DVC First Timers - Looking for tips

[DisneyDaze36]

Hello everyone - We are traveling to Disney using our ownership interest for the first time, Aug 31-Sept 6. Here are the details - 4 people, Myself, DW, and our twin boys (they will be 4 at the time of the trip). We are staying in a Preferred view studio at BWV for the first night and a 2 br villa the remainder of our stay. We are waitlisted for the first night in the 2 br villa.

We have been to Disney many times as a couple but never with the kids. We want to make this the best experience for the boys. Please provide any insight on things such as groceries (we will NOT have a car), restaurants, park amenities, rides, activities, etc. We are so excited to begin our adventure this year.

Thanks to anyone who provides information.

 

[dvczerfs]

MAKE SURE YOU DO THE CHARACTER DINING AND THE RIDES IM SURE YOU CAN FIQURE OUT. MY BROTHER JUST MOVED FROM LIMRICK, LIVED ON ANNETE DR. HAVE A NICE TIME!!

 

[mickeymombecky]

Yay! My first tip is measure your boys with the shoes they will where at WDW. This avoids them being upset if you were to measure them at a ride's entrance and they were too short.

I don't know what your budget is but we do our grocery shopping at the Ingles just off property. You can have housekeeping stock all you need at arrival but it's way expensive. If you can get a cab, you'd get more food, cheaper.

We rent the surrey bikes. Those are fun for kids. We bring our umbrella strollers. They're easier to steer in crowds and fold up quick for buses. Unless of course they don't tire quick! If you eat out, try to have the boys split a meal. Much cheaper. It's even better to bring healthy snacks along.

We brought our kids (at time 2&4) in Jan 07. Since it was their first time, they didn't nag us much about where to go cuz everything was new to them. If we saw characters and didn't want to stop, we took the long way or directed their attention to the opposite direction. I know, mean

It's great that you and your husband have already been to WDW. Now you can focus on the kids. It's hard to want to do all kids things when you haven't been on the adult rides yourself.

 

[RLRDA]

The great thing about owning DVC is that you already know that you'll be visiting WDW again and again! Don't try to pack every memorable experience into this trip and stress yourselves out. That being said.....we tend to over plan and know how you feel.

You can already make ADRs since you're within the 180 day time frame. I'm sure your boys would love a character meal. Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club has a character breakfast and is a short walk from BWV. I'd suggest browsing the DIS restaurant board for info on all the character meal options and other restaurants, too.

Try to decide what's a "Do Not Miss" for you and your boys.....maybe it's Fantasmic at DHS, Spectomagic at MK, one of the parades or fireworks or even certain rides. Some things might start too late for your boys....save them for another trip

We always try to build a few hours of down time/pool time into the middle of the day for our boys (and us!.....a frozen drink by the pool does wonders!). Its just recharges the batteries for our family.

We make a spread sheet "itinerary" (which isn't necessarily carved in stone) to make it easy to see where we can make ADRs (then we type the conf #s right on the sheet), when we want to catch certain events, which parks have EMHs, etc. It seems more manageable when it's all in one place.

Good luck and have fun planning your first (of many) DVC trip!

 

[Perditamarie]

Hi and congrats on your DVC investment- we love it!! I have to say 2 bedrooms are huge and you may feel really far away from your boys....have you considered a 1bdrm? Anyway, FWIW, I wanted to add that we have had really good luck w/waitlist.

We also have ordered groceries from gardengrocer.com and have had good service. They can leave the groceries w/bell services, who has refrigerated cases for the cold stuff, so you don't have to be in your room when the groceries arrive. It is so convenient to have familiar food on hand and juice boxes to take w/us in the parks - I always bring a small cooler bag w/drinks and snacks.

Also, we love this location...you can walk to DHS and Epcot. We especially love to walk to DHS as it gives the kids a chance to run around and burn some steam before/after the parks, where they are more contained by strollers and crowds, etc. There are also playgrounds at the parks that are great for letting the kids run around...watch out for the water features though!

Definately plan pool time everyday...your kids won't let you not!! You can borrow life vests for the length of your stay from the quiet pool. Also, if you have any energy left, the surrey bike rides are fun and definately check out the entertainment on the Boardwalk. You can also watch the movies on the beach at Beach Club.

Have a great trip!

 

[sanbornangel]

I am very excited for you! We are taking my 2 year old grand daughter with us in 12 days!!!! I can't wait. We have never been to Disney with a child. I went as a youngster and didn't go again until my kids were grown. (My parents took them all the time). Anyway, it will surely be a different experience. A must do for 4 yo boys...Turtle Talk with Crush at Epcot. Have a magical time.

 

[4Pluto]

Congratulations! Here are a couple of tips:

1. Make ADRs. You may already realize this, but the restaurants even the ones at the resorts can be booked solid and an hour wait with 4 year olds can feel like a 4 hour wait.

2. Consider buffets and family style eating, so that there is food right away for the kids. Liberty Tree is a fun family style character dinner in WDW (the characters dress in colonial clothes). Another idea is to have a sit down lunch (so you feel like you have a real meal) and light dinners (counter service).

3. There are good descriptions on this board and on allearsnet.com of the rides. Some rides scare kids. The first place my brother took my 3 yo niece was Tiki House (yep, I warned them but they forgot). She freaked out at the thunder storm and all the loud bird noises in the dark and after that, she wouldn't go into ANY indoor ride or ANY show. She wouldn't even sit for the whale/dolphin show at SeaWorld even though she's been to the local dolphin shows dozens of times. I guess you could say, we broke her.

Some rides are just scary for kids even though they are kid themed. Read the boards to figure out which ones to "gently" introduce the Disney Magic. (I've also heard that if you get the WDW preview CD that the kids can see some of the rides on the CD and be better prepared to ride them when you get there.

4. Pool time is essential. A day at Typhoon Lagoon can be great with small kids. There is a play area with small slides and fountains (I think its Ketchakiddy Creek), the lazy river is a ton of fun and even the large wave pool has some eddy's off to the side that kids can sit and play in.

5. Make full use of the play areas. Sitting in the stroller or waiting in line can be restricting and eventually they want to run around. Check out places like Dinosaurland's Bone Yard.

6. Magical Express is great, but they pick you up for departing flights 3 hours ahead of time. If you have an early morning flight (7am), that can be brutal (4am)--although if they sleep through the flight, that can work too. You can shave some of that time off (depending on adventurous you feel) by using a cab on the return trip.

Have a great time!

 

[Juliet25]

Congrats on your purchase! We also own at BWV. It's a great resort.

Since you now own a piece of the magic, pace yourself. No need to do everything. I would plan on a day in every park; that way you can decide what you like for your next trip.

You'll love the villas! Staying in a regular resort room seems down right primitive compared to the spacious bathroom, well-stocked kitchen, and huge king size beds in the 1 and 2 bedrooms.

My family took two trips last year when DD was 4. It's such a perfect age. We found that we were unable to stay in any park the full day, so it's useful to plan downtime at the resort.

As for specific recommendations, I would do the character breakfast at the neighboring Beach Club. It features Goofy and Minnie in beach attire, as well as a few other characters. We really enjoyed just walking around the lake. DD loved playing in the beach at the BC, and DH and I loved the swings on the beach. It's beautiful at sunset.

You're going to have a blast!!!

 

[dairyqueenmom]

Welcome to DVC, we just bought in ourselves. We will be going home for the 1st time in 12 days. We also have twin boys, isn't it fun? This will be our guys 3rd trip to the world. Here are my suggestions:

1. Take it slow, now your a DVC member you will be coming back often.

2. Either get the Unofficel Guide to Disney or join Tour Guide Mike to get what parks to visit each day. I swear by them, they are spot on.

3. Once you decide your touring schedule, get your ADR's. Character meals are a must, but make sure you throw in one of your favorites too. It also your vacation. Tour Guide Mike has great tips on when to schedule your ADR's to maximize your park time.

4. I have never been good about leaving the parks mid-day for breaks, we tour commando style, but this next trip we are planning on atleast two days of leaving the parks and visiting a near-by resort and eating lunch and taking a swim. When we are at Magic Kingdom we will hit the Poly for lunch and then a quick swim there. I love the pool hopping perk. Our HS day we will his CS for lunch at Pepper Market and then check out their pool.

5. Renting bikes at the Boardwalk is one of my kids favorites.

6. My kids are not big fireworks fans, so we leave before the fireworks and hit the pool each night before bedtime.

7. This trip we are using wegoshop.com for our groceries. Marge has been great, great communication. I just went to Wal-mart and made my own list with the sizes and brands I want and then she will go to Wal-mart and pick up our groceries and deliver them to our room after we arrive. We have the dining plan, but plan breakfast in our villa and we are getting a case of water, some pop, juice boxes, snacks and some beer and wine for us.

8. Make time for Downtown Disney, the Lego shop will be a big hit with your boys.

9. One of our favorite souvenours is the potato head, you buy an empty box and fill it with the heads and parts. They have really cool Disney parts. Now each trip we just fill the box up with new parts. This is a toy I will keep and my grandchildren some day will play with them.

10. Have fun!!! We will be there on Sept. 6 this year also but with out our kids.

 

[DisneyDaze36]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Please keep them coming as we are compiling a list.

Here is just a little follow up to a bunch of your comments/questions.

1. We measured our boys with shoes on (great idea!!) and they are currently 40 inches. Will have to check out the ride restrictions.

2. We plan on bringing our umbrella strollers. This way they can crash if necessary and it will be easier if we split up.

3. Someone mentioned staying in a one bedroom. We did think about it but really want our boys to have their own bed so they can get their much needed sleep. We also wanted to splurg a bit since it is our **first** dvc trip!!

4. Pool everyday, we got it!! Any suggestions on pool hopping? Any pools better than other for 4 year olds??

5. Dairyqueenmom - enjoy your first trip home! You must be getting so excited!! Yes, life with twin boys sure is fun, never a dull moment!!

Thanks again for all your suggestions!! We can't wait to go!!!

 

[rcchello]

Pool hopping without a car will waste more time than it is worth. Getting between resorts via bus can waste 45 minutes each way. Also it probably won't matter to your kids.

Sometime after lunch your kids will get tired and cranky, figure out when that is and take them for a nap at that time. This will give you a rest and recharge them so you can enjoy your evening. Pushing them will probably cause tantrums during dinner. You might also miss the afternoon rainstorm if you are there during that season.

Keep your kids hydrated and protected from the sun. Nothing worse than a dehydrated sunburned four year old!

Magic kingdom is probably the best park when it is raining. It is easy to get from ride to ride and you can work your way through stores and covered walkways.