Early Jan 2011, first trip to the World!!

[dmmcdoug]

Just found the $3 off link. Its on the Theme Park Attractions and Strategies board at the top.

 

[999ghostslover]

We did a first week of January trip a few years ago with a 2.5 year old. It was so fun. We actually did the exact dates you are doing. It was REDICULOUSLY hot. Record temps. Close to 100 every day. In January. I was not expecting that and I just remember wringing out our couple of pairs of shorts/capris in the sink so we did not have to wear track suits and jeans like we had planned. I am going to go back and read all ofthe posts now. Can't wait!!

 

[DIS_Indoctrination]

That dress is so cute! I love that you went with Buzz since it's her favorite character. You should definitely do a meet & greet with Buzz the day she wears it, I bet he would make a big deal out of seeing himself on a dress for once!

It's definitely a DHS dress...that's where Buzz is right?

Just found the $3 off link. Its on the Theme Park Attractions and Strategies board at the top.

Oh, I like coupons. So one vote for Tourguide Mike. I'm leaning towards Touring Plans because I can't find the any samples for Tourguide Mike & that membership is more expensive. I do like the sample formats of the Touring Plans & the crowd calendar (but not sure if it's accurate).

We did a first week of January trip a few years ago with a 2.5 year old. It was so fun. We actually did the exact dates you are doing. It was REDICULOUSLY hot. Record temps. Close to 100 every day. In January. I was not expecting that and I just remember wringing out our couple of pairs of shorts/capris in the sink so we did not have to wear track suits and jeans like we had planned. I am going to go back and read all ofthe posts now. Can't wait!!

Layers, layers, layers - Since we're driving we can take some extra clothes & I think the name of the game will be layers. DH is always hot, he'd love it if it snowed in Florida during our trip. I'll do cartwheels if it's warm enough to swim. DD is in between. She likes it cool, but catches a chill quicker than Daddy. We'll have to wait & see how the weather shapes up.

 

[20thingamabobs]

It's definitely a DHS dress...that's where Buzz is right?QUOTE]

You can meet Buzz and Woody at Pixar Place in DHS. And usually you can meet Buzz in Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom by Buzz Lightyear's Spaceranger Spin too. Both lines get REALLY long though so I would plan on getting in line a lil before they actually start if you don't want to wait too long. I know in DHS they take a break mid-day and then have a schedule return time so maybe if it works in you schedule you could get their a half hour before it opens in the afternoon. It's a really cute set because it looks like Andy's Room.

 

[Jacks2583]

I have a few different comments, so bear with me

* I wasn't allowed to watch tv when I was young. At the time, I thought it was horrible and "unfair" but now I look back and am thankful. I hate that my stepdaughter watches so much tv. My children will not! Disney movies are great and I definitely want my children to love all things Disney. But regular trash tv I am not a fan of.

* Congrats on your first trip to WDW!!! we went for our first family trip (DH and SD's first trip ever) last month. i miss it so much and have already booked a trip for next September.

* I think 3 yrs old is the perfect age for WDW. i am sure your DD will absolutely love it.

* I bought the unofficial guide (2010) and used the touring plans from the book. I deviated from them some and made up my own towards the end of the trip. We did two days at each park. The first day I relied on the touring plans much more than the second day. By the second day I knew what we wanted to go to and how to get there. it was so much easier. I would recommend reviewing the maps and trying to familiarize yourself with the parks. Not knowing how to get to anything or where anything is was a challenge and added a lot of time to our day.

* I highly recommend trying to arrive at least 30-45 mins prior to rope drop. We got so much done in the first couple hours before the lines got a little longer. (I would think this is even more important for the time you are traveling than it was in Sept for us)

* go to Dumbo first, as you have planned. Get Fantasyland done first because it will be the most crowded later.

* Parkhoppers are not needed, IMO. I liked doing one park a day. If i tried to do more than that, i feel like it would just be too much.

* use DIS for questions, opinions, thoughts, concerns, etc. DIS provided a wealth of information that was essential to my trip!

ok, I think I addressed everything I wanted to. Hope it helps some!

 

[lexmas]

Oh no about making the little boys cry! Kids can be mean. It's not great when it's your kid, but everyones kid is like that from time to time!

And I love his hair! I'm going to give him his first haircut before we go to disney, but I'm hoping to make it about chin length. I think that's a good little boy length. I do wonder at what age he'll have us cut it all off, because I don't think we'll ever do that of our own accord!

The weather is so fickle in Flordia in January. Driving is better since you can pack all the clothes you could possibly need. Flying is trickier! At least here in Buffalo, we know what we're getting. It will be cold and snowy here in January! No question!

 

[DIS_Indoctrination]

We finally booked it!!!
Yes, we are crazy enough to book a Disney World vacation with less than 3 months advanced notice.
Where: Pop
When: 1/2 to 1/7
Tickets: no-hopping 5 days (may upgrade to 6 if we want to hit a park on check-out day)
FREE DINING

AND I was able to get all of our dining reservations except the Fantasmic dinner package I don't understand how Cinderella's Royal table can have openings, but the Fantasmic dinner package is booked. I guess it's because Fantasmic shows are so few & far between during our visit. We'll just have to stand in line with the regular folks & hope for the best. To be honest I wasn't too thrilled about a buffet or Italian restaurant, and I wasn't going to use two table service credits for the Brown Derby.

So here's what we've got:
Jan 2 MK - Crystal Palace 11:55am
Jan 3 EP - Akershus 12:25pm
Jan 3 EP - La Hacienda de San Angel 7:45pm <--I'm hoping we can watch Illuminations from here. Originally this was going to be out of pocket, but since no Fantasmic package, I think this will be on the dining plan.
Jan 4 AK day - Wilderness Lodge 5:00pm <--we have a car so I think we'll be able to get there
Jan 5 MK - 'Ohana 5:00pm <--take the monorail or a boat from MK
Jan 6 HS - A big fat NOTHING
Jan 7 no park plans - Cape May Cafe 10:55am - we're planning to pay out of pocket for this one.

I can't believe it's official. I can't believe we're going to Disney World. I can't believe my husband it letting us have vacation time someplace other than our house or the in-law's house. Pinch me.

 

[DIS_Indoctrination]

We're going to WDW the same dates as you (actually Jan2-8)
I'm using Tour Guide Mike. There's a link on one of the disboards forums (I forget which one) with a link for $3 off. His website is sort of confusing at first, but once you get through it all it's very helpful. On the other hand, I've also used the Unofficial Guide 2008, but not the touring plans website.

We'll be staying at the BWVs and have some of the same ADRs as you (but different days). Have fun!

Thanks for the coupon link. I went with TouringPlans but now I kinda wished I bought the most recent Unofficial Guide Book (loved the edition from the library, but it was out of date) & got TourGuideMike. I'm disappointed that Touring Plans didn't adjust the touring plans for the Fantasyland closures. I was also expecting more touring plans than what they had in the book. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence...

Do you have a pre-trip report?

It's definitely a DHS dress...that's where Buzz is right?QUOTE]

You can meet Buzz and Woody at Pixar Place in DHS. And usually you can meet Buzz in Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom by Buzz Lightyear's Spaceranger Spin too. Both lines get REALLY long though so I would plan on getting in line a lil before they actually start if you don't want to wait too long. I know in DHS they take a break mid-day and then have a schedule return time so maybe if it works in you schedule you could get their a half hour before it opens in the afternoon. It's a really cute set because it looks like Andy's Room.

Thanks you!! If we don't see Buzz at MK we can catch him at DHS. We'll have two MK days before our one DHS day, so if we haven't seen him, we'll get in the line early.

I have a few different comments, so bear with me

* I wasn't allowed to watch tv when I was young. At the time, I thought it was horrible and "unfair" but now I look back and am thankful. I hate that my stepdaughter watches so much tv. My children will not! Disney movies are great and I definitely want my children to love all things Disney. But regular trash tv I am not a fan of.

* Congrats on your first trip to WDW!!! we went for our first family trip (DH and SD's first trip ever) last month. i miss it so much and have already booked a trip for next September.

* I think 3 yrs old is the perfect age for WDW. i am sure your DD will absolutely love it.

* I bought the unofficial guide (2010) and used the touring plans from the book. I deviated from them some and made up my own towards the end of the trip. We did two days at each park. The first day I relied on the touring plans much more than the second day. By the second day I knew what we wanted to go to and how to get there. it was so much easier. I would recommend reviewing the maps and trying to familiarize yourself with the parks. Not knowing how to get to anything or where anything is was a challenge and added a lot of time to our day.

* I highly recommend trying to arrive at least 30-45 mins prior to rope drop. We got so much done in the first couple hours before the lines got a little longer. (I would think this is even more important for the time you are traveling than it was in Sept for us)

* go to Dumbo first, as you have planned. Get Fantasyland done first because it will be the most crowded later.

* Parkhoppers are not needed, IMO. I liked doing one park a day. If i tried to do more than that, i feel like it would just be too much.

* use DIS for questions, opinions, thoughts, concerns, etc. DIS provided a wealth of information that was essential to my trip!

ok, I think I addressed everything I wanted to. Hope it helps some!

Thank you!! I think the first two days will be the hardest for us. We're hoping the crowds die down by mid-week. I needed that reinforcement for Dumbo - we want to avoid the line & warm up DD to rides since we haven't taken her on anything bigger than a carosoul. We going to try to get there well ahead of rope drops. Since we aren't planning to do any early magic hours, I think we can be standing at the rope by 8:30 am every morning.

Oh no about making the little boys cry! Kids can be mean. It's not great when it's your kid, but everyones kid is like that from time to time!

And I love his hair! I'm going to give him his first haircut before we go to disney, but I'm hoping to make it about chin length. I think that's a good little boy length. I do wonder at what age he'll have us cut it all off, because I don't think we'll ever do that of our own accord!

The weather is so fickle in Flordia in January. Driving is better since you can pack all the clothes you could possibly need. Flying is trickier! At least here in Buffalo, we know what we're getting. It will be cold and snowy here in January! No question!

I did DD first cut & boy did it make her curls spring! I only took half an inch off but with the curls it looked like I'd take 4 inches off. Her second cut, I took her to a kid's salon (I had a coupon so it was $6). Again, the curls sprang up so much more after the cut. Anyway, if you have trouble with him sitting for a cut, you might be able to tell him he's getting his curls reinforced or enhanced.

 

[hollybearsmom]

you're booked!!!!!!

 

[Jacks2583]

Congrats on booking!!!

Just an FYI... it is only like $5 extra to add a day after you buy 5. So I would say go ahead and buy the sixth day for your park passes.
We went to the parks the day we arrived and the day we left. It was nice to be able to use our time. And if you don't end up going (or go for long), it was only $5.

 

[DIS_Indoctrination]

Congrats on booking!!!

Just an FYI... it is only like $5 extra to add a day after you buy 5. So I would say go ahead and buy the sixth day for your park passes.
We went to the parks the day we arrived and the day we left. It was nice to be able to use our time. And if you don't end up going (or go for long), it was only $5.

Can we add the day while we're there? The marathon events start the day we are leaving, so I think we might want to avoid the parks depending on what gets shut down for the races.

 

[DIS_Indoctrination]

I need ideas on how to further indoctrinate my child. So far I'm planning to

1. Show her pictures of other kids with the characters so she won't be intimidated.
2. Show her resort photos.
3. Show her youtube videos of the rides and parades.
4. Make sure we're hitting all the local festivals & picking the longest line so she can practice standing & waiting for 30 seconds of joy.
5. Study Disney World maps - suggested by lexmas
6. Watch the Disney vacation planning dvd - suggested by jerseygirl16

I don't want to show her everything, but even if we spent every waking minute preparing her some things will be new. She's the kind of kid that does better if she knows what to expect.

Any suggestions you have would be appreciated...

 

[disneyloverforchrist]

Congratulations on booking!!! And you got awesome ADR's to boot!!!! You guys are going to have so much fun! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Jacks2583]

Can we add the day while we're there? The marathon events start the day we are leaving, so I think we might want to avoid the parks depending on what gets shut down for the races.

yes, you can add days to your pass once you are there.

 

[Jacks2583]

I need ideas on how to further indoctrinate my child. So far I'm planning to

1. Show her pictures of other kids with the characters so she won't be intimidated.
2. Show her resort photos.
3. Show her youtube videos of the rides and parades.
4. Make sure we're hitting all the local festivals & picking the longest line so she can practice standing & waiting for 30 seconds of joy.

I don't want to show her everything, but even if we spent every waking minute preparing her some things will be new. She's the kind of kid that does better if she knows what to expect.

Any suggestions you have would be appreciated...

if you follow a touring plan and use fast passes when you can, you shouldn't have too much line waiting. (unless you wait in line for characters. those can get long. I would recommend trying to do some character meals to avoid having to wait in line to see so many characters)

 

[DIS_Indoctrination]

Day 3 – Epcot

Review of Trip Plans:
Day 1 – Travel, all day
Day 2 – Magic Kingdom
Day 3 - Epcot

This will be our only day at Epcot. We really wanted to do two days at Epcot, but we had a hard time finding a day that wasn’t crowded & didn’t interfere with one of the special events (Fantasmic, Main Street Electric Parade) that are only offered on certain days. The day we leave is wide open & we may try to go back to Epcot, but Epcot is supposed to be very crowded on that day due to the Marathon events.

We haven’t picked a touring plan from touringplans.com yet, because I haven’t found one with a good mix of things for the entire family. However, we won’t go in without a plan even if I make my own. We are a little less concerned with experiencing all the attractions & permanent exhibits than with the other parks. At Epcot we want to have a plan, but take the time to enjoy the atmosphere of the world showcase & the exhibits at Innovations. The touringplans.com plan for small children only recommends two world showcase pavilions & skips Innovations all together. I’m toying with the idea of sending DH through Innoventions while I take DD back to the hotel for a break, but I think he’ll want to stay together as a family even if he doesn’t get to see things he’s interested in.

Our ADR include Akershus and La Hacienda. The Akershus is a lunchtime reservation, while the La Hacienda is a 7:45pm reservation. We are hoping to view the fireworks from La Hacienda. If anyone has experienced La Hacienda I’d love to hear what you thought of the food & the service. Also, do you think it would be a good fireworks viewing spot?


Must Do:
• Soarin’
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends
• Spaceship Earth
• Innoventions
• Illuminations
• KidCot Station
• We’ll grab the daily entertainment schedule when we get there & I’d like to work in an acrobat show or some live music.

Might Do:
• Kim Possible - suggested by lexmas
• Test Track
• Living with the Land
• Walk up to LeCellier & see if they’ll sell me a cup of soup to go
• Watch, maybe participate in pick a pearl
• Gran Fiesta Tour
• Maelstrom
• Generally all other rides/exhibits & some of the world pavilions. I’ll ask DH to rank the ones he wants to see, so we can work them in order to the official plan.

Won't Do:
• Mission Space
• Captain EO (I saw this as a kid at Disneyland and I didn’t care for it)

 

[jerseygirl16]

I need ideas on how to further indoctrinate my child. So far I'm planning to

1. Show her pictures of other kids with the characters so she won't be intimidated.
2. Show her resort photos.
3. Show her youtube videos of the rides and parades.
4. Make sure we're hitting all the local festivals & picking the longest line so she can practice standing & waiting for 30 seconds of joy.

I don't want to show her everything, but even if we spent every waking minute preparing her some things will be new. She's the kind of kid that does better if she knows what to expect.

Any suggestions you have would be appreciated...

Congrats on booking!!!

You might want to try ordering one of the free vaction planning DVD's from disney.com. It's kind of long, but gives you a good feel for what the parks are like. Anyway, I liked watching it when I was kid.

 

[lexmas]

SO funny about him getting his curls enhanced. He will LOVE that! Brilliant! And it's true, my hair is kind of curly, but when I cut it short it does get much curlier. All that other hair is just weighing those curls down!

Those are good ideas about indoctrination. I would get some maps and go over them with her (If you want to PM me with your address I would be happy to send you some after my trip!)...DS loves doing that! Plus, they have some maps for kids which are really cute.

Have you thought about Kim Possible? I don't know if your DD will be too young for it. We'll see if DS is. I think he will LOVE the idea of having a "mission" to complete! He's always pretending to save the world!

And... HOORAY for booking! It always feels so great to be booked! Congrats!

 

[lexmas]

Oh, and I agree. The planning DVD is a must!

 

[DIS_Indoctrination]

Congrats on booking!!!

You might want to try ordering one of the free vaction planning DVD's from disney.com. It's kind of long, but gives you a good feel for what the parks are like. Anyway, I liked watching it when I was kid.

I ordered a planning DVD about 6 months ago. DD doesn't like it. I still put it in once in a while, but she'll try to turn the TV off. Maybe if they added a claymation scene she'd tolerate it.