First Disney/USA trip! : )

[~kathryn~]

Hi everyone!

I'm 5 weeks away from my first ever trip to Disneyworld (and America!) - it's been my childhood dream to go and now age 25 I'm finally getting to go!

Just a few questions I was wondering if you could help with:

1) Where would you recommend getting theme park tickets from and with an 11 day trip how much can you realistically do?
(I had visions of doing disney, orlando, busch gardens, seaworld and everything but from reading some of these threads that may be a bit much! Would disney and universal be a good combo? I'd love to do the harry potter world as well as disney.)

2) Is Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party not to be missed? I'm going with my partner and it's not cheap to get in but obviously if it's worth going we could make that our Christmas present to each other. Has anyone been? Or is it Christmassy enough without getting tickets to the evening?

3) Is the Cinderella Holiday Wish Stage Show free? And does it apply to people not staying in a disney hotel? (The same with the Osborne lights).

4) If you have a breakfast ADR, I assume you can't access the park earlier? I know the earlier the booking the quieter it tends to be but as I say I'm not staying in disney itself.

Thank you so much! Any advice or tips would be gratefully received!

 

[WizardLarz]

1) It would be hard to do it all. What ever you do not do gives you a reason to come back soon. In my opinion you should stick to Disney and Universal.

2) I've never been so I will not give opinion.

3) Once you are in a Park any Show or Activity is free. The exception is the Very Merry Christmas Parties. (Osborn Lights is just a bonus at DHS.)

4) Where you stay has no effect on an ADR for an early Breakfast in one of the parks. Disney ADR system is seperate from its Resort system. If you make an 8:30am ADR for Crystal Palace they will not care where you are staying.

 

[Hobbes]

If you love Disney (duh, thats obvious) and you love Christmas, you really should go to MVMCP-as you say, justify it by making it your gift to each other-its worth it for the parade alone. Although you may never be satisfied with "normal" Disney again, its a wonderful time to go! Hope you have a magical time.

It really is a marshmallow world!

 

[darthtatty]

Hi,
like you ive always wanted to Florida, I went in 1994 and even got married there.
on our 1st trip we went for 14days and did all the Disney parks, including water parks and Downtown. Seaworld and Both the universal parks. Plus we got married which took 3 days off our trip (meeting wedding planner, getting marriage licence, the wedding and honeymoon pictures)
so i think you should be able to do everything you want, you just wont get time to take in all the details. Thats why you have to go again and again.
you mentioned Harry potter world-I know the advertising has been misleading on this. Do you know its a part of Universals Islands Of Adventure park?
Its still great and i cant wait to go there myself next year.

you can make an ADR before the park opens, they let people in with reservations early. obviously they have a list near the entrance for this.

good luck and have fun planning.xxx

 

[Elise79]

Hi everyone!

I'm 5 weeks away from my first ever trip to Disneyworld (and America!) - it's been my childhood dream to go and now age 25 I'm finally getting to go!

Just a few questions I was wondering if you could help with:

1) Where would you recommend getting theme park tickets from and with an 11 day trip how much can you realistically do?
(I had visions of doing disney, orlando, busch gardens, seaworld and everything but from reading some of these threads that may be a bit much! Would disney and universal be a good combo? I'd love to do the harry potter world as well as disney.)

2) Is Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party not to be missed? I'm going with my partner and it's not cheap to get in but obviously if it's worth going we could make that our Christmas present to each other. Has anyone been? Or is it Christmassy enough without getting tickets to the evening?

3) Is the Cinderella Holiday Wish Stage Show free? And does it apply to people not staying in a disney hotel? (The same with the Osborne lights).

4) If you have a breakfast ADR, I assume you can't access the park earlier? I know the earlier the booking the quieter it tends to be but as I say I'm not staying in disney itself.

Thank you so much! Any advice or tips would be gratefully received!

We will be there at the same time

Anyway, I think you might want to stick to just Disney and universal this time so you can at least appreciate it.

We are doing MVMCP for the first time this year but have done MNSSHP before so I think it would make an excellent present.

Osbourne lights are included with admission to DHS.

Breakfast ADR allows you access to a park before opening as long as your ADR time is before opening although you will be directed to the restaurant and nothing else will be open.

 

[ben1993]

If the crowds are low it is very possible to do all the major parks in 11 days, although on my next trip I'm just planning on doing Disney and Universal, I don't want to feel rushed at all and Disney/Universal were leagues ahead compared to Busch/SeaWorld, in my opinion ofcourse.

 

[skelfbsfb]

Cannot add anymore that what others have advised, so hope you have a great time.

 

[wayneg]

Hope you have the answers you need, just wanted to say Welcome to DISboards

 

[dixonsontour]

Welcome to the DIS - i've been to mvmcp 4 times and love it.

Don't try to do too much you can't see it all.

Assume you've got dining reservations sorted from your talk of adr's but if not get online and book any disney meals asap.

 

[j9000]

Hi kathryn,
Like a few others on this thread im going to be there roughly the same time as you. Hopefully it SHOULD be relativley quiet (famous last words).

Disney and universal is a great combo, especially if you want to take it slow, and not a mad rush, admire the parks and see everything you want. If its quiet (ie "look another person!" quiet) I would roughly budget a day per park minimum (ie 4 disney 2 universal) though you may need extra time in some and less in others.

 

[~kathryn~]

Thanks everyone, you've all been so helpful!

No I haven't booked any restaurants yet, was just browsing other threads where they were talking about "ADRs" but perhaps I ought to soon if they get booked up quickly. The Crystal Palace one sounds lovely!

I only mention that I'm not staying at a Disney hotel as I heard you can sometimes enter the parks early/stay later sometimes? It doesn't matter though, the opening hours are long anyway.

Ooh it's funny I'll be there the same time as some of you (and Elise I'm from East Anglia too!)

 

[paulh]

If you have a breakfast ADR, I assume you can't access the park earlier? I know the earlier the booking the quieter it tends to be but as I say I'm not staying in disney itself.

Thank you so much! Any advice or tips would be gratefully received!

if you have an early ADR for a restaurant thats in the parks before they open you will be let in as they will have your name and ADR number at front gate once you have finished the meal you dont have to leave but you can stay in the park.But ride wont open untill officalpark oppening but you will be first in line
And you dont have to staying on site to get an early adr just bag it as early as you can

Paul

 

[igk]

Thanks everyone, you've all been so helpful!

No I haven't booked any restaurants yet, was just browsing other threads where they were talking about "ADRs" but perhaps I ought to soon if they get booked up quickly. The Crystal Palace one sounds lovely!

I only mention that I'm not staying at a Disney hotel as I heard you can sometimes enter the parks early/stay later sometimes? It doesn't matter though, the opening hours are long anyway.

Ooh it's funny I'll be there the same time as some of you (and Elise I'm from East Anglia too!)

Regarding the ADRs - yes think about that asap especially if there's any particular restaurants you want to go to.

You're right about the extra hours - they're only available to Disney hotel guests. Something that is generally recommended is to avoid parks that have the extra magic hours on any given day and go to one of the other ones that doesn't. The parks with the extra magic hours tend to be busy. You can get that information from the WDW website.

Have a great trip!

 

[princess eve]

hi kathryn

ditto to all what the others have said just wanted to add that we went to mnsshp and had the time of our lives well worth the money so i would say defo go for the mvmcp

 

[kieras nana]

also don't foget,if you want to see the fireworks,in the magic kingdom,don't go on a mvmcp night,as you will have to leave around 7p.m,so make sure,you don't visit MK,on a party night,as you will miss out,on wishes.
tracy

 

[~kathryn~]

Great advice, thanks! Think we'll go for the MVMCP - will book tickets soon!

Looks like the restaurants are already booked for when we go, never mind. You obviously need to get in early!

Thanks everyone!

 

[Julia Ann]

Welcome

My first trip was when i was 25 too - (15 yrs ago ) and had also been a childhood dream come true.

If nobody has said (sorry no time to read all the replies in detail) i would miss out Busch Gardens unless you love the white knuckle rides. The animals just as good at Animal Kingdom in my opinion and it 's a long drive out of the day if you are tired - or you can catch the complimentary bus there that picks up from IDrive (i assume they still do that) - your hotel reception will know about that, there will be a freephone number to phone to book your seat. we drove there and got lost and took the bus the next time.

Xmas time looks great and i would def to the MVMCP if i had the opportunity.

happy planning

 

[~kathryn~]

Thanks Julia, my partner was saying this evening perhaps Animal Kingdom's as good as Busch Gardens which would save a day. That's good to hear and I'll let him know! Thanks!

 

[wayneg]

Thanks Julia, my partner was saying this evening perhaps Animal Kingdom's as good as Busch Gardens which would save a day. That's good to hear and I'll let him know! Thanks!

Busch v AK is a personal choice. You need to do both yourself to find out, personally I am not a fan of AK, although better now than it was a few years ago we never spend a full day in there, 5-6 hours is enough, we always leave just before the parade.On the other hand Busch is my favourte park in Florida, can easily spend 2 days in there and thats without going on any rides. Far more animals and you can get closer to them than AK. This August we spent just about a full day in there from opening to closing and only did Sheikra in the rides. There is something for every age group from Sesame Street Safari of Fun for the little ones to the thrill rides for teen or to my favorite part Jungala, they are always developing this year they had added Walkabout Way with Roos and Wallabies. No interest to you but the tours at Busch are also excellent.
If you are short of time save it for another trip but its definitely worth the trip IMO.

Some of my fave photography is at Busch.

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/wayneg1/Busch/

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/wayneg1/August 2010/?start=100

 

[UKDEB]

Hi, Kathryn, and welcome to the DISboards.

Firstly, where are you staying and will you have a car?

Whilst you could do WDW, UO, SW and BG in 11 days, it would be very full-on. Theme park tickets aren't cheap and there's more than enough at Disney and Universal to keep you occupied for that length of time. They are the must-dos in my opinion. Sea World and Busch are fantastic parks, but bonuses rather than the main attraction as far as I'm concerned.

Tickets aren't my forte, but Attraction Tickets Direct are reputable and reliable. No doubt others will be able to suggest a few more options.

For me, MVMCP is a nice-to-do, rather than a not-to-be-missed. It's really just an excuse for Disney to charge you extra to stay at (a very crowded) MK during the evening. You can get a pretty similar experience on a non-party night.

Assuming you arrive before the 14th November, you should definitely take in the International Food and Wine Festival at Epcot - without question my favourite thing at WDW. If you can, visit on a weekday and a non EMH day.

On the subject of EMH parks, with very few exceptions, I recommend avoiding them at all costs. Crowds are significantly higher and you'll get more done and have a much more pleasurable experience by steering clear of them.

Although it may not be possible to book ADRs at this stage, you should still be able to get into most restaurants, particularly as you're going at a relatively quiet time. Try phoning the day before, asking at Guest Relations when you enter a park in the morning, or just walking up to the restaurant. You stand far more chance of getting in if you avoid the main dining times. For lunch, I often think it's best to eat as soon as a restaurant opens, which can be as early as 11:30am. Thanks to the jetlag, we're always ravenous by that time, at least for the first few days.