Disneyland First Time Booker - HELP!!

[daz1985]

Firstly hello to everyone on the forum - especially wayneg who recommended these forums to me last year via HUKD when I first mentioned I was planning a trip.

The time has come to take action - you only live once and i've wanted to do this trip all my life and so I am going to organise everything shortly but tbh i dont know where to start. (which is hopefully where you helpful people come in!) ultimately I am loking for advice to cut costs and where you simply cannot, or its not advisable to. I have seen that on virgin holidays i would be looking at around £5k and I would like to really reduce that cost if possible. So my needs/situation is:

I have decided May would be a good time to go for 14 nights. We will be taking a 6 year old and a 4 year old, and would like to do disney parks, universal studios, seaworld and if possible also other cool things like crocodiles and the kennedy space center. I also want to experience american life such as eating in a diner and going to their supermarkets (weird i know). I would drive but would be a bit nervous! Not too bothered about where we stay, doesnt have to be disney, but ideally not too far a drive from everything and also not in a dodgy area!

hopefully this is enough info for you. Many Thanks in advance

 

[chmurf]

First of all, welcome.

I will just start with one thing : prioritize your stay

you are planning a 14 nights stay, and try to include
- disneyworld : 4 parks, 2 water parks, 1 indoor park, a huge downtown, 20+ resorts, a property the size of the city of Paris (yup, this big)
- Universal : 2 parks and Citywalk
- Seaworld
- KSC
- potential visit to Gatorland and shopping time.

your stay is too short to do this all, even at a commando pace. Most of us seasonned florida travellers wouldn't pack this much in that little a time. Even more so with small children. They'll collapse by day 3 if you pack all of this in one trip.

also, you mention £5k, is that for flights only or is it your total budget for the trip ?

you ask where not to cut cost. I think that it's important not to neglect the perks of staying onsite at Universal if you intend to go there.
Staying at one of the 3 deluxe resorts there will get you the unlimited express pass. This can save you valuable time in the park. actually that could cut your visit down to 1 day per park and be very comfortable about it.

last thing, you mention May, is that May 2014 ?

 

[daz1985]

hi thanks for reply. I clearly have severely underestimated the scale of what there is there.

£5k with virgin would get us 14 nights, flights, car hire and disney 14 day tickets for group but no extras ie dining plans or tickets to other resorts. i assumed that a budget trip would work out quite a bit less than this....

i was thinking May 2014 yes. Too soon?

just to reiterate we are not seasoned travellers looking for the best trip possible, just being there will be special so it doesnt have to be perk perk perk all the way. so long as we dont end up miles away from the action or in a dive thats fine.

thanks

 

[wayneg]

Hi & welcome.

Lots of options for you, there are endless things to do and endless places to stay. This year will be our 33rd & 34th trip and we still find new things to do so don't try cram it all in one trip. Many people say its a once in a lifetime trip but most return for numerous trips.

You are right, you should be able to beat VH prices, not always but usually prices can be lowered. Is the quote you got including car insurance? you have to double check with VH that everything has been added to the quote.

I am helping relatives book for August, 16 nt with VH in a value resort onsite £6,935, or in a moderate £7,514.

Booked them on Tomas Cook flights for £2,250(only booked flights so far), value resort & tickets £1,800, car rental will be around £300. Total £4,350 or moderate total £4.872.
Thats a saving of £2,585 in value or £2,642 in moderate

What dates are you looking for? lets start with a flight search to see if there are any reasonable prices out there, also which airport?

 

[chmurf]

£5k with virgin would get us 14 nights, flights, car hire and disney 14 day tickets for group but no extras ie dining plans or tickets to other resorts. i assumed that a budget trip would work out quite a bit less than this....

you can do it for less going DIY.
Staying at Disney's might be a bit tricky on that budget.

There is currently a room discount on WDTC-UK and you could get a value (POP Century) for £2k (accom + tickets) and flights could range from £2k to £2.5k, so a bit cheaper than Virgin.
but no food here or anything extra.

i was thinking May 2014 yes. Too soon?

no, it's even a bit "late" if you intend to do some of the most popular restaurants, as some might already be booked solid. (reservations are done 180 days out). Many of us are in 2015 planning mode

just to reiterate we are not seasoned travellers looking for the best trip possible, just being there will be special so it doesnt have to be perk perk perk all the way. so long as we dont end up miles away from the action or in a dive thats fine.

staying onsite at a Value would be more than enough if you can justify the cost.
Actually that would save a car hire. (you'd need to factor in the booster seat rental for the youngest, or bring it with you on the plane)
staying onsite would get you the advance fastpass+ reservation, which might suit your need better than having to go to the park to make those reservations on the day.

but on the other hand, an offsite accomodation can be cheaper. But staying on international drive for example could lead you to 30+ or 45 minutes drive to the parks at Disney depending on traffic (one way)

Wayne could probably tell you about Extended Stay America on Palm Parkway which is roughly 15 minutes drive to the parks (need to factor in roughly $15 for parking at the parks each day, parking is free if you stay onsite at disney's)


some may differ, but for a first time, if you're not used to travelling, I would highly suggest an onsite stay, just to avoid being overwhelmed.
but your mileage may vary.

 

[Hipster Meg]

you can do it for less going DIY.
Staying at Disney's might be a bit tricky on that budget.

There is currently a room discount on WDTC-UK and you could get a value (POP Century) for £2k (accom + tickets) and flights could range from £2k to £2.5k, so a bit cheaper than Virgin.
but no food here or anything extra.

no, it's even a bit "late" if you intend to do some of the most popular restaurants, as some might already be booked solid. (reservations are done 180 days out). Many of us are in 2015 planning mode

staying onsite at a Value would be more than enough if you can justify the cost.

Expedia has some really good deals on room only rates; you can get one of the value resorts for less that £800 for the last two weeks in May. You can also get cashback if you use topcashback or quidco.

 

[minimog]

I hope the OP doesnt mind me asking this, but its appropriate to the thread:-

How much time is required to spend in each of the popular parks (disney oatks, universal parks and seaworld) to get the most out of them, or at least the best of them?

I honestly doubt we will only do one trip

 

[wayneg]

I hope the OP doesnt mind me asking this, but its appropriate to the thread:-

How much time is required to spend in each of the popular parks (disney oatks, universal parks and seaworld) to get the most out of them, or at least the best of them?

I honestly doubt we will only do one trip

Very difficult to answer as we all do parks in a different way and enjoy different things, for eaxple I don't particularly like Animal Kingdom so we often only stay 2-3 hours and done. We really only go in to see the Lion King show, Safari, Yeti & Nemo yet I really like Busch Gardens (my fave park) so opening to closing is never long enough.
Somewhere like Seaworld we struggle to do in the day due to show timings, not enough time to see them all due to overlapping or lack of time between. So another half day could be needed.
We tend to get in parks for opening to mid afternoon then come out when it gets busy, they are usually a lot quiter in the mornings. Don't really do full days anymore.
Time of year also affects how ong many stay in parks, in August 3-4 hours is usually enough for us, cooler months easier to stay longer.
MK we can easily go in multiple times a trip just for the atmosphere, take pics and people watch.
Sorry not much help I know.

 

[chmurf]

How much time is required to spend in each of the popular parks (disney oatks, universal parks and seaworld) to get the most out of them, or at least the best of them?

it depends on your pace, and who you go with. Kids will need breaks, young adults might be able to commando the parks.

but as far as I'm concerned I'd say that getting the most out of the parks would look like :
WDW
- 2 days MK
- 2 days Epcot
- 1.5 days DHS
- 1.5 days DAK
- 1 day DTD & Resorts (possibly DQ)
Universal
- 1 day USF
- 1 day IoA
Seaworld
- 1 day

add at least 1 day off for shopping or relaxing

that's 12 full days (not counting arrival, departure, and landing day)

That's what I would call the bare minimum for doing all of those parks, but that would be a hellish pace. (the days do not have to match the parks they're associated with, it's a count, not a plan)

My "comfort zone" is roughly 10 to 14 days for Disneyworld, 2 days for seaworld (including Discovery Cove) and 4 days for universal (2 days at each park with unlimited express) so roughly a 3 weeks vacations. If I only had 2 weeks I would drop seaworld and keep only WDW and USO with a 3 days WDW / 1 day USF ratio

 

[minimog]

it depends on your pace, and who you go with. Kids will need breaks, young adults might be able to commando the parks.

but as far as I'm concerned I'd say that getting the most out of the parks would look like :
WDW
- 2 days MK
- 2 days Epcot
- 1.5 days DHS
- 1.5 days DAK
- 1 day DTD & Resorts (possibly DQ)
Universal
- 1 day USF
- 1 day IoA
Seaworld
- 1 day

add at least 1 day off for shopping or relaxing

that's 12 full days (not counting arrival, departure, and landing day)

That's what I would call the bare minimum for doing all of those parks, but that would be a hellish pace. (the days do not have to match the parks they're associated with, it's a count, not a plan)

My "comfort zone" is roughly 10 to 14 days for Disneyworld, 2 days for seaworld (including Discovery Cove) and 4 days for universal (2 days at each park with unlimited express) so roughly a 3 weeks vacations. If I only had 2 weeks I would drop seaworld and keep only WDW and USO with a 3 days WDW / 1 day USF ratio

Thank you dd will be 5, so I think we may have to play it by ear and do a rough plan. Going to sit down and plan with dh all the 'must dos'. She is pretty good with days out, but shes never experienced anything like the parks in florida will be. However I think the biggest issue will the the length of the flight as she is really figidty!

Hopefully this will help OP as I noticed they have children of similar ages to mine

 

[DLPDreams]

I hope the OP doesnt mind me asking this, but its appropriate to the thread:-

How much time is required to spend in each of the popular parks (disney oatks, universal parks and seaworld) to get the most out of them, or at least the best of them?

I honestly doubt we will only do one trip

I am busy wading my way (!) through the Unofficial guide to Orlando guidebook which was recommended on here. In parts it is great but I really don't need some of it (it is quite centred to the US visitor I think). Anyway, they say for a first visit, to allow about 2 days per park (just the Disney main 4), but a lot depends on whether you have children with you, whether you do the rides - headliners mean bigger queues, whether you autograph hunt etc. It really takes as long as it takes, but they give a ballpark of 2 days per park. In a 14 day holiday this gives time for relax time, shopping etc too. But honestly, I've never been to WDW yet, but been to Disneyland Paris several times and still haven't done everything there yet and that is miniscule in comparison to WDW! So, I really don't expect to cover all we'd like to get done in 8 days (2 in each park).

To the OP - hello Good luck in your planning - we are another 2015 planning family - partly because we are still saving and mainly because 2015 is a special year for us (and we have waited until our children are a bit older to go), hence the holiday . I have to say, the more I research, the more pleased I am we have a long run in on planning etc. Probably a bit longer than I'd like but if you bear in mind you can now book your fastpasses (if onsite) 60 days out and your meals too - those able to plan a bit in advance have more chance of getting what they want.

Everyone is different in what they'd like to achieve, but I agree with the previous replies, the list you have seems a bit ambitious for a first trip with children. We are hoping to do WDW (plus their waterparks), US/IoA (stay onsite for a few nights to get perks) and Discovery Cove plus a bit of offsite shopping - and that is in 3 weeks! But we do hope to have a fair few relax/pool afternoons etc.

A lot of this was totally double dutch to me a month or so ago, but I'm gradually getting there There are some very knowledgable and helpful people on here who are willing to help .

One final thing - you mentioned May - I presume this isn't to include the May school holidays? If yes, then you may find airfares are more, although judging by your quote, it probably isn't that time.

 

[wunkmom]

Not trying to be critical, just helpful, you may want to amend the title of your post to Walt Disney World instead of Disneyland. You may receive more responses that are helpful. I'm afraid many people who only have WDW experience may pass your post by because they've never been to DL.

 

[wayneg]

Not trying to be critical, just helpful, you may want to amend the title of your post to Walt Disney World instead of Disneyland. You may receive more responses that are helpful. I'm afraid many people who only have WDW experience may pass your post by because they've never been to DL.

You are correct but even some of our travel agents in the UK refer to WDW as DL, a few years ago I went in to a local TA and asked for info on DL, she came back with info on WDW. I told her DL Cali she said "oh I didn't know there were 2"
To many of us that are well travelled then we know the difference but I would say majority of people in UK that have never been call WDW DL.

 

[Sam1]

It's a lot to fit in if you're just doing fourteen nights. I know some people do it, but I can see how it could spoil a holiday as well.

We had our first visit in October last year and I'm glad I took the advice from people on this forum about trying to fit too much in. I was all for getting there for park opening and staying until late to fit everything in when I first booked . We stayed for fifteen nights and planned to just do Disney's four main parks and the two Universal ones in the end. Even that was pushing it because we never got to go to Animal Kingdom, mainly because my daughter is going through a stage of not liking any animals, but it was a blessing in the end because we just couldn't fit everything in.

This year we'll still only be aiming for Disney and Universal, but at a more relaxed pace.

 

[daz1985]

Hi & welcome.

Lots of options for you, there are endless things to do and endless places to stay. This year will be our 33rd & 34th trip and we still find new things to do so don't try cram it all in one trip. Many people say its a once in a lifetime trip but most return for numerous trips.

You are right, you should be able to beat VH prices, not always but usually prices can be lowered. Is the quote you got including car insurance? you have to double check with VH that everything has been added to the quote.

I am helping relatives book for August, 16 nt with VH in a value resort onsite £6,935, or in a moderate £7,514.

Booked them on Tomas Cook flights for £2,250(only booked flights so far), value resort & tickets £1,800, car rental will be around £300. Total £4,350 or moderate total £4.872.
Thats a saving of £2,585 in value or £2,642 in moderate

What dates are you looking for? lets start with a flight search to see if there are any reasonable prices out there, also which airport?

thanks to everyone for the replies - even if it does seem that my first estimate probably wont come down by much. very good advice on the scale of things though and I think if we just did Disney and universal that's going to be fine we'll just have to come back another time for the rest!
to answer this post I would be looking at mid may departure. im in somerset so Bristol airport would be most convenient but tbh London or Southampton is also fine.
car insurance was added but the quote had the basic level of everthing and the price would shoot up if I went for better versions of everything.

seems like staying in Disney is the best option anyway then as I like the idea of fastpass and not worrying about hire car. (incidentally if I didn't hire a car could I easily get to supermarket and universal?)

I honestly have no idea of the scale of things, is universal next door or miles away??!

finally is the Disney dining plan worth it? it adds over a grand to the holiday price - quite a lot for the sake of 2 weeks meals

thanks

 

[chmurf]

(incidentally if I didn't hire a car could I easily get to supermarket and universal?)

you'll need to take a cab then
between $35 and $45 one way to go to universal, a bit less for supermakets (closest is Walmart on 535 but wouldn't that look a bit ASDAesque ?, maybe try Super Target instead)

I honestly have no idea of the scale of things, is universal next door or miles away??!

Disneyworld in itself is 39 sq. miles (25.000 acres). It takes roughly 15 to 20 minutes by bus or car to go from one side to the other.

depending on where you are on Disney property, Universal is somewhere between 10 and 14 miles away.

finally is the Disney dining plan worth it? it adds over a grand to the holiday price - quite a lot for the sake of 2 weeks meals

never pay for the dining plan. 99% of the time, you'll pay less out of pocket if you're going for the quick service dining plan
and if you're going for the DDP (with table service) then it's even less worth it since you may not be able to book the most expensive restaurants (some will already be booked almost solid)

also remember that Table service restaurant will require you to pay a tip between 18 and 20% of the total check (pre-tax) no mater if you have the dining plan or not.

 

[wayneg]

My opinion is no, Dining plan is not worth it. We have had it free a few times which is fine but would never pay for it.

A taxi to Universal and back will cost you around $80 (£50) incl tips.

2 weeks car hire starts from around £200 incl insurance, then you have parking at around £10/day at Universal & SeaWorld, free in Disney if staying onsite.

Personally I would always have a car onsite or offsite but others manage perfectly well without. If you had a car its far easier to eat offsite, food offsite is upto half the cost of Disney which also means half the tips. A beer in Disney costs $7-8, offsite $2-3.

As I say I am trying to help relatives book for August, I am going to advise they stay at the Hilton Garden hotel Lake Beuna Vista at £40/nt, taking into account having to pay for parking at Disney its approx same price as a value resort onsite but I think they will prefer LBV, they will be eating mostly offsite.

Fastpasses are available to anyone onsite or offsite.

I am going to bed soon as I start work at 3:30am tomorrow but will try look at flights as soon as I can.

 

[joolz1910]

Welcome to the Dis

WE went on our first trip in 2012 with our 3 children and I would recommend staying onsite if you don't want to drive. We loved it as you have the convenience of popping back during the day for the kids to swim / take a nap / wind down.

Do you really want to go THIS May? You won't have much time to plan everything. Have a look on Travel City Direct, Complete Orlando and Kenwood Travel for ideas of prices. The travel agent I used is a Travel Counsellor called Val Ramsay and I can highly recommend her.

Everyone on here is really helpful and Wayne is amazing (and patient )

 

[daz1985]

Welcome to the Dis

WE went on our first trip in 2012 with our 3 children and I would recommend staying onsite if you don't want to drive. We loved it as you have the convenience of popping back during the day for the kids to swim / take a nap / wind down.

Do you really want to go THIS May? You won't have much time to plan everything. Have a look on Travel City Direct, Complete Orlando and Kenwood Travel for ideas of prices. The travel agent I used is a Travel Counsellor called Val Ramsay and I can highly recommend her.

Everyone on here is really helpful and Wayne is amazing (and patient )

thanks will look on those sites. going to pop into travel agents today too.

not sure i can wait until next may! is there another month thats good to go?

are there any good books that will help me plan? thanks

 

[wendy_uk]

We are travelling June 18th from Gatwick 2 weeks with Thomson. Not staying onsite but choose Rosen Inn Pointe Orlando, as it is an inclusive holiday includes Park Tickets. Cost £4985. Includes flight, 14 nights Rosen Inn, Car hire, 14 day ultimate Disney ticket and 5 park Universal ticket. Myself, DH, DD, DS