Disney Trip...

We went the week before Christmas last year and it was great. Not very crowded at all. The whole park was decorated with lights. They have a great after the park closes Christmas parade that you need tickets to. The dinning plan is a great way to go. You get a lot of choices and a lot of food including snacks. For some of the fancier meals do cost more than one meal on the plan but it is worth it. Chef Mickey for breakfast is great and breakfast with the Princesses too. Park hopper is the way to go so you can come and go as you please. Have fun!

There are SO many ways to make it great! I agree with the other posters...go to AAA or Disneyworld.com and see what deals will be going on then. A lot of times Disney is giving you the dining plan if you stay on property, which makes it well-worth staying there (plus it really isn't any cheaper to stay off property and ruins some of the "experience").

All of the parks are worth visiting since they all offer different things. Depending on how old your other children are, you may want to do some parks more than others (Hollywood Studios has more adult-style rides, Magic Kingdom has more kiddie stuff, etc.).

I also suggest getting the park hopper pass. It costs a little more than the basic one, but it means that you can do more than one park in a day. This will really come in handy when you do Animal Kingdom (we just got back from Disney, and we had finished the entire park by noon...not normal for us, but can you imagine if you were done for the day at noon?). This also ensures that if you want to eat at Epcot every night, you can do this without having to go to Epcot every day!

We do Disney a lot (i.e. I have gone 22 times), if you need any more help, please feel free to private message me! Have fun and good luck!

I just saw a deal in the AAA newspaper that looked good enough for ME to consider Disney--and I don't like anything Disney! LOL
It was like $77 per night per person with the dining plan included (?)
It says it includes lodging for 2 adults/1 junior/1 child, Magic Your Way plan ( adm to 1 of the 4 parks each day), and Disney Dining Plan

Do you get that flyer from AAA in the mail? Her's the link on the website:
http://www.aaacentral.com/travel/disney/index.htm#

do the dining plan and plan lots of character meals!!! stay on the grounds and save money taking the bus that goes to each park all day long!!

There are a few websites that will give you all of the information you need, plus the best deals out there.

www.mousesavers.com
www.allears.net
www.disboards.com

The best tip I got was to get a meal plan. We got the one with 1 sit down meal, 1 counter meal, and one snack a day. This was more than enough food for all of us, and we ate something quick and easy for breakfast in the room. The best part is that you can use the sit down meals for character meals. When we went we were able to trade 1 for 1, but I hear that you may have to trade some 2 for 1 now (which would leave you paying for a few meals out of pocket, but probably costing less than paying for the character meals outright). We had a character meal every day we were there. You'll find all kinds of information like this on the websites I posted, along with lists of things you need to pack, and all other kinds of info you never knew you'd need.

Have a great trip!! We went for Christmas week one year (about 8 yrs ago), and had a blast.

We just went in March and it was an incredible trip!! If the kids want to meet a lot of characters, but you don't want to spend a lot of your park time searching for them / waiting in line, go to a few character meals. We did breakfast at Chef Mickeys and the princess storybook dinner at Akershus in Epcot. They were both wonderful - good food and the kids were thrilled to have each character visit our table. You can make reservations for those 180 days in advance, and they fill quickly. Definitely go to Hollywood Studios, especially for the older kids. Everyone will love Toy Story Mania and if they like roller coasters, Aerosmiths Rockin' Roller Coaster is AWESOME! Our other favorite ride was Soarin' in Epcot. The little kids of course LOVE the Magic Kingdom.

I got a lot of great info from the "Unofficial Guidebook to Disney World" and the websites mousesavers.com and allears.net. Have fun!!!

DEFINITELY stay on the property (many price ranges to choose from) and get the meal plans as well. Book the meals asap...or you'll be eating very early or very late.

Definitely pick up the "unofficial Guide To Disney" before you do anything else. It is the best book out there for planning Disney. Some tips:

*if you can swing it try to go in early December reather than Christmas break. It is supposedly the most crowded week of the year then whereas early Dec is dead. This way most of your trip will not be spent in line.

*If you do the dining plan (which I def recommend) make sure to book restaurants in avance. In order to get the most bang for the buck on this plan you will want to get into the best restaurants and if you wait they will be booked. Either way though, if there is a restaurant that you like you should amke an ADR. You can do it online now at the Disney site.

*You should look into the Boardwalk area...sounds like you will have some older kids in your group and this area is attached to Epcot and a boat ride from Hollywood STudios which are favorites of the older kids. We stayed at the Beach Club and it is amazing! The best pool in Disney.

*Google Disney and you will find a lot of really helpful websites with message boards where you can ask all of your ?'s. I have found out so much helpful information that way.

Hi! Check out this website and you can find resorts in the Orlando area at really good prices, and most include a full kitchen, washer and dryer, etc. Click on villas and condos.

Also, there is a live chat on the website where you can talk to a travel agent. The website also has Disney packages.

A cool thing about this website - sign up as a preferred customer (which is free to do) and you get a lot of extra benefits like free flight insurance and 30 min. of concierge service every time you book there. So you can call and get restaurant recommendations, directions to the closest Starbucks, directory assistance, etc.
www.BrackTravel.com