Disney -food questions and general help needed!

I am completely overwhelmed with planning for a trip to Disney in February, so any help would be appreciated

We will be doing:
2 days in the Magic Kingdom
1 day at Universal
1 day at Animal Kingdom

My kids at 7 and almost 3.
Do I bring my own stroller or rent one?
Can I bring food in for lunch or should I just eat in the park?
What ticket can anyone recommend?

Any tips that anyone can give are really really appreciated!!!

Disney -food questions and general help needed!

We rented a stroller from Baby Wheels Orlando, a City Mini GT since my DD is older (almost 6), and it was awesome. Cheaper than park stroller, immaculate, and it was waiting for me at my resort. Pushed like a dream, huge sun shade and folded up like a breeze. With that said, if you love your own stroller I would just bring it. We don't own a stroller anymore. When our trip was over, we just left it with bell services and the company came to get it. Easy peasy! Plus we had it for the boat ride, etc., which we would not have had if we rented from the park.

We just do counter service food now, its still expensive, but we don't like to sit and eat for hours, and table service is too expensive IMO. Plus my son is special needs, doesn't eat much at all, and I would have to pay adult prices at the majority of the sit down places. Not worth it for him to eat 3 chicken fingers! We always find a lot of great options for counter service meals. I usually get salads, and healthier options. Adults can order off the kids menu, those meals are around 5.99 and include a drink. So if you are not a big eater, that is an option. Some places have a better selection than others. Allearsnet.com has every menu.

We don't park hop, we do one park for the entire day. If you are staying in the same park all day, base tickets will be fine for you.

My kids are dying to go to Universal to the see the Harry Potter stuff, so def. do that! But I read you have to get there right at opening!

Message edited 12/31/2012 3:42:59 PM.

Disney -food questions and general help needed!

Thanks!

Re: Disney -food questions and general help needed!

I would not rent from disney unless you think your DC will only need it here or there as they are expensive and you can't take them from thevparks. Maybe for your 7 year old but still expensive. There are several stroller rental companies where you can rent from. They deliver your stroller to your resort and pick it up again after your trip. Saves you from taking it on the plane. It maybe easier to bring your own depending on your needs and wants. Plus you know where it has been. Renting always make me feel bc you don't know if the child before yours vomited in it or what. We are trying to figure out what we are doing for our trip in May. A double is nice one stroller in one place but harder if one is tired and you want to split up. Doubles are also more of a pain on the buses but you often have more storage. Singles are easier on buses and you can leave one somewhere and come back for it when your child is tired.

I usually bring snack but buy meals in the park bc it is easier than lugging a lot around. You could try the new Be Our Guest for lunch. They have counter service lunch and table service dinner. If you want to do any table service meals you should book them. Not sure what will be left for Feb.

Unkess you think you want to hop to EPCOT I would go wit plain Magic your way 3 day. I would get any of the extras. I can't help you with Universal as I think the girls are still young for it so we don't go there. It is a lot of bigger rides.

Re: Disney -food questions and general help needed!

Are you staying onsite or offsite?
Will you have a car?

There are some great stroller rental agencies we use. MUCH nicer strollers for less than the Disney ones. I haven't used them myself but I've always had good feedback about the cleanliness, etc.

Tickets - The parkhopper would only be best in your case if you plan to play in one park and dine in another.

Are you sure you want to do Universal Studios? One thing I find with Universal is that it has a lot of rides with a height limit. There are also kiddie rides, but not as much in between that the whole family can enjoy. ETA: A day at Universal is close to $90 per person, which is a LOT more than adding a day to your DIsney tickets. both Disney and Universal price the same way which is that one day is expensive, but to add days it's cheaper. This is to keep you at their parks, and it's pretty effective. Most people see the price tag or a one day universal ticket and decide to stick with WDW

The first thing I'd do i terms of dining is to decide if you want a character or specialty meal ad book that first based on availability. After that, you fill in with what's left. I think a well-timed sit down meal is worth it in terms of a break from the heat and crowds and time to relax and reflect.

ETA: You can bring your lunch and it's a great to save money - just no glass bottles and no hard-sided coolers. I'd save a few dollars for a nice Mickey Premium bar, dole whip or other classic snack to top it off.

Message edited 12/31/2012 4:00:29 PM.

Re: Disney -food questions and general help needed!

Right now the 4 day base ticket is the same price as the 3 day if you go through undercover tourist, which is a Disney authorized ticket seller. I just ordered mine for my February trip a week ago and that was the ticket I got.

ETA - even if you didn't want to use undercover tourist the 4th day is peanuts from Disney itself.

I would consider how important Universal is to you because you are essentially giving up a free day at Disney by only going 3 days.

What are your dates?

Message edited 1/1/2013 1:02:16 AM.

Disney -food questions and general help needed!

Thanks everyone, we are going from the 17 to 20 February. I think I am going to bring my own stroller, I don't think my 7 year old will need to sit in the stroller. I think we will probably spend one day in each park, and maybe will skip Universal. I am going to see if it's cheaper for me to buy tickets here in the UK beforehand. It might be cheaper. I think we. Probably will bring our own lunch into the park, and eat dinner in thr park, so I will make some reservations for evening meals. We are spending our first week at our timeshare in Pompano and the second week in Orlando, we are staying at a timeshare off park and we will have a car! Will look at undercover tourist now! Thanks