If you're not tired to answer. I have abundant of questions concerning WDW & Orlando sightseeing?

Question

My hubby, son (1.5 year) & I plan to go WDW this mid June for 10 days/ 9 nights. We plan to stay at Value Resort & buy MYW plus Dining for 10 days, BUT we just buy 7 days Hopper tickets instead of full length of our stay.

My questions are:

- if we buy only 7 days hopper tickets, are we still be able to enter the park on the other 3 days? Isn't the admission included in MYW Package, but we just can't hop to any theme park we want? Am I right

- We just buy 7 days hopper ticket b'coz we will arrive in Orlando at 6:40 PM. Pity to use the park tickets so late! So what could we do on arrival? any night Orlando sightseeing or shopping recommended? If yes, pls. tell me where & how to get there.

- my hubby thinks that we should also visit some other places, than theme parks and similar attractions. Where would you recommend us to see/ to do? any cheap outlet nearby WDW? -> by bus or on foot.

- I read gratuities are not incl. in WDW Dining. How does it work? Is it a must? how many %

Answer 1

there are tons of cheap WDW stores outside of it, and wal-mart is right outside of it

Answer 2

some of your questions you would have to discuss with your travel agent or better, a Disney Rep. usually in the magic your way is a lenght of stay pass but they change their options so often i am not sure it that is still the case. and i don't know if you can add the park hopper option to just certain days. although i don't see why not.

as far as what to do on your first night... you could just relax at the hotel. i don't know how long you will be traveling but you might not be in the mood to go very far. the other option is to go to downtown disney. there are restaurants (everything from McDonalds to Wolfgang Pulk Cafe) some shops (mostly disney although there are a couple of speciality shops) and a movie theater. you can use the Disney Transporatation between your hotel and DTD and not have to worry aboud driving.

gratuities are basically tips. basically you need to tip your waiter the same way you would at any other restaurant. the average is 15% but you might want to tip more if you get excellent service.

There is an outlet mall about 15 minutes away from disney that actually has a disney outlet store. everything that gets discontinued get sent to that store and sold at a discount. becareful because some items are actually current item that are just being sold at regular prices. you can email me for directions.  there are several other stores that you might like. but it gets crowded quickly so i would say arrive early. there are other malls but because orlando is such a large tourist destination they can be very busy and might be a little pricey.

Disney will recommend Goodings supermarket and although they are close, they are more expensive.  there is a publix and if you are willing to drive a little further you can find a super target or a walmart. prefered are usually either closer to the pool or amenities in the resort.

Pirate and Pricess Party is a hard ticket event (meaning you have to pay a seperate fee to get in) where everything is decorated and themed around... you guest it, pirates and princesses. there is a special parade and special photo ops. the rides stay the same.

there is really nothing withing walking distance of Disney. you need a car to get anywhere outside of property. you can't even walk from the resorts to the parks (there are a few exceptions and even in those cases, it is just to one park.)

to find a car rental you would have to check online. depending on the dates, length and type of car ir can vary a lot. some car rentals will also rent car seats. and it is florida law. if i am not mistaken, you can get a ticket for not using one. you can find additional information at www.allearsnet.com

Answer 3

Some good places to go (especially if you have three days) are either Key West, or Marathon Key, from disney it is about a six-eight  hour drive down to the keys (if there isnt too much traffic...) and down there you can snorkle, go to the beaches, eat some good fresh seafood, or just shop (many more things.. but too many to list...) another nice place to visit is the florida everglades! If you look around a bit you can find plenty of everglades air boat tours that can take you through the everglades the best way, and you can even eat a bit of gator in a few resteraunts in the area.