Posted on: 12-01-10 13:14:54
Hi
If you are a first time visitor to Disney, I'll suggest you stay in one of the Disney resorts. They are in different ranges from Budget resorts, to Moderate to five stars. You can choose one according to your budget. The reason for staying in Disney resorts
-Commuting, Disney buses, rail and boats all kind of shuttles are waiting all the time for you the moment you step out of the park or the moment you are ready to leave your resort. With kids especially if they are small, after all that extensive park hours it's almost impossible to walk to the parking lot (if you rent a car or you are in non disney hotel shuttle). Only Disney transports are allowed before the gates of park and for rest one needs to walk. You pay nothing for this service. Its only for Disney guests, the only thing you have to do is to get on the bus which says your resort's name.
-I booked mine directly via Disney (resort+tickets) and informed them we were first timers and asked for a discount, she didn't offer discount but offered our whole family to be picked up at airport via shuttle and our luggage from resort to home was dealt by them, I mean they check you in for flight in resort only and you get your luggage at your destination. We got our boarding passes and were hands free in luggage too...this service was her discount!
On Internet if you google there are many sites including expedia who offer Disney packages...I'm sure if you hunt you'll really find a good deal, if possible stay in Disney the experience and the way they make you feel special is out of the world!
Jona
Thank you Jonav, this is what we plan to do as well.... stay at a disney resort since it is our first visit.
Did you fly or drive? We are planning a 6 day trip - thru the March break.
I think we will settle for a reasonable resort.... any recomendations ?
Thank you
Hi
If you are a first time visitor to Disney, I'll suggest you stay in one of the Disney resorts. They are in different ranges from Budget resorts, to Moderate to five stars. You can choose one according to your budget. The reason for staying in Disney resorts
-Commuting, Disney buses, rail and boats all kind of shuttles are waiting all the time for you the moment you step out of the park or the moment you are ready to leave your resort. With kids especially if they are small, after all that extensive park hours it's almost impossible to walk to the parking lot (if you rent a car or you are in non disney hotel shuttle). Only Disney transports are allowed before the gates of park and for rest one needs to walk. You pay nothing for this service. Its only for Disney guests, the only thing you have to do is to get on the bus which says your resort's name.
-I booked mine directly via Disney (resort+tickets) and informed them we were first timers and asked for a discount, she didn't offer discount but offered our whole family to be picked up at airport via shuttle and our luggage from resort to home was dealt by them, I mean they check you in for flight in resort only and you get your luggage at your destination. We got our boarding passes and were hands free in luggage too...this service was her discount!
On Internet if you google there are many sites including expedia who offer Disney packages...I'm sure if you hunt you'll really find a good deal, if possible stay in Disney the experience and the way they make you feel special is out of the world!
Jona
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Thank you
We kind of overdid (splurged) on our first trip and stayed at Wilderness Lounge Resort but our friends have stayed in Disney Pop century which was $71 approx (at that time, I'm not sure if it is less or more now) a day and really liked the resort. We only need rooms to sleep, the whole day is passed in activities and in parks.
Disney shuttles also take their guests to Disney downtown and the near by area, so commuting is the biggest cost one saves while staying in there.
We don't live in Canada so can't suggest any travel agents. We flew over Miami from South America.
Hope this helps.
Jona
Quote:
Originally posted by new2007
How long did you take to drive? Did you take a break somewhere?
Approx. 22 hrs.
Toronto to Orlando - made 2 night halts. Day 1 - 6 hrs, Day 2 - 10 hrs, Day 3 - 6 hrs
Orlando to Toronto - Day 1 11 hrs, Day 2 - 11 hrs
Quote:
Originally posted by new2007
Did you stay at a hotel in Disneyworld or outside.
No, I stayed outside. Disney resorts were very expensive during the holiday season (Christmas and March break). Staying outside wasn't a big hassle. The hotel was about 7 kms away, so in 10 minues or so, we were there. Just that we had to pay for parking.
If you're planning an off-season trip then Disney has good deals. Choice is your's, depending on your budget.
Quote:
Originally posted by new2007
By agent I meant, someone who will book the entire trip - flights, hotel etc.
I used Expedia.com, travelocity.com and other online search tools as my agents, for hotel and flight searches
Quote:
Originally posted by new2007
Not sure what an IP address is? where can I find it.
IP = Internet Protocol, BTW, where did this come from
As regards Jonav's post reg. walking etc. each park has a tram that takes you from the gate to the parking lot. The parking lots are hugh. Epcot has 11,000 parking spots. So it's not possible to walk. The trams run every few minutes. The advantage of driving (that I found) is that we came to the car had out lunch, rested for a bit and went back to the park. We didn;t want to carry all our food into the park. So there's very little walking.
Besides there are free shuttle buses from one park to another, whch everyone can use, not just Disney guests. But never have to use them.
Hope that helps....
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Reiki Grand Master
I would say fly there and save all your energy for Orlando than in driving. It is not a short trip and with kids, it can be very tiring especially if you really want to make it memorable.
Also consider Universal studios. My family enjoyed more at Universal than Disney just our personal feedback. Lastly do not forget the Kennedy space centre. After spending a few days at these amusement parks, this can be really refreshing.
We stayed outside the Disney, universal area and the hotel provided the transportation to both disney and Universal. No hastle of driving and finding a parking space etc. Some of these hotels have kitchen facilities and lots of restaurants nearby and that helped us a lot.
Quote:
Originally posted by gktaurus
I would say fly there and save all your energy for Orlando than in driving. It is not a short trip and with kids, it can be very tiring especially if you really want to make it memorable.
Also consider Universal studios. My family enjoyed more at Universal than Disney just our personal feedback. Lastly do not forget the Kennedy space centre. After spending a few days at these amusement parks, this can be really refreshing.
We stayed outside the Disney, universal area and the hotel provided the transportation to both disney and Universal. No hastle of driving and finding a parking space etc. Some of these hotels have kitchen facilities and lots of restaurants nearby and that helped us a lot.
Depends on the kids age, if kids are under 10 then Disney and above 10 universal studios, UStudio has almost nill activities for kids under 10.
For those of you that have asked me for a copy of the Unofficial Guide - it's a 16Mb file (pdf) and cannot be emailed.
You could certianly meet me downtown or in Scarborough and pick it up.
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SS
Reiki Grand Master
