Disney by the Seat of One's Pants

[Pooh Lover]

We (dh, 9yob, 7yog, 23mog, and I) are flying to WDW for our first family visit this Friday! DH is attending a convention at the Cont. for 2 days, then we'll tour for 5 days. The first day, we'll be at Sea World (the last day the kids are free there), and then we'll buy 4-day Park Hopper passes for WDW. Here's the thing: Due to the trip not being definite until recently, we haven't been able to plan until now. After reading about the year+ some people plan, I'm feeling overwhelmed. OTOH, I'm just incredibly grateful we're going and determined to have a wonderful time! I've had 2001 Disney with Kids and Mini Mickey overnighted to me, and I hope to read them before we get there--but I'm not holding my breath! Is it too late to enjoy a CB or sit-down meal on site? Should we skip one or two of the main parks since we don't have time to make a detailed plan? Any words of encouragement or advice about how to do this without much advance preparation time available? TIA!

 

[stacy6552]

i dont think a plan is neccessary to do any of the parks. so do them all. it might mean that you might have longer waits for things and youll probably eat more counter service than otherwise, but so what?as a teen i did dl on the fly evertime and had a blast!

 

[Pluto]

It is not too late for a sit down restaurant. Since DH is at the Cont for a convention I would recommend eating at Chef Mickey's one night. You could call them today and probably get a ps. I might pick a sit down eatery at Epcot and you can usually do that the morning you arrive, but you still could call before you leave and make ps. Hope this helps and have a great time!

WDW 92,93,94,95,96,97,97,98,99,00,00

 

[fostrmom2mny]

We only had about a total of one and a half days to tour the parks. Yes, there was a lot that we didn't get to see and do, but we did Chef Mickey's for breakfast (called the evening that we got there and went on our last morning) and I never regret going on that first trip. I was somewhat more prepared for the second trip, but my upcoming trip in Nov. 2001 I will be totaly prepared. I have found the DIS and found more info here than in the numberous books that I have bought or borrowed. I say sit back, relax, and have a great time.
PS. Both trips also included some downtime by the pools. That is one of the kids favorite things that they still talk about. Gerri

 

[eeyore0662]

You can do it without any problem. Sit down with a guide book and figure out what parks you want to see on what days. Make a list of everybody's "must do's", so everyone is happy, figure out which restaurants sound good on what days, and call (407)-WDW-DINE and get your PS--have backup choices in case you can't get into your 1st choice. From what I understand from talking to the CM on the phone at CRO the other day, the PS and Ressies are really light right now, so you probably won't have any problems. I know that Boma at AKL was easy to book, and if you eat there you can check out the newest resort at the same time. Have a terrific time

Have a Wonderful day, Eeyore

 

[jesse]

If you are the kind of person who can get an early start, be to the parks a bit before they open. It's less stressful to get orientated when the crowds aren't so large.

 

[CookieGVB]

If you are early risers, you will find that going to the Early Entry park of the day will help you accomplish more in less time. This is particularly true of the more popular rides in each park. If your children are clamoring to do Dumbo, head straight there - the line builds so quickly for that, we've passed it up each time because of the lines that have built up while we went to other rides first.

By the time lunchtime rolls around, the crowds will be fairly large, so you may want to hit Crystal Palace for lunch - it's cool, no lines to wait on for counter food, and Pooh is there! I highly recommend trying to get PS for Crystal Palace.

After lunch, you can head back to the hotel for a rest, or head to another park that won't be quite as crowded.

We found that going to Animal Kingdom in the mid-late afternoon was a good thing. Most people who were there since early morning are heading for the exits, and the lines are very manageable. We walked onto the Safari, and had no trouble getting into the shows or riding Dinosaur.

I wouldn't worry that you haven't spent months obsessively planning every minute (like some of us tend to do! ) - as long as you get an idea of a few of your must-see or must-dos, you should be fine. Having an outline of which park to do on which day, and knowing what you want to see and do there, is a great start. At least with the guidebooks, you won't aimlessly wander around, wondering what you should do - you'll have something to start out with!

Have a wonderful time!

Sis-boom-baaaa!

<img width="200" SRC="http://www.wdwinfo.com/sites/awilliams/dalcooks.jpg"[/img]


Gail a/k/a CookieGVB

"All you need is MUGS..." (and a Pentium III Processor! donations gladly accepted! )

MY KINGDOM FOR A REFILLABLE S/D MUG!

 

[MaryT]

Read through (skim it if you have to) the Mini-Mickey - just to get an idea of the touring strategies (why the lines are long at certain times, etc), and let the 2 older kids look through the Disney w/ kids to pick out things they really don't want to miss. The Crystal Palace breakfast is great, check out the Ice Cream Social at Epcot - those should be fairly easy to get PS for. Also - you'd all enjoy the Prime Time Diner in MGM. Then - just wing it and have a great time! (let each kid pick out a few can't miss and make them a priority - then tell them - we don't have to see everything, we'll come again!)

 

[Pooh Lover]

I've printed out all your responses and will take them with me!