1st post and 1st trip!

[bakers3]

Hi all!

I have been avidly lurking and taking notes for several weeks now. I thought I would pop in and say hello and thank you for all the great advice I have copy/pasted into text files.

My family (myself, DH and DD10) are planning our very first trip to Disney World. None of us have been before. We are going to be there the week before Christmas and as this is a side trip tagged onto a larger family trip to beaches of SW Florida with DH's family, we are strictly limited on time and really had no flexibility on dates.

Our game plan is probably approaching the technique I have seen referred to as "commando" but with so little time, what else to do? Because we have only 2 days for parks, we chose MK and Epcot. Since we booked the trip, we have rearranged our driving schedule to end up with nearly a full day before we start the parks. Sooooo....how does this look?

Day 1 (December 20th) arrive at ASMo by 10:00-ish. Check-in. Spend 1st part of day in DTD - hit Mickey's Mart, Once Upon a Toy for some spud parts (Way to Go, Idaho!), Goofy's Candy Store and whatever else strikes our fancy. Spend late afternoon through bedtime touring the monorail resorts, looking at the Christmas decorations, getting pressed pennies, snacking, etc.

Day 2 (12/21) Up and at 'em for EMH at the MK. Hit it all day and then enjoy the Christmas Party (tickets bought) until 12:00. Will try technique of rides during the 1st parade and then move on to enjoying the party activities. Back to bed!

Day 3 (12/22) Epcot at opening. Rides, Future World, etc all morning and then World Showcase in the afternoon and early evening. Catch the tree lighting ceremony at 6:00 and do whatever we haven't had time to do. After IllumiNations, do as many rides as we can squeeze in during the evening EMH. Back to bed.

Day 4 - Get up, check out and drive to Cape Coral/Sanibel Island to join DH's family for our first beach Christmas. Take a swim and then pass out for at least 24 hours.

Any hints or tips would be much appreciated and thanks again for all the great posts that made planning this trip even possible!

Keri

 

[barrie]

First off - welcome to the DIS!

Secondly - PHEW!! That day 2 and 3 are going to be a long ones. If I were you I might build in a break midday for a little freshening up before the party. Otherwise, sounds great to me! Have a wonderful time. Barrie

 

[Married_A_Disney_Nut]

Welcome and Congrats !

Ah, the first trip... I remember it well...

Sounds like you've got things in control. My only advice would be to not try to plan too much. Just play it be ear (Mickey Ear that is). You'll find yourself distracted by things you never thought of.

Also, after you return home keep plenty of Kleenex on hand. First for wiping away your tears because you are no longer at Disney, and second to deal with the Disney Virus you will pick up. Once you've gone once, you'll find it very difficult not to start planning your next trip very soon.

Have fun !

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Welcome!

Looks like you have a good plan going! Is there a reason for no parks on the first day, though?

 

[Evil Genius]

Sounds like a plan. Can I suggest that you squeeze AK into your first day? Their parade is awesome.

Have a great trip!!

 

[tmt martins]

We will be there as well .

The only kink I see in your plan is during the first parade I would do some character visits and stuff thats only during the party.

If your getting there at opening you should get most if not all the rides in during the day.

Now if taking a mid-day break ( highly recomended) then yes use the parade to do the rides.

Your Epcot plan looks good but I think the crowds will really be picking up by then.

Have a great time.

 

[TenThousandVolts]

WELCOME!!!!- If I were you I would go to a park on DAY 1, then go to DTD on the morning of day 2- then relax until 4:00 and then go to MVMCP- (You can get in to MK with just your MVMCP ticket giving you 8 hours at Magic Kingdom and thus allowing you to use that admission for a different park on day 1)
Then go ahead to Epcot on Day 3.

That is just what I would do.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Welcome to DIS I would consider doing a park on your first day. Maybe plan an afternoon break on your MK/MVMCP day Our first trip was in 2000 and I remember it well. Just remember to allow time for extra stuff in your schedule -character greets, shows, meals, re-rides, etc. Have a great trip!

 

[bakers3]

Wow - Thanks for the warm welcome and advice! We hadn't planned on a park the first day because our original travel plans didn't have us arriving until well into the evening on that first day. We have already purchased our package and after I reworked our travel plans (i.e took another day off work - ha!) to get us the extra day, I just figured we would squeeze as much low budget, non-park magic into that first day as we could.

10Kvolts - Would 8 hours give us enough time to really do the MK properly since it is our first time and we need to do the party stuff as well? If we could swing a 3rd day of tickets, what about MK on Day One, AK on the early part of Day 2 with MVMCP that evening and Epcot on Day 3?

We would need to figure out if doing AK instead of the resort tour and DTD on this trip is really, really worth the extra money for what we would get out of it. It would be 180.00 to upgrade the tickets by my figuring. I'm thinking it might be better to just accept what we can get done on this short trip and try and plan another trip at some point in the future to do the other parks. Hmmm.......guess we have some more considering to do!

tmt - I'll revamp the party plan - I hadn't realized there might be special character meets available at the party!

Thanks all!

 

[TenThousandVolts]

I think 8 hours in MK would let you alot but not everything. You could go to MGM on arrival day and do rides and shows then get to see Fantasmic and Osborne Christmas Lights at night- both pretty amazing. It would be hard to do AK on arrival because that park has short hours and you won't be getting there until (best case scenario) 10:45 or so.

I like the idea of you seeing more of WDW and getting the extra park without changing your budget.

 

[bakers3]

I like the idea of you seeing more of WDW and getting the extra park without changing your budget.

Me too! Thanks for the ideas....will start talking about it with the family.

 

[Glendamax]

Your plans sounds like a lot of fun! Hope you have a GREAT time!

 

[mattsdragon]

Just stick with your plan, it's your first trip and you're not going to see everything regardless.

I know if I had a long drive, regardless of what time I got there, the last thing I would want to do was cram a park in on the first day. DTD is nice, you start to get the feeling, but you and you kids, are not overwhelmed (and your hubby can have a beer if he does that. . .long drives are very frustrating, especially anywhere in Florida).

Do what feels right for your family. It's your trip.

 

[bakers3]

Hey Mattsdragon,

You are right - we just CAN'T see everything in the short time we are there so in the end, we decided to stick to the original plan. We are actually excited about the super long day in MK (16+ hours I figure) and using that 1st day to do DTD and the resort tour to see the Christmas decorations seems like a nice way to get into the spirit!

And thanks, Glendamax!

 

[TLHB70]

First I want to say hello and welcome to the DIS!!
You will soon see why we are all such Disney fans. It is truly the best, most magical place on earth. There is nothing like it. I promise!!!! You will get hooked; I am sure.
Have you looked at the Unofficial Guide? This book is wonderful! You can learn all about Disney, the food, the rides, etc. Plus it offers one and two day touring plans in the back. Your local book store should carry it, or you can order it online here .

 

[Todd&Copper]

Since your DD is 10, I don't really think you need a break on your MK day. Maybe a sit-down lunch, but not a "go back to the hotel and go to the pool" break. Your plan sounds good to me. Have a great time!

 

[TLHB70]

Since your DD is 10, I don't really think you need a break on your MK day. Maybe a sit-down lunch, but not a "go back to the hotel and go to the pool" break. Your plan sounds good to me. Have a great time!

I thought the same thing. We were there last week. We got to each park by 8:15 or 8:30 each morning, and we stayed until closing each night. (after 9 Illuminations was the latest night) We never went back to the room for a break. My DDs are ages 8 and 11.

 

[bakers3]

I'm with you guys on not leaving the park for a break. I figure since we will be there from opening (with morning EMH) through gate closing after MVMCP then we will have plenty of time to sit for snacks and a meal or two, catch a few shows/attractions that we can sit at, etc. We'll take breathers as needed - hopefully with a view of some magic. Sure we will be tired and perhaps even sore but what the heck....we'll be at WDW!!

 

[Lan]

Welcome to the boards

 

[Dan Murphy]

Welcome to the DIS, bakers3.