# Disney Question



## tphammons (May 8, 2014)

I booked an exchange through II into the Marriott Grande Vista for July 4th week.  I will be traveling with four adults and two children, both under 6 y/o.  We will likely spend 3-4 days at the parks in the mornings (spending most time at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom), hanging out at the hotel/pool in the afternoons and maybe hitting the park again in the evenings for an hour or two -- depending on the kids' energy.  We are also considering taking a day trip to Cocoa Beach.

My question is whether it would make sense to book one night at a Disney resort (concurrent booking or one day prior to my MGV check-in) to take advantage of all of the perks Disney offers (extra/early hours in the parks, transportation, etc.)?

We've never been to Disney before and just want to make the experience as smooth as possible, particularly given the time that we're going to be there.

Any insight is greatly appreciated.

Tara


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## sfwilshire (May 8, 2014)

Wouldn't be worth it to me. With young children, Extra Magic Hours would make the day too long. The only worthwhile thing you would gain is the free parking and an early shot at fast passes and ADRs.

Sheila


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## got4boys (May 8, 2014)

I just came back in March with my nephew and niece who were 5 and 4 and they lasted only til about 5:00. 

You can get a room so it is closer to the parks for 1 day or 2 for napping if you plan on staying late. It does take a bit of time to get from Magic Kingdom from Marriott Grand Vista. 

Although on the map distance it says about 20 minutes, it is more like 40 or 50. For Magic Kingdom, you would have to park at the Magic Kingdom parking lot, then take a tram to Ticket and transportation, then take either the Monorail or Ferry Boat to the Magic Kingdom.

We had friends who went with their kids who were 6 and 4 and planned on going back in the park after leaving for dinner for the evening events and never made it back. (They stayed on International Drive - not that far from Marriott Grand Vista). 

They did not realize how tiring it is. Note that you are going in the summer and it will be HOT, HUMID and have afternoon thunderstorms.

If you are going to be there July 4th week, it will be packed on the 4th of July.


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## Vacationfuntips (May 8, 2014)

I would just stay at the Marriott.  There are short cuts which make it around 20-30 mins to get there using local roads.  Also Seaworld and Aquatica (not Disney) is very close to the Marriott.  You may want to go there also with the kids?

You can get a AAA Preferred parking Pass from AAA or off of ebay to park up closer.  You can get the pass free if you purchase your theme park tickets in advance with AAA.

When it gets hot, we usually cool off at a restaurant of go inside a gift shop.  Bring a water spray bottle to keep cool while waiting on attraction lines and some cold or frozen waters / juice boxes in a soft cooler with you. Don't forget hats, sunglasses and sunscreen.  A small towel to bring is handy too.  You can wet it to help keep cool.  Wear comfortable shoes, Crocs, or sandals for walking. 

Disney is different from Universal that you only can get some fast passes for attractions at certain times with a return time window.  It does not matter whether you stay on-site or off for that.  With Universal staying on-site gives you the perk of Express park ride attractions and that is a BIG incentive to stay there.

Don't forget your camera and buy autograph books and fat pens for the kids to get signatures from Disney meet and greet characters. You may want to book ahead your dining reservations for sit down restaurants since they are hard to get, especially for character dining.

Some websites to get helpful tips for Disney are:  www.disboards.com, allearsnet.com, and mousesavers.com

Have a great Disney trip!

Cynthia T.


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## Big Matt (May 9, 2014)

Go look at some Disney help sites like mousesavers, etc.  

My tip is to just pick days when there ISN'T early extra magic hours at Magic Kingdom.  You can get there early and do a lot.  Make sure that you know what rides you want to do ahead of time and do them early and/or use fast passes.  Do shows characters, etc. in early afternoon when crowds are at their peak.  Head back after dinner and do some more rides and see the night time parade and fireworks.

Animal Kingdom is a huge park considering all of the Safari and Nature parts.  You can easily do it in one day.  I'd just do that first thing and stay until you are done.  Not open at night.

I would look into Hollywood Studios too.  I'd actually go there over Animal Kingdom unless you don't have a zoo near your house.  Way more fun rides and shows at Studios IMO.

Also, Disney transportation is free, but it isn't always fast.  

Without question, you need to go to Downtown Disney.  It is free, there are some decent shops and good restaurants, and it is really fun at night.

I would also save time to go see the Disney Resorts.  Maybe have lunch or dinner (or a character breakfast) a couple days.  My favorites are Animal Kingdom and Wilderness Lodge.  Another free activity is to go to the Boardwalk resort area. You can get ice cream or eat there, and you can see the Epcot fireworks from the dock each night (although not the part on the lake).  

Do your homework and don't try to force too much into any one time slot.  You can go to Disney for years and never experience exactly the same thing.


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## mdurette (May 9, 2014)

We just stayed at MGV with our 8YO - your family will love it there.  It's location is best for SeaWorld parks, but I will have to disagree with other posters that it takes 40-50 minutes to get to Magic Kingdom.

If you book one night - then you will only get the "percs" for onsite guests for two days.  And to be honest....to me, those percs are not worth the money especially with kids.   The early entrance to the parks is usually only 1 hour, the late is 2-3 (but that means from 10pm - 1am).   Free parking, well it will cost you more for the room.

I would advise you to get your park tickets ahead of time so you can create your My Disney Experience and book your fast pass +'s in advance.  Off-site guest can now do this 30 days ahead of time and also make your dining reservations.

Disney can be overwhelming - your best bet is to determine which day on your vacation you want to go into what park (and yes, avoid the parks with the extra magic hours).    Then simply plan your day there.


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## MichaelColey (May 9, 2014)

tphammons said:


> I booked an exchange through II into the Marriott Grande Vista for July 4th week.  I will be traveling with four adults and two children, both under 6 y/o.  We will likely spend 3-4 days at the parks in the mornings (spending most time at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom), hanging out at the hotel/pool in the afternoons and maybe hitting the park again in the evenings for an hour or two -- depending on the kids' energy.  We are also considering taking a day trip to Cocoa Beach.
> 
> My question is whether it would make sense to book one night at a Disney resort (concurrent booking or one day prior to my MGV check-in) to take advantage of all of the perks Disney offers (extra/early hours in the parks, transportation, etc.)?
> 
> ...


First, to answer your question about booking a night at a Disney resort...  I wouldn't.  You'll only have those perks on that day (not your whole week), so it's just not worth it.

You have a bunch of things working against you, and I'm afraid that if you don't do some things, this might be a disappointing first trip:

1) July is hot.  No way around that, because most of the year is hot in Orlando, but just be prepared.
2) 4th of July is one of the busiest times of the year there.  Even at "slow" times of the year, Disney is packed.  Other than the first hour of the day, lines are going to be pretty outrageous.  It'll take some really careful planning to work around that.
3) You're talking about 3-4 days, but IMHO that's one of the worst WDW trip lengths.  Passes are about $300 for 3-4 days, while you can get a 10 day pass for about $370.  There are four parks, and it really takes 2 days at each park (except AK) to do most things.  Even when we do a 7 day WDW trip (in a slower time of the year), it's tough to do everything.

The best way to deal with the heat is to focus on mornings, walk through buildings whenever possible, alternate inside and outside attractions, and stay hydrated.

I strongly encourage you to spend more than 3-4 days at the parks, to do all 4 parks, and to plan it all out (which parks each day, hours, and generally which rides to do first, what to get FPs for, etc.) in advance.

Look at the calendars at easyWDW.com to find out which park is going to be least crowded each day.  Generally, you want to avoid the park that has extra magic hours, but there's quite a bit more to it than that, and they've done all the legwork.  Research which rides you want to do are best for FP+, which are best for rope drop, which are second tier rides, and which are anytime rides.

Plan on rope dropping every day.  You'll want to leave for the parks AT LEAST an hour before they open.  More than that for MK.  By the time you drive there, park, take the tram, (then take the Monorail or boat if you're going to MK), and go through security, you want to be waiting in line at least an hour before the park opens.  Keep in mind that they start letting people into some of the parks (HS and Epcot) 20-30 minutes before official opening.

Head straight to the main headliner for the park and do that first.  Then head to the second busiest.  Then start doing second tier attractions (while they have no wait) and your three FP+ attractions.  As the crowds continue to build, shift to doing "anytime" attractions (and finishing up your FP+ attractions).  If you plan it right, you can get an incredible amount of stuff down before lunchtime, and be leaving the park as THRONGS of people are entering the park.

EVERYONE will be exhausted.  Even the adults will be open to a nap most days.

Plan which three days (if you are going to do them) you'll be going to the evening entertainment (Wishes fireworks at Magic Kingdom, Illuminations at Epcot and Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios).  It's nice if you can have a day separating each of them, so you don't have multiple late nights in a row.  The more late nights you do, the tougher it is to hit rope drop, but rope drop is essential to a good plan (especially at a busy time of the year).

Without some pretty serious planning, it's pretty easy to go away from a 3-4 day trip like you're describing thinking "Disney is hot, crowded, and expensive.  I'm never doing that again."  With enough planning (and it's much easier after the first time!) and a longer trip, you're thinking "I beat the heat and crowds, got to do everything we wanted, never had a long wait, and got a lot more for our money than most people."


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## Lisa P (May 9, 2014)

Tara, for a first trip, traveling with peak summer crowds, and having 2 young children along, here are my essential tips:

*--- *Plan for the heat:  gentle pace, lots of low-sugar drinks, A/C breaks often.

*--- *Plan for the fatigue:  STOP (either take a break or call it a day) when the first person is worn-out or getting cranky.  Everyone needs to be flexible, for the weakest link - or everyone's fun will suffer.  And no, you do not _NEED_ to see it all, to have fun.

*--- *Use a stroller for the kids, even young school-aged kids:  Lots of walking, energy-sapping heat & humidity, and it'll carry a soft cooler of drinks, etc.  Bring a bright ribbon or bandana to tie on, so you can find yours in the sea of strollers.

*--- *Staying offsite, _AVOID_ each park on its Extra Magic Hours days:  crowds are much worse an EMH day than at the same park the next day.

*--- *Take the time to enjoy your nice resort.  With kids and with summer heat, pools = fun.

*--- *Visit YourFirstVisit.net and scroll down the home page to find links to suggested itineraries to help you prioritize your "must-do" list.

*--- *Think EARLY when planning:  Get to the park much earlier than you think you need to.
Get your "park stuff", soft cooler, etc., ready the night before.
Prepare everyone for the same goal time, to be out the door in the morning.
Get in line early for a stroller rental (if needed).
If you are organized, you'll likely see and do more in the first 2 hours that the park is open, than many people do between the peak 7 hours of 11AM-6PM.

*--- *Consider 1 or 2 late nights for evening fireworks & rides.  The parks are gorgeous at night, and usually a little less crowded than peak hours.  Plan a "down day" at your resort or a nice water park for the day after.  

Tara, for your particular plan:

Unless you are anxious to spend time at the beach, I would not plan on it in the same week as a first visit to Disney.  Cocoa Beach is not particularly special, IMHO, and it's still a 2+ hour round trip, extra packing-up and clean-up afterward.  If you are really "beach people", or if some in the group have never seen an ocean beach, then it may be worthwhile.

Buy only the length of park ticket that you think you'll use.  If the ticket still has active admission days left, you can take it to Guest Relations (even at Downtown Disney) and cheaply add days, paying only the difference for the upgrade.  In exchange for taking the extra time to upgrade later, you don't risk wasting unused days x 6 people's passes.  You can't upgrade a used-up ticket.

If you want to visit the smaller Disney attractions (2 water parks, 1 indoor arcade, 2 mini-golf), upgrade your MYW passes with Water Park Fun & More (WPF&M add-on, ~$65/person, set price regardless of # days on the pass).  WPF&M upgrade provides the same # of WPF&M visits as the # of days on the underlying MYW pass.  Since one visit to a Disney water park is $56.45/adult, $47.93/child ages 3-9, incl taxes, the WPF&M upgrade is cheaper than just 1 water park visit plus 1 mini-golf visit.

Since you are staying at Marriott Grand Vista, you may prefer to try Aquatica water park, which is closer to your resort and supposed to be beautiful.  Either way, our family has enjoyed many visits to Disney water parks (so much nicer than the usual, concrete water parks elsewhere) on the day after a busy, late night at the theme parks.  Love the floating rivers, wave pools, slides, sand and theme music.    HTH - Have a great trip!


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## pghsportsfan (May 9, 2014)

We did Disney last year with 3 kids under 5 and had a great time.  We stayed offsite at Marriott Harbour Lake, and didn't find it too bad of a trip in/out of Disney back to the resort.  We got 5 day park hopper passes to the parks, and planned a couple of days off at the pool at our resort.  If you can get your kids to do it, extra naps on those days are great so that they can last a bit longer at the parks.

A couple of things that we found to be great...  For the best price on Disney tickets, sign up for the newsletter at mousesavers.com, the newsletter comes out on the 15th of every month and includes a newsletter only discount from undercovertourst.com... by far the best price we could find on tickets.

Also, a great tool is touringplans.com.  You can set up the attractions you want to see at each park, and it will create a plan for your day at the park based on the usual wait times.  Their "Lines" app for the smartphone is great as well, giving you approximate wait times and recommendations on what to do.

Animal Kingdom isn't worth more than a half day, if you've got a park hopper pass, go early, do the safari tour, and head to a different park.  My kids got bored very quickly since there wasn't much to do and they can see more animals at the zoo.  Definitely go to Hollywood Studios though... if your kids are into Disney Junior, the show there is great.  The kids will also love the Toy Story ride.


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## tlwmkw (May 10, 2014)

One great tip if you are at Magic  Kingdom and want to stay late- take the monorail to one of the Disney resorts (Polynesian, Contempory, or Grand Floridian). You can wash up, eat, and rest in the lobby (kids can even take a little nap- esp at Grand Floridian where the lobby is enormous). This way you can leave for a while without the hassle of having to drive back to your hotel off property. We have done this in the past and it works great.

Also don't overdo things- do the things that you really want to do and make great memories. Don't try to do everything there is- it'll just make you tired and create bad memories. As others have said planning is very important. Book meals as early as possible before you go (check to see when the reservations open up so you can be first) or you may trouble getting reservations.

tlwmkw


Another silly thing-  If you are filming at parades and parks don't film the Disney characters and the parade or show (just get little snippets to show what you are watching), film your kids and their reactions to it more.  We have been editing some of our Disney videos and no one wants to sit through endless videos of the parades and shows.  The only parts worth seeing are the looks on the children's faces as they watch the shows and parades.  This also allows you to spend less time filming and more enjoying.


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## tphammons (May 11, 2014)

*Thanks!!!*

As always, you all have been extremely helpful.  I am seriously reconsidering July and am now looking at some October dates.  I'll only cost me an additional $50 to revise my exchange, which it sounds like it will be totally worth it!  For our first time at Disney, it seems as though I could not have picked a worse time to go, especially given that we are somewhat flexible in our travel dates.  I was hoping that the early morning park/afternoon pool idea was a viable one, but I will trust your experiences and not learn the hard way!  I was also trying to not take the kids out of school, but what will they really miss being out a week in kindergarten!!!

Thanks again and I'm sure I'll be back here to get more info about attractions, tickets, all the other 1000+ things that go into making a Disney trip a great time for everyone.


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## wed100105 (May 11, 2014)

tphammons said:


> As always, you all have been extremely helpful.  I am seriously reconsidering July and am now looking at some October dates.  I'll only cost me an additional $50 to revise my exchange, which it sounds like it will be totally worth it!  For our first time at Disney, it seems as though I could not have picked a worse time to go, especially given that we are somewhat flexible in our travel dates.  I was hoping that the early morning park/afternoon pool idea was a viable one, but I will trust your experiences and not learn the hard way!  I was also trying to not take the kids out of school, but what will they really miss being out a week in kindergarten!!!
> 
> Thanks again and I'm sure I'll be back here to get more info about attractions, tickets, all the other 1000+ things that go into making a Disney trip a great time for everyone.



I highly suggest you switch!  enjoy your trip!


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## elaine (May 11, 2014)

agree that Oct will be much better than July--perfect temperatures and much less crowded. We love the SeaWorld location for going to WDW. HAve a great trip!


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## pedro47 (May 11, 2014)

In my opinion a one night stay at Disney is a total waste of money. You are staying at one of the best family resort in Orlando. Enjoy your stay in Florida.


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## Big Matt (May 11, 2014)

Wow.  There's no comparison between July and October.  You lose the heat, crowds, and a LOT of kids.  October is a great time to go.


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## MichaelColey (May 11, 2014)

Excellent choice. Most of October is fairly "slow". And it's not as hot.

Early December is my absolute favorite time to go. Early February is great, too.


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