So you have made the decision that you and the family are going to take a Disney Vacation! Congratulations on your decision to come to the Happiest Place on Earth! Just making the decision to come to Disney World may have been the easiest decision you will have to make prior to departing for Orlando. Over the next several weeks, I hope to be able to help you in making the thousands of other choices you face in order to make your trip a memorable one by taking a look at each of the parks and providing you some information you may not find elsewhere to make your vacation more memorable.
Up first is your choice of ticket package. Disney has many options available. You can choose their “Magic Your Way” tickets and then build on extras. Extras will range from adding a Park Hopper option, where you will be able to visit multiple parks in one day during your visit to adding the Water Parks as part of your vacation plan.
Next up are your accommodations. Where do you want to stay? Do you want to make this a true Disney vacation and stay on property? Doing so will allow you to stay at a Disney themed resort which range from the Value Resorts (like All Star Sports or All Star Movies), the Moderates (like Port Orleans or Coronado Springs), or the Deluxe (like Animal Kingdom Lodge or the Polynesian). Each Disney resort is special in its own way, I recommend looking at them all. If staying on property is your choice, know that you will receive complimentary transportation from your resort to the parks via Disney’s bus service. Buses run quite frequently between the resort and parks, giving you the opportunity to go back and forth as you see fit. On site guests also are eligible to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours. Each day a different park will either open early or stay open late, and allow only those guests staying at their resorts to use the parks during these times. If staying on site doesn’t appeal to you, there are many local off site hotels that offer free shuttles to the parks. One thing to keep in mind though, they may not run as frequently or be as convenient as those that Disney themselves offer.
Flying or Driving? Flying allows you and your family the chance to take advantage of Disney’s Magical Express. You will receive luggage tags and confirmation prior to your departure and once you check in at your local airport, Disney takes over. They will pick your bags up at the airport in Orlando and have them delivered to your resort room later that day. They will also pick you up at the airport aboard their Magical Express and whisk you away to your resort. If your room isn’t quite ready, you will already have your tickets, so you can use the bus service and head to the parks. The resort will call you on your cell phone when your room is ready. If you decide to drive you will have access to the buses that run from the resorts to the parks and back, but will also have the added flexibility to be able to leave Disney property should you choose. This comes in handy if you want to spend a day on the town in Orlando, maybe go out to eat to a restaurant, or venture to and from the parks any time you wish. Staying on site will allow you free parking at the parks too.
These are just a few of things that you should have already made your decision about. In the coming weeks I hope to be able to expand on some of the items listed above, but to also be able to give you some insight to the parks you will be visiting to ensure you have an interesting and Magical Vacation.