HawthorneVillager.com

We have been to Atlantis and it was FANTASTIC! However, your kids may be a bit young still. A lot of the slides and rides at Atlantis are for older kids, so your younger kids may have to stick to the activities for their age groups specifically....which may not be as fun for them. We went with a group of adults, and we saw TONS of kids....but a lot of them couldn't go on the bigger slides. Might be worth looking into. Just an FYI though - we stayed at the Comfort Suites next door, which was much MUCH cheaper and included continental breakfast, and we had full access to all the facilities at Atlantis.

For Disney, I got an email this morning from WestJet titled "save up to 35% on disney resorts". They may have additional specials on their website or perhaps even on the WestJetVacations website.

We went to Disney in October with extended family and rented a 6-bedroom house with a screened-in pool in a gated community in Kissimmee.

It worked out pretty well for us -- the parks were an easy 5-minute drive away and it was nice to come home and relax in a house with our own private pool as opposed to a cramped hotel-style room.

As far as the extended hours you might be able to take advantage of at the resort -- well, our kids are 6 and 3 and I don't think extended or different hours would have mattered. Kids at that age have a limited 'shelf life' at a place like Disney - when they're done, they're done!

Also, we were able to pack our meals for the day and eat home cooked meals when we didn't stay into the evenings.

Also, with regard to busy times of the day -- we found that there was no difference between 9am, 12 noon, 3pm, 8pm.... It was busy everywhere all the time at all of the parks -- and that was in October!

It depends what you want in your vacation as well -- if you want to relax, Disney is probably not the place, honestly. We had a great time and a lot of fun, but with two kids at the aforementioned ages, we found it extremely stressful at the same time (the record high heat for that time of the year didn't help either, however), managing constant meltdowns, waiting in lines, keeping them away from the lure of the gift shops, etc. etc. Again, it was fun, but definitely NOT relaxing.

On our 5th day, we opted to drive to Daytona Beach for the day instead of going back to Disney and it was amazing! The weather was cooler (not that you'd have 100F temperatures at this time of the year, though), kids had fun playing in the 'ocean' which they were excited about, barely anyone was there on the beach... that was the relaxing part of the trip for us!

Just our $.02 -- good luck and I hope you guys have a great time wherever you decide to go!

Hey Z, if you wind up going to Disney, I can't recommend enough the fireworks cruise. They have one both in Epcot and the Magic Kingdom lake, but I'd definately go to the Magic Kingdom lake one because the epcot one you're VERY close to the fireworks and it's insanely loud and you get ash raining down on you .

Last time I went it was about $160 USD for a pontoon boat that picks you up at any of the resorts on the lake (Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge, Fort Wilderness), and you have a driver. The boat is stocked with drinks, chips, etc... and a boat driver... they take you around the lake and show you the sights & tell tales, then take you over to the electrical water pageant and let you watch that, then they float in front of the magic kingdom, turn on the speakers so the same music in the parks is piped into the boats, and you watch the fireworks from the water, which is amazing... the booms REALLY carry over water.

With your family breakdown, you might love the cabins at Fort Wilderness... tons of stuff to do there as well as having peace and quiet.

And another big thing about the resorts is the restaurants! With kids some of the best would be the buffet dinner at O'Hana's in the Polynesian resort, the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom... and DEFINATELY check out the Hoop-De-Doo Revue in Fort Wilderness.

You can read and see picture about all these things at www.allears.net, including reviews from other people staying there.

Steve.

I have an annual pass for Disney Orlando and visit the parks 3-4 times per year! I love staying at Port Orleans - Riverside!! (and have also stayed at All Star Music a couple of times).

Port Orleans has rooms that sleep 5 (trundle bed pulls out from under one of the beds).

Check out www.disboards.com (and especially read the "Canadian travellers" board.....it's really awesome what you can find out on there!!

Also check out www.mousesavers.com and allears.net.

Happy reading!! It's addictive!!

Lynne

Have a look at Travelzoo.com - they have lots of great vacation deals.

This link will take you to a current deal on Disneyworld:
http://ca.deals.travelzoo.com/us-hotels ... mail_top20

Would the weather be good at Disney right now?

Went to puerto plata in December .. very nice place. I think all the carribean destinations will be good as long as you get a good resort.

I LOVE the meal plan. But don't forget to make your reservations now. A lot of the 2 ticket restaurant, you have to book months in advance. I highly suggest the California Grill and Le Cellier Steakhouse; simply amazing!

I had to make my reservation for Le Cellier Steakhouse 4 months before we got there!

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Pain is Temporary Pride is forever

If you are planning a character meal (the kids will love it!) I highly recommend the Garden Grill at Epcot (it is located in "The Land" building). My son's favourite is Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort. He loved it when he was 4 and still loves it today at 9.