would love any advice

hello getting v excited travelling in april first time to orlando travelling with husband and 2 kids aged 9 and 12 staying on international drive.any advice welcome.

would love any advice

Irishlass

The best advice I can give is to read through as many of the posts on this forum as you can.

There is a wealth of knowledge on here. Advice about where to eat, the parks, where to stay, renting a car etc etc.

Jono

would love any advice

I agree with Jono,

We go for the first time in April and have shaped our trip around the expert ';on the ground'; advice seen on this forum.

Go to Downtown Disney. Loads going on and its free!

Puleeese do not take too many clothes with you. Pack extra light.

Don%26#39;t bother with any formal stuff because anything you need you will buy there.

Hire a car and see everything.

Don%26#39;t forget to tip.

I%26#39;d say... rent a car b/c it will make getting around much easier; less time spent waiting for buses/taxis. If you are a shopper (like me), definately check out the Premium Outlets on Vineland Rd(off Intl. Dr.). Really great stores and good prices on alot of merchandise you pay a fortune for in Nova Scotia. Make sure you pre-pack some rain ponchos in case you need them for the parks. Too costly to buy once inside. Also, think about taking a few snacks to the parks b/c, if you get hungry inside, the cost will start to add up for a family of four. Make sure you have some money for the tolls, in case you find any along the way; not sure of what airport you are landing at. When we travel from Canada, we land at Orlando Intl and there are a few tolls along the way. SUN BLOCK!!! Being from Irish decent (great -grandmother from County Waterford), I know how our skin can burn, even if you have dark hair and eyes like me. Make sure you are covered in it before you head out the door. I hope ye all have a ball. I can%26#39;t describe the feeling you get when you are standing on Main St, looking up at Cinderellas castle, realizing that you are finally here!!! Good luck and take care....

hi irishlass69 hope you are having fun planning your trip i remember when we first went and i didnot know about this site wish i had lollol

ok got a few tips for you that we use hope you dont mind me passing them on because a) they have saved me a fortune and b) it has made walking around the parks with children much more easy.

1) when you get to your hotel take a trip to supermarket and pick up small bottles of water empty a little out and freeze overnight ready to take to the parks (we add a little juice for the kids), bottled water inthe parks is really expensive this can cost you well over $15 a day for a average family to keep buying in at the parks, we take one or two frozen bottles and as it is going down we top it up at the water fountains in the parks.

2) we keep a pack of wet wipes in the fridge overnight to take with us, sometimes the humidity can be so overwhelming this is refreshing to all the family.

3) we give the kids there own amount of money for the day i.e $15-20 each per day, we tell them this is money that they can spend on what ever they want to but once its gone its gone, else you can find yourself spending money on 2 tonnes of things every day lol lol

4) we always arrange a meeting point once we get to the parks that everyone agrees on, so if anything happens for example you get split up and lost you can arrange to meet at this place as soon as you have realised that someone is missing (lucky for us not had to use it yet)

5) some days we take a light packup into the parks in a cooler bag with us, we store it in the lockers near the entrance to the park, some of the snack and go places only do hotdogs, burgers chicken strips etc and after a few days of this you really appreciate a good sandwich or salad that only cost you half or more of the prices they charge at the parks.

6) remember to take suncream with you at all times even the water proof stuff needs topping up and if your kids are anything like mine they will be in and out of the small water parks etc they have dotted around the parks. top up at least once more in the middle of the day.

7) start at the back of the parks when you get in them this is much easier it sounds silly i know but most people are taking there time walking from the front to the back you will have aliilte more space around you for at least the first hour or so...take note of what ride you want to do most at each park and get your fast pass for this to avoid dissapointment.

hope this helps a little happy planning and happy holidays

Have a rest day. Theme parks can be tiring!

Irishlass

Make a rough plan of what you want to see and do, pick some days to do these things but also include a few rest days, water park or hotel pool to give your feet a rest, these parks are huge.

Plan which rides you want to do on park days so when you pick up a map you know what you are looking for, saves wandering aimlessly in the wrong direction, use fastpasses to save standing in queues all day and have plenty of breaks, drink lots of water.

A bit of research before you go is well worth it and this is a great place to start.

Have a great time.

just buy each person thier own bottle of water and use the drinks fountains to refill during the day.

Comfy shoes/sandals, so that the tootsies can breath and they wont smell when wet and sweaty.