Help pls. from Disney World (Florida) Expert?

Okay, I have lived in Florida all my life (Miami) and for the last three (almost four) year I have lived near Disney World and it’s my favorite place to go. I can tell you the good and the bad.

Time of year you are visiting is very busy. It will be more difficult to find any deals. But I would suggest making reservations early to make sure you get the hotel you want.

Ticket cost less per day the more days you buy at once. But don't over buy. Unless you are willing to pay an upgrade fee, the pass expires within a couple of weeks of first use.

Staying at a Disney hotel will save you from having to rent a car and drive to and from the parks. However, you don't have the freedom to leave when you want and go where you want. But if you want to have a shopping day, you can always rent a car for that one day. Also, on certain days you can go into certain parks an hour before anyone else.

Meals... you can get the prepaid meal plans and that way you will know that the meals are taken care of. Be careful because fancier restaurants will cost you more meal points then other. See www.allearsnet.com for details about the meal plan. not getting a meal plan can help if you are planning on either eating outside of property or making your own meals (sandwich, etc).

The kids are small. the parks should be enough entertainment but you might want to pick up some items for them to have in the room. They might get bored. Especially the two year old.

Infants and actually any child under 3 do not require a ticket. They can go in for free. Its really a matter of what the adults want to do. Remember, it will be hot so you might want to rent a stroller or bring your own. They will not be able to walk that much in that heat. There are some play areas where they can get wet, let them. Just to cool them off and make sure to take a change of clothing or water proof clothing.

Entertainment, they are rather small so i think the parks will be good enough and the pools are great. Most kids love water and you get to cool off too.

More people could make it less expensive for depending on the type of room. if you are staying on Disney property you HAVE to let them know how many people are staying in a room. And that is for two reasons:

1- Safety. In case, God forbid, there is a fire they need to know how many people are supposed to be in a room to make sure they got everyone out. And

2- Benefits. They will give you everyone in your party (that requires a ticket to get into the parks) a hotel key. This is your ID to prove that you are staying on property. without this you will not be allowed in the park early or if the park is open late for hotel guest, you will not be allowed on the rides.

Hope that answer some of your questions.

I'm a seasonal employee at Disney World, don't know if that makes me an expert or not, lol. Actually about to go back down and work in two weeks.

July and August are busy seasons, in peak, so the prices are going to be higher for the hotels. If you want a resort that is on property Allstars is the most budget friendly. All the resorts on property have free bus and sometimes boat transportation to the parks. Staying on property is wonderful, because mid day you can go back to the hotel and put the kids down for a nap.

As for meal suggestions, go with the meal plan they offer. You get three meals a day, which includes an appetizer, entree, and desert. As well as like two snacks during the day while you're in the parks. It can be used at any of the restaurants inside the parks, including the ones that need reservations.

Hope that helps. Might see you down there!

your best bet is to go to disneyworld.com enter your travel dates, and play around with the options-like ticket type, resort choice, # of guests, meal plan or not ( i suggest it, just the regular one, the deluxe one like Bunny mentions is a ton of money). You dont have to purchase any package -you can just explore you options.

email me....I planned out our first ever trip to Disney World last year and I am "the" budget shopper having to tote 6 people around with me for vacations! It'd be my pleasure to help. If you can't get my email from clicking on my icon put in an additon to your comment and I'll send it to you.