A trip in 2013 to disneyworld, NEED HELP!!!!

[peter]

Hi everyone, need some help.

We are thinking of crossing over to visit disneyworld for the first time, and so that we can save up, we'll go in 2013

We plan on going for te last two weeks of august, because apparently the schools are back by then

So for a family of four, we would like to know:
Value or moderate hotel?
Get a Disney dining plan or not?
We want to visit universal and seaworld, is a day for each of those parks enough?

Thanks for help

[Lozzie]

Hi there!

We've stayed in both value and moderate. To be honest theres not much difference room wise. We've stayed in All Star one time and Port Orleans another. The only difference was the bathroom has 2 sinks and the room was slightly bigger. So if you wanted to save more money for spending, etc then i say a value would be fine

Dining YES! Its unbelievable how much you spend on food and drink out there, so dining vouchers would be great for your main meals.

Seaworld, we found one day was enough. But if you want to go see all the sea shows then i recommend 2.

Universal definitely needs at least 2 days there, theres soooo much to do!

Hope this helps!

[peter]

Thank you so much, that's really helpful

[dagobert]

Peter, if you plan to stay in a value hotel, then you should pick the Pop Century, because it doesn't share the bus service with other hotels. All three All Star resorts are connected by the same bus. And if I'm not mistaken, many rooms of the Pop Century were refurbed last year.

[Terkina]

Be aware that Pop Century MAY share buses with the new resort Art of Animation in 2013.

[Kt]

We stayed in Coronado Springs but have only been once so have nothing to compare it to. The Pepper Market restaurant there was great value as you literally just pay for what you have so each family member can have totally different.

The dining plan is definately worth it in my opinion. Whereas the DLrP one only saves you 10% max, i reckon the WDW one saves far more.

We did Seaworld in a day including the Shamu show.

Re Aug... just bear in mind Peter, that although the USA schools may be back by then, this is peak time for UK visitors so it will still probably be v busy.

Have a fab time!!!!

[Trekkie101]

I was in WDW the second last week in August for two weeks, and it was an English holiday but not an American one, the parks were not busy - Big Thunder Mountain was the only queue over 45 minutes the entire stay. Probably the best time of year I've went as well.

I've never stayed in a Disney Hotel due to the huge price but from looking online the saving on the dining plan is almost worth it, eating in Disney is pretty expensive if your not going to counter service so would definitely probably have a dining plan on my next visit.

Extra Magic Hours unless your there the whole day seem to properly ruin a park unless its the Magic Kingdom, for example on our first day we went to Animal Kingdom it had early morning magic hours and the place was struggling with the number of guests, at first I thought I had booked a terrible time to be in Disney but then day two at Hollywood Studios was surprisingly quiet and this continued the rest of the time.

Weather changes rather quick, but its still too hot

I was never a fan of SeaWorld but prefer Universal and Islands of Adventure, Universal looks as though its been through a lot of updating too! A day at each is a must

[peter]

thanks for this. looking more and more likely that we could be going now.

thanks for all the help.

[999ghosts]

We have been the last two weeks of August and it was great! Schools are back and park isn't to busy. Some attractions will have short queues. Tower of Terror never went over 20 minutes for example. Some attractions might be longer in the middle of the day but with some planning (go early or late) even those aren't to bad. If you need more specific info let me know.

Universal depends on what you like to do. I think you can do this in 1 day. Again you need to be there at opening and plan a little. Seaworld is a one day park. Discovery Cove is a great option and alternative.

The dining plan! Well, I am not a big fan of it and it is only worth it if you going to eat a lot. You'll need a big meal every day. You will need to book every restaurant in advance. Although I do love a nice sit down time in some of the restaurants but there is no room to drop it and just enjoy a night in a park with a burger or sandwich. If a sit down restaurant experience is a must for you then yes. Otherwise avoid it!

Hotel. Well that depends on some things. If you can spend some more pick one of the Moderate hotels. It's just a little more magic and a little less crowded. I am not a big fan of the value once. Although I have to admit I never stayed at one so it isn't fair to say anoything about it. Whatever you do, enjoy and share your experience here on the forum!....

[sebassah]

Hi Peter,

as someone who has been at WDW a lot my advice would be the:

Stay at a Value resort. It saves a lot of money and all you do there mostly is sleep. The bus transportation is amazing and worth the money you pay extra compared to the "non Disney resorts".

The Dining plan for me never brought that much extra. Sure it saves you money if you eat a lot everyday but most of the time Me and my friends would just grab a few small snacks during the day and get some nice food if the parks closed. The restaurants in the parks are amazing but Id prefer the ones at the resorts. For example the food at Ohana's (Polynesian resort) is amazing just like the African buffet at the Animal Kingdom lodge and the cocktails on the roof of the Contemperary.

Depending on the time you go one day would be enough for Sea World. We always managed to visit both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studio's in one day. However with the addition of the Wizzarding World of Harry Potter we spend a full day at IOA last year. The new LEGO land should be nice I will def. visit that next summer when I go back.

If you have any questions just let me know!

[greenkai3000]

I'm a WDW world vet so feel free to ask me more specific questions.

IF budget is not an issue then I highly recommend you stay at a Moderate Resort. While Value resorts are very affordable, they aren't that close to the parks, so if you stay at say...the Cabins at Fort Wilderness, or Port Orleans, you'll be at the park gates in no time.

Disney Dining Plan??? only if it's part of a package...i.e. Free Restaurants at WDW can be expensive, but they are worth it. If you like buffets, you'll enjoy the Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom, Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, or Ohana's at the Polynesian resort

Universal has 2 parks: The Studios, and Islands of Adventure. Both of which are amazing! Lots of great thrill rides to do...so if I were you I'd skip Sea World and spend 2 days at Universal