2005 Trip...

[Wannabe Walt]

In February or March of 2005, my family (me, mom, dad, and little brother) along with some of our friends (mom's friend and her 5 year old neice) will be going to Walt Disney World. We plan to stay at either the Animal Kingdom Lodge (yay! ), Wilderness Lodge, or the Port Orleans Riverside. We will probably be staying about 10-12 days. Because the two deluxe resorts we picked are so expensive, we might stay at one a few nights, then at the moderate the rest of the trip. That would be interesting:lol: We will be going to Magic Kingdom atleast twice, EPCOT's Future World once, World Showcase once, Disney MGM Studios at least once, Animal Kingdom twice, a water park (or two) once or twice, and if we have enough days left, we will spend a day at Downtown Disney, maybe visit the BoardWalk, and possibly even just a day at the hotel to lounge around and visit the pool and stuff. I had the idea of, just so we could visit more hotels, eat a few of our meals at the hotels that look really cool (Polynesian, Contemporary, Caribbean Beach, Old Key West, and Yacht and Beach Club) I will be taking a video camera and TONS of film (or if we have a digital camera by then I'll just take it). I might even have a laptop, so I could possibly update you all on the trip as I'm there! Do you all have any tips or ideas???

 

[In Wonderland]

Well, sounds like a great trip you all are planning. I would probably want a little (lot) more time in Epcot myself, but you do have two days planned!!

I'm sure you will have the ability to post photos while still there, I"m not sure if I would be able to take the time to do it. (So much to do and see!!) Have a great trip, and just do a very detailed report back to everyone afterward!!!

 

[s25843]

Just a suggestion, but why don't you just stay at a Moderate the entire time, because it will be easier than having to switch resorts in the middle of the stay (esp. with such a large group) and you can use the extra money you save to dine at some of the better resturants, and possibly buy a digital camera for the trip!

 

[s25843]

Also, if you end up going in Feb, find out when the "Value" season ends and the "Peak" season starts (Value usually ends around Feb. 11)

If you check in on the last day of the value season then they will give you that rate for the entire stay, which can sometimes save you $40 or more a night, its worth looking into.

 

[Donfan]

All the suggestions above are really good. Especially the one about the moderate resort. POR is a really great place, and, as they say, "once the lights are out, they all look the same." To see the other resorts, you can plan a few meals at them without having to pay the higher rates. There are also a lot of great restaurants in Epcot, too. They get a little expensive for dinners, so you might want to have lunch in them. I'm not sure you need to plan an entire day at Downtown Disney. You might want to schedule it on a day you also go to one of the Water Parks, then maybe go back to Pleasure Island in the evening. The Wilderness Lodge has a good marina, too, which POR doesn't really have. Don't worry about sticking too closely to a schedule. With Park Hopper passes you can go anywhere any time. Let crowds and personal desires dictate you locations. Most of all, have fun.

 

[disneydummy125]

I think that you are better off staying at POR instead of switching hotels during your stay. You can always go to eat dinner at AKL and WL. Both of those hotels are nice but all you really do in the hotels is sleep!

JMO

 

[aj_macack]

My only suggestion would be taht you might want to think about going to MGM for a couple of days and AK for only one... I know that when we went it only took us an afternoon to do EVERYTHING that we wanted, which was pretty much all the park... I mean we did get pretty lucky with lines and such (like walk on for most and only about a 5 min wait for the safari) That's just my opinion though, so you can take that for what it's worth...lol....:lol:

 

[figmentmom]

Port Orleans is our favorite Disney resort, and I agree that you might be better off just staying there the entire time. The pool is great, the food court has enough variety to keep the whole crew happy, and PO is centrally located so that traveling to other resorts for meals would be a breeze.

We never wind up sticking to our "schedule" - there are too many variables when you're traveling with a crowd. For one thing, the weather in February can really change rapidly from day to day, and you may not want to spend as much time at the water parks as you are planning. I bet you'll want to spend more time at the Magic Kingdom, too, but being flexible is the best advice I can offer.

Have a GREAT time!

 

[Wannabe Walt]

I have been to Disney World two times before this trip. In 1995 we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside (Dixie Landings then) and in 2001 we stayed at Caribbean Beach. I would really like to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge or the Wilderness Lodge this trip...we'll just have to see what we can get! Thanks for the tips though!

 

[epcot2004]

We are huge fans of Port Orleans Riverside, we stayed there 5 years in a row. I would rather stay at one place the entire time and maybe visit another hotel for lunch or dinner, it takes too much time to move. That is great planning, we usually make it up as we go along but then again there is only 2 of us. We recently went to Boardwalk for dinner, we enjoyed it very much. the only things I would suggest is more time in Epcot (I could spend every day there) and in Downtown. When the time comes, have a great trip.:wave:

 

[Senderella]

Originally posted by figmentmom
February can really change rapidly from day to day, and you may not want to spend as much time at the water parks as you are planning. I bet you'll want to spend more time at the Magic Kingdom, too, but being flexible is the best advice I can offer.

Have a GREAT time!

We're going in May 05 and we feel the same way. Water parks aren't as important to us because we've got 2 Schlitterbahns here at home. LOL We're kind of snooty Texans because every "Top" whatever show we've seen (there may be some we havent!) has voted our 2 Schilitterbahns #1. We feel why spend precious time at a waterpark when we can get that at home. As a matter of fact, this weekend my DH & I talked about our plan. I wanted to go to Discovery Cove and do the dolphin swim. We were going to do a morning at DC and some of the afternoon hitting the Sea World attractions we DONT have here in Texas like the shark walkthrough. Ultimately we ditched that idea. DH is really wanting to make plans to go in 06 also. This is.. well it's our first trip. I went a few times back in the early/mid 80s and my DH went when he was 3. One of our friends who is going went to Disneyland when he was in the army and another of our friends went way back in the mid 80s also. It's been so many years, we're really considering this a first trip so we're going all out. Gold package @ the Contemporary. Anyhow... back on track! :hammer: We ditched the Sea World idea because we really want to do pure Disney this time. Like this we're planning on hitting MK at least twice and if we wanted we could hit one of the other parks twice also. Or even throw in a 3rd day at MK. Sorry for my rambling! It's 4am. Personally, I'm in favor of doing the parks sort of agenda. You can't get that anywhere else except California or one of the other Disney parks. You can find water parks virtually anywhere. Not to mention, our weather is comparable to Florida's except for all of the rain. You wouldn't catch me or any of my friends anywhere near water in Feb!!!!! BRRR!!!! LOL Water may be heated but the slightest cool breeze on a wet body is enough to send me running for inside!! Hope this helps & makes sense!! LOL I'm tryin to make sense here!!! :brick: No telling if it worked!