Tell me about Orlando/Disney

[megalicious]

We're looking at going for a long weekend in January... with a 2y/o. I've never been there.

(1) Where to stay
(2) Best things to do
(3) Should we rent a car?

ETA: (4) Can you take a toddler in those shuttles w/o a carseat??

[stephm0188]

This is really hard to answer without knowing a little more. Do you have a budget in mind? Are there certain things you'd like to accomplish?

Disney itself is enough to occupy an entire weekend. We've stayed on site and off, and I prefer on. I like being able to get back to the hotel quickly to change clothes or nap or whatever. If you stay onsite, you can use their free transportation to and from the airport. Lots of great dining options at a variety of pricepoints.

There are other things as well, like Sea World and Universal Studios. We stayed at Loews Royal Pacific last year, and it was a nice hotel. It's near Universal Studios. We've not been to Universal yet. I don't really feel like there's enough there for the little people to justify the cost just yet.

[Deleted]

We had a car both times we went but we stayed on property. Staying on property is definitely worth it. I loved the animal kingdom lodge and we stayed at beach club (i think that was the name of it) last time and it was nice as well but I just like AKL and the giraffes sitting with me as I drank coffee on our deck.

[megalicious]

Nov 17, 2012 16:54:48 GMT -5 stephm0188 said:

This is really hard to answer without knowing a little more. Do you have a budget in mind? Are there certain things you'd like to accomplish?

Disney itself is enough to occupy an entire weekend. We've stayed on site and off, and I prefer on. I like being able to get back to the hotel quickly to change clothes or nap or whatever. If you stay onsite, you can use their free transportation to and from the airport. Lots of great dining options at a variety of pricepoints.

There are other things as well, like Sea World and Universal Studios. We stayed at Loews Royal Pacific last year, and it was a nice hotel. It's near Universal Studios. We've not been to Universal yet. I don't really feel like there's enough there for the little people to justify the cost just yet.

I hadn't really thought about a budget... Honestly I don't even know what it costs to get into the park. We're looking at about 1200 for the airfare. Maybe we can keep it to another 1500 on top of that including lodging?? Since DD is still in the crib-stage, so I'd prefer to stay in a suite, but I'm not seeing too many options.

We won't have a ton of time since we'll only be there for a long weekend and we have to do afternoon naps yet.

[sunny]

staying on property (disney) is the simplest IMO with a toddler. you get free magic transportation to and from the airport and between the parks and downtown disney. technically 4-5 days is best for disney, so you definitely will have lots to choose from

eta: and you won't need a carseat if you use the disney shuttles.

[Deleted]

No kids, so can't comment on taking a toddler.

I recommend staying on property if at all possible. There are some great hotels, and there are deals to be found online. It's nice having the built it transportation and being close to the parks. We went just the two of us a few years ago and found a decent rate for the Swan on travelocity. I've also stayed at the Contemporary, which is on the monorail.

[hideme]

My dh and I took our 14 month old this past September and only stayed 4 days. We ended up renting a car and bringing lo's carseat. We stayed at the Hilton Orlando across from downtown Disney which was great, but we drove to the parks to avoid lo being cranky on the shuttle.

We went to SeaWorld and Magic Kingdom (mainly FantasyLand) and then roamed around downtown during the evenings. LO has pretty crappy napping habits so we had him sleep in his stroller while we walked around the parks. Our hotel also had a character breakfast which scared the crap out of LO.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using proboards

[winnied]

I went with my family last year, including 3 toddlers and it was great. I highly recommend staying on property and I've liked the Dixie Landing (different name now?) resort. We also stayed at Fort Wilderness in the cabins but that's a bit much for your family at this point. The All Star resorts are perfectly fine if you're on a budget.

I don't think a rental car is necessary and car seats are not necessary for the shuttle. Bring your own stroller.

I would really focus on Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom with young kids. We got there first thing in the morning and he kids napped in their strollers mid-day. Bring your own snacks, even for the adults.

[dragonfly08]

I like to stay onsite. You get to use Disney transportation (which some people don't like, but it doesn't bother me), you can take advantage of the extra hours at the parks, and you get to stay surrounded by the Disney atmosphere. My kids are partial to POP Century, they like the theming and I like the price (since it's a place to sleep and play, I'm good with the value resorts!).

Best things to do with a 2 y/o? Definitely Magic Kingdom. Maybe Animal Kingdom if s/he likes animals, but even that could be iffy. My girls do but actually don't care for that park. They do like EPCOT a lot, and there are a lot of character greetings, shows and rides at Hollywood Studios that keep them occupied. If it were me, I'd do MK for at least a full day, then maybe EPCOT or HS. Park hoppers would allow you to do two parks in one day but they're pricey ($55ish per ticket, I think) and don't know if they're worth it to you.

I never have a car there. Like I said, I enjoy relaxing and taking the Disney transportation. It can eat up a little time but it's usually not too bad and I don't have to worry about navigating around. You not only can take a toddler on the shuttles w/o a car seat, you *have* to. Car seats aren't allowed since the shuttles don't have seat belts.

Have fun!