Disneyworld - McKinney,TX

Thank you for posting this. We are considering going sometime in the next year or so, and we have never been. It's all SO overwhelming. So, it's great to hear from those who have experienced it.

Staying on property gets you some perks like special hours at the different parks.

Winter break will probably be less crowded.

I would try to stay around a week. We went for 5 days (4 really, and it wasn't enough)

Yes, get the dinning plan! The Quick Meals and Table Service, esp. if used for dinner, are more than worth it. Just a note that tips are not covered by the plan for Table Service meals....

Tickets - get the ParkHopper. Its worth it. They let you cover more than one park a day. Otherwise, you can only do one park a day and if using the dinning plan, would have to plan around your reservations.

There are several websites - mousesavers.com, and there is a good book about everything you should know.
http://www.orlando-florida.net/press-releases/save-money-...

you need at least a week to really see orlando. we spent 2 and did not do everything. I didn't do DIsney, though we had the money, because offsite hotels were half or less and it wasn't busy in mid June.

the dining plan is something we skipped because we ate at the house we rented and at restaurants on the way. we only had lunch at the parks. we ate on the go and didn't want to wait in line to use the plan like others did.
i hate waiting in line

there are places in orlando that sell disney tickets cheap, including the hawthorne suites on international drive. 3 days/99 was the deal. we paid 105 for 2 days at Disney's gate.

We stayed at the last hotel on I20 leaving Texas, near the tanger mall.
It took us 2 full days to get to orlando from there if you are driving.

Disney is offering the free dining plan right now for select dates if you stay at a Disney hotel. We are going December 17-23 and got free dining. We love the convenience of staying at a Disney hotel. They have free transportation to all the parks, as well as free parking at the parks if you do have your own car. I would not go during Spring Break, or the week after Christmas (supposed to be the 2 most crowded times). Check out mousesavers.com!

We've been at least 8 times. We never stay anywhere but the Polynesian resort. It's worth it.

We usually went in March and never had issues with crowds.

If you are in one of the prime resorts on the monorail line, 1 park opens early everyday and you go first!

We did not purchase dining plans.

We dealt directly with Disney for all reservations and American air for airfare.

Pm if you want details. We don't go cheap but we don't blow $ either.

We went to Disney during spring break this year. I would NOT recommend it. We didn't get to go on many rides because the lines were so long and the fast passes were gone first thing in the morning. One of the workers told me that all of the weeks leading up to Easter are horrible, as many school systems have spring break at different times and they all head down to Disney. Yes, stay in a Disney hotel, the ones on the monorail or water line are best if you have little ones. We stayed on the bus line and it was horrible. You could wait 20-40 minutes for a bus and it would take up to 20 minutes on top of that to get to your destination. When I stayed at the Polynesian, it was worth the extra money being able to hop on the monorail and get where I was going in minutes. Yes, get the dining plan. The meals are expensive. But, be aware that many of the popular restaurants book up to 4-6 months in advance (we were unprepared for that and missed out on Chef Mickey, princess breakfasts, and many other popular places.)

T.,

I'm sending you a private message. :)

We LOVE Disney World. :)

Hotels off Disney property are cheaper and often include free breakfast, but will add about 2 hours a day to your total travel time. Getting from the edge of Disney property to the closest park is 15 to 20 minutes, and that doesn't include parking (or paying parking fees).

School breaks of any kind are always busy. We've been during both spring and winter breaks, and winter is nicer, in my opinion. It's rarely cold enough to need a coat, and the holiday decorations are gorgeous. :)

The dining plan is difficult to use, and more money than you'll generally spend without one.

Check out www.mousesavers.com for discounts. Disney doesn't offer many big discounts, but they do have sales and packages that will save you money. The MouseSavers travel agents are great!

Have fun!!! :)

We have stayed on property and off but for us staying on is what works. We drive from Michigan ans once we get there we never move our car. We also like the fact that if we want to leave the park midday it is only a few minutes on the bus to get back to our hotel, then return to the park later after nap time. we are planning a trip next year at this time as it is "value" season for Disney so the rooms cost less. We are planning on the dinning plan this time as you can do a sit downmeal as one of the choices and we love their buffets. This is just what works best for us.

we are going thanksgiving week, the crowds will be less except on thanksgiving day & the day after, during spring or winter break it will be busy, winter break would be better if you go the first week, before christmas...we are opting to stay off property i pricelined a hotel, it is a hilton & we have stayed at hilton's before, & loved it, they have a full free breakfast which is a plus & indoor & outdoor pools which is also a plus, it is also close to the parks, we are paying a ridiculously low price, & even if we have to pay parking every day (we are driving) it still equals out to only 1/4 what we would pay to stay on disney property...we have stayed on property before but since this is a budget trip & we wont be in the room that much anyway it is totally worth it for us! we are driving so we are going for 10 days, 2 days driving there, 2 days back & 6 days there, this is a long trip you could do it in 7 if driving but we like to take our time, stop frequently & go to all the parks we can & this is our big trip for the year plus since its thanksgiving week my hubs will only have to take off 4 days from work (we will leave fri & return the next sun)....we are not getting the dining plan, we will eat breakfast at the hotel, you can take in soft sided coolers with drinks & snacks & even sammies, so we will do that & then eat one meal either in the park or after we leave the park, which will be cheaper than the dining plan unless you were to stay on property & get the dining plan free....there are not much "discounts" as far as tickets just other ways to save
i have mentioned some but we are also packing tons of snacks & will even go to a grocery store when we get there, our room will have a kitchenette so we can even do simple meals in the room...also I have been stocking up on disney items on sale & clearance, shirts, toys, stickers, books for autographs, even light up toys for night, so we will buy few things there as far as souveniers, even hats from the disney store are cheaper than in the park...there is also an "outlet" type store that stocks disney stuff in the area that we will visit for the kids to pick out a stuffed animal
this is obviously a budget trip you can easily spend way more but we like to get the best deals possible. i have also been planning for a year, but you can still do a lot of this if you want
we are not getting park hoppers, we will spend one day at each park, with young kids, i think this is best, with park hoppers you can spend hours just going from park to park if you are not really familiar with what to do
we will do one character meal as a special treat but all others will be budget meals most out of the parks

i called disney world once when we were considering going during the week of thanksgiving. they told us that thanksgiving week is there busiest. they also said any time there is a holiday or school holiday, it's very busy. i would go during winter break. as long as you don't go christmas week. it will be much cooler at that time of the year, if that matters to you. i hate standing in line outside with no air or if it's raining during spring break. i used to go every year when my niece was little. we always stayed for a week. i would probably stay for about 4-5 days. you can get a 4 day park hopper ticket online, and if you stay 5 days, if you stay on park grounds you can use the other day to go to Downtown Disney and swimming in the pool. Disney's budget resorts are really nice, they all have more than one pool and have a food court and a game room. they are pretty reasonable on off season (season is normally during the summer). i never got the dining plan. i don't know if you are driving but if you are, we always brought a cooler with food in it. we would eat breakfast at the hotel. we'd eat lunch at the park at the Space cafe because they have a lot of options. and then we would go by the Mcdonalds that is by the budget parks or would order a pizza from the hotel restaurant. i don't know about where to get the discounts. sorry