Disney World

[torontokids]

Hey!

So we will be going to Florida in the spring and I want to do it on the cheap. My parents have a place there so that is covered for most of our stay.

We do however want to do the Orlando/Disney World thing for a couple days and are looking for tips. We would need somewhere to stay (while visiting Orlando) and of course tickets to the park. Any tips, things you learned?

I have of course been sifting through millions of online info but I am not finding a lot of good info. Unless I want to attend a time share presentation then I can get all sorts of cheap offers :)

[MonkeyPrincess]

We just came back from Florida less than a month ago! We LOVED it. loved it. loved it. We drove! (From just outside Toronto). On the way there, we drove to South Carolina (stayed with a friend) and on the way back, we did the drive straight. Don't think i will do it again. Took us about 21 hrs, plus an additional 4 for gas, meals, stretching legs, etc. It was too long. We went for two weeks, we stayed in Palm Coast for a wedding too. We visited Clearwater, the Orlando area, etc. We only went to Magic Kingdom this time. We are absolutely planning to go back. Next time we will do less traveling around and more of the parks. To save some $ at the park, you can bring your own food, snack and drinks in cooler bags. i am sure somewhere you will find a list of what you can't bring (ie glass, guns, ammo, etc.)

The parents of good friends of ours own a house about 15 min away from Disneyworld, just off the Hwy 192 in Kissimmee. They rent it out to vacationers, i know they would love the advertising :) - here is the website.

http://itsasunnydayinflorid a.com/

It's a beautiful 4 bedroom, 3 bath house with pool, double garage and driveway. Not because they are my friends, but it's a very nice, well cared for home. Prices are on the website too. Their pricing is very reasonable. If you would like to know about my personal experience at the house or Disneyworld, please feel free to ask!

[5 Little Monkeys]

I have no tips but have fun!!! Sounds like a fun holiday :)

[MonkeyPrincess]

You can buy tickets on external websites, like the discount type sites but i would recommend waiting until you figure out exactly what parks you want to do (ie Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, etc), how many days you will be in Orlando area, etc. I am not sure how the refunds work on those types of sites, if you had to do one. there are so so so many options to buy tickets, like a one day, two day, three day etc pass to just the parks, then there is a parkhopper pass, then there are the water parks affiliated to each one of the parks, then there are outside parks like Universal Studios, etc. You have lots of time until your trip to do your research, so depending on your length of stay and budget, you can make your decisions either before you go, or when you get there. You can buy passes at the Kissimmee Walmart off Hwy 27, just 5 min from our friend's parents house. Whatever you do, PLEASE do not buy tickets from those tourist kiosks/little shops. They are partially used passes and may not work. You spend a fraction of the money yes, but those passes are unused time from other people. Because the scan cards (passes that you buy) are registered to you with a fingerprint scan, it will be very hard to get in with someone else's pass and you will be out your money.