Where to Stay at Disney and When to Go

we stayed off-site to save money, but then getting there and in is a big PITA. if i had to do it again i'd probably save up and stay there. the summer crowds are a nightmare, but i love the water so wouldn't want to go when it's too chilly to swim. could you go in the fall?
khairete
S.

I'm assuming you mean Disney World?
Since your schedule is flexible, aim for the first week in February. That's considered a "value time", so resort rates are cheaper. The weather is nice (jeans/capris and tee shirts with hoodies for later) and the parks aren't very crowded.
We went at that time last year and it was fantastic. I think the longest wait was 45-60 minutes and that was for the most popular of popular rides.
We stayed at Art of Animation and loved it. They have family suites that have a queen bed, closed off master with a bathroom, a full murphy bed and a full sleeper sofa, plus a second full bath. The resort is absolutely gorgeous, so much fun and magic, there's an affordable, cafeteria style restaurant on site, and the most amazing pool out of ALL the resorts. You still get all the on-property benefits of airport transportation, park transportation, Magic Bands, concierge service, purchase delivery, etc.
I know an amazing travel agent who can bok your trip, will make all reservations for dining, will take all the time needed to get you deals as they come up, etc. all for no added cost. PM me if you want her info.

January is a nice time to visit Florida and Disney is not that busy that time of year.

The weather varies, it can be 75 one day and 65 the next. The humidity is low that time of year so you shouldn't be sweaty, but you may not want to swim.

If you stay on property look at the different prices, any of the resorts that are on the monorail line are the most expensive up to $1000. per night(even in the slow season). All the Disney resorts have busses to get you anywhere you want to be on their property.

A less expensive way to visit is to reserve a home off property. You can rent a 4 br/3 bath home with a private pool for less then $150. per night. You can then cook most of your own meals and have a few days of quiet time away from the hustle and bustle (trust me you will want at least one day to rest).

Look into the different options and then decide. Just avoid any of the holiday's and spring break.

My relatives that live and work there say February and October are best times to go.

LA or Florida? The weather's ALWAYS pretty good in LA so you can go pretty much anytime. I personally don't like Florida because it's stormy in the winter and humid in the summer, yuck.
Either way Disney is ALWAYS crowded so you just need to deal with it. I was there (LA) just a few months ago, mid March, so very off season and a bit less crowded but we still needed to use the fast pass system because without it all the good rides were still easily a 45 minute wait.
I travel a lot and my go to site for hotel reviews for the past few years has been Tripadvisor. Real advice, reviews and photos from thousands of travelers, it's by far the most comprehensive travel site out there IMO. Staying on site is good if you have nappers but in Anaheim there are plentyof hotels within a two mile radius and they all have shuttles so it's easy. It also depends on your budget, if you want a high end luxury place versus a family suite type place with a kitchenette for example.

The absolute best week to go to Disney is the 2nd/3rd week in September. It is still gorgeous, pool weather. But the crowds are gone because everyone is back in school and parents don't pull their kids out immediately. Also, the foreign tour groups haven't picked back up yet. Next best is end of April. Schools are still in, but spring break is over.

January crowds won't be peak, but you'll have a bunch of foreign groups. Weather won't be dreadful, but it can be hit or miss. It's definitely not pool weather for me, but people from north US and Canada will go in. You will have to pack more because you will need to be prepared for both warm weather and cold weather.

Places to stay - I love the Yacht and Beach Club. It's easy boat ride access to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, the Boardwalk is across the lake, they have the best pool, and Magic Kingdom is a short bus ride away.

Animal Kingdom Lodge is very nice and themed beautifully. If you get a Savannah room, the animals are right outside your balcony. The big down side to Animal Kingdom Lodge it is a longer bus ride to get everywhere.

Your monorail resorts (Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Contemporary) are prime real estate right outside Magic Kingdom. But, they will be your most pricey.

We've gone in February and March, and both times had low crowds and nice weather (esp coming from Chicago).

We've stayed both on property (Old Key West), and off (rented condo in Orlando).

IMO, staying on property gives some extra magic - but it is considerably more expensive.
For our family of 4, using the dining plan, we paid around $7K staying on property, all in with airfare.

Staying off property, this past year, we spent about $4K, but had the hassle of calling taxis/Ubers to get to and from the parks and anywhere else we wanted to go as I didn't want to deal with parking and waiting in traffic to get to and from the parks.

In January, you'll have weather between 50 and 80, honestly.

When the dates approach watch for incentive packages.

January should be good as far as the crowds go.

We love Old Key West, yes it is on the higher end HOWEVER you get a condo with a washer and dryer and a kitchen. They have a small grocery store so that you can buy things to serve for breakfast (frozen waffles, bagles, bread, peanut butter) and you can save a lot of money by not eating at a restaurant every day for breakfast. The other nice thing about Old Key West is that it is that their aren't as many guests staying there, so you don't have over crowded busses getting to and from the parks.

M

We always went during spring break and it was never that bad.

Our favorite and only place we ever stayed was the Polynesian. We LOVE that place. It is super convenient because it is on the monorail line with quick access to MK and you also have the boat taxi option which is faster and an adventure for the children.

We never did a dining plan.. we just don't eat that much plus we refuse to be told what and where we can eat. I booked favorite character dinners and activities in advance. Breakfast at O'Hana at Polynesian was always a good character breakfast, we liked Chef Mickey at the Contemporary and loved the regular luau's at the Polynesian.

We got passes that were good from the time we checked in until midnight of the check out day.. any park, any time, as many times a day as your choose.

We did a private safari once but that was a perk through the Conceirge tower at Polynesian. Another perk of Conceirge Tower was that they had snacks and drinks available 24/7 then light breakfast, lunch, appetizer, dinner, dessert and drinks daily.

Enjoy, we made many wonderful memories at Disney!

January is a great time to visit, but don't expect the crowds to be low. We thought the same thing when we went this past January(last week, not near any holidays), and the crowds were the worst we've seen (gone Nov and Dec before). However, the weather was AMAZING. Never rained once and 60-70s. That's my happy weather. However, it could be a lot colder, or a lot warmer. And we did swim a few times...the water is heated.

I still feel like Jan is a good time to go. There just are no slow times at the world anymore. However, there are awfully busy and super humid times to go, like the summer ;).

If you plan on doing all disney, stay on site. It is so worth the benefits, and Jan usually has discounts so it is affordable.

You never said how long you are staying and how many people in your family. We did 9 days/8 night last time, family of 6 and was right around 5K. However, I have a few money saving things to pull this off. Plus, a LOT will depend on your budget and family size on where to stay.

Feel free to PM me with any questions, or go to www.disboards.com. There is more info there than you know what to do with.

If you are a long term planner get the chase Disney card and start saving that way. We had over $2000 for our trip - helped a bunch.

Dec/Jan/Feb are not pool weather.

We stayed off-site once (just the adults), several times at the Polynesian. We had two tweens and a toddler one time, later we went with just the youngest who was about 7 or 8. The Polynesian is definitely pricy but we loved that it had a little shuttle boat that went just from there to the Grand Floridian to the Magic Kingdom. Zero crowds for that. We could walk out of our room, walk down the hotel path, and be right at the monorail to get to Epcot. We could easily go in the morning and have lunch, then come back to the hotel to chill out. We put the little one down for a nap and one adult took the older kids to the pool or one parent took them to the "big" rides that the baby couldn't go on. We also got a babysitter through Disney and had adult/tween time a couple of times, real dinners, etc.

There were buses to the other parks. In general, I think Disney handles transportation very well, moving large crowds with efficiency and a bit of entertainment.

We did not do the meal plan but had a fridge in the room (perfect for the littlest one) and we took a small cooler with us to the parks so we didn't have to wait or pay for restaurants/snack bars.

You have to weigh the cost of a rental car, parking, commuting time, etc. against the convenience of being on site. I know a lot of people who have rented a house off site, especially with a pool, so they can have down time at "home" and cook their own easy meals (grilled stuff, take out pizza) and not be so focused on the parks. That's more affordable if you have a large family or two families.

The one time my husband and I stayed off site, it was okay - a no frills chain hotel with a free shuttle to the park, and we were comfortable staying all day and getting all our meals at Disney. But we only did that for 2 nights, I think.

As always, it's weighing the cost vs. the convenience.

I have gone to Disney at least 5 or 6 times.

I would stay on-site and use the bus service, monorails and boats, etc...The Magic Kingdom is chaos to get in and out of by car, if the park is busy !

I loved the Beach and Yacht Club...A pool w/ a sandy bottom, shopping, bikes to rent,food, and so much more...Walk into Epcot !

Pop Century was wonderful, too. We stayed toward the back of the complex and I loved the huge pool ! It's not super expensive, either !

If you go when the dining plan is free, a ton of money will be saved !

The one yr we went in the winter, it was 50 - 54
degrees all week. It was too cold for me ! Two yrs ago, we went for nine days in the summer and it was about 82 degrees and overcast all week. It was great.

We went to North Florida a couple yrs back in October and it was 94 degrees and humid ALL week....So, it's hard to tell !!!

Plan to save at least $5,000...and if that is what u want to spend, then, budget around that !

If you plan for Oct/Nov, Disney often has free meal plan options if you are staying 6 nights on property. You don't know until a the May before you go, but while there are no promises, they have done it every year for the last few years. You can look at the current promotion for this, so that you can see the dates and limitations.

Undercover tourist has a lot of great info (google it).

We are going at the end of October for 8 days! What really helped with the planning is the unofficial guide book, and our Magic Mouse Travel agent. She is great and is doing all the work for us. And best of all it's a free service. She landed us the free Disney Dining Plan, before it was all sold out. Check it out! We will be staying at the Pop Century Resort, and it looks like a lot of fun!

When we went to Disney the first time we went the week after Thanksgiving. The Christmas decorations were up but the parks were pretty empty. It was fabulous! The weather was great. years later we went when the kids were older and we couldn't take them out of school - so we went in August - against my better judgement. DO NOT go in Augst. Waaaaay too hot & humid and crowded.

Definitely stay on the property - and try to stay near the park where you'll spend most of the time. I know someone who saved to stay at the fancy hotel at Animal Kingdom with their 5 & 6 year olds and were so disappointed when they realized the bus ride was 45 minutes to and from Magic Kingdom by the time they the made all the stops along the way. Check out mouse savers dot com - it's a great site with all kinds of tips and information related to Disney.

I've gone in November and January. Being a Midwesterner, you'll probably still be able to swim! On-site is the way to go, transportation is SO much easier. Just bring money (and set limits for the kids) and don't worry about costs - it will just make you cranky and ruin your trip. Tell yourself, "I'm on vacation, we're making memories, it's OK that we're buying the huge Mickey Mouse rice krispie bar for $22!" Have fun!

My favorite time of year to go the Disney World in Florida is the first week in June. It's hot but not too hot. It's not overly crowded because many schools aren't out yet for the school year. I also like the idea of Disney the first week in October because the weather is still reasonably warm there and again not too many crowds.

Not staying on Disney property isn't a big deal. I always pick a hotel with shuttle service to Disney. You ride the shuttle there and be at the pick up sight to get on the shuttle to get back to your hotel. No hassle with parking at all. It's wonderful. If you choose to stay on International Drive there are tons of otehr activities you can participate in that isn't Disney.

I've been to Disney once as a child and several times as an adult. I've even taken my son twice. It's so much fun and wonderfully magical. There are perks to staying on the property but you won't be lost or hassled if you choose other arrangements. Four years old is still younger than the six years old I maintain is a great youngest age for Disney.

There is tons of walking and if your little one isn't used to that much walking it could get hard and while you could get a stroller navigating is easier without it in my opinion and they can remember more at 6 than 4.

Enjoy your trip. We are going again this year to Orlando but this time it's all about Universal Studios, our youngest is graduating highschool.