Should I Stay at a Disney Resort?

The simple answer to this question is : YES.

If your Orlando vacation is going to be solely or almost solely an experience at Disney World, there are so many perks associated with staying at a Disney resort that you will miss out on if you stay off-site... perks that add SO much to your vacation experience.



1. Extra Magic Hours

Extra Magic Hours are extended theme park hours scheduled each day when only Disney resort guests can enter the parks. With the crowds you find at Disney, these are critical to making the most of your time and getting to do as much as possible.

2. Disney Dining Plan

The Disney Dining Plan allows you to save money on your food by allowing you to purchase different dining plans that cover all of your food during your stay. The best value is the basic plan that gives you one table service, one snack, and one quick service meal per day plus a re-usable refillable Disney mug. If you purchased all these items without the dining plan, you would pay about 20% more.

3. Free Transportation to Parks and Downtown

No more worrying about paying for Disney parking fees or having to drive yourself to the parks. The bus, boat and monorail shuttle system takes you from the resorts to Disney parks and Downtown Disney free of charge. Other off-site hotels sometimes offer this service, but the buses they have won't run nearly as often, have to travel farther to get to Disney World, and drop you off much farther from the park entrance.

4. Free Airport Transportation

Disney will make arrangements to pick you up from and take you back to the airport for your arrival and departure via their Magical Express free of charge if you are staying at a Disney resort.

5. Key to the World Card

The card that Disney gives you as your hotel room key also serves as your credit card charging device, ID during Extra Magic Hours, Fastpass key, and pays for your Disney Dining Plan meals. All you need is this one card when you are walking around.

6. Free Room Delivery of Shop Purchases

If you buy anything in gift shops or stores throughout Downtown Disney or Disney parks, just tell them to have it sent to your room, so you don't have to carry it around. This service is free to Disney resort guests.

7. You are Engulfed in Magical Decor.

You just feel like you are at Disney World when you stay in their resorts. The value level resorts are completely cartoon Disney themed all around and while the deluxe level resorts are more subtle, you still get all the modern/chic Disney decor all around.

8. Disney World Child Care

For an extra fee, if you and your spouse decide you want a romantic dinner to yourselves, you can pay extra to let your child stay in supervised child care facilities where your children have lots of Disney fun making crafts, playing games, and even enjoying a meal.

The Answer: YES, stay in a Disney resort.
If you are going to Disney World on a vacation, it's definitely best to go ALL Disney. If you are making other Orlando attractions the focus of your stay, then it isn't as important to stay on-site at Disney World. Honestly though, I would recommend taking a separate vacation to do those things. When you go to Disney, go all out on Disney because all the things you can do in Downtown Disney and the four parks alone keep you more than busy on your vacation and you get so much more value for your buck when you do it the all Disney way.

Best Time to Visit Walt Disney World

The biggest factors to consider when planning the dates for your Disney World vacation are crowds, weather, special events, pricing and park hours. Depending on how you feel about each of these things will affect what time of the year will be best for your family to visit.

Crowds
Crowds are always at their highest if you are visiting when children have school breaks: Summer, Spring Break, President's Day Weekend, Labor Day weekend, Christmas break, etc. If you can avoid going during holidays when kids are out of school, you will be able to go during the lowest crowd times.

Lowest Crowds

• Mid-January to early February
• Late April
• Week following Labor Day until the week before Thanksgiving break
• Early December

Moderate Crowds

• Late February until very early March (before Spring break starts to hit)
• Early-Mid May
• Week before Christmas week

Busiest Crowds

• President's Day weekend and week in February
• Mid-March until Mid-April (Spring Break time)
• Memorial Day weekend in May
• June until Mid-August (summer break)
• Labor Day weekend in September
• Thanksgiving week in November
• Christmas week until Jan. 2
• Marathon weekends

Weather

Weather in Florida is generally nice. Here's the weather scope by season, so you can decide which scenerio is best for you.

• Late December-February: weather varies from 40-50's in the evenings to 70's during the day
• March-May: beautiful weather, 70's. Unpredictable rain spurts happen more often, but shouldn't affect your trip too much.
•  June-September: HOT, 70's-90's. Unpredicatable thunderstorms are more likely in this season, but shouldn't last long or affect trip too much.
• October-Early December: beautiful weather, 70's

Annual Special Events

Each year, Disney has special events that occur during the same time each year. For those of us who visit frequently, this is nice to get to experience new things each time we go. You may be particularly interested in visiting during a particular event. The most famous and wonderful by far are the elaborate Christmas decorations you'll find throughout the parks in November-December. 

Spring

• Princess Half Marathon Weekend
• Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot
• Star Wars weekends at Hollywood Studios

Summer

• Star Wars Weekends at Hollywood Studios
• Sounds like Summer Concert Series at Epcot

Fall

• Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom
• International Food and Wine Festival at Epcot
• Eat to the Beat Concert Series at Epcot
• Wine and Dine Half Marathon
• Night of Joy at Magic Kingdom
• Festival of the Masters
• Children's Miracle Network Hospital Classic
• Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom (starts in November)

Winter

• Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom (Ends in December)
• Holidays Around the World and Candlelight Processional at Epcot
• Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Hollywood Studios
• Walt Disney World Marathon

Pricing

Lower crowd periods equal lower prices for resorts and vacation packages. Disney often offers their discount vacation packages during periods when they are trying to draw people in to increase sales during lower crowd times. If you want to pay less, check during the low crowd season (see "Crowds" portion of this article above).

We always go when a discount vacation package offer is available (Check here for current offers). Our favorite is the deal you can get at a Moderate Resort during their "Free Dining" packages which are offered unpredictably throughout the years. Discounts per season are normally announced a few months in advance. For example, if the offer is for dates in January-March, it will probably be announced in Novemberish. You are welcome to book as far in advance as you like, and if you see a discount that becomes available during the dates of your stay, simply call Disney and ask them to add the discount to your package.

Park Hours

Strangely enough, park hours is the only area in which the low crowds season is the worst time to go. Because of the lower crowds, parks won't stay open as long or offer as many sets of Extra Magic Hours. If getting in the parks earlier and staying in them later is important to you, you may actually wanted to consider a more crowded time of the year.

My Personal Favorite Time to Visit

For me, lower crowds and discount pricing are the most important factors when choosing my Disney vacation dates. Secondarily, I enjoy special events that could occur during my dates. This is my process for personally choosing the dates for my family:

• First, I choose the discount package that is currently being offered.
• Second, I find dates within that package that are within the lowest crowd time that also have a special event going on.
• Example: I booked a week in October during the "free dining" discount when Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was happening.

Your Thoughts:

I'd LOVE to know how you decide when to go to Disney! Leave your comments below with your favorite time to go and how you make that decision.

Is Disney World Worth the Money?

If you are asking yourself the question, "Is Disney World really worth the money I will spend taking my family on this vacation?", please consider this post thoughtfully and seriously for the sake of your family.

If you have never been to Disney World, it is entirely unfair for you to have the opinion that Disney World is way too expensive or just for kids.

Disney World is an experience like none other. This is my family vacation every year. We have tried other things in the past-- visiting other locations all over America from Atlanta to Denver to Columbus, etc. We've gone to see mountains and visit zoos and museums and beaches, but we have found that everything always leaves us with the feeling of man, that just didn't compare to Disney. Once you've been to Disney World (if you do it right), every other vacation is just broken.

Disney World is not just a bunch of rides: this place has it all. You want to go to the beach or visit the most incredible spa? You want to golf on the finest golf course? Stay in the most incredible hotel? Lay out by incredible pools? You want to play mini golf? ride thrill rides? little kid rides? have theater experiences? See a circus? See broadway-style musicals? go on a safari? eat fine dining? rent a boat and see fireworks? have a dolphin experience? And the list goes on. 

Disney World is all vacations in one. You just have to do some research and planning before you go, so that you can make the most of your experience as you are doing right now. If you don't know what all Disney has to offer, then you are going to miss out on a whole lot. Don't just buy tickets to the parks. Experience a Disney World vacation in full. There is so much more than just park tickets. (I recommend getting The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World in the most current year. You can get it for $20 or less from Amazon.com. You can also call Walt Disney World at 407-939-7675 and talk to a travel planner for free).

Vacations are so important in our family. The kids aren't going to remember the nice furniture or the new car. But they are going to remember the time they spent each year on their family vacations together. There have been years that we had to choose between a new living room suit or a vacation to Disney World. Guess what we chose? Disney. We even did this before we had children. 

Memories are priceless. The joy you get from spending a week leaving the world behind in the greatest place on Earth with no place to be except where you want to be. Eating the finest food in restaurants that offer incredible dining experiences. If you have to sacrifice an expensive extra in your life, don't let it be your vacation. Don't get the hardwood floor just because you don't like your carpet if it means you won't be able to go on vacation. When you are 55 and your kids are grown, you are going to wonder why that flooring was so much more important to you than giving your kids the trip to Disney World.

If you can't go every year, at least take your kids a few times. It's more than worth the money for you and them to have this truly magical experience. If you can't go every year, wait until they will remember it to take them. I've heard so many people say, "Yea, I went when I was like 5, but I can't remember it." You owe it to your kids to let them experience this place as at least one of your family vacations.

Is Disney World worth the money? It's more than worth it.