Vacation in Orlando

[Jason R]

Hi does anyone have any helpful tips about Disney world? I hear its hard to get in a resturant. Im taking the wife and 3 year old in Jan. Plan on staying in a Disney resort. Any sugestions would be great. Thanks.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

You can reserve the restaurants ahead of time by calling (407) WDW-DINE (939-3463), I think no sooner than 90 days in advance (check on that), but you want to be calling as soon as you can.



I personally, highly recommend the following:



Breakfast (for the little kids, especially youn girls):

- A Fairytale Lunch at Cinderalla's Royal Table (Magic Kingdom)

- Princess Storybook Dining at Restaurant Akershus (Epcot/Norway)



Lunch:

- Sci-Fi Dine In Theater (MGM)

- 50s Prime Time Cafe (MGM)



Dinner:

- Biergarten Restaurant (Epcot/Germany)



STAY AWAY FROM THE Rain Forest Cafe in the Animal Kingdom AT ALL COSTS. IT SUCKS!



If you are set on staying at Disney, have fun, the accomodations are always nice, but often pricey. If you want to drive and park, let me know as I can recommend a nice apt/suite type setup that is 3 miles from the parks and will save you a ton of time (if you stay at one of the Disney rooms on a bus route) and money. We stayed at one, and since it had a full kitchen and dining area we ate most of our breakfasts and a dinner or two there. You save a lot that way, and don't waste as much time in the morning eating breakfast at one of the parks....kids just want cereal and mom and dad coffee...then 10 to 15 minutes from apt to front gates, vs wait for bus, bus ride all over, wait in line to eat, wait to be served, wait to pay, then start enjoying the rides and sites. Sure, if staying at a resort hotel you can get into the parks earlier, but not that much earlier, and then if you factor in what time you have to be at the transit stops, you are up at 6:30am...don't sound like a vacation to me!



Checkout the link below for dining reservations:

 

[Tom Higbee]

Stayed on property over 100 times...Disney's Old Key West Resort...as well as many others...that doesn't sound like my trips at all.....no set schedule for the bus, they come every 15 minutes or so... and it goes directly to a park...not all over....stayed outside a few times as well..for your first trip I say stay on property...with the lower price resorts they have now, it's worth the extra cost.....Pop Century is a good one for a first time family....also, January usually has some good deals...check out the Disney Web site....you can really get alot of info...also, this is a great web site ....http://www.allearsnet.com....very up to date!!! Check it out, alot to see on that site!!!



Wanted to add, on Ebay you can usually find 5 nights in a studio at OLD KEY WEST RESORT, a Disney Vacation Club, for under $100.00 a night!!! It's an upscale resort, and for $100.00 a night, you can't beat it!!! Here is one listing!!! http://cgi.ebay.com/Disney-timeshare-OLD-KEY-WEST-5-nite-vacation_W0QQitemZ6562568784QQcategoryZ3257QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Thomas Rogers]

I have stayed three times at Disney resorts. I agree there are no set schedules, but it seems waiting 15, 20 minutes for a bus, then having to ride 10 or 15 minutes on a bus isn't uncommon. Granted we always go first week of Dec, so maybe since there are so few people then they run fewer buses.



We stayed at Old Key West once 6 or 7 years ago. The price then was high, but now it is ginormous. You can get relatively equiv accommodations offsite for about $300/day LESS. Hard to beat that. $8/day parking seems cheap, comparatively.



It may just be me. I hate waiting for things, which is one of the reasons we go in Dec when the lines are low. Standing 10 or 15 minutes for a bus when I could instead be driving 5 or 10 minutes to a park is the trade-off. I am not a mass-trans kind of guy.



;-)



TJR

 

[Bill V]

Get a 3* or better hotel in the area via Priceline--you're not likely to find any better bargain. See www.biddingfortravel.com for tips on how to do it, and a list of what rates people have had recent success with...

 

[Tom Higbee]

TRJ,



Did you check out the ebay link I put in the last post. $100 a night at OKW...that includes tax and all....not bad....Great place for a family vaca in my opinion

http://cgi.ebay.com/Disney-timeshare-OLD-KEY-WEST-5-nite-vacation_W0QQitemZ6562568784QQcategoryZ3257QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Kevin Palmer]

If you or a family member is in the military I would suggest you check out Shades Of Green. It is owned by Department of Defense. You pay by your rating. For example. An E5 will pay something like $79.00 a night. You get discounts on all the parks and transportation is free to and from all the parks.



As noted above put in your reservations now at the restaurants. At least a couple of times to breakfast, or lunch, or a dinner with the stars. Like Mikey, Minnie, etc etc etc. They cost a few more dollars but treat you great. They will come right to your table and spend some time with your kid(s). Sign autograph books or your hat or what ever.



We go every year. My two girls have hats from 4 years ago with signatures all over them..



Enjoy...

 

[Thomas Rogers]

As I said, trtex, I stayed at Old Key West about 7 years ago for 10 nights. Now, unless you can get a deal, like that off eBay, you pay an outrageous amount for that convenience. It is VERY NICE though, as you said. The room was by far the most expensive part of that vacation even then...almost 1/2 of the total vacation cost for my family of 4 (at that time now 5). And, the regular OKW costs have about doubled since then.



TJR

 

[Tom Higbee]

If you pay rack rate at OKW, then yes, it's very expensive..I agree...but these deals for $100.00 a night for 5 nights are available all the time except Holidays...so it's just a way around the high cost of what Disney will charge. They are usually available at all the DVC resorts on Ebay and I even have a few people who rent them for a living at those prices...last year, 4 familys that joined us for EASTER Vacation only paid $150.00 a night..that's a great deal for a Holiday vacation....just letting people know that there are ways around the higher costs sometimes. Thanks for the chat.

 

[AnneCrystal Brezina]

I would like to add Cafe Mickey's in the Contemporary as a dining choice. We have been there several times. Mickey, Minnie etc. come around and you can get some great pictures. It is buffet style with adult and kid choices.



We have stayed at Pop Century and my daughter and I had a great time. They have several pools and a nice Food Court that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.



Let me know if you have any other questions about the Orlando area or Disney. We live in the Orlando area and we have had Annual Disney passes before.



Hope this helps.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

When I visited last time, I drove from Kissimee to the park each day. The hotel rates are more reasonable and they have some wonderful restaurants. My fiancee is Puerto Rican and we ate at a couple places that made her homesick.

 

[Jim DeVine]

I live in Orlando and I have to agree with TJR. We have passes and use them often to go eat at the German Pavilion and then go home. The ffod is excellent and $20 all-you-can-eat German food is a real bargain.



Disney resorts are nice, they give you that "Disney" experience feel, but there are tons of hotels within a short drive. Orlando is so spread out anyway (45 min drive from the Orlando International to the Disney properties) you will probably want a rental car. Unless you want the experienxe of going to the second fllor to catch the Monorail, then I would stay off property and use your cash for better things... Like a day at Unversal.



Enjoy!



Jim

 

[Randy Hall]

You are going to laugh at this but it does work.



If you go to any of the parks first thing in the morning always go to the left when you walk through the gates. A larger percentage of people will automatically go to the right. By going to the left you have fewer crowds to deal with for the first part of the day.