[tallyhoe]

Went last yr trying to go cheaper than usual. Three kids three adults. drove down with the camper to Fort wilderness. We brought about $200 worth of groceries with us. While down there for 10 days we left the park twice and spent $160 and $190 respectively. Our plan was to get up early make breakfast and take advantage of the early hours. Then to come back around 1 or 2 and make a decent lunch, hit the pool and relax ect. Afterwards we would go back to a park if we wanted.
So really we only maybe one meal each day that we would purchase. We had prepayed for the Mickeys backyard barbeque and had made reservations for Donalds breakfast at Animal Kingdom.
Long story short we ended up spending waay more at the park for food than we thought we would. My wife was super prepared... backpacks, snacks, waters ect. Just wasnt enough.
Next time we are going to try the meal plan, at least then youll know what you will be spending..
Ohh another thing, For us we wont go down again unless its at Fort wilderness. This is after being at Port orleans, Boardwalk, and the all star resort. I hate to say it but the absolute best time down there for the kids and i was at a stupid playground at Fort wilderness. I had made a game of timeing them around a obstacle course while the wife was relaxing at the pool.

Guy

[dblsprt68]

Originally Posted by Brian Baker

Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing is not far up the road in Ocala. Take a day to go there, it's a must see. The wife will like it too, even if she isn't a gearhead.

It's a very cool museum for sure! When I went, his MOTHER was working the front desk, I couldn't believe it. Get ready for traffic jams, spending money like it's water and haveing a great time. In the end, it's worth it. David

[dyingbreed]

Good comments and advice. Keep on posting!

db

[einstein]

Originally Posted by GoatDr

Go to Old Town in Kissimmee. They have a Friday night cruise for hotrods and sometimes car shows on Saturday. Google it.

This needs clarification. The Friday Night Cruise is only for 1973-1987 cars and generally has a weak turnout of boring cars, less than 100 the last couple times I attended. There's a weekly Saturday Night Cruise which is for 1972 and older vehicles, with a much larger showing, anywhere from 250-350 cars. Saturday car shows are in the daytime and are not every week. I believe there's a Thursday cruise now for motorcycles.

[SDPROMO]

I went in the mid 90's with my daughter and my sister's family. There were 10 of us. We had kids ranging in age from 9 to 18. I don't know if you can still do this, but if the crowds were light you could ask to ride up front in the monorail. Everyone in the family mangaed to get a ride up front except my sister.

The other thing we did was leave the park for lunch to eat at one of the resorts.

All our kids liked going to Pleasure Island but I don't know if that has changed. They use to celebrate at Midnight like it was New Year's Eve.

The best thing is to pick the rides and exhibits you really want to see and make plans
to get there early.

Andi

[Teej]

You might also consider a day trip over to the east coast to the Kennedy Space Center. Not quite as much roller-coaster stuff, but lots of historical space stuff. The bus tours are great if you are into that, but it's probably not a big thrill for younger kids.

[dragula81]

Thanks again guys.

Can someone give me suggestions on how long I should plan for each park? We have 7 day passes. How many days should I plan at each park?

[Gary Logan]

Check your stay dates to see what the park hours are. The Disney web site has a calendar with that information.
Disney's Animal Kingdom is typically a one day park and it closes the earliest. A Bugs life is fun and I can just check out the Tree of Life for a long time.

Disney's Hollywood Studios you can see in a day if you rush and it is a long day. There are some rides like Rock-n-Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror that my kids enjoy multiple trips on. My favorite shows are the Muppet Vision 3D, Lights, Motors, Action stunt Show and Fantasmic.

Epcot you can see in a day to a day and a half depending on how much time you spend in the world showcase. Adults like the shops but the kids are looking for action. There are a couple of rides tucked away in the World Showcase pavilions. Maelstrom in the Norway pavilion is good. The kids like Mission: Space and Sorin' is pretty cool.
We always ride Test Track and close the night out with Illuminations.

The Magic Kingdom takes two full days if the crowds are small. There is just so much to see and do. The Kids enjoy the mountains, Space, Big Thunder and Splash. Mama and I enjoy going over to Tom Sawyers Island. There is a picnic table on top of the island in the shade. We can just sit there and chat while the kids plummet themselves silly (mine are teenagers and can run around together tied to their cell phone leashes). My favorite coaster is Goofy's Barnstormer in Toon Town. It is a simple little kiddie coaster but its a hoot. There are too many good rides and shows to even start a list. We just start in tomorrow-land and work our way around.

The water parks can be a day in themselves. Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island can be a good escape from the parks one night too.

Ultimately how much time you spend in each park depends on how much you want to see and do, how well you plan out things like FastPass and dining and how crowded the parks are.

For those staying on Disney property, take advantage of the Extra Magic hours that the parks are open exclusivly for Disney resort guests.

Enjoy and remember, you are on vacation. You have no place that you have to be. I hope that helps.