Discussions

Just looking for information we are planning a Disney trip in December. Looking for tips or tricks. We will be travelling with two children 5&9 yrs old.

I would recommend  
 
Staying at the French Quarter in Disney. Not too pricey and there is a boat that takes you to downtown disney, bus transport to the parks (not too far away) great pool and very family friendly.Easy parking (if you have a rental) and not too big a resort.  
 
Take advantage of the fast passes and do you research they are worth there weight in gold if you use them properly. Take advantage of the one hour opening early for resort guests and hit up a popular ride that you would normally wait on.  
 
2 days magic kingdom  
1 day animal kingdom  
 
We found no value in the meal plan as it involved reservations and especially when on vacation the Breakfast-lunch-dinner scenario for us was not realistic.  
 
Stop at a store on you way in and pick up snacks bottled water, muffins, and booze etc for the room, you will save a fortune  
 
Check out alligiant air for cheap flights  
 
 

Couple of things I would recommend:  
 
Find a place to rent as opposed to staying on site. You can find houses for a great price to rent very close to Disney. VRBO.com is a good site. Also check out ebrandon for locals with homes down there.  
 
If you are renting a vehicle prebook it will be much cheaper than on site and we also got an upgrade for no cost.  
 
We found Magic Kingdom needed two days, Hollywood Studios one, and Animal Kingdom one. I don't recommend the park hopper pass - it's expensive and you will likely find that you will stay at one park. We bought more days than we planned on going and it was a cheaper option than park hopper. It becomes cheaper per day as you buy more days. Definitely recommend downloading their app - very helpful to know which rides to go on and which to avoid. I recommend getting there early in the am and heading to the back of the park first. Fast passes are also very helpful too.  
 
Food prices at the park aren't as bad as we thought. We took lunch a couple of days but ate there the rest. I recommend booking at least one character dining experience - and do it soon so you get where you want to go. We did Cinderellas Round Table in the castle and it was awesome. Expensive but worth it, you get to see almost every princess at your table.  
 
They also did Bibbidity Bobbitty Boutique and that was a neat experience too.  
 
Most of all have fun, soak it in, and don't plan everything to the minute like some people do.  

Driving to and from Disney World around Christmas time will be absolute chaos. I'd gladly pay extra to stay in a hotel on site and not have to deal with the traffic / parking.

We were on the fence about staying on site but we made the right choice. Spend a little extra and check all your worries at the front desk.

We have been there 4 times, most recently this past December. It truly is the trip of a lifetime! If you want to do any of the character dining or even the nice sit down dining, make your reservations soon, as they book up quickly. Download the Disney app once you've bought your park tickets, as you can book and change your FastPasses through it. It is also a quick reference for what time the parks are open any given day, as well as shows you wait times for specific attractions or character meetings. Check the extra magic hours, and avoid which park has the extra magic hours, as it will be a busier park that day. Look through the Disney website and make a list of all of the things you want to make sure you see or do, as it's easy to get caught up in it all once you're there, then you realize afterwards that you missed certain things. I would allocate 1 day to each of the 4 main parks, and 1 day for a water park, if you'd like. Then, depending on how many days your pass is for, you can go back to whichever park you're more interested in, or didn't get all the way through. Magic Kingdom is hard to complete in one day, especially with younger kids. Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios could probably each be done in one day. There is always pamphlets at the entrances that have a map, as well as list the special events happening in that park for the day. (Like parades, fireworks, special character meetings, etc.) I've rambled on a lot, but as you can see, I love Disney! LOL There are also a lot of good websites, if you google Disneyworld Tips. Also, make sure you buy your tickets directly from Disney, as there are a lot of scams out there selling discounted tickets that may not be legit. If you buy them from Disney and there is any issue with your tickets, they will take care of you. Best tip....Have fun!  

I'm also in the process of planning our first trip to Disney. I've found websites like mousesavers.com to be an excellent resource for tips and tricks to make your experience more enjoyable. We've chosen to stay off-site, but we are also going during a slower time, as to avoid the mayhem of the busy seasons, but I've talked to friends who have stayed on-site and off-site, and all were happy with their decision. Read up and make the decision that is best for you. When planning our itinerary, I'm also taking into account the need for some rest days as my young children won't have the stamina for back-to-back-to-back-to-etc days of marathon trips to the parks.  
 
Good luck with your planning!

Very important to plan an off day or two if you are there for more than three days as Disney burnout is a real issue.