Orlando answers:

When my family has 10 at WDW we break into 2-3 smaller groups most of the time then spend certain designated days or parts of days as a group. I wouldn’t want to be in a huge group the whole time. The small groups can move faster and get more done. You need to acquaint yourself with FastPass and how it works. We give our passes to 1 person to get the Fastpasses, but with this big group, I’d send 3 with all the passes. They go ahead of the group, and speed is a plus, so teens and preteens are good Fastpass runners. When my son was 12 we started sending him, and he was speedy (especially important for Soarin). *Read about the Soarin’ rope drop – be there for it, send your FP runners, then everyone gets in line. The runners catch up with the FP’s, and you all get 2 rides on Soarin’ in under an hour. It’s the most in demand FP and some days all are gone by noon.

Let me point you in the direction of great resources so you can do your own reading and research, because WDW has changed so much!
You have the time to prepare and read, and I could go on and on like my tips were new, but the info is really to be found in these places.

Www.allearsnet.com (best WDW site – includes menus)
www.disboards.com (very fun, active community)
www.mousesavers.com
www.touringplans.com (if you don’t get a book spend $8 on this)

I recommend The Unofficial Guide to Disney World which comes with touring plans in the back. It breaks WDW down ride by ride, rating it by age and telling you when to find the shortest wait times. I think it’s the best for maximizing your time at Disney, but it’s important to get an updated copy, not one that’s a few years old. Get the newest version.

Birnbaum’s Guide to Walt Disney World is an interesting read if you like the descriptions of the rides and a bit of trivia. There’s some helpful info, but the UOG has more.

Have you taken care of dining reservations? If you want to eat together at any sit-down restaurants, you need to make those arrangements (already past when you could’ve called)

Orlando answers:

Call the reservation folks- they answer the phone right away, are very helpful, and will make all necessary arrangements for you. Usually, with a dining plan, you have a certain number of fancy dinners, regular dinner, take away dinners, snacks, lunches, etc. Your plan should state how many of each you have. Everything comes on a credit card, which keeps track of everything you spend. If you are using a “fancy dinner” credit, your fancy dinner will cost you nothing.

Again- use the Disney Reservation people…they will handle everything, so that you don’t get caught making reservations for a place you did not intend to pay for. Also- be careful not to make reservations at a restaurant in a park you do not have access to that evening, unless you have a “park hopper”.

Orlando answers:

If you click on the “Packages Under $1,600″ http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/tickets/magicYourWay/
you can piece together what you need by choosing a Value Resort, Basic Dining Plan, Magic Your Way Tickets (no water park options) and Magical Express.

I put July 27 to Aug 2 for 2 adults and 1 child (2 yrs old) staying at a Value Resort (Pop Century in the trip I put together) with 7-Day Magic Your Way Ticket with Park Hoppers, Basic Dining Plan and Magical Express for a total price of $1,315. You can add the waterpark option for more $$, but I agree with you, that you won’t really want that with an infant. If you don’t want the Park Hopper option, then the price will come down. If you stay in an on-site resort, you can use the free Disney transportation system (buses, monorail, boats) to get between all the parks and hotels. (http://allearsnet.com/pl/transp.htm)

The Dining Plan is a lot of food, so you can save money if you don’t think you will eat this much.

Http://allearsnet.com/pl/packages.htm

The Magical Express is free for guests who stay on-site. Basically it’s a bus that will pick you up at the airport at the beginning of the trip and drop you off at the airport at the end of your trip. The best thing about is that if you want, you can have Disney get your luggage from the airport for you when you arrive in Orlando and they will deliever it to your room (usually a few hours after your arrive at your resort).

Http://allearsnet.com/acc/mexpress.htm

And no, it’s not cheaper if you plan it for more people. It’s basically the same rate, if you add another family, you would just have to double the price to add your friend’s family of 2 adults and 2 yr old boy.

And yes, no park ticket required for kids 3 and under. Also, kids under 3 are allowed to eat of their parents’ plate for free (including buffets). But obviously, if you want to order something of the menu for them separately, you will be charged for that.

As for Entertainment.. I’m not sure what else you’ll need other than the parks and the swimming pool at your resort!

If you haven’t already done so, ask for the free Disney Vacation Planning DVD, it’s pretty helpful and fun to watch.. And it’s free!
Https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/vpkIndex?name=VPKOnePage&sourcecode=11854&referrer=wdw&hdrType=default&vcnType=wdw

Orlando answers:

Let the hotel know it’s your birthday. Walt Disney World resort hotels provide small gifts and coupons for birthday celebrents of all ages, so make sure the concierge or front desk is aware that it’s a special day.

Get your birthday button. You’ll need to visit City Hall at the Magic Kingdom and show proof of your birthday, but the effort is well worth it. You’ll be given a button that reads “It’s My Birthday Today!” so everyone in the parks and resort can wish you a Happy Birthday.

Book a special occasion event with Gifts of a Lifetime. This event services company creates unique itineraries and presentations for birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions. You can create a memorable moment on your trip to Disney parks or any other attraction in the surrounding area.

Wait for your birthday call! Goofy and the Mickey’s gang have been known to make special birthday phone calls to resort guests. Just make sure the front desk knows of the birthday when you book the trip and check-in.

Pick up an autograph book. Collect autographs from all the Disney characters you meet so that they can wish you a Happy Birthday in writing. You can add pictures for your scrapbook later.

Head to Epcot for your birthday gift. The Guest Relations department will happily give you a free souvenir to commemorate your special day.

Enjoy breakfast with Mickey and the gang. If you can book dining reservations for a character breakfast, you’ll enjoy a special surprise as a birthday guest!

Orlando answers:

Don’t worry! There will still be Disney transportation running after the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show. Some of the parks may be open later for Extra Magic Hours. If that’s the case, you may be able to take a bus, boat, or the monorail from the Polynesian to a park, and then take a bus from there to Pop Century. If the parks do happen to all be closed you’ll just have to take a bus to Downtown Disney and then a bus from there to Pop Century. The buses at Downtown Disney run to and from the resorts until at least midnight. I got back from Walt Disney World a little over a month ago. We stay at the Polynesian and had dinner at the Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club Resort one night. Our reservation was for 9:45 and by the time we were done it must have been at least 11:00. We were worried about how we were going to get back. We thought we were going to have to grab one of the cabs. Everything was fine, though. I forgot that Downtown Disney is always open until at least midnight. All we had to do was take the bus to Downtown Disney and then take another one to the Polynesian Resort. It wasn’t bad at all.

Your “Key to the World” will have all your information on them. They look just like a credit card and can be used as one, too. When you go to a theme park or water park, you’ll have to slide it into the machine. When you go out to dinner, and you’re on the dining plan, just give the waitress/waiter your card. They slide it through and the appropriate amount of “coupons” will be used to pay for the meal. If you want to get a FastPass ticket you’ll need to insert your card into the FastPass kiosk. It will then give you a FastPass and return your card. You will have to take out the card everytime you enter a park, want to get a FastPass, or pay for a meal with the dining plan, so a plastic holder may be a hassle or may not, depending on how easy it is to remove the card and how often you’ll be using it. As for the water situation, I’ve had no problem with my card after getting it wet. I’ve accidentally gone swimming with it and it was fine, so at the water parks or on water rides I’m sure you’ll be fine, too. The only thing to look out for is your cell phone (if you have one.) I put my card and cell phone in my back jeans pocket and apparently the cell phone screws with the magnet in the card. I had no idea. Lol We went back to our room and couldn’t get in. We had to go to Concierge, but they had back-up cards for us, so it wasn’t much of a problem. I just had to remember for the rest of our vacation not to put them near each other. But if anything happens to your card, don’t worry! The staff at your Resort will be more than happy to replace it.

Have a great vacation! The kids will love the Spirit of Aloha dinner show, and I’m sure you will, too! The Year of a Million Dreams Celebration begins today, so there’ll be a lot of special things going on when you go!

Orlando answers:

I love Walt Disney World, it’s my favorite place to go, and I love going with my boyfriend. We just got back from our most recent trip almost two weeks ago. I miss it so much already! Anyway, Walt Disney World prides itself on its food and restaurants. And they should- the food and service is phenomenal.

My boyfriend and I ate at Narcoossee’s our last night at the Resort (we stay at the Polynesian right next door and walk over.) We ate there last summer and had an incredible experience, so we had to eat there again. Both times our service has been awesome. With reservations, we haven’t had to wait for a table more than 5 minutes. The food here is awesome. For an appetizer, I love the mussels. They’re so delicious. I didn’t get them this time, my boyfriend did instead, and I ended up being very jealous. For entrees, the lobster, surf ‘n’ turf, or filet mignon, of course. My boyfriend had the surf ‘n’ turf, I had the filet mignon. For dessert, I had the sorbet dish like last time. It’s really good, I really like the blackberry one. The best thing to do is make reservations for around 45 minutes before the Wishes fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. During the fireworks they dim the lights in the restaurant and have the music piped in live from the Park. You can watch from your seat if you have a table near the windows, or you can go out onto the deck. It’s very romantic.

My boyriend and I ate at Fulton’s Crab House at Downtown Disney for our first time a couple weeks ago on our vacation. This was the ONLY restaurant at WDW I’ve had complaints about. Good thing it’s not a restaurant of the Disney Company, it’d be so disappointed. But I was disappointed either way. I ordered the scallops as an entree, my boyfriend had the Alaskan King Crab legs. It took nearly two hours for us to get our entrees! Our waitress kept disappearing and avoiding our table, so I knew something was up (my boyfriend and I both work in restaurants.) At one point our waitress came up to us and said “they’re just working on the presentation so it looks all pretty.” Finally, over a half an hour later the dishes came out, and they certainly weren’t that pretty. I cut one of the scallops in half and it was almost completely raw! I checked all the others and they all were raw. I’m pretty sure they burned the first batch and then tried to cook some more up quickly, but definitely didn’t cook them enough. I was so mad. We were almost late for Cirque Du Soleil because it took so long, and that had me stressing out so much. And the waitress was like, “Oh, you don’t want dessert?” And I told her numerous times we were in a hurry because we had reservations for the show. I wanted to try the milk chocolate creme brulee, too! It was a very bad experience, but we’ll probably try the restaurant again someday. It was definitely a waste of a dinner reservation, though. I much would’ve rather tried Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I’m sure I wouldn’t have been disappointed there.

I dined at Restaurant Marrakesh during my first visit to the WDW Resort when I was 11. I don’t remember the food, but I remember the belly dancers. It was really cool, and it’s a pretty restaurant. I plan on dining there again sometime in the future.

As for the other restaurants, I haven’t tried them yet, but plan to. They all sound great. Some of my other favorite restaurants are the Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Resort. Try the famous Tonga Toast at breakfast, or try the wok-seared duck pot stickers as an appetizer at lunch or dinner. They’re so awesome, I had them twice this past trip. For dessert, the Kilauea Torte is the best! Tony’s Town Square Restaurant at the Magic Kingdom is awesome. It’s themed to the movie “Lady & the Tramp.” The food is great. Everything from the bread they serve before you order to the dessert. The tiramisu is the best tiramisu I’ve ever had. My mouth’s watering just speaking of it. Anyway, the Coral Reef Restaurant’s another great place to eat. You can see in the aquariums from the table, it’s really cool. And the food is awesome, too. I had the best calamari there. And the Chocolate Wave dessert was to die for- chocolate cake filled with chocolate ganache, served with a little dish of white chocolate ice cream. Definitely an amazing dessert.

Go to http://www.allearsnet.com for a list of menus for all the restaurants. It’s extremely hellpful. You can also find pictures of all the restaurants, and information on anything you need to know to plan a Walt Disney World vacation.

Hope this helps you decide where to eat. Have fun!

Orlando answers:

I love disney world. It’s always fun, no matter how many times you go, if you have kids or not, and its just one of those things worth doing

Orlando answers:

I would NOT bring any children to Disney World under the age of 6 or 7.

My reason for that is because of what kind of place Disney World is, it’s the sort of vacation place that should be enjoyed AND REMEMBERED by those with the capacity to retain such memories. Toddlers, infants, newborns…….they don’t get any real enjoyment from the place. They have the same appreciation for Disney World that they would have sitting in a closet at home banging on a pot with a wooden spoon. So not only would they not retain any memories of that trip, but they wouldn’t be able to enjoy it as much as they could.

I think it’s selfish on a parents’ part to bring their toddlers and infants there only so THEY can get joy by snapping photos of their kids who are just enjoying the bright colors and sounds around them, at the expense of the child being able even know where they are, what they’re doing, or to remember it all at a later time.

Definitely wait a few more years before you bring her.

(I got back a few months ago from a trip with some friends and they brought their 3 year old son. Needless to say it was extremely irritating with their tantrums and crankiness and constant “mommy, I want this!” at every little turn. Just reinforces my opinion that children of that age shouldn’t be brought there.)

Orlando answers:

If you are booking through the Walt Disney Travel company, You CAN select your flights. You may just want to call them and ask. Their very friendly and would be glad to help you.

Orlando answers:

1. The water is safe, but it does have kind of a sulfur taste to it. I refer to it as “Florida water” because that’s the only place that I’ve been that it tastes like that. It shouldn’t bother you, but yeah, the bottle-filter might be good for you. (If you’re more concerned about the taste, you could always spring for the Crystal Light/Kool Aid “To-Go” packets. I’ve heard they cover up the funky taste, but I don’t usually do that.)
2. Park Hopper is NOT worth the extra cost. As far as I’m concerned, it is throwing away money that could better be used elsewhere. If you’re going for a full week, don’t even worry about using Park hopper. There is enough to do at each park that you could spend a couple of days there and be fine. By the time you’re done travelling back and forth to different parks, you’ve wasted a lot of time. Just stick to the “One Park Per Day” method and you’ll be fine.
3. You can expect to spend about $8-12 per meal if you go to just a Quick Service restaurant. Check out AllEars’ menu section for menus and pricing: http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm By the time you are done paying for a meal at a Table Service restaurant, especially if you have more than one person dining with you, you could have stayed at a Disney resort and bought the dining plan, which I highly recommend.
4. I think it will be on the busier side.
5. I think that you might consider the cost of staying at a Disney resort and getting a dining plan versus a rental house. By the time you’re done in the parks and whatnot, you’ll be so exhausted you won’t want to make meals at home. You’re on vacation…
6. Don’t waste money on a Park Hopper. It’s a waste. There’s enough to do at each park to spend a WHOLE day there. You don’t want to hop back and forth because it’s a huge waste of time as well.

Orlando answers:

Yes you can. You can’t trade quick for table, but table can be traded for quick. I am using this plan again in a few weeks and have used it three times already. It’s AMAZING! It’s the happiest place on earth and the food is divine. If you have not made reservations for your table service make them soon. Some places require you to use two of your table services per meal so check into that too. Some great places are: o’hannas at the polynesean hotel, hoop de doo review (wilderness) which is two table service but is the best show ever…great food.. It is just to die for! Also…NEVER eat at the Sci Fi dine in at Hollywood Studios- a total waste! I hope you enjoy your trip!!!

Orlando answers:

I loooove Crystal Palace. Character dining buffet… The food rocks and I got a kiss from Tigger. So, win-win situation, there.

Hollywood Studios has a bunch of neat places. I would recommend the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. It’s set up like a huge drive-in, and the tables are “cars”. The kids might like it, but it is “darker” inside (with well-lit tables). The food is nice, too.

There’s also the 50s Prime Time Cafe (or something like that) that is set up in an old-fashioned 50s diner/restaurant combined with a “Mom’s House” kind of feel. It’s also very nice, but not as exciting as the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater.

Chef Mickey’s is good, too.

If you’re looking for lunch at places, I’d recommend Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe in the Magic Kingdom. A lot of different choices, and it’s simple in-out quick service. No reservations necessary. (Plus, most things are under $10.

For Hollywood Studios, there’s also the Pizza Planet restaurant. It’s set up like Pizza Planet in the Toy Story movies, which is perfect for kids. It is also quick service, so no reservations necessary. There are other choices there, too.

I can’t tell you about Animal Kingdom as I’ve never been. But, you can use this website for ideas, menus, and reviews of the Disney restaurants. (http://allears.net/din/dining.htm)

Orlando answers:

Im a Travel Agent and Small World Vacations is an Agency that specializes in Disney .
All agencies do Disney , but this one only does Disney.
Reputation ?Good , but you can call Disney direct and get the same service and same prices.The advantage to using a Travel Agency like Small World is they would be very informative because they do know as much as calling direct and can give you tips that Disney agents may not know about.
I would use them , Its good to have someone else take care of your travel .All you have to do is go ………

Orlando answers:

The best way to make it worth while is to carefully plan it, but not kill yourself trying to do every single thing, because that will be impossible.

Look at all the parks and the attractions within each park. Prioritize what things you want to do most and make it happen. Pick a few must-sees and PLAN for those while leaving some free time to just walk around and happen upon some of the extras that the parks have to offer.

The most time-efficient strategy is to focus on one park for a day, then if you want to, hop to a second park for the evening after the first park closes. If you hop to several parks within the same day, you will waste a lot of time during your travel from park to park. Magic Kingdom and Epcot have a lot of attractions to cover, and usually have later hours than Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Plan on having days dedicated to Magic Kingdom and Epcot, but also visiting them on evenings after a park with earlier hours has closed. That way, you can extend your day of Disney fun while knocking out more attractions since there are so many to do.

Some attractions that I would not miss:

-Fantasmic show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
-Illuminations show at Epcot (it might even be possible to see Fantasmic and Illuminations on the same night by walking from Disney’s Hollywood Studios to Epcot after Disney’s Hollywood Studios closes).
-Dinosaur, Expedition Everest and Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom.
-Rockin Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror and Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
-Test Track, Spaceship Earth and checking out the various countries and foods within the world showcase at Epcot.
-Pirates of the Caribbean, The Hall of Presidents, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, and the fireworks show at Magic Kingdom.

My family can accomplish seeing most of the attractions at all of the parks by scheduling like this:

-A full day at Magic Kingdom on a day with long extra magic hours in the evening.
-An extra day at Magic Kingdom for a seasonal party such as Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Attractions are open during these parties.
-A full day at Epcot on a day with long extra magic hours in the evening.
-A full day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios followed by an evening at Epcot or Magic Kingdom after Disney’s Hollywood Studios closes.
-A full day at Animal Kingdom followed by an evening at Epcot or Magic Kingdom after Animal Kingdom closes.
-We also schedule a couple of “rest days” in between our park days to relax at the resort or shop at Downtown Disney, just because the parks are so exhausting.

Good luck with your planning. Be sure to make your dining reservations well ahead of your vacation if there are any restaurants you really want to experience.

Orlando answers:

There is a ton to do at all of the parks, the Magic Kingdom included, for adults. There are some great shows, some rides that everyone should check out at least once, plus tons of other attractions. Here are a few of our favorites for the “older” crowd:

Magic Kingdom – Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, the Hall of Presidents, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Disney’s Philharmagic, It’s A Small World ( currently closed from what I hear, might not be open), Spectromagic night time parade, Wishes Fireworks show.

Epcot – Soarin’, Test Track, Spaceship Earth, Take a nice stroll through all of the countries in World Showcase, The Land exhibit (a short tour called “Living with the land”).

MGM – Indiana Jones Stunt Show, Extreme Stunt Show, Beauty and the Beast live, Star Tours, The Great Movie Ride, Fantasmic night time spectacular, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Sounds Dangerous starring Drew Carey.

Animal Kingdom – Kilimanjaro Safari, It’s Tough to be a Bug, Maharaja’s Jungle Trek, Dinoland USA.

There are also some thrill rides I am sure you will enjoy, like the Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster in MGM, Space Mountain, Thunder Mtn. Railroad, and Splash Mtn. In Magic Kingdom, and Expedition Everest in the Animal Kingdom. Plus don’t forget Downtown Disney and the Disney Marketplace, some of the best places to eat and shop in all of WDW.

I hope this helps. If you want more info there are a few places I would recommend. First, go to the Disney website. You can get pics and descriptions of every attraction in WDW. Next, check out the disboards. The disboards is a message boards website that is dedicated to all things Disney travel. You can get trip reports, resort reviews, restaurant reviews, travel tips, and much more. Finally, I would go to the bookstore and pick up the Birnbaum’s Guide to WDW. There are a ton of guide books out there but that is the one that has worked best for us.

If you have the time, I would take a day and go over to Sea World. Honestly, you won’t even need a full day. Sea World is nice, the shows are pretty cool as are the exhibits. Universal is a different story. You need much more time for Universal, and honestly the last visit I had there I was dissappointed. It seems they have stared to go after the teens and younger crowd, so many of their rides and attractions are thrill oriented. Just a thought.

As for the restaurants, I would try again to call Disney Dining and explain the situation. Disney is usually pretty accomodating for stuff like this, and in all honesty you are adding one person, not a whole family.

Have a great trip!

Orlando answers:

I went to disney world last June, so this is what I remember:

Rides: Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, It’s a Small World, Peter Pan, Pirates of the Carribean, etc. (I’m also 14 and I never got bored there).

Parks: I only went to Magic Kingdom and Epcot while I was there, but I would assume that for our age (14-15), Hollywood Studios would be amusing. I would spend most of your time in Magic Kingdom though, as its the main park and most fun in my opinion. You can use the monorails for transportation, and/or Disney buses to get from park to park.

Fast Passes: Fast passes are a great way to get on rides faster if there are long waits. We used fast passes at Magic Kindom last June and they were great. To get one, go to the ride you want one for. The. Find the fast pass station for that particular ride (note: some rides don’t have fast passes). Print out the number of fast passes needed for you And your group. On the fast pass, it’ll tell you the time you should come back to get on the ride. When its time, go back to the ride and get in the fast pass line. When I was there, the wait time was usage around an hour.

Crowds: June wasn’t so bad for me. When you go, it probably won’t be that bad, but it could be depending on spring break crowds.

Air tran: I’m a frequent Delta flier, so I’ve never flown anyother airline. Air tran is merged with Southwest Airlines, and they operate a fleet of 86 Boeing 717s (compare to dc 9s). I’ve flown hundreds of times on Delta and Northwest airlines, so I’m not sure about air tran though.

Disney World is one of my favorite places in the world. You’re lucky you get to go back so soon. Have fun.

Orlando answers:

There are mostly mild rides at Disney World. You won’t find a lot of “epic roller coaster rides”. There is space mountain though, and splash mountain with big drops. At epcot there is mission space. In hollywood studios there is rockin’ roller coaster and the twilight zone tower of terror. In animal kingdom there is kali river rapids and expedition everest. However is you don’t like the other milder rides, than Disney probably isn’t the place for you. Maybe try Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios.

Orlando answers:

Wow! Last year you posted your age as thirteen years old. And now you’re a mom to ten year old girls? You really need to be in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Please don’t post ridiculous questions. The folks around here are passionate about Disney and thoroughly enjoy helping others. It’s not fair to them that you waste their time.

Orlando answers:

The moderate resort rooms are a bit bigger. You’ll enjoy that extra space. Moderates also have more food choices and are closer to the parks. Most also have their own transportation. “Amenities at moderate-priced resorts include full-service restaurants, food courts, room service (limited), luggage service, swimming pools with a slide and hot tub, on-site recreation, bus or boat transportation”

Between the two, Pop Century and Caribbean are both different. CBR is close to Hollywood Studio’s, Epcot and Downtown Disney, so its considered an Epcot resort. There’s this little footbridge with a little island connected to the resort which is absolutely beautiful! It can be very romantic at sunrise or sunset. It will cost you around $170 a night to stay at the CBR, but I highly recommend it. It’s one of my favourite moderate resorts! For more info on it, here’s a fact sheet: http://allears.net/acc/faq_cbr.htm . Allears is great for Disney trip-panning!

Pop Century is the newest out of the Value resorts. It’s my favorite value resort. The theming is really cool and it has some neat pools. It also has it’s own transportation, where the other value resorts share buses to and from the parks. You looking to pay around $105 a night. This resort only has a food court.

Either way you go, you’ll make a great choice. Personally, I would spend the extra money for the moderate resort but that is just me. Just remember, on a rainy day or something the moderate resorts do have more to do.

Just a couple of tips :
– Make your dining reservations ASAP. I think you still qualify for the free dining plan if you book now.If not , the dining plan is still great if you plan on eating one sit down meal at least per day.
– Add the park hopper on to your passes. This way you can have flexibility with your dining reservations or can visit another park if you wish
– You can take Disneys Magical Express to and from Orlando International airport, free of charge! They’ll also deliver your luggage right to your room. If you do that, make sure you pack your bathing suit or something in your carry on because it can take a couple hours after you arrive for your luggage to get there.

Anyways, I hope this helps and remember to check out http://www.allears.net for some great Disney info!

Orlando answers:

Well for starters your looking at $405 dollars a night at polynesian resort. So just basic tickets and hotel is going to run you 3400 thats not including airfare, or dining. With dining your looking at 4000. Then basic airfare out of cleveland on continenteal will bring it to 4750.

A moderate with no airfare about 2300. And a value would be 1900 without airfare.

Good luck i got all this from Disney.com you can get on there and play around to see what you may like in planning your vacation. I myself prefer the value resorts cause all I basicly do there is sleep, and use the money you save for souveniors.

Orlando answers:

I think the Aug-Sept free dining has usually been announced in May, while the later fall dates have been announced in June or July.

Orlando answers:

Hi, you seem like you really wanna visit  Disney World. But in a way I can’t blame you. Anyways back to your question. Since you said that this is probably gonna be the last time you go to Disney World and because of that you wanna make the Most of it. It’s best to get as much knowledge as you can.  I suggest you go here

http://disneyworldforum.disney.go.com/home.aspx?CMP=OTC-MomVanityToMomsPanel

It’s the Disney World moms panel. Parents, both moms and dads that have good knowledge about Disney are chosen to answer your question. It’s just like here on Yahoo answers except on the Moms panel they are people who have been to Disney World and will actually give you much better and more professional advice. And it’s FREE.
So go and ask the questions that you asked here on the Moms panel but try to make your question just a little more organized. Go and ask them about the  weather and the heat and what’s the  best time to go. And also about the FREE dining you were talking about. In a way I think there May be a thing like that but I just don’t know.
I also don’t know much about the weather either so sorry.

Another thing I noticed in your questions is that you said that you were also on budget and you would like to save money on your next trip. Well anyways, you should try checking out a Guide. Guides are books that you buy to give you more knowledge about. One I suggest is this one. DW Insider.
It was written by an Ex Disney Cast Member and she knows all about the INS and outs about spending money and on how to save it. Here it is:

http://136cfb7lu9r9ox7447tcj5fh3s.hop.clickbank.net/

Here’s a few other links that could help you out. It’s my blog review about the product and it’s my squidoo lens Where I give some of my own money saving tips( btw I wrote these so I hope you like em’)

http://disneysecretsandtips.blogspot.com/

http://www.squidoo.com/save-hundreds-on-your-next-Disney-World-vacation

You should check all the links out. They will help you out a bunch. Sorry if I didn’t answer all of your questions. Though I hope I still helped. I wish you all the best on you Disney trip…:)

Sent from my iPod

Orlando answers:

Well, there is an italian restaurant at Epcot. They recently changed it within the last year. Tutto Italia. Its a sit down and a little pricey.

Then at Disney Hollywood Studios is Mama Melrose. This is more like a new york style italian restaurant. Nice, good food. It looks like a restaurant you find in an the city and its strange because you forget you are in a theme park.

At Magic Kingdom is Tony’s Town Square. Its right as you walk into main street. And will usually fill up quickly. Reservations are recommended.

There are no sitdown italian restaurant at Animal Kingdom

as far as other italian restaurants… There is Portobello at Downtown Disney (don’t know if you can use it for your dining plan, i would check) and i guess you could king of count Spoodles. But that is going to close soon to be replaced by a new restaurnat. Is more mediteranian and has several influences. But they do have pastas and flat breads.

I can’t think of any other italian places but if i think of any i will update my post.

Orlando answers:

Parks:
Magic Kingdom- True Disney feel. You’ll need the most amount of time to see everything here, because it has the most to do. Best rides in Magic Kingdom- Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, and all of the classics.
EPCOT- A fun park that offers a lot of things to learn. You’ll need to wear comfortable shoes because even just around the World Showcase Lagoon, you’ll be walking a mile. See all of the attractions in EPCOT, they’re all great.
Hollywood Studios- Has the most “thrill” rides, and is targeted more towards teens and adults. Best rides- Rock’n’roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania!
Animal Kingdom- Has the least to do, unless you’re a huge fan of safaris. Best rides- Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, Dinosaur

Transportation:
There is a shuttle from the airport to your Disney Resort called Disney’s Magical Express, and it’s free. Ask about it when you book your resort.
Buses run from your resort to everywhere in the world, with the exception of getting from your resort to another resort. Keep that in mind if you want to visit the entertainment venues in the Boardwalk.
To get to the Magic Kingdom resort, take the bus to the TTC and board the monorail. The Monorail can take you to EPCOT and the Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and Polynesian as well.

Hotels are separated into four categories:
DELUXE: Animal Kingdom Lodge (also offers DVC villas), Boardwalk Inn (also offers DVC villas), Contemporary (also offers DVC villas in the Bay Lake Tower), Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Swan & Dolphin, Wilderness Lodge (aldo offers DVC villas), Yacht and Beach Club (also offers DVC villas)
DVC: Disney’s Old Key West, Disney’s Saratoga Springs
MODERATE: Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, Port Orleans French Quarter and Riverside, Fort Wilderness Cabins
VALUE: All Star Movies, Music, and Sports, Pop Century

The best places to see the characters are The Judge’s Tent (Magic Kingdom), EPCOT Character Spot, and Character Trails at Camp Minnie Mickey (Animal Kingdom).
Character Dining:
Princesses can be found at Akershus in EPCOT, Cinderella’s Royal Table in Magic Kingdom, 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian (Mary Poppins at breakfast)
Mickey and friends can be found at Garden Grove in the Swan resort, Mickey’s Backyard Barbecue, Tusker House at Animal Kingdom, Chef Mickey’s at Contemporary Resort, and Garden Grill in EPCOT
Pooh is at Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom, Alice in Wonderland at the Wonderland Tea Party in the Grand Floridian, Playhouse Disney characters at Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood Studios, and Lilo and Stitch at Ohana in the Polynesian.

Orlando answers:

Ok, there is a terrible myth about how crowded and horrible it is at Disney during christmas. This is just not that true. YES, it is the busiest time of year for us. YES, there will be a lot of people and the rides will have some long wait times. What you have to consider is Disney is well aware of this and is awesome at moving large crowds. In my years of working and playing at the park the longest wait time I have ever personally seen is 120min.

I have been at the Magic Kingdom on Christmas eve and Christmas day as a guest a couple times now. You will need to arrive EARLY. The park often reaches capacity and closes down before noon. Dont freak out though. The only place its miserable when the park reaches capacity is Main Street USA. That is because its a bottleneck. The rest of the park is fine.

Best tip is use fast pass. This is free. You take your park ticket to the fast pass ticket distribution centers located to the specific ride you want to ride. Pop in your ticket and out pops a fast pass with a time on it. Only the most popular rides have fastpass. You need to walk to the specific ride to get a fast pass ride it. That means you cant get a FP for space mountain at Splash and vise versa.

That FP is good anytime after the time printed at the top. So if it says 1:00pm then you can go to the fast pass lane at 1:00pm and not a minute sooner. PLEASE do not think you need to show up at 12:59 and wait till 1pm this creates a waiting mess as some people with FP ready to go are not sure they can go because some idot whos FP is not for 3mins later is blocking the entrance.

Drinking around the world is not an attraction. It only cost you the drinks you will be buying. Each country in Epcot serves drinks, usually beer, that is from the specific country. So People stop and get a drink at each country. Check out Cava De Tequila in Mexico. Its a tequila bar inside the pyramid that serves the best margaritas in the world. They have a margerhita filight that will knock your socks off.

You will see a lot of kids but dont be alarmed. Your going to have a great time. Disney is awesome for adults. I think adults have more fun then kids.

If you just remember to relax and realize this is a vacation. Your not going to see everything Disney has to offer. We just have so much going on. Let yourself be free to act like a kid again.

Orlando answers:

I am almost 40 and I go to Disney a lot and I enjoy myself every time. They have 4 different theme parks that each has its own style along with two great water parks (it will be hot so these will be packed). Downtown Disney is a great place to go and just relax while shopping. They have a movie theatre there that is the best I have been to. Great restaurants and Cirque Sole (know I spelled that wrong). If you are staying at a hotel that has a mini-fridge I would suggest buying food and snacks outside the resort area and using the fridge. The food in the resort area is expensive.
There are many things to do outside of the Disney Resort area also. There are outlet malls (teens love to shop), a huge mega mall (about 8 miles east of Disney), a cheaper water park (price wise) and many different attractions. You could even go to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure if they love roller coasters. Sea World is also in the area and is a good way to spend a day.

Orlando answers:

The day you arrive you could go to Downtown Disney eat at Earls sandwich shop for dinner.
Thursday I would spend at Hollywood Studios. Go to Fantasmic eat at 50’s Prime Time.
Friday Magic Kingdom. Use fast pass its free at Disney
Saturday Animal Kingdom for dinner go to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue.
Sunday Epcot.
Spend Monday Tuesday and Wednesday at Universal and Island of Adventure or Wednesday go to Sea World.
Thursday go were your family wants to.
If you have time before you leave on Friday go to Chef Mickey for breakfast.
You can rest when you get home from your vacation.
Hope you have a great time!

Orlando answers:

There are 4 main parks – Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. There are also 2 water parks (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon), and the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. Downtown Disney is a free dining/shopping/entertainment complex.

There are several different ticket options. You purchase your ticket for the number of days of your trip – so for a 1-week trip you’d want a 6 or 7 day ticket (depending on your travel times on the days you leave and arrive).
*Base ticket – allows you to visit any one of the 4 main parks each day of your visit. You can come and go from that one park as much as you’d like on any day, but must stick with the same park for the day.
*Park Hopper – allows you to visit more than one park each day of your visit. You can jump around from park to park as much as you’d like
*Water Parks and More – if you think you’ll be interested in the water parks, Disney Quest, golf, etc, then you can purchase this option. It allows visits to these other attractions during the length of your ticket; the number of visits depends on the number of days of your tickets. You can also purchase an individual ticket to one of the water parks.

A 7-day base ticket is $288 for adults; a 7-day Park Hopper is $345; a 7-day base with Water Parks & More is $345; a 7-day Park Hopper with Water Parks and More is $367. A 6-day base ticket is $278; Park Hopper is $335; Water Parks & More base is $335; Water Parks and More Park Hopper is $357. There is only a $10 difference in the price of a 6-day versus 7-day ticket. Those are per adult, before taxes.

Www.disneyworld.com

One thing to watch is that you’ll be there for 4th of July – the parks are very busy that day and sometimes fill to capacity. So I’d plan to get there early that day, and don’t leave until you’re done for the day, because you might not be able to come back.

Orlando answers:

Hi,

I just checked out the disney site and for a 7 day park hopper pass without water parks added it is $281.16 including tax.

As for the food, if you are going to stick to counter service food for the duration of your stay, I would say about $10-12 per meal. This allows you the option for the more expensive choices or a burger, drink and dessert. So if you do 2/day @ 12= $24. $24×7= $168 for food. If you are going to do table service, you will need a lot more. See the website I reference below.

Therefore if you only need those 2 expenses and you round up (always a good thing to do at WDW), you should plan on
$220 tickets
+ $175 food
+ $35 snacks ($2.50 soda + $2.50 popcorn/icecream/candy)
——————-
$430

Hope this helps you.

If you want to check out menus to price more closely, I suggest

http://www.wdwig.com

click on dining then the menus and it will show you the prices and you can base your budget on what you would actually eat at the places you want to eat.

Orlando answers:

We went to Disney this past December with my daughters, who are 5, and my niece who is 2. All the kids are free, I’m pretty sure it is 3 and under are free to get in. They can ride a lot of the rides, they rides that we went on the only ones my niece could not go on were Soarin’, the roller coasters and Tower of Terror. My daughters could not go on Expedition Everest, and there we a few others. You can go to Disney’s website and look at the height requirements. I also recommend the website allears.net. There are tons of things at every park for all of you to do, we spent at least a whole days at every park, and went back to Magic Kingdom twice, and Epcot one other time, and still did not see/do everything. We were at the parks all day too, if they got too tired, it was take a nap in the stroller. It worked out, and they did very well I think. Also I recommend having you in-laws get the dining plan, it worked out great, as everything was paid for, and we had all our meals planned out. But the little ones will not get a meal as they are free, but we all just gave Mia some of our food, and a lot of the restaurants gave her a drink for free.

Also some other things, do Chef Mickey!! This was our FAVORITE meal, a must do!! Also if your daughter likes the princesses, I recommend a Princess meal as well, we did it at the Askerhouse in Norway at Epcot, you can also do one at Cinderella’s Castle, but you have to book 180 days in advance, and heard they go pretty fast. We also went to a Pooh lunch at Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom, and my girls enjoyed that a lot. Also the dining plan includes snacks, which was pretty nice, we used those a fair amount, plus had some left over, which then used up the morning we left!!

Also again if your little girl likes the princesses, or being dolled up, it can be expensive but do the Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique. It was ALL worth it, just to see how mesmerized and excited my daughters were!! They had a BLAST doing it!!

Also if it is a birthday in the family, be sure to let your hotel know!! When we went it was a week after my daughters’ birthdays, and when we booked we let them know there would be two birthdays. My daughters got a pin that said it was their birthday, and we wore them all week. It got them a cupcake with every sit down meal we had, cast members said happy birthday, and they even got a few free pins!!

I also recommend seeing a lot of the parades, my daughters’ and niece LOVED those. And a lot of the shows, the only one I don’t recommend is Fantasmic, it was good show, but my niece was scared pretty much the whole time. Also for rides, my nieces favorite was the Flying Dumbos, it was the longest line we had to stand it, but that is all my niece talked about the whole time. But be prepared to stand in lines. Soarin’ I recommend for the adults, I’m not sure of the height requirement, but my niece could not go on it, but it was pretty cool!!

Also stay on property, it makes everything SOO much easier.
Have fun!!