1st time Visitor needs help!!

[Darkwing981]

Hello everyone, I'm a long-time lurker and first time poster. LOL

We're planning to take our 1st trip to Disney World in November 2013 and I had a few questions that maybe someone can help me with. Okay here goes...

1. Looks like it'll be myself, my mother, my aunt and my 5 yr old niece. We already have room reservations made but are hunting for reasonable ticket prices. Where can you find info on discount tickets?

2. What are the crowds/weather like in November? Should we dress warmly?

3. We're planning to stay Nov. 22-24th, and leaving out on the 25th. Most likely we won't be participating in the Dining Plan; what are the best options for us as far as dining?

4. How does the FastPass system work?

5. Can we ride the Disney Buses/Monorails for free or is there a charge to ride both?

6. I'm hoping to check out Downtown Disney; do I need to purchase a ticket to get in DD or show proper I.D.?

7. Are there listings for locations/times for character meetings? (Obviously we hope to meet the 'Big Cheese' himself.)

I'm trying do as much research as I can....so I'm sure I'll have more questions soon. LOL

 

[MackenzieFL]

Hello everyone, I'm a long-time lurker and first time poster. LOL

We're planning to take our 1st trip to Disney World in November 2013 and I had a few questions that maybe someone can help me with. Okay here goes...

1. Looks like it'll be myself, my mother, my aunt and my 5 yr old niece. We already have room reservations made but are hunting for reasonable ticket prices. Where can you find info on discount tickets?

2. What are the crowds/weather like in November? Should we dress warmly?

3. We're planning to stay Nov. 22-24th, and leaving out on the 25th. Most likely we won't be participating in the Dining Plan; what are the best options for us as far as dining?

4. How does the FastPass system work?

5. Can we ride the Disney Buses/Monorails for free or is there a charge to ride both?

6. I'm hoping to check out Downtown Disney; do I need to purchase a ticket to get in DD or show proper I.D.?

7. Are there listings for locations/times for character meetings? (Obviously we hope to meet the 'Big Cheese' himself.)

I'm trying do as much research as I can....so I'm sure I'll have more questions soon. LOL

Hi, I can try to help you with some of these.

1. Just make sure you go to an authorized Disney dealer; some places claim to sell w/a discount but if they're unauthorized Disney won't take them. Yes, they leave you standing out there at the gate saying "sorry."

Most of the authorized places aren't going to give you a major discount; sometimes they'll have discounts for like FL residents, or AAA members, or military or something but you aren't going to find a legit. ticket that is significantly reduced unless Disney itself is offering it. really the best bargain with tickets is to buy for as many days as you can.

2. Crowds are low early November, higher around Thanksgiving week.

It's usually mid-70s in November, can be in the 80s; you might need a light jacket for evenings or it might (might) get cool spell like in the 60s, but that's rare.

3. There is counter service in the parks and restaurants all over if you want to leave Disney property-- but warning, it takes time to leave parks and go outside of Disney to eat.

Keep in mind Disney property is the size roughly of San Francisco. So the parks are more expensive, but considering it can take you a couple of hours to drive off and get food, and you're missing the fun at Disney that you bought the ticket for, it can be a better deal.

4. Fast Pass has machines outside of some of the most popular rides.

You go, put in your ticket, you get out a card that prints a return time. it could be in a couple of hours or much later in the day.

You go have your fun elsewhere and return with your ticket, get on the fast pass line and get through quickly.

You need 1 per ticket if you're going on the ride together. And you can only get 1 FP per ticket every 2 hours or so.

5. The monorails that go to the parks are free-- the buses are for Disney resort guests and go from resort to resort, from park to park. They are free.

6. Downtown Disney is just a place to hang out with shops/restaurants/entertainment. You don't pay to get in there and are free to walk around. But there are things there that you do have to pay to get into (like Disneyquest arcade or something).

You don't need ID unless you're going to order alcohol. ETA: I should say it's wise to carry some id anyway if you're an adult, but unless you are ordering drinks no one will likely ask you for it.

7. Every day parks give maps that show character greeting spots.

There are certain characters more common (Mickey, Goofy, etc. who are everywhere, every day, all day) than others. Some are only at special events, some are rare but you can get lucky, some are more infrequent but not impossible. So it depends on who you want to meet. You can do research to see which are more rare.

If you are going to Epcot the character greeting place there is best, you wait on one line indoors, and then get to go from Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald & Goofy without waiting on another line. For me it's the best place to knock them all down with one wait.

 

[fancifull]

I just took my first trip so I might not be able to help as much as some others but I think I can answer a few of these!

2. You might want to check out this calendar
http://www.easywdw.com/calendar/november-2013-walt-disney-world-crowd-calendar/#more-11083
It shows the average high/low temperatures for the past decade+ & the expected crowd levels for each day. It seems like you'll have a mixture. The 22nd looks like a 4/10 crowd level (pretty low) while the rest of the days are increasing in crowds

4. The fast pass system is really easy, you just stick your ticket into the machine and it spits out a pass with an hour block sometime in the future where you return and skip the main line. How far away the time slot is is dependent on demand, more popular rides might run out of fastpasses more quickly. For example we got fast passes for Toy Story Mania around 10am and the return time was 4:15pm because so many people had already gotten fast passes. At like 5:30pm we got them for Tower of Terror and the return time was like 6:30pm since there was less demand. Once you get one fast pass, I think it also says on there at what time you're allowed to get another one.

5. It's definitely free if you're in the Disney resorts, and I assume that they're free no matter what but I'm not positive. There's no one checking any fares or tickets so I assume free for anyone. I'm sure someone else can confirm/correct.

6. You don't need a ticket/ID to go to Downtown Disney itself, though certain things there you might need to purchase a ticket for, like if you wanted to go into Disney Quest. The shops and restaurants are just open to anyone.

7. There are lists of regular character meetings here
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/#/character-experiences/
I would also recommend the app! It is a little glitchy and I wouldn't recommend trying to MAKE any ADRs or reservations on there, but it gives you up to date Wait Times for the rides that can help you plan what you want to do in the moment, and it has a daily list of which characters are meeting in each park. I don't think the character list is completely comprehensive but it has most main ones and it was really helpful to us when we were there.

 

[Metro West]

Welcome!

 

[Darkwing981]

Thanks everyone for the helpful tips.

BTW, if we choose to eat off-site, can we still re-enter a specific park? (ex. Magic Kingdom )

Also I was looking at Undercover Tourist for tickets. Are they at legit/authorized site?

 

[jendahl12]

Welcome Darkwing!!

If I'm wrong in any of this I'm sure someone will be along to correct me (I just started going again 2 years ago after a 25-year hiatus).

UndercoverTourist is on the up-and-up, you might also want to compare those prices though with MouseSavers (sign up for their newsletter) and also check AAA if you are a member.

I "believe" you can re-enter the same park on the same day, you just can't go to a different one. I personally wouldn't want to leave as that takes time away from the atmosphere, but some planning is required for that (i.e. packing a lunch and/or snacks or looking at the prices at various places inside before getting there so you know where you stand). AllEars.net is pretty good about keeping the menus for the parks updated, including the kid's menus.

 

[jendahl12]

Almost forgot about DTD...soon to renamed Disney Springs...this is the first place I go when I get there and the last place I go before leaving; I'm there most nights after the parks close too. Completely free, though some attractions do charge (DisneyQuest, the movie theatre, the bowling alley).

The Marketplace side has a number of places to eat which are an option as well. T-Rex is reputed to have large portions that could be split, my new favorite for a quick really-reasonable meal is Earl of Sandwich. And for deserts...Ghiardelli...if even only for their chocolate chip cookies (Their sundaes are also fantastic).

And beware the pin-trading post...or not...it's a great little extra-magic thing.

The buses don't run directly from the parks to DTD so you just need to select a close resort, hop a ride there and wait for the DTD bus. Since they ARE free it's still the Disney experience...and you almost never wait more than 15 minutes for the next bus.

;-)

 

[Darkwing981]

Almost forgot about DTD...soon to renamed Disney Springs...this is the first place I go when I get there and the last place I go before leaving; I'm there most nights after the parks close too. Completely free, though some attractions do charge (DisneyQuest, the movie theatre, the bowling alley).

The Marketplace side has a number of places to eat which are an option as well. T-Rex is reputed to have large portions that could be split, my new favorite for a quick really-reasonable meal is Earl of Sandwich. And for deserts...Ghiardelli...if even only for their chocolate chip cookies (Their sundaes are also fantastic).

And beware the pin-trading post...or not...it's a great little extra-magic thing.

The buses don't run directly from the parks to DTD so you just need to select a close resort, hop a ride there and wait for the DTD bus. Since they ARE free it's still the Disney experience...and you almost never wait more than 15 minutes for the next bus.

;-)

Many Thanks.

I was worried that we'd have to leave the Disney property for a meal. But I think it'll be better if we checkout the quick service offering; especially at DTD.

 

[jesswindsor]

Welcome!!!