first time in disneyworld

[laurie989]

My inlaws have given the best christmas present ever. the whole family is going to disneyworld and a 4 day cruise. My question is we will be arriving in December first 3 days is disneyworld then the 4 day cruise. there will be 12 people going with 6 children ages range from 4-15 and 6 adults. what are the must see's in this short time . we want to make the best out of the time we have there.


thanks

 

[renessa]

I would suggest picking up the Unofficial Guide to WDW (book) or Tourguidemike.com (online guide) and reading the descriptions for the rides. Then everyone can decide what they feel are "must see" attractions. I would definately say that you would want to to the Extra Magic Hour for Magic Kingdom so that the youngsters can do fantasyland (dumbo, pooh, peter pan, etc.) and the more daring can hit Space Mountain as soon as the park opens! Splitting up on this morning would probably work best. I'm sure there is more advice to come, but a good guide is priceless!

Have a great trip! Your inlaws are the greatest!

 

[TN Traveler]

Laura, How totally cool for you and your family!!
I think that would be THE BEST present ever!! Since I've been a travel agent for 9 yrs now and Disney Specialist for 8, I think there's no place like Disney to take a family vacation. And doing the cruise will be awesome. These are the things I think worked best for my family and the shows/rides my family liked the best. We have 3 DDs ages 13, 8 and 5 in Sept.
At Magic Kingdom ...you MUST do Splash Mountain, Space Mountain and Thunder Mtn. Haunted Mansion is alot of fun and a traditional ride. PhilarMagic & The Little Mermaid are 2 fav shows for us as well as Cinderella's Celebration in front of her castle. This is a great opportunity to see many of the characters as well as get their autographs. If at all possible see the Spectro Magic parade and top it off w/the fireworks at night. Also the Wishes Parade is pretty good.
At MGM you MUST ride Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster and end the day w/Fantasmic. The Beauty & the Beast Show is pretty good too.
At Epcot we loved Test Track and Mission Space but it is a pretty serious ride so make sure those who ride can handle it. The World Showcase is interesting but my girls found it kinda boring.
Illumanations is a good show to close the park if you want to stay that long. My kids didn't like Epcot that much...not enough rides for them!!
Animal Kingdom was a family favorite. We loved the Safari ride, the animals, the gorillas and other animals in Asia area. We also LOVED The Bug's Life 3 D Show but my 4 yr old didn't like it. Said it was too loud and didn't like the spiders. The Rapid ride is awesome but be prepared to get WET! The Dinosaur ride is pretty fun too but loud and kinda spooky for little kids. You MUST see The Festival of the Lion King show. It was awesome!!
If we had only 3 days I would either skip Epcot or do morning at Epcot, evening at MGM. Full day at Magic Kingdom, full day at Animal Kingdom. Hope this helps and gives you some good ideas.

 

[minmate]

you can get a lot of info on allearsnet.com too. also check around this site for info....

What I do is make either a physical or mental list of the top attractions/rides I think we'd all like to see... noting which things the littler ones won't want/be able to do -- and start to group the stuff together by park and area in each park... then I guesstimate how much time it will take to do them... and work from there.

Study up on the park maps and which rides have FP and what's open for EMH.... It's hard to suggest what's a must see not knowing what your family likes best, but if I had to give you my tops they are:
MK
1. Philharmagic
2. Cinderella's Surprise Celebration
3. Splash Mountain
4. Buzz
for older kids: Space Mtn., Big Thunder, HM (or anyone not scared)
youner kids: Dumbo, Tea Cups, Magic Carpets, Peter Pan

AK
1. Lion King Show
2. Bug's Life Show
3. Dinosaur -- for big kids
4. Kilamanjaro Safaris
.... note I've never ridden Primeval Whirl or Kali River Rapids... many others really like these, but our kids are too short for PW and most of them too short for Kali.

MGM
1. RnR Coaster
2. ToT
3.Beauty & the Beast Show

Epcot
I haven't really spent enough time here recently to be a good judge for this park... still discovering many of the treasures here myself.

Best of luck and have a wonderful time planning your vacation!
Oh, and from what I understand, there are characters everywhere on the cruises so you may choose to avoid waiting in lines at the parks since you will see a lot of characters on the cruise.

 

[TN Traveler]

Agree 100% about Primevil Whirl. DD13 and I rode it and loved it but DH and DDs 8 & 4 did not. Again, your personal choice.

Yes, on cruises there are the characters.....especially Capt. Hook, and other "major players". The coolest thing I found was Mickey is in "park appropriate" clothing....does that make sense? We saw Mickey & Goofy at Mission Space and they had on spacesuits, saw Mickey at MGM and he was in a magician's hat. Mickey & Minnie dress in Safari clothes at AK. On te cruise ships they wear their bathing suits. Very cool and very clever!!!

The Disney People are so smart!!!

 

[Gary M]

Besides the good advice you have received, it's very important to get to the parks when they open. You can see and do more in the first couple of hours before the crowds get larger.

What a great Christmas present.

 

[TinkerGal]

Having just been there for the first time and only for 4 full days to see everything, I can understand your predicament. Epcot took more time than I anticipated so I would plan a full day there.
With only 3 days, I would suggest:
Day 1 - Epcot (EMH day is best) followed by an E-night at MK. Go early to see Wishes & Spectro.
Day 2 - AK in the AM (again, EMH day is best); break if time, then MGM in early evening and see Fantasmic.
Day 3 - MK; Hop over to Epcot for Illuminations in the evening.
If you do E-night, you won't really need EMH at MK. We got more done at Epcot on regular opening day than MK EMH day. Definitely get a Tourguide and plan the "must sees." You'll be busy at WDW but you can relax on the cruise! Have fun!

 

[jenniferma]

Hi-- My favs from our April 2003 trip-- Lion King show at the Animal Kingdom, Mickey's Toontown (go when it opens) for meeting characters. We also loved Ohana at the Poly for dinner.

I only saw the tail end of the parade at MGM, it looked awesome-- that is something we don't want to miss this time around!

I have heard great things about the Buzz ride at MK and of course, you can't miss Pirates of Carribean!

I love the Unofficial Guide.. our local library has it too! good luck!
jen