Family trip for Sept/Oct 2016 NEED YOUR ADVICE!!

[Rmurphy005]

Over the weekend I officially got the green light to start planning a trip for Sept/Oct 2016. I have been a lurker on the DIS for a long time and i have always been very interested in how everyone on here plans out their trips. This is going to be the first time i will be able to plan so far in advance and i am really excited to see how I can get it to play out. All of your help will be greatly appreciated...

HERE ARE THE QUICK FACTS:
-The primary cast for this vacation is My DW, my DD(will be 1.5 during the trip), and myself.
-We are going to ask my DW's parents and also my father to come along. (We have not mentioned it yet but we are pretty sure they will want to go on this trip)
-This trip is so we can view Disney through the eyes of my daughter. (well and because i havent been in a few years and i am sick of just reading about it on here haha)
-I am trying to decide between Sept/Oct of 2016 for 8 days with a 5 day park hopper.
-I am the only one going on this trip that is obsessed with Disney, my father really loves it but he just loves going and isnt into the whole planning aspect of it. I dont think my DW or her parents have any idea how much i know about disney from these boards. It will be an interesting trip lol.

HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS I HAVE FOR YOU:

-What suggestions do you have for a 1.5 year old going to Disney?


-What is your favorite Value or Moderate Resort with 1.5 year old and why?


-We are leaning towards Sept since the crowds are the lowest, would you agree?


-Any suggestions on bringing extended family? (I can see my in laws not wanting to stick to the detailed plan i have and i dont want there to be any arguments) I am thinking of just telling them when we invite them that they are welcome to come with us and we are going to stick to the plan we have made and if they want to follow along with us that is great, but if not that is ok too.


-This will be my first time going without the meal plan, any suggestions on great food spots that wont kill my budget?

 

[Madteaparty001]

September definitely has lower crowds, but it's also hot and very rainy, so keep that in mind.

All Values are pretty kid oriented, many people avoid Sports because that's where a lot of the cheer and sports teams stay and they can be a rowdy group. AoA has particularly good theming for the under 6 age group but it also comes with the price of a Moderate resort. Certain Values have family suites which give you a bedroom with a door separate from the living area and a kitchenette. If you want to go moderate Port Orleans is a big favorite among parents, lots of kid friendly theming and the grounds are very peaceful.

I think your plan for handling the in-laws is sound, give them a schedule before hand and ask them to let you know what parts of it they want to be included in so you can make reservations accordingly, whether they be dining or FP+. Just remember you're going to be taking it a lot slower with 1.5 year old, you won't do everything and you should brush up on Rider Swap for any rides you want to ride.

There are so many restaurants at Disney it's hard to tell you what would be the best bang for your buck without a bit more information on what kind of meals you want to have. Here's a link that has a list of most expensive restaurants to cheapest, it's purpose is to help those on the Dining Plan to get more value for their credit, you could use it to find the cheaper spots to eat http://wdwprepschool.com/maximizing-disney-dining-plan-credits/

 

[Rmurphy005]

September definitely has lower crowds, but it's also hot and very rainy, so keep that in mind.

All Values are pretty kid oriented, many people avoid Sports because that's where a lot of the cheer and sports teams stay and they can be a rowdy group. AoA has particularly good theming for the under 6 age group but it also comes with the price of a Moderate resort. Certain Values have family suites which give you a bedroom with a door separate from the living area and a kitchenette. If you want to go moderate Port Orleans is a big favorite among parents, lots of kid friendly theming and the grounds are very peaceful.

I think your plan for handling the in-laws is sound, give them a schedule before hand and ask them to let you know what parts of it they want to be included in so you can make reservations accordingly, whether they be dining or FP+. Just remember you're going to be taking it a lot slower with 1.5 year old, you won't do everything and you should brush up on Rider Swap for any rides you want to ride.

There are so many restaurants at Disney it's hard to tell you what would be the best bang for your buck without a bit more information on what kind of meals you want to have. Here's a link that has a list of most expensive restaurants to cheapest, it's purpose is to help those on the Dining Plan to get more value for their credit, you could use it to find the cheaper spots to eat http://wdwprepschool.com/maximizing-disney-dining-plan-credits/

Thank you so much for your advice, i will definitely need to try to figure out how to make my brain slow down to how fast we will actually be able to go with my daughter, its just so hard when i want to run around and do and see everything lol. thank you for that link i will definitely check it out.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

-Any suggestions on bringing extended family? (I can see my in laws not wanting to stick to the detailed plan i have and i dont want there to be any arguments) I am thinking of just telling them when we invite them that they are welcome to come with us and we are going to stick to the plan we have made and if they want to follow along with us that is great, but if not that is ok too.

If you want to bring extended family, let them have their own schedule and find a few times to meet up with them. Do not, under any circumstances, spend 24/7 with them. You will regret it.

-This will be my first time going without the meal plan, any suggestions on great food spots that wont kill my budget?

The only time we never used the meal plan when when our son was a little over two. There were five of us, so we stayed at a cabin at Fort Wilderness. The cabins have a kitchen, and we cooked our own dinners.

 

[my2lovedisney]

My advice:

If staying at a value I would either choose AoA or Pop. These two are the most popular. Pop is supposed to have the better quick service dining options out of the others that are older aside from AoA. AoA has awesome Little Mermaid rooms and also lion king and nemo rooms. That resort is the newest and has a zero entry pool which my kids loved. We only stayed here for one day. As far as moderate resorts go, our favorite is Coronado. I like the layout, rooms, and pool

We always go in September bc of lower crowds, but it is Hot! So be sure to either take mid day breaks or cool off in some air conditioned rides or restaurants. Since your baby is 1.5 she prob still naps and I would be taking full advantage of pool time

I agree with a previous poster about bringing family. Do not plan your schedule with theirs the entire time bc it will most definitely end up driving you bonkers. We went with friends on our last trip and I tell ya, while everyone was ok..it eventually got really tiresome feeling like we always had to please them and vice versa.

We have always used the meal plan so idk how much it is to go with it vs without. But I can recommend good places to eat Earl of Sandwich at Downtown Disney, 'Ohana, The Crystal Palace (this is a character buffet w/ Winnie the Pooh and friends <- your little one may enjoy) there's a lot of variety in Disney.

Enjoy planning your trip!

 

[muenginerd]

Following....We're going in May of 2017. At that time we'll have DD 2.5 and a lil squish about 15 months. It's going to be the kids first time going and our trip is really going to about DD and the lil squish. My parents are coming along to and are on the fence about how much Disney they want. They're coming to go on vacation with the grandkids.

We're talking about resorts right now. Looking at renting point from DVC and getting a 2 bedroom somewhere. Probably OKW or AKV. The price in May is more what we would be looking at for a moderate-deluxe. The nice thing is that you have a full Kitchen and Washer/Dryer with the 2 bedroom. Grandma wants to make Breakfasts and Dinners for us, (probably pack lunches too, she loves to cook). That will save on getting a meal plan. DH and I will probably sneak off for a special meal or two. 2 bedroom will be nice too because Grandma and Grandpa can take the kids home when they are tired and Mom and Dad can hang out late in the parks. Kids can go in their room so we don't have to worry about waking them up coming back.

For the parks I think we'll focus more on meeting characters seeing shows/parades. Just really slowly down and enjoying things. All the things we blew past when it was just DH and I. May is going to be hot for us so we'll probably have time built in to go back and relax at the room.

September has been getting progressively more crowded so don't expect the parks to be really slow. Although, we went September last year and didn't really have an issue with the crowd level. The heat was another story. It was Hot Hot Hot.

 

[EPCOTgrl1]

I can't give you advice on what to do with a 1.5 year old since my first trip with my DD is this October and she will only be 5 months. I wish I was more help.

For the resort I always choose value because we don't spend a lot of time there as compared to going out. They all have fun pools and since your daughter will most likely not be on water slides yet, save a little money while you can. And remember she doesn't into the parks free till she is 3.

I would say if you can go at the end of September beginning of October. The crowds are always lower, you can do MNSSHP, and food and wine. The weather is hot during the days but cool at night. I love that time of year and to be honest am sad that we are going in late October this year.

For inviting extended family first off make it clear as to what you will be paying for and what they have to pay for. For example I invited my parents on this trip with us and I will play for there room, and some food (we normally split the cost of meals). They have to get their own tickets. This trip I will also be getting us FPs and made some dinning reservations. Since we have all been down more then once and recently I ask them if they have any requests, if they don't they are stuck with what I choose. I would let them know what your plans are and they can choose to join in or do their own thing. Sometime it is just had keeping a group together. You have the right idea of what to do.

As for dining, depending on where you stay you might have a mini fridge in your room. To save money we always mail down out breakfast stuff and get a jug of milk for cereal. Cutting out that one meal will save you $10-15 per person per day. We normally have one big meal during the day and then snack the rest of the day. With bringing you DD you might consider a late lunch, again saving a little money each day. I think the key is planning on what you can bring down/mail down for breakfast and snacks so you only have 1 big meal purchase a day.

 

[daisygirl902]

We love September - it's a great time to be in Orlando. Although some say it's rainy - I have been many times in mid September and there is normally only a 1 hour burst of rain in the afternoon, and that's just enough to break the humidity and "clear the air". We stayed at POP for many years, although now that we're DVC members we prefer OKW.

For our wedding trip, my in-laws came along. My family have been doing Disney together for years and normally stick together (and stick to "the plan"), but we knew that travelling with my in-laws would be a bit different. We made our plans, and they simply had the option to either join us or do their own thing. They did a combination of both, and there was no pressure from either side!

My DS was only 10 weeks on our last trip so no advice on traveling with a toddler yet...although we're taking him in September at 14 months, so can certainly answer any questions when we get back!

 

[mandis77]

We stayed at POP in 2013 when my DD was 1.5 - I would recommend that. She loved the larger than life characters and bright colors. The food court is great and bus service was excellent. I plan on going Sept 2016 as well, preferably at the kickoff of F&W so it gives my not-so-into-Disney in-law's other options (plus it's delicious!)

 

[JekT]

Excited for you! You will have a blast!

Like others have said September is great for crowds but a bit hot. Good for swimming mid afternoon though!

I would highly highly recommend AOA. We stayed in little mermaid when oldest DS was a year and a half and it was perfection. The pool is zero entry and there is a huge splash zone. Nice playground and biggest bonus is the themeing for that age. DS just had the Disney Magic look in his eyes the whole trip whenever we were at AOA - we could have stayed there the whole time and he would have been thrilled. I've stayed at POP and All Stars but AOA takes the cake for sure. Again for that age it's just magic.

If you are looking at moderates we did CRB when our second DS was a year and a half and oldest was 3 and it's a whole different world. It's calming and relaxing and just plain drop dead gorgeous. Both kids loved it but it was a different vibe. Much slower paced and not so in your face. Our 1.5 year old is more laid back so this was a good choice for him. They have a great kids splash area with pirate ship but it was a bit too intense for both the boys.

We have traveled with my parents every Disney trip so far. Some time apart is good but there are no issues as long as everyone knows what to expect. For example, my parents like to get up and go but we aren't always like that so knowing that ahead of time instead of being upset we arent ready that morning is helpful. Things like eating speed or amount of time relaxing apart from the parks are things you'll want to lightly discuss most likely.

If you have any questions I'm more than happy to help!

 

[JekT]

Oh one more quick thing. We found 10 days is the magic stay length for that age for us. Shorter and we felt rushed and being rushed with a 1.5 year old isn't as relaxing as one might think