Any ideas/helpful hints on touring plans for each park???

[Smerdle]

So my husband and I leave in 18 days for our very first trip to WDW. Both of us are really excited. We are going to be there Dec 16 - Dec 21. I bought a guide book with touring plans in it but I was wondering what ideas others had for touring plans. I know it might sound unrealistic but we are planning on visiting one park each day. While we may not get to experience everything the parks have to offer we are looking forward the memorable experience. So any help/tips/hints or ideas for touring/visiting would be greatly appreciated.

 

[OhMari]

Welcome to the DIS.

We have so many different boards. We have the Theme Park Attractions and Strategies Board, where you can get up to date information that is happening at the parks. Here is the link: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=30&f=2


Call WDW and make Advance Dining Reservations for sit-down meals. Here is the resturant board's Link: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=30&f=14

I am going to move you over to our Disney Tips board where I hope you will find out many tips.

You are more than welcome on the Trip Reports board. Our board is mostly about DIS members that have gone to WDW and they are sharing the experience of their trip. So I think these other boards will help you out more. Have a great vacation.

 

[f7prez]

The best advice I can give you is to take your time and enjoy what you are able to fit in to your trip. Most people fall in love with Walt Disney World after their first visit, and visit many more times after. I never liked the touring schedules because they have you criss crossing all over the parks, rushing to the next ride. I think you miss a lot of the charm of the parks by rushing past the detail. Most guides will have a "Not to be missed" list, or a "Top Ten" list for each park. Use that as a reference. Read up on Fastpass and take full advantage of them. Grab a fastpass before you stop for lunch and dinner. When you have finished your meal it will probably be close to your ride time. Enjoy at least one evening fireworks show such as Wishes, Illuminations or Fantasmic. Take at least one day off from the theme parks to relax and see some of the other things Disney has to offer. On our off days we go to one of the Disney water parks (Blizzard Beach is our favorite), find a nice spot in the shade and hit the "Slopes". After a day on the lazy river, head back to your hotel and get ready for a night on the town. Downtown Disney offers restaurants, shopping and movies as well as Pleasure Island for all kinds of adult entertainment like dancing and comedy. Don't miss the Adventurers Club.
Again, take your time, enjoy what you can and don't exhaust yourself. Remember it is still a vacation. You WILL be back.

 

[MeLaNie9]

We used the Unofficial Guide touring plans loosely during our recent trip and found them pretty helpful. It also prompted us to make a list of things we wanted to see/do each day so we didn't miss anything. It also allowed us to review the different rides and decide if each one was something we wanted to/could experience (I was pregnant). We did do AK in one day and MGM in two half days (we did this so that we could catch the Star Wars parade there during Star Wars weekend and could have easily done MGM in one day). The other parks would have been difficult to see in one day, but we were traveling with our DS2. When DH and I went alone we could have done each park in a day but did spend extra time at Epcot (my favorite) and MK. Of course, we were happy to skip things like meeting Ariel and Toontown then!
Have a good trip!

 

[Smerdle]

f7prez & MeLaNie9

Thank you both for your insights. Every little bit helps.

 

[Cassian]

take advantage of the extra magic hours. go early in the morning to avoid the midday rush. what always worked for me is getting up and to the parks early, and during lunchtime, go back to the hotel for a nap/recharge/meal. pick back up at a park later in the afternoon and evening and stay as late as you can.