Planning sites?

[wizardressofoz]

What are your favorite sites/boards to learn about and plan an Orlando/Disney World trip? I need to read more before asking any questions, and I see we have some Disney planners on the board too ! 😆

I am *entertaining* a mid- March spring break trip for my family (DH, me, DS age 7, DD age 4).  I’ve been to Magic Kingdom and Epcot, but no one else has visited any of the parks. DH and I went to Universal about 20 years ago. I am considering a stop at Lego Land or Sea World as well.

My key questions are in the space of: how many days? Which parks - I’m leaning towards Magic Kingdom and Epcot? is it worth it in pandemic life to go, do I wait another year? should I stay on at a (almost definitely value…maybe lower moderate) Disney Resort or rent a nearby house with a pool? At this point in pandemic life, what are the real benefits of staying onsite vs off property? Is the onsite experience worth a min of $900 savings?  

We can drive from Ohio ( a long trip,but we can drive) as it looks like airline tickets are currently $500 each, which, lol. 

[revolution]

I love using touringplans.com for my planning. and I also use a Disney TA when I know what I want and she books it all for me.

-How many days can depend on your budget. We usually do 5 park days - 2 at MK and 1 each at the others. At 7 and 4, if you are doing 2 parks, I'd do Magic Kingdom and Hollywood studios.
-I'd go in the spring if it is open and characters are meeting people, especially if it is your only trip to disney. We've missed the meet and greets of the characters. Hopefully they start back soon!
-we love staying on disney property and in the disney bubble. it's our escape from real life. If you drive, I'd park my car and not get in it again until you leave. Let disney transportation take care of the driving for you.

[wizardressofoz]

Jul 20, 2021 8:20:12 GMT -5 revolution said:

I love using touringplans.com for my planning. and I also use a Disney TA when I know what I want and she books it all for me.

-How many days can depend on your budget. We usually do 5 park days - 2 at MK and 1 each at the others. At 7 and 4, if you are doing 2 parks, I'd do Magic Kingdom and Hollywood studios.
-I'd go in the spring if it is open and characters are meeting people, especially if it is your only trip to disney. We've missed the meet and greets of the characters. Hopefully they start back soon!
-we love staying on disney property and in the disney bubble. it's our escape from real life. If you drive, I'd park my car and not get in it again until you leave. Let disney transportation take care of the driving for you.

Thank you- I'll check out this site. I do like the idea of engaging a TA, I just feel like I need to get a little smarter about it myself first 🤣

[jc2009]

Disboards.com, touringplans.com and random FB groups

My family is not overly into theme parks so my preference is offsite. I'm biased since we are building there but check out Windsor Island Resort. 5 bedroom townhomes and houses are about 225-300/night and have their own pool. Plus the clubhouse activities are included and just a short walk away. The clubhouse is scheduled to open in Sept and has a ton of things to do including mini golf and a lazy river. Windsor Island is about 20 minutes from Disney and probably 40 from Universal.

If you do all park days, then look at Windsor Hills which is older but just a few minutes from Disney.

[egishere]

If you only do two parks I would lean towards MK and AK with the ages of your kids. Not as much to do at Epcot for younger ones IMO. I would try to at least 5 days if you can and do all the parks! Especially if you are driving. You can find way nicer placers to stay offsite for the price if budget is a consideration. I personally don't think any of the hotels there are worth the high prices but I know a lot of people love them! I've stayed at Art of Animation (suite) and Yacht Club.

[meganew]

We drive from PA and one of the big draws of staying onsite is not having to use our car once we get there. It also makes it much easier to come back in the afternoon for a few hours to use the pool. When we stayed offsite we never wound up doing that because it was such a pain.