So you want to go to Disney World…
There is a lot to think about when it comes to a trip to Disney World. This is a quick overview of the two main questions that every trip must start with:
Do we want to stay on-property in a Disney hotel for the fully immersive experience or do we save some money by staying at a nice off-property resort?
What do we want to do when we are there? Specifically, what parks to we want to go to and how many “down days” do we want?
Answering these questions will allow you to start charting a course for your Disney experience, They will also, simultaneously, get you far along on setting a budget as accommodations and theme park tickets are the major cost drivers (flights aside) of every Disney vacation.
Let’s look at these 2 areas separately.
To Stay (on Property) or Not To Stay
That is the Question
There are many pros and cons to staying on or off property. The main question here is what type of experience are you looking for. Are you willing to pay a little more for the fully immersive experience? Or, do you want to spread out a bit more and go at a bit of a slower (and potentially less expensive) pace?
Staying On Property
Staying on property can be very convenient. First off, Disney offers complimentary transportation from the Orlando airport. During the 30 or so minute ride you are treated to a video introduction of Disney which holds the kids attention pretty well.
Once at your hotel, you are never more than a monorail, bus, boat or gondola ride away from the parks. You are also fully immersed in the world of Disney. Hotels and resorts have their own Disney gift shops, rooms decorated to fit the hotel theme, multiple dining options and hidden Mickeys to search for throughout the decor. As an on property guest you are also able to make fastpass ride selections and dining reservations 90 days prior to arrival as opposed to the normal 30 days for those not staying on property.
The downside is that staying on property can be very pricy. Disney value motels start around $200/night. Moderately priced hotels can run $350-$700/night and the more elaborate resorts are often $700+/night. Most rooms are standard hotel size and offer 2 queen sized beds so there isn’t a ton of room to spread out but, for a family with little ones who don’t plan to spend much time in the room, it is perfectly suitable.
The Disney World website does a great job allowing future guests to filter all of their hotels by various criteria. They provide a nice overview of each hotel including things such as location, general description and a number of nice photos so you can get a sense of what each is like. Take a look for yourself..
Staying Off Property
Staying off property does require a bit more coordination. It also requires a rental car. The cost of the car, however, is typically more than offset by the savings you incur from staying outside of the Disney property. Having a car at your disposal also opens the option for checking out additional Orlando attractions and landmark. If you want to take a day at Universal Studios to check out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, for instance, you can do so at your leisure.
The hidden gem that I suggest to everyone wishing to save a bit of money and have more space is The Grove Resort & Water Park, a mere 18 minutes from the Magic Kingdom. This resort has 1, 2 and 3 bedroom suites complete with fully equipped kitchens, multiple bathrooms, a living area, spacious balconies, a medium sized water park, cafe, a full restaurant and 2 poolside grills.
Two bedroom, two bathroom suites (1,200+ sq ft) start in the low $200/night range and three bedroom, three bathroom suites (1,500+ sq ft) are about $300/night. The price is in the ballpark of the cheapest Disney hotels but you get 5x the space. Check out The Grove for yourself
What To Do While at Disney
There is a TON to do at Disney World. From the 4 major theme parks - Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studio, Animal Kingdom, and EPCOT - to Disney Springs (formally Downtown Disney), you can pack your day with as much or as little as you want. Some people like to do a park (or 2) each day while others like to add a couple of days of downtime. Stacking your calendar full of parks can be fun but exhausting so I always recommend to build in a day or 2 of days to have a “vacation” from your vacation and enjoy the resort pool or do a little afternoon shopping.
Ticket Options
There are 2 main criteria to take into account when purchasing tickets:
How many days you want to spend in parks
The more tickets you purchase the cheaper the cost/ticket. Purchasing a single day, single park ticket is typically in the $130/day range for adults while, say, 5 days worth of single park tickets runs just over $100/day for each adult (kids are about $5/day less).How many parks you want to visit in one day
You can purchase a Single Park ticket which, as it suggests, allows you admission to one park/day, or you can choose a Park Hopper ticket which allows you admission to multiple parks/day. Depending on the time of year and number of days worth of tickets you purchase, these can run $30 - $80 more than single park tickets.
If you plan to stay for a longer period of time, say, a week, my recommendation is to do 5 days of Single Park tickets. That way you can do all 4 parks and then go back and do your favorite one a 2nd time. That also provides a day or two of downtime.
If you are only planning on doing a couple of days worth of parks, I recommend going with Park Hopper tickets. This allows time to maximize your stay by spending mornings in one park and the afternoons/evenings in another.
I recommend playing around with the ticket pricing tool to get a sense of ticket prices so you can decide how how many days you would like to spend in parks.
Wrap Up
Planning a trip to Disney World can be intimidating but it doesn’t have to be. Starting with the on/off property and number of tickets questions are the major agenda and budget drivers. Once you have these nailed down the rest is working up a tentative plan to make sure you get the most out of your Disney trip…all of which I can help walk you through.
