# Vacation Packages?



## Supe (Oct 24, 2010)

I know some of you are far more bargain-hunter saavy than I am. Anyone have some good leads on Florida vacation packages?

Looking for something along the lines of 3 day/2 night for three adults and a kiddo. The idea is to let Junior hit a Disney park for a day or two, meet all her princesses, thereby making me her hero for life, and on the last day, Supe gets to act like a kid in Universal Islands of Adventure whil junior gets to follow Grandma around.

Everything I seem to come across is either - a) no real bargain when you break it down, or B) some bullsh*t timeshare garbage.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Oct 24, 2010)

I've never found travel packages to be much of a bargain. I just do the standard stuff, try to go offseason, try to go mid week, use flyer miles or a companion ticket if I have them, stay at a no frills motel, get my breakfast and lunch stuff from the grocery store instead of eating out, etc.


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## Dexman PE (Oct 24, 2010)

For 3 days of activities, you really should be looking more into a 5day-4night package, simply because you have to discount the first and last days as "travel" days, especially with little ones involved.

I'm always a fan of using Orbitz or other similar sites for airfare and hotel accomodations as they tend to give decent discounts. Are they the best, no, but they still give decent rates. The only real way to get bargan basement rates is to do what VTE said with "off peak" travel times (mid-week, off seasons).


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## Road Guy (Oct 25, 2010)

when we have gone to Orlando we generally stay in one of the bigger hotels off Disney (but ones that have shuttle services) you can generally get a suite type hotel with free breakfeast for ,$100/night. and your pretty much stuck with the parks ticket fees I think..


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## MA_PE (Oct 25, 2010)

If your a member of AAA, contact them and tell them what you're trying to do. AAA has their own discounts and can act like a travel agent for you. Also, it wouldn't hurt to call a trvael agent and see if they can put together a good package. Disney offers some attractive package deals staying in one of the park hotels.

Also, If you're a veteran, I believe Disney gives military discounts, too.

Like others have said, you get your best deals during off-peak times.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Oct 25, 2010)

I know a great engineer in Orlando who could show you around town...


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## Chucktown PE (Oct 25, 2010)

Supe,

1st, you're a good man. I haven't even taken my own kids to Disney World, although I want to take them soon. 2nd, I'm guessing this is going to earn you lots of favors from your lady friend. Is it a suprise? 3rd, the friends I know that have taken their kids all drove down over a Sunday, went to the park during the weekdays, and said that there is usually some kind of special on tickets that you can plan around. Also, they said to bring your own food/drink into the parks, bananas and waters are something like $4 each.


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## Dexman PE (Oct 26, 2010)

Another thing to consider for lodging, is look into vacation rentals (ie, apartments / condos) or people trying to sell their timeshares. My wife and I got a 2 bedroom fully furnished apartment on the beach in San Diego a few years ago for $75/night. Granted, it was a little bit of a drive to anything we wanted to do, but the money saved on the lodging went a long way towards paying for things to do &amp; food.

There are tons of websites out there with people trying to sell their timeshares (especially during off-peak times), and because everyone seems to be strapped for cash you can get some pretty screaming deals simply because any money they get back is better than nothing. You would end up with a full week in the room, but remember that the room is only reserved for the full time, you don't have to use it and the cheaper rates offset the fact you're not using it full time.


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## cement (Oct 26, 2010)

^vrbo is a good site for those apartments.

but if you really want to make it a special trip for your little girl, there is nothing like a character breakfast at snow white's castle. if you book directly with disney there are some pretty good deals too.


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## jeb6294 (Oct 26, 2010)

A couple years ago we went mi-to-late September. That must be the best time to go because I think the longest line we had at any park was about 15 minutes and that was for the jungle boat thing at Disney. The last day we actually left by about noon because we had done everything multiple times. A couple other tips. If it's hot, you can get free ice water at any of the McDonalds french fry stands and the best place to get your picture with Mickey is at Hollywood Studios in the back of the art gallery type thing (where you can get the cells). When we went there was no one in line at all.



Road Guy said:


> when we have gone to Orlando we generally stay in one of the bigger hotels off Disney (but ones that have shuttle services) you can generally get a suite type hotel with free breakfeast for ,$100/night. and your pretty much stuck with the parks ticket fees I think..


We stayed at one of those...the Doubletree I think? It was nice having the shuttle, but they don't run as often as the park shuttles so figure about 45-minutes to an hour for travel time. I've heard a military ID gets you free parking so if we go again, we'll either stay at one of the Disney hotels or stay at a condo and just drive.



cement said:


> ^vrbo is a good site for those apartments.
> but if you really want to make it a special trip for your little girl, there is nothing like a character breakfast at snow white's castle. if you book directly with disney there are some pretty good deals too.


I know they are always offering deals. In fact, no lie, as I was writing this my wife just forwarded me an email she just got offering discounts (25-40%) at some of the Disney resorts for trips between 1/2/11 to 4/16/11 and 5/1/11 to 6/5/11 and I know they are always doing free meal plan deals.


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## Supe (Oct 29, 2010)

Thanks for the suggestions. My parents have AAA, so I may be able to book some stuff through them, or at least get discounted tickets in advance for some of it.

If I can muster something together, the plan will be to drive down on November 10th, hit Disney on the 11th (my birthday), Universal on the 12th, and shoot back home that Saturday the 13th. I need to be back a bit sooner than planned due to work scheduling. I think one full day at Disney will more than suffice, and I could do without Epcot or the Animal Kingdom crap. It's my understanding that this falls in the "best time to go" range, as prices go up and so does the congestion between Thanksgiving and Christmas, since all of the holiday decorations and activities are in place by then.

The nice thing is that MIAF's mother was able to get some time off as well, so she'll be able to chip in a few bucks for gas/hotel and presumably cover the costs of her own tickets, while acting as a full-time babysitter the second day at Universal so I can have some fun.


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## cableguy (Nov 1, 2010)

Our latest trip to Disney was last year. My wife (yes, I still love her anyway) got us a 6 day 5 night package.

If you love your family, DO NOT STAY AT FREAKING DISNEY FOR A WEEK. You will go nuts. I was done after 4 days. Ready to go home. The last couple days were miserable. There was whining, weeping, hunger pains for regular food, tired and cranky, and heck - that was just me. The kids were worse. We left on a Sunday when other people were arriving. On Saturday we were the zombie family sitting on a bus full of bouncing new arrivals.

Wife asks about the 'next' trip to Disney. I tell her to have fun with her mom &amp; the kids. See ya babe.  LOL.


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## roadwreck (Nov 1, 2010)

I was at Disney World two days ago. We had free passes (give a day get a day volunteer program). We only spent one day at the Magic Kingdom. My wife borrowed some guide book from the library which had tips on how to get the most out of your time there. It also gave you info on when the best time to go is (i.e. when the crowds are the smallest). This is supposed to be the quiet time of year, but by late afternoon it certainly felt like the park was full.

One of the most handy things in the guide book was a schedule on how to proceed through the park in order to hit all the major attractions before the lines get crazy long. That in combination with the fast passes (system where you get a "ticket" to come back to a ride later and skip past a lot of the line) we were able to get on all the major rides, multiple times with little to no waiting. We did space mountain and thunder mountain each three times and did most of the other major attractions at least once.

The best tip is to get to the park early. The park opened at 9 the day we went, but we had already parked, gotten our tickets, ridden the monorail and made it to the gates by 8:30. They let you through the gate before the park opens, but kind of keep you corralled near the front until they officially opened. If you get their before their official opening though get through the gates then ask to use the restroom. The restrooms are inside the actual park, so they let you in. Once inside you are free to roam around main street. None of the attractions are open (and the other areas in the park are actually roped off) but you have full access to main street which makes it a good time to take pictures in front of the castle (you are free to walk all the way to the castle) before the crowds get there. Plus you don't feel rushed since there is no where to go at that point.


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## Supe (Nov 1, 2010)

Good tips. I've always been a "get there as early as humanly possible" kind of guy when it comes to theme parks. Any way you could check with your wife on the name of the book?

If we go, we are now schedule limited by both my and MIAF's mother's schedules. It would be down on the 11th, Magic Kingdom on the 12th, Universal Islands of Adventure on the 13th, then drive back on the 14th, so that's what I have to work with.


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## roadwreck (Nov 1, 2010)

Supe said:


> Any way you could check with your wife on the name of the book?


I'll ask.


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## MA_PE (Nov 1, 2010)

cableguy said:


> Our latest trip to Disney was last year. My wife (yes, I still love her anyway) got us a 6 day 5 night package.
> If you love your family, DO NOT STAY AT FREAKING DISNEY FOR A WEEK. You will go nuts. I was done after 4 days. Ready to go home. The last couple days were miserable. There was whining, weeping, hunger pains for regular food, tired and cranky, and heck - that was just me. The kids were worse. We left on a Sunday when other people were arriving. On Saturday we were the zombie family sitting on a bus full of bouncing new arrivals.
> 
> Wife asks about the 'next' trip to Disney. I tell her to have fun with her mom &amp; the kids. See ya babe.  LOL.


We went for a week back about 15 years ago when my kids were ~4 and 5. QWe stayed at the carribean beach resort (a disney hotel). We'd get up early and pick a park and get there shortly after opening. Lines wern't too bad and the kids were fascinated by the place. We bopped around until ~supper time and then headed back towards the room. We'd eat supper, wash the kids and get them ready for bed by 7:30-8:00 (which was their normal bedtime). I was toting around my 8mm video camera and we'd watch the 20-30min. I taped that day with the kids in bed. They crashed watching it and I'd grab a beer and the local newspapaer and sit by the pool for an hour or so while my wife watched tv in room with the kids. I'd go back and hit the hay and we'd start the whole process around 7-8 the next morning. It worked out great. I'm a tourist and I love that crap anyway. We liked Epcot so much we went back 2-3 different days. We had park hopping passes so the last couple day or two s we visited our favorite things. We spent one day at bliizard beach and went out of disney for one day at Sea World. great time! Too bad they're o0lder now so I can't do it all over again.


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## cement (Nov 1, 2010)

^Wow,

that is pretty darn close to my experience. same time frame too. I swear I enjoyed it as much as the kids did. Disney and epcot are great, and we really enjoyed Diney Universal studios. we hit it at off season and would run the tower of terror 3 times, then the aerosmith roller coaster three times. The star wars ride is awesome too. I love all the detail and care they put into all the attractions, main street, the rides, the restaurants, even the queues for the rides set the mood for the experience. well worth it.

now I gotta wait 10 or 15 years for grandkids to drag down there ldtimer:


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## roadwreck (Nov 1, 2010)

roadwreck said:


> Supe said:
> 
> 
> > Any way you could check with your wife on the name of the book?
> ...


It was _The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2010_

http://www.amazon.com/Unofficial-Guide-Dis...s/dp/0470460261


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## Supe (Nov 2, 2010)

Sweet, thanks!


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## chaosiscash (Nov 2, 2010)

We went (just the wife and I) last October for a few days. We had a great time, but I would guess its a completely different experience with kids. The international food and wine festival at Epcot during October was awesome.


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## Paul S (Nov 2, 2010)

Has anyone here been to Universal with young kids? Myself, Mrs. S, and the 3 girls (4 to 8) are going again before Easter next year, and that will be the 4th year in a row. I typically get a new Disney or Orlando book every year, and each year we talk about Universal, but after reading the books it seems that Universal doesn't have much for young kids, and the park is split in two with the small kid stuff split between the 2 parks. For the 5 of us to go for one day is expensive: 1 day at both parks is $112 per adult and $104 per kids. I usually get 7 day passes for the Disney parks since the cost per day goes way down once you get that many days (about $33 per day).

Supe, I think junior (who I believe is 4?) would have a great time at Disney World and either Epcot, Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios. :2cents:

Whatever you end up doing you will all have a great time!


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## Supe (Nov 2, 2010)

Paul S said:


> Has anyone here been to Universal with young kids? Myself, Mrs. S, and the 3 girls (4 to 8) are going again before Easter next year, and that will be the 4th year in a row. I typically get a new Disney or Orlando book every year, and each year we talk about Universal, but after reading the books it seems that Universal doesn't have much for young kids, and the park is split in two with the small kid stuff split between the 2 parks. For the 5 of us to go for one day is expensive: 1 day at both parks is $112 per adult and $104 per kids. I usually get 7 day passes for the Disney parks since the cost per day goes way down once you get that many days (about $33 per day).
> Supe, I think junior (who I believe is 4?) would have a great time at Disney World and either Epcot, Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios. :2cents:
> 
> Whatever you end up doing you will all have a great time!



Agreed. That's why MIAF's mother would come with us. If we got a hotel with a shuttle to the parks, MIAF and I could go to IoA, while grandma and junior could either go to one of the other Disney parks or walk around Universal. There are still some family oriented rides, like the ET stuff, etc.


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## Supe (Jun 6, 2013)

OK, resurrecting this thread as the previous one didn't pan out.

July 16 and 17 I will be at the Disney Coronado Resort for a work conference. This will be our one shot to get Junior down there. Plan is for me to fly down on Monday, work Tuesday and half of Wednesday, with the GF and Junior driving down most likely on Tuesday.

Unfortunately, we won't have grandma this time, so that rules out most of the adult ride opportunities for me. Plan is to stay at the resort while it's on the company's dime, and if I can't milk a decent rate out of them for an additional two nights, shoot over to a cheaper hotel.

So, if you had to plan a Wednesday evening, Thursday, Friday three day trip to Disney/Universal, how would you approach it with two adults and one kiddo? Can POSSIBLY stretch it out to Saturday. Keep in mind, she's 6 and fairly tall for her age, so at our local amusement park, she was tall enough to ride everything but the most adult rides/coasters.

I'm on the fence with Universal. They've upped their prices quite a bit, and the new Harry Potter setup is really the main point of interest. Magic Kingdom is a must, and Epcot sounds like it should probably be on the list as well.


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## Master slacker (Jun 6, 2013)

> Walt Disney Co raised single-day admission prices as much as 6.7 percent over the weekend at its theme parks in Florida and California, hikes that are more than five times the rate of inflation.
> 
> Higher prices for Disney's theme parks have become an annual tradition. The theme parks and resortsunit provided 20 percent of the company's overall profits in the financial year that ended in September 2012, second only to the company's media unit that includes the behemoth sports channel ESPN.
> 
> As of Sunday, *one-day entry to Disney's Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida, costs $95 for a person age 10 or older*, a 6.7 percent increase.


http://news.yahoo.com/disney-hikes-prices-u-theme-parks-033347168.html

I have not yet achieved baller status to afford that. Yikes!


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## Flyer_PE (Jun 6, 2013)

Supe said:


> OK, resurrecting this thread as the previous one didn't pan out.
> 
> July 16 and 17 I will be at the Disney Coronado Resort for a work conference. This will be our one shot to get Junior down there. Plan is for me to fly down on Monday, work Tuesday and half of Wednesday, with the GF and Junior driving down most likely on Tuesday.
> 
> ...




We did a 4-day trip there in November. We picked up park hopper tickets and kind of winged it. The only real plan we had was to pick which park we were starting the day at with the plan to move on to another one if we (meaning my son) got bored. After being told by a couple of other families with kids similar in age, we kind of figured Epcot would be a short day and Hollywood Studios would be a long one. Of all the things in the parks, my son had the best time playing a Phineas and Ferb game at Epcot. It's basically a treasure hunt game spread across the park. We ended up spending over a day there. Hollywood studios wound up being a half-day and he was ready to go do something else.

There seems to be quite a few sites dedicated to setting up packages for Disney. We set ours up through www.undercovertourist.com.


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## Supe (Jun 6, 2013)

Yeah, I read that the other day. From what I hear, Universal is even higher than Disney. If I wasn't already down there for work with two three nights hotel stay paid for, I wouldn't even be considering it, especially during the peak of summer. But I figure we've been promising Junior for years now, so I may as well get her down there at an age where she'll a) remember it, and b) appreciate it.


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## ALBin517 (Jun 6, 2013)

My cousin did travel in Orlando for years. They advised their clients to hit theme parks on Sundays. Most people are traveling (in or out) on Sundays so crowds at parks are usually small.

To minimize food costs, we would do a big breakfast before arriving at the park. Then go like heck for the first couple hours when the park opens - hit all the rides and activities that will have huge lines later in the day.


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## Supe (Jun 6, 2013)

ALBin517 said:


> My cousin did travel in Orlando for years. They advised their clients to hit theme parks on Sundays. Most people are traveling (in or out) on Sundays so crowds at parks are usually small.
> 
> To minimize food costs, we would do a big breakfast before arriving at the park. Then go like heck for the first couple hours when the park opens - hit all the rides and activities that will have huge lines later in the day.




While I'd love to be able to do that, work schedule won't permit it. We're going to be forced to drive home on Sunday if not Saturday.

In doing a little reading, it seems like Universal will be a waste of time until she's a bit older/taller and can ride everything with us. Flyer - that site is great, especially the "Frog tour" which tells you what to hit in what order, and where to use the fast pass. I think we'll probably end up doing the 4 day hopper option, as it comes with a free fifth day just in case, and if there's something she really likes more than the other, we won't be locked into it. She'd probably prefer Animal Kingdom over Universal.


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## Flyer_PE (Jun 6, 2013)

^If you end up moving to a different hotel, we had pretty good luck with Pop Century. Nothing really special but the rooms were clean and my son liked the pool.


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## ventilator (Jun 6, 2013)

I live about 2 hours from all the Disney stuff so we make a few trips a year. Here are my experiences with my kids, 2 and 4 years.

- magic kingdom is the favorite with them and everybody else, lines will be the longest here definitely go during a weekday, they just opened a new area called fantasy land, get there when the park opens and go straight there or forget about it

- animal kingdom they enjoyed especially the younger one because of all the animals. There is a lot more walking here. If you want to do a character lunch or dinner call here as they are the least busy, magic kingdom character meals book up 6+ months in advance. At 40" my daughter could not ride many of the attractions, but they have a lot of fun shows so plan your day around those

- epcot nobody really likes except for my wife. I just think its boring b/c the kids don't have a lot to do and the rides are pretty lame IMO

- haven't been to Universal since Harry Potter opened but I know a lot of people who have, they all thought it was great but it is always busy

If you want to stay at Disney they have hotels like 'all start sports resort' which are basically a holiday inn type hotel, basic two beds, bath, and tv, nothing Disney about them but they are 90-100 a night but you will still have to drive or ride the bus to get places.

Look just off Disney for a place to stay, there is a Radisson resort that is pretty neat for kids and adults nearby, but was recently under construction.

All the parks allow food so take snacks for the kid and drinks for everybody.

If you want to know more let me know, I've been in and out of Disney since I was born since we've always lived no more than 2 hours away.


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## Supe (Jul 22, 2013)

OK, so got back from a looong week at Disney. A couple observations:

-Magic Kingdom is pretty disappointing nowadays. The whole thing feels very dated, and the attempts at updating seem very forced, e.g. the "updated" Pirates of the Caribbean ride just sticks Barbosa on the boat and Jack Sparrow is sitting in a chair at the end of the ride.

-Where are all the f*cking characters? Junior wanted desperately to meet the Disney princesses. When I was a kid, you couldn't walk five feet without tripping over them. Now, you've got to pay $100 for a meal for three to be able to see any of them. Total ripoff. There aren't any characters even walking around the parks anymore, it's all scheduled autograph sessions that you stand in line for.

-Rides were surprisingly doable. Over the course of the weekend, we only waited longer than 20 minutes for one ride (Tower of Terror). We did get lucky in that the GF got a hand-written cut-in-line fast pass for waiting forever for one of the transportation buses (over an hour), and so we cheated Space Mountain with that one. Use the Fast Passes strategically, and don't wait until the end of the day to get them for the good rides. Between 12-3 PM, fast passes for the good rides were "sold out" for the day.

-The resorts are worth the money if you can afford it. Junior and the GF spent two full days at the pool. For an extra $20/night you get a free continental breakfast (skimpy but better than nothing), and free beer, cheese, crackers in the evening. I got my $'s worth in Heinekens. Bus transportation is pretty good with some exceptions, and saves you the $15 for parking at each park. Also, by booking tickets through the hotel, you get a discount on par or better than you can find online, and they also gave us free admission to one of the water parks. For three people, that's $180 savings right there, and I think we had a better time at Typhoon Lagoon than anywhere else.

-If you've got young kids, go to Hollywood Studios (we ended up skipping Epcot). I had no idea that this was the old MGM. Plenty of chances to meet cast and characters, and most of the attractions are movie/live based performances, so the line moves in HUGE chunks. With a couple of exceptions (Rockin' Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror), most of the other rides are on a continuous loop, so they too move quickly (Haunted Mansion, etc.). You can actually do everything worth while in this park in a single day, and most of the lines are air conditioned along the way.

-Bring water shoes/sandals and Dollar Store rain ponchos. Lesson learned.

-We had some friends go to Animal Kingdom. We were told to get there EARLY, otherwise, most of the animals go into hiding as soon as it gets hot out.

-Make dinner reservations. If you're going to eat at the parks, some of the restaurants are booked solid 6 months in advance. Lines were ABSURD. At Downtown Disney, we waited over an hour to get into the T-Rex themed one. About 5 minutes from the resort area there is a main stretch of road that has a billion restaurants on it, from cheap stuff to nice places (we ended up eating at an Outback one night, and Bonefish Grill another). Eat there instead of at the parks or resorts.

-Ride the Star Wars ride at Hollywood Studios. It's freakin' sweet. Also ride the updated Space Mountain. It's also freakin' sweet. Skip the Jack Sparrow ride at Hollywood Studios. It's the worst POS I've ever stood in line for. You STAND in a room, and only about 1/3 of the room can see what's going on. It's just a bunch of lights on the wall, and a Jack Sparrow hologram standing on a boat for the rest of it (think the recent Tupac "live" concert, those kinds of holograms). I was pissed.

If we end up going again, we will likely do a water park and Universal, and skip the Disney parks. If you've got older kids, let them run around the water park and just float around the lazy river all day (man, I must be getting old). Junior is right on the cusp of being tall enough to ride just about anything (she's over 48 inches, and on the cusp of being able to ride almost anything, one good growth spurt ought to do it.) She's a thrill seeker, and wants to ride anything scary/fast, so even at 6 years old, she found a lot of the rides to be on the boring side. Even though the lines may be a bit worse, I think the stuff at Universal will be more her speed.


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## cement (Jul 22, 2013)

sounds like a good trip overall.

I just had a flashback of being on the "it's a Small World" ride when the thing broke down and we were stranded for 20 minutes listening to the sound track with the puppets swinging back and forth. I almost started screaming.


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## Road Guy (Jul 22, 2013)

LOL...

We love Disney so much we all have 2 days if tickets (that don't expire) they have been sitting in a desk at hole for around 4 years...

I ha e be we stayed on resort before but always wanted to try it.. The driving around and fooling with parking was never a lot of fun...


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## Supe (Jul 22, 2013)

That ride was as horrible as I remembered.


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## Road Guy (Jul 22, 2013)

Supe

the last times my kids went they wanted to do two days at epcot, they thought that was the coolest place ever (wife and I were bored but at least you cank drink at epcot)

our kids never wanted to stay at animal kingdom more than 2 hours, it sucks IMHO..

I want to save those remaining tickets we have and go when they are all in high school just for "fun" hopefully majorly off season..

My biggest problem with Disney has been the massive amount of adults there with no kids acting like they belong there...


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## Dexman PE PMP (Jul 22, 2013)

Road Guy said:


> My biggest problem with Disney has been the massive amount of adults there with no kids acting like they belong there...


They're called "employees"


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## Road Guy (Jul 22, 2013)

at the Florida Disney there are lots of adults there (wearing the ears and all) just walking around, getting autographs, with no kids..

these people are generally very disturbing to me..


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## mudpuppy (Jul 22, 2013)

There is a guy I work with who is one of those. He and his wife go down there to hang out a couple times a year. They're in their late 50s. Sometimes they take their daughter (who is going to school for a Master's degree). I agree; he's kind of weird.


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## Dexman PE PMP (Jul 22, 2013)

And people wonder why LegoLand has a policy to only allow entry to the park if you bring kids...


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## ventilator (Jul 22, 2013)

Road Guy said:


> at the Florida Disney there are lots of adults there (wearing the ears and all) just walking around, getting autographs, with no kids..
> 
> these people are generally very disturbing to me..




Yep every time we take our kids I can't believe the number of adults at magic kingdom without kids. Not a place I would go without my kids.

Last time we were there we were on our way out of the park and saw a short line to see one of the princesses and my daughter wanted to see her so we figured 10-15 min wait with there only being 5 or 6 groups ahead of us. After all how long does it take to get a picture and move on. After about 10 min of not moving I notice it is a group of about 6 people all in their 30s with no kids hugging the characters getting autographs and prob 3 dozen pictures. The family in front of us asked if I could see what was taking so long. After having been in the park for 10 hours with a 2 and 4 year old I was not in the best mood and said it's a bunch of idiot adults taking a hundred pictures because they apparently are too stupid to understand this isn't real and is for little kids.

My wife elbows me in the side and gestures behind us where there are two people prob 40-45 yrs decked out in full Disney gear with the wedding mouse ears, about 300 of those stupid collector pins on their shirts and a hand full of autograph books and an absolutely mortified look on their faces.

Like I said, at this point I was tired and angry so instead of an apology what came out was:

Huh, I wonder if they look so upset because I called them idiots or if they just found out Disney wasn't real. The line got real quite for the last 10 minutes of waiting, it was awesome because that was the only 10 min of quite we had all day until the car ride home.


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## wilheldp_PE (Jul 22, 2013)

Great story, vent. That sounds exactly like something my brother-in-law would do. He's the king of confrontation, and I love hearing his stories. I'm more the passive-aggressive type.

One of my college buddies married a Disney freak. I think she has literally been to Disney every year since she was 2 or something like that. At least they have kids now, so it isn't as weird.


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## Dexman PE PMP (Jul 22, 2013)

&lt;--- never been to Disney, and don't really want to go.

The kids aren't really into Disney. My daughter likes a couple of the movies, and has most of the Barbie-sized dolls, but she's more into Legos. My son is a Lego freak too (just like his father  ), so Legoland in San Diego tends to be a bit more enjoyable and definitely cheaper (thanks YMZ for the tix).


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## csb (Jul 22, 2013)

&lt;--- part of honeymoon was at Disneyland/California Adventure...didn't have bridal ears (or any ears). Got a quick picture with Mickey as we were leaving the park...no line, no kids.

When you go back as an adult, you get to ride everything you want to ride. It's a chance to enjoy the park without being a whiny kid or having your whiny kid around. The level of detail that goes into Disney isn't going to show up at a Six Flags.

It's the motherfrickin' happiest place on earth...why should that only be for kids?


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## cement (Jul 22, 2013)

^ sounds kind of defensive?


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## ventilator (Jul 22, 2013)

csb said:


> &lt;--- part of honeymoon was at Disneyland/California Adventure...didn't have bridal ears (or any ears). Got a quick picture with Mickey as we were leaving the park...no line, no kids.
> 
> When you go back as an adult, you get to ride everything you want to ride. It's a chance to enjoy the park without being a whiny kid or having your whiny kid around. The level of detail that goes into Disney isn't going to show up at a Six Flags.
> 
> It's the motherfrickin' happiest place on earth...why should that only be for kids?




Don't get me wrong, I have no problems with adults at the park and I can certainly appreciate getting to do things with out the kids in tow. The Magic Kingdom just wouldn't be one of those places I'd want to go due to the fact there are so many exhausted kids (and in my previous story parents like me) who can be a drain on your day. I usually don't care that adults want their pictures taken either, I just don't understand it. I guess its mostly the fact that I see adults talking to the characters like they are really a princess and not a teenager in a costume.


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## Road Guy (Jul 22, 2013)

We experienced more times than not, the adult solo Disney people trying to bump us out of line at a parade, trying to get a better spot(over a kid) waiting for fireworks, etc...

When you take a little kid to Disney and they have to fight some asshole who usually has had their fair share of turkey legs over the spot your already sitting at waiting for the parade it kind of pisses you off...

Then your wife gets mad at you when you say "hey dumbo, your sitting on my kid"


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## csb (Jul 22, 2013)

I've also only gone to Disney as an adult in the offseason, to minimize the number of kids. I think Disney IS for kids, so I would never bump a kid from a place.

Unless they were an asshole.


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## Master slacker (Jul 22, 2013)

Road Guy said:


> ...Then your wife gets mad at you when you say "hey dumbo, your sitting on my kid"


I would be mad, too, if you said that in public. You misspelled "you're".


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## knight1fox3 (Jul 22, 2013)

csb said:


> I've also only gone to Disney as an adult in the offseason, to minimize the number of kids. I think Disney IS for kids, so I would never bump a kid from a place.
> 
> Unless they were an asshole.




......and it was Lent.....


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## Supe (Jul 23, 2013)

Depends on age.

At one ride, there were a group of young teenagers up ahead, and another teenager was pushing his way through the line up to the turnstyle to catch up with his friends. I'm sorry, but you're not 4 years old trying to catch up with your family, so you can wait the f*ck in line.

Just as he tried to push us out of the way to run through the turnstyle, I grabbed the handle on the top of his backpack, pulled him out of the way, and just said "you can wait in line like the rest of us." He looked like he'd seen a ghost. Guy and his daughter behind us just laughed.


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## Capt Worley PE (Jul 23, 2013)

&lt;--Went to Disney World for family vacation when 20.

First place I had to start looking for wedding rings. Apparently, lots of young hotties honeymoon at Disney World.

Liked Epcot, but Magic Kingdom was too kiddish. Ended up at the water park, instead.


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## Supe (Jul 23, 2013)

The lounge at the resort after 9PM was MILF central. Dump the kids off with dad, lower inhibitions. Sadly, it is difficult trying to pick up any of these ladies when you've got a girlfriend on one arm and 6 year old on the other.


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