Family 1st time at Disney World need some help

[Chris Disney]

So we (Mom, Dad, Grandparents, a 13 yr old, an 8 yr old) are looking to head to Disney in October 2019 and need some help. My questions are:

- What is the best place to get discount tickets? We are going to do a Mon - Wed at Disney and then
Thur - Fri at Universal.
- Is a park hopper pass worth it?
- Typically what time should we get to the park in the morning?
- Is there a map or listing of all the rides by site? I'm thinking to go over it with the kids to see what they want to do.

- Realistically how much can we get done in a day? I want to make sure I'm not running around the place like an insane person...although I probably will.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We buy tickets from Undercover Tourist for a slight discount.

We have done 11 trips; some with a park hopper, some without. It depends on what you want to do and see. For such a short trip, you could argue either way. Either pick one park per day so you can get the most of each but skip one, or park hop and only hit the highlights.

Are you staying onsite or offsite? Either way, we try to be at the park by 8:00 or a couple minutes after.

My kids are now 18 and 15 and we found out last year that we cannot do a full day, open to close, in a park. That was in June, though, and it was very hot. We are able to do a lot, but we have to take a break in the middle of the day. I think you choose the most important attractions, schedule FP for the top 3 if possible with the tiers, come up with a plan to hit as much as possible allowing for some time to be sidetracked, then understand that the plan will change as you go.

 

[danikoski]

3 days is short for WDW. If you want to hit all four parks, you will need a park hopper. The other thing you can do is get Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party ticket for everyone. That's a hard ticket event that you don't need a regular park ticket to go to MK, and you can go into the park I believe at 4 pm (might be 6 pm, haven't went to a party in 6 years). So you can go to a different park in the morning, and then go to MK in the evening.

But watch out for the parties too. Both WDW and Universal have Halloween parties at that time of year and they change park hours and dynamics. Also, Epcot has the Food and Wine Festival which can make it more crowded, especially in the evenings.

We've always bhad really good luck getting park tickets for both WDW and Universal from Undercover Tourist.

I'd also recommend picking your top three rides, top restaurant, and top show to do at the park you are going to and if you get to do more than that, it's a bonus. It keeps expectations real and if exceed expectations, that's great.