go when it's crowded, or take the kids out of school (not an option the wife will even consider), or never take htem to Disney again, which isn't cool with 11 and 8 year old boys. [Reply]
I always thought of the water park sort of as, "I can go to a water park at home, and I can swim at the hotel," so I never saw the need. But, it's Disney, so I'm sure the water park is more awesome than any other ones.
And we pass on the park hopper because it seems to take all day to do one park for us, and then we just want to go back to the hotel. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Amnorix:
Thanks for the info. We're flying down. Boston to Orlando is not a short drive.
I know it will be crowded, but we'll be there the same reason everyone else is -- school is out. I'm either going to go when it's crowded, or take the kids out of school (not an option the wife will even consider), or never take htem to Disney again, which isn't cool with 11 and 8 year old boys.
I've been in June several times, and love it! Weather is very warm for lots of swimming, but can get pretty hot during afternoon. Typically there isn't a ton of rain it seems, we've always had mostly good days 1st week of June.
Go early every day, and when you start to get hungry for lunch, you'll feel the heat rising and the crowd swelling, that's when it's time to bail. Take an extended break back to your hotel or house w/ pool (great idea, I'd definitely take that route). The daily downtime will be worth it, trust me! Head back to parks late afternoon, just before dinnertime, when the crowd thins out again as people leave. it won't get real crowded again til 7-8 after dinner time. By then, it's very likely you'll be ready to pack it in for other ventures, or more private pool time at your house rental. Over a long vacation, this approach will make your vacation MUCH smoother avoiding heat and crowds, especially w/ kids. Pick 1 or 2 nights to stay out late if the boys want to, that'll keep em happy to make up for the other early shut down evenings.
Also, I've always felt that Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are better as 1/2 days. I get bored with a full day at both of them. Oh, and AK is HOT man, the humidity in that park is serious! And there isn't much breeze anywhere. Because of this, I value the Park Hopper big time!
Another suggestion is to rent points from Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members, and stay at one of the DVC villas on property. It'll basically get you the Deluxe resort for Moderate price. Still maybe more than your don't spend it all on accomodations approach, but something to consider anyway. Wife and I stayed at Beach Club in the Boardwalk area our last trip, for the price of a Moderate. Studio could fit all 4 of you if the boys would share a hide-a-bed couch. Cramped, but doable. They have an awesome pool, and you literally walk into the back of Epcot, and can walk 15-20 minutes to Studios entrance. Note the bus system SUCKS from these resorts, but you'll still get Magical Express, Extra Magic Hours, and the free transit buses if you choose, plus no parking fee for the parks if yo have a car.
Oh, and Blizzard Beach is very cool, but it gets so freakin crowded by mid-day, I honestly don't think it's worth it. You're better off finding hotel/house w/ nice pool to utilize than spending the $250 on water park. I've only been to Typhoon Lagoon once, was off-season so not too crowded, but also pretty chilly. It was a killer wave pool, but otherwise meh. [Reply]
One other thought Amnorix, altho your wife still may not agree. Last year wife and I pulled the kids out for last 3 days of school for a road trip to Orlando (1st drive). Mostly Universal trip, but did 2 nights @Pop Century, w/ 1 day @Magic Kingdom, then we switched to Hard Rock Hotel (AWESOME!!).
Anyway, my wife was very much against missing school too, to get an early start and beat much of the school's out crowd. Ours were 13 and 10 yrs old, 7th and 4th grade. School teachers and principals didn't love it, but my point was the family bonding and memories are worth far more to these kids' lives than 2-3 days of school. 2-3 days of school isn't even a blip on the long term education of a young human being. They learn FAR more about life, living life, than sitting in a school taking tests. This applies as a 1 time exception, not a rule, and we explained that carefully to the kids, so they don't think we'll do this again. It was very much worth it, didn't hit the post-school crowds til the last 2 days of our trip, and we were wearing down and not out as much anyway by then. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ct:
Anyway, my wife was very much against missing school too, to get an early start and beat much of the school's out crowd. Ours were 13 and 10 yrs old, 7th and 4th grade. School teachers and principals didn't love it, but my point was the family bonding and memories are worth far more to these kids' lives than 2-3 days of school. 2-3 days of school isn't even a blip on the long term education of a young human being. They learn FAR more about life, living life, than sitting in a school taking tests. This applies as a 1 time exception, not a rule, and we explained that carefully to the kids, so they don't think we'll do this again. It was very much worth it, didn't hit the post-school crowds til the last 2 days of our trip, and we were wearing down and not out as much anyway by then.
My wife is the same way about missing school but when we went to WDW, we took them out for a week at the end of February. It was a great time to go. There were almost no lines anywhere and the weather was in the mid-70's, which was great considering we drove from home to the airport in the snow. The boys survived missing the week of school and it didn't affect their grades at all. [Reply]
I've been in June several times, and love it! Weather is very warm for lots of swimming, but can get pretty hot during afternoon. Typically there isn't a ton of rain it seems, we've always had mostly good days 1st week of June.
Go early every day, and when you start to get hungry for lunch, you'll feel the heat rising and the crowd swelling, that's when it's time to bail. Take an extended break back to your hotel or house w/ pool (great idea, I'd definitely take that route). The daily downtime will be worth it, trust me! Head back to parks late afternoon, just before dinnertime, when the crowd thins out again as people leave. it won't get real crowded again til 7-8 after dinner time. By then, it's very likely you'll be ready to pack it in for other ventures, or more private pool time at your house rental. Over a long vacation, this approach will make your vacation MUCH smoother avoiding heat and crowds, especially w/ kids. Pick 1 or 2 nights to stay out late if the boys want to, that'll keep em happy to make up for the other early shut down evenings.
Also, I've always felt that Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are better as 1/2 days. I get bored with a full day at both of them. Oh, and AK is HOT man, the humidity in that park is serious! And there isn't much breeze anywhere. Because of this, I value the Park Hopper big time!
Another suggestion is to rent points from Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members, and stay at one of the DVC villas on property. It'll basically get you the Deluxe resort for Moderate price. Still maybe more than your don't spend it all on accomodations approach, but something to consider anyway. Wife and I stayed at Beach Club in the Boardwalk area our last trip, for the price of a Moderate. Studio could fit all 4 of you if the boys would share a hide-a-bed couch. Cramped, but doable. They have an awesome pool, and you literally walk into the back of Epcot, and can walk 15-20 minutes to Studios entrance. Note the bus system SUCKS from these resorts, but you'll still get Magical Express, Extra Magic Hours, and the free transit buses if you choose, plus no parking fee for the parks if yo have a car.
Oh, and Blizzard Beach is very cool, but it gets so freakin crowded by mid-day, I honestly don't think it's worth it. You're better off finding hotel/house w/ nice pool to utilize than spending the $250 on water park. I've only been to Typhoon Lagoon once, was off-season so not too crowded, but also pretty chilly. It was a killer wave pool, but otherwise meh.
BTW....the one thing some people don't know is that your kids can actually do some educational things at Animal Kingdom and EPCOT that a teacher will accept for extra credit work if you take your kids out of school. (This is mostly for pre-High School)
I have rarely gone in the summer months, even when my kids were young. We took them out of school and worked with the Teachers to get assignments for the week, showed them things they would be doing at WDW to account for extra credit, and never had any problem with the School. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ct:
One other thought Amnorix, altho your wife still may not agree. Last year wife and I pulled the kids out for last 3 days of school for a road trip to Orlando (1st drive). Mostly Universal trip, but did 2 nights @Pop Century, w/ 1 day @Magic Kingdom, then we switched to Hard Rock Hotel (AWESOME!!).
Anyway, my wife was very much against missing school too, to get an early start and beat much of the school's out crowd. Ours were 13 and 10 yrs old, 7th and 4th grade. School teachers and principals didn't love it, but my point was the family bonding and memories are worth far more to these kids' lives than 2-3 days of school. 2-3 days of school isn't even a blip on the long term education of a young human being. They learn FAR more about life, living life, than sitting in a school taking tests. This applies as a 1 time exception, not a rule, and we explained that carefully to the kids, so they don't think we'll do this again. It was very much worth it, didn't hit the post-school crowds til the last 2 days of our trip, and we were wearing down and not out as much anyway by then.
I actually would love to do this, and actually agree with you....but my wife probably wouldnt. :-)
We went to Disneyland last June and had a blast. I think i actually enjoyed it more than DW because things were crammed closer together and their isnt as much walking. We stayed on Disney property which was awesome. [Reply]
Disney says it's going to boost enforcement of its popular FASTPASS reservation service.
Disney's free FASTPASS reservation system allows guests to come back to a ride at a specified time within a one-hour window if they don't want to wait.
Walt Disney World and Disneyland have been letting visitors come back any time after that window and still be admitted to the FastPass line. Now Disney says it is putting an end to any wiggle room.
The Inside the Magic blog reports that Walt Disney World is now enforcing both the beginning and end times, allowing guests holding a FastPass to only return during the one-hour window stated on the slip.
"Walt Disney World is now enforcing both the beginning and end times, allowing guests holding a (FastPass) to only return during the one-hour window stated on the slip. And though it will affect regulars who know how to use the leniency to their advantage, most Walt Disney World guests already do return during the designated time window and likely won't notice much of a difference," writes Ricky Brigante of Inside the Magic.
Some say this is the first step in making way for Disney World's yet-to-be-revealed ride reservation system called XPass, where resort guests can reserve their ride times weeks and months in advance. And it is expected to allow for bookings for character meet and greets and key viewing spots for parades and fireworks.
"Given the tremendous popularity of FastPass with our guests, in fairness to all we want to ensure we provide the same opportunity to everyone," said Disney spokesman Rick Sylvain. But, he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "if a guest experiences extenuating circumstances that affect their ability to return, we will deal with that on a case-by-case basis." [Reply]
I guess it makes sense. If you're supposed to be back between certain hours you really should be. That sort of keeps the system intact. Otherwise you just have lines. We used the FastPass on the Buzz Lightyear Ride quite a few times. I can't believe how many people stand there waiting in a big line when you can get the Fastpass and then go see the Monsters Inc show, come back and ride with no wait. [Reply]
Originally Posted by blaise:
I guess it makes sense. If you're supposed to be back between certain hours you really should be. That sort of keeps the system intact. Otherwise you just have lines. We used the FastPass on the Buzz Lightyear Ride quite a few times. I can't believe how many people stand there waiting in a big line when you can get the Fastpass and then go see the Monsters Inc show, come back and ride with no wait.
I liked to go snag a FP early in the morning, them come back later in the evening. Sometimes it would be 6 or 7 hours after the return time had expired. [Reply]
Originally Posted by blaise:
I guess it makes sense. If you're supposed to be back between certain hours you really should be. That sort of keeps the system intact. Otherwise you just have lines. We used the FastPass on the Buzz Lightyear Ride quite a few times. I can't believe how many people stand there waiting in a big line when you can get the Fastpass and then go see the Monsters Inc show, come back and ride with no wait.
Beleive it or not, the fastpass lines really weren't any longer late in the day even with the people that save them up for later.
It sucks that they are enforcing the return time now. Made the evenings sooo much less stressful. [Reply]
