Orlando - Orlando Dec 2011

I got a few questions for a trip I'm planning for in Dec before the Christmas break.

I have read about the horror stories at MCO, I'm guessing I'm better off flying into MCO from BUF, compared to YYZ? Or does it not matter since we pre-clear at YYZ? What about departing MCO to head back to either destination? (we save about $100 per person - $400 for the party even with gas/parking and all that we might just fly from BUF regardless).

We're all under 25 so we're not planning to rent a car, so is it better to just stay at one of the resorts offered through Disney packages just so we're already going to be on site and have shuttles to each park? I have read that some of the accommodation nearby advertise it as having shuttles, but they end up having very limited schedule which we would want to avoid.

Is it worth it to get the dining plan? I am able to break down the cost to add the dining plan to park passes/accommodation, but I haven't had much success of being able to determine whether it will be more expensive to not get a plan and just go a la carte.

Final question - what is the best way to get to Universal (we'll be staying around Disney) if we don't have a car. A couple of us want to go to Universal at least for the Harry Potter theme park.

Thanks in advance.

Swan and dolphin are pretty good on-property hotels. They are *wood hotels but have Disney transportation to all of the parks. We just stayed there a week ago at about 200 per night (inclusive of taxes and fees). You can get double (even triple) spg points with a spg Amex through their recent promotion. You need to register your card in advance though. You also get extra magic hours because you are staying at a Disney hotel, which is nice.

Stay at an on-site Disney resort. The Disney bus system is not flawless but it is MUCH better and more convenient than having to take a shuttle from an 'outside' hotel. Disney has many affordable hotel options so there is little advantage to staying off-site for someone in your situation.

I would not suggest getting the meal plan. It is usually more food than you will want to eat. The main benefit for the meal plan is saving on character dinners, and I suspect you won't be planning many of those. If you are looking to economize, bring a few boxes of cereal with you (or pick up something in the hotel gift shop; they are not too outrageously priced for things like chips, Entenmann's cakes, etc.). The value priced resorts have food courts that offer reasonable meals. Unless you are true, 3 meal a day people, the dining plan probably isn't necessary.

DO make any dining reservations early. That is, if you have a specific restaurant that you must eat in, reserve now. Never too soon with Disney. (And actually, you are on the late side for a December trip. You can reserve dining on line, and check back often as restaurants are constantly opening up tables.)

The best ways to get to Universal from Disney are not that great. A cab is about $50 one way (though it may be ok if you split it amongst 4 or 5 pax; check at the Disney desk and they'll give you a better estimate of the cost pp) or the Lynx bus, which is very inconvenient and time consuming.

My best advice is to get to the parks early and stay late so that you maximize your days :) You can rest when you get home. Have fun!

Don't stay at the Swan or Dolphin. They don't participate in Disney's Magical Express so it will cost you extra to get to the resort. Do look into Disney's Value and Moderate resorts, but remember you can only have 4 to a room at most of these hotels.

Look at www.disneyworld.com and you can price out packages there. They will give you options for tickets dining plans. You can also go to www.allears.net and get a look at the menus for restaurants to see if it's worth to get the Dining Plan. The Quick Service plan, I feel, is a pretty good value and you can pay OOP for any table service restaurants you want, however, you're a little late to the party to get reservations (which are needed) for some of the more popular restaurants.

Look into Mears shuttle to get you to Universal, there are also Lynx buses at the Transportation and Ticket Center.

If you have more questions you will get more answers at www.disboards.com.

To answer the airport question, flying YYZ-MCO will be treated as a domestic flight since you'll preclear in YYZ. On the way back, it's considered an international flight. The US has no exit immigration and you'll clear Canadian immigration at YYZ.

But, as you already noticed, BUF is usually cheaper then YYZ due to the high taxes/fees charged at most Canadian airports.

We did a three week trip Christmas Trip to WDW last year.. We didn't stay onsite because to secure a one bedroom villa even on resale points would have cost us $650 per night.

We stayed at Vista Cay, in a 2,100 sq ft condo, 3 bedrooms, granite counters, leather sofas, for $100 per night.. with a view of Lake Cay.. First class..

I like the regular Disney Dining Plan if staying onsite at WDW.. We found it enjoyable to have the dining credits.. one sit down meal credit, one fast serve and one snack per day.. It was quite well balanced..

I would recommend the following one credit restaurants on the dining plan.. Princess Akershus at the Norway Pavilion Epcot (you get a photo package no extra charge as well as Princess Character dining).. Garden Grill (Mickey, Chip and Dale Goofy).. Le Cellier Canada Pavilion Epcot (best value per dollar steakhouse).. Crystal Palace Magic Kingdom (Winnie and Friends).. Chef Mickeys at Contemporary Resort (character dining).. Ohana's at Polynesian.. 1900 Park Fare at Grand Floridian.. and Chef de France at France Pavilion Epcot.. These restaurants provide what I would consider excellent value for the credit..

If staying on WDW.. you won't need a vehicle.. the monorail, shuttles, boats and buses will get you around WDW fine imo..

To get to Universal, perhaps the hotel you're reserving at will have a shuttle there..

Have Fun! :cool:

Without a car, you almost HAVE to stay onsite, either the Disney hotels, or at least Hotel Plaza Blvd. Other shuttles dont give you enough time, and at your age you are not going to want to go back and hang out at the hotel at 6pm. Maybe check out the Hilton on Hotel Plaza - it and the Swan and Dolphin give you Extra Magic Hours, which lets you stay late.

As for Universal, I wouldnt bother without a car. But, check out prices - unlike most places, you can rent a car at a lower age, and the upcharges for some companies is pretty low.

I would higly recommend a car just to get a chance to see what else is out there.

Thanks for the help so far everyone - we are considering the car rental option and hoping the companies are willing to waive the underage option (some of us have been successful in not getting the surcharge in the past).

We're planning to spend 3-4 days at Disney, 1 day driving out to Lego Land, and 1 day at Universal - going to be long days but I think it will be good.

Since we're probably going to rent a car, is there any recommendations on 2/3 BR condos? I checked out Vista Cay and it looks like it'll be $159 + taxes/fees per night. Has anyone stayed at WorldQuest Orlando? I see a deal online for $99 but I have read mixed reviews.

Thanks for the help so far everyone - we are considering the car rental option and hoping the companies are willing to waive the underage option (some of us have been successful in not getting the surcharge in the past).

Read posts #26-29 http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2592682&highlight=under+25&page=2 There may be some ideas you can use.

Without a car, you almost HAVE to stay onsite, either the Disney hotels, or at least Hotel Plaza Blvd. Other shuttles dont give you enough time, and at your age you are not going to want to go back and hang out at the hotel at 6pm. Maybe check out the Hilton on Hotel Plaza - it and the Swan and Dolphin give you Extra Magic Hours, which lets you stay late.

As for Universal, I wouldnt bother without a car. But, check out prices - unlike most places, you can rent a car at a lower age, and the upcharges for some companies is pretty low.

I would higly recommend a car just to get a chance to see what else is out there.

A rental vehicle for part of the stay would be nice.. There would be some upcharge, but your time and convenience is valuable, so the upcharge maybe worth it for the days you want to leave onsite Disney World..

Thanks for the help so far everyone - we are considering the car rental option and hoping the companies are willing to waive the underage option (some of us have been successful in not getting the surcharge in the past).

We're planning to spend 3-4 days at Disney, 1 day driving out to Lego Land, and 1 day at Universal - going to be long days but I think it will be good.

Since we're probably going to rent a car, is there any recommendations on 2/3 BR condos? I checked out Vista Cay and it looks like it'll be $159 + taxes/fees per night. Has anyone stayed at WorldQuest Orlando? I see a deal online for $99 but I have read mixed reviews.

Do report back how Lego Land is.. the next time we're out to WDW, we plan to visit the new Lego Land..

I stayed at Vista Cay and normally those condos are $159.. but I bargained an owner down to $100 per night over Christmas Break.. Also notice that www.tripadvisor.com rates each individual condo seperately at Vista Cay.. imo 2,100 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, leather couches, granite counters, lakeside.. is far more value than a regular hotel room..

Do you have kids? If not, Legoland might not be up your alley - right now it is very kid focused. In that case you are definitely going to need a car anyways, then gives you the option of using one of the home rental so I would shell out the extra for a rental car.

That gives you the option then of doing one of the home rentals - you can find them on the web - for that long a vacation you can probably find one at a pretty cheap rate, certainly under $150. Might require a 20 minute - 1/2 hour drive to Disney, but you can also then same money on food, too.

If you have a car, I would think about heading out to Nasa instead of Legoland.

Do you have kids? If not, Legoland might not be up your alley - right now it is very kid focused. In that case you are definitely going to need a car anyways, then gives you the option of using one of the home rental so I would shell out the extra for a rental car.

That gives you the option then of doing one of the home rentals - you can find them on the web - for that long a vacation you can probably find one at a pretty cheap rate, certainly under $150. Might require a 20 minute - 1/2 hour drive to Disney, but you can also then same money on food, too.

If you have a car, I would think about heading out to Nasa instead of Legoland.

Sounds like you've been to Legoland in Florida?

How is it? How far out of Orlando is it?

How's NASA after the last space shuttle launch?

Do you have kids? If not, Legoland might not be up your alley - right now it is very kid focused.


An extra day at the Disney park of your choice would very likely be much more interesting for you than a day at Legoland; this assumes that Legoland FL is similar to Legoland CA. Cheaper, too, as the cost-per-day at Disney starts to drop steeply after 3 days (Day 4 is $11, additional days $8).

................. Per day...Total

1 Day Ticket $85.00 $85.00
2 Day Ticket $84.00 $168.00
3 Day Ticket $77.33 $232.00
4 Day Ticket $60.75 $243.00
5 Day Ticket $50.20 $251.00
6 Day Ticket $43.17 $259.00
7 Day Ticket $38.14 $267.00
8 Day Ticket $34.38 $275.00
9 Day Ticket $31.44 $283.00
10 Day Ticket $29.10 $291.00


On the Dining Plan: if you are a big eater or tend toward the steaks and expensive entrees, fine. Otherwise it costs too much, especially if you ever skip meals or want to go outside Disney to eat. We had it once, and never again.

Besides, you can only get the DDP if you are staying onsite or a FL resident (I think).

Better would be for someone to get an annual pass and then you could get a Tables in Wonderland card ($75) for 20% off all meals, including drinks. Might be worth it; run the math.

Do you have kids? If not, Legoland might not be up your alley - right now it is very kid focused. In that case you are definitely going to need a car anyways, then gives you the option of using one of the home rental so I would shell out the extra for a rental car.

That gives you the option then of doing one of the home rentals - you can find them on the web - for that long a vacation you can probably find one at a pretty cheap rate, certainly under $150. Might require a 20 minute - 1/2 hour drive to Disney, but you can also then same money on food, too.

If you have a car, I would think about heading out to Nasa instead of Legoland.

Personally I am not huge on Lego Land, but 2-3 in our party is adamant about going there, and the rest of us are indifferent, so we'll definitely head out there at least just to get check it out and say we've been there. Will report back for sure after my trip.

An extra day at the Disney park of your choice would very likely be much more interesting for you than a day at Legoland; this assumes that Legoland FL is similar to Legoland CA. Cheaper, too, as the cost-per-day at Disney starts to drop steeply after 3 days (Day 4 is $11, additional days $8).

................. Per day...Total

1 Day Ticket $85.00 $85.00
2 Day Ticket $84.00 $168.00
3 Day Ticket $77.33 $232.00
4 Day Ticket $60.75 $243.00
5 Day Ticket $50.20 $251.00
6 Day Ticket $43.17 $259.00
7 Day Ticket $38.14 $267.00
8 Day Ticket $34.38 $275.00
9 Day Ticket $31.44 $283.00
10 Day Ticket $29.10 $291.00


On the Dining Plan: if you are a big eater or tend toward the steaks and expensive entrees, fine. Otherwise it costs too much, especially if you ever skip meals or want to go outside Disney to eat. We had it once, and never again.

Besides, you can only get the DDP if you are staying onsite or a FL resident (I think).

Better would be for someone to get an annual pass and then you could get a Tables in Wonderland card ($75) for 20% off all meals, including drinks. Might be worth it; run the math.

Completely agree.. after 3 days, the Disney ticket is incrementally inexpensive to acquire extra days.. Its highly recommended to do at least 4 days, given there are 4 theme parks with events happening all hours of the day.. The signature shows are Magic Kingdom fireworks, Epcot fireworks, and Hollywood Studios Fantasmic..

With the Disney Dining Plan.. you can use a one credit sit down restaurant towards a $12 meal, or towards a $50 meal.. so carefully shop and get the most bang for the buck.. I listed the one credit dining options of great value on post #6..

Unlike toomanybooks.. my family loved the Disney Dining Plan because we were able to identify the restaurants of great value.. It took alot of planning, but in the end it was great value for our family, and given the chance staying onsite, we would definitely do the meal plan again..

Swan and dolphin are pretty good on-property hotels. They are *wood hotels but have Disney transportation to all of the parks. We just stayed there a week ago at about 200 per night (inclusive of taxes and fees). You can get double (even triple) spg points with a spg Amex through their recent promotion. You need to register your card in advance though. You also get extra magic hours because you are staying at a Disney hotel, which is nice.