ALSO…along with the fireworks over the castle at night, the magic kingdom has an electrical parade that if I remember happens every night that is absolutely amazing and gorgeous. When I was in high school ( I know I went to Disney with my parents and my best friend and her parents for a vaca) we went to the electrical parade 5 nights out of the 7 nights that we were there. It is amazing and definitely something families should attend more than once!

Disney is amazing, but I have to agree with you FrugalDad it is a money trap for fun. Everything that you want to do has money involved so dont think that you can go to Disney and be frugal. Get ready to spend on all tourist attractions.

Also…for any one in the military (retired or present) they have a hotel strictly for military called Shades of Green and its on the property and a very descent price! Also make sure you always ask for military discount when you are there, they honor it in so many places!!

Have fun and make sure you see the Mouse

1)Moderate resorts offer a great value. Value resorts are less expensive, but noisier (in our experience) and you run the risk that some national group will be meeting there (Pop Warner group and cheerleaders are LOUD). Try to go during the value season. My best tip for booking at Disney is use a travel agent that is a Disney specialist! They don’t charge anything, and our agent has saved us hundreds of dollars on each trip. They know when special rates are coming, and automatically get you the discount.
2)The Dining Plan is definitely worth it. As far as we were concerned, the counter service meals were all HUGE, so we split them. We bought two full breakfasts every day and divided them up along with a couple of fruit bowls (snack credits), shared 3 counter service meals between us for either lunch or dinner, and then had our own restaurant meals. We shared snacks, and always had snack credits left over at the end of our trip which we used to by some treats to take home. My only complaint about the meal plan is that your day can end up revolving around when you can get a reservation at a particular restaurant. The next time we go we are going to go with the counter-service only plan for more flexibility. BTW, if you use a travel agent, they can make all the meal reservations for you, but we have done it ourselves. Our agent got our girls into the princess breakfast when they were little, something we had never been able to do on our own.
3)Lots of good advice about Fastpasses, but the best advice is go into a park each day with a plan. Also, if your children are old enough, consider using the single-rider option on rides like Test Track and Expedition Everest. 90%+ of the time our kids rode together anyway, but this really cut down on our wait time. One time our 8 year-old got in by herself with another family on Test Track (I was in the car right behind her). They watched her very carefully and she had a blast, but that only happened to us the one time. We talk to each other while we wait in line, or talk with other guests-it’s fun to find out where people come from, what they know, etc. We have picked up some fabulous tips from others waiting with us.
4)Our kids were given some spending money from us upfront with the rule that they could not ask us the entire time we were there to buy them anything, period. They got to decide how and when to spend their money, and once it was gone, it was gone. They all did well with this, and were VERY thoughtful and careful with how they spent their money. Two of them came home with money. We split their money between Disney gift cards and cash.
5)Our Disney trips have given us all great memories. We go knowing that Disney is Disney, with no other expectations other than we are going on some great rides, and will get to spend a lot of time together. My husband enjoys not having to drive anywhere. They pick us up at the airport, transport us around the parks, and take us back to the airport. I like that Disney World is clean and kept clean, and that the workers are friendly and helpful. I grew up near Disneyland in CA, and loved it as a kid, and still enjoy it today.

We’re looking forward to going back in another couple of years!

We did the extra magic hours in the morning. We were up that early anyways, it was cooler and the crowds were way less. We would get there before it opened and watch the show they have going on to open the park.

We didn’t plan on having our son remember it. We don’t watch the Disney channel or Disney movies or anything like that. Every time he sees a picture of Mickey, he gets all excited now though.

I know people are giving you a hard time for not being frugal and going to such an awful place. In my opinion, I am frugal in other places of our life so we can have big experiences like this. It’s all about what you choose to spend your money on.

in Orlando it gets so humid that it rains almost every afternoon- and out come the ponchos, they sell these things for $15 bucks and just absolutely rip you off. The reason being is the rain lasts 10 to 15 mins and then is gone.

my advice take your own poncho and save the money, trust me you will need it.