we did that right before my son went into middle school yet he was big enough to ride all the rides. I was just starting to make money, I had a lot of PTO but, some of the trip would go on credit cards. We decided that this time in our family and sons life will never come again and and we did the vacation.

We did 4 days at Disney. 4 days at Universal. 1 day at Sea World. 2 days at Daytona Beach. 7 days at the St. Pete beachs. 18 days. Way too long of a vacation. But, it really was a time that would never come again. He wanted to devote time and begin playing competitive football and baseball. I took jobs to further my career but didn't allow that much time off at once.

The time is now. Now never comes again. Kids outgrow hanging with the parents too fast and before you know it, the time has passed.
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I don't know that I totally agree.....
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I imterviewed and got far enough along that they showed me around the I.T. infrastructure. They showed me a lot of data. One thing I remember is that the average family that visits Disney World is 2 parents/2 kids making less than $50K. Thats not a lot in most parts of the country.

Decided I didn't want to drive to Orlando no matter the pay and didn't take the job. About a year later, they outsourced everyone to India.
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Polynesian > all

Mostly because of Trader Sam's.
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Man, just priced a trip for me and my youngest to see what the prices are now. Wow, its definitely getting to the point that you have to decide if its worth the expense now. Especially if you have already been there.
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It's always been expensive, but the only thing that's really gone up have been Disney hotels. You're better off staying off-property.
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I don't want to deal with having to rent a car and having to stop and pay for parking every day. Especially at their rates. When you add those two things into it its pretty much half a dozen of one or six of the other.

EDIT

Just doing a quick search I came up with this for two people age 10 and up.

7 day ticket parks only - $820
Condo on vrbo - $816
parking - $140
Car rental - $194

Total $1970 not including food and flight


booking through disney

$2070 and that includes one quick service meal per day, never having to drive, and not dealing with parking. Plus having access to Extra Magic Hours if we choose. Also not including extra food and flight.

Disney really does go out of their way to make sure staying on property is a viable option. The primary thing the condo gets me is a kitchen. But thats really only going to be for breakfast and we don't eat a big breakfast anyway.
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Yet, almost every day its way too overcrowded with people. Supply and demand.

Even in 2008/2009 when the country was on the brink of a economic collapse, the park was still packed.

People want their Disney experience. Although, you might start seeing people only go once.

If you do go, check Alligiant Air flights from KC to St. Pete. You can get direct flights for $50. It's about an hour drive from Disney.
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I have gone in the middle of August....the weeks before Thanksgiving and the first 2 weeks in December and it wasn't overcrowded. A lot of it depends on timing.

And it is just my opinion....I wouldn't ever fly Allegiant.
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I've stay on & off property. Always enjoyed off property more simply because we always rented a house with a pool. After a long day at the parks, it was always so relaxing to have a quiet place to "get away", relax in a pool without a billion people running around you.
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we travel to Springfield on Alligiant at least once a year to visit family. It's not just theprice, it's also a direct flight. I fly out of Tampa l have to spend all day traveling to Houston, North Carolina etc. instead of a two hour direct flight to Springfield.
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I only fly southwest for domestic flights. Very happy with them.
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We went to DisneyWorld for the 1st time, this past December. My youngest daughter wanted to go there as her high school graduation trip. We stayed at the Port Orleans - French Quarter, stayed a full 4 days and had a blast.

Damn expensive, but everyone had a great time, so it was worth it
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wife and the kid and i are going in march. wife turns 40 during the trip. any ideas on gifts for her 40th? and i've already got the surprise butt secks on the list.

thanks in advance.
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We are going to be staying at the Boardwalk but used the dvc points rental option. It is basically half price to stay on property with all of those benefits.

Is it relatively easy to maneuver and eat at the different on site options at the different hotels?
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