Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

blue_monkey_2

lisaloo1977 wrote: »

We are leaving tomorrow for our holiday, last minute booking. I doubt I have any hope of getting actual tickets in my hand for disneyworld but where is best to get at such last minute? Undercover tourist?? Possibly actual Disney store here, if that was actual tickets it might be worth it to avoid the queue to get our tickets at the park.

Thanks

Who are you travelling with and where are you staying? If you are with an agent you should be able to get them from your rep over there. Otherwise you will not get the UK prices for the Ultimate ticket, there is nothing they offer the same over there.

nuttyp

does anyone know what rides are being refurb in sept next year? tried looking on the dibb. any help greatly recieved.

blue_monkey_2

No idea but that is around the time when the new attractions are being rolled out so you might find there will not be anything as they will be expecting it to be busy. I think it's a bit too early to find out when the refurbs are planned, it is 14 months away. We are going April and I'd probably not check that until November time.

purplemusky

Thansk to tonymc for your suggestions. We have been many years ago and enjoyed the Olive Garden there. I will have a look on Disney website for their options. Thanks

Laneyboo

I knew MSE would have a thread for all my questions and alas! here it is

I am planning a Disney holiday and wanted some advice/suggestions with how i should go about it. There will be 2 adults and 2 children (7 & 4) the eldest has a disability + autism and we are looking to travel July/Aug 2012.

I have £1500 in a thomas cook account that i have saved and having spoken to the TA i had thought my mind was set on staying at one of the cheaper disney resorts like pop century though it then turned out you can get free disney dining plan if at the deluxe resorts.. so i ponder whether to do this and if its worth it.

The other option is to get a Villa and a car and this will allow the kids time to settle in the afternoon (will I really come all the way home to the villa or is this easier said than done?) .. I feel also that the adults on the trip will be able to relax and put the kids 'to bed' which will keep the routine quite similar (i.e dinner, bath, bed etc) and perhaps the odd night out and about.. We would love to go to outlet malls and big supermarkets too so thinking this would make the villa more of an option than staying at Disney.

Is it advisable for total Disney newbies to stay at a Villa (my relatives who went have shook heads and said no tourist Villas get broken into a lot!) and also is it easy to navigate? If so i would be paying the villa seperately ... Can i choose who to fly with on Thomas Cook or is it simply their own airline as i think i would use the £1500 towards flights and then we would just have tickets to pay for and spending money.

Sorry for the rant but any advice would be great.. The amount of info towards disney is mammoth, i never thought about it until i starting looking and my goodness... very overwhelming!

blue_monkey_2

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blue_monkey_2

Laneyboo wrote: »

I knew MSE would have a thread for all my questions and alas! here it is

I am planning a Disney holiday and wanted some advice/suggestions with how i should go about it. There will be 2 adults and 2 children (7 & 4) the eldest has a disability + autism and we are looking to travel July/Aug 2012.

I have £1500 in a thomas cook account that i have saved and having spoken to the TA i had thought my mind was set on staying at one of the cheaper disney resorts like pop century though it then turned out you can get free disney dining plan if at the deluxe resorts.. so i ponder whether to do this and if its worth it.

The other option is to get a Villa and a car and this will allow the kids time to settle in the afternoon (will I really come all the way home to the villa or is this easier said than done?) .. I feel also that the adults on the trip will be able to relax and put the kids 'to bed' which will keep the routine quite similar (i.e dinner, bath, bed etc) and perhaps the odd night out and about.. We would love to go to outlet malls and big supermarkets too so thinking this would make the villa more of an option than staying at Disney.

Is it advisable for total Disney newbies to stay at a Villa (my relatives who went have shook heads and said no tourist Villas get broken into a lot!) and also is it easy to navigate? If so i would be paying the villa seperately ... Can i choose who to fly with on Thomas Cook or is it simply their own airline as i think i would use the £1500 towards flights and then we would just have tickets to pay for and spending money.

Sorry for the rant but any advice would be great.. The amount of info towards disney is mammoth, i never thought about it until i starting looking and my goodness... very overwhelming!

My son also has a disability and Autism and he loves it there - ther eis so much information and videos on youtube we check everything out before we do it. We take his Elite Major with us as it can be a bit overwhelming so he has a safe place to be. We also have ear defenders because some of the attractions can be quite loud, as are the fireworks.

Be aware that it is VERY hot in July/August and we would never take my son this time of year as he would not cope. He just about coped with October/November when it was about 80-90 degrees. There can be a lot of storms as well, it usually rains every day and is usually humid. Just something to consider.

The free dining plan is worth it yes. Stay in Saratoga Springs or Old Key West. We find hotels hard work and so prefer having the self catering option. It was nice to have the choice from the buffet as my son cannot wait too long for food. You must make reservations for food though.

I cannot advise on the villa, I do not think I could cope with the worry of having a pool within the vacinity either, I would be on edge all the time in case he went in (mine has no fear or danger awareness). Why can you not stay onsite and have a car? Or just have a car for the days when you'll be offsite (you can collect a car from Disney Swan hotel), this is what we are doing, and will use Disney transport the rest of the time.

I have to admit we like flying with Virgin, they let us board first and give us somewhere quiet to sit so we have always travelled with them, plus we use the v-room to let DS run off some steam in the v-room play area first.

In regards to routine, you just have to take it as it comes. Mine were kept awake because we had a headache with checking into our accomodation the first night but they woke at 7am the next morning (US time) and fell into the USA times really easily. I however, didn't..... and last time they were awake at 2-3am because their boby clocks were set on UK time still. Be prepared for a few tantrums in the early days though because the body is tired and it is still afternoon - you do have to get them used to going to bed at US time else you'll lose half of your holidays.

Laneyboo

Thank-you for the tips blue_monkey

My son does love the heat (he's just come in from topping up his tan just now though slightly blue from so much ambre solaire lol) but i'm wondering now if it would just be unbearable in July/Aug..

Would end of Aug/September be any better as its his birthday then and would be great to have a birthday celebration away.. I'll look into usual temps, don't want to go in hurricane season!

I too was fretting over the pool but a friend of mine who goes to florida a lot has a villa which has the pool completely gated off and i've found some of the other villas have this too, also alarms on doors that go out near the pool so you know if they have managed to get out.

I'm going to have a scout about just now and price up some flights (i think i may be able to book virgin with my thomas cook money). I'm pondering now whether it might be an idea to do a week staying at disney and then a week away from disney for everybody to really chill out.

It sounds excellent that virgin let you board first, is this something that you tell them about at the airport and they are ok with or do you phone ahead? I've never heard of the v-room so will be googling that now

Thank-you again, i'm sure i will no doubt be back with another 100 questions lol

KarenG

Laneyboo wrote: »

Thank-you for the tips blue_monkey

My son does love the heat (he's just come in from topping up his tan just now though slightly blue from so much ambre solaire lol) but i'm wondering now if it would just be unbearable in July/Aug..

Would end of Aug/September be any better as its his birthday then and would be great to have a birthday celebration away.. I'll look into usual temps, don't want to go in hurricane season!

I too was fretting over the pool but a friend of mine who goes to florida a lot has a villa which has the pool completely gated off and i've found some of the other villas have this too, also alarms on doors that go out near the pool so you know if they have managed to get out.

I'm going to have a scout about just now and price up some flights (i think i may be able to book virgin with my thomas cook money). I'm pondering now whether it might be an idea to do a week staying at disney and then a week away from disney for everybody to really chill out.

It sounds excellent that virgin let you board first, is this something that you tell them about at the airport and they are ok with or do you phone ahead? I've never heard of the v-room so will be googling that now

Thank-you again, i'm sure i will no doubt be back with another 100 questions lol

Hi there

Very little difference in the weather July/August to end of August/start September but a HUGE difference in crowds. July is very busy, mid to late August much less so. That would be my pick of the two, anyway Both dead centre of hurricane season though!

You can only book the V Room if you book through Virgin Holidays I'm afraid, and you won't be able to do that with your vouchers.

Villas owners HAVE to have a lock fitted to doors / windows that open onto the pool. Don't worry about that, it won't be a problem.

We love staying onsite at Disney but it can be full on and not as "chilled out" as a villa. There are some great deals around at some of the deluxe villa resorts at the moment (Old Key West and Saratoga Springs) but you won't get close with those to the space a villa offsite will give you (and you won't have your own pool). My children like the Disney pools better as they make friends there, but some children love having their own pool - guess it's what suits your family best?

HTH

blue_monkey_2

Karen said all I needed to. My son is an escape artist so I still would not feel comfortable, LOL, but yes, each child is different. I think if we had a pool my daughter would not leave the villa too and she'll go home like a wrinkled prune. We are choosing apartments on resorts now and OKW is great value for money if you get free dining.

I agree also about the weather, if you want a significant difference look at Easter, Feb or October half terms. We have found it quiet in Oct/Feb when we have gone.

You'll get a GAC when you go if you take your sons paperwork so waiting for the rides should not be an issue (except in the waterparks, was never sure if we could use it there but it would have got wet anyway) but other things like waiting for food, buses, the monorail, getting into shows and watching the parades are all huge issues if it is busy and you child has ASD. In Oct when it was quiet we could not even get into the Disabled section unless we were early. By middle of Nov it had qieutened down and we was able to get spaces eveywhere to watch it.