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queenie
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I am so excited we are going to get to go to Disney but it is sooo overwhelming!!!!!! We are on a budget and there are so many blogs and websites dedicated to getting the best deals but it is just making my head spin. We are completely open to when we go but hoping to find a time that is less crowded and not blazing hot. Should we stay on site or off? Should we pay for the dining plan? Anybody have tips they  wouldn't mind sharing??

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Honestly, it all depends on your budget.  I prefer to stay onsite and use the dining plan.  I save my money before I go to Disney.  It's so much easier.  Do what you can now to save up.

 

How many in your family?  And what are their ages?  That's the first thing we'll need to know to help you plan.

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Well, if you want cheap I can tell you what we do.

 

We rent a SkyAuction.com condo ($250 or less for 7 nights, including tax)

We get YES tickets. They have changed these so the discount is only for the students UNLESS you go during official homeschool days, then the discount is for the whole party.

We eat quite a bit of our own food, including taking lunch into the parks.

 

 

 

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Okay, well, you've lucked out.  Your nine year old is still considered a "child" at Disney, and you will get "child" prices on tickets and meals (a 10 year old is an adult at Disney).  So, if it were me...I would consider staying at a Disney value resort, and using the dining plan.  Tell me what dates you are considering, and I can punch them in and get a quote for you.

 

Dawn has great ideas for staying off site, if that's something you're interested in.  She can give you price estimates for that, and then you can compare.

 

Yes, I just volunteered you, Dawn. ;)

 

You will find as many ways to "do" Disney as there are users on this board.  You just have to find what suits you best.

 

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We're going next month :)   I like easywdw.com the best for planning and crowd calendars, figuring out which day to go to which park and how to tour most effectively. 

 

We've always stayed offsite because we really like the space of a condo or home and there is no way in heck we can afford those types of accommodations onsite.  Although we are blessed this time round to do a timeshare trade, allowing us to stay in a 2 br unit at Old Key West.  If you can't make onsite work, though, I wouldn't sweat it--your vacation will still be wonderful!!  Many of the offsite condos have Disney themed units.  And eating breakfast before heading out, and being able to bring your lunch in, will be easier on your wallet as well.

 

We are from New England so our favorite time is the last week of February or first week of March.  The weather's always been nice for us and the crowds are low. Just make sure it's after President's Week.  BTW, the first time we went, our kids were your kids ages--it's a GREAT age to go!

 

Most everything I've read has indicated that the dining plan is not worth the money, but we've never done it so maybe others will chime in with a different opinion.

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Not an expert here but we went the first full week of December and the weather was very pleasant and crowds not bad at all.  It was decorated for Christmas which was nice.

 

One meal tip is that we ate at several of the counter services that had a burger bar with lots of great toppings---lettuce tomato, grilled onions, etc.  That made the burgers more filling.  I ate a kids meal and they didn't care when I asked.......or we got an adult meal and I split it with one of the girls.

 

We stayed OUT of the shops so we didn't waste our time shopping and didn't spend money on way over priced stuff.

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God willing, we will be there during October 2014. I believe October is a very good month, with regard to weather, and not a huge amount of people there at that time. Home schoolers, and, in our case, Distance Learners, have the advantage of being able to go during "off season", when it is less crowded and the hotels/motels less expensive.

 

We bought the Kindle version of this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Unofficial-Guide-Walt-Disney-World/dp/1628090006/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389993079&sr=8-1&keywords=underground+guide+to+walt+disney+world

Years ago, we bought the Print edition. If you read/study that book, you will save time and you will save money in/near WDW.

 

I am now subscribed to the MouseSavers.com email newsletter, as a PP suggested.

 

Today, on their web site, I requested the information packet, from the Kissimmee Tourist people:

http://www.experiencekissimmee.com/travel-info/request-a-guide/

 

Have a good time in/near WDW!   My wife was pregnant, when we were there in 2000, so this time she can ride all the rides.   :-)

 

 

 

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Well, if you want cheap I can tell you what we do.

 

We rent a SkyAuction.com condo ($250 or less for 7 nights, including tax)

We get YES tickets. They have changed these so the discount is only for the students UNLESS you go during official homeschool days, then the discount is for the whole party.

We eat quite a bit of our own food, including taking lunch into the parks.

 

@DawnM   -  Very interesting about SkyAuction.com  and something for us to look into. However I am contemplating 9 nights there and it looks like those rentals are all for 7 nights.

 

At the moment, I am just doing very early investigating. Marriott Village is very interesting to us, because it is near a huge mall and my wife and DD are dedicated "shop until you drop" girls and we are coming from South America, so the shopping there is much different for them...  And,  there are some places to eat, etc., within and very near Marriott Village. I remember looking at Marriott Village, years ago, in the guide books.

 

Question: How do you bring your Lunch into the parks? I didn't think they would allow even a bottle of water to be brought in.   TIA!

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@DawnM   -  Very interesting about SkyAuction.com  and something for us to look into. However I am contemplating 9 nights there and it looks like those rentals are all for 7 nights.

 

At the moment, I am just doing very early investigating. Marriott Village is very interesting to us, because it is near a huge mall and my wife and DD are dedicated "shop until you drop" girls and we are coming from South America, so the shopping there is much different for them...  And,  there are some places to eat, etc., within and very near Marriott Village. I remember looking at Marriott Village, years ago, in the guide books.

 

Question: How do you bring your Lunch into the parks? I didn't think they would allow even a bottle of water to be brought in.   TIA!

I'm not Dawn, but you can definitely bring in your own food.  We'd bring in quite a bit and they never questioned us at all!

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@DawnM - Very interesting about SkyAuction.com and something for us to look into. However I am contemplating 9 nights there and it looks like those rentals are all for 7 nights.

 

At the moment, I am just doing very early investigating. Marriott Village is very interesting to us, because it is near a huge mall and my wife and DD are dedicated "shop until you drop" girls and we are coming from South America, so the shopping there is much different for them... And, there are some places to eat, etc., within and very near Marriott Village. I remember looking at Marriott Village, years ago, in the guide books.

 

Question: How do you bring your Lunch into the parks? I didn't think they would allow even a bottle of water to be brought in. TIA!

 

We bring our own food in due to severe food allergies. But they never seem to blink an eye, and it doesn't seem to matter if we have food allergies or not. :)

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I'm not Dawn, but you can definitely bring in your own food.  We'd bring in quite a bit and they never questioned us at all!

 

Jennifer in MI: Thank you for that information!   That is very good news which I will relay to my wife in about 2 minutes.

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We bring our own food in due to severe food allergies. But they never seem to blink an eye, and it doesn't seem to matter if we have food allergies or not. :)

 

Spryte:  That is really great news for us. We were there in May 2000 and I seem to recall that a bottle of water that costs about 30 cents here in Colombia was $2.50 USD there.  Also, they had Colombian coffee, which we appreciated...

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Spryte:  That is really great news for us. We were there in May 2000 and I seem to recall that a bottle of water that costs about 30 cents here in Colombia was $2.50 USD there.  Also, they had Colombian coffee, which we appreciated...

 

Lanny, I can't remember if we brought bottled water in with us.  I know we brought food - little bento boxes for lunch, etc - just in case we couldn't find safe food for our food allergic kiddo.  I'm fairly sure we had juice boxes, etc, but I'm thinking that we may have planned to buy drinks in the park to offset bringing our food - as a sort of thank you.  

 

We'll be there in 2 weeks, on an impromptu trip, so I'll pay attention to the policies re: bottled water and let you know.  :)

 

As for the coffee - yes!  We are quite the coffee drinkers, and travel with our own espresso maker.  Now you've given me hope that we might get a good cup in the park, too.  Thanks!

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We always bring in water and never have problems! They do check your bags at the entrance, but you can bring in anything except alcohol and weapons. :) (And no plastic drinking straws into Animal Kingdom--so watch juice boxes there. You can always poke a hole in the foil and suck it out without a straw.) DH carries a backpack with 2 large bottles of water. If we have a stroller, we bring a couple more and toss them in the basket, but I doubt you'll have one with 6 and 9 year olds.

 

We bring ponchos too in case it rains. The park ones are $$$. They're cute and have Mickey on them, but... I bought Coleman from Target for a few bucks. You can get some from the dollar store, but they're disposable and rip easily. I'd rather spend a few dollars and reuse, though they never fold back into that tiny pouch.

 

Bring your own pens for autographs. They sell some with the books but they are terrible! I like the Bic version of Sharpie. I do buy the Disney $5 autograph books, but not the photo album kind--those never have enough pages. My kids get a set souvenir budget.

 

Bring at least one outfit for the other extreme in temperature no matter what the weather forecast says when you pack. Otherwise you'll be buying a $50 sweatshirt with Goofy that you'll never wear again! Well, ignore this if you're going May-September. It's going to be jungle hot.

 

Bring sunscreen. Any and all medicines you might need. Benadryl, Advil, Pepto, Immodium, Tums, cough medicine, and the kid versions. Don't drag them all into the park, but I always carry headache meds for me & DH and Benadryl (used once for a bee sting). I also bring multiple kinds of bandaids including the special blister ones. There are first aid centers in the parks, but they have very basic stuff and charge for anything more than a generic bandaid. The hotel gift shops carry more, but there's a markup!

 

Bring gum, mints, chapstick. Maybe obvious, but the first day I just had my camera bag and ID wallet and didn't think to stick those in it! And then I didn't want to pay for Mickey versions. ;) Bring a couple gallon ziplocs in your bag to stash your camera, phones, and any pictures or souvenirs in case of rain.

 

October is during hurricane season, so definitely bring ponchos. The crowds can be good. They're higher around Columbus Day and Halloween. Epcot has the Food & Wine festival during October, so it will have more people than usual for those crowd levels. Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is fun at Magic Kingdom. Unique parade and fireworks, and you can dress in costume. Adults otherwise may not though kids can. (Not sure if OP or someone else mentioned going in October...)

 

I think easywdw has already been mentioned, but it has good crowd level predictions. I check out menus and prices at allearsnet. My favorite guide book for our first couple of trips was the Passporter.

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We always bring in water and never have problems! They do check your bags at the entrance, but you can bring in anything except alcohol and weapons. :) (And no plastic drinking straws into Animal Kingdom--so watch juice boxes there. You can always poke a hole in the foil and suck it out without a straw.) DH carries a backpack with 2 large bottles of water. If we have a stroller, we bring a couple more and toss them in the basket, but I doubt you'll have one with 6 and 9 year olds.

 

We bring ponchos too in case it rains. The park ones are $$$. They're cute and have Mickey on them, but... I bought Coleman from Target for a few bucks. You can get some from the dollar store, but they're disposable and rip easily. I'd rather spend a few dollars and reuse, though they never fold back into that tiny pouch.

 

Bring your own pens for autographs. They sell some with the books but they are terrible! I like the Bic version of Sharpie. I do buy the Disney $5 autograph books, but not the photo album kind--those never have enough pages. My kids get a set souvenir budget.

 

Bring at least one outfit for the other extreme in temperature no matter what the weather forecast says when you pack. Otherwise you'll be buying a $50 sweatshirt with Goofy that you'll never wear again! Well, ignore this if you're going May-September. It's going to be jungle hot.

 

Bring sunscreen. Any and all medicines you might need. Benadryl, Advil, Pepto, Immodium, Tums, cough medicine, and the kid versions. Don't drag them all into the park, but I always carry headache meds for me & DH and Benadryl (used once for a bee sting). I also bring multiple kinds of bandaids including the special blister ones. There are first aid centers in the parks, but they have very basic stuff and charge for anything more than a generic bandaid. The hotel gift shops carry more, but there's a markup!

 

Bring gum, mints, chapstick. Maybe obvious, but the first day I just had my camera bag and ID wallet and didn't think to stick those in it! And then I didn't want to pay for Mickey versions. ;) Bring a couple gallon ziplocs in your bag to stash your camera, phones, and any pictures or souvenirs in case of rain.

 

October is during hurricane season, so definitely bring ponchos. The crowds can be good. They're higher around Columbus Day and Halloween. Epcot has the Food & Wine festival during October, so it will have more people than usual for those crowd levels. Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is fun at Magic Kingdom. Unique parade and fireworks, and you can dress in costume. Adults otherwise may not though kids can. (Not sure if OP or someone else mentioned going in October...)

 

I think easywdw has already been mentioned, but it has good crowd level predictions. I check out menus and prices at allearsnet. My favorite guide book for our first couple of trips was the Passporter.

This is EXACTLY what I take to the parks with me!  LOL  We still take a stroller for my little one who gets tired easily after a day at the parks.  A backpack gets ponchos, trading pins, autograph books, water, medication (I just bring in Advil and Benadryl), and chapstick.  If it is chilly, I'll carry a hat and gloves for each person in the backpack.  If it's rainy, I'll occasionally carry an extra pair of socks too.  I HATE wet feet!

 

I use a fanny pack (I know, I know!) to carry my phone and ID.  I don't like to carry my phone in my pocket, so a fanny pack it is!

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I'm not Dawn, but you can definitely bring in your own food.  We'd bring in quite a bit and they never questioned us at all!

 

No, but you're a Disney expert of the highest order! :D

 

I don't bring food into the parks (with the exception of a granola bar or a package of M&Ms stuffed into my bag) because I'm too lazy to carry it. But plenty of other people do without a problem.

 

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When are you going?  We'll be there at the end of June.  It's not my favorite time of the year to go, as it's quite hot, but we're going with my mom and step-dad and that's when they want to go.  They are bringing my cousin's kids, so we have to go during the summer for them.  I would honestly never stay off site.  It'd just too easy and convenient to stay onsite.  We only use the rooms to sleep in, so we don't really care about space.  This time, we're getting a suite (Cars themed!) in the Art of Animation Hotel, so we will have more space than a regular room.  It's just the number of people we have.  AoA is a value resort, but just opened in 2012, IIRC.  I'm not a fan of the value resorts, but they're fine.  I prefer the moderate resorts, but again, the value are fine.  I just don't like them because that's where all the groups (high school, college, tours, etc) stay and they can be quite busy and loud.  I've hear that this is not the case for AoA though.  Of the moderates, I like The Caribbean Beach Resort.  They have pirate themed rooms (slightly higher in price) that Indy loved when he was little, and I'm sure Han Solo will as he gets older too.  The Port Orleans has princess themed rooms available.  We always get the mean plan.  We do the deluxe plan, but there are lower priced plans.  IMO, on the deluxe, you get more food than you can eat, but it's the only one that comes with 3 meals a day.  The others come with either 2 quick service meals plus one snack or 1 quick service, 1 sit down and 1 snack a day.  My boys need 3 meals (my stepdad does too ;) ).  Still, it's a good deal, as we've spent $120 at one meal for the 4 of us, but we just use our plan and it's fine.  If you did that 3 times a day, that would be $360/day in food, not including any snacks.  We don't do 3 sit downs a day, but if we wanted to, we could.  You can use the meal plans (if you have the one with at least 1 sit down included) at the buffets or the character meals.  Do at least 1 character meal while you're there!  Your kids will love it, plus you don't have to wait in line to see characters, because they come to your table!  

 

I just looked up a 4 night, 5 day stay with 2 adults and 2 kids (your kids' ages) at the  All Star Movies, with the Deluxe meal plan in June, and it's $3100.  Indy really liked the ASM resort when he was really little.  We always requested the Toy Story section, which is like walking into Andy's room, where you're the size of small toys.  There's a 30 foot Buzz Lightyear!  The 3 times we stayed there, they kept trying to put us in the Fantasia section, which is the "preferred" section, but that's around the pool, and can be really noisy.  No thanks!  BTW,  I priced the Caribbean Beach Resort for the same time period, with tickets and the deluxe meal plan and it's $3500.  I would absolutely pay the extra $400!  We like the atmosphere and the pools at CBR.  The kids' pool is really fun.

 

As soon as you book your resort, start making meal reservations!  This is a PITA, because if you don't have park hopper tickets (a waste of money with little kids, IMO), you need plan out which park you will visit on which day, and then make reservations for that specific park.  If the restaurant you want isn't available, you'll have to change things up.  It's easier now though that you can do it online.

 

Planning can be stressful, but it will all melt away once you step through the gates.  The most important thing is to have loads and loads of fun!

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Lanny, I can't remember if we brought bottled water in with us.  I know we brought food - little bento boxes for lunch, etc - just in case we couldn't find safe food for our food allergic kiddo.  I'm fairly sure we had juice boxes, etc, but I'm thinking that we may have planned to buy drinks in the park to offset bringing our food - as a sort of thank you.  

 

We'll be there in 2 weeks, on an impromptu trip, so I'll pay attention to the policies re: bottled water and let you know.   :)

 

As for the coffee - yes!  We are quite the coffee drinkers, and travel with our own espresso maker.  Now you've given me hope that we might get a good cup in the park, too.  Thanks!

 

Have a great time!   If you can, let us know about the current attitude towards people bring in some food and bottled water. That will be great. Thanks!

 

Yes, we have a photo somewhere, of a sign in a WDW snack bar that shows that they were selling Colombian Coffee and the price...

 

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Have a great time! If you can, let us know about the current attitude towards people bring in some food and bottled water. That will be great. Thanks!

 

Yes, we have a photo somewhere, of a sign in a WDW snack bar that shows that they were selling Colombian Coffee and the price...

 

WDW policy from their website:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/parks/outside-food-and-drink/

 

We go at least once a year and never have had any problems bringing in water and snacks. We don't bring meals, but I've seen people with soft sided coolers full of food. The security guards don't check them any differently than they do any other personal bags, except at Animal Kingdom where I've seen people having to throw away the straws from juice boxes.

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Great info here!  We're hoping to go in 2015 and I'm already overwhelmed with researching and info!   :o

 

The key to this is to begin reading/studying now, for your 2015 trip! Buy the Underground book I mentioned above (we bought the Print version, years ago, and last month I bought the Kindle version of the current edition). And, sign up for the  MouseSavers.com email newsletters.

 

We live in South America, so for us, the big cost is the airline. I will wait, as we did for the trip we made to Bogota last month, until about 32 days before our planned departure, hoping that fares go down and not up. This far in advance, there are no "deals".   I have several routes in mind, starting with COPA, the Panamian airline we went on in 2000, when my wife was pregnant with DD. They were very nice to her and everything we bought in Orlando (high chair, stroller, etc.) got here OK. 

 

There are a HUGE number of places one might stay in the Orlando area. That's the least of your worries. I have 2 properties in mind that I will contact first. The mention by DawnM of SkyAuction.com was new for me and I have been looking on their web site, wondering if we could do that for 7 nights and then stay 2 or 3 nights in some other property. That would save some $ on the nightly charges.

 

Rental cars, if you fly down, are also easy to comparison shop for on the web now.

 

Touring WDW is another matter.  I plan to pay for the extra service the publisher of the Underground book offers, and put DD in charge of planning what we do, inside WDW, with the Kindle version of the book on the Android Tablet and the service with up to the minute data on it.

 

The first time we were there (May 2000) it was a very unexpected last minute thing, to spend 2 or 3 days with friends who live in the Middle East. We had 1 or 2 weeks to get ready. We knew NOTHING about touring WDW. But, we had a good time and now we have a little idea about what it is like there. If you plan in advance, you will see more, you will spend less time in lines, and you will spend less money.

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There is a lot of great information in this thread!   Hurricanes in October.  Something I hadn't thought about. We know about Earthquakes, but have no experience with Hurricanes...   And, Columbus Day was great information for me, since I have a tentative departure date of 12 October and Columbus Day is on the 13th this year.   :-)

 

Looks like bringing in food and water will not be a problem and that will save some $ for us.

 

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Actually, June-November is Hurricane season (if I am right). We have had tropical storms that were pretty bad too (so wet you would harldly be able to go out). But, you really can't predict either of those at all! Last year we had a tropical storm warning that was supposed to be really bad, and it never happened - events were cancelled, city offices were closed. We called it Tropical Storm No-Show. I second the ponchos! We brought ponchos two years ago and they were so worth the 1.50 that I paid for them! Keep in mind too, that if it rains plenty people go home. We spent a little time out of the rain in one of the cafes, and then lined up to see our favorite characters without any lines! (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy). When we went during the summer we took some of those neckties that have cooling beads in them and that did help keep us cool. A cooling towels would be good also.

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I think the souvineers are less expensive at downtown Disney than they are at the park. Also, if your kid is a dino lover, there is a really cute cafe there called T-Rex Cafe. It has giant mechanical dinosaurs throughout the restaurant. It also has a "Build-a-Dino" shop where the kids can pick out and stuff their own dinos. I bought gift cards from Build-a-Bear before I went ($10 for $20 of merchandise) and used those there (as the shops are owned by the same company). My kids LOVE that place! The food is so-so, but the atmosphere really makes it worth it in my opinion.

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