Help Planning a Walt Disney World Vacation...

It was years ago, but we went in October snd it was wonderful! Not crowded at all! NO big lines, great weather....... Have fun!

I use the website www.wdwig.com They have an extensive planning section that includes weather, attendance, packing lists, must sees, and much more. you can sign up for the newsletter and they send weekly tips. Good luck and have fun!!!

****Get the Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2009****
Take it with you; it's unbelieveably helpful and you can either (probably) get it or sell it on eBay when you're done. It was very, very helpful.

Hello My name is E. and we are going to disney in Dec. I heard that the VALUE time (Best Deals) are between Nov 29 through Dec 17 I am working with a travel agent at the moment. Small World Vacations is free and they are all 'Disney Specialist" Although, deals don't start coming out until end of August for the Dec season, she keeps you updated and corrects your total as the deals roll in. You just tell her what you want and she does the rest. But, you are in charge of your own transportation. Another hint is to sign up for MOUSESAVERS.COM It is a website that tells you all the discounts and secretsf if you don't mind reading.
This is my first trip to Disney and I know NOTHING about traveling. That is why I wanted a travel agent. Plus, I have no time to plan since I work full and part time job, have a beautiful 5 yr old girl, wonderful husband, have a farm, chores, animals etc. But I'm sure you could do everything on your own and people will give you good advice if you have the time to research it. Good Luck E.

Your right - Disney's holiday season, their busiest time of year, starts the week after Thanksgiving. October and early November are great times to go, and the week immediately after Thanksgiving isn't bad (we went a couple years ago at that time and it wasn't too bad). Halloween is an excellent time to go. We went for a long weekend a couple years ago (we've been to DisneyWorld several times) and were able to do everything we wanted. As for planning tips, most people do the parks in this order: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Mondays and Thursdays are usually pretty crowded in the Magic Kingdom. So, you may want to start your vacation in the middle or end of the week, since most people with kids have to (due to kid demand) go to the Magic Kingdom first. Also, try to bring your own food - we often did breakfast that we brought with us at the hotel, took snacks to the parks and grabbed a sandwich there, and ate one meal out a day. Food gets expensive there. Should you choose to eat in a park restaurant, you may want to make reservations. Good luck.

I spent 6 years in Florida, and my husband is a Disney fanatic. So needless to say, we spent a lot of time there, but always wanted to avoid the crowds. I'll echo the fact that summer is not a fun time to be at Disney. It rains many afternoons, as it's in the middle of the rainy season, and it's extremely humid. In addition, Thanksgiving through New Year's, and spring break time are also prime crowd times. It's doable, but there are a ton of people there.

If you want to stay onsite, there are many options. If you stay on Disney property, Disney will pick you up at the hotel, and provide transportation to and from all of the parks every day. If you'd rather rent a car and have a larger hotel or condo with a kitchen, there are some very nice vacation rentals just outside of Disney. The prices (and quality) run from extremely cheap to very expensive. It's all a matter of what you're looking for.

If you're staying on Disney property, the meal plan is great (as a previous poster stated). You pay upfront for all of your meals, and then can eat throughout all of the parks and hotels. Snacks are included, but it wasn't enough for us, so we'd pack our own snacks for the day to supplement.

Good luck with your planning. Disney is a fun place to vacation.

I'm very curious to see your responses... We want to take our 8 yr old to Disney at Thanksgiving and am clueless on where to even start....

Go see a AAA travel agent. They are all trained on Disney & have great discounted packages that will make your trip seem effortless.
Just don't try to do too much while you're there.
Remember that your son will remember swimming with you at the pool as much as riding It's a Small World. (Of course, you may remember that ride forever - it will haunt you...)

January-February is one of the "cheap seasons". If you hunt on the website, you'll be able to find their calendar that shows the "off season" dates.

If you fly and stay on-site, they do have a shuttle to take you from the airport to the hotel. They do have some "economy hotels" on site, that has shuttles to the various parks. Some of the hotels have "ocean view" or "parking lot view" - the last time we went, our view was the parking lot, and we didn't care - we had a tree right outside our window so that you couldn't tell the parking lot was on the other side of it.

DON'T go in July/August unless you have to - it's REALLY hot/humid.

Bring a "banker box" with you of food/snacks (a jar of peanut butter, loaf of bread, packages of peanut butter crackers, etc.) and have a light-weight carry bag that you can put a few of pkgs of the peanut butter crackers into, and maybe a bottle of water.

Also bring a cooler. Most of the rooms you can probably get a "dorm fridge" and even a microwave if you ask for them.

We would plan for the rides we wanted to go on or the attractions we wanted to see, and try to go back to the room for lunch. BUT if you're in the park, sometimes that can be a hastle. The adult meals are still expensive, but you can usually get kids meals for a reasonable price, so be willing to go with the kids meal.

If you can swing it, plan a day at the pool at the hotel you're at.

I've heard Disney has meal plans, and my sister did that one year, and LOVED it - might be a good idea to check into that.

We focused on the "Magic Kingdom" and "Epcot". We did go to the Animal Kingdom one day. If you can get "Park Hopper" passes, that's the way to go.

A travel agent can probably most easily tell you what the "off season" times are. Thanksgiving is getting awfully close to "prime time". You might consider spring break.

Just a few thoughts.....for what it's worth....and good luck!

Disney is such a fun place. I have heard that going the beginning of November is not a real busy time. We went the 2nd week in March right before Spring breaks started and we didn't think it was that crowded at all. I would highly recommend staying in the park. If you do you have access to all the buses and transporation is free which makes it really nice. I used the book, "The unoffical guide to Disney 2009" when planning our trip that seemed to help. Bring a backpack to take with you daily to the park, pack snacks, and drinks because buying them daily gets expensive. They check your bags when you walk in, but they don't say anything about food.
Look into getting a park hopper option if you think you will want to go to more than 1 park in a day. Good Luck and have fun!

go to the disney website and there is a planner online there. Also, you can request a dvd there that will be very informative. You'll save a bundle with their package deals, which cover the onsite hotel and meals and park tickets. Good luck!

My husband and I just took all of our grown children and grandchildren (ages 5 and 2 1/2) to Disney in March. We worked through a travel agent, Liz Nowak. She found us a home with a pool and every convenience you need and all ten of us were very comfortable and loved every second of it. The home was about 15 min. from Disney and I would do it again in a heartbeat. The cost for an entire week was just a little over $1,000. We could cook our own meals, swim whenever, etc. We then had her arrange for breakfast at the Cinderella's Castle with
Cinderella and other princesses. The travel agent arranged everything and it was a superb time - one we will never forget. In fact, the grandchildren are still talking about it. If you are interested in talking with the travel agent, her name again is Liz Nowak and her phone number is ###-###-####. Her office is in Middleburg Hts. Please mention my name, I. Patton.

We went last December in the second and third week of December. The parks are not crowded at that time, since it is in between holidays. Also, look for some websites that have advice on planning a Disney vacation. You will find lots of tips.

I have been to Disney several times, and I have found that a great time to go is in October. It is not too crowded, and the weather is still beautiful!

Also, to book your trip, I would suggest going to the Disney website and you can play around with planning a trip. You can see where you want to stay and what types of packages you want. I believe right now they are offering the free dining plan, so look into going when they offer that. I wouldn't necessarily book online, though. I belong to AAA and I got a better deal through them, and I was able to get everything that I wanted.

There are also a lot of great books about going to Disney. I went to the library and was able to get a lot of great suggestions for my trip.

Have fun planning!

My husband and I went for our honeymoon in May of 2000 and the parks weren't really that crowded, mostly adults and small children. We had a blast!!!!

My family went at the end of September last year. I wouldn't recommed going much earlier as it is so hot. It was busy, but not crazy crowded. I started planning in late June and most restaurants and hotels were totally booked, so I would say start as soon as you can pinpoint a date. I went to the library and borrowed all of their books on WDW. I found my favorite (Fodor's Walt Disney World with Kids)and bought it. Since your son is older, have him help plan with the things he would like to see. Do not try to do everything in one day. It is exhausting and you will be junk by the second day. Make a list of must-see attractions and rides and then if you have time be spontaneous. Also, check your son's height and know before you go what the height requirements are for the rides (listed in the book I referred to)...he will be crushed if he really wants to ride Space Mountain and doesn't meet the height requirement. A well planned trip is usually a great one. Good luck and have fun!!

Hi M.,
I would NOT go in the summer at at all! We went in June, and it was so HOT, and the crowds were horrible. I have not been in the fall, however friends of ours always go the week before Thanksgiving and they are always happy. They say its not busy at all, and great weather. I would call Disney and inquire about it. I am sure they have someone who could assist you.
Also, if someone wants to buy your son a gift anytime soon tell them to buy him Disney Dollars, so he can use them to shop at Disney. It can cost alot of money to have fun in the parks. Disney has a website and can send you a free DVD for planning.
Hope this helped! Have a great trip!
S. J.

Hello,
There are some great website for help/info on Disney. My favorite is Mousesavers.com. There is also Allears.net. Mousesavers also recomends a travel agency - Small World Travels that deals exclusively with Disney that is free. Unfortunately once the kids are of school age everyone has the same plan - can't let them miss school so go over school holidays and it can be very busy and also at peak rates. The other choice would be next summer but it depends on how hot you like it. Florida in the summer can be brutal. We just got back from Disney last week and they had record highs. It was 95 or higher from noon to 8 pm. A little too much for us but we still had a great time. Good Luck and have fun!

I agree with the October date. My family went this past October and it was very nice. Definately, get the meal plan! It may cause sticker shock at first but it is so worth it. If you want to eat in any of the really cool restaurants you have to make reservations ASAP. As soon as you know what dates you will be there start calling because they book up in advance really fast. You can research the resaurants on the Walt Disney web site. Plan for one whole day in each park. We tried to do two parks in one day and that about wore us out. Usually the resorts will offer a package deal. They will offer the park tickets at a reduced rate so take advantage of that. Get the park hopper, it offers you more options. Most resorts offer bussing to all the parks. We stayed at All Star Sports and it was nice. It wasn't the Hilton but it was nice. My daughter was seven and she had a very fun time. Good Luck.

I've been to Disney several times and have 2 grown daughters who live an hour away who hold resident passes and go frequently. In my opinion late Sept or early Oct is the best. Just miss that weekend in Oct which is a National Teacher holiday - NEO something day LOL You don't want to go in the summer, it's just way too hot there. You don't want to go around Thanksgiving either. If your son is only 7, pulling him out of school for several days shouldn't be an issue. You can collaborate with his teacher prior to leaving so he won't get behind on anything. Everyone goes when school is out, if you go while school is in, you'll face smaller crowds for sure.

We went during spring break and had a great time, there was plenty of warm weather, we stayed at 2 places because we wanted to be on the ocean for a while. The wydham inn was a great place to stay. On the ocean we stayed at the holiday inn. We got our information from aa tour books.

Do not go in September as it is rainy season there. Been there and done that. Maybe mid-October would be best. You can get some good discount deals by going on line to Florida and try going on line with Disney itself for additional discounts.

The Kingdom Package tour is the way to go if you plan on staying in the park which will give an extra hour on each of the park hours. If you use a travel agent for Disney you won't pay a commission, Disney pays it directly to the agent. I have been there the last week of October which was less busy but anytime in the fall when school is in session is less busy. However, if you can hold until the first week of June, that is the best time to go. It is the first week off the on-season but most schools in the country are still in school.

If you have any specific questions feel free to contact me, I have been there several times.

Hi M.!!

I am on several Disney vacation boards and there is always a lot of discussion about taking a child out of school to go on vacation. I will leave that to decide on how well of a student your child is, etc. I think that putting your child in a different environment, especially one where they can learn something new and exciting is a great thing. I have found that the best time to visit disney is January/February during their "value" season. It is less expensive, the weather is Great compared to the north at that time and the lines are low. I highly recommend the website allearsnet.com It has some fabulous info and some great tips. I think the first step is to decide to go and when. Then it will be to stay on property or off. I believe there are HUGE advantages of staying on property, but I am also spoiled because I have been many times and stayed both ways and just prefer onsite. Then I would watch airfares during your time. Taking a non-conventional time frame - Tues - Tuesday, etc. will help with your flight fare. Also discount airlines are great too - Southwest, Air Tran, etc. I have a lot of other tips and suggestions but do not want to overwhelm or bore you with things that you might already know or have found out. Please feel free to contact me if you need additional information. I LOVE helping people plan their magical vacation to my favorite destination. I am not an agent or someone trying to sell anything. I just love helping people experience the magic I have felt going there on my own and with my family. Good Luck. K. O

If you go the the Disney World website, there is a vacation planning guide that will be a great help. My whole family is going in a few weeks and my Dad used the planning tool to figure it all out.