Discussions

I want info!!! I have never been I want to take my 7 year old probably by the time we go!!!!  
 
 
I don''t like roller coaster buuuuut she does so what do I do?? Find a braves soul to go with us? Or skip some of the big coasters, she might be scared once she sees them I don't know!  
 
I want to stay onsite will be easier with just us two.  
Should we do five days in resort or should we do anything outside resort?  
 
I want to try beauty n beast character experience for sure.  
 
Give me feedback!!!!  
 
Edited by reneethatsme, 2017-12-09 11:49:04

Go on them with her! Honestly it's a blast they do allow single riders but that usually means you get paired up with another single rider. Not a terrible deal but rides like that are more fun with someone you know.  
There are some height restrictions but most are within the 40 inch range.  
Length of stay and where you stay are entirely dependent on your budget and when you want to be there. There's busy times and quiet. So research what's going on at the parks during the time you want to be there. For example if you were wanting to go in Nov./dec. Magic Kingdom closes at 6pm some nights and reopens for a hard ticket event called Mickey's Magic Christmas. Those you have to buy into seperately.  
If you don't mind renting a car there's a lot of cool stuff to do outside of the resorts too. I would recommend the Orlando eye experience! Universal and Sea World were also a lot of fun as well.  
Be prepared for a lot of walking, the parks are huge.  
Be prepared for longer lines, it's not uncommon to wait for an hour or more for some attractions.  
If you can afford to, buy fast pass. You'll still have to wait but not nearly as long as if you didn't have fast pass.  
Bring water and some snacks in a backpack. Park food is expensive and it adds up pretty quick. Also sunscreen and hats.  
Stay for the happily ever after fireworks at 10pm, but get yourself to the front of the castle and find a place to sit about an hour before. You'll never ever see a display like happily ever after ever again.  
Animal Kingdom is awesome. The nighttime safari is a must, we had a rhino block the road in front of us right next to pride rock and there were three or four lions hanging out at that moment, it was so cool.  
I'd also recommend buying a memory maker photo pass card. It's a card you carry around and give to the onsite photographers when you meet characters or for when you get off rides that had a photo mid ride. Your pictures are downloaded to your card and you have up to 30 days to retrieve them from it.  
Download my Disney experience app for your phone, it's a really useful app at Disney, it tells you the real time waits for rides and character experiences, where washrooms are, where food is, where character experiences are located. it can be linked to your memory maker card as well so you can see your photos as they upload.  
Lastly, take me with you, I can't stress that enough!  
There's a whole bunch of other stuff as well but it's your trip, you guys make it about what you want to see.

I think we will be down in that are for 5-6 days, was wondering if we need to do magic kingdom 2 days, I do have a little princess. I was thinking 2 days at magic and 1 day at animal and so something’s outside of d world the rest of the time? Or for first time fo all 5 days at the Dw? I have researched online quite a bit and am interested in the fast pass, for hotel maybe pop century the cheaper ones for sure. I can’t comprehend how big the place is until I see it kinda like Vegas! I am afraid of heights that’s why I don’t wanna go on some of those coasters but the easier ones I think I’ll be ok.

We have always rented a condo and stayed off site, but if it was my first time (and I had to drive the rental car) I would stay on site in a less expensive hotel (you will be too busy anyway to spend much time at the hotel). Each day pass you get is hardly any more $$ so if you are able to stay longer (other than hotel and food) the passes do not cost much more.  
 
With a 7 year old you will for sure need 2 days at Magic Kingdom (or more), 1 at Animal Kingdom, then up to you if you do the other parks.  
 
Downtown Disney (which is free) is also nice to wander, shop. It's good for your first and last days to eat and shop etc.  
 
There is tons to do in Florida so up to you if only do Disney or other things (which will involve transporation). We've been numerous times. If I were to make one other choice with a 7 year old would be Seaworld. Love it! Of course spending a day on the beach etc is great too.

I’m a single parent sits just myself n daughter going I do t know if if we will burn out doing 5 whole days in the parks, I know sea world is a park too but it’s something different I thought. What is the difference between sea world and discovery cove?  
I realize there is so much to do in Florida it’s wonderful.

My wife and I went to Disney World a couple of years ago and we had SUCH a blast! It was so fantastic. We are planning to go again in a year or so. The following is just my opinion..  
 
If you can afford to stay on site, do it! We didnt. In order to save money we stayed off-site. (Actually we stayed at the Wyndham resort which is technically on Disney property but still so far out of the way from any theme parks. Not far by distance, but traffic was extremely slow)  
 
The problem however is that you get there first thing in the morning and by about lunch, you're starting to get a little tired. Not a lot, but you realize that the fireworks and such are still like 10 hours away. So our plan was to go back to our hotel, take a bit of a break. Make our lunch (to save money) and then head back to the park until close.  
 
This was a bad plan. Because getting from the park (any of the theme parks really...we had the Hopper) took FOREVER. about 2 hours each way. So the first day we left at noon, got back to the hotel for almost 2pm. Made some food. had a quick nap, and then by the time we got back to the park it was almost 6pm. We wasted so much time trying to save money.  
 
So then we just decided that for the rest of the trip we'd just bite the bullet and eat at the park. That gets pretty expensive and we really didnt have any opportunity to rest during the day. So even though it was really really amazing, they ended up being really long days too. By the end of our vacation we were pretty exhausted. lol.  
 
We agreed that when we go back, we'll save up a little extra and stay at a disney resort. That way we can take one of the disney buses directly to our resort, cutting the travel time to about 30 minutes each way. It will allow us to more fun.  
 
 
Another thing we learned. Water costs money. But ice is free. So you can go up to any drink stand and just ask for ice. It melts pretty quickly and so you save money that way.  
 
Now to your main question...the Roller Coasters.  
 
Let's just say that I'm not one for roller coasters. I have far too vivid an imagination. That said, I really enjoyed the Mount Everest roller coaster at the Animal Kingdom. You can hear people screaming from so far away, but it was the safest I've ever felt in a roller coaster.  
 
Additionally there are other rides like Splash Mountain that you absolutely HAVE to do. We even got my totally-afraid-to-try-anything mother in law to do it and she had such a blast that she went two more times.

You did Everest and your scared of coaster?? You rock!! Lol. I think we will stay on dw for sure seems easiest for first timers and just the two of us. That was something I wondered of people did actually go back to their rooms for a rest or not. Do you think I should do all the parka for the first time?

We have gone a couple of times with our kids. We have always stayed off site, honestly I was thrilled to get away from there for a bit. Our condo was a 15 minute drive and we never had traffic issues. Personally I much preferred Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom over the other two parks. I found Epcot boring and a lot of walking to see very little, so did our kids. We loved the Typhoon Lagoon water park, great day at it! We loved Seaworld when we went there three years ago.  
As for the coasters, go for it! There aren’t any that are super crazy and they do not feel unsafe at all. There’s nothing too crazy and your daughter will enjoy them more with you!  
It is an awesome experience that I hope you both enjoy!

Universal Studios Islands of Adventure is absolutely amazing! It's geared toward younger kids, but as adults we loved it too! She may not be able to get on some of the bigger roller coasters due to height restrictions, but there are so many other awesome rides, it won't matter :D

I'm a pro at disney trips, went first as a single parent, then quite a few times with my family, going back next spring. Stay on site, though it's more costly, they provide free bus transportation to all of the parks from your resort, get the souvenir drink mug....free refills for your stay, SO worth it!Any questions on how to save $ while having an amazing time let me know...if you plan about 6 months in advance, you can get a supper at Be Our Guest restaurant ( hard to get into for supper)....

reneethatsme said "I’m a single parent sits just myself n daughter going I do t know if if we will burn out doing 5 whole days in the parks, I know sea world is a park too but it’s something different I thought. What is the difference between sea world and discovery cove?   I realize there is so much to do in Florida it’s wonderful. "

The difference is that Seaworld is a park with rides and shows etc.  
Whereas discovery cove is a resort that you pay a fee for, then the food drink etc is i:ncluded. You pay an additional fee if you want additional experiences such as touching and riding with a dolphin, walking along the bottom of their man-made reef with a diving helmet of sorts, or shadowing a dolphin or penquin trainer all day. You pay extra for photo sessions as well.  
 
Edited by M.T., 2017-12-12 11:04:06

Love it Love it!! We did all theme parks! Been their twice now, and rented a house with a pool!!! Great time!!!!

I was happy to bring my 7 year old son thinking he would not go on any rollercoasters and my daughters could go on all the big rides with my husband. By the time we got there, he was tall enough to ride everything - *everything* - and wanted to go on all of them. I said I would try some of the ones I remembered from when I was a kid like Big Thunder and Splash Mountain - and the newer ones but never, ever the Tower of Terror or Space Mountain.  
 
I ended up going on everything - did the Tower of Terror, Space Mountain and the Rockin'Rollercoaster - TWICE. So, don't rule out the rollercoasters. They are really awesome the way Disney does them, they aren't ridiculous thrill rides, they have great theming and lots of things to see if you keep your eyes open. The only one I don't like is Splash Mountain because I hate getting wet, so I always wore a poncho. But sometimes the water gets you anyway.  
 
I would stay on resort for all five days and just do the parks. There is a lot to do in and around Orlando but in five days, you will not run out of things to do in the parks. Disney makes it so that if you are there more than 3 days it is much cheaper to stay onsite than go anywhere else - the ticket prices drop each day so that by the 5th or 6th day you are paying something ridiculous like $25 for an extra whole day at the parks. The rooms don't get cheaper but the park tickets do.  
 
Don't waste money on park hoppers, there is enough to do at each park that you shouldn't have any reason to be hopping between them - it takes a lot of time moving around and for no good reason. Plan a day at each park and then a second day at your favorites.  
 
Like the previous poster said about reservations - if there is somewhere you want to eat, plan to reserve a day early on. For just two people it isn't as hard to get a reservation as for bigger families but still a good idea. If things haven't changed, Be Our Guest is also open for lunch and you can make reservations there even though it is considered a 'quick serve' restaurant. I think that is the best option and it is much less difficult to get a spot. The food is great at lunch and way less expensive. We ate there twice because it was easy and quick. You can even place your orders online the day before!  
 
 
Have fun!

My kids never saw the ocean, so that was our only day away. We went to Daytona Beach. It was an absolutely incredible experience for them and other than the rental and gas to get there, cost very little. If you go to the beach for the day you are usually back in good time to enjoy fireworks or an evening at a Disney parks, especially if you do it on a extra magic hours day.  
 
A day at Seaworld or Universal would have been easily $200/person. Not worth it - we will hit those up next time and spend a few days there so we can see/do it all.

It sounds like there is so much to do, will have to go back to Orlando one day...

I have never seen the Ocean yet either I am 33 LOL, that is something that is a dream as well, I am not certain about driving, If there was another adult I think we would go for sure. I don't like the idea of driving.  
 
When staying on DW, which I will be, do you go back to your room in the afternoon, or tough out the parks for the whole day??  
 
I am thinking of going in November, for the waterparks, its warm enough at that time right?

5-6 days will barely scratch the surface of Orlando/Disney but if it is Disney you are wanting to do, that'll give you a good taste of most everything.  
 
We just got back from 2 1/2 weeks in Orlando and had an amazing time. November will probably have only 1 waterpark open as the other will close for refurbishment.  
 
The key to seeing the most in a day at any of the parks, and I can't stress this enough, is getting there at opening for rope drop, or even a half hour before opening. You will get a ton of rides done before noon. Then, yes a zip back to room for a couple hours in the middle of the day would work. Fast Pass at Disney is free to use. If you get there for rope drop and go back to hotel for middle afternoon, book fast passes for late afternoon or early evening when lines will be the longest, then you can by pass them (only allowed 3 per day). If you tough out the whole day from rope drop to fireworks in the park, you'll be exhausted at the end of the day. However, DO see the fireworks at Magic Kingdom, you won't see anything any better. Fantasmic night show at Hollywood Studios is also very good.  
Be Our Guest restaurant was nice yes, but, it's very pricey. We had lunch, 4 of us, shared a couple things, and it was still $85 USD. Lunch is the best value there however you won't see Beast, he's only there at supper. Breakfast is very expensive and not very good.  
Sharing meals and drinks saves lots as well. And your daughter would probably get enough from a kids meal which are reasonable.  
A couple other notes: do your research, read everything you can for tips. Allear.net is a wealth of information. Lastly, don't expect to do and see it all, especially in 6 days. We've been 6 times and still haven't seen it all!!

We went in November the week before their thanksgiving. It wasn’t as busy as I’ve heard from others so I think it was a good week to go.  
 
We stayed at the all stars movies and it was good. We had a quick service meal plan and it was more than enough food. We could split the kids meals between the kids there was so much. We booked last minute so we didn’t get the good reservations for character meals but it was nice not to have a schedule for meal times.  
 
We did 2 days at magic kingdom, one at Hollywood studios, one at animal kingdom and one at Epcot. Don’t skip Epcot - especially if you have a “princess”. It is full of Disney characters and interesting food. Water parks were closed when we were there.  
 
It’s an amazing experience ... we did full days for the first 3 days but then we needed a break so we did a morning at the hotel pool and then headed out for more. That was enough to recharge the batteries for us. You won’t be able to go open til close the whole week. You’ll need a break.