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Any suggestions on where to stay with young kids?

coranado - its really close to the parks

2nd Coronado Springs -we stayed there in December. IMO - it has the best pool, playground, etc for kids.

If you don't want to stay onsite.......I'd look hard at a house on http://www.floridasunvacationhomes.com/
I have relatives that go every year for 2 weeks and get a big house. The last time we went.....we got a house on there as well for $100/day. It had it's own swimming pool, 3 bedrooms, washer/dryer, flat panel tvs in every room on the wall......big kitchen, etc. We drove down the street and were looking at the entrance to Disney......3-5mins away tops.

I have never stayed at Coronado, but I highly recommend the Beach Club if you are going with children. If they want a change of pace from the parks then you have a beachy area and lots of pool areas to play at. You are also within walking distance of Epcot and Hollywood Studios. I don't know if you have been before or not, but I HIGHLY recommend that you stay on property. I have stayed on and off property several times, and you can't beat the convenience of disney transportation. Please let me know if you have any questions and I would be happy to help. Good Luck! - John

We are taking the kids in March and staying @ Wilderness lodge. Should be a great time.

We stayed at Animal Kingdom when we went. I'll never forget my oldest daughter walking out on the balcony and then screaming her head off. I rushed out to see what the matter was and a giraffe had walked up to the balcony and a giraffe was a little to close for comfort. I think it was more scared than she was. Animal Kingdom was the wife's idea. Kids weren't to fond of it. It was the only place we could get all six of us in one room which meant we were on the concierge floor. Never forget my two middle girls walking down to the concierge area and asking if the food was free. Then they loaded up and brought it back to the room. I couldn't help but think the folks down there were thinking, "Yes, they can't help it. They are from Mississippi."

We stayed at wilderness lodge this past summer. It was really nice. If you do stay with a Disney resort go ahead and get the deluxe meal plan. All meals and 2 snacks for are person a day are included. All you do is leave a tip. Yeah its included in the price of the package but it is well worth it when you start buying all the meals.

You guys are high-rollers. We stayed at the "economical" Pop Century on site. It was good enough since the only reason we were in the room was to sleep - in late out early.

We do the vacation homes as well. Screened in heated pool, fully stocked kitchen, washer dryer, pool and foosball tables, 3 bed 2 bath, and about the same price as a hotel. If you stay on property, you will pay more. Check out Universal, the best ticket in town. 2 parks next to each other and a little more modern. Knights Tournament is fun, and, the lobster buffet(big lobster out front) was good too. Get ya some oranges...y'all have fun

Did anyone get the meal plan? Is it worth the price?

brandon327 wrote:Did anyone get the meal plan? Is it worth the price?

yep done it a few times. Don't know that you really save that much doing it but you got to pay for food one way or the other and its just much easier to do the meal plan and not worry about toting enough cash or keeping up with debit/credit card receipts IMO. One way you can save a little money is by taking breakfast foods with you like pop tarts, granola bars and such. In your meal plan get 1 quick service meal 1 or 2 snacks and a sit down meal. We generally were leaving to early or running too late to sit down and eat breakfast.

brandon327 wrote:Did anyone get the meal plan? Is it worth the price?

You might want to call and double-check - depending on when you are going, they have specials sometimes and offer the quick service meal plan for free. A lot of times you come out a little better on the meal plan and sometimes you come out about even, depending on where and what you eat. On the plus, you pay for it before you go and don't have to worry about shelling out the money once you are there (even though technically, you already have).

I have experienced Disney world in every way imaginable. From staying at the ultraposh Swan and Floridian to the cheap Pop Century. I have also stayed off the premises as well. I really think it depends on what you hope to achieve by way of your disney vacation. If you are wanting a relaxing trip where you spend only a few hours at the parks riding a handful of rides and attractions then your best bet is to stay at Coronado/Wilderness/Beach club etc... If your goal is to spend all day at the parks and make it a marathon vacay then stick with the cheaper places because all you will do is sleep there.

The most inexpensive method is to stay off the Disney land in a VRBO and drive in. Parking is 15$ a day, but keep in mind that you can carry food into Walt Disney world. Now that my family is older we usually eat breakfast at an Off property Condo and pack lunches for the day (Much, Much cheaper than eating within the disney parks even with the meal plans).

Also, I have found that the Disney transportation buses, while convienent are not necessarily efficient. If you want to save park time then you might want to consider having a car available. If you stay at a Disney resort you don't have to pay parking at the various parks. It saves a lot of time if you simply drive yourself from your hotel to the park of choice for the day.

At any rate, to answer you question, where you stay really depends on how you want to structure your vacation and how much you want to spend. If you want to spend almost all your time at the parks then stay cheap (off premises or at the Pop hotels). If you are planing on spending a lot of down time at the hotel spend more money and stay in one of the nicer resorts at disney.

I have been to WDW almost every year for the past 15 years and have figured out a lot along the way. PM me if you have any questions.

We decided to stay just outside of Disney, a condo was a third of the price of a room at a Disney moderate resort. What is the cheapest place to get Disney tickets?