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long summer vacation to Orlando?

Hello there. My husband and I plan a long summer vacation every year for the month of July. Last year we went to Europe. This year we are planning on going to the Orlando area for our vacation. This will be our first trip to Orlando and Disney World. We’ve done our homework and know about the EMH Disney offers, so we will be staying in a Disney resort while in the Disney area (Polynesian), then we will switch to a hotel across the street of Downtown Disney (Hyatt Grand regency resort). Has anyone stayed in those resorts? How are they? We will be driving there, so we’ll have our car to do our activities while not in the parks. We’ve researched things to do on international drive, and picked out a bunch. Our kids ages are 8 and 11. My question is: could you take a look at our itinerary and tell me if you think its too busy? Should we extend our vacation a few days longer? What should we keep in and take out? What are your experiences? I want to get everything figured out so we can start booking our dining reservations (character dining, etc…) and do you have any Orlando tips you would like to share with me? what type of activites/ snacks should we pack for the car ride? any answers and advice would help greatly! June 29: drive all night (13 hours) June 30: Check into hotel around noon, Mall of Millenia, Pirates Dinner Adventure July 1: Downtown Disney (Disney Quest, shopping, Cirque Du Soleil) July 2: Blizzard Beach July 3: Magic Kingdom (9-11) July 4: Magic Kingdom (9-1) July 5: Animal Kingdom (9-10) July 6: Funspot action center, Skyventure: indoor skydiving, movie July 7: Hollywood Studios (9-11) July 8: Epcot (9-12) July 9: Typhoon Lagoon July 10: WonderWorks, Gatorland zoo, titanic- the experience July 11: Magic Kingdom (9-1) July 12: beach day- Cocoa Beach, oldtown July 13: Epcot (9-12) July 14: favorite Disney park July 15: check into new hotel, hang around hotel July 16: wet n wild July 17: Islands of Adventure July 18: Universal Studios July 19: Ripleys! Believe it or not museum, largest McDonalds, City Walk July 20: Sea World July 21: Discovery Cove July 22: hang around hotel July 23: Kennedy Space Center July 24: drive home all day (13 hours)

Public Comments

1. wow..sounds like you got it all planned outt
2. Well, for the car ride, definitely bring easy to pack snacks (we brought fruit-rollups, cracker, goldfish etc. ) and some drinks that didn't have to be refrigerated. You should also bring pillows, a portable dvd player if you have one, and a good book. We just drove to Disney from Texas, and i'll tell you that the car ride can get boring. And along the way, try not to eat at too many fast-food places. You get sick of eating fast-food, and it's good to take a break and get really good food at a restaurant. Let the kids out whenever you make a pit stop because they'll have a ton of energy to get rid of. I see that you're going to Magic Kingdom. Good pick! There's something everyone will like there. But during the day it gets VERY crowded, so just be conscious of that. And if you want to goto Space mountain, you will definitely need to get a fastpass! And since you're staying at a hotel, you will be able to stay in the Parks later on select nights, which means they'll be less crowded! And the waterparks you're going to are great! I suggest you bring a lunch because the lines to eat there can get very long (we had to wait over 30min one time). Be sure to grab a table or some chairs before you go have fun because they'll be gone before you know it. Now, when you go to Animal Kingdom, if you want to go on Expedition Everest (which is the BEST ride EVER next to Space Mountain), i suggest you get there early to get fastpasses, and if you're early enough you can probably get right on! And if you don't mind going alone, there's a single rider line which is much faster! And when you go to Epcot, the Innovations area closes at 7, so be sure to check it out! And the Spaceship Earth is a must! Hollywood Studios is a great park, but after awhile there isn't too much to do for the kids. If you like shows, then Hollywood Studios is the place to go! And the Great Movie ride is amazing, so you should definitely go on that! Now, here are the places that have good food in the parks ( we always eat at these places) : In Magic Kingdom, we eat at Pinnochio's Place; Hollywood Studios, we eat at Pizza Planet (good pizza); at Epcot, the countries each have their own special food, so you can eat chinese, mexican, or even italian food; and in Animal Kingdom, there is a little food shop near the Everest ride, and they serve THE BEST fried rice! Some other suggestions : i do think your schedule is a bit packed. We went to Parks for 5 days straight, gettin' up early and stayin' out late, and it tooks its toll. We were very tired, and I didn't even go to a Park one day because i didn't feel good. So spend at least a day hangin' out and goin' to the pool. Also, for character dining, the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom is a great place. And there's another character dining resturant in The Land, which is in Epcot, but i'm not sure what it's called. But there are characters that constantly come to your table, and get this: the resturant MOVES! You see different scenery as you rotate while sitting. It's amazing! And while you're at Epcot, if you want to go on Soarin', you NEED a fastpass! Or else you'll be waiting in line for over an hour and a half. Downtown Disney is really fun, and there are many interactive sites. And both the Rainforest Cafe and T-Rex Cafe are AMAZING places to eat.I know for a fact you're summer will be fun, so enjoy it!
3. your itinerary looks good, kind of packed, but fun. On the days were your not going to the parks and hanging around international drive, I would suggest sleeping in those days. Waking up every day to go to the parks etc will take its toll. So you'll enjoy it if you get to sleep in every 2-3 days. tips: - Im not sure if your planning to eat at at every meal, but you could save some money by packing breakfast foods and eating there. (bagels, poptarts, cereal, granola bars, muffins, etc...) and you could pack some snacks to take in the park and eat as lunch (granola bars, chips, crackers, cookies, etc...) You could also get the Disney Dining plan. It allows one sit down, one service, and one snack a day. If your family eats a lot of food, then this would work for you. (and save some money within the park) - bring along a container of water bottles. Every day in the parks, each person should bring along an unopened water bottle to the parks. And you can always refill them at water fountains around the parks, that would also save some money (and some time) looking and buying a water bottle when you get hot. Its also better because you dont want to get dehydrated and sick while at DW! - make a plan of what you want to see first in each park. and do those attractions first. here's a list of the most crowded attractions in each park: Magic Kingdom- Space mountain, Splash mountain, Thunder mountain, and Peter Pans flight. Epcot- Soarin' (this should be your FIRST ride of the day), Test Track, and Mission:Space. Hollywood Studios: Toy Story mania (this should be your FIRST ride of the day), Rock n roller coaster, and tower of terror Animal Kingdom: animal safari ride (this isnt that bad of a wait, but the later/hotter it gets in the day, the less animals you will see. ALWAYS go on this in the morning), Expedition Everest (should be one of your first attractions), Dinosaur, and the water ride (cant remember the name- sorry) - wear comfortable shoes. Your feet WILL thank you. Remember: you will walking around for a majority of the day- if you wear flip flops or sandles, your feet will hurt and you'll be gettubg blisters halfway through the day. NOT FUN! - wear lots of sunscreen. Florida's summer weather is hot hot HOT! if you've never been to Florida before, you will be surprised! it might be unbearable so wear loose comfortable clothing and sunscreen (and a hat if you have them). - Since your going to have lots of time in the parks, I would suggest going back to your hotel during lunchtime. The kids could swim in the pool or have some tv time while the parents relax and take a nap. It will cool everyone down from the summer heat and you'll be away from the crowds for a couple hours. - try to see as many fireworks shows as you can each night and the parades during the day. But remember, if you see those during the first day, you can have fun the other days/nights your at the same park. Many people will go see the fireworks or parades. which leaves you time to get into a shorter line for an attraction while the parade is going on. for activities in the car I would bring a portable DVD player and portable game systems, if the kids have one. You could do sing-along songs for a half hour and you could play games like car bingo, license plate game, 20 questions, or card games. They could color, do word searches, or mad libs. Also- since your going to Disney you test their Disney knowledge and play some Disney World trivia. Make sure when you go to rest stops that you let the kids run around for about 15 minutes. to kids, sitting in a car for a long time is a cruel and unusual punishment. ha. try not to stop at fast food the whole time your on the road. Go to sit down restaurants (they dont have to be expensive) so that way every has some time out of the car and something yummy to eat. As far as snacks go, I would pack some crackers, goldfish, or gummys for the kids. Maybe make it Disney orientated? They do sell disney gummys and disney teddy grahams. Bring snacks your kids- and yourself- will munch on when they get a hungry tummy. Also bring a healthy snack (not that the kids would WANT to eat it) like apples or bananas. Pack fruit juices along with water. But since your on the road at night driving to Orlando, Im sure the kids would want to sleep. So that would be easy. But on the way home, make sure you have plenty of games and activities to keep them occupied. A parent hates hearing "im boreddd." "are we there yet?" coming from the back seat. your going to have a great summer vacation! I just love Disney World!
4. i think a way to save you some time would be to do everything in orlando at the begining of your trip and the last three days head over to cocoa beach area and stay at a hotel there. we stay at Four Points next to ron johns, then you can go to Kennedy space center on the last day and not have to drive another hour out there after being in that area on the 12 and then going back on the 23 you could make all the stuff on the space coast the last three days. We always visit the space coast the last few days of our trip because after running around Orlando with the kids gets exhausting and being at the beach is the adult vacation being able to relax under an umbrella, if i didn't get that time on the beach before i came home i would need a vacation from my vacation. if you are looking for a restruant my familys favorite one in cocoa beach for lunch is Capt J's Ocean Deck Restaurant & Beach Club. right behind ron johns next to the beach sit upstairs on the roof deck. another thing that could be fun is surf lessons for the kids or all of you. there are plenty of places that give lessons and if you don't think the kids can handle surf boards just yet at least get some boogie boards even my two year old loves to get on the boggie board. have fun!!!
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