Completely New and ANY/ALL advice is welcomed....

QueenBeeZ

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 28, 2011
Messages
1
Hello there!!
I was directed on this site from a friends so bear with me for being completely NEW to all.
Intro- NJ Momma to two boys ages 4 and 2. We are NJ school teachers who can't take too much time off for vacays unfortunately our vacays are dictated by school.
My husband dropped the ball on me last night that he was wanting to go to Disney. Not in a bad way though because I am SO ready to go but waiting on him (the NON spontaneous one).
SO, here I am complete OVERloading on planning tips and advice.
Here are my questions-
When is the best time to go to Disney? August is probably HOT?
Is four days enough if we planned something in November?
My boys are not princess fans, are there lots of "boy" things to do there?
How long is the airplane ride? Alittle nervous with my sons on board.

Sorry if I sound dumb but I need to get ALL my research in and "present" my ideas to my DH. (I know, I sound like a teacher- lol)

Looking forward to any/all ideas you may have.

QueenBeeZ in NJ :confused3
 
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Hello there!!
I was directed on this site from a friends so bear with me for being completely NEW to all.
Intro- NJ Momma to two boys ages 4 and 2. We are NJ school teachers who can't take too much time off for vacays unfortunately our vacays are dictated by school.
My husband dropped the ball on me last night that he was wanting to go to Disney. Not in a bad way though because I am SO ready to go but waiting on him (the NON spontaneous one).
SO, here I am complete OVERloading on planning tips and advice.
Here are my questions-
When is the best time to go to Disney? August is probably HOT?
Is four days enough if we planned something in November?
My boys are not princess fans, are there lots of "boy" things to do there?
How long is the airplane ride? Alittle nervous with my sons on board.

Sorry if I sound dumb but I need to get ALL my research in and "present" my ideas to my DH. (I know, I sound like a teacher- lol)

Looking forward to any/all ideas you may have.

QueenBeeZ in NJ :confused3

Glad you found this board, just remember to take all with a grain of salt and nothing is dyed in wool.....

to answer a few of your questions....August is hot, but so is July and September.....we like September over August since the Halloween decorations are up and the MNSSHP are starting...plus attendance is quite low this month...not sure if it fits your school schedule or not...

As for how long, longer the better...more time to leisurely tour the parks without being run ragged....5 or 6 nights would be ideal...gives you a day to enjoy the resort and maybe a waterpark.....WDW is huge, beyond compression of other parks with so much to see and do that no matter how much time you spend you'll hardly scratch the surface...

I'm not sure on the flying time, we're from northeast Ohio and flight time for us is 2 hours....but I don't fly anymore.....we're Amtrak people and enjoy the train and countryside....but when we did fly, our children were very young and endured the flight very well, should be no problem...

Best bet...get the planning DVD...then pick your resort and length of stay...a few good guides should give you a lay of the land (parks) so you're familiar with attractions and their whereabouts....plan slowly and take it all in....we're not believers in crowd counters, touring plans and Disney dining plans.....we've done 44 trips so far and have gone when those things did not exist and you can have a great trip without them....others swear by them but to us they are more of a hindrance than a help....allears.net is a good web site that gives the particulars on the resorts and offer all the dining menus on property so you can plan meals and gauge prices......bottom line is to remember it's a vacation, relax, let your children enjoy themselves...hope you have a grand trip...
 
Hello there!!
I was directed on this site from a friends so bear with me for being completely NEW to all.
Intro- NJ Momma to two boys ages 4 and 2. We are NJ school teachers who can't take too much time off for vacays unfortunately our vacays are dictated by school.
My husband dropped the ball on me last night that he was wanting to go to Disney. Not in a bad way though because I am SO ready to go but waiting on him (the NON spontaneous one).
SO, here I am complete OVERloading on planning tips and advice.
Here are my questions-
When is the best time to go to Disney? August is probably HOT?
Is four days enough if we planned something in November?
My boys are not princess fans, are there lots of "boy" things to do there?
How long is the airplane ride? Alittle nervous with my sons on board.

Sorry if I sound dumb but I need to get ALL my research in and "present" my ideas to my DH. (I know, I sound like a teacher- lol)

Looking forward to any/all ideas you may have.

QueenBeeZ in NJ :confused3
Are you looking at this August? When do you return to school. If you do not return to school until about Labor Day, you could take advantage of the current free dining offer that is valid for stays between August 28 - September 24. It's a huge money saver and the crowds won't be too bad in late August. It will be hot though.

As a second choice, since you are in New Jersey, I assume ya'll are off for "Jersey Week" as they call it in terms of Disney Planning - I believe it is a number of religious days that the State of New Jersey Schools get off. I believe it starts around November 9 this year, but rumor is, is that week will be blacked out for discounts this year. That is a low crowd and a low rate season to go, but probably not additional discounts.

I usually recommend at least 5 days for people who are new to Disney - 2 days Magic Kingdom, 1 day Epcot, 1 day Animal Kingdom and 1 day Disney Hollywood studios. I also recommend the base tickets and not the more expensive park hoppers - if you are new to Disney you really don't need them.

We have stayed at all level of Disney resorts - there are 3 categories, Value, Moderate and Deluxe - and they are all great, but really if you are planning on spending most of your time at the parks and not the resort, I would recommend a value resort. All-Star Movies is our favorite resort. But Disney can fit any budget, so if you want to spend more money, Port Orleans is our favorite Moderate Resort and The Poloynesian is our favorite Deluxe Resort.

Also, Disney is not all about Princesses, that's just a small part, it's really a great vacation for all ages and all families.

Another piece of advice, pick up a copy of The Unoffical Guide to Walt Disney World and check out their companion website, www.touringplans.com. I use their crowd/best days calendar to plan all our park days and then once I know which park we will be in on which days I can make my Advance Dining Reservations around those parks or in resorts close to those parks.

There are tips I give to anyone new to touring WDW:

1. Make sure you have Advance Dining Reservations as a lot of table service restaurants do not take walk-ups during free dining or busy crowd seasons.

2. Get to the parks at opening. You really can get a lot done in the morning because so many other people sleep in.

3. Eat lunch around 11:00 or 11:30 a.m. before the fast food places get busy. Then when while everyone else is eating lunch, you will have lower crowds.

4. I buy a ton of the two for a dollar ponchos at the dollar store and keep them in the backpack. That way you can throw them a way after use and not worry about keeping up with a wet bulky poncho the rest of the day. Bring throw away ponchos to wear on Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom, if not you WILL get soaked.

5. Other things I put in the backpack each morning are Tylenol/Motrin, small first aid kit, camera with extra batteries, small hand towel, hand sanitizer, wipes and a bottle of water.

6. Most single service items under $4.00 are considered a snack credit on the dining plan. A Turkey Leg is NOT a snack credit.

7. At Magic Kingdom always head to Fantasyland first, if you are not doing Fantasyland on a particular day then head to Splash Mountain first, then Big Thunder Mountain; at Epcot always ride Soarin' first and get a Fastpass for later after you get off of the ride; at Disney Hollywood Studios always ride Toy Story Mania first, then head over to Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror; and at Animal Kingdom ride Expedition Everest First then head to the Safari.

8. Favorite fast food restaurants at MK are Pecos Bills and Cosmic Rays; favorite fast food at Animal Kingdom is Flame Tree Grill and Pizzafari. If you are there while it very hot, go to Pizzafari.

9. If there are two lines going into an attraction, always take the line that goes to the left.

10. My best tip would have to be USE THE FASTPASS SYSTEM. Our rule of thumb is if the wait is 25 minutes or less, we wait in line. If the wait is 30 minutes or more, use a Fastpass. It is not highly publicized, but your Fastpass does not expire until the end of the day. You can never use it before the return time stamp on the pass, but you can always use it after. We try to collect Fastpasses during the early part of the day and then use them later in the afternoon when the parks become more crowded.

Click on this link and it will give you an excellent overview of Fastpass. It is from Doconeil here on the Disboards and super helpful:

http://www.oinc.net/disney/fastpass.php

If you still don't understand, just let me know your specific questions.

11. I like the Photopass. You can pre-buy it before your trip for $99.00. When you enter the parks you will see the staff photographers, they will take your pictures and give you a Photopass and you can use that for the rest of your trip. Each time you see a photographer have them take your picture and they will scan your picture. Then when you get home you can pull up the pictures, with the code they email you after purchase, and pick the photos you want on a CD. They will then mail you the CD and the copyrights to the CD and you can take them to Walmart or Walgreens or wherever and get them developed. They also have a lot of cool software that you can use to edit your photos before you have them put on the CD.

My favorite Disney planning sites are:

www.disboards.com
www.allearsnet.com
www.wdwinfo.com
www.intercot.com
 
Welcome to the boards and have fun planning your vacation. We live in Staten Island, NY very close to NJ and we always fly out of Newark Intl AP using Jetblue. It takes about 2hrs. 30 mins to get to Orlando and I swear sometimes it doesn't even seem that long. August is hot, but if you can go the very end of August or beginning of Sept. the crowds are normally very low. You just take it slow and I am sure you and your family will really enjoy it. I am sure what ever you decide you will be fine. Have fun planning.:cool1:

Maryann :happytv:
 
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WELCOME!!

WE just made our first ever trip in April. We were lucky because our spring break was early and didnt align with the Easter crowds.

Make sure you sign up for Disney e-mails so you can get your pin codes.
Rumor has it that new free dining dates are going to be released Aug 3. We had the dining plan and LOVED it.

We flew Jet blue which was ok .. and it took about 2.5 hrs. I carried on my computer and they watched a movie .. I also brought coloring books and thier leapsters.

I brough the dollar store ponchos and they were awful .. we ended up buying the disney ones and I wrapped them for our next trip. Dont let the rain deter you from going ... it was one of our best days

There are tons of things to do for boys. I didnt get there early enough for opening, but the crowds were better earlier in the day.

We went for four days and it certainly isnt enough time, but enough to suck you in and make you crazy to go back. Plan to have a day of rest upon your return. I thought we would be fine since our flight would be fast and we could still be home, resting and in bed at bed time, but we needed a day to recoup all the same!
 
August is very hot but the end is a good time to go b/c schools down south are back already.
I am also a teacher so feel your pain about vacation times. I was laid off last year and was able to go with my parents in November for the first time to see the Christmas decorations. It was awesome!!
I would only go in the summer if you can stay a week. I think 4 or 5 days is way tto short for your first time, and it doesn't seem as hot if you have more time and not running around. You NEED to take a break in the afternoon back at the resort to swim and cool off. Then return later refreshed to stay for parade and fireworks. The rides are also fun to do at night when it's cooler. Good luck in your planning! Hope you get to go soon! :)
I'm sure you will get lots more of great info. and tips from these boards but like a pp said take it all with a grain of salt- everyone is different and has their own needs.
 
Welcome to the boards and have fun planning your vacation. We live in Staten Island, NY very close to NJ and we always fly out of Newark Intl AP using Jetblue. It takes about 2hrs. 30 mins to get to Orlando and I swear sometimes it doesn't even seem that long. August is hot, but if you can go the very end of August or beginning of Sept. the crowds are normally very low. You just take it slow and I am sure you and your family will really enjoy it. I am sure what ever you decide you will be fine. Have fun planning.:cool1:

Maryann :happytv:


hey Im from SINY too!
 














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