20 years is way too long and I am clueless PTR- help-i've got transporation confusion

[lbuzz52]

So for a while now, my extended family and I had been saying, oh, we should go to Disney while we still can go in the off season. (before the kids reach school age) And that is as far as it ever got.

So, all of a sudden, my mom is like "flights are dropping, let’s do it now!" Now- as in 92 days. Nothing researched. No experience. Now.
I know I should push it off until later so we can have ample time to research, but I can’t help myself. The idea just excites me way too much, so I jump on it.
(By the way- this was a month ago- we are now down to under 60 days!)


So here is who’s going:

Me- I’ve been 3 times before- but never as an adult, and never involved in
the planning process. The last visit was 1989.
DH- NEVER been
DD- 4 Never been
DS- will be 9 mo at trip time
Mom- same as me, no trip since 89
Dad- not since 89
Sis- not since 89
DN (nephew)-3- never been

I'm basically the planner, with my mom chiming in here and there to speak for the preferences of her, my dad, my sis, and my nephew.

 

[BELLE1109]

how exciting can't wait to read more!

 

[reyasmommy]

Im interested in how the 9 month old handles everything. My little boy will be 3 months when we go.

Have a fabulous time planning your trip!

 

[shordiebecka]

well, that's why you have the dis! We can help you throw this thing together in no time! the very first thing you need to do is get a really good guidebook. I suggest getting the Barnum's official Walt Disney World Guide book and the Unofficial Guidebook. Read the official one first- the Unofficial can get confusing.

You have a lot of decisions to make! Where to stay, tickets, not to mention where to eat! Ask away and I'm sure we can help you, I'm subscribing to this thread so I'll be here!

 

[lbuzz52]

Im interested in how the 9 month old handles everything. My little boy will be 3 months when we go.

Have a fabulous time planning your trip!

me too- if my family was not coming along, i'm not sure that I would try this. don't get me wrong, i love him, but he certainly wears your patience. But he LOVES being outside, so i've got that going for us! basically, he just wants to be held until he's tired, and then he wants to be left alone, so i'm thinking (hoping) it won't be too difficult. He's already quite accustomed to both a stroller and a wrap, so we will definetely utilize those.

well, that's why you have the dis! We can help you throw this thing together in no time! the very first thing you need to do is get a really good guidebook. I suggest getting the Barnum's official Walt Disney World Guide book and the Unofficial Guidebook. Read the official one first- the Unofficial can get confusing.

You have a lot of decisions to make! Where to stay, tickets, not to mention where to eat! Ask away and I'm sure we can help you, I'm subscribing to this thread so I'll be here!

thanks! i've grabbed the unofficial guide, but so far have only read bits and pieces. i hope to go thru it with a fine toothed comb.
can you get onto the planning site for free with the purchase of the book?

 

[lbuzz52]

Last night my dd got a piece of mail from Disneyland- it was a signed picture of Ariel, her favorite. well, she got so mad at me, for some reason, she thought i had gone to Disney without her during the day. silly girl!

ok, back to the planning...

So mom and I started studying hotels immediately. She and I have very different ideas on what we want. and different ideas of what the money shoudl be spent on. So we go back and forth with the pros and cons, calling and chatting with the agents about room prices, asking questions, etc.
Well, in one of these conversations, it clicks- I can make the ADR’s without having my hotel squared away. I lucked out and got most of what I wanted, because it was about 81 days out then. I think it may have been because it was still prior to the free DDP being released to everyone for those dates- it was first offered as a pin code I think. More detail on this soon.…

So with the most important pieces of dining taken care of, we finally agree to agree on the hotel. We got a 2 bedroom villa at Saratoga Springs and 9 day park tickets, no hopper. She was mostly concerned with not being able to confirm that separate rooms would be near each other, and also was sold with the living room/ kitchen/ washer. I was more interested in separate rooms, but this will be best for the other people in the group. I think. I talked her out of the DTD view and into requesting close to the grandstand building closest to the food. I hope she'll thank me when she's refilling her diet coke for the millionith time!

 

[shordiebecka]

that sounds good! Saratoga springs is BEAUTIFUL! I've never stayed there but I've walked around before

 

[lbuzz52]

that sounds good! Saratoga springs is BEAUTIFUL! I've never stayed there but I've walked around before

glad to hear that. i was really wanting something super- disney themed. and my goal is to only spend time at the hotel room when necessary. mom really wanted the living room space and nicer looking amenities. she also thinks my nephew is a handful and that my sis might need a hand with him here and there (which is one of the reasons i wanted multiple rooms lol). she thinks that me, my dh, and my sis will be glad for the living room once the kids are asleep. i fail to see that logic because my sis will be sleeping in the living room.
but i do agree the place looks beautiful.

so on this subject, i've heard of garden grocer. i've also heard mention of a nearby gas station or something. we won't have a car- we could rent one for a day, but are not dragging along all the car seats. can we walk to the gas station? we will want the following type of essentials and can do whatever makes the most sense.
peanut butter, bread, lunchmeat, cereal, maybe poptarts, fruit, milk, soda, bottled water.
i plan on shipping down diapers, baby food,maybe a few baby toys, whatever i can fit into a flat rate box or two. sounds much easier to me than adding another suitcase into the mix.

 

[lbuzz52]

okay, because i'm at work by myself, the clock seems to be stuck in a non moving state, i thought i'd share my goals for this trip.

1) spoil my daughter. she was an only child for exactly 3.5 years. like i mentioned above, my ds is a very hands on child. she has been coming last lately and its not fair to her. i think she is a perfect age for this. she is super friendly, in love with the characters, rather daring, and just above the height requirements for most rides.

2) convert my dh. while he has never been to disney world, we did go to disneyland for one day last year. we weren't going to- i really wanted wdw to be the first expierience. but we were visiting friends and made the HUGE mistake of telling them we were going to trick or treat with Mickey. didn't know the tixs had been sold out for weeks. so it was a consulation. now i'm just not crazy for DL like i am WDW. i enjoyed it, but all it did was make me long to go to WDW. both my friend and i were pregnant, so we stayed away from some of the rides, but were able to ride almost everything else due to a ecv in the group. lets just say my husband was a bit bored in rides like peter pan. i admit, it doesn't scream excitement. but the moment i stepped on it i was taken back to my childhood. he doesn't have those wonderful memories like i do. (poor thing!) we also saw NO characters while we were there. but then parade time came around. he was holding my daughter and after a couple of minutes, he turned to me and said, "come up here, you have to have a chance to see her face like i am"
and i just thought, that is it, that is what this is all about. maybe he can be converted....
i have to really work hard on this trip- i've already got dates for the next one in my head!

 

[shordiebecka]

I just recently converted my "i'm a grown up and don't do kid things, I am only going to Disney for you" DBF to a "I'm not talking to you because you're going back to Disney without me" type guy

I really put a lot of thought and planning into what we did, and made sure to not rush around and do things- my number 1 piece of advice- ROPE DROP ROPE DROP ROPE DROP! Get there half an hour before the parks open and you will be amazed at what you can get done in a single hour!

I've never used garden grocer before, but I plan to this next trip. Atleast I think so.

I agree that you will be greatful for the living room after the kids go to sleep. Disney will wear them out so much that they will be asleep early- and you might want to stay up to plan the next day or relax and enjoy life- atleast you can do this with the lights on in normal voices in the living room!! What are your ADR plans?

 

[lbuzz52]

Our trip style is also something we have different thoughts on. So I think our compromise will be to hit the major rides early in the day and then swing the rest of the day. My goal is to cover as much as possible in the time period we have, rides, shows, fireworks, parades, etc. Mom doesn’t even really want to be planned as far as dining goes – she just wants to be where she wants to be when she wants to be there- so I just made the ADR’s for all. I’m going to take advantage of my free food!

i've planned to take advantage of EMH. I've read conflicting views on this, but we aren't hopping, and are visiting most parks only one day, so i think we may need the extra hours. i'm hoping the dates will be slow enough that this wont backfire on me, but i don't know how to get the crowd prediction thing. do i have to subscribe still even though i have the unofficial guide? or is there somewhere else to get this info?

 

[lbuzz52]

i'm dying to put some pics of my cuties on this but i have a couple more posts to go before i am allowed to!

So here’s what I’ve got so far. Please feel free to critique the schedules, restaurants, anything!


Tues
flight to MCO, arrival at noon
ME to Saratoga
Check-in
Lunch oop at airport or at Earl’s
probably explore DTD? legos, candy, shopping(would like to do MK but tues is a party day)
ADR- Ohana’s 820pm x8
hoping to catch a bit of the fireworks or the electical parade


Wed
MK, regular park hours 9am-9pm
CS lunch
Parade
CS dinner
Spectromagic 800pm
Wishes 900 pm


Thur
MK, EMH 800am
CRT, 1030 am x 4
Ohana Lilo 1010 am X 4
Lunch = small snack
Hotel to swim, rest
CS- dinner (at park or at hotel)
MNSSHP until tired or until 12am


Fri
AK, EMH 9am-8pm
Yak & Yeti 100pm X 8
Parade
CS Dinner


Sat
Chef Mickey’s 950am x 8
Monorail and/or boat if we haven’t yet
Explore/swim/rest
Cap n Jack’s 545pm X 8
Halloween activities DTD until tired or 9pm


Sun
HS EMH 9am-10pm
50’s Prime Time Café 120pm x 8
Parade
CS Dinner


Mon
MK EMH 9am- 12am
CS lunch
Swim/ rest
CS Dinner


Tues
Epcot 8am – 9pm
Coral Reef 115pm x 8
CS Dinner
Illuminations 9pm

Wed
Free for all-
Sleep, pack, or hit favorite park
Lunch- oop or leftover DDP
ME at 2
Flight at 5
Dinner at home


now half of our group will still technically have one ts credit left. suggestions- and woudl monday be the best day to fit that in? it is for the half that doesn't really want to be planned.

and of course, all this is assuming that we all stick together the whole time.
i've asked mom to look over the menus- but not only does she work full time, she babysits my nephew full time, so her time really is limited. and its not my sister's priority- so long story short, they got what i wanted and if they ever decide on anything they would prefer, i'll do my best to get the adr's for them.

i tried to schedule a nap/rest period every other day, and other than that, we have enough adults there that if one is really necessary someone can take the kids back to the hotel. the baby will sleep in the stroller or the wrap.

 

[onelilspark]

Hi! I'm joining in!

That's a great schedule (looks like you really have a grasp on things!) The only thing I'll mention is that I know I've heard a lot of negatives on Captain Jacks. Maybe do Counter Service that night at Wolfgang Puck Express instead of the two sit down meals? And then do a sit down on Monday?? Maybe on Monday Kona, 1900 Park Fare, Crystal Palace, Whispering Canyon Cafe, or Tony's?

 

[shordiebecka]

I agree about Cap'n Jacks. I haven't heard great things about it. Your schedule sounds good though! For not going in 20 years you seem to have a good handle on things!

I always avoid EMH....I learned my lesson at MK EMH this summer. Though, in the fall, it will be wayyy less crowded so I bet going will work out great!

 

[lbuzz52]

Hi! I'm joining in!

That's a great schedule (looks like you really have a grasp on things!) The only thing I'll mention is that I know I've heard a lot of negatives on Captain Jacks. Maybe do Counter Service that night at Wolfgang Puck Express instead of the two sit down meals? And then do a sit down on Monday?? Maybe on Monday Kona, 1900 Park Fare, Crystal Palace, Whispering Canyon Cafe, or Tony's?

thanks for the suggestion... i'll have to look at some reviews- i was wondering why it was so easy to get in with 8!
i'm really interested in 1900 park fare but my group feels like 2 character meals is enough (whatever!)
i actually have reservations monday for tony's and kona as part of the group needed an additional ts. we are really game for anything that day as we anticipate leaving the park anyway.

what about day 1? i feel like i'm being wasteful by not hitting a park and i know that i will be the most impatient one of all in the group. but is it really worth it to drag the whole group to the park on a MNSSHp day- we'd only have like maybe 3-4 hours there.

 

[that's nice]

I'm joining in too!!!

Now I have to go back and read all your plans!

 

[lbuzz52]

I agree about Cap'n Jacks. I haven't heard great things about it. Your schedule sounds good though! For not going in 20 years you seem to have a good handle on things!

I always avoid EMH....I learned my lesson at MK EMH this summer. Though, in the fall, it will be wayyy less crowded so I bet going will work out great!

thanks, i'm really trying to study hard. i feel like everyone's magical experience is on my shoulders. i have gotten no where with the shows/rides/parades/ etc yet though. and luckily for me, the days are flying by!

i'm really hoping that you are right with the EMH- i could always change the parks last minute, but could really get S.O.L. with the dining that way.

going to come up with a few questions soon.

 

[lbuzz52]

I'm joining in too!!!

Now I have to go back and read all your plans!

awww, thanks. you make me feel special, cause you were the one who sold me on the forum side of these boards

 

[lbuzz52]

Forgive me but i'm not sure how to edit the photo size, so i hope this is okay.

thought i'd share some faces for our trip.

this is Maya- she turned 4 about a month ago.
This is the face she made when i told her it was almost her birthday. i assume i'll see this one a few times at WDW too.

i'm sure we'll see this one too. this is her current "smile" pose.

here's a more natural face- this one's from the zoo a few months ago- maybe march? i'm limited on my selection on my computer here.

And this is James. He is almost 6 months in this picture from a month or so ago. I get this face from him a lot. its what i will remember from his baby stage.

here's another face i see a ton of! LOL! this is from a while ago, maybe 5 months ago. he's still practices it daily though. for the most part, he just wants to be snuggled and played with and only put down when he is tired.

and here is a more natural one- this one is from June i think.

 

[shordiebecka]

such cuties! Love the pictures. I babysit for a 5 month old and he makes "that" face of sadness often too- it starts with a little lip quiver and then it's all down hill from there!