Disney Experts - Advice for a family Disney World trip?

Capt Bob Abbott — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 15:46:48 -0400

One of the finer things of being in the military was a month of leave per year. Couple that with the discounts offered by the mouse house and I know a lot of vets have gone to Disney World. I don't want to know what some civvy puke knows about the Magic Kingdom (sarcasm, btw). I want to know how a warrior conquers that combat zone.

Ok, seriously, taking the kids and wife to Orlando for a week in June. Any good pointers? I used to live in Tampa and had season passes for a year, so I'm somewhat familiar with the place. Mostly I need advice on keeping food costs low and any timing/transportation tricks with the new FastPass+ thing Disney is doing. Help a brother out? Even if I'm Air Force? ;-)

Response by CPO Jason Meier made Apr 20 at 2015 6:06 PM

CPO Jason Meier — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 18:06:18 -0400

My wife and I spend a lot of time at the mouse house. Prior to moving to Orlando we would go during either September or December. I know you said you were coming in June, but sometimes they will offer a free dining plan in September. Other than that I would highly recommend pricing out the Disney Dining Plan if you are staying on site. If you are staying at Shades of Green, I do not believe they offer the dining plan. That being said, for her and I without the dining plan would budget $150 per day. This covered a light breakfast, quick service style lunch (fast food type), then one sit down meal for dinner. That is for all in park dining.

Another option is to pack a small cooler and take it with you in the park. You can take pretty much anything in as far as food and drinks go. We always opted for not taking anything that would not fit in a locker at the front of the parks. Locker rentals are between $12 - $15 (includes $5 key deposit) a day, then you get the key deposit back when you return the key.

Here is a helpful site to help plan your attack: https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/crowd-calendar/

September 2015 Orlando Crowd Calendar

The Orlando crowd calendar shows you the best days to visit each theme park. Find special events, opening hours, holidays and more to help plan your trip.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 2 at 2015 1:45 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 01:45:44 -0500

Keeping costs down: Shades of Green offers discount tickets, Getting a meal plan from a Disney resort will save money because cost of food is high, Using resort busing is convenient and cheap, Fast Pass is awesome to speed through lines, Disney has apps for your phone that only work in the park. I believe you can use it to see how long lines are in parts of the park, You can get your children in the Magic Kingdom parade if you arrive early enough to enter your name. Turn right as soon as you enter the park. Its next to the Fire Station, Disney offers military huge discounts on resort stays...almost 50% and its so convenient. Best part....Disney is clean and magically for the kids. Well worth the time and money spent. June however is a busy time for the park. The best time to go is Sept through Feb if you can get your kids out of school. Enjoy!