Disney World Florida advice please!

[Andy1976]

£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.

 

Went for it a little, but overall it's not a massive splurge (great word). We didn't upgrade to first class or anything, and the villa was nothing rockstar - it was one of the deluxe ones from the brochure, but nothing too over the top.

 

Holiday generally is about 5-6k for three people in school holidays (villa)

We upgraded flights for another £1500 or so. Something round that figure.

Tickets are about £2000 if you do Disney and Universal fully (£379 each for Disney 2 week)

About £2500 spending money for the two weeks (thanks vote Leave!!)

 

Then a few other bits and pieces that we splashed out on.

 

You can, I'm sure do it much cheaper than that - probably about half that, but tickets will cost what they cost, and they're expensive. Budget £2k for them, at best £3-4k for the holiday, then spending money.

 

It's not cheap, it's not something you could do every year, but it's amazing and with kids, it's a lifetime memory I think.

 

---------- Post added 18-07-2017 at 10:42 ----------

 

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.

 

You might get it for £5k, but bear in mind the ticket costs. Disney (just checked) is £354 per person for adults, and about £10 cheaper for kids, so that's already £1,000. The Orlando Flex Ticket for the Universal parks etc is not far from that, so you're already close to £2k just for tickets. Since the pound bombed last June, it's also more expensive than it used to be, so I'd recommend at least £2k spending money personally. £6.5k maybe overall?

 

---------- Post added 18-07-2017 at 10:45 ----------

 

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.

 

8k is certainly possible, but I'd say not to buy tickets when you arrive, as it stops you pre-booking rides and attractions with FastPass. It's a massive advantage to miss out on, and means you end up either missing out the big new attractions, or queuing for ages.

[Danny_Boy]

Went for it a little, but overall it's not a massive splurge (great word). We didn't upgrade to first class or anything, and the villa was nothing rockstar - it was one of the deluxe ones from the brochure, but nothing too over the top.

 

Holiday generally is about 5-6k for three people in school holidays (villa)

We upgraded flights for another £1500 or so. Something round that figure.

Tickets are about £2000 if you do Disney and Universal fully (£379 each for Disney 2 week)

About £2500 spending money for the two weeks (thanks vote Leave!!)

 

Then a few other bits and pieces that we splashed out on.

 

You can, I'm sure do it much cheaper than that - probably about half that, but tickets will cost what they cost, and they're expensive. Budget £2k for them, at best £3-4k for the holiday, then spending money.

 

It's not cheap, it's not something you could do every year, but it's amazing and with kids, it's a lifetime memory I think.

 

---------- Post added 18-07-2017 at 10:42 ----------

 

 

You might get it for £5k, but bear in mind the ticket costs. Disney (just checked) is £354 per person for adults, and about £10 cheaper for kids, so that's already £1,000. The Orlando Flex Ticket for the Universal parks etc is not far from that, so you're already close to £2k just for tickets. Since the pound bombed last June, it's also more expensive than it used to be, so I'd recommend at least £2k spending money personally. £6.5k maybe overall?

 

---------- Post added 18-07-2017 at 10:45 ----------

 

 

8k is certainly possible, but I'd say not to buy tickets when you arrive, as it stops you pre-booking rides and attractions with FastPass. It's a massive advantage to miss out on, and means you end up either missing out the big new attractions, or queuing for ages.

 

School holidays probably adds a few thousand to the price no doubt but at the ages they are at you can't take them out of school.

[Andy1976]

School holidays probably adds a few thousand to the price no doubt but at the ages they are at you can't take them out of school.

 

Indeed. The prices do seem to shoot up, although late August is usually good, as the US schools are already back

[AMR67]

Me and the wife went last year and it cost around 6K for 2 weeks.

 

Villa, flights and car - £2800

Disney/Universal tickets - £1000 (we bought the Real Steal combo tickets in advance)

Spending money - around £2000

 

As others have said parking was $20 per day at the theme parks (water parks were free though) - that soon adds up!!

 

We did find it was a lot more expensive than the last time we were there in 2011, not just because of the weak £ but the general cost of things had increased.

Edited July 18, 2017 by AMR67

[Berberis]

It seems crazy doesn't it! That's about 50k a day!! I know the parks are big, but that seems a huge amount.

 

I think it goes to show how big the USA really is in comparison to other countries. We in the Uk find it hard to run a village fete without something going wrong

[Chelle-82]

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?

 

 

Hello there,

 

Does it have to be Florida? have you not looked into Paris?

 

Florida can be extremely expensive compared to Paris and if its only for your 10yrs old's experience then is she even going to know or care about the difference?

 

My personal opinion is that money can be spent on better experiences than Disney World/Land!!

 

I'd go to Paris and the money you save from not going to Florida could be put into a savings account to help towards paying for your daugters first home..

 

Just a thought

[Eater Sundae]

We went as a family of 3 last summer. Our daughter was 11 at the time. As it's something we may not bother doing again, we opted to do both the Disney and Universal parks (unlike my brother in law's family who go most years, and this year did Universal only).

 

I agree with others who recommended the memory maker photographs. Well worth the cost, IMO. Just remember to log in for your photo after each ride. Also, make use of the street photographers in the parks.

 

My wife doesn't like the fast, frightening or nausea inducing rides, and I'm not keen. But my daughter loves them. We'd go on together, once. If my daughter liked them, she would then be happy to go on again, on her own. By the end of the holiday, as she gained confidence, she'd be happy to go on new rides, sight unseen, without anyone with her.

 

A big advantage of her going on rides alone is that she can go via the fast, single person queues, where they fill up the spare seats in rides. This can be a lot quicker, and let her do the same ride several times in quick succession if she wants.

 

If you try and fit everything in during one holiday, it can be very tiring. I would recommend regular breaks, eg a day or half day by the pool, or mooching around air conditioned shopping malls.

 

We were there at the end July / early August, last year. There were a few thunderstorm days (where some of the big rides were shut at short notice). The rest of the time it was very hot. Some of the parks had air conditioned rooms, about the size of a domestic garage, with seating for about 10 or 12. These were very cold. Sitting in them for 10 or 15 minutes was very refreshing.

 

We stayed in an apartment on Rodeo Drive. We usually had a light breakfast of toast or cereal in the apartment. Lunch was taken wherever we were. Not much appetite if we were out in the heat, so may have shared a portion or two of fast food. We genrrallu ate in the evening - either drive to a local restaurant, or buy stuff to cook in the apartment.

 

Although we regularly do all inclusive holidays, we didn't bother in Florida, as we thought that we would have more flexibility with a mixture of (basic) self catering and eating out. It worked well for us, but each to their own.

[Andy1976]

Hello there,

 

Does it have to be Florida? have you not looked into Paris?

 

Florida can be extremely expensive compared to Paris and if its only for your 10yrs old's experience then is she even going to know or care about the difference?

 

My personal opinion is that money can be spent on better experiences than Disney World/Land!!

 

I'd go to Paris and the money you save from not going to Florida could be put into a savings account to help towards paying for your daugters first home..

 

Just a thought

 

Having done both a fair few times, there's a massive difference in honesty. I love Disney Paris, in fact we're going next year again, but it's like comparing Chesterfield FC to Real Madrid. Both are great places, but if you're thinking of the wow factor, Florida has that far, far more.

[Eater Sundae]

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!

 

Just echoing Andy's comments about pre booking and fast passing the popular rides.

[Chelle-82]

Having done both a fair few times, there's a massive difference in honesty. I love Disney Paris, in fact we're going next year again, but it's like comparing Chesterfield FC to Real Madrid. Both are great places, but if you're thinking of the wow factor, Florida has that far, far more.

 

Haha yes i imagine..

 

The only reason i say it is because my daughter went to Florida with her dad and step mum and step brother and she said she absolutely loved it, she was 8 at the time.. anyway last year i was looking to take her to Paris for a weekend to do some girly shopping and lunching etc and we were talking and i said she'd love Paris (she's now 14) and she said she'd already been and i told her she hadnt and she said she had been with her dad when she went to Disney World... She didnt realise it was America and not France where she went

 

I just think if you're on a budget and you're wanting to treat a 10yr old then Paris might be an option.. Like i said, twas only a thought