Disneyland First Time Booker - HELP!!

[WiganTony]

Another option would be to get a Garden Grocer delivery to your hotel but you would probably need accommodation with a fridge etc to make that work. Onsite is my preference as the transportation is regular. I have heard (not experienced) offsite shuttles can be a bit hit and miss. With your children, I would want to be able to get back to my accommodation without long waits and hassle.

Was about to post the same about Garden Grocer!! You can order things like bottled water (you would get 24 bottles for the same price as 2 or 3 if bought in the parks), cereals, snacks, other "heavy/bulky" items, and then use the resort shops to buy milk for cereal.

There is also a quite well stocked HESS garage across from Downtown Disney that is much cheaper than the resort shops.

Regarding staying off-site, most of the hotels that offer a shuttle service do so on a limited basis i.e. possibly 2 or 3 return journeys to each park, or maybe only to one park and you would then have to use Disney Transport to get to the other parks. If you stay in the Lake Buena Vista area (along Palm Parkway), Lynx Bus #50 operates every 30 minutes to bot Downtown Disney and the Transport and Ticketing Center (across the lake from Magic Kingdom) from where you can get transport to all the parks. The last #50 bus leaves Disney at midnight.

If planning a few days away from Disney, it is possible to rent cars for a couple of days and pick them up from the Disney area, or at hotels in the Downtown Disney area. However, as noted in a few posts above, if you use a car to visit Universal or the other parks, it will also cost around $15/day for parking.

 

[daz1985]

went to Thomas cook today and the lady found me direct flights with virgin, a hotel on international drive 14 nights in may for £2800. shes emailing me confirmation. The hotel is called the Enclave Suites and it appealed as it has its own cooking facilities so we can go to supermarket and save a lot of money that way. Plus I asked Thomas cook if they could do anything with the price if we booked with them for everything and they said yes.

the other thing I haven't thought about is schools. our eldest is in school, youngest in pre school. are we even allowed to take them on holiday?? 1 week will be in half term fortunately but the other one isn't....perhaps he can be sick for a week lol...

 

[wayneg]

We once considered staying there many years ago, back then it got very bad reviews so didn't try it, recent years it seems to have improved read a few reviews on Tripadvisor http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_...The_Enclave_Hotel_Suites-Orlando_Florida.html

Its just off IDrive, as I said before not an area I like but others do. You will almost certainly need a car there, friends stayed on Idrive last year but ended up spending a fortune on taxis due to crazy length of bus journeys.

Cost of Enclave suites for 14 nts is about £525 add to Virgin flights I found at £2172 = £2,697 so about £100 premium for using an agent.

It is about £150 less than staying in a value resort onsite. I am no fan of value resorts, too Disney for me but I suspect your children would far prefer there than Enclave suites.

Not sure you appreciate the size of the area, we stay at LBV just outside Disney gates and it can take 45 mins to get into the Magic Kingdom if traffic and transport goes smoothly, bad traffic or busy monorails and it can be 1 hour. Add another 15-20 mins from Idrive.

As for schools, the government changed the rules this year and some authorities now charge a fee if taking children out, around here Kirklees are charging the fee as far as I know but Leeds are allowing upto 5 days per term without fee.

 

[Sam1]

I'd go with the Disney value with it not being that much more, especially with you having kids. Once you add parking and car hire or taxis in, I bet it's not really saving you much. Not enough to miss out on the little extras that staying at Disney will give you (fast pass +).

We've only been once, we stayed at LBV and Bonnet Creek, both hardly any distance from Disney. Wayneg's posts about IDrive kept coming into my head as we drove about, but we only really drove from the hotels to Disney so didn't see much of IDrive. I couldn't understand why he didn't like it, it seemed okay to me and then just before we left we hit the opposite end of IDrive he must mean. I know it might be for some people, but I really didn't like it. It was totally different to what we'd been seeing up at the other end.

As for food. What is it that doesn't appeal to you about Disney food? If it's the cost you can share counter service meals because they're quite big. It's not all burgers and junk food, you can get some nice food at the counter service places. We didn't find them expensive either, but we live in France where the prices are a bit higher than the UK, so for us it was cheaper than eating at McDonald's here.

 

[zippy99]

We enjoy disney food - we are well seasoned visitors and know where to go for variety. I wanted to add, however, that on our first trip in 2008 these forums scared the hell out of me.... dining plan... driving ....adrs.... way too much!!!

You will have a fab holiday whatever!! might i suggest contacting Complete Orlando - we used them for several years in our transition from fully fledged TA bookings to complete DIY. I found them great, they will save you more money than a full TA booking - yet give you the security that you may be concerned about by doing a DIY booking to an unknown destination.

Always worth a call - many on here have used them and at least you have central place to call if you are worried about anything.

 

[DLPDreams]

went to Thomas cook today and the lady found me direct flights with virgin, a hotel on international drive 14 nights in may for £2800. shes emailing me confirmation. The hotel is called the Enclave Suites and it appealed as it has its own cooking facilities so we can go to supermarket and save a lot of money that way. Plus I asked Thomas cook if they could do anything with the price if we booked with them for everything and they said yes.

the other thing I haven't thought about is schools. our eldest is in school, youngest in pre school. are we even allowed to take them on holiday?? 1 week will be in half term fortunately but the other one isn't....perhaps he can be sick for a week lol...

I think by the time you add the car and insurance in and the driving backwards and forwards, if you are mainly doing WDW, I think the advice from here to stay onsite is prudent. Or at least somewhere very near.

As for the taking out of school. New rules mean 'most' people will get fined for taking their children out of school during term time. I think it's normally about £60 per child, per carer/parent. So £120 for a week for one child with two parents. You will probably be OK with your youngest as pre-school doesn't normally have the same rules - legally a child doesn't have to be in school until 5 years old. Everyone is different. I wouldn't take my children out of school for a holiday unless it was special circs e.g. relative's wedding or something. But that is up to the individual - I know by doing this, we are going to pay one mighty premium next year for our holiday. We want to go for 3 weeks and therefore are stuck to summer holidays - flights are just crazy prices, more than double the price of most other times in the year .

I would think your child would 'mention' they've just come back from Disney so not sure being ill would work - or explain the possible tan lines . But I am sure there are people out there who will try it .

 

[stubb]

Hi we have stayed at the enclave suites. The first room they showed us was horrid it was very tired and dated so we asked for a better room and we got one on the top floor with a hugh balcony overlooking wet and wild. However we had to buy ear plugs as the main air conditioning unit was also on the top floor!
It was a handy location and a nice TGI Friday just over the road. You and the children will be tired when you get there but I would advise that when you first walk into your accom if you don't like it say straight away these hotels have hundreds of rooms and many will be owned by different people.

Read trip advisor. We also stayed at the lake beuna vista hotel and spa. The first room we were shown was over the restaurants and smelt of chips! Once again we refused to stay there and got a much better room. Don't forget for a lot of US visitors they may be there for just a few days.
By reading trip advisor you get great tips. This year we are staying at the blue heron on Lbv.
Happy planning! We have booked with cosmos who were cheaper than a ta
Michelle

 

[daz1985]

hmm maybe Disney is the best way to go then. the thing that puts me off the food is that its over £1000 for the 2 weeks and that's the basic dining plan - which I don't believe even wil feed us for all meals. if we went to a supermarket in uk we could comfortably feed ourselves for £120 ish for 2 weeks. so I guess my preferred option if possible appears to be Disney hotel and supermarket food option!

I wont be hiring car so parking isn't a worry. but I would like a couple of days visiting US so hopefully its not too bad to get to from Disney.

plus I want to see a bit of America beyond Disney walls!

 

[chmurf]

I wont be hiring car so parking isn't a worry. but I would like a couple of days visiting US so hopefully its not too bad to get to from Disney.

what do you want to visit ?
Orlando is just a big city, mostly theme park and toursim oriented.
Closest beach is 60 miles away.
There is Occala Forest North of Orlando, but you'll need a car and a full day.
If you want to see the Everglades and the Keys, that's a 7 days road trip.

But basically getting outside of the "theme park bublle" will require a 30 to 60 miles drive. Because Disney's bubble is just a huge bubble inside an even bigger bubble.
On the opposite, there are many, many things you can do inside that "bubble", lots of things to see and do. But that will rarely be true america. Like at theme parks, everything will end with a gift shop.

You really need to make a shortlist of what you want to see from the "real america", like for example in the sports category a rodeo, a nascar race, a NBA game. Or do, like take an airboat ride in the Glades, go deep sea fishing, and so on...
so many things to do.
The only things you won't be able to find are what you would expect to find in a european city, like old buildings and picturesque city centers for example

make lists.

 

[wayneg]

hmm maybe Disney is the best way to go then. the thing that puts me off the food is that its over £1000 for the 2 weeks and that's the basic dining plan - which I don't believe even wil feed us for all meals. if we went to a supermarket in uk we could comfortably feed ourselves for £120 ish for 2 weeks. so I guess my preferred option if possible appears to be Disney hotel and supermarket food option!

I wont be hiring car so parking isn't a worry. but I would like a couple of days visiting US so hopefully its not too bad to get to from Disney.

plus I want to see a bit of America beyond Disney walls!

Your last 2 statements don't go together well, you either want a Disney based holiday with odd trip out using taxis and/or buses or you want a trip to Florida with a car and see beyond Disney walls.

You really need a car to explore, Florida is roughly the size of the UK, Disney land around the size of Greater Manchester.

As for food, personally I would not consider the Dining plans, pay for food as you go, the plans IMO do not save money they just make it convenient for people to not use money. If Disney food prices really concern you (as they do me) then get a car and eat offsite, the £200 for a car will be easily saved over a 2 week holiday, 3(adults) of us offsite costs between $20-$60 for an evening meal, onsite would be double and some. Plus you have the car to explore if you want. Nothing to stop you staying in Disney and having a car, its free parking everywhere within Disney(stay offsite and you have to pay for parking in Disney)

We once made a meal from a supermarket years ago, bought bread, butter, ham, crisps etc, ended up costing almost as much as going to McD's or Subway etc so we never have since.

 

[joolz1910]

Agree with Chmurf - if you are going with young children for 2 weeks, don't try to 'do it all'. We just 'did' Disney and there were plenty of things we still didn't experience at Disney! We didn't want to go at a military pace and wanted to stop and allow the kids to have pool days. The scale of Disney World will surprise you!

Extreme pre-planning on my part made the holiday a huge success.

 

[Elise79]

I typed a long reply earlier then lost it

Anyway, I agree with Wayne - not having a car and the other things you want to do just don't go together.

Disney World sits in 47 sq miles of land. Getting from the edge of property to US is a good 20 minute drive up the busy I4.

Having younger children would also make me want a car - being able to go places on your schedule is so much easier.

As for eating it is very difficult to break even on the DDP if your paying for it. Disney food is expensive however there are a lot of restaurants close to WDW that are cheap and serve good food.

 

[stubb]

Also agree with Wayne could not contemplate disney without a car. We always eat off site so much choice and far cheaper.

 

[queendisney]

You can definitely do Disney without a car if you are on resort MANY people do..I do not subscribe to the 'I would never go to Disney without a car'..its very easy to do and often takes less time to use Disney transport then to park your hire car in the theme park car park.

Going off site is also easy to the main tourist bits without a car but if you have small children then it maybe wise to consider a car.

 

[tinkerpea]

See I've done disney pretty much every yr since I was 3 and my dad stopped driving in the US when I was around 9, so I've done 19 3wk trips without a car!
We have no problem getting to where ever we want to without a car,
This includes staying off site at I-drive and staying on property at a disney resort!

If you feel you will eat off site everyday and you was in a villa then yes a car would be wise, but if you was to stay on property I see no reason to have a car unless you don't eat on site.

 

[wayneg]

See I've done disney pretty much every yr since I was 3 and my dad stopped driving in the US when I was around 9, so I've done 19 3wk trips without a car!
We have no problem getting to where ever we want to without a car,
This includes staying off site at I-drive and staying on property at a disney resort!

If you feel you will eat off site everyday and you was in a villa then yes a car would be wise, but if you was to stay on property I see no reason to have a car unless you don't eat on site.

I agree but OP doesn't want to pay Disney prices for food, if every evening meal is offsite then a car would be far easier.
Although staying on Idrive or even LBV can be done without a car its not for everyone, it can easily be an hour+ each way, I just couldn't do it without a car, but I haven't been on a bus in the UK for 30 years, I don't enjoy buses or taxis, I need to be in control when on the road.

 

[A Small World]

hmm maybe Disney is the best way to go then. the thing that puts me off the food is that its over £1000 for the 2 weeks and that's the basic dining plan - which I don't believe even wil feed us for all meals. if we went to a supermarket in uk we could comfortably feed ourselves for £120 ish for 2 weeks. so I guess my preferred option if possible appears to be Disney hotel and supermarket food option!

I wont be hiring car so parking isn't a worry. but I would like a couple of days visiting US so hopefully its not too bad to get to from Disney.

plus I want to see a bit of America beyond Disney walls!

OP - this might be stating the obvious so apologies but you keep mentioning the dining plan being too expensive and then talking about eating off site/supermarket food as the other options.
You do know you can eat in Disney restaurants without being on the plan don't you? Ive not been to WDW for several years but from what I remember there are a lot of good quality counter service places which aren't too expensive. theres nothing to stop you sharing meals or getting child meals from counter service either. That will work out so much cheaper than the dining plan.
They will be more expensive than restaurants off site but you will have loads of choice at different costs. All the hotels have restaurants/food courts and you can eat at any of them along with ones in down town disney and the parks themselves

 

[chmurf]

I agree but OP doesn't want to pay Disney prices for food, if every evening meal is offsite then a car would be far easier.

I agree with this, but there is one thing to consider before planning to eat offsite : kids.

when they're hungry, you need to find someplace to eat rather quickly.
planning an ADR onsite can already be tricky if it's at an odd time.
But when it's unplanned it's even trickier.

I know each kid is different, so let me share my experience with my, then, almost five years old (that was at the time we met at Boardwalk). We were staying at POP, and except for a few ADRs (4 in 3 weeks) we had planned to eat sandwiches (self made from Walmart bread, cheese and ham) and offsite restaurants, some as cheap as Cici's with BOGO at $12 incl. tip for the 3 of us, at Crossroads.
We take it slow in the parks, as I don't last too much (disability) but after a few days, it just became a pain to go, even to Crossroads to eat (let alone I-drive) and we ended up at POP's food court almost every night to eat and pay Disney food.
Going to Crossroads (fighting the Downtown Disney Evening Traffic), for just a McD didn't sound appealling, nor was the thought of having to sit down and wait at a restaurant, to be seated or to be served.

In the evening, when we saw our sleepy son's face, there was no way we could make him wait one more hour for the drive and the wait. We had to feed him and put him to bed.

from that experience, I got that staying onsite often meant to accept eating onsite. But that's only a personnal experience, ymmv

 

[daz1985]

OP - this might be stating the obvious so apologies but you keep mentioning the dining plan being too expensive and then talking about eating off site/supermarket food as the other options.
You do know you can eat in Disney restaurants without being on the plan don't you? Ive not been to WDW for several years but from what I remember there are a lot of good quality counter service places which aren't too expensive. theres nothing to stop you sharing meals or getting child meals from counter service either. That will work out so much cheaper than the dining plan.
They will be more expensive than restaurants off site but you will have loads of choice at different costs. All the hotels have restaurants/food courts and you can eat at any of them along with ones in down town disney and the parks themselves

hi yes I do realise that the dining plan is not required but I am worried at the cost of the meals at Disney if doing it 3 times a day for 14 days. Surely just 1 or 2 supermarket trips from Disney within the 2 weeks (via taxi, hire car or bus) where we stock up is manageable and would save us packets?? we are not ones for sit down restaurant meals anyway so if we didn't fend for ourselves via supermarket we would only get mcdonalds or similar anyway.

I agree with those who say that I don't appreciate the size of florida hence why I have already ruled out everything I originally wanted to do apart from Disney and US (and maybe supermarket!).

travel agent hasn't got back to me as promised which i'm a little bit disappointed at

 

[bex7583]

you could have a car for part of your stay , we didnt pick our car up until our 7th day so in the following week we were able to go to seaworld , supermarket and eat at off site places

are you looking at the disney food prices and assuming u will need one meal per person ?? we used to only get 2 adult counter meals to share between me, dh and 3 kids