Elite 24 and Disney Sports Complex

We were thinking about doing it (my son was asked to go with another team) but we're not now. But a friend of mine who lives there, suggested renting a house. He said it's much cheaper than a hotel room. If you go to the travel section, maybe you'll get some info there.

Great advice from Beezer. Our 14U team is going and we all rented condos or townhomes in the Windsor Hills community. They are far cheaper and much nicer than the hotels and you can cook all of your meals, which takes care of the main concern you expressed. It also makes it easy to nearly completely avoid the amusement parks, which is pretty much the whole point.

Hi KC Dad. If you pm me I am a realtor and can hook you up with many companies that have homes and condo's for rent. They run from about 100-150 night for 3-4 beds with a pool. You can save a lot cooking there. You'll be no more than 10 minutes from the sports complex.
If you know where to eat, you can save alot as well.
Golden Corral is great for a crowd of hungry young players, everything on the buffet from steak to pizza and desserts. Runs 10 bucks for dinner, 7 for lunch and 5 for breakfast.
Cici's pizza is all you can eat pizza for 4.49. There are quite a few of these places here. Eating at Disney everyday just doesn't make sense, but I would have 1 good dinner at Chef Mickey's buffet and enjoy the entertainment. That'll run you 23-25 a head.
Let me know if I can help. A lot of places are booked up in july and you really do have to move quickly.

quote:

Originally posted by KC_Dad:
from what I am hearing it cost more to eat down there than it does to get down there (and I am not even talking about the Amusement Parks ... I know they cost a fortune).

I meant to comment on this. I understand what you're saying but think you're hearing bad/misunderstood info. I go there every now and then for business (was just down there in the Spring) and I don't think in general, it will cost you more to eat in Orlando than Independence, MO. But keep this in mind:

1) You're going to a MAJOR tourist area. Some place WILL charge more because of it.

2) To keep meal cost down, avoid eating at places on the beaten path (I Drive).

3) You're not used to eating out 3 meals a day for a week. It will add up before you know it, not to mention the ballpark snacks/drinks!

If you can get a condo/house and can cook, that will help!

All due respect Beezer, but after living here for 18 years, I could take you around town and you'd eat cheaper than in Independence. I lived off of hwy 192 for 16 yrs and just west of Disney for the last 2. I am happy to help any who want to find homes or condo's, I don't make anything from this. I also have eaten at every cheap and expensive place in the metro area, my waist line can attest to that. So any way I can help in the Orlando area, I will be happy to.

You might want to check with your coach, we went to this tourny the past 2 years. USSSA gives each team a number of rooms to stay at ( choice hotel ) usually right down the road from the complex. With the rooms you are alloted from USSSA and the extra ones we had to book for the family's ( I think the allotment is 10 ) you will save some money. As far as eating their are a tom of local resturants that are average prices like coachric stated with good food. You will be suprised that being in the sun all day will destroy your appitite. Most of the games are played in the morning but go into afternoon. They try to keep the kids out of the heat as long as possible. One important thing is you ARE allowed to take coolers into Disney. Another is get one WITH wheels because you will do some serious walking. Need anymore info shoot me a PM and I will help out all I can.

Should you have a chnace to go to the parks during your visit, I recommend arriving a half hour before the advertised opening time. During the summer, the parks open when a crowd gathers; early arrivals can get it as much as an hour in advance.

Peak arrival time at the parks is between 10 and 11 am --- you can enjoy many of the more popular rides in the cooler hours of the morning with much, much shorter lines by arriving early. Your ticket is for the full day, so it's also a good idea to leave around lunchtime to have lunch off-property (have your hand stamped for re-entry), relax at the pool, cool off (peak heat is 1-4pm), and head back around 4pm. Lots of people leave late afternoon; the lines are shorter and the weather cooler (although 'cooler' in Florida in July is a relative term).

I appreciate the responses and agree with all of you on where to stay and eat when going down to Orlando as a family vacation. Trust me, we have gone down 4 times now and we always stay in renter homes for the week when we go down there but Coachric I will definately remember you for our next trip. Unfortunately this time, like Ruste mentioned, we will be staying at the Disney World resorts and we do get 5 of the rooms free due to the Elite 24 arrangement. Disney of course provides transportation to all their facilities and parks but their are no cooking facilities there so you have to rent vehicles to go to outside facilities or Universal Studio Parks. I think we are planning on renting a couple 16 passenger vans to accomplish this. I guess what I was enquiring about was, dealing with this type of arrangement are there like special offers (i.e. Disney food coupons, Ride tickets, laundry facilities, outdoor cooking areas or indoor kitchens that could be arranged for, etc) that we can use to still have a good time but not break our pocket books.
Thanks again for all the helpful replies.

I recommend HIGHLY that you and the parents realize what you are there, for--either a great experience and "fun," or serious about baseball.

If you are there for baseball, then forget about the theme parks, as the players and parents will be in for some late nights if they go.

If you are there for a family "experience," then do not put pressure on the boys to win. Expect they will be worn out.

This is the voice of experience from going with a team to 11-U AAU nationals whose parents thought more of the theme parks than being down there for baseball.

Visit this website:

http://www.disboards.com/

These are the disney experts and fanatics (like we are with baseball). They helped me save tons when we went in October and I picked up some great tips for the parks as well.

Just enjoy the experience - we had a fantastic time and the boys played some great baseball - it was HOT though!!! Don't mess with the umpires - they have a zero tolerance policy - I almost got tossed and I'm the mellowest guy you have ever met. Whatever you budget for - the reality is double it.....enjoy this experience and good luck - if anyone needs a 14U catcher who is the starting varsity catcher let me know - we would do it again in a heart beat.

Catcher09, Which hotel(s) have you stayed at down there when you were with the boy during these tournaments. From what I understand we won't find out until the time gets alot closer. Were all the same age teams in one Hotel or what is just hit and miss?

We went the condo route - do a search on the internet - there are a ton of places. One of the moms found a place and negotiated a discount so all the families stayed in the same community. Much better then a hotel because it wasnt as crowded/multi rooms and the kitchen - which probably saved us a furtune - sorry I cant remeber the name of the place. Note: we were lucky that we qualified early in the year so we were able to plan it out well in advance.

quote:

Originally posted by Coachric:
All due respect Beezer, but after living here for 18 years, I could take you around town and you'd eat cheaper than in Independence.

No problem Coach. You're just backing me up basically.

quote:

Originally posted by JT:
I recommend HIGHLY that you and the parents realize what you are there, for--either a great experience and "fun," or serious about baseball.

If you are there for baseball, then forget about the theme parks, as the players and parents will be in for some late nights if they go.

If you are there for a family "experience," then do not put pressure on the boys to win. Expect they will be worn out.

This is the voice of experience from going with a team to 11-U AAU nationals whose parents thought more of the theme parks than being down there for baseball.

This is great advice. I know this is a bit off the original topic but everyone (coaches, players, and parents) needs to be in agreement before you go. Everyone is going to spend a lot of money and vacation time on this trip. You will end up miserable if the group does not agree why you are going. Will you play to win serious baseball or have a fun trip and play some ball too? Don’t assume everyone is planning the same trip just because you are all going to the same place. Talk about everything in advance. For example, I think many games are lost in the hotel swimming pool. Does the rest of the team agree and will they stay out of the pool? On the other hand a team can have a lot of fun in the pool and the water fight might be the thing they really remember in ten years. There are no wrong answers as long as everyone agrees on the same plan in advance.

Maybe we were just lucky but we did have fun and played some serious baseball as well. For example: game at 10AM on Day 1 with next game the next day (Day 2) at 4:00. We hit the parks and swimming pools the rest of Day 1 and slept in on Day 2. My point is it doesnt have to be all or nothing. Have fun and get ready to be hot. All the teams can play ball. We were particularly successful with our pitchers who could throw off speed for strikes. In general, the florida teams were the most competitive.