Hey folks, I thought I'd throw up a quick post here to get some advice on my upcoming Disney trip. My Wife and I are returning to Disney for the first time since we were teenagers (32 now) and obviously things have changed a whole lot since back in those days. I'm basically going to rattle off our agenda and ask a couple of questions, feel free to throw opinions on things we should do, etc.
We are leaving Toronto (our home) on Friday the 21st and actually heading to Cleveland until Sunday the 23rd (catching the Blue Jays vs Indians series) we drive back to Toronto on Sunday night and fly out to Florida Monday morning. I had tried to book the trip out of Cleveland on Sunday night or Monday morning, but the flights were horrific (stop overs, delays, etc.) We depart on WestJet at around 10:30 am and I believe we are expected to arrive around 1:15.
I haven't booked a rental car yet but I'll probably use Alamo as I've always had a good experience with them (I don't mind paying a bit extra). I also like the convenience of the rental car office being in the airport and not having to take a shuttle etc. We're probably just going to rent an economy or compact car and this is where I could use some help. The compact car is a Mitsubishi Mirage (or similar) and from what I've seen, it looks REALLY small. Am I going to be able to get 2 adults, 2 Fullsize suitcases as well as two carry on bags in this car? The same question for the Nissan Versa (next model up). Anyone with experience with these cars, or cars this size would be helpful. I don't really want to upgrade to an SUV (we'll be doing a fair bit of driving as you'll see later) so I don't want to upgrade to something huge. I really don't care about the car being fancy or not either, I plan on using it to get around and that is it, I'm good with booking the cheapest car that will fit our needs.
From there we are heading over to our Hotel in Disney for 5 days which is Saratoga Springs. I read some decent reviews and actually booked this place because of it's proximity to Disney Springs. The availability was somewhat limited (we booked all of this Monday Night) so I took what we could get which was a deluxe studio. We had originally planned to stay at the Contemporary, but it sold out while we debating. Anyone have any experience with Saratoga Springs? I know it's one of their 4 star (or level 3) resorts, but I'm assuming it'll be fine, we don't plan on spending much time in our room.
I do have a question about transportation, obviously staying on Disney we have access to all of their transportation, but what ends up being quicker? Is it quicker to just drive to the park or take the hotel transportation? Also I've read conflicting things about parking, do Disney guests have to pay for parking at Parks?
Once we check into the hotel (4pm) we're going to head over to Disney Springs and do a little bit of shopping. Is there anything we have to check out? I'm really not looking for clothes or anything like that, I can get those at home, so I'm really just interested in checking out Disney related stuff. The Disney Art and Disney Christmas stores look like must do's.
We have a 5 day park hopper pass (it was buy 4 get 1 free) so we're using the free night for just a few hours on Monday night when we get there. We have an 8PM reservation at Rainforest Café (At Animal Kingdom) and we're probably going to hang around Animal Kingdom for a few hours (its open until midnight). Is there anything that's a must do at Animal Kingdom?
Day 2 is Epcot, we'll probably sleep in a bit later and then head to the park. In my experience it probably will not take a full day to experience Epcot. Once again, recommendations for Epcot? We've got a reservation for Planet Hollywood at 8pm that night and will probably wander around Disney Springs for a couple hours after that.
Day 3 is Magic Kingdom, I assume this one is going to be a long day. We didn't make a dinner reservation, we're basically going to play it by ear.
Day 4 is back to Animal Kingdom, this time for the full day, with a reservation around 5PM at Yak and Yeti (on site restaurant)
Day 5 is Hollywood Studios, I wanted to book this last because I believe it's the smallest park and we're having to get away early on Day 6. I also booked a reservation at STK Orlando for 8pm, was curious if anyone knew if there was a dress code?
Day 6 we wake up, head to Siesta Key and spend two days there before flying back out of Orlando on Monday the 31st.
My main questions are the ones I posed above, regarding the rental car and the transportation. But I'd also love to hear opinions, tips and recommendations on the trip.
Thanks Everyone.
We are leaving Toronto (our home) on Friday the 21st and actually heading to Cleveland until Sunday the 23rd (catching the Blue Jays vs Indians series) we drive back to Toronto on Sunday night and fly out to Florida Monday morning. I had tried to book the trip out of Cleveland on Sunday night or Monday morning, but the flights were horrific (stop overs, delays, etc.) We depart on WestJet at around 10:30 am and I believe we are expected to arrive around 1:15.
I haven't booked a rental car yet but I'll probably use Alamo as I've always had a good experience with them (I don't mind paying a bit extra). I also like the convenience of the rental car office being in the airport and not having to take a shuttle etc. We're probably just going to rent an economy or compact car and this is where I could use some help. The compact car is a Mitsubishi Mirage (or similar) and from what I've seen, it looks REALLY small. Am I going to be able to get 2 adults, 2 Fullsize suitcases as well as two carry on bags in this car? The same question for the Nissan Versa (next model up). Anyone with experience with these cars, or cars this size would be helpful. I don't really want to upgrade to an SUV (we'll be doing a fair bit of driving as you'll see later) so I don't want to upgrade to something huge. I really don't care about the car being fancy or not either, I plan on using it to get around and that is it, I'm good with booking the cheapest car that will fit our needs.
From there we are heading over to our Hotel in Disney for 5 days which is Saratoga Springs. I read some decent reviews and actually booked this place because of it's proximity to Disney Springs. The availability was somewhat limited (we booked all of this Monday Night) so I took what we could get which was a deluxe studio. We had originally planned to stay at the Contemporary, but it sold out while we debating. Anyone have any experience with Saratoga Springs? I know it's one of their 4 star (or level 3) resorts, but I'm assuming it'll be fine, we don't plan on spending much time in our room.
I do have a question about transportation, obviously staying on Disney we have access to all of their transportation, but what ends up being quicker? Is it quicker to just drive to the park or take the hotel transportation? Also I've read conflicting things about parking, do Disney guests have to pay for parking at Parks?
Once we check into the hotel (4pm) we're going to head over to Disney Springs and do a little bit of shopping. Is there anything we have to check out? I'm really not looking for clothes or anything like that, I can get those at home, so I'm really just interested in checking out Disney related stuff. The Disney Art and Disney Christmas stores look like must do's.
We have a 5 day park hopper pass (it was buy 4 get 1 free) so we're using the free night for just a few hours on Monday night when we get there. We have an 8PM reservation at Rainforest Café (At Animal Kingdom) and we're probably going to hang around Animal Kingdom for a few hours (its open until midnight). Is there anything that's a must do at Animal Kingdom?
Day 2 is Epcot, we'll probably sleep in a bit later and then head to the park. In my experience it probably will not take a full day to experience Epcot. Once again, recommendations for Epcot? We've got a reservation for Planet Hollywood at 8pm that night and will probably wander around Disney Springs for a couple hours after that.
Day 3 is Magic Kingdom, I assume this one is going to be a long day. We didn't make a dinner reservation, we're basically going to play it by ear.
Day 4 is back to Animal Kingdom, this time for the full day, with a reservation around 5PM at Yak and Yeti (on site restaurant)
Day 5 is Hollywood Studios, I wanted to book this last because I believe it's the smallest park and we're having to get away early on Day 6. I also booked a reservation at STK Orlando for 8pm, was curious if anyone knew if there was a dress code?
Day 6 we wake up, head to Siesta Key and spend two days there before flying back out of Orlando on Monday the 31st.
My main questions are the ones I posed above, regarding the rental car and the transportation. But I'd also love to hear opinions, tips and recommendations on the trip.
Thanks Everyone.