Walt Disney World: Transportation, Lodging, Food

We are in the process of planning our first trip to Disney World. It will be my husband, myself, and our three year old. Our first dilemma is where to stay. We could easily do a moderate resort. It looks like Port Orleans is highly recommended from other forums. My only concern is with the transportation. I was reading in a Frommer%26#39;s travel book that if you aren%26#39;t staying at one of the more expensive resorts it is advisable to rent a car. It said transporation at the moderate and value resorts can take up to an hour to get to the parks. Has anyone had experience with this? If this is true, what other resorts would be recommended? We cannot stay at the most expensive, but could poosibly do something in the price range of Animal Kingdom. Keep in mind we do have the 3 year old and want what would be most convenient and best for him.

My second question is about food. I notice they offer an inclusive dining package that includes many restraunts. Are there price limits per meal or day? Does it include all three meals and snacks?

Any other advice is appreciated since this is our first time! Thanks in advance for your replies.

Walt Disney World: Transportation, Lodging, Food

Unless you are going at peak holiday season and wind up waiting because busses get full quickly, I can%26#39;t imagine the bus transportation from the P.O. taking over an hour to the parks. The busses are the fastest way to the parks, unless you are close enough to walk to one.

The meal plan involves one table service, one counter service, and one snack per day for each member of your party. You can use these anyway you wish, but the character breakfasts will cost you two counter service meals at one time.

When are you planning your trip for?

Right now, if you book soon and your stay is in August or September, you can get the meal plan free. Here is a site with more details:

http://www.allearsnet.com/din/restnews.htm

Walt Disney World: Transportation, Lodging, Food

Transportation from any resort by bus (and the moderates are all served by buses) would be a maximum of about 45 minutes. If you are just coming up to the stop as the bus is pulling out, you will normally have to wait 15-20 minutes for the next bus. Some buses stop at more than one resort, so that adds another 10-15 minutes. Then there is the actual drive time which is typically about 10-15 minutes, depending on traffic. If you are fortunate enough to be at the last pick up for the route, and lucky enough to get there just as a bus is coming in, it could take as little as 15 minutes. Even if you stay at a deluxe resort, some of the transportation to the parks will involve buses. For example, if you are staying at any of the Epcot resorts (which are all deluxe) you will have to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom. If you are at one of the monorail resorts, you will have to take a bus to MGM or Animal Kingdom. So don%26#39;t let the thought of the bus keep you from booking a moderate. I%26#39;ve stayed at PO many times, and the only complaint I had about transportation was if I stayed at a park until closing time when it was busy. Sometimes there is a long line of people then, and you might have to wait for more than one bus to come through and load up before you can get on one. With a 3-year old, I doubt if you%26#39;ll be staying out extremely late, so that shouldn%26#39;t be an issue.

With the dining plan, you are allowed one snack, one counter service meal and one table service meal per night of your booking. There is not a price limit, but you are restricted to certain entitlements. For example, at the table service restaurants, you can get an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert. You can%26#39;t substitute another entree for the appetizer or dessert. But if they have a filet %26amp; lobster entree, and that%26#39;s what you want, go for it. Also, if a children%26#39;s menu is available, the child has to order from the child%26#39;s menu. Sometimes at counter service restaurants, there isn%26#39;t one, so they order off the adult menu. You can mix and match the meals, so if you want two table service meals one day, and two counter service meals the next day, you can do that.

Just realized I mistyped my first message.

The character meals take two table service credits with the meal plan, not two counter service.

Thank you both for helpful replies. We are planning our trip for June. Does anyone familiar with Port Orleans know if the slide at the pool is too large for our child (3yr)? We have a pool at home and he handles himself well on the slide. When we went on our last Disney Cruise he was so disappointed when he wasn%26#39;t allowed to go down their slide. He%26#39;s large for his age and met height restriction, but apparently not age. He cried each time we went to the pool!

Oh, one more question....... Are there any websites that offer discounts? From what I%26#39;ve seen, so far everything looks about the same. Seems like the Frommer%26#39;s book had a couple of recommendations for discounted travel to Disney, but I don%26#39;t have that with me now. Thanks!

Port Orleans Riverside is my favorite moderate. When we stayed there it was during spring break a couple years ago and we didn%26#39;t have any issues with the transportation. It was probably just pure luck, but I would have to say we had less waiting at Port Orleans than we did at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Yes, you son will be able to go on the slide at Port Orleans. We went on the Disney Cruise this past November and my 3 yr daughter was also disappointed about not being able to go down the slide especially since her older brother could.

For deals check out www.mousesavers.com. Also, depending on when you%26#39;re going they are running a special from 8/13/06 thru 9/30/06. If you%26#39;re going during those times I can dig up the offer code. Check out pricing from several sources and then also call Disney directly. When calling directly ask them if they have any ';special deals'; for when you%26#39;re going. If you have AAA see if there are any discounts available.

To help you plan I would highly recommend the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. It comes out annually (in August I think) and has comprehensive info about resorts, the parks (including strategies for minimizing waiting in lines, touring with small children), dining and shopping.

As for the dining plan, it can be a great deal - not so sure since your child is only 3 - depends how your family likes to eat. The link for complete info on the dining plan (with list of restaurants) is here 鈥o.com/media/鈥YWDining.pdf

The more expensive WDW restaurants charge 2 table service credits, called a signature dining experience. Most TS places charge 1 credit. Character meals require only 1 table service credit (someone else earlier said it was 2).

POR is a great resort. We stayed there in 2004. The main pool is great. Our older son was 4 when we went and he loved the slide. The resort is centrally located so easy to take transportation anywhere in WDW. Also has lovely walking paths, nice landscaping, can rent bicycles. The food court has very good food and the TS restaurant is very good - highly recommend breakfast there. You can take a nice boat ride to Downtown Disney. You might also consider Port Orleans French Quarter - it is a little smaller resort and has a very fun pool. It is a short walk from POFQ to POR. We never even considered having a car while we stayed there. It was a relief not to have to drive ourselves while on vacation.

From August 13 through end of September they are offering the dining plan free if you stay onsite and purchase at least one 1 day Magic your way base ticket for each member of your family. This is a great savings, but this also coincides with peak hurricane season, so make sure you get good travel insurance.

For other information regarding saving money at WDW I highly recommend themouseforless.com and the mouseforless group on yahoo.

Have a great time.

Hello Shanda,

The Port Orleans Riverside would be a perfect choice for your little one. If you book the Bayou rooms they surround Ol%26#39;Man Island a 3 acre recreational area with a pool, playground and fishing hole, it would be a perfect location for your 3 year old. You may also use the French Quarter%26#39;s Sea Serpeant pool area that includes a waterslide which is the sea serpents tongue, a shower with an alligator%26#39;s head and a clamshell fountain.

It looks like all your other questions were answered!

For more information along with this forum go to www.mousesavers.com and www.allearsnet.com

character meals are only one meal credit. There are only a handful of restaurants that are 2 credits.

On the meal plan do not get that mixed up with the all inclusive plan. The all inclusive will double the cost of your trip.

One suggestion if your child isn%26#39;t an eater and can pass for 2 then do that. But, for the $11 a day for a young child that is not bad. The meal plan is fantastic.

Staying outside of Disney will definitely take lots of time getting to the parks. Take an umbrella stroller for the child. They are easy to fold up and tie colorful ribbons on the handle for quick IDing

One more suggestion. Most children that age do not like the characters so make mutiple reservations for priority seating that way if the baby doesn%26#39;t take to the characters you wont stress out if you made reservation for character meal.

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