Help a newbie out 1st time and stressed!!!

[Gatorgirl4lif]

Hi all,

I've been reading the boards for 2months now. 1st time posting.. After many years of trying to convince my DH to take our 1st trip to WWD, he finally caved. Since this may be our only trip (but hopefully not), we are doing 7days 6nights AKL CL DxDDP. We are going in June 2015 and I'm already stressing between ADRs FP+ and planning what parks to do when. I work in a really time demanding job and don't know when to find time for all of this. Can y'all give a newbie some tips and advice so I get some sleep over the next few months? This trip is the 1st for all of us and I want it to be special. DS 12 and DD10 are already super amped for this trip and I'm hoping DH will enjoy himself so much he will be wanting to come back. Thanks.

 

[vicki_c]

You might want to rethink CL and deluxe dining for a first trip. It will be an overload of food and you will spend lots of potential touring time in restaurants. I think that could actually detract from your trip instead of adding to it.

If you decide where and when you want to dine, the AKL IPO office can book your dining reservations for you. They don't have special access, so you need to be in touch with them prior to your 180+10 window. They should reach out to you before that time. But if they don't, you can probably find their contact info on either the Club Level thread or the AKL thread.

 

[gjroe78]

Hi, i agree with Vicki_c about the dining plan i'd downgrade if possible, we usually do the standard dining plan 1x snack, 1x counter service and 1x table service and that is more than enough food plus you won't spend wasted hours in restaurants.

 

[Micca]

Congrats on your first post Gatorgirl The good news is that you have plenty of time to make your plans, so no need to get stressed out over it.

I'd start by checking the best days of the week to visit the parks and pencil that in. When you have that part planned, then you'll kind of know the area you'll be in and can plan your ADRs based on convenience. Obviously that will make get your FP+ reservations easier to plan too. There are numerous sources for best days at the parks. You can probably find helpful info right here on the Dis.

With the exception of WS at Epcot, most of the best restaurants are located at the resorts rather than in the parks. You'll get more out of your deluxe plan by eating at those locations.

You should also decide whether or not you'll be renting a car. There are benefits and disadvantages to driving or using Disney transportation, but knowing how you'll get from point a to point b will help in the planning stages.

The other little bit I'll add is that most of the prep and planning looks worse on paper (or computer monitor) than it actually is.

Dis-ers are always happy to help with trip planning, especially those accompanied by a reluctant spouse. There are plenty of "spouse didn't want to go and now can't wait to go back" success stories here.

 

[siskaren]

I'd start by checking the best days of the week to visit the parks and pencil that in.

A good place for this information is easywdw.com. The calendar for June 2015 should be out mid to late November.

 

[xjay]

Yea. I agree with the PPs. I would go with the regular DDP instead of the DxDP. That's a lot of food, and you're going to be staying CL. You won't have any time to hang out in the lounge and eat some of the offerings that they have in CL. Also, I would contact IPO soon if they haven't contacted you yet. You can give them the ADRs that you want to get and they will try to get them for you. So you won't have to worry about waking up early to make them.

 

[lwake]

Hi. I so agree with the others. Club level with Dx DDP will be way too much food. Do u really need CL? I've done CL at GF and feel the extra money wasn't worth it as we weren't in our room much. DX DDP will have you spending a lot of time planning beforehand and waiting/eating while there. If you are not big eaters then you'll want to rethink this choice. Personally, I would do either CL or the regular dining plan, but certainly NOT both. You can always use the $ you save for an extra snack or two during the day or just get an upgraded regular room with savannah view. I go to WDW twice a year and never do both
club level and dining plan. Seriously, rethink your decision. It's all about the fun spent in the parks. Have fun.

 

[Disneyluv111]

Hey! I am a first time WDW'er. LOL
We've decided to skip the Character dining because 1. my child said no she doesn't want to do it. 2. it's too much to plan for me. 3. We want more time to be in and at the park since this is our first time. 4. 2 out of the three are light eaters!

We also opted to do Disney resort to streamline things an make our trip easier and more magical. Once we are experienced WDW'er. We will most likely add or take away some things!

 

[TandemShoehorns]

Gatorgirl4lif,

Relax! Even if you don't "do it all" (which you won't), you are going to be making memories that will last a lifetime.

DW and I don't stay club level, or use the dining plans as we are generally light eaters. I always felt like I would be compelled to eat perhaps more than I wanted, trying to get "full value from the plan". But from the perspective of budgeting your food dollars in advance, I can see why the plans are appealing for some people.

Many years ago, we would go to The World with our children in the summer. I remember that we would go to the park in the morning, return to the room in mid-afternoon for pool and/or nap time, and return to the park in the evening. Florida can be pretty hot in the summer and the parks can get crowded. We found the breaks to be very enjoyable. You also might experience a few showers as well. Try to be flexible and don't let a last minute change in your plans get you down.

Take some time to enjoy the fact that you are all together, in a magical place. Last year we coaxed our daughter to come down over President's Day (she is a teacher) and bring her husband (who really wasn't that excited). She hadn't been to WDW since 1987, but you should have seen the look in her eyes when she got there. It was wonderful. (He admitted to having a good time too).

Have a great time!

 

[michyi]

Take your DD to Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It's magical even if she's not into the princesses anymore! It's a really fun experience. My DD and I did it when we went in 2011. Worth every penny.

This will be our second trip and we are going to get the park hopper pass this time. That might be worth it. Not sure if you said you're getting it...

 

[SGMCO]

For your first trip you may not even want to get the DP and pay out of pocket (unless you can get Free Dining) choose a couple of Table Service restaurants to try and eat at Counter Service for the rest. Sitting down at a TS can take time out of park time, plus eating at CS you don't have to make ADRs but eat when you want.

 

[SGMCO]

Sorry double post.

 

[fairy oma]

Don't stress over it, I know it seems daunting at first but when you arrive all you have to do is enjoy WDW. (my DH said it was one of the best vacations he ever had)! Take advantage of the concierge service at CL and save yourself some stress.

I think you will enjoy CL but I would rethink the DDP and do the 1x snack, 1x CS, and 1x TS unless you are both real foodies. It will also give you more time to enjoy the parks.

The other recommendation would be to rent a car as sometimes you can spend as much as 1.5 hrs to get back and forth to park/resort depending on the time of day. Either way you will have a fantastic time.

 

[abaldacci]

For your first trip you may not even want to get the DP and pay out of pocket (unless you can get Free Dining) choose a couple of Table Service restaurants to try and eat at Counter Service for the rest. Sitting down at a TS can take time out of park time, plus eating at CS you don't have to make ADRs but eat when you want.

I agree for a first trip don't try and pack to much in. no one will have fun. because you will have to many places you need to be, and there is a learning curve to Disney time, It usually takes longer than you think to do almost everything. A sit down meal is 3hours at least. if you include getting there and waiting on seating, Your DH will not dare go back if you drag him all over from daylight to dark. I would do CL and wing it on meals. you will be much happier, IMHO Welcome and Good luck

 

[nkereina]

100% agree about not doing deluxe dining. We did the deluxe plan on our third trip, so we were familiar with everything, and we STILL scheduled our reservations too close together which made us not hungry for meals and really messed up our plans. We had a lot of leftover credits due to last minute reservation cancellations - which you can no longer do without a penalty.

If you go back again, you could give deluxe a try at that time - by then you'll have figured out what touring style works for you, what times should work for you, etc. And do keep in mind that deluxe is A LOT of food and you do pay for it. You may even find that it makes more sense to just pay out of pocket for food, if you're not eating everything the dining plan provides. The plans aren't meant to be a savings - they are meant for convenience.

 

[Gatorgirl4lif]

The reason we went with DxDP is we are real foodies in our family. We love to good to a good restaurant and enjoy great food. We are not big on fast food. My son even likes escargot . We usually plan great restaurants for our vacations before activities. We have considered dropping CL but for the difference in the price at AKL DH is like why not keep it. Thanks for all the advice keep it coming.

 

[JessLUVSminnie]

I think you will probably be very happy with your setup that includes DxDDP and AKL CL. You are right that the price of the CL is so close that you might as well indulge for the few extra dollars. If you enjoy a night cap or two it will end up being worth monetarily. Everything i've read about AKL CL has said how fantastic it is, so much so that i booked it as part of our upcoming trip. On our first trip in 2011 we had the DxDDP and that is THE reason my DH has agreed to return. In fact I have him agreeing to our adults only trip for my 40th birthday in feb and then a bounce back trip with the kids in the fall. I will suggest that you attempt to book a few signature restaurants that require 2 credits and then only eat twice a day. Only booking 1credit restaurants can make it seem like you are going from reservation to reservation. And it is a lot of food! I have my adrs booked for feb and I have either a breakfast or early lunch for each day and then a signature dinner. BOG is the only night we didn't do that. Also dont forget all those snack credits. You can use any extra snack credits to buy take home treats at certain stores. We used ours at the candy store on main street in MK.

 

[threelilbears]

I would do the dining but not the club (too much food) - but the Epcot restaurants especially are worth doing. Make a calendar of you FP+ date, your BOG fast pass date etc

 

[disnut8]

Make a calendar

I agree with this 100%. If you can use a spreadsheet, that would be best. You can list things you want to do, which park those things are in, restaurants you want to try, shows you want to do, etc.

Then, plop things into the days you think will work out. Then, between now and 180 days before your trip, move things around to get it so all your meals are planned. Then move everything else around until your 60 day FastPass window opens. After all that is done, continue moving things around, changing dining plans and FastPass plans until the day you are happy with what you have.

I would say maybe once a week to update the calendar. And make sure your kids and your husband also have says in what to do and when to do them. Maybe have a weekly family night to discuss things. Play a Disney game or watch a Disney movie.

Sometimes planning can be overwhelming but it can also be fun.

 

[KenDoll]

Instead of changing your package I think the best use of your DxDP is to make the times early and late. I find that if I make a character breakfast I prefer the 7:45 time so that I'm finished by 9 and heading the the parks, get myelin near around late lunch or early evening, large amount if time between 9-1 for park time/park hopping and then pool or nap time until 3, then we usually have our next TS between 3:30-4, we are usually done by 5 and have the rest of our night to explore the parks and eat something small at night time around 9( we usually go for sweets by then)..

As for the transportation, we have AP so we can park for free so we always have a car. The transportation is one of my only issues with disney because it can take forever! I tend to use buses if I need to but I try and get around as fast as possible with the help of walking from resorts to parks.