Disney World Au Pair Travel Guide
- Au Pair Project
- Mar 16, 2021
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 16, 2021
Disney World
What you need to know…
Orlando is one of the favorite destinations for Au Pairs and maybe even for people all over the World. Why?... Simple…. There’s the happiest place in the world (Disney World)
Disney World count with 4 main parks
Magic Kingdom: the big princess castle is in here and I’m sure you’ll love to have a picture in front of it, wearing your really cute Minnie ears. This park was the first one opening in World Disney World. You can find all the rides in the next link.
Hollywood Studios: have you seen in pictures that huge tower of terror where everyone has a picture? Well, this is the right park to find it. Also, if you’re a huge fan of Star Wars or Toy Story, this is the park you’ll want to visit. You can find all the rides in the next link.
Animal Kingdom: just as the name says, this park has everything to do with nature… I’ll say that you can get in all the rides of these parks in just a few hours, probably you don’t need all day for this. The best rides in our opinion are the Everest mountain and the ones from the movie Avatar. But to find out all of them, follow the link.
Epcot Center: this one is also a park that has fewer rides and normally the lines are also shorter than in other parks. The theme of this park is more about international culture and technology. This park was the second park opened at World Disney World, after the first one Magic Kingdom. To check out all the rides and experiences, click the link below.
LET’S GIVE YOU SOME TIPS.
Flights
It ALWAYS depends where you are flying from. So we’ll not talk about specific prices for this. But what we can tell you, is that sometimes, finding a low-cost airline that normally doesn’t include your baggage, is always a good option to go with. Just get some nice and comfy clothes in your backpack and you’ll be saving between 30-60 dlls, maybe even more. You can always find a hotel washer and dryer that will let you wash your clothes within a few quarters.
Find also if there’s any other airport near where you live, maybe in the closest city. Sometimes prices can be even half cheaper than the one you are used to. So, check out, compare the prices and find if someone can drive you there or if any busses will drop you in that airport just for a few dollars.
Seasons
Florida is a state where the weather normally is nice. But you have to think that if you’re traveling to go and visit the Disney Parks you have to consider the weather in a different way.
Walking the parks all day under the hot sun will probably make your experience not as fun as you wanted. In the summer, Orlando can get high temperatures, and being on the line for a ride for more than an hour, wearing a face mask, and with the heat will make you want to run away from the parks and you’ll also get tired sooner than when it is not that hot.
Based on our experiences, we recommend going probably between October and January if the heat is something you don’t want on your Disney trip. Take considerations and also, look up the weather before you pack, so you can wear something comfy that will help to deal with the weather.
Parks
Here’s what everyone wants to know, so this part is going to have different sections:
Cost
We recommend you to check out all the parks and values if you want to visit all of them or make a selection of the parks you like the most if you don’t want to pay a lot of money for getting in all of them. Anyway, we tell you the prices they normally have:
Food
We think there’s food for any budget inside the parks. You can sit down in one of the theme nice restaurants and probably pay for an expensive meal, or you can also get a sandwich or a hot dog with fries for maybe $12.00 dlls. But if you’re trying to follow a low budget, you always have the option of bringing food with you. Yes, you can bring food inside of the parks. So, maybe you want to stop at a Walmart and get some stuff to make sandwiches and getting some snacks to put in a backpack.
Another thing is important… WATER. Bring a water bottle with you, there are so many water fountains where you can refill your water bottle, and that way you’ll not have to pay each time like 4 dlls per water.
To keep everything cold and good (remember normally is hot and you’re under the sun all day) we recommend you get a small lunch box or cooler that’s comfy to carry around or small enough to save in your backpack.
If you’re buying food inside of the park, you need to order with the Disney World app in most of the “restaurants”. Remember to keep checking your app or you can lose your food and have an extra fee charge.
Rides
Prioritize… that’s the best tip! Prioritize which rides you want to do and also if you download the app, you can check the waiting time for each ride. Maybe you want to do first the ones that have a big waiting line and then have a lunch break and finish with the ones that are faster.
Parking
If you’re driving a car depends on the day and which type of car you’re driving but it goes from 25 dlls to 50 dlls per day. It doesn’t matter if you go to two parks on the same day, the same receipt of the parking will work for those two.
Souvenirs for home
Probably you'll want to buy a lot of souvenirs, maybe you even want to buy everything because it's so pretty, but... when you check the price of everything, probably you'll get disappointed. But that's why we have a nice souvenir or gesture to send back to your home country or all over the world with just a few bucks. Did you know you can mail postcards from inside of the parks?... If you didn't know, don't worry, we just found out. Around the theme parks, you'll find mailboxes where you will be able to put your nice card and send it wherever you want. Here are some links that explain to you better how it works and some tips:
Where to stay
We’ll all want to stay at the Disney resorts and that’s fine if you have a wealthy budget for this trip. If this is not your case, don’t worry, we have some tips for you.
Hotel
There are more options than Disney Resorts. Near Disney there are a lot of hotels that also normally offer you a Shuttle that takes you to the parks, it depends on the season the prices and also the Shuttles are in specific hours and with covid restrictions, this can variate. Don´t forget to check all details before booking any hotel, even if it’s necessary, you can always call and ask any questions you may have.
Another option is staying in any hotel that is not that close to Disney and using a rental car to move you around Orlando. All the Best Western hotels normally are cheap and not too bad to just go and sleep after a fun day. You can always check the surrounding areas with google satellite.
Airbnb
We know that sometimes if you’re going with a group of friends, Airbnb can be a little bit cheaper than a hotel. You can always check hotels and Airbnb to see the difference with prices and location. If you are going to drive a car to get to the parks, maybe it is a good option to consider how far away the parks are for the gas you’ll use and the parking fee per day.
Friends
If you have any Au Pair friends in the area don’t hesitate in contacting them and ask them if they want to join your adventure or if you can stay at their HF home to save some bucks. Also, if any of your friends want to go on a trip with you, remember there are a lot of Au Pair FB groups where you can post which days you are planning to go, and maybe someone will join you, and that way you’ll split the cost of a lot of things.
Please, if you have any questions, feel free to send us a message in our IG Profile and we’ll be more than happy to help you out!
We hope all these tips will help you make this experience even more magical!
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