10 Tips for a Ministry family RV trip to Disney

Ministry Family RV trip to Disney

On Spring break of 2022 our family decided to take a trip to Disney World in Florida. In an effort to create a memory, gain experience to be able to pass on to you, and determine if this would be a suitable means of vacationing for us in the future, we rented an RV from Cruise America and took off on our vacation. If you are not familiar with our family we are made-up of my beautiful wife Sarah, our boys Evan, Ethan, and our daughter Katelyn. The following is our experience and recommendations if you should ever decide to take an RV trip to Walt Disney World.

1. Decide early and try to get into the Disney camp site.

We made this decision a little late to the departure date, 2 months out, and there was no availability. Staying at a Disney Resort provides so much simplicity to a trip. You are close to the park reducing your travel time and there are usually other amenities you can enjoy.

2. Rent an RV bigger than the size of your family

We rented the 7 person RV. This was one of the best decisions we made. The extra “space” was welcomed and made it great for travel. The 5 person RV wasn’t much smaller but it it would have been small enough to make a difference.

3. Don’t expect luxury

The rental RV’s aren’t trash however with no pop-outs and being what they are, they are as basic as basic can be. There are no tv’s on the RV and the outlets only work with generator power ($3.50/hr to run) or when plugged in. I purchased an ac converter and HIGHLY recommend you do the same. This allowed for the kids to charge electronics while on the road by plugging into the cigarette lighter.

4. The RV was great for travel

We drove from CT to Clermont Florida in 19 hours and 20 hours down Interstate 95. That was amazing travel time. We didn’t stop overnight and just drove straight through. We were able to do that because the kids could use the bathroom on the RV, sandwiches and snacks could be made for lunch, and any extras (Dunkin or Starbucks) were purchased during our gas breaks. We loved being able to stay on the road longer and get there quicker.

5. Stay at a nice RV resort

We chose Thousand Trials in Clermont Florida. It had a pool, mini golf, play area, nice facilities, and great reviews. Our kids loved being able to play outside, get in the pool, and play with the large checkers set that was there.

6. While at Disney…Buy Genie+ and Lightning Lane

Make this part of your budget. Genie+ is $15 per day/per ticket and some rides (Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios and Flight of the Banshee at Animal Kingdom) are separate. Spend the money on both. Do it as early as possible for those popular rides. I get it, you can wait for 2 hours in line and save the money…listen, spend the money and use that 2 hours to ride 2-3 smaller rides with your kids or visit a character.

7. Animal Kingdom is a half day park

Animal Kingdom closes earlier than the others and doesn’t really require the time the others do. It has zoo like qualities that can be enjoyed; however, I recommend the park hopper and knocking Animal Kingdom out first or going to Magic Kingdom or Epcot early and then Animal Kingdom later as the crowd dies down. We went to Animal kingdom first and Magic Kingdom second. It was perfect.

8. Don’t pay for the closer parking at Hollywood Studios

Get up, get there early and you will be fine.

9. DO pay for the parking at Animal Kingdom.

Even getting there early, it saves some walking time. Again, your paying for a little bit of time savings. Make it part of your budget and just do it. Also, if this is the day you are park hopping, that closer parking will work when you go to magic kingdom later that day. <<<<You're welcome 😁

10. Use Turo to rent a car

I recommend the Turo App for a rental car to everyone. Think AirBNB for vehicles. You can get a nice car at a great price delivered to you for less than enterprise.

There it is, 10 tips for an RV trip to Disney. What would you add? Any other tips you would suggest?

Photo by Togo RV on Unsplash