Disney World

[Connie]

My daughter, age 30, is a princess. She wants to go back to Disney World. Personally, I could care less about going there, but she is my daughter, I love her and want to make he happy.

Disney can be VERY expensive and I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for us.

We'd like to go next September or October. We'd also like to stay in the park and use their transportation.

Any Disney experts here?

[djmom]

my only advice is to sneak in a flask. lol.

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[INfamily]

Going to Disney in the fall should mean smaller crowds and lower prices in general. Our family loves the Wilderness Lodge. I hear there is an new addition to the Contemporary Resort that is nice. We were going to do a trip there in June, but after looking at costs and thinking about the crowds, we've opted for St John again. If we could go on a trip in the fall, we would have done the Disney thing.

[Greenskeeper]

Stay on the monorail. You can do a shorter stay and get more out of it than you would staying for longer at a resort outside the park or that is reliant on the Disney bus system.

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[soxfan22]

Connie - I was once a cast member at the Contemporary Resort...Since those days, my wife and I have gone every year, and we love the place. I can probably help with any specific questions you might have.

[liamsaunt]

I go to Disney every year, so I can probably help you.
I would suggest October over September. It is hot in October too, but for me at least, September is borderline unbearable. It's so humid, and September is more crowded.

Another plus to October, assuming it's all adults on the trip, is that Disney runs a Food and Wine festival in October and part of November.

If you are going all adults, don't limit yourself to the monorail resorts--they are the priciest, and you may not be spending most of your time at the Magic Kingdom. Before we started traveling with kids, John and I preferred the resorts by Epcot--you can walk into the park from them--Boardwalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club. There's a Westin (Swan) and a Sheraton (Dolphin) there also if you have points to cash in.


Register an email address with the official Disney parks site--they distribute indivdual pin numbers to those addresses on occasion that can save a lot of money--around 40% off the regular resort rates. Request their vacation planning dvd and you'll be in their system. I get pins about three times a year.

[loria]

we were able to get a great deal (including tix and acomodation) at their cornado (or is it condado?) resort--it's one of their 'lesser' properties, but honestly it was fine and they had bus service to the parks and downtown disney, etc. the pool area was really nice--and , frankly , it's disney, so they don';t let alot go wrong.
meant to add that this was about two years ago and i did a package thru expedia---over labor day and it was super affordable

[greyhoundmom]

Our 17year old granddaughter competitively cheers with the Greensboro All Stars and they have won an all expense paid trip to the World's competition in Orlando in April. She'll be flying, staying and eating for free. Her mom, younger sister, GHM and a friend will be staying outside the park at the Foridays Resort. It looks nice on line, 2 bedrooms, LR, kitchen, washer/dryer for $135.00 night AAA rate. Has anyone stayed here? Also, 12 year old grand wants to go to Disneyworld for one day. Any one day passes and how much am I going to spend on it? Thanks for any help as I've never done Disneyworld.

[Greenskeeper]

LOL I just re-read your post. I thought you said your daughter was "3" not "30".

I second the recommendation for the Yacht or Beach Club. We stayed there and loved it. Easy boat access to Disney Studios and walking distance to Epcot which appealed more to us adults. I believe the Canada pavillion is at the entrance where we enjoyed and adult libation and beautiful fireworks show.

The monorail is GREAT if you have a sleepy, over stimulated toddler to get back to the hotel quickly but not necessary for an adult only trip.

[jmq]

Dont know if your princess has a daredevil streak in her, but mine does, so a couple days over at Universal on the crazy coasters and movie rides is a huge load of fun. Its also worthwhile to transfer over to an on-property hotel like the Hard Rock because your room key (at least this was the case a few yrs ago) gives you front of the line access to all the attractions.

And, if you are thinking about October AND any of you like the Halloween stuff, the Halloween Horror Nights at Universal feature state of the art haunted houses and “scare zones” that are pretty wild – you are guaranteed to scream your head off. Very worth it to pay extra for the VIP passes for that event as the lines are crazy.

[Connie]

Thanks for all the replies! I'm pretty much Disneyed out, but when we asked where she wanted to go, Disney was on her list.

I'll start the planning today. We did think of either the Wine and Food festival or Halloween. I'd just like to avoid as many kids as possible. Sometimes, the crowds make me crazy.

[liamsaunt]

I know how you feel, really! But, you are not going to be able to avoid the kids at Disney, that is for sure! I have always thought that they should open an adults-only resort...lots of people honeymoon there. But, I guess their marketers know more than I do.

You really might want to consider the resorts over at Universal. It's only about a 10 minute drive back to Disney, and the hotels are SOOO much nicer. The resorts are actually quiet, they have nice linens, huge comfy towels, turndown service, welcome bottle of wine, citywalk is right there with all its restaurants and clubs, and, as jmq said, you get front of the line access at the parks. I really like the Portofino Bay Hotel over there.

No matter which Disney hotel you choose, the linens, toiletries, etc. are the same (small and scratchy)--they all come from a central facility. And, every resort is LOUD. The walls are paper thin--you can hear everything that goes on in the room next to you, even at the "deluxe" hotels. Plus, there is what John and I not so fondly refer to as the "6 AM stampede" wherein half the hotel goes tearing down the halls at 6 AM, shouting and stomping in their eagerness to get to the parks early. Just thinking about it is giving me a headache.

[jmq]

Liamsaunt is correct about the quality of those properties and Citywalk at Universal has lotsa of different dining options. And indeed, the Portofino is the most quiet of the 3 Universal properties, although it was pretty sweet when I mentioned at check in at the Hard Rock that we were going to be there during our anniversary and they upgraded us to the concierge floor.

All 3 are Loews properties so sign up for their “YouFirst” affiliate program for extra perks.

And if staying at Disney, the advice you got about staying in the Boardwalk/Dolphin/Swan area for an adult trip was spot on = walk into the back entrance of Epcot and quick boat to MGM etc.