If you're only going to take them once, I'd wait a few years until they're between 5 and 10 or so to maximize both the ability to retain memories and ability to see the experience through a child's eye. If you're going to go once when they're young and then again later, taking them at 3 or 4 might be ok.
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We will be doing a two week Florida trip next year for a combination of our 5 year anniversary and my wife finally finishing school. We went through looking at all the costs and have figured for about 8,000 for the entire trip, which includes everything.

Is early June already the super busy and hot time at Disney World? I will definitely make sure go there on the weekdays.
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Go during the school year if you want few crowds.
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I took my family in early December last year. For a week at a Disney resort it was around 6k. That was hotel, park passes and we got the free dining plan.
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They have Disney meal plans that are like $70 for adults and $25 for kids per day. If you are staying on Disney property it's pretty convenient. It's a lunch, dinner and a snack each day plus they give you a mug that you can refill at your hotel. The meals include entree, dessert and a drink.

If you figure $10-15 for lunches and $25-$40 for dinner and $5-$7 for snacks (Bottle of soda, gatorade, ice cream bar), then it's not too bad remembering that you're paying Disney prices everywhere you go. Reservations are needed typically for the dinner places but they just scan your arm band after you eat and you're good to go.
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We loved the dining plan. It's super expensive at the parks. They usually ring up the total of the meal prior to applying the free dining credits. For two burger/fries/drink combos and three kids meals (smuckers sandwichs/chicken fingers and fries) it was over $80.
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Unfortunately that's not an option as my wife is in her last year of school. But it's just the two of us so I am not overly concerned with crowds. We know there will be people but just hope it isn't so bad as to make it awful.

What is the fast pass or arm band situation these days for skipping lines?
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You can get up to three fast passes (60 days prior to stay if on Disney property, 30 days I believe if off site). They tier the rides so you can't use all three fast passes on the best rides. The mistake I made was getting fast passes spread out throughout the day. You can't get anymore fast passes until you use the first three. Once you use all three you can get a single fast pass at a time. I would get three fast passes for the AM and then just have the Disney app on your phone and see what they have available and book on your phone after you use the first three up.
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Thanks. Book what on your phone? Rides?
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Yes the rides. You can book the fast passes through the My Disney Experience App.
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We waited until the kids were old enough to ride everything. I hated the idea of always having a kid that would have to stand aside while the older kids rode something. Six was the perfect age as far as my kids were concerned.
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We have pretty much replaced Disney with Jamaica at this point. The all inclusives in Ocho Rios are one hell of a value compared to disney these days.

I did promise my youngest we would go to Disney one more time so I'm hoping I'll be lucky enough to find one last really good deal and call it good.
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That new fastpass system really ruined Disney for me.
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I read an article in a finance magazine about a year ago that one of the main reasons Disney is raising their prices is for crowd control. I'm sure making the extra money helps in their decision making process.

They are losing a bunch of money on espn fwtw
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When I was doing work for Disney, I was told that they market research how high they can go before losing traffic. Once they adjust their fares, the other parks follow and adjust their's upwards. Free market research, plus they can still be cheaper to compete even with a price increase.
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