First Time Family

[WaterLinds]

I checked on the rentals once and it was pretty steep for the properties we were considering but I should check one more time before I make a final decision. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[fairyjess]

The busses aren't all that bad, although I dream of the Poly when construction is completed. A lot of people on a budget with kids recommend Pop Century or Art of Animation, in part because they have direct bus service to all the parks (the All-Stars sometimes share busses.) I've heard reports that they get to the parks more quickly than even some of the deluxe transportation systems. So that would be my thought.

Also, if you are driving, you can park at the parks for free - widening your choices even further. Sorry.

 

[WaterLinds]

OK, in the end, the Orbitz deal for WL was too good to pass up. It was only a few dollars more than a suite at AoA, hundreds cheaper than any other deluxe, and with all the raving about the convenience of the launch, seemed like the way to go.

So we have 6 nights there, and I went ahead and got the 5 days for the price of 3 ticket deal (park hopper tickets). I know Orbitz has a few quirks, so I will have to make a few phone calls to get everything sorted out, but it's going to save us $450 off the next best deal I could find for WL, so I figure it's worth it!

Next up, I know, is sorting out dining. We aren't too concerned about prebooking everything, but I figure we will probably try for one character meal at least, and DH and I might do one nice dinner while the little guy goes to one of the kids' clubs, so I want to make sure we book those.

My son hasn't seen very many Disney movies yet, although he was quite taken with Cinderella. So he would probably be happy at a princess meal, but I bet he would be equally thrilled at one of the Mickey and friends meals (he does know most of those characters). I was thinking breakfast at Cape May, unless someone has another recommendation?

Our last day there our flight doesn't leave until 8:30 pm, so we might do character dining, resort exploring, pool time, etc. on that day (hopefully we can arrange a late check out). Or we might take a day off midweek and do that then, and do a park day that last day since we have a full day.

Anything else I'm not thinking of?

 

[WaterLinds]

Ok, as I'm starting to work on ADRs, I realize I'm going to need some more advice, and to form more of a plan.

-what non-character meals are most fun for a young kid, in terms of the atmosphere/setting? He isn't a picky eater, usually, so menu isn't a big concern. Favourite CS restaurants are welcome, too, for general planning purposes. I figure we will do most of our meals in the parks, except for a few special ones.

-is Hollywood Studios worth the time with a young kid? We have 5 day passes, so my first thought had been 2 days MK and 1 day for each other park, but I'm not set on that yet. (We do have park hoppers, so we could do a shorter day at one other park and return to MK in the evening, etc., for more time.) As a kid I loved Epcot so 2 days there sounds great to me, but I was several years older than my son, so I know he will likely have more fun at MK.

Any other thoughts on how to divide up our time are welcome. I need to pull my guidebooks back out and start figuring out a plan!

 

[Jess4WDW]

Our favorite fun non-character meals are 50s Prime Time Cafe, Sci-fi, Biergarten, Coral Reef and 'Ohana (dinner). You may also want to consider Rainforest Cafe and TRex.

I think Hollywood Studios is worth going to for half a day. Toy Story Mania would be fun for your son and the shows are nice. My kids love the Honey I shrunk the kids playground.

 

[Asnell]

Another positive to the Contemporary is the balcony -- if your son is asleep, you have somewhere for you and DH to hang out.

You could also consider the Garden Wing at the Contemporary, which is cheaper than rooms in the tower. If you request a first-floor room, you'll have a patio to enjoy.

 

[MandiC]

Glad you got such a good deal on the Wilderness! Our only non-character meals were pretty adult oriented. Le Cellier and California Grill (and one night we ate at Planet Hollywood in DTD).
The musical revue is supposed to be fun at Fort Wilderness which I believe is pretty close to the Wilderness resort

 

[NicoleLarson]

Glad to hear you went with WL! My kids love WCC and it's right in the lobby. They do stick horse races/parade and if you ask for ketchup, you'll get about 20 bottles!! My DD5 loves to help out with the ketchup. For character meals, we like cape may and ohana. I have to highly recommend ohana for you because they bring the food to you. That way you don't get super stressed trying to figure out how to get food and not miss characters. I DO think HS is worth a day. My kids love toy story mania, Muppets 3D, disney jr. show, little mermaid show and play ground. We also love 50s prime time cafe and sci-fi drive in. Counter service places in HS are not great.