So we're doin' Disney World over spring break (10 days total - March 29 - April 9). MI to FL = 20 hours 1 way with kids 7 and 9 towing our new pop-up trailer. . . :eek:

We plan to do "stuff" every other day. Our first stop is totally FL on the ocean - Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and NASA's Space Center. Then it's a day at Epcot followed by the grand Magic Kingdom! :cool:

We'll be camping, mostly on Disney property at Fort Wilderness. Might I say that "Disney on a Dime" and "Unofficial Guide to Disney World" are fantastic reads!

If you are nuts for Disney, or simply know the ins and outs to make this vacation a great success, I'd love to hear from you.

To all 200,000 of you who will be doing Disney as well - Safe Travels, Tammy

We are planning to do Disney in July. Any tips from your Spring Break trip??
I think we are staying at All Star Music Hotel.

I can not sing the praises of this website enough...www.tourguidemike.com I have used it for our trips in July, September, and this past January. His tips and suggestions literally save you hours standing in line and we were able to make some amazing memories thanks to him.

I just wish it was less than 295 days until we go again!

If you have specific questions, please email me at justcindy2@hotmail.com and I'll try and help.

We've done Disney in July twice now and the biggest tip I can give you is take a break in the afternoon because it gets HOT. We would head to the park on the shuttle so we got there right as they opened in the morning. We had a plan as to what we wanted to see and ride and the best way to get to it all. We used Fast Passes whenever we could. We would go until lunch, then while we were eating we would plan what we could get done by 1:00 or 2:00. Then we would head back to the hotel and either swim in the pool at the resort, or head to a water park. We'd come back to our room about 5:00, dress, eat supper somewhere and go back to the parks for a couple of hours.

We found that a little planning can make a huge difference in how much you can get done and helps to not waste time going to places that your kids will have no interest in. We let them look through the little brochures and pick what they wanted to do.

We went to Disney World last year. It was a lot of fun. There are so many websites and travel books that it seems there's too much information. So it's smart to ask for referrals.

The website I would recommend is MouseSavers.com. Lots of great info, wonderful tips, details on ALL the parks.

As far as lodging, my first choice would be to rent a house or condo so you have a good base of operations, a place to relax, can fix simple meals, etc. Or a mid-range hotel, maybe with a kitchenette or fridge/microwave. The parks are pretty tiring - going out for every meal on top of that can get old. Sometimes you just want an easy snack or a bowl of cereal!

My husband wanted to do the whole Disney experience, so we stayed on a Disney property. The the hotel was gorgeous, the shuttles were nice, but it was expensive.

We got a "4 day park hopper plus" ticket which allowed us to come and go at the major Disney parks. (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom)

The "plus" was a bonus allowing us to pick an additional site (water park, etc.) for a single visit. We wouldn't have known to shop around for the "plus" version without mousesavers.com.

We did take a collapsable soft-side cooler with us (the kind with wheels). That way we could keep some snacks on ice in the hotel room.

[ 03-31-2006, 09:00 PM: Message edited by: JHB ]

We've stayed on the resort both times and you're right JHB it's wonderful but pricey. We did love having the ability to fix breakfast and snacks in the our own little kitchen. I even baked brownies and made muffins and scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast and one night we just went to the resort store and picked up a frozen pizza and a salad. The prices at the stores on the resort are shocking but we had been warned by friends so we packed ziploc bags of cereal and the muffin and brownie mixes along with some snacks.

The shuttles are great too because they drop you right at the entrance.

We used hopper passes too. A definite recommendation. The first year we went, the waterparks were included in the hopper. That changed last year.

Okay, all this talk has made me want to go back!!!