Diaper Swappers

Jsweetheart1019 · 10-05-2012, 01:43 PM

We just came back from a 10 day stay in the parks!

Depending upon when you go, you can get the free dining plan. Even if you can't get it for free and don't plan on doing cooking I recommend getting it. Each of our sit down dinners was at least $100, and our fast food meals were about $40. Now we didn't pay that, it was all covered under our meal plan.

We stayed at the carribean beach resort and loved it! For the other person who said they are staying there. Here's a few tips:
1.They are 2 story buildings and there isn't an elevator. But I do recommend staying on the 2nd level if possible as its not as nosy.
2. Try to request a room near the bus stop, we got lucky and ours was close by but others had a good walk to there's.
3. If you go the port royal for food/pool it might be quicker to walk then talking the internal shuttle depending upon which building you are in.
4. Again depending upon which building you are in when leaving port royal you may be able to hop on any bus to get back to your room and not have to wait for the internal.

The meal plan this is what we had: 1 table top, 1 quick service, 1 snack per person 3+ each day.

We booked a lot of buffets for breakfast/dinner with our tabletops so that we got the most of it. Then with the quick services that was either lunch or dinner depending what our table tops were used for. And You get plenty of food with your quick service and tables. So we were ok with 2 meals each day. I also packed granola bars, and crackers in case we got hungry in the parks. As for the snacks here's a tip I read and it worked out wonderfully for us. The mornings that we didn't have breakfast planned out instead of using a quick service meal and wasting time we used our snacks to picked up muffins/Danishes/fruit the day before and ate them in the mornings. It worked it well! A snack is consider any single serve piece of food, so fruit, cookies, trail mix, candy bar, yogurt, small box of cookies, bottled drinks, muffins, Danish, etc. you can get a lot of different things.

You guys could always get 2 connecting rooms if you can't find any place to fit 8 people. I would also check out the new Disney animation hotel I know there rooms slept more then 4.

Lolobug · 10-05-2012, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jsweetheart1019

We just came back from a 10 day stay in the parks!

Depending upon when you go, you can get the free dining plan. Even if you can't get it for free and don't plan on doing cooking I recommend getting it. Each of our sit down dinners was at least $100, and our fast food meals were about $40. Now we didn't pay that, it was all covered under our meal plan.

We stayed at the carribean beach resort and loved it! For the other person who said they are staying there. Here's a few tips:
1.They are 2 story buildings and there isn't an elevator. But I do recommend staying on the 2nd level if possible as its not as nosy.
2. Try to request a room near the bus stop, we got lucky and ours was close by but others had a good walk to there's.
3. If you go the port royal for food/pool it might be quicker to walk then talking the internal shuttle depending upon which building you are in.
4. Again depending upon which building you are in when leaving port royal you may be able to hop on any bus to get back to your room and not have to wait for the internal.

The meal plan this is what we had: 1 table top, 1 quick service, 1 snack per person 3+ each day.

We booked a lot of buffets for breakfast/dinner with our tabletops so that we got the most of it. Then with the quick services that was either lunch or dinner depending what our table tops were used for. And You get plenty of food with your quick service and tables. So we were ok with 2 meals each day. I also packed granola bars, and crackers in case we got hungry in the parks. As for the snacks here's a tip I read and it worked out wonderfully for us. The mornings that we didn't have breakfast planned out instead of using a quick service meal and wasting time we used our snacks to picked up muffins/Danishes/fruit the day before and ate them in the mornings. It worked it well! A snack is consider any single serve piece of food, so fruit, cookies, trail mix, candy bar, yogurt, small box of cookies, bottled drinks, muffins, Danish, etc. you can get a lot of different things.

You guys could always get 2 connecting rooms if you can't find any place to fit 8 people. I would also check out the new Disney animation hotel I know there rooms slept more then 4.

Thx! I just started looking into it and a villa w a full kitchen for 8 was ridiculously expensive. Plus, we're not cooking on vaca!

Aubrey<3Gavin · 10-05-2012, 02:53 PM

Yes, with a party that big getting two rooms that are adjoining will be your cheapest option. The villas are great if you want a full kitchen and a living room, but they are very expensive!

When are you going? There is a room discount out nor for select dates in November and December. Disney visa holders can book a room discount or a package discount for select date January 2-march 3, and those same deals will open up to the public on October 10.

ISO......BG 4.0 in aplix

Lolobug · 10-05-2012, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aubrey<3Gavin

Yes, with a party that big getting two rooms that are adjoining will be your cheapest option. The villas are great if you want a full kitchen and a living room, but they are very expensive!

When are you going? There is a room discount out nor for select dates in November and December. Disney visa holders can book a room discount or a package discount for select date January 2-march 3, and those same deals will open up to the public on October 10.

ISO......BG 4.0 in aplix

We're planning on going the first week in April when my nephew is on vacation. I think the holidays must be magical at Disney

Fairycat · 10-05-2012, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lolobug

We're planning on going the first week in April when my nephew is on vacation. I think the holidays must be magical at Disney

I have to say the holidays are the best at Disney parks! We have done the Christmas season at WDW and Disneyland before. This year we are doing Halloween at Disneyland Paris, we did WDW and Disneyland last Halloween, and we are going to do Christmas time at Disneyland this year as well. I love the holidays. I can't wait to go to Tokyo Disney, I would love to go during Christmas time! Did I mention, I love Disney

Another thing to look into is buying timeshare credits from owners. You can find good sites on Disboards. Seriously I love that site, it helped me so much when I planned our first extended trip to WDW.

mayliz · 10-05-2012, 04:01 PM

My dad has worked at disney for over 25 years and needless to say I've been an ungodly number of times to the parks. This is the perfect season because all of the tourists are gone back home and we can enjoy the parks without the long lines. I can't get on any rides since I'm six months pregnant, but I think we'll be going to Epcot next month or next week (don't know) just to get some pictures of my big belly and of course there's the food festival. This year has been a little unpredictable weather-wise--way too much rain.

You could absolutely find a rental house near the parks, which would cost less and have private amenities (we live next-door to one) but the truth is you will have to pay for parking, you will have to cook and you will have to deal with us crazy locals who have less and less patience with tourists on the road. I think staying on-site is much easier, plus the buses are a plus. Anything on International Drive would also be great. There's one called Floridays that has received a lot of buzz lately.

April will be a nice time of the year except if you suffer from allergies. Not too hot, not cold. Just understand, if you're off on vacation, some else will be. Usually we will have a few weeks in spring when the spring-breakers come out of the woodwork. But they will the flower displays during that time. Restaurants-- it can be a rip-off and the food isn't that great, considering. There are some exceptions here and there. You can exit the parks and go find a restaurant off-site and come back, but this just takes time and it's really inconvenient. They've improved the food quite a bit, however. You will have lots of options.

With four adults, the benefit is that two of you will be able to stay outside with the smaller kids and two of you will be able to go on a ride. Magic Kingdom is awesome for kids that age. You will not be bored. IMO, you will consider a one-day visit wayyyyyyyyyyyyy too short.

Because we are locals, we won't be taking our LO to Disney until he's a year old, but I see itty bitty babies there all of the time and the parents don't seem to mind.

Fairycat · 10-05-2012, 05:08 PM

See I have to admit first we didn't pay to park cause I had a premier AP last trip, but I would have paid to park to avoid the bus system. I hated the buses, they wasted so much of our time! We were at the Polynesian so thankfully had access to the monorail and boats, but I swore never again with the buses. We did find the drive into any of the parks to be bad honestly. I think we actually only found parking a pain at Downtown Disney, other then that, personally paying or not I am one of those who hate the buses

Lolobug · 10-05-2012, 06:34 PM

How many days would you stay and what resorts would you stay at?

luvsviola · 10-05-2012, 07:38 PM

Depends on your budget. We typically do 5-6 days. There are 4 parks, so that gives us one day per park, plus time to go back and do anything we missed.

Last year, we went for 10 days with a 4 year old and a 6 week old. 5 were just our family, and 5 were with DH's extended family (14 people in a 3 bedroom condo as part of the Vacation Club villas). It was awesome. We rode every single ride on the property. We could relax. We let DD set the pace.

You just can't go wrong at Disney. You will never run out of shows and things to do. The longer the better, if your budget allows.

Aubrey<3Gavin · 10-05-2012, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lolobug

How many days would you stay and what resorts would you stay at?

I think 4 days is the minimum--one day for each park. We usually go for 7 days so we don't feel rushed.

Do you have a budget? There are ore than 20 resorts on Disney property and they span a wide range of prices. The first week of April is considered peak season because so many places have spring break then, so hotel prices will be higher than at other times of year. If you have a budget in mind then use that as your guide for how long you can do and which resort category.

ISO......BG 4.0 in aplix

10-05-2012, 01:43 PM	#21
Jsweetheart1019 Registered Users Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Levittown, PA Posts: 153	Re: Disney vacation? We just came back from a 10 day stay in the parks! Depending upon when you go, you can get the free dining plan. Even if you can't get it for free and don't plan on doing cooking I recommend getting it. Each of our sit down dinners was at least $100, and our fast food meals were about $40. Now we didn't pay that, it was all covered under our meal plan. We stayed at the carribean beach resort and loved it! For the other person who said they are staying there. Here's a few tips: 1.They are 2 story buildings and there isn't an elevator. But I do recommend staying on the 2nd level if possible as its not as nosy. 2. Try to request a room near the bus stop, we got lucky and ours was close by but others had a good walk to there's. 3. If you go the port royal for food/pool it might be quicker to walk then talking the internal shuttle depending upon which building you are in. 4. Again depending upon which building you are in when leaving port royal you may be able to hop on any bus to get back to your room and not have to wait for the internal. The meal plan this is what we had: 1 table top, 1 quick service, 1 snack per person 3+ each day. We booked a lot of buffets for breakfast/dinner with our tabletops so that we got the most of it. Then with the quick services that was either lunch or dinner depending what our table tops were used for. And You get plenty of food with your quick service and tables. So we were ok with 2 meals each day. I also packed granola bars, and crackers in case we got hungry in the parks. As for the snacks here's a tip I read and it worked out wonderfully for us. The mornings that we didn't have breakfast planned out instead of using a quick service meal and wasting time we used our snacks to picked up muffins/Danishes/fruit the day before and ate them in the mornings. It worked it well! A snack is consider any single serve piece of food, so fruit, cookies, trail mix, candy bar, yogurt, small box of cookies, bottled drinks, muffins, Danish, etc. you can get a lot of different things. You guys could always get 2 connecting rooms if you can't find any place to fit 8 people. I would also check out the new Disney animation hotel I know there rooms slept more then 4.

10-05-2012, 02:53 PM	#23
Aubrey<3Gavin Registered Users Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Atlanta Posts: 789 Ratings: 14 Feedback: 100%	Yes, with a party that big getting two rooms that are adjoining will be your cheapest option. The villas are great if you want a full kitchen and a living room, but they are very expensive! When are you going? There is a room discount out nor for select dates in November and December. Disney visa holders can book a room discount or a package discount for select date January 2-march 3, and those same deals will open up to the public on October 10. ISO......BG 4.0 in aplix __________________ Aubrey, married to Gavin 9/14/2008 Mama to Annabelle 11/02/2011 I'm an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner! http://www.kingdomkonsultant.com ISO girly BG 4.0 aplix!

10-05-2012, 04:01 PM	#26
mayliz Registered Users Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 194 Ratings: 16 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	Re: Disney vacation? My dad has worked at disney for over 25 years and needless to say I've been an ungodly number of times to the parks. This is the perfect season because all of the tourists are gone back home and we can enjoy the parks without the long lines. I can't get on any rides since I'm six months pregnant, but I think we'll be going to Epcot next month or next week (don't know) just to get some pictures of my big belly and of course there's the food festival. This year has been a little unpredictable weather-wise--way too much rain. You could absolutely find a rental house near the parks, which would cost less and have private amenities (we live next-door to one) but the truth is you will have to pay for parking, you will have to cook and you will have to deal with us crazy locals who have less and less patience with tourists on the road. I think staying on-site is much easier, plus the buses are a plus. Anything on International Drive would also be great. There's one called Floridays that has received a lot of buzz lately. April will be a nice time of the year except if you suffer from allergies. Not too hot, not cold. Just understand, if you're off on vacation, some else will be. Usually we will have a few weeks in spring when the spring-breakers come out of the woodwork. But they will the flower displays during that time. Restaurants-- it can be a rip-off and the food isn't that great, considering. There are some exceptions here and there. You can exit the parks and go find a restaurant off-site and come back, but this just takes time and it's really inconvenient. They've improved the food quite a bit, however. You will have lots of options. With four adults, the benefit is that two of you will be able to stay outside with the smaller kids and two of you will be able to go on a ride. Magic Kingdom is awesome for kids that age. You will not be bored. IMO, you will consider a one-day visit wayyyyyyyyyyyyy too short. Because we are locals, we won't be taking our LO to Disney until he's a year old, but I see itty bitty babies there all of the time and the parents don't seem to mind.

10-05-2012, 05:08 PM	#27
Fairycat Registered Users Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: UK Posts: 4,556 Ratings: 15 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	Re: Disney vacation? See I have to admit first we didn't pay to park cause I had a premier AP last trip, but I would have paid to park to avoid the bus system. I hated the buses, they wasted so much of our time! We were at the Polynesian so thankfully had access to the monorail and boats, but I swore never again with the buses. We did find the drive into any of the parks to be bad honestly. I think we actually only found parking a pain at Downtown Disney, other then that, personally paying or not I am one of those who hate the buses __________________ Wife to Geek DH and Mum to Ky 8/09- EC graduate 1 year out of Nappies 6/11!!Think of being my Swagbucks friend and earn GC's!!

10-05-2012, 07:38 PM	#29
luvsviola Registered Users Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Central Indiana Posts: 15,044 Ratings: 115 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	Re: Disney vacation? Depends on your budget. We typically do 5-6 days. There are 4 parks, so that gives us one day per park, plus time to go back and do anything we missed. Last year, we went for 10 days with a 4 year old and a 6 week old. 5 were just our family, and 5 were with DH's extended family (14 people in a 3 bedroom condo as part of the Vacation Club villas). It was awesome. We rode every single ride on the property. We could relax. We let DD set the pace. You just can't go wrong at Disney. You will never run out of shows and things to do. The longer the better, if your budget allows. __________________ Kristen Mommy to Abigail ~1/24/07 and Kendall~3/17/2011 and FINALLY adoptive mama to LEDGER~4/4/09!!!--G-J tube, asthma, oral aversion, reflux, SPD, drug exposure, and still searching for a diagnosis of the rest... Ask me about extended rear facing!