Anyone want to be my personal advisor??? :)

[babsmac]

My family and I are planning our first trip to Disney. I have no idea where to even start planning. Here are our stats:

Trip Dates: May 3-10, arrive Sun around noon, depart next Sun at dinner time
People: Me, DH, 6 yr old DS, and 4 yr old DD (who has extreme food allergies)
Hotel: Caribbean Beach Resort
Dining: Dining Plan (Free with emailed code!!!!!)
Tickets: 8 days of tickets (one for every day including arrival and departure days)-NO Park Hoppers

My questions:

We have 6 full days and 2 partial days. Since we are not doing park hoppers. How many days in each park??

The EMHs are not posted for May yet, I want to coordinate these with my ADRs which I can't make until Dec. 1st. What do I do?

I figure we can pretty much wing our counter meals at the parks but I want to make my ADRs for dinners...

What are the must-eat-at restaurants for each park?

Should I venture out of the parks and dine at other resorts some evenings?

We want to do at least one character meal? Which one?

I am a planning nut and I want to have this trip planned down to the last detail so that I can relax when we get there. I have a little princess and a little pirate/Star Wars nut who know nothing about this. I am going to suprise them a few days before. Any help you can give would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

Babs

 

[jimmiej]

Why do you have to wait till Dec. 1st to make ADRs? Does this have something to do with the new system they're putting in?

From my experience, you'll need:

MK & Epcot-2 days each
DHS & AK-1 day

Character meals would depend on what characters your children might like to see. Have you looked here?

http://allears.net/din/cb.htm

For other restaurants, look here:

http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

As far as calendar, you can find last years schedule for May below. That will at least give you an idea.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/hours.htm

 

[babsmac]

jimmiej,

I have to wait on the ADRs because of the new system

Thanks!

DisCopper,

I can't PM you, I don't have enough posts Here is my reply:

Thank you so much!!!

OK, We are on similar pages. I was thinking 2 days at MK, 1 day AK, except maybe 2 days at HS and 1 day at Epcot. Is that a mistake? My kids are big movie buffs, especially Star Wars, Pixar, High School Musical, etc. Can we do Epcot in 1 day? We don't have the water park option, so we could always do another 1/2 day there. That would leave 1/2 day for Downtown Disney.

The Extra Magic Hours aren't out for May. I called Disney and they said they would most likely become available the beginning of December. Of course I have to make my ADRs on Dec 1st (because of the new reservation system). If the EMH dates aren't out and I don't get my ADRs in that day, will I still be able to get reservations?

As far as restaurants, I don't know where to begin. My DH is a BIG eater (thankfully his metabolism hasn't slowed down yet), I eat considerably less, my kids are both good eaters and pretty adventurous. We love seafood, sushi, and mediterranean food. DH will eat anything pretty much, but I prefer quality over quantity. We want places that are kid friendly. Our kids get restless easily, so we don't like to dawdle too much after eating. We eat, pay, and are out of there before the ants get in their pants

As far as the Character Dining. I am thinking we would have had to make reservations a month ago to get to dine with Cindy in the Castle. Have you tried the 1900 Park Fare? My kids aren't as into Pooh and Friends (too babyish ). Akershus might be an option??? I wish there were some boy character dining options (pirates, toy story,...) What do you think about doing the character dining for a big, late breakfast one day and then just picking up a counter meal as a late lunch/early dinner (Donald’s Breakfastosaurus)?? Would probably work for me and the kids, DH would be starving by bedtime

I know I am bombarding you with questions, your help is greatly appreciated!!!

Babs

 

[PJAY]

I think you can do Epcot in one day if you skip the world showcase, otherwise, plan for 2 days. DS3 also has severe food allergies and we found every restaurant to be accommodating of our needs. DW emailed someone about our dietary concerns months before our arrival and we spoke to the sous chef @ our resort who took care of DS main food (a lamb/pork burger). Just make sure you ask to meet with the chef at every TS to speak about allergies and they will come and speak to you.
I believe you can still try and get res for Cindy's, 180 days before arrival. DW called 180 days before arrival and made ours for our second last day and we had no problem getting the time we wanted.
So many good restaurants and character meals, there are many reviews on this site.

 

[PJAY]

Sorry my math is bad, I guess you are past 180 days already...

 

[wdwmom0f3]

My family and I are planning our first trip to Disney. I have no idea where to even start planning. Here are our stats:

Trip Dates: May 3-10, arrive Sun around noon, depart next Sun at dinner time
People: Me, DH, 6 yr old DS, and 4 yr old DD (who has extreme food allergies)
Hotel: Caribbean Beach Resort
Dining: Dining Plan (Free with emailed code!!!!!)
Tickets: 8 days of tickets (one for every day including arrival and departure days)-NO Park Hoppers

My questions:

We have 6 full days and 2 partial days. Since we are not doing park hoppers. How many days in each park??

The EMHs are not posted for May yet, I want to coordinate these with my ADRs which I can't make until Dec. 1st. What do I do?

I figure we can pretty much wing our counter meals at the parks but I want to make my ADRs for dinners...

What are the must-eat-at restaurants for each park?

Should I venture out of the parks and dine at other resorts some evenings?

We want to do at least one character meal? Which one?

I am a planning nut and I want to have this trip planned down to the last detail so that I can relax when we get there. I have a little princess and a little pirate/Star Wars nut who know nothing about this. I am going to suprise them a few days before. Any help you can give would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

Babs

#1) We have 6 full days and 2 partial days. Since we are not doing park hoppers. How many days in each park??

I would say 2 days for MK, 2 days for Epcot, one day for Animal Kingdom & 1 day for Hollywood Studios. The day that you go to Animal Kingdom, I would plan to go to Down Town Disney that night. AK can be done in 1/2 a day or better. DTD is so pretty at night.

#2) The EMHs are not posted for May yet, I want to coordinate these with my ADRs which I can't make until Dec. 1st. What do I do?

You could wait, but I wouldn't. I would book them asap and make changes later if you need to.

#3)I figure we can pretty much wing our counter meals at the parks but I want to make my ADRs for dinners...

That's what we do too, and it has always worked out fine for us. We did book some of our ADR's for lunch and used the CC's for dinner too, and it also worked out when we couldn't get into the place at night.


#4) Epcot has the most choices. I really like eating at The Coral Reel, and the steak house in Canada. We LOVE to eat at the resorts too. Ohana, Chef Mickey's and 1900 Park Fare are all HUGE hits with the kids. They are character meals that the whole family will love!

My only suggestion would be to get the Hopper pass. It really is nice to have for extra magic hours and also for dining. You can make it work without it fine, but we like it.

I hope that you have a WONDERFUL trip!!

 

[eatright]

I only have a second at the moment but I'd be happy to help as well. My son (now 2 years old) also has severe food allergies to milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, and sesame. I think you will find that Disney is the most wonderful place to take an allergic child!! They go above and beyond every where you eat to make sure the child has a great time and that the parents are not stressed about it (as I ALWAYS am when we eat out!).

My one recommendation if you can afford it is to add on the park hopper option. I think it is well worth it to be able to go from park to park breaking up the day and maximizing your experience.