Deciding on a Family Vacation........Help please?

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Julianna

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We have decided that we are going to Disney World in June with our kids ages 5 & 7. We are going for a 5 day trip and we are driving down. My dilemma is do we go with one of the all inclusive packages like hotel and tickets plus meals? Or do we stay of Disney property for a few hundred bucks cheaper? Have you gone to Disney and stay on Resort property? Was it worth it?Anyone have any recommendations?
 
Don't go with all inclusive packages because sometimes they really suck! My parents booked a condo in Orlando for 80 dollars a night and it was amazing! I'd say stay in the Disney Property for a few hundred bucks.
 
I've been to Disney twice.The hotel + tickets was worth it IMO - but not the meal plan.Each time we had 10 days, and bought a 7 day pass for the theme parks, and had 3 days to just kick back and relax. The first time we stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort, and I didn't feel that was worth the money. Our second trip, we stayed at the Yacht Club, and it was worth every penny, IMO.We're planning a 3rd trip when our son (due May 2nd) is 4.5, and we'll be returning to the Yacht Club.
 
I had a lot of similar questions when we planned our first trip. We used this amazing planning service:www.custommouseplans.comThey actually saved us more money than we paid for the service! They have this detailed questionnaire that you fill out and then they use the information to help you plan your trip. I would check them out, they were great! They answered a ton of my questions about everything but they only charged us for the itinerary and touring plans. All the advice was free! They made our dining reservations for us. And the plans were great! We never waited more than 10 minutes for anything, even on New Year's Day!
 
We stay at the "Disney Value Resorts" they have like movies, music, sports, pop themes when we go.. It's around 80 bucks a night.. I think it's worth it for the fact that you don't have to drive to each park.. Staying at the Disney property they have little bus things that take you directly to the park.. It's never a long wait- if you stay at sports or one of the less popular anyway.. We get that and just the park hopper tickets.. So you can go to any of the parks..I always figured that its really cheaper than paying for gas from a hotel not at Disney and parking who knows where in the parking lots & so on.. I personally wouldn't do it any other way..
 
We've stayed off property and on property, and I think on property is FAR, FAR better.Here's why:1. You'll be able to use Disney transportation rather than driving and parking to the parks. It seems like a small thing, but with the number of people coming into the parks, just getting to them is a hassle. Depending on where you stay, you'll have the option of Monorails, boats and buses - all of which Disney works hard to make part of the experience. Our 3 y.o. thinks the monorail is a ride!2. Disney Resort guests get "extra magic hours" - most days, one of the four parks either opens early or stays open late. This is huge! You can ride rides that normally have ridiculously long lines, meet and greet characters early and even sometimes see a second fireworks show.3. Because of the ease of getting to and from your resort, it's possible to take your kids back to your hotel mid-day for some downtime. At 5 and 7, your kids might still need this. Plus, factor in the Extra Magic Hours and you'll probably feel like you're not missing out to give up a few hours in the afternoon.4. Your room key is a "Key to the World" - it holds your tickets and, for adults, acts as a charge card virtually every where on Disney property. If you lose it, Disney Guest Services can shut it off immediately. If you lose your paper tickets, and they were not purchased through Disney, it might not be so easy - or possible at all.5. While Disney food is not inexpensive, it is surprisingly varied and not unhealthy. Though some parks are better than others - Epcot and Animal Kingdom have GREAT food - Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios less so - there are decent options everywhere. When we stayed off site, we ate at places like McDonald's and TGIFriday's - the same stuff we can find at home, and not much cheaper.6. The Disney Resorts are an experience in themselves. We usually take a day off to just hang out at our swimming pool and relax, and then go to Downtown Disney that night. Off-site is a mixed bag - even though they usually have pools and playgrounds, they're rarely as nice.Now as for the Disney Dining Option, I would *not* take it, and here's why: the Dining Package provides for one sit down meal, one quick service meal and one snack per day. The sit down meals can be truly fabulous, but you almost always have to make reservations to use them. At peak times, you can't necessarily get into your first choice restaurant unless you plan FAR in advance. And reservations with small kids in tow? It's not the easiest thing. Better to eat at one of the many, plentiful counter service restaurants when your kids are hungry.We just returned from our second trip staying on property, but our first without the dining plan. We spent about the same on food.Staying at Disney is a little more expensive, but I think they really do give you good value for what you're paying.Enjoy!
 
I'd definitely stay OFF Disney property at a normal hotel... when we were inside I kept wishing we could just go eat at a normal restaurant instead of the really expensive ones, not to mention that it would've been nice to just go to a grocery store and buy cheerios and milk or something once in a while-- I think they purposely don't put groceries anywhere near Disney so that you have to eat only their food. (After three days I was missing fresh produce... Apples!Grapes!Bananas!Carrot Sticks!)Just plan to eat at the Disney places a few times for the kids to see Goofy and stuff... and make reservations the day before, because you'll never get into the character breakfasts otherwise.
 
You say your kids are 5 & 7 and your going in June!!!!! OMG, I take it you've never been to Disney World. It's going to be HOT! HOT! HOT! It's absolutely miserable there in the summer. I've been there twice and the first time was in August, and I thought I would die. The lines are so long you cant imagine, and even with the "fast pass" that time of year its still going to be HOT!! LOL, The 2nd time my wife and I went in January, and I'm telling you, it's wonderful.Its cool but not cold and the lines are so so small, there is no waiting on anything and the prices are great.If you want to stay at the absolute best motel, stay at the "Gaylord palms resort", we were overbooked at the marriot and got bumped to the Gaylord, and OMG, it is something else. At first we were mad at the marriot but after we got to the Gaylord, thats the only place we will ever stay at disney. It's just outside the gate to DisneyWorld on the right, its huge and beautiful. Well , have fun either way.God Bless.
 
Stay in Disney. It is much better. Don't do the meal packages. They limit the # of meals you can buy with what you have purchased. I will warn you with one thing, going there in June it will be so CROWDED that you mostly likely won't have a great time.
 
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