CRUISING out of Florida AND DISNEY WORLD IN MARCH 2009???

[mommyx2]

Hi,

We are thinking of booking a cruise out of Florida for March 2009 and doing Disney World a few days either before or after? we live in California and we have spring break end of March and Beginning of April not sure when the rest of the country has their spring breaks. Are we crazy to go then, will it be a mob scene? any advice on DW would be great as I have not been there since I was a child over 30 years ago..

 

Thanks

Tami

[Turtle Girls]

It shouldn't be too crowded at that time of the year since it seems like the schools schedule varies. I live in Florida and even the public vs. private schools in the same county have different breaks. You should have alot of flexibility in getting a good price for the cruise because you are within a short driving distance to many ports. From DW Port Canaveral is about 45 minutes, Tampa 1 hour, Ft Lauderdale and Miami roughly 3 hours.

If you stay on property at DW, you can get their transportation from the airport and once at the hotel, take the Disney buses to the parks. Also, DW offers many hotels at various price points. Having stayed at about 10 of them, I find that the actual room size is the same but what varies is the amenities offered (ie do you want room service, a sit-down restaurant or is counter service fine). No matter what, it will be like 2 vacations in 1 and a great time!

[mommyx2]

Hi Turtle girls, when do you have spring break there in florida???

where would you recommend staying in middle price range and what parks ?

thanks

Tami

[Turtle Girls]

My girls have their break from 4/9-4/19. It seems that I have stayed more at the deluxe or value hotels. The only moderate one was Coronado Springs and it did provide a nice balance of amenities. A nicer pool and better food service offerings than the value resorts. DW has 4 parks-Magic Kingdom,Epcot, Animal Kingdom and MGM studios. I am not familar with what DisneyLand offers so I would 1st look at what might be different than what you have been to in CA.

Magic Kingdom is everything traditional when you think of DW-parades,the castle, space moutain, etc.

Epcot offers the world showcase which features many countries and their culture in the back of the park and many areas such as the land in the front. There are many rides that the kids would like here such as Soaring, Mission space and test track.

MGM can be done easily in a 6-7 hour day and have attractions such as HSM and Indiana Jones.

Animal Kingdom is more than a zoo. They have a newer roller coaster and the safari is a kid favorite. Tip- go on the safari in the AM. As the day gets hotter,the animals seem to rest more and they are harder to see.

BUT, no matter where your interests lie, ALWAYS use the Fastpass, you will be able to see more and not wait. ie-at MK get a fast pass for Space mountain, go see the other attractions in tommorrowland such as Buzz lightyear and stitch( these lines go fast) and then go on space mountain. You will have seen the whole area with as little waiting as possible!

[mommyx2]

hi turtle girls. thanks for all the info. I am a rookie at the DW thing obviously...

seems magic kingdom is similiar as the soaring and hsm you mentiioned at epcot they are at california adventure park here in ca.

as far as hotels, what is the difference between value and deluxe..

we want a clean hotel with pool and resturants we are hilton and marriott type people nothing over the top but not a dumb either. Any recommendations since I am going into this blindly...

thanks for all the tips.

glad to hear your kids are out later, so maybe it wont be that crowded..

[crusinmama06]

Tami, you can look at ALL of the accomodations here...

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/faq_hot.htm

 

You can go from hotel to hotel and look at a slide show. The links are on the left hand side of the page.

 

Value resort may be $89 - $109/night

Moderate - $110 - $299/night

Deluxe - $229 and UP.

[4cruizers]

Hi,

We are thinking of booking a cruise out of Florida for March 2009 and doing Disney World a few days either before or after? we live in California and we have spring break end of March and Beginning of April not sure when the rest of the country has their spring breaks. Are we crazy to go then, will it be a mob scene? any advice on DW would be great as I have not been there since I was a child over 30 years ago..

 

Thanks

Tami

Spring break in Orange County (Orlando) for public schools is March 27 through April 3. Also colleges can have their spring break from the end of February up until about March. During that time you will find the parks busier, especially with the kids that have yearly passes.

 

The drive to Port Carnaveral is about an hour from Disney World, that is on a good day. I would give myself plenty of time to travel, especially once you are in the "attractions area." The drive to Port Canaveral from OIA is about 45 minutes and that is a nice ride. Good luck.

[mommyx2]

Thanks for the replys. I am thinking if we come the day school gets out march 21 we might sneak in before the Florida schools get out..

any suggestions on where to saty or not?? in moderate or value..

thanks

tami

[CeleBrat]

Another Central Floridian here...and Spring Break for Osceola County schools (right next to Disney) starts the weekend of 4/4.

 

Historically, the theme parks are the busiest the week leading up to Easter. When is Easter next year? As long as you avoid that week, you'll be in good shape.

 

CeleBrat

[turs]

We live in NW Florida and we are out the week before Easter next year, I think. However, we went in March a few years ago, it wasn't even close to Easter, and it was packed. I don't know if we were just unlucky, but I was really surprised. It was more crowded than summer. We enjoy staying at the Port Orleans Riverside. We asked for a room fairly close to the main area. They have a fun pool, great food court, you can walk to Port Orleans, and take the boat to Downtown Disney.

[Gingras31]

Spring break at wdw goes from late February to Mid April, these times can be hit or miss on being busy.

[crusinmama06]

I can't speak from personal experience about the value/moderate resorts (sorry we have a fav hotel and it's a deluxe)...but my friends who do Disney alot say that Port Orleans Riverside is there favorite moderate hotel.

 

I always hear mixed reviews about the value resorts. One may come back and LOVE Pop Century/Music/Movies. The next will come back and say "NEVER again"

 

For me it's too hit and miss. Stay in at least a moderate if you can.

[NanciRDH]

Disboards are to Disney what Cruise Critic is to cruising...you'll get more info there than you can digest, but be warned, its just as addicting as CC!

 

Resort choices are difficult because its such a personal choice...just like cabin style choices on a cruise. If you plan on being there only to sleep and shower, then go Value. If you have kids that really want/need a break to swim and relax, the Moderates will have a better pool area with a slide and hot tub. Both of those style of resorts have exterior hallways and no balcony. Food choices are both quick service and sit down places, and pizza delivery. The Deluxes have closer proximity to the parks, but not all are on the monorail line. Pools are usually much bigger and have slides and hot tubs too, the Yacht and Beach Club have their own waterpark. Room service is available in addition to the two other choices. We're snobs who won't do Value at all, its just too overcrowded and seems noisier. Our favorite Moderate is Port Orleans, Riverside, the kids prefer the pool there over any of the others. The Beach Club is our favorite resort of any of them, though we haven't tried the Grand Floridian yet. The pool area just can't be beat, it's within walking distance to Epcot and we just like feeling spoiled when we stay there.

[mommy2jays]

We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter, and loved it. We also like Marriotts and Hiltons, and this hotel was clean and quaint. The difference we found between French Quarter and Riverside was that French Quarter is a smaller property and therefore easier to manage in terms of having little ones with you who may not necessarily feel like walking 10 minutes to get breakfast...

 

We love Disney with the kids, we've done it 3 years in a row. This year we stayed on property and will never do it any different in the future. WHen you stay at a Disney resort you get a true feeling of the Disney experience. Your family is going to love this vacation, Disney and a cruise - our 2 favorite vacations!

[Ula]

I have a question, if we decide to fly in to FL two days early how far is Disney from Miami or Ft Lauderdale. Both my husband and I grew up with Anaheim Disney, it would be nice to see Walt's dream.

I grew up 3 miles from Disneyland. My mom was at Disneyland the day it opened. We have a Panama Canal cruise booked in 09 so will fly to FL.

[4cruizers]

I have a question, if we decide to fly in to FL two days early how far is Disney from Miami or Ft Lauderdale. Both my husband and I grew up with Anaheim Disney, it would be nice to see Walt's dream.

I grew up 3 miles from Disneyland. My mom was at Disneyland the day it opened. We have a Panama Canal cruise booked in 09 so will fly to FL.

Are you flying into MCO (Orlando?) To get to Miami from Disney you can count on 3 1/2 to 4 hours. We are driving to the Port of Miami in 8 days. YEAH!

[jkrislc]

We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter, and loved it. We also like Marriotts and Hiltons, and this hotel was clean and quaint. The difference we found between French Quarter and Riverside was that French Quarter is a smaller property and therefore easier to manage in terms of having little ones with you who may not necessarily feel like walking 10 minutes to get breakfast...

 

And the busses are always empty when they come to pickup because the FQ is the first on the route. We stayed there, too, and enjoyed it very much.

 

To the OP, my take on the three levels of the resorts (value, moderate, deluxe) is motel, Holiday Inn, Hilton/Hyatt, respectively. With the value resorts, you won't have a refridgerator in the room and you may not have a table with chairs. You also wont have a sit down restaurant. What's important to remember, however, is that all the rooms are the same for each category of hotel. For example, all moderate resorts will have the same size room, same configuration, etc. The only difference will be the theme.

 

If you do make a stay at DW, I highly recommend visiting the discussion boards mentioned above. Also with little ones, it's worth staying on property. If you book through Disney, you'll be able to check your bags at your home airport and you wont see them again until they arrive at your room; they pick them up off the luggage carousel for you. Also transportation is include to the resort and everything is well organized. In addition, they have a dining program that is worth adding on. For about $39 a day, we got one sitdown meal, one counter service meal, and a snack. The sitdown meal alone would have cost us $60 each if we weren't on the dining plan. The only drawback is you'll need to make reservations in advance.

 

We did DW with our son when he was four months old and I can't think of a better place to go with little ones.

 

Enjoy!

[lucyddr]

"With the value resorts, you won't have a refridgerator in the room and you may not have a table with chairs. You also wont have a sit down restaurant. What's important to remember, however, is that all the rooms are the same for each category of hotel. For example, all moderate resorts will have the same size room, same configuration, etc. The only difference will be the theme."

 

I've stayed in 3 of the 4 value resorts, all 4 moderates, and several deluxes. The value resorts all have a small table with 2 chairs as well as a small fridge. While they don't have sit down restaurants, they have large food courts.

 

My overall take is to pick what's important to you. When we go to Disney (which used to be monthly when we lived in FL), we stayed in a deluxe when our plans were to hang around at the pool all day and enjoy resort activities. We also like Animal Kingdom for sitting on the balcony watching the animals... If we are going to be at the parks just some of the time, we stay at the moderates. And, if we plan on being at the parks from morning until after the fireworks every day then we just stay in the value resorts. It just all depends on how many of the resort amenities you plan to use...

[Nekochan]

One time I stayed at the swan. Another year I stayed at a value resort (sports). The next year I stayed at the Poly. I will never, never, never go anywhere but a resort on the monorail line again if I'm doing Disney, although taking the boat to Epcot was fun. I LOVED the poly, it's beautiful, with a great pool, a view of the magic kingdom and a special water parade at night, not to mention their special drink (lapu lapu - kind of a mai tai on steroids). The polynesian is also the only place other than adventureland in MK where you can get a dole whip (an addicting pineapple ice cream sort of thing).

 

If you are staying at a moderate or a value, I would strongly suggest renting a car. Using the bus, while convenient for not driving, really takes huge chunks of time out of the day. If you are staying at a monorail resort, you don't need a car as much.

 

My favorite 'hidden treasure' at Epcot is in innoventions - the plastic works company. You get to design your own robot, run him/her in a race, and then get a free plastic robot at the end. That's right - there's actually something free at disney.

 

In addition to the websites (allears.net, disboards, intercot) you can go to your library and take out a guidebook on Disney - I like the 'unofficial guide'.

 

Also, although both DL and WDW have some of the same rides, I have heard there are differences (tiki room is DEFINITELY different) - for example the pirates of the caribbean ride at DL is longer or something like that.

 

Good luck and enjoy

Heidi

[thunderbird1]

Posted on your other thread, but thought I'd elaborate a little more over here. I agree with jkrislc's description of the differences between the types of hotels. In cruise terms, I'd call values an inside stateroom, moderates an ocean view, and deluxes a balcony. You'll get the same Disney service at every level, but the higher up you go, the more luxurious it will feel and the more amenities you will have.

 

Your kids are old enough that I wouldn't consider being on the monorail a necessity. If you prefer to save some money and go value or moderate (something we almost always do because we like to stay longer), your kids are young enough that they would still enjoy either the moderates or the values. Of these two categories, our favorites are Port Orleans French Quarter and Pop Century.

 

POFQ is our favorite mod because it's smaller than most of the other resorts, it only has one bus stop (it shares busses with PO Riverside, but FQ is the first stop), and it has multiple transportation options (boat to Downtown Disney in addition to the busses). The other mods are much larger, so they have multiple bus stops, which means they can be full by the time they get to you. I also didn't like the way the front desk at Caribbean Beach Resort was separate from the rest of the resort. It was very inconvenient for stopping by the front desk for whatever reason. But POFQ doesn't have a sit down restaurant, which some people don't like.

 

Pop Century is our favorite value because it's the newest value and only has one bus stop. The All-Stars (music, movies and sports) share busses most of the time, which I don't like unless we're the first stop (I think Sports is the first stop on the All Stars route). We also like the theming at POP, though some complain that it's not as "Disney" as the All Stars, particularly AS Movies. Others like that it's not as "in-your-face Disney" as Movies--it's all just a matter of personal preference.

 

Let me know if you have any more questions. Obviously, I love to talk about Disney, LOL!