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by cmelgarejo
You've been debating where to go on vacation
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So you know where you're headed off to, but now you can't decide when to book the vacation. Disney World is broken up into three seasons as far as crowds go: peak, mid, and off-peak seasons. Peak season includes all the major dates that the biggest crowds hit the parks, and off-peak are times when the crowds disperse a bit. Mid-season implies that the crowds are there, but far more bearable than peak season. The approximate times of year for each season are listed below.
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Peak Season
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Mid-Season
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Off-Peak Season
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An easy way to anticipate peak seasons is to pinpoint any time of the year when most children are out of school; a majority are spending their vacation enjoying the most magical place on earth. So if you can pull the kids from school or it's an adults-only trip and have more options for time off, consider off-peak. Disney often has great deals during off-peak season to entice more visitors as well, so you might find yourself with a great discount on hotels or dining.
Disney offers some fantastic seasonal events. From holiday exclusive parades to various festivals, there's so much additional fun that you may want to plan your trip around what appeals most to you. Here are a few of the most popular.
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Marathon Weekends: If you are a marathon runner Flower and Garden Festival: From the first week of March to mid-May, Epcot hosts the Flower and Garden festival. Each year there are new topiaries shaped like Disney characters, live music, and even a butterfly garden. Star Wars Weekends: Usually running anywhere from the end of May to June, Star Wars |
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Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party: A personal favorite, the Halloween party takes place in Magic Kingdom from September to the first week in November. Feel free to dress in costume as tons of other guests will. You'll get to trick or treat all night (yes, even the adults!), meet characters in their Halloween costumes, mingle with villains Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party: Mickey really knows how to throw a party! Also in the Magic Kingdom, you'll be treated to cheery parades, holiday fireworks and live music. Food and Wine Festival: Love food? Who doesn't1 The Food and Wine Festival takes place from October to mid November in Epcot. They set up extra kiosks representing additional countries, each filled with samples of food and drinks from the region. |
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Before you fly down to sunny Florida,
Staying off site will save you a good amount of money on hotel, as they usually offer great deals to entice guests to stay off property. Thankfully, there are plenty of reasonable (and deluxe) hotels outside of Disney in the Orlando area, but some are more conveniently located than others. Some nearby options include the following.
These are just some of the dozens of hotels in the area. Be aware that you'll also need a car for travel purposes if you're staying off property, so make sure you book the car ahead of time, and perhaps time the drive between your hotel and the different parks. You wouldn't want to miss the magic due to traffic congestion!
There are multiple perks to staying on site, all of which should be considered before moving ahead to buy the full package.
So, you've decided either on site or off site, but you are still not sure where exactly to stay. Disney Hotels are broken down into different categories based on budget. Value, Moderate, Deluxe, and Deluxe Villa. They also offer camping grounds
Value Hotels
Value hotels are great when you want that Disney spirit without paying an arm and a leg; basic amenities and a cheaper hotel are your top accommodation priorities. Value hotels run anywhere from $82 to $169 a night, the higher prices mostly during Christmas and New Year's Eve.
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Pop Century Pop Century's grounds are separated into decades--from the 1960's to 1990's--and have giant decoration to match the trends for each phase. |
All-Star Music All-Star Music has a piano shaped pool, giant musical notes, and great tunes playing all over the premises. |
All-Star Sports If you or your little ones are sports fanatics |
All-Star Movies All-Star Movies highlights some of the greatest Disney movie |
Moderate Hotels
Moderate hotels are more detailed in their themes and give you that soothing, resort-like feel. The prices for moderate hotels run from $174 to about $244 a night.
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Caribbean Beach Caribbean Beach Resort is a colorful Caribbean getaway with man-made white sand beaches. |
Coronado Springs With the architecture of Mexico and old Aztec buildings, Coronado Springs has a ton of charm and a large lake in the center of the property. |
Port Orleans French Quarter Building designs mimic the bars and hot-spots of the French Quarter in New Orleans, with an atmosphere of Mardi Gras all year round. |
Port Orleans Riverside The other part of the Port Orleans resort, it has beautiful buildings reminiscent of plantation mansions in the South. |
Fort Wilderness With both beautiful rooms and even a campground, Fort Wilderness will make you feel like you're lodging in the deep woods. |
Deluxe Hotels
These hotels are for when you want to go all out and live a life of luxury during your Mickey Mouse rendezvous. Running anywhere from $300 to over $600 a night (and that's just for their lowest priced rooms!), it's an expensive choice but a truly indulgent experience.
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Contemporary The Contemporary |
Polynesian The Polynesian will set the mood for a tropical island experience: leis |
Animal Kingdom Lodge if you want a unique experience, the Animal Kingdom Lodge has rooms that overlook a savanna with live animals roaming around. |
Boardwalk Inn If you like the feel of old Myrtle Beach, the Boardwalk Inn feels like you're at the shore. It's also a short walk away from Epcot. |
Grand Floridian The Grand Floridian is themed as a Victorian seaside resort, complete with spa amenities and home to one of the best restaurants on property, Victoria and Albert's. |
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Wilderness Lodge Feel like roughing it in one of the swankest lodges you've ever been in? Book Wilderness Lodge now! Fun fact: The hotel lobby is modeled after the Old Faithful Inn. |
Beach Club This resort has a lovely Newport cottage theme. It features a back entrance to Epcot and is a 15 minute walk from Hollywood Studios. |
Yacht Club The Yacht Club is right next door to its sister resort, the Beach Club, and they share the same staff, resources, and amenities. |
Your flight is booked, your hotel is picked, but you're stumped when it comes to packing the perfect detailed suitcase.
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Make sure you pack comfortable sneakers as you will do MILES of walking in Disney World. Don't bring unworn, new sneakers for the occasion! If you buy a new pair, make sure they're broken in before the trip or you will have blisters. |
If this is your first trip, you will definitely want to take advantage of all the little details and insight of a guide book. The most popular choices are The Unofficial Guide |
The Florida sun is hot! Even if you think you're going during a cooler time of year, that sun can still scorch your skin you as you're standing in those lines. Sunscreen |
Ok, this may seem contradictory to sunscreen, but while Florida can be blindingly sunny, its weather can also change in a blink of an eye. Bring something to layer with in case nights get chilly. |
Rain is the name of the game in Florida. It may seem like a crystal clear morning, but thunderstorms pass almost every day, especially in the summer. Bring an umbrella |
Once you're in Orlando, you need to get around, right? The area is full of long highways, so to get from park to park you'll either need a rental car or Disney's own transportation if you are staying in a Disney resort.
If you have Disney accommodations, you get the added perk of free transportation around Walt Disney World. This isn't just to the main theme parks, but also the water parks, Downtown Disney shopping area, even the airport!
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Magical Express: The Magical Express is an easy way to get to and from your hotel when traveling to the Orlando Airport. Before your trip, you can call either your travel agent or Disney's booking hotline (depending on how you organized your trip) and give them your flight information. When you arrive at Orlando, you'll head to the Magical Express desk and hop on a coach bus that will drop you off at your hotel. It's argued that sometimes this can take much longer than riding a cab, as the buses often stop at other hotels, so it's up to you if you want to either shell the extra dough or can afford the extra time spent traveling. The night before your departure from Disney, you'll get an envelope under the door giving you a pick up time in the morning. The Magical Express leaves about 3 hours before your flight, so again, if you'd rather not leave so early and want to head to the airport on your own time, take a cab. The Magical Express is certainly not mandatory so the choice is yours. |
Buses: Bus service is available at every on site Disney resort. There are designated bus stops in front of the resort's main doors (and sometimes in several other locations if the resort is particularly large) that show you where to line up for which destination. Buses run pretty consistently through out the day, and even into the early morning after the parks close, in case you get side-tracked somewhere!
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Monorail: The monorail |
Ferrys: Yup, they have water transportation too. Disney really does think of everything. The main ferry crosses the Seven Seas Lagoon, which extends from the Magic Kingdom parking lot to the front gates of the park. Besides the primary ferry, there are also boat launches at several resorts that will take you to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and even Downtown Disney.
If you're renting a car because you're either not staying on property or simply want to be able to travel independently, here are a few tips for car rentals in the Disney World area.
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The most important piece of paper you'll ever hold in Disney World is your park tickets (besides that autographed photo from Mickey!). Park ticket options are pretty straight forward and there's plenty of flexibility depending on what you're planning. Here's some basic tips when buying tickets.
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Disney has every kind of food you can imagine, and prices for all wallet sizes. Here are some tips for keeping your dining experience easy and affordable.
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Magic Kingdom: The end-all-be-all of all amusement parks, Magic Kingdom is the quintessential Disney experience. It is the first park that was built in the resort, which opened in 1971. Its layout follows the same structure of Disneyland's Magic Kingdom, except the one in Disneyland can fit INSIDE Disney World's Magic Kingdom. It's that big. With Cinderella's Castle |
Epcot: Epcot is actually an acronym; Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. Walt Disney original was planning a futuristic city, but after his passing, the idea was turned into a park that combines both education and science as well as worldly adventures. It is broken up into two sections: Future World and World Showcase. The park is so big, people often joke that Epcot actually stands for "Every Person Comes Out Tired". Expect to spend 2 to 2.5 days here. |
Hollywood Studios: If you love the idea of old Hollywood, Hollywood Studios is the place for you. It has thrills like Tower of Terror |
Animal Kingdom: Animal Kingdom is the youngest park, focusing on bringing guests into the jungles of Asia and the Serengeti of Africa, and even back in time to Dinoland. When the park first opened, Disney advertised it with a fictional word "nahtazu" (not a zoo), as to emphasis there was much more to experience here. Give a full day to Animal Kingdom. |
As unfashionable as a fanny pack may be, it's your best way of carrying things comfortably into the park and still having a free hand. But what to bring? Besides obvious choices like cash and your park tickets, here are some essentials to take with you.
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Disney World is a big place with lots of hands touching lots of things. Keep yourself germ-free on your trip by carrying a bottle of hand sanitizer |
Don't leave the room without your camera |
If you don't have room for a whole kit |
You can pick up maps as you enter the park or from your hotel's front desk. The parks can be confusing to wander without some sort of guidance. |
Even if you think you're going at a cooler time of year, always bring a water bottle |
Outside of the parks there is still tons to do. Disney has its own shopping and dining district--Downtown Disney--that's accessible by both boat and bus. They also have a boardwalk area for more shopping, food, and boardwalk entertainment like magicians and jugglers. Beyond that, don't forget there is also:
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