can some of you help me with this?

[MrsJ Henry]

I'm hoping you all will help me.
I have a friend who is going to WDW the last weekend in April . They have just decided to go, have never been to WDW, do not know much about it,( mom, dad,son(teen), Daughter (almost teen))

They will be going Thursday-Sunday.Flying in but don't have times yet

What advice, tips etc.... would you give this family?
I want this to be enjoyable for them and they just don't have much time at all to plan. This was a last minute decision.
So.... can any of you help with tips to make this a fun few days for them?
They are going to try and stay at a value but do not have any ressies yet at all.

 

[mom of five]

read these boards. Everything you ever needed to know is all right here!

 

[MrsJ Henry]

I know, that works very well for me and I love planning. The problem is that they are not real planners and don't have that much time to be looking at the boards. I was hoping people could list some tips that I may be forgetting when I talk with them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Also My husband and I go but we don't have kids and we tour the parks very differently than they would. We are looking for tips from families that may have kids around this age.

 

[Disney Fool]

Your best bet would be to introduce them to a guidebook! End of april is two months away (nearly); plenty of time for them to look at a guidebook and circle the things they'd like to do and see. Have them each make a list of the things they want to do in each park, and then merge them.

Also, make sure they understand that Disney is approx. 50 square miles (roughly the size of Manhattan) and there's no way they can:
1. walk there
2. see it all in one day

make sure they understand about park-hopping, and stress the need for them to make priority seatings especially for the time that they are going. It will be busy.

 

[Deesknee]

I'm certainly not an expert on these boards by any means, but I do have 2ds (almost 14) and a DD(also almost 14). I know they all love Disney Quest, the pool for a few hours in between parks. oh, just remembered you'd like a list so I'll try it so you can maybe copy/paste

disney quest
pool (few hrs inbetween parks)
bring gameboy for plane/driving
I make them do a daily journal (at this age they are beginning to understand the signifcance (sp?) now.
bathing suits under clothes for the wet rides.
we bring sport water bottles & refill with fountain water if neccessary
they earn their own spending $ which we pay in disney $ so they can't spend it elsewhere.
my kids love pizza planet
carry a backpack (atleat one for the whole family)

That's all I can think of for now. If I think of nything else I will post later.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

Thanks folks... It's very helpful to hear from parents.

 

[ErinInCT]

Since they will be there for such a short time I would recommend not seeing all the parks. I think they could skip AK. Maybe a half day (evening) at MGM to do the thrill rides & stuff for older kids. Definately a full day at MK & definately a full day at EPCOT.
I also recommend they get a guidebook & everyone put together a list of things they really want to see. The library probably has tons (I know ours does & I live in a small town). They could probably all gets books & have a weekend night or something where the whole family sits down & plans. It could be really fun & a bonding experience. I am pretty sure there is even a book written by kids for kids!

 

[littlestix]

Send her to mousavers.com Mary has lots of tips. You can also tell her to visit the budget board for more money saving ideas. As far as a guidebook I suggest the unoffical book. It's full of useful information but, not updated with the new ticket packages.