First time disney goer

[Michellenukes]

Hey everyone this will be my first time going to Disney! My boyfriend and I are going September 24-29. I'm looking for suggestions of things that are a must do. Any advice and tips are much appreciated! Thank you!

 

[CAS239]

Disney world is so big so you'd get a TON of must do suggestions. Might be better if you narrowed it down a little, like if you're only going to certain parks or whatnot.

Unless you're just generally wondering about all of Disney.

 

[glassslippergirl]

How exciting!

WDW is huge, and must-dos vary based on a lot of factors.

Before offering suggestions, I'd like to know what planning you've done so far. Where are you staying? What kinds of rides/attractions do you prefer-- thrill rides, dark rides, shows, "street" entertainment, all of the above? What parks do you plan to visit-- there are four on WDW property, plus two water parks, and the Disney Speings shopping area. What Fastpasses do you plan to schedule or have you scheduled? How important is dining to you? What kinds of dining options do you prefer? Budget is also a factor, but for all of these questions, share only what you're comfortable with.

Absent this information, I'd recommend googling lists of WDW attractions by park and seeing what interest you. Use this information to make your FP reservations at 60 days out of staying on property and 30 days out if staying off property. There's a whole sub-forum here dedicated to FP strategies. If you haven't done so, decide which park you're going to in what day (easywdw has calendars with recommended parks). And if dining is a priority, look at menus for restsramts in parks and make ADRs.

 

[Michellenukes]

How exciting!

WDW is huge, and must-dos vary based on a lot of factors.

Before offering suggestions, I'd like to know what planning you've done so far. Where are you staying? What kinds of rides/attractions do you prefer-- thrill rides, dark rides, shows, "street" entertainment, all of the above? What parks do you plan to visit-- there are four on WDW property, plus two water parks, and the Disney Speings shopping area. What Fastpasses do you plan to schedule or have you scheduled? How important is dining to you? What kinds of dining options do you prefer? Budget is also a factor, but for all of these questions, share only what you're comfortable with.

Absent this information, I'd recommend googling lists of WDW attractions by park and seeing what interest you. Use this information to make your FP reservations at 60 days out of staying on property and 30 days out if staying off property. There's a whole sub-forum here dedicated to FP strategies. If you haven't done so, decide which park you're going to in what day (easywdw has calendars with recommended parks). And if dining is a priority, look at menus for restsramts in parks and make ADRs.

Wow I didn't realize there was so much information!
We are spending Saturday at epcot, Sunday at Hollywood studios, Monday at Universal tuesdsy Wednesday at magic Kingdom and Thursday before we go home at animal kingdom. We already booked our fast pass rides.
Epcot - test track, spaceship earth, mission space
HWS- toy Story, star tours and tower of terror.
MGK- seven dwarfs mine train, splash mountain and space mountain day 1
MGK - enchanted tales with belle, adventures of winnie the pooh, and flight of Peter Pan.

We are staying at all star music and have a dining plan. We did not know we were going 180 days before our trip so we didn't get to make a lot of reservations. However we got a chef Mickey reservation in the morning on Wednesday and BOG for breakfast on Thursday. We are going to try to stop at Disney Springs also. We love all types of rides and fireworks. Dining isn't too important either.

 

[Doug M]

Looks like you have done great with fastpasses. Not sure if you bought dining olan or not, but you may want to track down an online calculator to see if you will save money or not. Its pretty tough to break-even if you paid for it. If you just want the peace of mind that is paid ahead of time that is understandable.

 

[loves to dive]

Food and Wine Festival will be at Epcot, might want to plan a little more time there.

 

[NeverTooOldForWDW]

I borrowed the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World from the library and it has been incredibly helpful. I got tons of ideas in a format that made sense. Enjoy!

 

[old feller]

The must do's can be the attractions with the longest wait times. Maybe use those as your fastpass picks
Use easywdw.com and maybe a subscription to touringplans.com. ROPE DROP is your friend

 

[Michellenukes]

Looks like you have done great with fastpasses. Not sure if you bought dining olan or not, but you may want to track down an online calculator to see if you will save money or not. Its pretty tough to break-even if you paid for it. If you just want the peace of mind that is paid ahead of time that is understandable.

It actually came as a package with the hotel room. So anything we use it for is a plus for us! I'm not going to worry about using all the credits. I got reservations for places I really want to try and will probably just wing the rest when we get hungry.

 

[Michellenukes]

Food and Wine Festival will be at Epcot, might want to plan a little more time there.

I haven't looked into it much but I live in NYC so the appeal is a little different for me. I go to tons of cool food places a lot so it's not high on my list. Thank you though!

 

[Michellenukes]

I borrowed the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World from the library and it has been incredibly helpful. I got tons of ideas in a format that made sense. Enjoy!

Great idea! Thank you! I feel overwhelmed from all the planning.

 

[Michellenukes]

The must do's can be the attractions with the longest wait times. Maybe use those as your fastpass picks
Use easywdw.com and maybe a subscription to touringplans.com. ROPE DROP is your friend

Awesome. I will look into possibly changing some of my fast pass rides

 

[NeverTooOldForWDW]

Awesome. I will look into possibly changing some of my fast pass rides

IMO your FPs look pretty good. There have been numerous posts about people second guessing their FP selections. Almost everyone has an amazing trip in the end. There will be people dropping ADRs so I would try to snag some more.

 

[Michellenukes]

Thanks! I tried reading about which rides were longer in wait times and took what rides my boyfriend and I really wanted into consideration and made them eyes half open at 7am

 

[Tucker24]

If you aren't going to worry about your credits or the possibility of having extra keep in mind that you can "trade" in one quick service credit for three snacks. This comes in handy when you have a lot of quick service credits left. You can buy a bunch of cookies, caramel popcorn...and if need be pack some treats in your luggage and take it home. I too would schedule more ADR's because sometimes just winging it when you get hungry can back fire. You can always change or cancel a reservation 24 hours ahead of time but it's nice to have some under your belt just encase

 

[Michellenukes]

If you aren't going to worry about your credits or the possibility of having extra keep in mind that you can "trade" in one quick service credit for three snacks. This comes in handy when you have a lot of quick service credits left. You can buy a bunch of cookies, caramel popcorn...and if need be pack some treats in your luggage and take it home. I too would schedule more ADR's because sometimes just winging it when you get hungry can back fire. You can always change or cancel a reservation 24 hours ahead of time but it's nice to have some under your belt just encase

Hmm. I didn't know you could bring snacks home. Is there certain things you can get. I thought I read somewhere certain stores have things you can get with snack credit. Not sure where they were talking about though.

 

[Tucker24]

A snack credit is almost anything 5$ and under. You can get treats at the confectionery or the big top souvenirs, goofy's candy shop that are packaged

 

[Michellenukes]

A snack credit is almost anything 5$ and under. You can get treats at the confectionery or the big top souvenirs, goofy's candy shop that are packaged

Oh awesome. Thank you!!

 

[NZDisneyFanGirl14]

I'm planning my first trip now too and we arrive three days after you. We will both be in MK on the Wednesday. I think because your staying in a value resort you will only have the quick service dining plan (unless you pay to upgrade) so you will have to pay cash for chef Mickeys. Just something to think about.

 

[Michellenukes]

I'm planning my first trip now too and we arrive three days after you. We will both be in MK on the Wednesday. I think because your staying in a value resort you will only have the quick service dining plan (unless you pay to upgrade) so you will have to pay cash for chef Mickeys. Just something to think about.

Oh that's awesome! I hope you have SO much fun! I actually checked we have the regular dining plan not the quick service. But thank you! What are you looking to do while you are there?