First time and many days to organize! (help!)

[Blanquita]

My husband and i are going 14 days in April, its our first time in the States! We are staying on the caribbean beach resort.
Well, that said i'm thinking about how many days to go to each park, and if the water parks worth one or half day (i dont know if it would be hot enough to enjoy in april). In case they are worth it which water park to choose. By the way, i've never been in a water park so i dont know what to expect.
I think we will spend to days between swimming pool and shopping outside disney to "relax"
How would yo do it?
Ah, we have the table dinning plan.

 

[wdw&sonny]

14 days is plenty of time to not worry too much. Are you getting park hoppers? Did you consider buying an AP?
You can add the water park- during your trip, if you find the weather is hot enough and you feel like going.

We like to split our day into thirds. Morning rope drop at one park. Afternoon at resort relaxing. Evening dinner and second park.

Start looking at which restaurants you want to eat at. Lay out a plan and look at park hours, evening show schedule, crowd calendars. Decide if you want to take a day or two off during the 14 days. Or, some days go just in the morning and some days plan FP just for the afternoon/evening.

In general, you will likely need more time for MK. But with 14 days, you'll have plenty of time for all parks, multiple times.

 

[Klayfish]

Can't help you with the meals, because we stay offsite and bring our own food in.

If it's your first trip to WDW, that's awesome!!! The first thing I'd suggest is that since you'll have 14 days, don't try to cram everything in during the first 7 days. I'm sure you'll be beyond excited and want to try to do everything, and I wouldn't blame you. But resist that temptation. WDW is bigger than you can imagine. Words don't do it justice. You will do more walking than you think. So if you try to rush and cram it all in, you'll crash and burn. I don't necessarily think you need to rest for hours each and every day. But at the same time, don't overdo it.

As for the water parks, we love them. We also are lucky enough to be able to take long trips (we have annual passes), and when we're there for 2 weeks, we hit each water park at least 2-3 times each. They're awesome. As for which one, I'd suggest checking WDW website to get more info on both, maybe look at some YouTube stuff, and decide from there. They have a lot of similarities, but some key differences. Both have lazy rivers, tube slides, kiddie areas and wave pools. But the wave pools are drastically different. The one at TL has waves like you've never seen. They are HUGE, and a ton of fun. The one at BB is small, frequent waves. April should be warm enough, especially during mid-day.

As for how many days in each theme park, that's really up to you. For most...myself included...MK is the "heart" of WDW. So I'd spend the most time there. If you're there 14 days, personally, I'd be in the parks each and every day (like I said earlier, not running around all day every day, but at least spend some time in a park). I'd plan at least 3 or 4 of the days at MK. I'd do 2 or 3 of them at HS, 3 at Epcot and 3 at AK, or something like that. I'd throw water parks and Disney Springs in as well, at least a few times. For example, maybe you'd have a day where you're in MK, but only from 9am to 1pm. Then go to the water park from 2pm to 5pm. Then go back to your hotel, have a relaxing dinner somewhere, or something like that. If you want a night out, you can do the opposite. Chill at the hotel in the morning, maybe go to Disney Springs early afternoon, then hit the parks from 3pm to close.

 

[Lilly0704]

The answer will depend on what you guys like to do. Are you roller coaster people? Will you be meeting all the characters? Are you foodies? As for the water parks, I've never been so I can't really advise on those. Here's what we do:
-We spend half a day at animal kingdom
-Half day (more like a few hours) at Hollywood
- full day at magic kingdom
- full day at spot.
That's the minimum I would ever do. This time were spending 6 days. Almost every evening I epcot because we like the food and world showcase. Two morning in MK. Two morning in AK, and two mornings in HS. We are ride people and really just go for the rides. We also like to go back to the room and nap in the afternoon.

 

[glassslippergirl]

So, looking for clarification, are you spending the entire two weeks at WDW? And how many days do you plan to buy park tickets for?

If you are spending the entire time at WDW, I'd get 10 day passes, which is the highest you can get without buying an annual pass. That would leave you with four days for arrival, departure, Disney Springs, and water parks, etc.

If you are going for 10 days, are you traveling with kids? That often impacts particularly how many days you spend at MK. I'd recommend 3-4 days MK, 2-3 days Epcot, 1-2 days DHS, and 2-3 days AK. Especially if it's just two adults, I'd spring for park hoppers on such a long trip so that you can start in one park, then hop to another park for evening entertainment or dining. For example, you could spend the morning/early afternoon at MK then hop to Epcot for the dining (more and better options there).

Hard to recommend one water park over the other. It will be warm enough for most in April. We like the slides at BB better but the wave pool at TL better. If you've never been to a water park, these are staples of most. So you need to decide which you want to be more awesome for you. I'd watch YouTube videos of slides at both parks and the wave pool at TL to familiarize yourself. At BB, there's a "ski lift" that takes you up to the slides. At TL, your only option is to walk up (it's a lot of stairs, but the line at the ski lift gets long, so 6 of one, half a dozen of the other).

 

[Blanquita]

So, looking for clarification, are you spending the entire two weeks at WDW? And how many days do you plan to buy park tickets for?

If you are spending the entire time at WDW, I'd get 10 day passes, which is the highest you can get without buying an annual pass. That would leave you with four days for arrival, departure, Disney Springs, and water parks, etc.

If you are going for 10 days, are you traveling with kids? That often impacts particularly how many days you spend at MK. I'd recommend 3-4 days MK, 2-3 days Epcot, 1-2 days DHS, and 2-3 days AK. Especially if it's just two adults, I'd spring for park hoppers on such a long trip so that you can start in one park, then hop to another park for evening entertainment or dining. For example, you could spend the morning/early afternoon at MK then hop to Epcot for the dining (more and better options there).

Hard to recommend one water park over the other. It will be warm enough for most in April. We like the slides at BB better but the wave pool at TL better. If you've never been to a water park, these are staples of most. So you need to decide which you want to be more awesome for you. I'd watch YouTube videos of slides at both parks and the wave pool at TL to familiarize yourself. At BB, there's a "ski lift" that takes you up to the slides. At TL, your only option is to walk up (it's a lot of stairs, but the line at the ski lift gets long, so 6 of one, half a dozen of the other).

Hi!
We have tickets for all the 14 days with park hopper and the water park included, so we can do as we decided! And yes, we are going to be there the 14 days, we decided not to go to universal or so because it was much more expensive!
I will watch youtube videos as you suggest! thanks so much!

 

[BrianL]

Hey, Blanquita, good to see you here. I hope you get lots of good advice. Since we were talking on the Welcome Board, I'll clarify for everyone that you are coming from out of the country and do have a "14 Day Ultimate Park Ticket" so that includes Park Hoppers and Water Parks. The sky's the limit for you!

With that much time I'd definitely try one of the water parks. I usually like to go when they open and then leave by early afternoon. I actually like Blizzard Beach better, if only for the Summit Plummet, which is just awesome. Typhoon Lagoon though has a bigger wave pool and the new Miss Adventure Falls which looks pretty cool. Hey, you have the time, why not both?

 

[Blanquita]

The answer will depend on what you guys like to do. Are you roller coaster people? Will you be meeting all the characters? Are you foodies? As for the water parks, I've never been so I can't really advise on those. Here's what we do:
-We spend half a day at animal kingdom
-Half day (more like a few hours) at Hollywood
- full day at magic kingdom
- full day at spot.
That's the minimum I would ever do. This time were spending 6 days. Almost every evening I epcot because we like the food and world showcase. Two morning in MK. Two morning in AK, and two mornings in HS. We are ride people and really just go for the rides. We also like to go back to the room and nap in the afternoon.

I love meeting character and we are both foodies! we love more the ambiance than the thrill (but i also like the roller coaster) all yout comments are helping so much

 

[Lilly0704]

I love meeting character and we are both foodies! we love more the ambiance than the thrill (but i also like the roller coaster) all yout comments are helping so much

For characters you'll really want to spend a lot of time in MK. For food, go to world showcase I epcot!

 

[Blanquita]

14 days is plenty of time to not worry too much. Are you getting park hoppers? Did you consider buying an AP?
You can add the water park- during your trip, if you find the weather is hot enough and you feel like going.

We like to split our day into thirds. Morning rope drop at one park. Afternoon at resort relaxing. Evening dinner and second park.

Start looking at which restaurants you want to eat at. Lay out a plan and look at park hours, evening show schedule, crowd calendars. Decide if you want to take a day or two off during the 14 days. Or, some days go just in the morning and some days plan FP just for the afternoon/evening.

In general, you will likely need more time for MK. But with 14 days, you'll have plenty of time for all parks, multiple times.

hi!!! whats an AP? i think iif i take my husband to the hotel room in the afternoon nobody is gonna be able to put he in movement again! hahahahaha

 

[Blanquita]

Hey, Blanquita, good to see you here. I hope you get lots of good advice. Since we were talking on the Welcome Board, I'll clarify for everyone that you are coming from out of the country and do have a "14 Day Ultimate Park Ticket" so that includes Park Hoppers and Water Parks. The sky's the limit for you!

With that much time I'd definitely try one of the water parks. I usually like to go when they open and then leave by early afternoon. I actually like Blizzard Beach better, if only for the Summit Plummet, which is just awesome. Typhoon Lagoon though has a bigger wave pool and the new Miss Adventure Falls which looks pretty cool. Hey, you have the time, why not both?

Hi Brian!!! Thanks!! i'm trying to comment here but i'm a bit embarrased of everyone reading my "English" hahahaha
I forgot to explain that though!
About the water park which one is more beautiful?

 

[Blanquita]

Can't help you with the meals, because we stay offsite and bring our own food in.

If it's your first trip to WDW, that's awesome!!! The first thing I'd suggest is that since you'll have 14 days, don't try to cram everything in during the first 7 days. I'm sure you'll be beyond excited and want to try to do everything, and I wouldn't blame you. But resist that temptation. WDW is bigger than you can imagine. Words don't do it justice. You will do more walking than you think. So if you try to rush and cram it all in, you'll crash and burn. I don't necessarily think you need to rest for hours each and every day. But at the same time, don't overdo it.

As for the water parks, we love them. We also are lucky enough to be able to take long trips (we have annual passes), and when we're there for 2 weeks, we hit each water park at least 2-3 times each. They're awesome. As for which one, I'd suggest checking WDW website to get more info on both, maybe look at some YouTube stuff, and decide from there. They have a lot of similarities, but some key differences. Both have lazy rivers, tube slides, kiddie areas and wave pools. But the wave pools are drastically different. The one at TL has waves like you've never seen. They are HUGE, and a ton of fun. The one at BB is small, frequent waves. April should be warm enough, especially during mid-day.

As for how many days in each theme park, that's really up to you. For most...myself included...MK is the "heart" of WDW. So I'd spend the most time there. If you're there 14 days, personally, I'd be in the parks each and every day (like I said earlier, not running around all day every day, but at least spend some time in a park). I'd plan at least 3 or 4 of the days at MK. I'd do 2 or 3 of them at HS, 3 at Epcot and 3 at AK, or something like that. I'd throw water parks and Disney Springs in as well, at least a few times. For example, maybe you'd have a day where you're in MK, but only from 9am to 1pm. Then go to the water park from 2pm to 5pm. Then go back to your hotel, have a relaxing dinner somewhere, or something like that. If you want a night out, you can do the opposite. Chill at the hotel in the morning, maybe go to Disney Springs early afternoon, then hit the parks from 3pm to close.

You are so right! i have to try to calm down a little bit, the problem is that it seems that if you dont have everything planned you are not gonna be able to eat in the cool places or ride the nices atractions cause my husband refuse to make more than 30-40 min of waiting

it looks like you have to study a career to plan the trip (to enjoy it the most you can!)
Once thing i wanna do is improve my shape so i can walk more hours without die!

 

[BrianL]

Hi Brian!!! Thanks!! i'm trying to comment here but i'm a bit embarrased of everyone reading my "English" hahahaha
I forgot to explain that though!
About the water park which one is more beautiful?

It's hard to say. They are both very nice. I kind of like the fake-snow of Blizzard Beach, but I think Typhoon Lagoon is more tropical and lush, and probably prettier.

To answer another of your questions, AP = Annual Pass. For frequent visitors it can be a good idea.

 

[BrianL]

You are so right! i have to try to calm down a little bit, the problem is that it seems that if you dont have everything planned you are not gonna be able to eat in the cool places or ride the nices atractions cause my husband refuse to make more than 30-40 min of waiting

it looks like you have to study a career to plan the trip (to enjoy it the most you can!)
Once thing i wanna do is improve my shape so i can walk more hours without die!

Well, you're not wrong in that it takes some planning to get the best restaurants. You have PLENTY of time though, both for planning and while you are there. With 14 days, you'll have time to hit the attractions that you want.

It does feel like you need an advanced degree in Disneyology to plan a successful trip. Good thing for you that you are in the best place to earn that degree!

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

The first trip I planned was 14 nights, too, and it was fabulous! Thanks to this board, I didn't make a ton of newbie mistakes.

I always start with a spreadsheet that has a column for each day and rows for park crowd levels, chosen park for the day, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and special activities. This helps me keep everything straight. Use a crowd calendar to pick days, and then start adding in meals. Go to Disney's website and look way down at the bottom for the free Vacation Planning Videos - its a kind of fun place to start thinking about what will excite you most.

April is definitely hot enough for the water parks. You could also look at Universal Orlando or Sea World if either of those interest you. We do Universal for at least 2 days every trip now - it has become part of the experience for us.

By the way, one of my favorite traditions is to spend our first and last days at Magic Kingdom - it feels most like Disney to me.