DisneyWorld Florida - help clear my confusions!

djmsemcgrath

Myself, my wife, and will-be-3 year old will be in Florida next April (2017) for a family event and while we were there, we thought we could do Disney. I don't really like planes so if we're going, we may as well do as much as possible!

First things first - my wife and child are available to go to Disney for 2 weeks, from Wednesdays March 22nd to Wednesday April 5th. I don't know if we can book a Wed-Wed trip, so we could maybe make it a Sat-Sat if needed. I heard 2 weeks is the preferred length, as a child makes things slow going, so it'd advisable to do a park, then have a day to rest! Unfortunately, I'm tied up doing family things so I'll only be available for the last week. Is it at all possible for me to buy a week pass, and then join my family in their hotel room, etc? I don't want to have to book an entire 2 week holiday for the 3 of us if I'll be missing a week.

Secondly, does anyone have any tips about which parks would be good for a 3 year old girl. She obviously won't be into the super fast rides, and won't care about Harry Potter world, or anything like that. She's pretty much into every Disney film, so seeing the characters will be epic for her, and she likes animals, and aquarium type attractions, and swimming/splashing around. Based off my small knowledge, I think she's like Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, but won't care for Hollywood Studios and maybe not Epcot. Is it possible to buy tickets for 2 parks and not others, or are all 4 parks included in the price?

Thirdly, does anyone have advice about food prices. There seems to be an option with the Disney hotels to either get breakfast free, or add on a Dining Plan which gives you a meal/snack allocation. Is this the best value, or is it easy to pick up relatively cheap lunches/dinners at the park?

Lastly, it would be awesome to get people's opinions or reviews of hotels to stay at - I know the resort hotels can be mega expensive but if it adds significantly to the experience, then it'd be worth considering. And queues - are they absolutely terrible, or tolerable?

Do people think 3 years old is a little too young for Disney? We're considering it because we're there anyway but if we absolutely wouldn't get value for money out of it, perhaps there's other Florida attractions more aimed for her age.

Any general advice, tips, discount codes worth looking out for, etc would be massively appreciated!

Thanks in advance

Murphy_The_Cat

All things Disney
Absolutely chock a block with helpful advice.

"Do people think 3 years old is a little too young for Disney? We're considering it because we're there anyway but if we absolutely wouldn't get value for money out of it, perhaps there's other Florida attractions more aimed for her age."

Honest question, honest answer - IMO a 3 year old is too young to get anything from Disney (or much at all !)
You absolutely wouldn't get VFM from it.

At 3 years old, all the little'un wants to do is spend time with you. If she's happy, you're ahhy and vice versa.
Beach time, definitely.
Kennedy Space Centre with rockets etc, probably.
Some of the excellent childrens "museums". Oh yes.
Doing hands on things in State/National Parks. Yes.
Small water parks where she can do most things - double thumbs up.
Car racing (a bit left field, but my kittens love it).
the list goes on

If you're able to look at it from a childs perspective, rather than an adults, it helps enormously.

djmsemcgrath

That's useful advice, thank you. I'll have a look around Florida for some other things to do, I think. I do think the little one would like elements of Disney, such as the characters and animals, but perhaps the novelty would wear off after 2 weeks, especially if she's too small to use everything the parks have to offer.

duchy

Few questions

Would your wife be comfortable driving in Florida ?
If the option was there would you prefer to have the option of somewhere to prepare some meals/snacks ?
How set are you on staying on Disney property versus nearby and either using a shuttle bus or driving in ?

djmsemcgrath

I think she'd be comfortable driving, she'd be turning 25 the month before, so hopefully that'll be OK.

I think we'd prefer to prepare meals ourselves so we can be in control of costs but if it'll be expensive, then perhaps it'll be cheaper buying a dining plan.

My personal view is that if we will spend the money to do Disney, and it's not ridiculously more, then staying on resort in a special Disney hotel adds to the experience and makes it more magical, but it depends on the price difference, and the frequency of buses etc

duchy

Everything on Disney property is expensive so it's probably worth considering costing both on property (Port Orleans is a lovely moderate Disney property on a river with ducks to feed and a peaceful atmosphere ideal for downtime away from the franticness of the parks).
If you stay off-site you could book a suite hotel with a seperate bedroom , lounge and kitchen which not only gives you eating in options but also a seperate area for the adults to relax watch TV without waking a conked out three year old after a busy day rather than tiptoing around a hotel room .

Whichever option you go for often the best way to see the parks is to arrive early before the parks get too busy - then at lunchtime leave -for lunch, a nap, swim and then return late afternoon/early evening to do more when it's cooler and the crowds drop again. Small people tend to get very over stimulated and this helps avoid a reaction to this especially with the heat.

Most people don't realize just how big WDW is and although you can get frequent shuttle buses between all points a car will often be quicker .

Have you had a look at the dibb website - It's a mine of information and great to help you decide between all the options.

Bennifred

I think a three year old is too young to really appreciate Disneyworld - it could be very overwhelming (noise, heat, crowds). If you do decide to "do Disney" then I think the onsite hotels are not good - in terms of space, convenience or value for money. So many better options available!

John259

Where are you flying in to? For example, Miami to Orlando is over 230 miles each way. Driving in the USA is easy (except in big cities) and roads are excellent, but it still takes time.
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/MPcikzZxjYT2

djmsemcgrath

We're flying from London direct to Orlando in mid March, seeing family for a while, then I'm going off to do something for a few days on my own, and my wife and little one are at a loose end. They could just stay with family, but they were thinking about taking advantage of the location and doing Disney. There may be better age appropriate things to do though, more investigation needed, and I'll definitely look at that dibb website.

Nan63

I wouldn't be too hasty to not 'do' Disneyworld, especially if your little one is a lover of all things Disney!


We went when my grandson was just coming up to 3 and yes, we took things easy with regular breaks but the utter delight of his little face when he saw Mickey for the first time will forever be etched my memory. As my daughter says to anyone who says the children are too young "they enjoy the moment, we enjoy the moment - isn't that the point of a family holiday?". I hope you all have a lovely time should you decide to go.

djmsemcgrath

I think that's what encouraged me to look into it. She's quite a "mature" 3 year old, and pretty tall and gets mistaken for a 4/5 year old, and she's pretty advanced (I know all parents think that!), but I think she'd handle the hecticness and crowds and stuff like that well. She obviously won't be old enough for huge rides, but I think she'd have the energy for the parks. My only concern was about the amount of stuff aimed at her age, and whether the value for money would be there. More research needed - but thank you to everyone for your thoughts and links.