Walt Disney World With Kids (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [18]
What’s your budget?
If money isn’t a major issue, stay on-site. If money is a primary consideration, you’ll find your best deals at the budget hotels along Interstate 4. Exits 62 and 68, the exits that flank Disney World, are chock-full of chain hotels and restaurants.
How much do your kids eat?
Food is expensive at Disney World, both in the parks and at the on-site hotels. If you’re staying off-site, you can always eat in the numerous fast-food and family-style restaurants along Interstate 4, Route 192, and International Drive. Many off-site hotels have complimentary breakfast buffets, while the all-suites properties have in-room kitchenettes where you can fix your own meals.
Do you plan to visit other attractions?
If you’ll be spending half your time at SeaWorld, Universal Orlando, or the other non-Disney World attractions, stay off-site—at least during those days. There’s no need to pay top dollar for proximity to Disney if you’re headed for Islands of Adventure.
Will your party be splitting up at times?
Does Dad want to golf one afternoon? Do you have teenagers who can spend a day at Blizzard Beach on their own? Will there be times when it would make sense for Dad to take the younger kids back to the hotel while Mom stays in the park with the older ones? Is your 5-year-old raring to go at dawn, whereas your 15-year-old sleeps until noon? If so stay on-site, where the use of the Disney World transportation system makes it easy for all of you to go your own way.
What’s your tolerance level for hassles?
If you don’t want to deal with interstate traffic, big parking lots, toting luggage, and carrying cash, stay on-site.
Money-Saving Tip
Disney isn’t exactly known for deep discounts, but when times are slow they’re as eager to fill their rooms as any other hotel chain. The trouble is they don’t always announce these discounts to people who seem ready and willing to pay the full price. When you call in to make your resort reservations always ask, “Are there any special offers available during the times I’ll be visiting?”
The Advantages of Staying On-Site
Extra Magic Hours
Extra Magic Hour works like this: Each day year-round, one of the four major theme parks opens for Disney resort guests an hour early or stays open an extra hour or two after the regular closing time. Mondo perk! This gives resort guests the chance to ride some featured attractions and greet the characters in a relatively uncrowded park. (Note the word “relatively.” There are so many Disney resort guests that there are still plenty of people around, just not as many as usual.)
Generally only a few attractions per park are open for the Extra Magic Hour, but this is your chance to ride them easily. Just as important—in the morning you’ll be deep inside the theme park when it officially opens so you can dash to other big-deal attractions before the rest of the crowd gets there.
For morning Extra Magic Hours, your resort ID gets you into the park to ride anything that’s up and running. For evening Extra Magic Hours, you’ll need to show your resort ID/room key card to board the rides.
When you check into your hotel you’ll receive a brochure printed with the Extra Magic Hours schedule for the week; if you’d like this information in advance to help with your planning, visit www.disneyworld.disney.go.com, where you’ll find “Park Hours” under “Plan.”
Magical Express Service
The Magical Express Service allows you to check your bags at your hometown airport and not see them again until you walk into your hotel room in Walt Disney World. You also get free shuttle service from the Orlando airport to your resort.
When it’s time to go home, the system works in reverse. You check your bags and receive your boarding passes before departing your Disney resort. Take another complimentary shuttle back to the airport and go directly to your flight. Your luggage will be waiting for you at baggage claim in your hometown. This also