DL purists, where is a good place to start planning a WDW trip?

[arcadiandj]

This will be my wife and my next big trip. It won't be till 2017, but I want to get an early start. What would be your strategy for research? Those of you who have made the trip, any thoughts/suggestions/stories/etc...? Thank you in advance

 

[jpessa]

These boards are a great source of info, of course. My favorite WDW blog is easywdw.com. The blogger, Josh, has great crowd calendars, park recommendations by day and cheet sheets on how best to tour each Park. Have fun planning your trip! One of my favorite things about WDW is that it requires so much advance planning (ADRs 180 days in advance, FP+ 60 days in advance, etc). I know some people don't like it, but I do because it gives you tons to obsess about before your trip!

 

[tlovesdis]

Check out the WDW boards here!!! It helped me soooooo much when I was planning my first trip!!

 

[texasgingerbread]

I'm not a DL purist but love WDW. Love DISboards. And Josh from easywdw.com is "the" WDW blogger. I second that. For character info and touring plans we also like kennythepirate.com. His touring plans are rigorous though - be forewarned.

 

[SplashMo]

For sure start with easywdw.com touring plans. Also read the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and use the touringplans.com site.

You need to pick:

1) Proper month / date
2) Number of days.

I recommend staying onsite at WDW (even if you stay offsite at DL).

It is hard to pick a good number of days. However:

Two days is too short (But would suggest a park hopper)
Three days is rushed (But would suggest a park hopper)
Four days is rushed (But would suggest a park hopper)

I recommend Park Hoppers no matter what actually. However it varies from person to person and the longer the stay the less necessary they become.

5 Days becomes a nice short visit and 7 days is good, eight may be perfect and some folks may be done by 9. I like to stay longer but I may be unusual in that regard.

Because of FP+ it is very helpful to use Park Hoppers as FP+ is limited to three per day initially and then more once you have exhausted the first three so Rope Drop is key.

So the trick becomes (Your thoughts may vary):

MK Rope drop in the morning and use FP+ after two hours or so. Go back for FP+ 4,5 and 6 etc.. Eat Counter Service most of the time to save time for rides and keep things flexible.

Epcot Rope Drop SOARIN and FP+ Test Track. Visit the nations and eat at Epcot either counter or table service. We generally have a nice Table Service meal while in Epcot as it is easy to add in to the touring.

DHS - May or may not need to rope drop. If you want to do all the rides it is great to RD and use FP+. Make a Table Service Reservation for Dinner as Counter service at DHS is not my favorite place to eat. We usually go to the 50's prime time diner.

AK - This can be rope dropped without FP+ and then you can hop to another park with FP+ reservations in hand for the second park. We usually eat CS at this park.

The main mistakes I see. Buy too expensive of a hotel room so you never want to leave the hotel wasting valuable park time. Paying for the dining plan and making a ton of reservations that tie down your days and times in the parks.

A value or moderate hotel will provide a nice place to crash.

An eight day plan for me would be:

3 days RD in MK (One day hop to Epcot or another park)
2 days RD in Epcot (one day hop to another park)
1 day RD in DHS
1 Day RD in AK (Hop to another park)
1 Day RD AK and hop to DHS

There are tons of other combinations but key points:

AK usually does not need FP+ and so you can save your FP+ for another park and hop to it in the evening. Though AK will be likely an all day park by your visit.

It is very good thing to RD MK one full day and use FP+ after the first two hours.

 

[donac]

Funny I am a DW purist and am planning a trip to DL in 2018 for our 40th wedding anniversary. We went to DL in 1978 for a day on our honeymoon and want to go back.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

The DIS boards were very helpful for us planning our first WDW trip, we also bought the unofficial WDW book.

We left December 12 and got home on December 24 at 3am, ouch. We had 8 actual park days, which was not enough to see everything but we had a blast. We spent 2.5 days at MK (xmas party evening in there), 2.5 days at Epcot, 2 half days at AK, and one full day at HS. If we had to do it over, we would have spent less time at MK and more time at AK and Epcot. I think we could have spent 3-4 days at Epcot and 2 full days at AK.

Touring is so different than at DL, attractions are spread out, and there are a lot fewer rides per park. There are quite a few shows and minor attractions to check out though. We did one morning EMH at MK on December 22-WOW WAS IT PACKED! Of course, it was xmas week. We did rope drop for all days and the first few hours were quite pleasant the first week, the week of xmas there were noticeably more people. Magic bands worked perfectly for everything, FP+ was ok, we did not try to add any more during the day but I was able to move some times around from my phone which was very convenient. Ride times were pretty spot on via the app as well.

I would agree with staying onsite, there are tons of options for most budgets. We knew this would likely be a one time trip for us because of the distance from the West coast, so we kind of went for it. We rented DVC points (we saved around 50% off rack rates) and stayed 3 nights at Saratoga Springs (wanted Poly or GFH-nothing available 10 months out) and 5 nights at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Saratoga Springs was ok, kind of like renting a condo, we were very far from the lobby and center of activities, rooms were ok, we had a nice water/golf course view. AKL was amazing, a bit out by its own though. We were in the Kidani Village (Jambo House is the larger part of the resort). We were on the top floor (5) and had a savanna view-WOW. Feeding station right below, we saw animals all day long. We ate at all three restaurants onsite and all were amazing.

We did 8 signature restaurants (induing a Candlelight package) and most were quite good. We were actually a little underwhelmed by Be Our Guest (food was average at best-ambience was spectacular) and Biergarten (same-great atmosphere and beer!-food was ok). Best food we tried-Jiko. Best overall dining experience we had was at Narcosee's with water pageant and fireworks.

I planned the heck out of this trip and was glad I did-it really paid off.

 

[SplashMo]

By the time you go AK should have an evening show similar to WOC. That will make the park an all day park or one that you want to hop to at night on one occasion to see the show.

The parks have a concept of best day to hit the park and easywdw and touringplans will let you know which day is best to see which park (Tue for example). It is important to pick your dates and then which day you will be in each park up front as well as which parks you will hop to. Then once you have the basic plan then add your dining reservations in places that make sense

Some HOPs are shorter than others. MK to Epcot is short. Epcot to DHS is short. AK to MK is long. Also DTD can be a long drive. We usually go to DTD on the day we leave or we hit AK for three hours on the way home. Or you could go to DTD after a short day at AK. Or simply skip it altogether.

 

[arcadiandj]

For sure start with easywdw.com touring plans. Also read the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and use the touringplans.com site.

You need to pick:

1) Proper month / date
2) Number of days.

I recommend staying onsite at WDW (even if you stay offsite at DL).

It is hard to pick a good number of days. However:

Two days is too short (But would suggest a park hopper)
Three days is rushed (But would suggest a park hopper)
Four days is rushed (But would suggest a park hopper)

I recommend Park Hoppers no matter what actually. However it varies from person to person and the longer the stay the less necessary they become.

5 Days becomes a nice short visit and 7 days is good, eight may be perfect and some folks may be done by 9. I like to stay longer but I may be unusual in that regard.

Because of FP+ it is very helpful to use Park Hoppers as FP+ is limited to three per day initially and then more once you have exhausted the first three so Rope Drop is key.

So the trick becomes (Your thoughts may vary):

MK Rope drop in the morning and use FP+ after two hours or so. Go back for FP+ 4,5 and 6 etc.. Eat Counter Service most of the time to save time for rides and keep things flexible.

Epcot Rope Drop SOARIN and FP+ Test Track. Visit the nations and eat at Epcot either counter or table service. We generally have a nice Table Service meal while in Epcot as it is easy to add in to the touring.

DHS - May or may not need to rope drop. If you want to do all the rides it is great to RD and use FP+. Make a Table Service Reservation for Dinner as Counter service at DHS is not my favorite place to eat. We usually go to the 50's prime time diner.

AK - This can be rope dropped without FP+ and then you can hop to another park with FP+ reservations in hand for the second park. We usually eat CS at this park.

The main mistakes I see. Buy too expensive of a hotel room so you never want to leave the hotel wasting valuable park time. Paying for the dining plan and making a ton of reservations that tie down your days and times in the parks.

A value or moderate hotel will provide a nice place to crash.

An eight day plan for me would be:

3 days RD in MK (One day hop to Epcot or another park)
2 days RD in Epcot (one day hop to another park)
1 day RD in DHS
1 Day RD in AK (Hop to another park)
1 Day RD AK and hop to DHS

There are tons of other combinations but key points:

AK usually does not need FP+ and so you can save your FP+ for another park and hop to it in the evening. Though AK will be likely an all day park by your visit.

It is very good thing to RD MK one full day and use FP+ after the first two hours.

Just read your post word for word to my wife and repeated "pearls of wisdom" several times. Thank you so much

 

[arcadiandj]

The DIS boards were very helpful for us planning our first WDW trip, we also bought the unofficial WDW book.

We left December 12 and got home on December 24 at 3am, ouch. We had 8 actual park days, which was not enough to see everything but we had a blast. We spent 2.5 days at MK (xmas party evening in there), 2.5 days at Epcot, 2 half days at AK, and one full day at HS. If we had to do it over, we would have spent less time at MK and more time at AK and Epcot. I think we could have spent 3-4 days at Epcot and 2 full days at AK.

Touring is so different than at DL, attractions are spread out, and there are a lot fewer rides per park. There are quite a few shows and minor attractions to check out though. We did one morning EMH at MK on December 22-WOW WAS IT PACKED! Of course, it was xmas week. We did rope drop for all days and the first few hours were quite pleasant the first week, the week of xmas there were noticeably more people. Magic bands worked perfectly for everything, FP+ was ok, we did not try to add any more during the day but I was able to move some times around from my phone which was very convenient. Ride times were pretty spot on via the app as well.

I would agree with staying onsite, there are tons of options for most budgets. We knew this would likely be a one time trip for us because of the distance from the West coast, so we kind of went for it. We rented DVC points (we saved around 50% off rack rates) and stayed 3 nights at Saratoga Springs (wanted Poly or GFH-nothing available 10 months out) and 5 nights at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Saratoga Springs was ok, kind of like renting a condo, we were very far from the lobby and center of activities, rooms were ok, we had a nice water/golf course view. AKL was amazing, a bit out by its own though. We were in the Kidani Village (Jambo House is the larger part of the resort). We were on the top floor (5) and had a savanna view-WOW. Feeding station right below, we saw animals all day long. We ate at all three restaurants onsite and all were amazing.

We did 8 signature restaurants (induing a Candlelight package) and most were quite good. We were actually a little underwhelmed by Be Our Guest (food was average at best-ambience was spectacular) and Biergarten (same-great atmosphere and beer!-food was ok). Best food we tried-Jiko. Best overall dining experience we had was at Narcosee's with water pageant and fireworks.

I planned the heck out of this trip and was glad I did-it really paid off.

Also read your post word for word to my wife. Thank you so much

 

[arcadiandj]

Thank you everyone! I've looked a little at: easywdw.com and see there is a "Whole new world" to begin exploring! Thank you so much!

 

[SplashMo]

Just read your post word for word to my wife and repeated "pearls of wisdom" several times. Thank you so much

You are very welcome.

I remembered a few items.

1) It's a small world is easy for a DL purist to walk past at WDW so finding it on a map is key.
2) SOARIN is inside a building at Epcot. Again almost impossible to find for a DL person expecting it to be outside. Locate this on a map as well. You then cut over to test track so it is a good idea to locate that ahead of time as well.
3) The physical Relationship between Splash Mountain and BTMRR is different between the parks.

There should be a night show at each park by the time of your visit. They may or may not be every night. I like to make a point of seeing them. Also MSEP at MK is a must see in my book.

If you do splurge on a moderate hotel POR is a nice option and has a boat to DTD. If you stay at a value you can pay a little more to be near the buses and pool. The walk to the bus from the hotel can be lengthy so I often ask about this to save time.

 

[donac]

The amount of walking in DW also needs to be mentioned. When we were there in October my friends noticed that we had done 10,000 steps by lunch. The World Showcase walk alone is 1.2 miles.

I know that this something you should prepe for.

 

[momto2]

As mentioned the WDW boards have helped us SOOOOOOO much. We read them religiously. We did read Unofficial Guide. So helpful! We have found that the planning of a WDW trip is just as much fun as the actual trip. Enjoy!

 

[KCmike]

The Unofficial guide to WDW is a great book. You probably can even find one at your local library.

 

[jeast]

We used to live in Florida and have stayed at several resorts and some off site condos. There's no question for us that staying in one of the resorts in the Epcot/Boardwalk area on Crescent Lake is the best. There is a lot to do, and you can walk to dinner in the World Showcase in 5 minutes. You can also watch their fireworks from a bridge near the hotel and it is SO easy to leave the park after Illuminations. No mass of crowds!

At one of these resorts -which are mostly luxury-you can take the boat to Hollywood Studios or even DTD. I never paid rack rate, but used disboards to rent points. I saved a lot of $$ doing this, although you need to take precaution and only rent from well established people. Another option is one of the major point rental dealers mentioned on numerous boards.

I recommend the Beach Club Villas for their spectacular pool and quick walk to Epcot's World Showcase. Also, the Boardwalk Villas, which are situated right on the boardwalk and also features a quick walk to Epcot as well as proximity to numerous restaurants and boardwalk attractions. Several others in the area include the Yacht Club, and the Swan and Dolphin. I'm not sure if the Yacht Club has villas, but Swan and Dolphin is a very nice, more modern and traditional duo of hotels a little further down the lake.

As far as other properties, I've stayed at Key West, which was underwhelming. I didn't feel like its location was very good. Wilderness Lodge Villas were nice. The hotel itself is very nice and incredibly well themed as a mountain lodge. The boat ride to the parks was nice, but took quite a while. It was nice to be able to visit Fort Wilderness Campground for their Hoop Dee Doo dinner show ($$$).

The monorail resorts are nice because the monorail is probably the easiest way to get into and out of Magic Kingdom. Plus you can use them to visit the amazing restaurants at other hotels on the line. Very convenient, but I've never stayed in them. I prefer being able to hop into World Showcase and eat at Paris, Mexico or Norway.

We always found 6 nights to be about right for us, but we always knew we would be back, so didn't try to see and do it all. Enjoy your trip and your planning!

 

[arcadiandj]

We used to live in Florida and have stayed at several resorts and some off site condos. There's no question for us that staying in one of the resorts in the Epcot/Boardwalk area on Crescent Lake is the best. There is a lot to do, and you can walk to dinner in the World Showcase in 5 minutes. You can also watch their fireworks from a bridge near the hotel and it is SO easy to leave the park after Illuminations. No mass of crowds!

At one of these resorts -which are mostly luxury-you can take the boat to Hollywood Studios or even DTD. I never paid rack rate, but used disboards to rent points. I saved a lot of $$ doing this, although you need to take precaution and only rent from well established people. Another option is one of the major point rental dealers mentioned on numerous boards.

I recommend the Beach Club Villas for their spectacular pool and quick walk to Epcot's World Showcase. Also, the Boardwalk Villas, which are situated right on the boardwalk and also features a quick walk to Epcot as well as proximity to numerous restaurants and boardwalk attractions. Several others in the area include the Yacht Club, and the Swan and Dolphin. I'm not sure if the Yacht Club has villas, but Swan and Dolphin is a very nice, more modern and traditional duo of hotels a little further down the lake.

As far as other properties, I've stayed at Key West, which was underwhelming. I didn't feel like its location was very good. Wilderness Lodge Villas were nice. The hotel itself is very nice and incredibly well themed as a mountain lodge. The boat ride to the parks was nice, but took quite a while. It was nice to be able to visit Fort Wilderness Campground for their Hoop Dee Doo dinner show ($$$).

The monorail resorts are nice because the monorail is probably the easiest way to get into and out of Magic Kingdom. Plus you can use them to visit the amazing restaurants at other hotels on the line. Very convenient, but I've never stayed in them. I prefer being able to hop into World Showcase and eat at Paris, Mexico or Norway.

We always found 6 nights to be about right for us, but we always knew we would be back, so didn't try to see and do it all. Enjoy your trip and your planning!

Jeast, thank you for the great response! What is this point renting? You are the second poster who has noted you didn't pay rack rate and were able to save.

 

[SplashMo]

Points rental:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/points-for-rent-same-day-service-all-resorts.2386546/

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Yeah, read those rental threads. I would also highly recommend going through a service (there are two big ones-we used D and were very pleased). For popular resorts, you need to start reserving right at 11 months out if you can and you still might not get your first pick depending on the time of the year. We tried for both Poly and GFH at 10 months out for the week before and xmas week and were shut out. So glad we got AKL-spectacular property.

 

[arcadiandj]

Points rental:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/points-for-rent-same-day-service-all-resorts.2386546/

Splashmo, please forgive my ignorance, but I don't understand this service. He says go to his site with FAQ, but I couldn't find it. Could you say a word or two to help me understand this concept?