First time Family trip to wdw Feb25-Mar03..suggestions?

[fraserfamily]

HI everyone,

Well, at long last we are going to WDW!!!
We are my hubby and I mid thirties and our 2 daughters 13yrs and 9yrs old!
Sooo excited but very overwhelmed at ALL there is to know....
None of us has ever been..........

We are booked and staying at the Pop Century for 6 nights...
I am looking to purchase my 5 day park hopper tickets online (undercovertourist) sometime today...anyone ever use undercover tourist?? OR have someplace else to reccomend to me?

I am not sure if we can book the ME for airport pickup at this late notice?? Anyone know??

Should we be booking a dinner show or something??
I'm just not sure and money is an issue....

Any help or suggestions would be most appreciated!!
Thanks in advance,
Mimi Fraser

 

[Minnie3]

I'm excited for you, wish I was going again..We booked ME pretty late and never had a problem. Although we didn't have the tags,we just brought our suitcases with us (so you have to give a little tip to the driver), you can also get the tags and they will tag them and bring them for you. Everything worked out well.

Before going, we searched the internet for anything Walt Disney, printed maps, searched for nearby grocery stores, restaurants close to where we're staying..We stayed in the cabins so we didn't have to worry much about food (we did groceries on our first day). If money is an issue, I wouldn't go for shows unless there is something you would really like to see! Your daughters are the perfect age to go on the rides, mine is 9 and we went on everything (still missing the rock and roller coaster everyday)
I'm sure everything will work out just fine!

 

[amw]

HI everyone,

Well, at long last we are going to WDW!!!
We are my hubby and I mid thirties and our 2 daughters 13yrs and 9yrs old!
Sooo excited but very overwhelmed at ALL there is to know....
None of us has ever been..........

We are booked and staying at the Pop Century for 6 nights...
I am looking to purchase my 5 day park hopper tickets online (undercovertourist) sometime today...anyone ever use undercover tourist?? OR have someplace else to reccomend to me?

You're going to have an amzing time

I have used ticketmania in the past, and was pleased with their service and speed. However, when the dollar was high, Disney set new prices at the Disney Store in Canada. It seems the best deal is to buy them at the stores here before you go. If you have one close by, I would suggest that method. If not, I think you can get an additional discount for undercovertourist from Mousesavers.com if you sign up for their newsletter

I am not sure if we can book the ME for airport pickup at this late notice?? Anyone know??

Sorry, haven't stayed onsite so I can't help you there.

Should we be booking a dinner show or something??
I'm just not sure and money is an issue....

Yes, you definitely need to book ahead of time. My family really liked Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. We have always done the dinner on a non-park day. We book the first seating at 5 pm and we usually have the place to ourselves. Lots of interaction with the traditional characters, and the foods not bad. Pricey, but my DDs always remember it as a highlight of each trip. We usually take a ride on the monorail after. Depending on when you arrive, it would make a great first night experience.

Look at the various dinners and character meal menus here:
http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

 

[LdnCpl]

We used undercovertourist for our upcoming trip in March. They were at the time the best price plus free shipping. We found them to be pretty fast getting the tickets to you. I would recommend them to anyone. Now, regarding ME...you could try calling the 1-800 number, book ME and explain the situation to the cast member and maybe they could put a rush on it or give you a confirm number for ME. As far as dinner plans go. Character meals are popular and a little more on the pricey side than avg so you will need to book them asap. If you want to go to a Disney restaurant but money is an issue, try something like the Sci-Fi Diner or a Disney restaurant in the same price range as Sci-Fi. You can find out what ones might appeal to you by chcking out the Dining section on this site.

PS - this may be your first time but I guarantee it won't be your last. You will be hooked. No matter what anyone tells you, you will not truely have an idea of the sheer size of WDW till you've been and see for yourself. Have a great trip

 

[pkitty]

You and your family are going to have a blast and you will love your resort. We have been to WDW many times and are just getting to know the ropes. We even bought into a Disney vacation home for 50 years to keep some of the costs down. I hope you don't get the " I have to see it all in case we don't come back approach " It will take a couple of trips to see most of it and even then you will find yourself surprised. Disney is good on detail and there is alot more of that going on than you would think, you just have to pay close attention when waiting in the lines or walking around "hidden mickey's for example.
Get the meal plan and save hundreds of dollars for just $ 35.00 each a day you can get lunch and dinner and snacks taken care of. Pre-book your meals because you will be disapointed when Le Cellier at the Canadian pavillian at Epcot is booked solid or you may have to wait 3 hours to eat at the Crystal Palace or Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom. Speak with guest services or check with this board and make a daily itinerary of what you want to do. The experts know what parks are not the buisiest on any given day of the week. MGM has Fantasmic " a must see water, lazer, and fire show featuring Mickey and all of Disney's greats and not so great Villians.
Rides,,, Your kids are good to go on any ride in the parks.
Magic Kindom.... space mountain, splash mountain, pirates of the carribean, Thunder mountain, the train, Haunted mansion, Main St USA (not a ride but will take a couple of hours to walk and shop. and the fire works.
EPOT.... the test track, sorin, mission space, try the seguay for 25 bucks or at least your DH. I loved it, the Living seas and fire works.
MGM....Tower of Terror, Rockin Roller Coaster, Back lot tour, Fantasmic, The new stunt show there, and Indiana Jones show.
Animal Kindom.... Everest, Rapids, The Lion King, and so much more... There is so much to see and do you will have to restrain yourself. Work on mastering the FAST PASS in each of the parks. This will save you alot on wait times.
As you can see there is a lot to do and don't forget the water parks. you just have to do alot of homework to get the most out of your trip. Have fun....

 

[Bonnie40]

I get the sense that you're keeping an eye on costs...therefore, I'm going to pass along a few tips that help the budget. My guess is you're going to do mostly counter service meals. Peco's Bills in Frontierland in Magic Kingdom is a great place to get burgers and they sell double cheeseburgers. What some people do (we did it once np!) is order the dbl burgers and ask to buy an extra bun $.75 I think...you take apart the burger and you've got 2 burgers for the price of one...they have a great toppings bar and you're all set! You would be hard pressed to get a reservation at any of the sit-down places at this point anyway, but if you do, don't be afraid to share meals. Pop Century food court is great with lots of selection. I would suggest biting the bullet and buying your kids the refillable mugs. It's a great souvenier and it's always been a highlight of the trip...walking to the food court to fill up! A great place to eat affordably is at Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney! Awesome sandwiches for $4.95! Best deal in Disney! Cosmic Ray's in Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom has a great half chicken dinner that would definitely feed 2!

Any questions...just ask!

 

[CanadianGuy]

First off -- You're going to have an awesome time .. I guarantee it.

And if you're not.. just look me up -- I'm stayin at Pop the same week as you! How cool is that?

Seriously - I've been many times. I tend to avoid the pricey stuff.. it means I can go more than 1x a year if I'm careful with my money while I'm there.

I eat counter service meals for most of the trip and have one or two 'nice' table service meals. Last time we ate at Wolfgang Pucks in Downtown Disney and it was a great meal for a fair price I thought.

Now.. with that warning.. I don't have kids.. So if yours are picky eaters, they might not like Mr. Puck's restaurant. I dunno.

The refillable mugs at the Pop resort were great. Frozen Coke, most any soda, a good selection of ice teas, juice, coffee .. whatever. I drank a lot of Coke last time with mine.. my buddy who came with drank lots of apple juice with his. Go figure.

The stuff I find that "sucks up" the money faster than anything at Disney is the following:

- Souvenirs : We always do the same thing.. if we're going to get any, we wait and get them on the last day and usually at Downtown Disney's World of Disney store. I tend to buy one or two things to bring back for friends. I don't need any more Disney stuff myself!

- Meals : Careful decisions about where to eat can save you some dough. Take a few minutes and check over the menus of the various restaurants throughout the parks online. AllEars has a great selection of the menus as does this site (wdwinfo.com) - Even the counter service meals are WAY too pricey to order something and decide you don't like it at all and waste it. So.. look ahead and figure some of the places with menus you can definitely find something you'll like. And read on the restaurants forum here on the DIS. EVERYBODY on here has their favorite places to eat at WDW and nobody seems shy about sharing their suggestions. LOTS of great ideas. Bonnie in the post before this one had some great money saving ideas. I've used those before! [ And thanks for the tip on Earl of Sandwich Bonnie - I'm going to TOTALLY check that out ]

- Photographs : Any of the 'on ride' photographs -- while cute as heck and a great keepsake.. they are pricey. If I absolutely MUST get one.. I get JUST one each trip. I don't bother with one for each ride.

- Snacks : I list this separately because lots of times I'll be cruising around the parks and they'll have 'snacks' that are just TOO tempting. I try to limit myself to one snack each day. Other wise a turkey leg, a churro (its like a doughnut but long and skinny), an ice cream bar... and a couple of drinks throughout the day adds up VERY fast. Plus, I'd gain weight like CRAZY if I ate all the stuff I wanted there.

And one other great idea is to check out the "BUDGET BOARD" here on these forums. They have some amazing ideas for how to cut costs without cutting corners or lessening your experience. I go there ALL the time for great ideas to keep my costs low.

Hopefully some of this will be helpful.

As for the Magical Express thing, I would call and ask Central Reservations (or whoever booked your trip) if they can help you out with that. I'm surprised they didn't do it for you when you booked.

Have a FANTASTIC trip.. The kids will love it.. and I bet you adults will feel like kids at times too. I do.. everytime I go!

John

 

[Bonnie40]

Hey John!

You've yet to try an Earl sandwich? OMG! You're gonna have a tough time deciding which one to try! And don't be intimidated by a long line...it moves quickly. The bread itself is what really makes the sandwich! We even pick them up for late night snacks! If you want to try something different, try their Earl Grey Lemonade...it's not sweet and really refreshing!

Have a great trip guys!

 

[mtmbyck]

Quite honestly, if a budget needs to be kept, I STRONGLY reccommend the Dining plan!! We did this last year for our family of 4 and while it was a TON of food, we never had to worry about how much a meal would cost. Even gratuities are included! We used the snack vouchers for bottles of water and bedtime treats back in the room. Let's face it, you don't want counter service all week and the sit down restaurants are almost an experience on their own!! I can't say enough about what a good deal the dining plan is - compare it to what you think your family will spend in a day to dine.

Enjoy the next few weeks of planning! Do your research and touch base with us after your visit. We all know you'll be hooked!

 

[Bonnie40]

While I agree that the dining plan is a decent value (we've gone both ways), at this point in time the OP would have a very hard time making ADRs and there is the concern that so much time is taken up with sitdown meals that could otherwise be used in the parks. I can see both ways.

 

[Kelly5538]

Just a little FYI on ME.... I decided LAST week to book DD and I a Disney trip for Feb 26th - called ME on FRIDAY when I figured out our flights and got the yellow luggage tags today! Not saying that they will always come that fast, but I was really surprised!!!!!!!!!

 

[CanadianGuy]

DDP only makes sense for the most part, if you're doing at least one table service meal a day.

I've never used it -- because I *KNOW* I can eat for less than 39$ a day.

On my last trip, I averaged about 22$ a day for food and snacks. Some days were more.. some were less.

And on top of that, I know that I will overeat on that plan which will lead to me laying on my bed in the hotel groaning and that's no fun for me!

J

 

[Kelly5538]

I hear ya CanadianGuy!

It's always just DD and I when we go - and I do find that we can eat for less than the dining plan (heck, we normally just share stuff or snack on the go!) Besides, we never "plan" anything - we "go with the flow" - and I think that with the DDP, you need to be more of a planner than I am LOL

 

[CanadianGuy]

Kelly:

Yah.. I'm more of a go-with-the-flow kinda person too..

The DDP and ADRs is way more involved than I prepared to get.

J

 

[fraserfamily]

WOW , You all are sooooo GREAT!! All your replies were really helpful!! Tons of super ideas!!!
Thanks soooooo much!!

John, I'll see you @ the POP century....fun!!!

I ended up booking with undercover tourist and they were great ! Should have my tickets by the end of the week! We did the 5day Park Hopper option.
I am calling ME right after typing this reply and see what they say....
I am definately getting the refillable mugs sounds good, worth the cost.

Great idea about waiting until the last day to buy souvenirs...
Thanks for the counter service tips as well....will definately look out for the ones you all suggested.

One of my co workers just got back after having worked in the Canadian pavillion at Epcot for the last year as a CM...she was able to give me some good tips for which rides she enjoyed and the whole fastpass thing...

Does every park have a fireworks display each evening?

AND does anyone know what to expect for weather this time of the year???

Went to the Disney Store to check out ticket prices and they were not cheaper than online....managed to pick up 4 Disney sweatshirts for all of us(each one different) which I'll give out to my family tomorrow for Valentine's
Day!!

We're getting sooooo excited!!
Thanks again everyone for all the great tips !!

((hugs)) Miriam Fraser

 

[princess pooh]

The weather can be iffy at this time of the year. It's usually warm during the day but cool at night. Those sweatshirts might come in handy for the nightly fireworks shows!

To answer your other question, MK and Epcot have fireworks, and MGM has a nightime show called Fantasmic. They are all worth checking out

 

[fraserfamily]

Just wanted to update that I received my MYW (parkhopper) DisneyWorld tickets today from undercovertourist.com !!!

I placed the order online on Sunday and rec'd them today Thursday!!
They had a "deal" on where you buy a 5day parkhopper and get a "free" day or 3 day park hopper and get 3 days free or 4day and 2 days free...etc
I think my total in USD was $980.00 something and in CND about $1200.

I'm soooooooo excited!!
We leave in 10 days

I've been reading the DIS boards trying to soak in all the tips and tricks ...

Can't wait to leave the frigid weather of Alberta ..and experience the Magic of Disney for the first time!!!

Miriam

 

[SnowWhite]

My sisters name is Mimi too! (short for Miriam as well)

You will find a great selection of foods to eat at the Pop! Downtown Disney has some really nice affordable restaurants as well. I like Earl of Sandwich and Wolfgang Puck Express. Make use of the extra magic hours!!!!!!! You will find that it will help with the popular rides especially. At Epcot, send someone with your tickets to Test Track to get fast passes while the rest of your group goes to get in line at soarin. (or vice versa) If you plan for this type of stuff you will get on everything you want. Here is a helpful hint for Tower of Tower. When you go in stay to the far left side. It looks like you are going to a dead end but actually it is an entrance to the elevators as well but very few people go that way and I have almost always walked on going that way. At MGM take your first street to the right and again have someone in your party fast pass rockin rollercoaster while the rest of you goto tower of terror. Watch you times on your fast pass tickets too as they tell you when your next available time is to get more fast passes as well. Make use of your hopper passes as well. Don't be afraid to hop on the monorail and go over to epcot from magic kingdom in the middle of the day if you find the park too crowded. you can always go back later in the evening again. Magic Kingdom will be the biggest challenge as it is large and it depends on what rides and attractions will be important to your family. Plan the night before. Pecos Bill and Cosmic Rays are favourites of mine there for sure. Have a magical time and hope your trip is everything you hoped for and more.

Rob (Snowwhite's DH)

 

[Kelly5538]

By the way, we'll be at POP at the same time as you!!!!!!!!!!! Have a BLAST

 

[fraserfamily]

Hi Rob,
Thanks for the GREAT tips...as a first timer it all seems a little overwhelming!
So every tip counts!
I have never met another Miriam that goes by Mimi...just a few friends call me Mimi and of course my neices and nephews..Auntie Mimi sounds better and is easier I think...

Does anyone have any tips on best places to view parades or fireworks etc?
We have not booked any special meals or anything and will be doing mainly "fly by the seat of our pants" for eating...do to doing disney on a bit of a budget..any other suggestions?
Thanks again,
Miriam/Mimi