Disney World Florida

We went to Disney in November. We booked thru AAA so we got amazing deals. Our Deluxe Meal Plan was FREE!!! We did a 5 day park hopper and had more than enough time to get on all the rides we wanted. I planned it all from lists of rides in each park that were "Must Rides" to making the 1 sit down reservation per day. We booked last Feb and had it all finalized and ready in September. I felt like a planner extraordinaire!

How old are your kiddos? When are you going and how long are you staying? This matters a lot. Mine are 8 & 6 yr old boys. So we had to do all the "boys stuff". We stayed at the value All Star Movies. We went to every park multiple times, saw parades, met characters, rode the scary coasters, played in the pool, took naps. It really was a great trip. That's a lot coming from me. I'm really not into disney stuff but I'd go back in a second.

We are going the second week in March, and I am kind of nervous about the food and not working out. I've been doing pretty good the past few months, and something like this is where I normally blow it. I'm just hoping I walk enough while I am there to burn off the road food and not cooking for myself.

Any thoughts on plans for eating somewhat healthy?

We just stayed at the Port Orleans French Quarter, which is the smallest resort on the property. We loved it. It was beside a river that had a great path going to the Port Orleans Riverside resort.

I'm leaving for my 10th visit on Friday! I have a mickey mouse tattoo and know the parks like the back of my hand. The dining plans are AMAZING deals - IF you use them smartly. Both resorts you mentioned are fine - any of the resorts on the property really are. Feel free to PM me with specific questions - I love to help people plan it all out!!

I've never posted on MFP before, but I've got some good info for you. We've been many times. We use http://www.touringplans.com for figuring out when the crowd is lowest. It is worth the $13 membership fee, and comes with phone app. called Lines that lets you know what the wait times are.

We also use http://www.allears.net for all general info. Great site, but hard to navigate.

We like to stay at Beach Club because it's close to EPCOT (walking distance). The kids (10 and 8) love it because it's like a big children's museum, and they really love the Kim Possible game among many other things. EPCOT has alcohol (if you like that... we do... it helps one deal with the crowds better and it also has the best places to eat.

We've gotten the free Dining Plan before, but I don't think I would buy it unless you just really need the convenience. Maybe the Quick Service Plan is ok to buy, but otherwise it's not cheaper usually. It just depends.

Also, we book directly through WDW, but again, their site is weird and hard to navigate. Sometimes fees and add ons are automatically added that you may not want or even notice. Just look carefully.

I also suggest the Park Hopper add on. When you see the Per Park Crowd Calendar found on Touring Plans, you'll understand why. You might want to go to a more empty park in the a.m. and to the Extra Magic Hours park (which ever that may be that day) in the late evening since lots of people w/o the PH add on have left due to tiredness.

I could go on forever.

i don't know if you are aware of this but disney is offering a four day park hopper for 138. you can add other options if you want. We have been to disney a bunch of time and we never stay on location. if you use the armed forces vacation club you can get condos down there really cheap. we are going in march and we are staying at the lake buena vista resort village and spa. it is right outside the park and we got a two room condo for 99 a night. the firework show at the magic kingdom is really good, fantasmic at hollywood studios is good but get there early for seats, the lion king show is really good at animal kingdom. I would recommend going straight to the show when the park opens.. Use the fastpass for the big rides really helps. you can bring food into the park. hope you have a great time....

My favorite resort is the Wilderness Lodge! We've stayed at a few Disney resorts. Our stay at the Wilderness Lodge was a few months ago, and we were so pleasantly surprised. The decor in the lobby is fantastic, and the rooms are very spacious and nice. We had a standard room that just overlooked some trees, so the view wasn't anything fantastic, but we didn't really need a view. The pool is really nice, and there's a geyser near the pool that goes off every hour. It sounds silly, but it's really fun to watch. They're also right by the boat and bike rental place, so that's easy to get to if you're wanting to do that. They show a movie on the beach every night, which is surprisingly fun, and you can take the resort launch over to Fort Wilderness to experience Chip & Dale's Sing Along and roast marshmallows to make s'mores. I know, it sounds like kid's stuff, but that was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. Then, also from the boat/bike rental place, you can watch the nighttime water parade. Wilderness Lodge has GREAT transportation to Magic Kingdom - just take the boat and you're there in less than 5 minutes. But you have to take the bus to get to the other parks, which takes about 20-30 minutes, depending on which park. (However, from most other resorts, you have to take the bus no matter what.)

When it comes to parks and tickets and plans, I do advise getting the meal plan. I"ve never actually used it because I've never had to, but when I priced it out one time just for fun, it saves a TON of money, and it kind of forces you to get out and experience the fun places to eat. Epcot offers some of the best restaurants (sometimes we go there just for dinner, not to actually ride anything), but they are quite pricey. (That's the advantage of the meal plan - you pay the same amount whether you eat at an expensive place or not!) Mexico, Germany, and Italy are my favorite places to eat at Epcot. If you're looking for something cheaper at Epcot, the Land has a great counter service place. The other parks have nice places to eat, but none as good as Epcot, in my opinion. Animal Kingdom, however, has an excellent buffet in the Tusker House, in Africa. If you are feeling adventurous and up for some unique flavors, you should check them out. We've been twice, and both times we have left waaaay too full from stuffing ourselves with deliciousness. (I highly recommend them for a breakfast buffet, but lunch is equally as good.) One thing I can say, the food at Disney can be mediocre, but if it's themed food (like Tusker House, or Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge), they go above and beyond!

The Magic Your Way tickets are just regular park tickets. I would advise to add the Park Hopper option if you can afford it and if that's something that you're interested in. If they still do it the way they used to when I would buy them, you can add the option to as many days as you want for one price, so it is actually cheaper that way if you're going for multiple days, which it sounds like you are.

Check out the Unofficial Guide to Disney World. It's my FAVORITE resource for all things Disney.

My husband and I live in Orlando and are both Disney freaks with annual passes, so I am happy to answer any questions you have.

We are going the second week in March, and I am kind of nervous about the food and not working out. I've been doing pretty good the past few months, and something like this is where I normally blow it. I'm just hoping I walk enough while I am there to burn off the road food and not cooking for myself.

Any thoughts on plans for eating somewhat healthy?

I was trying to quote this with my last reply about the pedometer.

Argh, there's Disney World talk and I almost missed it!

Absolutely love Disney World. Used to go with my auntie. She very kindly took me three times over six years,in my adult life (along with numerous times as a young child) but she's going again this year and I've had to put a stop to the trips on my behalf. She's actually travelling alone this time, I think!

Everything about Disney World is magical to me but I'm getting married next year and then it'll be time to start a family not long after. I need to put my serious head on and stop spending money on trips to Florida, even if my aunt did pay for most things for me.

Hopefully in future I'll be able to take my own children.

I've stayed in the Pop Century, Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs resorts, each better than the one before (though I doubt any could beat Coronado Springs...pure luxury). The last time I went I was living my healthy lifestyle and didn't gain any weight, got plenty of walking in and generally looked after my health and body. The time before that was indulgence and eat everything. That's not to say I didn't snack plenty and have junk the last time, just that I was more careful with portions and I counted and logged what I ate, and we were on the Dining Plan.

*sigh* I do love that place...

I used to work at Disney. As much as I love the place, I would never stay on property. It's just way to expensive. That said, it is a total experience too.

That sounds like an awesome trip! I used to have a AAA card but didn't re-up this year, luckily, I'm military so we get 40% off the resorts.

It will be just me and my husband, no kids yet (honestly, hoping to be pregnant by then) We plan to stay for 3 nights and get a 4 day park hopper. How was the all star movies? Also, what's included in the Deluxe meal plan, I just saw "meal plan" and didn't see if there are different ones.

All Star Movies was fine. It's your basic hotel/motel room. It has 6 two story buildings of rooms, a pool and a food court area where we ate breakfast every morning. The deluxe meal plan included 3 meals and 2 snacks per person per day to be used how ever you want. You can book sit down restaurants for every meal or do quick service. We did 1 sit down "real food" meal a day for either lunch or dinner, ate breakfast in the hotel food court every morning and did a quick service "fast food" meal and snacks in the parks. And basically anything and everything can be used as a snack. Hot pretzel, popcorn, ice cream carts, soft serve places whatever where ever. So easy.

The best part was that we had SO MUCH food allowance b/c we arrived @ 3pm on our 1st day so didn't use a lot of food that day. That allowed us to load up on stuff to take with us to the airport on the last morning since we had like 13 snacks left. So I grabbed fruit cups, yogurts, muffins etc to take with us. Saved a ton on airport food.

So...Yea...Get the meal plan!

If you plan on eating at the park in most of the restaurants you have to make a reservation. The morning you walk in the park.That being said they are expensive, but good! We ate at a Buffet in Wild Kingdom it is towards the back WOW! and it was healthy stuff. couscous, tabbouleh, all kinds of grilled stuff, it has it no no's too. But after you walk All Day Long you can afford a 2000 cal meal.

WIld Kingdom has the Bugs Life Show, SEE IT!!!! It was GReaT!
But be warned the dino ride here is Rated R. 7yrs and under not a great idea.
GReat canrival area but the game in this area take credit card only, weird.

Epcot brought back Capt. EO I remember it being better.
The Buzz Light Year Training Camp was fun.
Ellen's Energy is the DInosaur ride.
Mission to Mars is fun but if you don't like being stuck in a refrigerator be forewarned.

OF course, funnel cakes and turkey legs are great at Magic Kingdom.
Everything is good here.
If you need to see the princesses do the Tea. You will find the money you pay will save a day of lines. we didn't see a single one but in the parades.

I Have one daughter who is the drama girl so we call Magic kingdom "Tragic Kingdom" for her. All I can say is the prince with Cinderella saved us all. He blew her a kiss. ANd yes we all saw it. LOL