DWD strategy advice

[hammertime]

Hello,

My new Husband (as of 10/18/03) are taking our first trip to WDW. It's actually going to be our Honeymoon.

Anyway I have a couple of questions.
1st - has anyone done the Richard Petty Driving Experience? I considering giving that to my DH for a Christmas present.

2nd - Being a Californian I've been to Disneyland many many times so I know the strategy for seeing the park. The only strategy I have to WDW is that we are going to hit MK last.

Love to hear everyone's strategy as to how to attack DWD. It seems so big and overwhelming. I'm pretty sure we aren't going to visity the water parks.

Thanks for you help.

 

[jdads2]

Welcome to the DIS!!

Depending how you like to attack, I would get one of the guide books that offer information about WDW. We like the Passporter. We rarely attack the parks. Since we go during less crowded times of the year we save lot's of time that would normally be spent waiting in lines.

The #1 pc of advice I give to everyone is..."Take your time", you're not going to se everything so don't kill yourself trying.

 

[Micca]

Welcome to the Dis Congrats on your marriage DLR is great You're going to have a great time at WDW There is so much to WDW you really should grab a book. The Unofficial Guide is my favorite. DW and I were at DLR a few weeks ago and absolutely loved it.
You will find a myriad of options at WDW so some study is in order. Have a great trip and please let us know how it went.

 

[BuzzDad]

I did the Richard Petty driving experience last year and have just one thing to say about it - Thrill of a lifetime!!!!

 

[tjkraz]

Kinda hard to offer any concrete assistance without knowing anything about you or your trip. Some of the following would help:

How many days are you staying?

Time of year (or dates)?

Where are you staying (on site/off site)?

Will you have a car?

Are you planning to do anything other than WDW?

What type of tickets are you planning to buy?

What sorts of attractions do you enjoy?

 

[KathyFP]

I always suggest you make your must do list (and not too much on it). Accept that you will not do everything and have a great time.

 

[hammertime]

Hello,

Thanks for all of those that responded. Here's the additional info that you asked for:
We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside (it was in our price range, close to Downtown Disney and it seemed romatic)

We are going Dec 27th thru Jan 3rd.


Ps - just a little more info about me and DH. We met in Disneyland 5 years ago and have been back a couple of times since. Seems appropriate that we have our Honeymoon in DWD.

 

[hammertime]

Ooops missed some additional info. It will just be myself and DH, we will be spending our whole time at WDW and we will be using WDW transportation. Favorite DL and California Disney rides - Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribean, Idiana Jones, Cruising California, California Screeming (rollercoaster at California Disney). Also like the other classics, jungle cruise and tiki room.
Love animals so I'm really excited to be going to Animal Kingdom. DH can't wait to go on Mission to Mars and Tower of Terror.

HOpe that answers all your questions.


Pam

 

[MLindaG]

Congratulations on your upcoming Wedding! My Dh and I will be celebrating our 29th Anniversary the 28th of December!! We honeymooned in Florida........first at St. Pete's Beach and then WDW.......back in the day when there were individual tickets for the rides........my best memory was the Carousel of Progress........it hadn't officially opened yet and they were letting people in to try it out and it got stuck..........we listened to the song and music over and over for about 30 min............

 

[tjkraz]

I'd suggest getting a copy of the Unofficial Guide to WDW, and soak up as much as you can between now and your trip. Given that you are touring during a holiday period, you really need as much help as you can get. The parks will be VERY crowded most of your trip, with attendance possibly starting to decline after 1/1.

IMO, the best thing you can do right now would be to plan a few nice meals and get your Priority Seating. Particularly if you plan on having a nice dinner on 12/31, you need to get PS NOW. You likely won't have many options to choose from, and the longer you wait, the worse it will get.

Try to at least sketch out which parks you will visit on which days. Then pick a few days (or every day) for some nice sit-down meals. You can find restaurant menus and prices here:

http://allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm

Other than that, read the Unofficial Guide, this web site and Allears as much as possible. Every little detail that you can soak up will serve you well during your stay.

The Unofficial Guide has sample touring plans which worked well for DW and I on our honeymoon.

Other topics worth researching:

- Familiarize yourself with the holiday festivites and decorations throughout the World.
- I assume you're already familiar with FastPass. If not, do it soon.
- Make note of the park hours and showtimes from disneyworld.com, and use them to plan your park hopping.
- Familiarize yourself with your resort. Decide if there is a specific area in which you would like to stay, if available.
- Decide if you want to do any recreational activities: golf, watersports, behind-the-scenes tours, etc. If so, make your reservations ASAP.

Hope that helps get you started.

 

[swilphil]

I agree that the Unofficial Guide is a great guidebook. The one place I would really recommend for couples is Epcot's World Showcase. It is very romantic, and a nice change of pace from the other theme parks. It's a great place to go after you've spent a couple of days at the other parks and want a break. There are also some excellent restaurants there. Read up on them in the Unofficial Guide, but keep in mind that the reviews in the book can be a little critical. You might want to look at some of the write ups and ratings on the DISboard. I would highly recommend reading up on the World Showcase attractions. Unlike the other parks, you can't really just walk through World Showcase and see all the attractions.

I would recommend following the Day After strategy since you are going during such a busy time. Go to the parks the Day After they have had Early Magic Hour. That way all the on site EMH people will be at another park. You may want to use EMH for Fantasyland in MK, but since you don't have kids and are on your honeymoon you may not want to get up that early. I'm not really sure why you want to save MK for last, but I would stay away from there on New Year's Eve and Saturday. It's wall to wall people. MGM is another place you will enjoy. It's fun to walk around and be sure to catch Fantasmic and Beauty and the Beast. I agree that you should make your PS's NOW.

Welcome to the DIS board and have a great honeymoon.

 

[hammertime]

Thanks for all the advice. I've bought a couple of guides, the unofficial for Adults, Disneyworld for Couples, and the Passport. Really liking all of them.

My DH and I are pretty laid back. I'm actually thinking that we'll do must of our sit down meals during the lunch time hour. That way we can have light dinners and desserts as we please. We're big on the taking a nap and rest midday so it would give time for our tummys to digest before going on rides.

As for NYE, I'm pretty sure we are going to spend it in one of the parks as opposed to Pleasure Island which I've heard alot about. Just standing Kissing and watching fireworks and then head to the nearest ride. What more could a couple want.

As for going to MK is that it is very similar to Disneyland and I want to see the stuff that is at WDW that isn't at DL. Make sense? There are rides that we HAVE to go on(Haunted Mansion and Pirates) in MK so I know we'll get there.

As for seeing Fantasy Land we usually hit that the last 45 minutes the park is open. It works out really well at DL. The hardest part is swimming upstream of all the strollers heading out for the evening.

The one thing that I am realizing is that we won't be able to do it all. I keep reading about all these cool things but I'm going to have to make my list small and go from there.
On the list so far
Giving DH Richard Petty Driving Expierence for Xmas
Carrage ride from Port Orleans.
Other than that enjoy the parks.

Sound good?

 

[funhouse8]

When you book your Richard Petty use a orlando magic card and you save 10%

 

[hammertime]

What's the Orlando Magic Card? I am getting 10% off through my travel agent. I was so confused when I first started planning this trip I gave up trying to plan it myself and call for reinforcements.


How do you get the count down timer?

Thanks for all the help - This Website has been such a huge help.

Pam