1st WDW trip and overwhelmed!

[mrs_hower726]

Hello all,

My husband and I are going to WDW May 15th-22nd this year. We are spending 3 days on land then going on the Disney cruise for 4 days. We have booked the trip via AAA and have our hotel and the regular meal plan purchased. My question is, where do I go from here? This is our first real vacation ever (and our first plane ride ever as well, yikes!) and I have some questions.

1. Where are the best places to eat?

2. Are travelers checks a good idea? We usually don't carry cash. I would imagine some people use debit cards. What's the best method?

3. Where are the best places to go? Since we will only be there for 3 days, we want to get the max out of our short time. We opted not to do the water parks with our reservations.

I think that's a good start. I'm just happy that we're finally doing this!

 

[pasofan]

As far as money goes, I am assuming becasuse you said you have the dining plan, you have the magic your way package. Your room key card can be used to charge anything in the parks you would normally be able to use a credit card for. When you check in, you will just have them put your credit card on your room key and all purchases made on your key card will be charged at one time on your credit card when you check out. I have never been on a Disney cruise, but from what I ahve read, the same thing goes while on board.
As far as what to see, that depends on what you like. Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival will be going on while you are there.
One of our favorite places to eat is Liberty Tree Tavern. It's a great character meal and good food as well.
Hope you have a great time!!

 

[GrammyJudy]

Congrats you are going to have so much fun...relax...there is no bad way to do Disney and what you miss you can do when you go back and you will. First buy a guidebook and read it ...try Unofficial Guide and/or Birnbaum. You can order from Amazon.com or get in a bookstore.
You must do the Magic Kingdom as that is really Diseny. Cinderella Castle, Tonys, Liberty Tree Tavern for adult sit down meals. You will want to see Epcot especially at night. We like to eat in San Angel in Mexico but did the buffet in Germany last year and loved it. We also ate in the lIving Seas and did not like it.Do you like thrill rides? Do you like Animals?
The studio for thrill rides and AK for animals. AK is only open till 5 so maybe do that and then Epcot fod dinner and Illuminations.
You will not see or do it all in 3 days so pick what looks best. Use Fastpass on rides so you don't waste time in line and do call ahead for Dinner Res 1-407-DISNEY.
Where are you staying for the land part?
There are lots of great ideas on this board so keep reading and HAVE FUN!!!!

 

[Elmo888]

I'd narrow down the parks with only three days. I would just do MK and Epcot. MK is just a classic, and there is a lot to do at Epcot. I would leave Studios and AK for when you have more time. There are a lot of nice table service places to eat in Epcot. I would look at menus and reviews to narrow down your choices (there may be some places that just do not appeal to you). The Unofficial Guide to WDW is a great place to start (it has restaurant reviews, too, and you can post on the Disney Restaurants board as well).

Here are menus...
http://www.allears.net/menu/menus.htm

Personally, I wouldn't use a debit card or even bring one on vacation. There is just more safety with a cc (which is why I would only use a credit card online). If you don't want to carry a lot of cash, you could charge to your room/use a credit card, buy yourself a Disney gift card, or put money into a Paypal account and get a Paypal debit card (still not as safe as a cc, but not linked to your bank account either). You still might want to carry a little cash for tipping Mousekeeping, people that handle your baggage, etc.

Have a great trip!

 

[mrs_hower726]

Thanks for the suggestions! Allears.net has a lot of good information, including which restaurants take the meal plan that we purchased. I'm glad that we got it, some of those restaurants are pricey! We're staying at the Port Orleans resort - we didn't have much of a choice since that room is linked with our cabin on the cruise but it sounds really nice and to be honest, we're not going to be there that much!

By your opinions, it sounds like MK and Epcot are definites. I think the Animal Kingdom can wait. MGM studios are up in the air. I'm just very organized and want to make the most out of the time we have. Have you guys done the minature golf courses? They sound like fun and right up our alley.

Foodage is starting to come together a little. Tony's at Magic Kingdom was highly recommended to us by friends. We are italian buffs so anything along that line is awesome.

I'm definetely going to go purchase the guide as well. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[Donald is #1]

Along with all of the great suggestions that the other posters have already said, please make sure that you learn how to use fastpasses (FP).

Anyone with a WDW admission can get a FP. Basically, the FP machines are used on the most popular attractions. You take your park ticket to the machine and it will give you a little card that has a time for the ride. You must use both yours and your husbands tickets if you want to 2 FPs. Above the FP machines you will see the times posted for the FPs. My method for using FPs is:
1) When I first get to an area (tomorrowland, frontierland, etc) of the park, I first get my FP for the attraction that I want.
2) While I am waiting for the FP time, I then go on the other attractions in the area.
3) When my FP time comes, I head over to the attraction and go in through the FP entrance. The first CM will just check the time of your FP, but as you get near the ride, a CM will collect your FP.


Your FP ticket will show both your return time (a 1 hour range) plus the time when you can get your next FP ticket. At WDW, all of the FP machines are linked. So if you get a FP for space mountain, then you have to wait until either your FP window opens or 2 hours (whichever is sooner) before you can get a FP for another ride.

 

[ZoZo]

Good for you! How exciting - your first WDW trip! My best tip (since you're not going until May) is to buy the Unofficial Guide (UG) and read it cover to cover. It gives great advice on tons of things, including Fast Pass, strategies, etc.

Since you have a limited amount of time, I second another poster's suggestion to limit yourself to a couple of parks. Definitely Magic Kingdom and Epcot - tons of things to do at both! Look at the UG's touring suggestions on how to maximize your time.

Finally, don't get too stressed out about your trip. With a little pre-planning, you'll have a great time. What you don't see this time, you can catch on your next trip. Probably the worst thing you can do is run from thing to thing and get all stressed out that you're going to "miss something," but WDW will be there for another trip in the future! Use the UG to pick some things that are "must sees" and then go with the flow.

(PS - It looks like it's just you and your husband going, right? No kids? If so, here are some suggested restaurants that we like. Le Cellier, California Grill, Kona Cafe, Sunshine Seasons, the Fish and Chips shop at Epcot. We're a group of four women and like all of these restaurants. Also, one new favorite of mine is Tambu Lounge at the Polynesian Hotel. They have the best lettuce/chicken wraps ever! So yummy. Great for a quick snack and a glass of wine.)

Have fun!