First Ever Family Trip to DW

[tina.tina]

Here's my best piece of advice- You can plan as much or as little as you want but your trip will be better if you plan. So, you REALLY need to plan but don't stress if things veer off course while you're there. Enjoy yourself.

Knowledge is power- read this website. Read any thread that catches your attention, along with trip reports and theme park strategies. Studying park maps so you won't get lost is a good idea.

Mousesavers is a good website that lists sources for discounted tickets if you decide not to do a package with WDW.

Allears.net has menus with prices for all restaurants. Plan what restaurants you want to eat at and add up the prices to see if you want the dining plan. We enjoyed having it on our first visit because we didn't even have to think about the cost of anything.

Easywdw.com has crowd calendars and recommendations for which park to visit on which day. Lots of people follow his advice and it works out well for them- it certainly did for me.

I planned which park on which day. Then, I planned our meals and made ADRs (reservations). You may have to decide whether you would want to switch park days because you can only get an ADR for a certain restaurant in a park on a certain day.

Have you thought about staying in a Fort Wilderness cabin? You would be able to ride the boat to the Magic Kingdom and the pool area seems nicer than the value resort pools. I'm not sure of the price difference- or even if there would be availability. We went to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue and loved Fort Wilderness.

For our quick service meals in the parks, I looked at menus and picked out a couple of restaurants that I knew everyone would be happy with. When we were in the parks, I gave my family a choice of 2 places to eat and we picked one. It's better than being overwhelmed when you're there, having to choose 1 out of all of the options in the park.

Get in shape NOW by walking. I thought we would be fine because we had never had any issues at a themepark near our home. We were at WDW for 10 days and were exhausted just a few days into our trip!

I like going at Rope Drop (or as close to that as you can). We were able to ride several rides before the crowds arrived. Plus, it helped keep my kids on their regular early morning school schedule.

Good luck!

 

[tyniknate]

Simple answers:

A set of connecting rooms might be your least expensive option. If that isn't possible, suites at one of the values will be your next best bet.

Park hoppers will be a waste of money when traveling with kids that small. We have done it once with hoppers and it takes so long to travel between places that it just wasn't worth it for us. Keep your touring plan simple and flexible. You will all be happier.

Dining plan might be a BIG waste of money for kids in your age range. When my boys were smaller and we traveled with family we would often get two kids meals and share between the 3 kids in the young age range. We found we were wasting a ton of money and food buying them each their own meal. You can always purchase something if they are still hungry. You can't take it back if they are full. Even now my sister and I will often buy an adult counter service meal and share between the two of us. I find I'm just not that hungry at WDW. Then we can pick and share a snack later!

Planning ahead is the way to go. Disney website will give you menus and costs for each restaurant. If you educate yourself on the menus it will cut down on lots of wasted time trying to figure out where to eat.

I went online and priced out the dining plan even with my kids at the age they are now, and it still isn't a bargain for us (unless its free). Instead I bought gift cards each week at the Target store and now I have my own dining plan. We will charge meals to our room and I will go down every other night and pay off the balance with the cards. If my calculations are semi-accurate, this will save us about $400 over the dining plan.

Overall, don't forget to relax and have a good time. The kids will take their queue from you and if you are having a good time they will too!