Walt Disney World is one of my favorite places to go on vacation, as a matter of fact I usually go twice a year!!!

Let's start with the big question....when to go???? Well of course school vacations are a great time to go but remember that will be when its most crowded. The lines for some of the popular rides can be two hours long. However, if you go with that in mind you can adjust your schedule. What we always do is get to the parks right when they open and do the things that we really love and then stay until lunchtime. We head back to our hotel and enjoy the pool for the afternoon and then head back to the parks after dinner. The crowds are usually less at night. 

During the year there are special events going on. In the spring there is the flower and garden show displayed in Epcot which is gorgeous. There are famous speakers from around the world and flower displays that will blow you away. 

In the fall is the Food and Wine Festival that takes place at Epcot. All of the countries display native culinary delights and special entertainment is provided by popular chefs and musicians. Also in the fall is the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. One of my sons favorite things to see. You can dress in costume or not and trick or treat around the Magic Kingdom while the park is decorated for Halloween. 

Then in the winter they have wonderful events for the holidays..Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and Epcot celebrates the holidays around the world. All of the hotels are decorated. It is simply beautiful. Some of the least crowded times that I have gone have been in January (can still be chilly) and May was great. August and September are great too. Probably because the kids are headed back to school.... 

So do you stay on Disney property??? Absolutely! I stay on the property just for the perks. They have hotels for the value priced all the way up to the deluxe and I have stayed in all categories. If you stay on the property you can take advantage of Disney's Magical Express which is a bus service provided by Disney at no charge which will pick you up at the airport and then bring you back. You just have to reserve it ahead of time with your agent. Or if you choose to rent a car you can do so right at the airport and when you check into your hotel they will give you a pass that allows you free parking at the theme parks. If you stay on the property you have access to their transportation system. The buses pick up at all hotels and usually run about every 10-15 minutes. The only thing you have to keep in mind is that if you have a reservation for breakfast/dinner at one of the hotels it can take you up to an hour to get their via the bus service since the buses don't go from one hotel to another. 

My favorite value priced hotel is the Pop Century. My son who is 10 has picked this as one of his favorites. It has a great food court, great pools and huge icons from the past 50 years.  

My pick for favorite moderate resort is the Caribbean Beach. The theme is Caribbean, each section is named after a Caribbean island and you will find tropical flowers throughout the grounds and the atmosphere is just lovely.  

My vote for deluxe resort is a tie between the Beach Club and the Polynesian. The Beach Club is set in a cape cod new England setting. It gets my vote for the easy access to Epcot, you can walk right in and it also offers a boat that will take you to MGM. And we cant forget about the pool, top notch no cement on the bottom of this pool it has sand on the bottom!!!!!

The Polynesian hotel is beautiful also, this hotel is all about location. It is hooked up on the monorail system which makes things very easy. You can sit right on the beach at night and watch the fireworks display at the Magic Kingdom. 

Theme park tickets, the longer you buy the cheaper it is. The last time I went I was going to buy a 5 days pass but I bought a 7 day pass because is was only $15 more!!!!! You buy what they call a "base pass" for so many days and then you can add on "park hopping" which is a must. It allows you to enter different parks on the same day. Say you go to Magic Kingdom in the morning then you can take a swim break and then head to Epcot at night and you only used one day!!!! Another option you can add is the "no expiration" for $35....well worth it because that makes your pass good forever....the last thing you can add is "water parks and more" which gives you so many visits (depending on how many days you buy) to the water parks and to Disney quest (five floors of indoor gaming). If you use even one of these you will get your moneys worth. The good thing if you buy the no expiration is that these are all good forever too. The last time I went I bought a 7 day hopper with no expiration and water parks.
We only used four days and one plus so now the next time we go we have our tickets.
We have three days left and 4 plus visits. And it only cost me $15 for that!!!!! 

The dining plan. Well worth it. It costs $38 per adult and $11 per child. You get one counter service meal (I used the food court for breakfast) then you get one snack...(basically anything under $4) and then here's where you get your money's worth. You get one table service meal per day which includes: appetizer, meal, dessert, beverage and tip!!!! And you can eat in some of the finest restaurants on the property. That alone is worth the money.

My vote for best character meal on the property goes to Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary hotel. They serve both breakfast and dinner. Some of my other favorite places to dine are Konas at the Polynesian hotel (for dinner) and Le Cellier steakhouse in the Canada pavilion in Epcot (the best steak ever) My sons pick is the Rain Forest Cafe in the Downtown Disney Marketplace, there are so many wonderful places to eat. 

So, Disney World is a great place to go if you are traveling with children or without children or even if you are taking a solo trip. The people are so friendly and you will have a wonderful time. You can even get married there!!! One of my best friends had a fairytale wedding there and it was definitely that, a fairytale words cannot express how beautiful it was. 

So pack your bags and get ready for some fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CINDY (Travel agent Anyplace Travel)

ANYPLACE TRAVEL
“See the World”
1450 Atwood Avenue,
Johnston RI, 02919
401-831-8000