1st trip....lots of ????s

[lsmithruns]

We have several questions....Also any suggestions that you might have will be greatly appreciated.

We are going on our first trip to WDW 11/20-11/25. We have a 6 1/2 year old daughter and twins (boy/girl) that are 4. We are staying at PO Riverside. We have the dining plan and res. at Chef Mickey's on the 20th, Hoop-de-doo on the 21st and the princess lunch at Akershush on the 22nd.

We are worried about dinner at Chef Mickey's because our plane (if on time) lands in Orlando at 4:30 PM. Our res. are at 7:40. Will we have enough time to wait for and take the Magic Express to our resort, check in and then take transportation to Chef Mickey's? What will be the easiest way to get to Chef Mickey's from POR?

What is the easiest way to get from MK to Hoop-de-doo? Take the boat? How long should we plan for this to take?

We were not planning on having the girls dress up for the princess lunch because the dresses are not that comfortable and we don't want to carry them all around. Should we? What about our son, will he enjoy it?

We do not have res. at any other restuarant. Do you recommend making res. for every night or is it ok to see where we are and make a decision near dinner time? Will the lines be too long at dinner time?

We are planning MK on the 21st, EP on the 22nd (since we have to be there for lunch), AK on the 23rd and then maybe HS on the 24th or back to MK to do things that we missed or really enjoyed. What would you recommend?

Any recommendations for the morning of the 25th? We fly out at 1:30 PM.

Sorry for the long post! Thanks for your help! I'm sure we will have more questions as we get closer.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Hi and welcome to the DIS, it is a great place to get all your WDW answers.

I have never flown, but I thik you might be pushing it with ME and a 7:40 ressie. I don't know how long it takes and if you aren't the first drop off, you might not make it.

The easiest route to Hoop-de-doo is the boat to Fort Wilderness, the dock is close to Pioneer Hall where Hoop-de-doo is performed.

We haven't eaten at Akerhaus yet (are in December) and I don't have children, but my cousin is letting her girls dress up and probably will take a change of clothes. You can rent a locker at the entrance if you see that is what happens. I personally don't care for the princess costumes, but maybe if I had a child I would feel differently. I think my cousin's son may have a pirate costume to wear if he wants to.

If you want Table Service for dinner, you need to make them ahead of time or you might not get in at all. If you are just going for Counter Service, you will be fine. when we use the dining plan, I always make sure to use all of my TS credits, even if I end up losing a CS credit, that is fine, but the TS restaurants are more expensive. Most of the time, we do breakfasts, we didn't like lunch or dinner much at the TS restaurants, but that is just us.

I can't say anything about your plans, because that is something that to me is personal to everyone. I look at the crowd levels chart on another website and work my days around that and where I can get my TS restaurants and maybe work in evening EMH.

I have never been to Disney that close to Christmas, the closest we have been is last year on Dec 23 and it was a mad house at the resort as the Christmas crowd was coming in. If you get to the MK more than an hour before opening, you might get in, but might not. I would just enjoy the resort or take the boat to DTD.

Suzanne

 

[skatingmom]

Hello and welcome! In response to your question about the Princess storybook lunch, my dd is 7, and we did the princess dinner both last year and this year. We, too, felt that dressing up just wasn't practical. Instead, she wore a shirt that had the Disney princesses on it. One of the princesses at the dinner (Ariel, I think) even commented on the fact that my daughter was wearing a shirt with her picture on it. There were some girls dressed in costume, but many were not. Do whatever seems right for your situation and have a great time at Disney!!!

 

[The McCombies :)]

We have several questions....Also any suggestions that you might have will be greatly appreciated.

We are going on our first trip to WDW 11/20-11/25. We have a 6 1/2 year old daughter and twins (boy/girl) that are 4. We are staying at PO Riverside. We have the dining plan and res. at Chef Mickey's on the 20th, Hoop-de-doo on the 21st and the princess lunch at Akershush on the 22nd.

We are worried about dinner at Chef Mickey's because our plane (if on time) lands in Orlando at 4:30 PM. Our res. are at 7:40. Will we have enough time to wait for and take the Magic Express to our resort, check in and then take transportation to Chef Mickey's? What will be the easiest way to get to Chef Mickey's from POR?

What is the easiest way to get from MK to Hoop-de-doo? Take the boat? How long should we plan for this to take?

We were not planning on having the girls dress up for the princess lunch because the dresses are not that comfortable and we don't want to carry them all around. Should we? What about our son, will he enjoy it?

We do not have res. at any other restuarant. Do you recommend making res. for every night or is it ok to see where we are and make a decision near dinner time? Will the lines be too long at dinner time?

We are planning MK on the 21st, EP on the 22nd (since we have to be there for lunch), AK on the 23rd and then maybe HS on the 24th or back to MK to do things that we missed or really enjoyed. What would you recommend?

Any recommendations for the morning of the 25th? We fly out at 1:30 PM.

Sorry for the long post! Thanks for your help! I'm sure we will have more questions as we get closer.

Congrats on your first trip to WDW!!! We just got back today and I miss it so much!! (Between you guys and me; I am secretly planning our next vacation to WDW) I too have a 6 (boy) and 4 (girl) year old. We did CRT and Loved it. My daughter wasn't dressed in a fancy dress-just a comfortable. And Cinderella even commented on it. Now for a little tip book your dining reservations. Get a list of all of the character meals and call and keep calling until you get reservations. Some where I saw a Goofy's character dining at MK. But I don't remember the name of it. I did say the next time I would like to try that.

We just spent 6 days at the big world and I must say- nothing felt at all like Magic Kingdom. We had fun at the other parks, but my kids loved (okay so did I) Magic Kingdom. There were so many more attractions and rides that I knew they would love there especially splash mountain and Big Thunder. The day we went to Epcot we went on Soarin' and a few other rides but other than that thought it was a lost. Next time I think we will cut out Epcot until my kids get a little bigger to appreciate it. My biggest advice don't push everything have everyone in your party even mom and dad pick a ride they definetely want to go on and do those for sure. Other than that HAVE FUN!!!!

 

[tammyroo]

Congratulations on your first trip! I still have such great memories of our families first trip together in 2001 and I'm sure you will too.
I would agree that if you want to do TS then you definitely need ADRs.
Regarding what parks to see and when....you might want to consider the extra magic hours when planning where to go. EMHs in the morning means the crowds during the day may be higher because resort guests take advantage. We have taken advantage of the AM EMH at one park and then hopped to another when it gets crowded. Of course, this all depends on whether or not you have park hopper passes.
Enjoy the magic!

 

[lsmithruns]

Thanks for the advice. I guess we need to figure out our other 2 TS meals so we can make ressies.

 

[sparkyboy]

Congratulations on your trip. I think you may be cutting it close for your 7:40 ressie. By the time you deplane, stop for bathroom break, then take the tram from the terminal in and get down to ME check-in can be 20-35 mins. Then plan for 60-90 mins. to get to hotel by ME bus. DH and I took our 4 yr. old twin (b/g) grandbabies in Sept. and you just need to build in some extra time for them.

We took a pink polo shirt dress for our gd as well as blue dress similar to Alice's dress and white apron(used apron for Halloween party costume). I bought some glitter hairspray, tinkerbell pony holders, clips, etc and packed in our luggage as well as some of her Princess necklaces, and she was fine with that. We packed kahki pants and navy shorts with several polo shirts and gs favorite Mickey shirt and his cap.

In terms of day of leaving, if your flight is at 1:30, you will be picked up by ME 3 hours prior so take that into account as you plan your morning. You will need to be at pick-up location with your luggage at least 15 mins. prior to pick up time so that would mean 10:15 a.m.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[lsmithruns]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately 7:40 was the only time slot available for Chef Mickey's. So I guess we will just take the chance and hope that everything works. I figure we can always call and tell them we are running late or cancel if we absolutely must.

 

[wahmtexas]

Congrats on your trip. Don't stress-many are late for their dining reservations just explain that your travel was delayed from the airport and they should fit you in. We are going Thanksgiving week and Chef Mickeys was completely booked everytime I have called for cancellations, we even got CRT twice but still cannot get Chef Mickey's so don't give your ressie away
Downtown Disney for Santa pics or souvenir shopping may work for your morning you leave
My daughter is wearing her princess dress to Norway but she has a cotton long underwear set under it so it makes it more comfy and our reservation is 5pm so she doesn't have to spend all day in it just an evening
Have fun!

 

[AllesonWonderland]

Have fun planning your trip! I don't have a lot of advice for you, but did want to chime in that your kids will LOVE Chef Mickey's and HDDR! We did both those our first trip as well. When we went, we spent 1 day each at AK and HS and 2 days each at Epcot and MK. We didn't even try to go to all the worlds at Epcot, just all the main stuff up front. Have you borrowed the Unofficial Guide from your library yet? That was a great help (to me) for planning.

 

[nurse.darcy]

Don't discount Epcot. Your girls and boy will love the Living Seas with Nemo and friends. Go on the Nemo ride, go to turtle talk, see the aquarium and enjoy the atmosphere. At the Land get a fast pass for soarin, go on living with the land (kids love boat rides) and see the other attractions there. Take them to mexico and go on the Mexico boat ride, los tres caballeros. Its funny and the kids will love it. Enjoy yourselves. At HS you have The Little Mermaid show, Toy Story Mania, Beauty and the Beast and the musicals and parades. They will love you for those rides. At Animal Kingdom, do the Lion King and Nemo musicals. Those are fun for kids. Also go on the Safari. Hike the animal trails and just enjoy being together. As far as your dining ressies, that first ressie might be a close call but if ME cooperates you can do it. Might have to take a taxi from your resort though. There are restaurants in DTD that can accommodate the TS credits but don't have to make ressies. That said if you don't want those you should probably book a couple more dining ressies just in case. Enjoy your first trip. . . .

 

[marvali]

Okay, I am going to do something totally foreign to me. I am the kind of person who plans to the nth degree, even down to what exit we are going to stop for gas, food, bathroom breaks on the trip. BUT, the best advice I can give you for this first trip is Don't Overplan!!!!

When my oldest was 2 and 1/2 we took our first trip to WDW as a family. Luckily it was February so it wasn't overly crowded. We pretty much walked in the front gate each day and just let his little legs take him where he wanted to go. If he stopped to see a character, or to look at something that caught his eye or listen to music he heard, we just let him go at his pace. When we got to rides that interested him, we got in line and rode. It was very relaxing and enjoyable to not have to rush to do a certain thing at a certain time.

You are going to be there during a very busy time. With three small kids I know you want them to have a great time and experience all there is to see about WDW, but they are going to get tired, and they are going to see things they want to do that you think is not worthy of all the big attractions you thought were important for them to see and do, and that will throw your schedule all into disarray. They are going to not want to do things you thought they would just get all excited over. And at the end of the day, your nerves are going to be shot. When the trip ends, you are going to wonder where all the time went and how you didn't get half of what you planned accomplished.

Learn what you can from the experts on here, use the knowledge wisely (things like best use of fastpasses, etc.) plan some things (like you already have) and then just go and have a good time. You will be less stressed, the kids will enjoy it more, and you will end up with more wonderful memories of your trip than you can imagine.

After all, if you do it all this trip, you don't have a reason to get back home and immediately start planning for the next one...

 

[Disney Princess Elli]

I can't really the answers very well as I'm only 14 but I went to hoop-de-doo and i hated it. i think it's a big waste of money.

 

[lsmithruns]

I'm happy to report that we have all of our TS ressies! We are not planning our entire day because we know our kids will get tired. We are using some touring plans to give us ideas of when to go to what attraction, etc.

Only 3 weeks until we are in WDW!!!!!!

Thanks for all of the advice this site is EXTREMELY helpful!!!!

 

[dmagickingdom]

I can't really the answers very well as I'm only 14 but I went to hoop-de-doo and i hated it. i think it's a big waste of money.

I think it's a great show! Well I usually pay half off too but even so, I understand why some wouldn't like it. It is Western Cowboy themed and the food is Fried Chicken and Corn on the Cob. I enjoy it though. And if you don't enjoy the show, you can take advantage of the unlimited wine and beer (if you are 21). For 14 year olds, i guess there is nothing to fall back on except the Strawberry shortcake.