A few questions..

[disneyjes]

Hi there! We are planning our first trip for this September and I just have a few questions.

We have done full days at Six Flags and Hershey and never needed a break. Do you think we'll need a break for WDW midday? I'm not sure how they compare in size. We aren't sure if we want to do full days at parks or do a park in the am, break at the hotel and then a different park in the pm. Which do you suggest for first time visitors?

We have an 8pm dinner on our sons birthday but there are EMH until 1am I believe. We want to have a cake for his birthday, will they hold on to the leftovers or bring to resort? How does that work?

For MNSSHP...do you have the chance to meet the villains, get photos and autographs? What I've read so far is rather unclear.

Are the princes ever in the parks for M&G's? I have heard unclear things on this as well.


Thank you all so much!! I truly appreciate the help!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Hi there! We are planning our first trip for this September and I just have a few questions.

We have done full days at Six Flags and Hershey and never needed a break. Do you think we'll need a break for WDW midday? I'm not sure how they compare in size. We aren't sure if we want to do full days at parks or do a park in the am, break at the hotel and then a different park in the pm. Which do you suggest for first time visitors?

Disney is HUGE but that being said, we have rarely chosen to go back to the resort for a mid-day break as it involves a lot of travel time. Rather than do that we chose quieter attractions and shows during the day as a break or just grab a cold treat, find a bench and people watch.

We have an 8pm dinner on our sons birthday but there are EMH until 1am I believe. We want to have a cake for his birthday, will they hold on to the leftovers or bring to resort? How does that work?

I've never tried this but I don't believe they will hold the leftovers. Hopefully someone with more experience can share about this.

For MNSSHP...do you have the chance to meet the villains, get photos and autographs? What I've read so far is rather unclear.

Are the princes ever in the parks for M&G's? I have heard unclear things on this as well.

The princesses have regular meet 'n greet locations and most of them will continue to meet at during the party. I don't believe they leave their normal greeting locations to meet elsewhere during the party.


Thank you all so much!! I truly appreciate the help!

 

[disneyjes]

Thank you! I appreciate the help!

 

[Alesia]

Hi there! We are planning our first trip for this September and I just have a few questions.

1. We have done full days at Six Flags and Hershey and never needed a break. Do you think we'll need a break for WDW midday? I'm not sure how they compare in size. We aren't sure if we want to do full days at parks or do a park in the am, break at the hotel and then a different park in the pm. Which do you suggest for first time visitors?

2. We have an 8pm dinner on our sons birthday but there are EMH until 1am I believe. We want to have a cake for his birthday, will they hold on to the leftovers or bring to resort? How does that work?

3. For MNSSHP...do you have the chance to meet the villains, get photos and autographs? What I've read so far is rather unclear.

4. Are the princes ever in the parks for M&G's? I have heard unclear things on this as well.


Thank you all so much!! I truly appreciate the help!

1. Many people swear by the mid day break, but we find them exhausting - much more so than not taking one. There is always an opportunity to grab a snack and sit down for a few minutes. Also, hopping to another park often gives us enough of a break.

2. I'm not sure that they can do either.

3. I've never been to MNSSHP, but I would imagine so.

4. Not generally. Beast meets at dinner at BOG, and Aladdin meets in Epcot. Were you looking for a specific prince? Kenny the Pirate's website has the best character info.

 

[aaarcher86]

The main villains stopped meeting at MNSSHP last year. There was an additional hard ticket event inside MNSSHP if you wanted to meet them. They don't do autographs though.

Jafar, Lotso, Hag, possibly Queen of Hearts, and Gaston were out meeting.

Really no princes aside from the above mentioned ones. They used to be at MNSSHP but were taken out last year. No word yet on what exactly will be offered this year as far as meets or events at the party.

 

[disneyjes]

1. Many people swear by the mid day break, but we find them exhausting - much more so than not taking one. There is always an opportunity to grab a snack and sit down for a few minutes. Also, hopping to another park often gives us enough of a break.

2. I'm not sure that they can do either.

3. I've never been to MNSSHP, but I would imagine so.

4. Not generally. Beast meets at dinner at BOG, and Aladdin meets in Epcot. Were you looking for a specific prince? Kenny the Pirate's website has the best character info.

Thank you for the info! We are big Flynn Rider and Prince Naveen fans and I know DS would love to meet him as would I! I had heard somewhere they only come out for the parties but I wasn't sure if that was accurate.

 

[xlsm]

Thank you for the info! We are big Flynn Rider and Prince Naveen fans and I know DS would love to meet him as would I! I had heard somewhere they only come out for the parties but I wasn't sure if that was accurate.

Prince Naveen does a meet with Princess Tiana in her gazebo in Liberty Square. It's usually listed in the times guide (keep in mind, we travel in the summer, not fall, so it could be different.)
As for the cake, they won't hold it for you, but you can get a locker and put it inside until you are ready to leave the park.

And the big one...the size. To give a rough idea, Disneyland resort could fit in the parking lot at the Magic Kingdom. THIS link gives a good reference for size.

**editing to add...the size reference is for the whole of Walt Disney World. The parks are large, but the whole thing is massive, which is something to be aware of when planning your travel around the area**

Have an awesome trip!

 

[DisneyCAL]

#2 I've heard that most restaurants do not do leftovers.If you are staying on-site try this link:
http://disneyworld.disneyfloralandgifts.com/search.do?query=cake

You can have one delivered to your room, then you don't have to worry about getting leftovers back to your room. And you can add other little birthday touches too.

 

[worm761]

We've never done mid-day breaks. We either do a sit down lunch or a long indoor attraction. Carousel of Progress, Hall of Presidents, Ellen's Energy Adventure, or shows. It works for us. But we go at the pace of our child. When DS was that young or DD now and I see them running down, we take a break. That's anything from one of the shows/attractions to ice cream. A Mickey bar is a great break! And a water too.

A piece of advice: two things...peppermint foot spray and baby wipes. Use the peppermint spray on your feet and calves and it helps with the soreness. Baby wipes are amazing in the heat and really help to cool you off a bit. The Frog Tog Chilly pads are nice too.

 

[disneyjes]

Y'all are simply amazing. Thank you all for your great responses, tips and ideas! I will be looking into them all tomorrow! <3

 

[baseballnut]

It's a personal preference, but we ALWAYS go back to the resort midday for a quick swim and nap. For a couple reasons:

We like rope drop. It's really amazing the amount of rides you can hit before 10-11 a.m. with very little wait. Then we break to nap and come back around 6 - which means that we can stay up for those late hours! Because with DD4 all the rides we go on are VERY little wait the later it gets, especially after 10!!! We often can stay on rides.

Doing this, and using FP+, we never wait more than 15-20 minutes for rides.

Also, we aren't in the parks between 12-4, which is when it's hottest AND busiest.

Plus, we park hop and go to a different park at night. Which I just realized our last trip that it makes us feel like we are getting double the vacation time, lol! By the time we get to the evening park it feels like the morning park was the prior day!

HAVE FUN!!!!

 

[harrowgirl]

It's a personal preference, but we ALWAYS go back to the resort midday for a quick swim and nap. For a couple reasons:

We like rope drop. It's really amazing the amount of rides you can hit before 10-11 a.m. with very little wait. Then we break to nap and come back around 6 - which means that we can stay up for those late hours! Because with DD4 all the rides we go on are VERY little wait the later it gets, especially after 10!!! We often can stay on rides.

Doing this, and using FP+, we never wait more than 15-20 minutes for rides.

Also, we aren't in the parks between 12-4, which is when it's hottest AND busiest.

Plus, we park hop and go to a different park at night. Which I just realized our last trip that it makes us feel like we are getting double the vacation time, lol! By the time we get to the evening park it feels like the morning park was the prior day!

HAVE FUN!!!!

This is our strategy as well. Probably depends on how old your kids are. We sometimes do park hoppers so we can do a different park at night, sometimes we just go back to the am park. As a first timer, I probably wouldn't hop

 

[Nancyg56]

It's a personal preference, but we ALWAYS go back to the resort midday for a quick swim and nap. For a couple reasons:

We like rope drop. It's really amazing the amount of rides you can hit before 10-11 a.m. with very little wait. Then we break to nap and come back around 6 - which means that we can stay up for those late hours! Because with DD4 all the rides we go on are VERY little wait the later it gets, especially after 10!!! We often can stay on rides.

Doing this, and using FP+, we never wait more than 15-20 minutes for rides.

Also, we aren't in the parks between 12-4, which is when it's hottest AND busiest.

Plus, we park hop and go to a different park at night. Which I just realized our last trip that it makes us feel like we are getting double the vacation time, lol! By the time we get to the evening park it feels like the morning park was the prior day!

HAVE FUN!!!!

WE do the same thing. We skip out once it gets really hot, and let the kids swim and enjoy the resort, then we (everyone but me) naps and we head back out for dinner and another park. I think for us, it is the only way we can make it to those night time shows! LOL!

 

[andiraye]

We tried doing doing our trip with and without midday breaks and found without works better for us. The travel was exhausting and during the ideal break time (early to late afternoon) our kids were too amped up to rest. So they bounced off the walks at the resort while we parents tried to rest. Then we all headed back to the park for the evening as my kids' energy hit its natural dip.

Things went much better when we rested in the park or rode the monorail when we needed a break.

This trip we are planning two park days followed by a rest/pool day, then another park day, etc. I think this will maximize park fun and recharge effect for us. I could go for weeks in this pattern but sadly DH is going to want to go home at a certain point!