Hi ladies and gentlemen ,

after being ambushed into a disney Orlando holiday earlier today by the kids .I need some rescuing ! Having committed to a new FF April / May ,would have ideally liked to postpone until next year .( Sensible financial reasoning wouldn't wash after they found out about the anticipated arrival of a new FF .)

Anyway ,never been before so would like some tips from the seasoned Disneyites amongst you .

Party of 12 ( yes 12 !) 10 Adults 2 minors .
First two weeks in August .

Any tips greatly appreciated by my bank manager !

Good luck 2011 Stornaway Grey 5.0SC Autobiography

Yes , initial speculative conversations with GOOGLE have not been pleasant !

In all seriousness, my experiences over there have been ‘stop worrying about bill as there is nothing you can do’

Buy the passes even though they have limitations, live within those limitations and the bills will be somewhat less.

Remember that the dollar is no longer a great deal for buying bargains.... but just enjoy the ridiculous. I would say, assuming you have a car, go out of town for food and you will feel the restaurant bills are more palatable.

Jon 2011 Stornaway Grey 5.0SC Autobiography

if you're paying for all 12 and staying at a Disney resort, the cost will about the same as year 1 depreciation.

"I would say, assuming you have a car, go out of town for food and you will feel the restaurant bills are more palatable. "

Definitely will be taking that up that suggestion on "rest days " .

"the cost will about the same as year 1 depreciation."

At least with the depreciation one would feel as if it was value for money !

Remember to factor in that there are other attractions to go to other than Disney such as Universal Orlando Resort which will also take a few days and the Kennedy Space Center (American spelling)
Do your research beforehand and it will pay off in the end.
Enjoy!!

Don't waste money on Epcot, it's awful. As above, get the passes, and failing that there are websites that give tips on which days various parks are less busy, in August it really does make a difference. Space Center is excellent. Having done a 14 person Florida holiday twice, there's plenty of time to get stuff done, but each day is exhausting, particularly for the younger ones, we found that one day on followed by one day off gives a good mix and keeps everything fresh

I like Epcot. It’s the most educational of the parks. There are four parks. They are ALL good. Get a multiple day pass. We did a 5 day and the 5th day was only another $20US. Having a lot of days means you can enjoy the parks at your leisure and not try to see everything in one go. At least one day/park. If you have the time, get more. Keep it relaxed and have a second go on the stuff you like. The Magic Kingdom is where you’ll find the families with young kids. Some days the park stays open late (midnight). This is fantastic. The kids seem to disappear by 1930-2000 and so do all the lines. I remember walking around and just getting on any ride I wanted. No waiting. Queues of 20 or less people (I.e, 2-3 minutes). To save $$/££ don’t eat or stay at the resorts. Plenty of fine hotels around. Had a camera bag with water and easy to carry snacks. Breakfast before entering park. Dinner when you get out. Food inside is expensive and the queues insane. Enjoy. Still haven’t forgiven them for taking away Captain Nemo’s Submarine, which might tell you how old I am!

Thank you ,

thus far I have gleaned ,pace yourself ,(1 day 1 park with rest days in between ) , plan eating schedules ( I think eating in the park for a group of 12 will be both time consuming and expensive ) , I like the idea of breakfast before, dinner after and snacks for the day , (perhaps exploring a little further afield for eating places ).

Accommodation wise , i notice Air b n b do villas in the locality ? Swings in roundabouts cost wise .With a package (hotel + flight) its working out slightly more than a separate airbnb + flight .

Package = cheap flight, expensive disney accommodation circa £1200pp
Seperate = Expensive flight ,cheaper accommodation circa £1000pp

Disney tickets circa £400 for a 14 day pass

Ps just out of curiosity , is Orlando THAT different from Disney Paris once you are actually in the parks ?

I really do think that Epcot is objectively awful. You wouldn't mind if it was an add on, but to cost the same as any of the other parks is a joke. It's absolutely the only one that makes any attempt to be educational, and there's some cool stuff there that will keep your attention for a bit, but it just feels 20 years old, nothing has been updated, and having paid for 14 people to go, all of which hated it and left within a couple of hours, I'd be interested to see how you guys get on!

One place I'd try is a group called Ocean Florida, I usually book everything separately and find I can do it cheaper, but everything was included with them, I talked through it all on the phone, the sort of villa, how many hire cars etc, and they couldn't have been better, they'd be my first port of call if we went again, and certainly worth a quote

And yeah, I think it is quite different. We all loved it both times, it's just quite expensive (as you know) and once you been all together you can't get away with leaving anyone out the next time, so it's 14 or nothing for us. I definitely wouldn't do Disney accommodation or a hotel, with those numbers you can get a big villa with a private pool, cinema room etc for much less than the other options. Good luck!

Can’t comment on where to stay. I used a family time-share that was available. With 14, an Air BnB (or equivalent) would probably be the best. That gives you the option to stay in and cook when you want. The park passes can be used at any park, so you don’t have to plan ahead on what parks you want to see. Conceivably, with 14, some may want to revisit a well liked park instead of everyone always doing everything together every day. (Unless your group of 14 is you, spouse and 12 children under 12! )

Disney has the option of “park hopper” passes - I.e. can visit more than one park per day. JUST SAY ‘NO’! It takes a long time to get in, and then to get back to where you parked and then a drive to the next park. The parks are BIG. They have different motorway exits! Trying to get to any 2 parks in one day will waste a lot of time in travel.

Enjoy.

Done proper Disney twice and about to embark on another trip, was going to be for this year, but as Star Wars isn't open I've convinced wifey that next year suits us best.

Epcot, oh my no.

Disney Parks are OK, but my kids who were 7 and 8 much preferred Universal.

Agree one day on and one day off.

Did Disney Paris last year, pleasantly surprised if I'm being honest. Had a good time, very similar to 'Merica, customer service no where near as good, some rather surly French folk.

Anything else, I'm no expert of course.

Thank you gents ,

yes I think I like your suggestions of ABNB , I think splitting of the group might work well (different aged kids - no not all mine RR2008HSE - I do have a TV at home you know .

Defiantly will avoid 2 parks in one day - great tip .

Now to find flights ...might be cheaper to charter one at this rate ,unless any of you forum members have one that I could charter ?