Dis. Newbie Alert

[Aroura]

Hi all. *heres to hoping it is okay to post this here* Brandy new Dis. Forum member, but DH and I have been reading for months now. Thought it was well time for me to join and be part of the excitment myself.


My family ( husband and two sons, 6, and 4) are going to Disney for the first time. Arrival date June 30th. Staying till the 7th. We're staying at the All Star Sports. and have a Prince and Princess package.

Any tips? Anyone care to offer thier comments on All Star Sports? I have a feeling that my sons will GO NUTS!! And DH being a sport freak, I think it was a good choice, not to mention a UNBELIVABLE value... will be my first time at The World... and I am bursting to the brim with excitment.

 

[Joan S.]

HI and WELCOME to the DIS Boards! Since you will be going to WDW at a very busy time be sure to have a PLAN in place for which park on which days with some PS made ahead of time! With 2 young sons I am sure you will want to do MK when it is an early entry AM. Liberty Tree Tavern is a great Lunch Place when in the MK or Crystal Palace. Also try to take that break midday and go back to the AllStars and enjoy the pool or a NAP!You are sure to have a great time with 2 young ones! They should particularly enjoy the characters. Each park has a schedule so you can plan on seeing them! One of the best Character times is Epcot when the Character Bus makes a scheduled stop between Future World and World Showcase. The bus is FILLED with Characters!One tip that I hope you will not mind is DO NOT RUSH!! Take your time and let your children take their time there is SO MUCH to see and DO. it can be overwhelming for adults so I cannot imagine what it is like for children! Sometimes just sitting on a bench and having an ice-cream will be highlight of the day to a child! Oh, and take LOTS of PICS because they really do grow-up so FAST! Good Luck! Joan

 

[XStAnt]

Check out www.mousesavers.com for additional info on discounts (rental cars, flights, merchandise, etc).

Did you get a discount on the package? If not you may want to push back your trip one or two weeks since Disney now has the 7 for 5 deal. Pay for 5 nights with UPH, get 2 free additional nights. It starts on 7/5 so you'd need to reschedule your trip but the savings could be worth it if your original trip did not get booked using the previous discount code.

Take advantage of EMH--you can get alot done in that first hour. However, if you are not going to make it to a park by the beginning of EMH, go to a different park. In other words, if MGM is the EMH park on Tuesday morning and EMH begins at 8:00 am, you have to be at MGM by 8:00 am or you lose that advantage. If you don't get there until 8:30 or 9:00 the parks will already be more crowded than they usually are at that time. You are better off going to a non-EMH park at opening.

Take mid-day breaks. Your kids are young and it will be hot. Go back to your resort in the afternoon and nap/swim for a few hours. Head back to a park (either the same one or a different one) that evening.

Learn how to maximize use of FP. With proper planning you can really reduce your time standing in line. You should always be holding at least one FP.

Get a guide book and read through it. They all have great info. I like the Unofficial Guide, but there are many good books.

Schedule a character breakfast. Your kids are at the perfect age for them. In fact, make other PS for meals when you can. I think Epcot is a great place for a nice dinner because of all the great restaurants. Pick something different there and give it a try. How's Morroccan food sound?

Remember to have FUN!!! You won't be able to see/do everything so don't rush to try to get it all in. You'll only drag your kids around in a mad rush and no one will have fun. If everyone knows ahead of time that you can't do everything then no one will be disappointed that you missed something. It just gives you an excuse to go back in a few years.

 

[Aroura]

LOL.. we are so " planned" that you'd swear my husband was a military man. But the good thing is, is that we are not going to be governed by our own " itinerary" LOL... We have made all of our PS. we have I think 4 different character meals *swoon*.. That wasn't planned, just so happen that the places we picked, alot of them happen to be character meals.

First night is Dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern. Night two is at Boma.. Hoping that the food is good here. Because it is African cuisine I am hoping that I like it all. I am adventurous enough.

My Mother and Father in-law are flying in on the 2nd. To Join us for the fun. With the boys being there for the first time, they don't want to miss out either.

July 4th.. Going to be crazy I am sure.. but once again.. Up for it

 

[Aroura]

(sorry to double post, but here you can't edit your own... I run a site of my own, so I know how double posting is a no no.. lol)

I have the Summer Dream Maker Package, with a Prince and Princess add on.. It was a great deal I think. we heard of the 7/5 deal, but DH has a scheduled two weeks off from work, that cannot be changed. So we are okay with the one we got

 

[mickey'sbud]

Looks like you'll be there on July 4th. Plan where you want to see the fireworks from. The parks will be CROWDED.
Perhaps someone can describe the fireworks from inside the parks....I can only tell you about our experience last year from "outside" Magic Kingdom gates---I wouldn't miss this one! (outside the gate was not crowded at all).
The fireworks by Magic Kingdom totally :thewave: WOWWED US!!
We were outside of the gate on the top deck of the ferry on the MK side of the lake. We had fire works on both side of us and all around us. It seemed like we were right in the middle of it all. Even as adults my husband and I stood there in awe. I have never, never, ever seen anything like it before. It was like watching 10 firework shows at once. We could even see the fireworks above the castle. The only thing we couldn't see was the castle changing colors( the trees blocked the castle). We could see the lighted boat parade at the end too.
After the fireworks were over, we jumped on the monorail and road over to see Epcots fireworks (just in time).
I put a trip report on the trip report forum last year....search July 4th or 4th of July. It describes what we did better than I can do now.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

i saw that you are staying at all stars sports...i have stayed there a couple times..first with my family when i was younger (probably about 8) and then again last year for our senior class trip...i liked all stars ,especally when i was younger...my brother and i loved to play on the o]versized sports things..

 

[catherines_mama]

#1... Have fun. DD and i did 5 days at WDW and didnt even see Frontierland, Adventureland or Liberty Sq.

Really! Not any of it! LOL Well we walked through but she was zzzzz (2 1/2 at the time).

So it is SOOO OK to not see it all or do it all

Didnt do the LAND in Epcot.. Didnt do ANY indoor ride (thanks to DD sudden fear of dark). So, its OK! LOL

#2 ... rest and enjoy. Going in June is great. Busy yes but you get over 14 hrs of sunlight. How awesome is that! In Feb we didnt have much daylight, but you.. you get tons of time in the parks. Use it all to your advantage and enjoy!

PS - we did Crystal Palace and thats it. We'll do Chef Mickeys next time too prob. Just take it easy and cancel if you guys are too tired. YES i ate $10 at Cindy's b/c DD was burnt out and not about to wake up at 630 to make our 800 PS.

Again, have fun and enjoy your trip!

 

[macnodos]

We had dinner at Liberty Tree Easter night and it was a great character dinner. It rained the whole time during dinner, but by the time we came out the storm had cleared. We had the feature rides all to ourselves without a wait. Watched fireworks there that night and one other night (excellent).
Try to get to blizzard beach one afternoon, great slides especially summit plummit.
Also try and do Fantasmic (great show) . We did dinner package at Mama Melrose and it was excellent.
Have fun and go at your own pace.

kev

 

[Aroura]

Yes.. we are doing Blizzard Beach on the 5th. And Fantasmic on the 6th. We are going to the Hollywood and vine with the fantasmic ticket thing...


*blush* anyone want to tell me how to get a countdown ticker.. I swear I looked in the FAQ.. LOL.. couldn't find it... help me out please.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

First of all welcome to DIS Boards! Now you'll get to obsess over Disney with the rest of us! 6 and 4 are really good ages for 1st time trip to Disney. Keep an open mind and considering bring umbrella stroller or renting a stroller (even a double). It's hot, it's a lot of walking and even the most rambunctious kids get tired. We also found it helped keeping up the speed as tired kids really slow you down. Take an afternoon break. We found traveling with three small kids last summer (6, 4, and 3), that leaving the parks after lunch we enjoying swimming/ relaxing at hotel (hopefully napping) and then the kids were ready to enjoy the night time activities (parades and fireworks). You won't be able to do it all (no one every can) so just enjoy what you can do.

You might want to check out the Pirate Cruise at the GF. It's for kids ages 4 and up and cost a little over $27. It sounds great for kids that age. I made PS's for my three since my son will just be turning four when we go in July. Have a great time! Don't forget the character meals, this way you won't spend all your park time trying to get autographs.

 

[edcrbnsoul]

Here is the countdown http://psiklops.brinkster.net/CDTimers/CDTimerGen.htm

 

[Grumpy37]

Originally posted by Aroura
Yes.. we are doing Blizzard Beach on the 5th.

It will be very busy that day and will probably reach capacity, so be there early! Have fun!

 

[kctinkerbell]

We just made our first trip to the WORLD in March with our DD's 6&4. We had the BEST time. We used the touring plans from the Unoffical Guide and it really helped us. Our girls did not use a stroller, but we had been taking walks in our neighborhood to get in shape For us the best strategy was to:
1)GET TO THE PARKS EARLY I cannot stress this enough. You can get so much done in the first two hours before the parks really fill up.

2) We stayed until after the parade and then we went back to the hotel for a few hours and then we headed out again. This worked great for our girls.

3)Be flexible. There were a few PS's we made in the evening, but it just wasn't going to happen. We would just grab a meal at our hotel(Dolphin) or the boardwalk area.


Not to be missed:
AK-Safari, Lion King Show, Kali River
MK-Mickey's Phil., All of Fantasyland, BUZZ, H.Mansion, Splash Mtn., Pirates,Magic Carpet, Wishes
Epcot-Living Seas (Nemo stuff), S.Earth-adults

I hope this is helpful!!!
You will have a wonderful time!!!


kctinkerbell
MGM-Beauty and the Beast Show, TOT, Fanstasmic, Disney's Playhouse Live

Our Best Eats:
AK-Tusker House!!! Boma at the Lodge
MK-nothing knocked our socks off
MGM-Sci Fi had a ps for lunch,Best Burger on Property.Our DD's Favorite Meal!!!
Epcot-Didn't eat here

 

[Sheriff]

JoanS had some pretty good advice so my advice is to re-read her posting!

Remember the object is to have a good time -- not to 'do' everything.

Disney is expensive so people tend to want to do everything. Don't! Take it easy. Rest at the pool in the middle of the day (bet the kids will enjoy that most) and don't obsess about 'missing' something. If you do everything you will miss a good time.

My basic rules for FP
1) Get FP for Ride A
2) Go on Ride B
3) Get FP for Ride C
4) go on ride A

 

[macnodos]

Aroura,
If you have any night remaining without PS, you may want to try Ohanas. For dessert, they make kids icey treat (snowcone) in a bucket with children picking there favorite flavored liquid topping, shovel included. Our kids loved it.

kev