1st Time with my young family

[nick1shot]

Hello all! I'll do this like cliff notes, I can be quite verbose.

31 years old, military, just spent 1yr in Middle East.
Married w/two boys, 3yrs and 6mos.
Did WDW as Senior Trip in 1999.
First time back.
SO EXCITED!!!

Staying at Shades of Green for 8 nights.
Going to Disney Parks for 4 days, relax, hit the beach the other days.
Decided against DDP, still want to do 1or2 character dinners.
Considering PhotoPass offer.

That's all I got right now. Thanks for this wonderful planning resource and all the contributions. This has helped me a ton! Additionally, I'm still in Kuwait, and reading, resourcing and planning has helped the time away from my family considerably. Thanks, again!

Nick

 

[Mrs D]

Hello all! I'll do this like cliff notes, I can be quite verbose.

31 years old, military, just spent 1yr in Middle East.
Married w/two boys, 3yrs and 6mos.
Did WDW as Senior Trip in 1999.
First time back.
SO EXCITED!!!

Staying at Shades of Green for 8 nights.
Going to Disney Parks for 4 days, relax, hit the beach the other days.
Decided against DDP, still want to do 1or2 character dinners.
Considering PhotoPass offer.

That's all I got right now. Thanks for this wonderful planning resource and all the contributions. This has helped me a ton! Additionally, I'm still in Kuwait, and reading, resourcing and planning has helped the time away from my family considerably. Thanks, again!

Nick

I am so excited to be the first to say to the Dis!

And also Thank You for your service to our country.

If you have any questions while planning please ask!

 

[Tara D]

Welcome, I have learned a lot from this board. Do you have travel dates yet?

Thank you for your service.

 

[nick1shot]

Thank you both for the kind words and helpfulness.

We'll be traveling 5SEP - 13SEP.

We almost considered purchasing two sets of the 4-day parkhopper passes and spending EVERYDAY at WDW parks. But I think we'd be dragging by day three if we did that. I can be a bit of a control freak and reading the advice threads has helped prepare my mind for a more relaxed, go with the flow time. I'm so happy I read this. I was already going so crazy trying to figure out how to cram everything there is to do into this one trip that I almost forgot to consider my boys!

Thanks again DIS!

Nick

 

[Sally]

Welcome to the Dis!!
You might consider just the base ticket and do one park per day. Less desire to run to each park multiple times and you can plan those rest periods into each day, since you will going back to the same park that day after your break.
Its helpful to figure out your dining at each park early, especially if you plan on making your ADRs now as well.
I try to have a flexible gameplan, build rest/pool time into the day and pick the most important things you really want to do this trip.
Read up on park times and compare park hopper to base ticket, especially if you only want to do the parks for a few days.

 

[Mrs D]

Is that Sept 1 - 5 or Sept 5 - 10?

I took my first "family" trip about that time in Sept with a 3 yr old and a 14 mo old.

Here is my advise to you:
-Go ahead and do a park every day (the prices on tickets become dollars a day after 3 days)
-Arrive about 30 minutes before the park opens (if your kids are early risers) you will get the most done in those first few hours and before the heat of the day sets in.
-It will be H.O.T. like Kuwait hot. You are used to it, your children are not. Make sure everyone stay hydrated. Order cases of water from Costco, Sams Club, Walmart, Staples to be delivered to your resort. Bring a soft sided cooler (6 pack size) and zip lock bag to put ice in. Freeze a few bottles of water (if possible) and they will help keep the rest of the bottles cold. Bring misters/spray fans and wet wash clothes in a ziplock to cool a forehead. I told ya I've done this before.
-Around midday, take a break back at your resort. Everyone will benefit from a nap/rest time and staying out of the blazing Noon sun.
- Return to the parks in the early evening to enjoy a bit more.
- We never spend the extra money for park hoppers (particularly with small children), you can enter a single park, leave for afternoon break and return to the same park on that base ticket.

 

[jesswindsor]

Welcome and most of all THANK YOU for your service!!!!!

 

[maganda]

Absolutely build in rest time each day. Everybody needs time to recharge and you'll have more fun later in the evening after having put up your feet for a bit.

I wouldn't get park hoppers, especially since your kids are little. There's plenty to do in each park that you won't feel like you're missing out by not being able to go to other parks in the same day.

Get the photopass - it's worth the extra $$ IMO to have the professionals take your family pics. Bring along your own camera of course but we found that our best pictures were photopass pics, and it ensures that all of you will be in each shot!

Have fun! Thank you for serving our country!

 

[Starclassic]

& thank you for your service!

 

[nick1shot]

Thanks for all the replies!

The Military Salute special is $138 for a 4-day park hopper. We plan to spend four days at WDW - one at each park. Is there a cheaper 4 day base pass that I'm missing?

All the advice about resting throughout the day is well taken. I can be quite intensively active and I don't want to wear my family out or push for a great time unnecessarily. I think we'll just go with the flow.

My question about photopass: I saw a $169 pre-order special. This comes with an online account of our photos or a disc? How do I get printed photos and does that cost more? Do I have to choose photos that I want or is every photo taken at the park available to me?

Thanks again, everyone! I'm so excited I can hardly sleep, and it's still 10 weeks away!

Nick

 

[Sally]

Thanks for all the replies!

The Military Salute special is $138 for a 4-day park hopper. We plan to spend four days at WDW - one at each park. Is there a cheaper 4 day base pass that I'm missing?



Nick

You may be able to get the base ticket, possibly a bit cheaper. My Son-in-law bought their tickets on base for quite a bit cheaper than regular price, but I believe it is still more expensive than the Salute ticket.
However, with the Salute ticket that might be the cheapest it comes and the only way it comes. Best bet is to always call and ask, doesn't hurt to ask and get the best deal you can.
Don't forget about your ADRs.. the character meals can fill up quickly.

 

[Crystal33]

Remember my first time with my family, the look on the kids faces, priceless. We've been after, still fun but the first impression always counts

 

[mrtoffee]

Hello and welcome, im sure you will have a fantastic trip with the little ones We took our daughters to the world back in February 2011, when they were 3 yo and 20 months and had an absolute blast

 

[emt92339]

Hello all! I'll do this like cliff notes, I can be quite verbose.

31 years old, military, just spent 1yr in Middle East.
Married w/two boys, 3yrs and 6mos.
Did WDW as Senior Trip in 1999.
First time back.
SO EXCITED!!!

Staying at Shades of Green for 8 nights.
Going to Disney Parks for 4 days, relax, hit the beach the other days.
Decided against DDP, still want to do 1or2 character dinners.
Considering PhotoPass offer.

That's all I got right now. Thanks for this wonderful planning resource and all the contributions. This has helped me a ton! Additionally, I'm still in Kuwait, and reading, resourcing and planning has helped the time away from my family considerably. Thanks, again!

Nick

Thank You for your Service !!! I hope you have a magical time at the parks with your family.