Hello,
As a newbie here and WDW I need all the advice and help I can get. I just retired after 23 years of Active duty (Air Force) and my wife is about to return from a 6 month deployment (she left in Sept) We are planning on our first real family vacation with our kids (7 yr old Girl and 5 yr old son) 8 Apr - 16 Apr. Their Birthdays are the 12th and 14th. We are doing the Dinning plan and a character "brunch" at Chef Mickey on the 13th to do a little birthday celebration. Any advice on how to make this a great trip being our 1st would be appreciated. After moms 6 months being away, we need all the help we can get. We are staying at the Port Orleans Riverside.
Thanks in advance.
First let me say thank you for serving our country and keeping our homeland safe! My niece is presently in the Air Force and is starting her 4th year. She is presently in Germany but will be deployed to Irag soon.
For our first trip, we took my daughter to Guests Services at Magic Kingdom and told them it was her first visit and they gave her a special button. They also have one for birthdays. It doesn't cost anything and they are a nice treasure to have for years to come. (I think you can go to a guest service in any of the 4 parks).
*Remember to build some "down" time into your schedule. We sometimes get caught up in wanting to do everything and run from sun up to sun down and we forget how important it is to rest. For my family, we like to be at the parks for opening. We choose a few select things we want to do first, have lunch and then go back to the resort for some pool side fun or a nap. We return to the park for dinner, more rides, parades (depending on the parade times, some are in the afternoon so check the schedule and plan according to what you want to do.)
*Wishes at Magic Kingdom is one of our firework favorites. Keep a close eye out and you might see Tinkerbell fly across the sky!
*There is the Boutique where your children can be made up into a princess or pirate (for a fee but I am not familiar with the exact cost).
*Fantasmic show in Hollywood Studios is outstanding, but note that it is a very popular show. You can sometimes do a dinner/show package which you can use the dining plan for. You can dine at Hollywood and Vine or Mama Melrose. But you are close to your vacation time so you may not be able to get this combo. Give 407 WDW Dine a call. Otherwise you can try standing in line but beware that you would need to be online early, I think about 1 hour prior to show time.
*If your children are interested in meeting characters, you might consider an autograph book (some have one side for the autograph and the other side room for a picture of your family with the character). We have also purchased inexpensive Disney shirts at our local
Disney store and had characters sign our shirts with a sharpie pen. Then, we get to wear them all year long.
I think I will leave it at that. There is so much to do that it can be overwhelming. Also, I am sure others here on the board will share some of their favorite things to do.
If you want to PM me and just chat about your upcoming trip, feel free. I love to talk Disney!
Most importantly, have fun and don't stress about doing everything. Besides, it gives you a reason to go back another time!!!
