Beanfeast Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Hi, I'm planning on possibly doing a trip of a lifetime next year to Disney Land, Florida with my wife and 10 yr old (by then) daughter. Has anyone been in the last year or 2 and have any advice on how to do it? Would we be better purchasing everything in advance (inc food, tickets etc) and staying on location in a resort hotel? Also, what with taking an only child she'll be relying on us to entertain and share rides and everything with. Has anyone else done this with an only child and how did you find it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy1976 Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 We went last year - been a fair few times. A few bits.... - Buy your tickets well in advance and from Disney direct. Despite what people say, you don't get cheap Disney tickets, unless you really want to go to a timeshare show. Disney is the most popular tourist attraction on earth. They don't need to do cheap tickets. - Make sure your tickets include Memory Maker. You get all your ride photos, videos, and loads of free family photos around the parks (google Disney Magic Shots - amazing). - I wouldn't bother with meal plans personally, but they're often included now. Reason I wouldn't bother is that you're tied to eating at Disney Parks every day. - Parking is expensive if you're off site (£20 a day), so budget for that. - I've stayed off site in hotels on IDrive, on site and in a villa. For a holiday with kids, the villa is by far the best. So much freedom. Just get a car and off you go. - The best on site restaurant is Be Our Guest. It's amazing. The big name restaurants are expensive, but they're great quality. Akershus in Epcot is great with kids, and the food is lovely. - Book everything as soon as you can. You can book restaurants 180 days before you arrive. You really should, if you're going in peak season. I was at my computer for the opening hour 180 days out and quite a few of the best times had gone. - Ditto fast passes. 30 days out if you're off site, 60 before if you're on. Really, they go in a heartbeat for the big name rides. - I'm not exaggerating with the last two points - Download the My Disney Experience app and learn to love it I could go on for literally hours!! Costly holiday (£13k for three of us last year!!) but so, so, so amazing, and we're going back in 2019. Already planning it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berberis Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Disney is the most popular tourist attraction on earth. Not to be a pedant or anything but its not, far from it. The most popular tourist attraction is the Las Vegas strip. Disney Land Orlando is approx 8th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy1976 Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Not to be a pedant or anything but its not, far from it. The most popular tourist attraction is the Las Vegas strip. Disney Land Orlando is approx 8th. Random - I wasn't sure (I admit it was a stat I'd heard) but on googling, it seems that there are lots of different sites saying lots of different things. Hey ho - it's very popular and it's great either way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berberis Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Random - I wasn't sure (I admit it was a stat I'd heard) but on googling, it seems that there are lots of different sites saying lots of different things. Hey ho - it's very popular and it's great either way To be honest I always thought it was Paris. Seems the top 10 are almost all in the USA. And Disneyland = 17.5 million people a year. Wow, thats still a heck of a lot of people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy1976 Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 To be honest I always thought it was Paris. Seems the top 10 are almost all in the USA. And Disneyland = 17.5 million people a year. Wow, thats still a heck of a lot of people! It seems crazy doesn't it! That's about 50k a day!! I know the parks are big, but that seems a huge amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny_Boy Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 We went last year - been a fair few times. A few bits.... - Buy your tickets well in advance and from Disney direct. Despite what people say, you don't get cheap Disney tickets, unless you really want to go to a timeshare show. Disney is the most popular tourist attraction on earth. They don't need to do cheap tickets. - Make sure your tickets include Memory Maker. You get all your ride photos, videos, and loads of free family photos around the parks (google Disney Magic Shots - amazing). - I wouldn't bother with meal plans personally, but they're often included now. Reason I wouldn't bother is that you're tied to eating at Disney Parks every day. - Parking is expensive if you're off site (£20 a day), so budget for that. - I've stayed off site in hotels on IDrive, on site and in a villa. For a holiday with kids, the villa is by far the best. So much freedom. Just get a car and off you go. - The best on site restaurant is Be Our Guest. It's amazing. The big name restaurants are expensive, but they're great quality. Akershus in Epcot is great with kids, and the food is lovely. - Book everything as soon as you can. You can book restaurants 180 days before you arrive. You really should, if you're going in peak season. I was at my computer for the opening hour 180 days out and quite a few of the best times had gone. - Ditto fast passes. 30 days out if you're off site, 60 before if you're on. Really, they go in a heartbeat for the big name rides. - I'm not exaggerating with the last two points - Download the My Disney Experience app and learn to love it I could go on for literally hours!! Costly holiday (£13k for three of us last year!!) but so, so, so amazing, and we're going back in 2019. Already planning it! £13k!! wow that's a lot of money, did you really go for it or is that the general cost? I would love to take my two little ones before they get too old, but I can't justify spending £13k on a two week holiday. Not being critical of you with that comment by the way we all have different budgets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dozer Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Is there any chance of one of her friends going with her, with the expenses paid by her friends' parents? For many kids at that age, having a friend along multiplies the enjoyment, and reduces family arguments. That's my memory anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackanne Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 I suppose it is possible to spend 13k if everthing you do is 5 star.We have been 7 times first time in 1987 last time 2 years ago,always booked flights,villa,car hire seperate and bought park tickets when we got there.with 8 days park tickets total cost for 4 of us would be about 8k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beanfeast Posted July 18, 2017 Author Share Posted July 18, 2017 Thanks for all the replies, and all the details you've given Andy1976, much appreciated! I wouldn't want to take a friend with us, at that age it's a very long way from home and I think they're still a bit too young. I wouldn't want my daughter going with friends, it's just too far away if anything went wrong. As for the cost, ouch! I was hoping it wouldn't be more than about £5k for the 3 of us. And having not been there before I'm a bit scared of getting everything separately in case something goes wrong. My next step would be visiting a travel agents and see what price they come up with, though I'm expecting that to be high anyway at least it's something to work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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