First time to Disney...help!

[justsyd]

My sister in law and I are taking the kids to Disney on July 4-10th. I went as a child but barely remember anything. I have been reading these boards and honestly I feel so intimidated. We know we want to have dinner with one of the Disney characters but I can't figure out how to make reservations. We have the dining plan so I know that factors into who we can eat with. Also, do I need reservations for some of the shows? ANY HELP would be appreciated!! We are so excited but have only been planning this trip since last week and so I haven't had time to do much research. Also, do I need to make reservations for the bibbity bobbity boutique for my 8 year old daughter or can we just walk in?

Thanks!!

 

[sameyeyam]

I too remember feeling overwhelmed the first couple of times. I use allearsnet.com to help me plan, decide what hotel, then decide what park on what day, then I plan our dinner reservations last.

My planning schedule goes as follows:
1. Find best airfare deal.
2. Research & reserve hotel rooms
3. Arrange transportation.
4. Research, take a family vote & decide on what park/what day & type of tickets needed.
5. Research & make table service or show reservations.

I don't move on to the next step until I have completed each step. It makes a big job seem so much more easier.

Maybe you & sister in law can work on each step together and compare notes to help. There is so much info. out there and you will probably feel like you have only hit the tip of the Disney iceburg! But I guess that's why so many of us keep going back each year.

 

[smep013]

Don't be intimidated! You will have a great time.

And don't think you have to do everything you read on these boards. I think it's best to go your first time and do what you want to do - and add on what you hear about to other trips.

When we went for the first time, I did not know about these boards. I bought a book and looked at all of the things we wanted to do and mapped it out day by day. We did not have a Park Hopper, so we were at one park per day and also went to a Typhoon Lagoon and Pleasure Island (no kids, just my husband and me.) We also called Disney reservations and asked a lot of questions - and they were great helping us figure things out like how long it would take to get from our resort to the parks, and how to book reservations for meals.

Make sure you get an autograph book so when you meet the characters you can get their autographs!

Just go at your own pace and do your own thing!

Have fun!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Yes, you do need to make reservations for the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique.

Use Deb's site to get ideas for dining. You will definitely need to make ADRs for July. Have a few ideas because you may not be able to get exactly what you want this close to July, but you will be able to get something.

Some of our favorites are: Sci-Fi for lunch
Crystal Palace for breakfast or dinner
Liberty Tree Tavern for lunc or dinner
1900 Park Fare for breakfast or dinner
Chef Mickeys for breakfast or dinner
Kona Cafe for breakfast, lunch or dinner
Ohana for breakfast or dinner
Le Cellier for lunch or dinner
Restaurant Marrakesh for lunch or dinner
Rose and Crown for lunch or dinner
RFC at DTD
Hollywood Brown Derby for lunch or dinner
50's Prime TIme Cafe for lunch or dinner
Grand Floridian Cafe for lunch or dinner

I'm sure you will be able to find something available. Take a look at the menus make a list (with a few alternates) and call Disney dining and do all your ADRs at once.

Don't worry - you will have so much fun, its just better to be prepared with your ADRs ahead of time so you're not waiting for two hours with hungry kids in the July heat.

We'll be there in July also - get a water/mist spray bottle and you will be fine!

 

[Rella Bella]

Okay, take a deep breath!
If you're on the dining plan you will need to make some meal reservations, pretty much one for every day. We like to do either a big breakfast or a late lunch/early dinner. On the dining plan you get one sit down meal per day, if you do a character meal it usually counts as two meals.

First take into account the general schedule of your party. Will you get up early, or sleep in? Will you take a break back at your hotel to nap or swim during the hottest part of the day? Or will you alternate so you can stay up late for fireworks once or twice. Then get an idea which park you'd like to visit on which day. Next go to the "Disney Dining Finder"
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/dining/diningFinder?id=DiningFinderPage

Look through the list to see what is available, it will give you a list of the restaurants in each park, just take note of the ones that really interest you. There are also Character meals at some of the resorts so be sure you look at all of them.

When you have some favorites then you’re ready to call Disney and make your reservations. If a certain restaurant is very important to you, ask if you can get a reservation on any day, at any time during your stay. They are usually very nice and helpful, be sure to tell them you’re new. If you can’t get the exact restaurants you want, ask them to recommend something that is available… just make reservations!! You can always change them, (either the time or the place) but if you don’t have any, you will wait a lot longer for your meals.

Here are the numbers:
Toll free # for dining reservations 1-800-828-0228
It starts out with resort reservations so just stay on the line and follow the prompts until they mention dining.

Or call (407) WDW-DINE (407) 939-3463

They can tell you when any restaurant has availability, and will give you a time and a confirmation #. You don’t always need the Conf # but it is a good idea to have it with you in case of any confusion. So always write it down, and bring it with you to the park.

Don’t get over whelmed. If you start to get confused just post a direct question on Dis (like this one) and you’ll get all the help you need to have a wonderful time!

Have a magical trip!!

 

[justsyd]

THANK YOU!!! We are staying at the POP century. I just emailed SIL to find out exactly which days we are going where so we can at least get some dinner reservations. We are attempting to make an itinerary so we aren't just wondering around wasting time trying to figure out what to do! I am off to check everything out...any shows we MUST see?

I bought a fanny pack to carry around but now I am wondering if I need a small backpack? A friend of mine gave me their Disney ponchos because she said it usually rains some. What do you carry with you in the parks?

Melissa

 

[buzz2400]

Definitely bring a backpack along with ponchos. You might also want to bring a water bottle. It gets very hot. Before you go check out wdwig.com and wdwinfo.com to familiarize yourself with the rides. Also definitely get an autograph book. I remember my first trip as an adult. I had everything planned. When I finally got there I was so overwhelmed that I threw out my plan and just went with the flow. Another thing going on that kids like to do is trading pins. You might want to buy some before you go (I buy mine at mousepinsonline.com). The pins there are at least $6. If the Stitch ride is a long wait at magic kingdom, skip it. It really is a bad attraction. As you plan if you have any questions, just post and people will respond.

 

[MissMagnolia]

Oh to be back at planning a "first trip" to WDW!

We have stayed at Pop Century before when it first opened. They have a great food court and the bus service to the parks was great.

Here is the info I found on wdwinfo regarding the boutique:

BIBBIDI BOBBIDI BOUTIQUE NOW OPEN

Click Here for Photos
For all those little girls dreaming of being a Disney Princess, this latest addition to the World of Disney is the perfect fit. More of a salon than a store, there are 10 salon stations where girls can get their hair, nails and makeup done.

Reservations are recommended The number to call is: 407-WDW-STYLE.

Package Price:

COACH: Hair style and shimmering makeup - $35.00 plus tax
CROWN: Hair style, shimmering makeup and nails - $45.00 plus tax
CASTLE: Hair style, shimmering makeup and nails plus full Princess costume with accessories and photo package (one 6x8 and four 4x6 pix) - starting at $175.00 plus tax
To coincide with the addition of the Boutique, you can expect an expansion of Princess merchandise.

The Adventure Room has all of the gear and outfits for the little ones who dream of being a Disney hero.

As far as dining - yes make reservations by calling the 407-WDW-Dine or the 800# listed by a previous dismember. Which characters do you like? Different restaurants feature different characters. Here are some of our favorites and new ones we are trying in August (I am going from memory regarding the characters so there may be additions):

Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom for dinner - Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore
Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary resort for dinner - Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy
Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club resort for breakfast - Minnie, Chip, Dale, Goofy, and ?
Cinderella's Royal Table (in the castle at Magic Kingdom) for breakfast - get photo with Cinderella and then see the Fairy Godmother, Snow White, Aurora, Belle and ? at the tables

As far as fun other restaurants, we are trying:
Le Cellier at Epcot
Spoodles on the Boardwalk
Teppanyaki at Epcot
Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge
50s Prime Time Cafe at MGM

We usually "wing it" at the parks - no set ride schedule. We usually go in January (low crowds). This year we are going the last week of August to take advantage of the free dining (also low crowds). You are going during a very busy time, so some planning may be necessary. Be sure to take advantage of FASTPASS.

Good luck and I will try and answer any other questions you may have.

 

[disney4ever26]

We will be going also at that time July 4th-12th. We have all of our sit down meals in reservation. We have a schedule of what parks, times of Meals, and important show times. I suggest with the big crowds that you should take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours (EMH) and if you are going to a show get there 20-30 min. early.........Hope this helps. 18 days left i can't wait

 

[Redwitch]

This site can help you pick which parks to go to on what days. Have a general plan of where you be each day before you make your ADR so you are not crisscrossing all over the Kingdom!

http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=14

We pick our parks, make ADRs based on what evening shows we want to see, plan early and late days so we are not exhausted.

This link will give you park hours and firework schedules.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/hours.htm#hm-parkhours-quicklink

And don't worry!!! By having some idea of what you are doing and when, you are already ahead of most of the WDW visitors! Those of us on this and other boards are actually in the minority. Most people show up at WDW totaly clueless about where they are going and what they are doing any given day.

(Alright, confess everyone -- what were you like on your 1st trip???)

The most important thing is HAVE FUN, you can not do everything there is to do. So enjoy what you are doing, don't worry about what you are doing next!

 

[LizzySwan1022]

Breath in and out. Good!

First as u r a 1st timer the best advice I can give you is make a plan. No what parks you r going to on what days. Remember if our taking multiple kids of differsnt ages, sometimes the best stratagy id Divide and Conquer. Shows in the parks don't require reservations, but get there early to get a seat. Also great character meals are Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace. Make good use of your resort by recognizing when younger kids are getting cranky and suggesting a pool break. If the other kids are older (16ish) they will be perfectly fine staying in the parks alone if neccesarry. If you don't want to split up have kids take turns picking rides and if little ones are scared, switch off.
Have a BLAST

 

[DumboDash2006]

I'm going to suggest getting a copy of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. This site is an awesome place to learn information, but it may be a little less overwhelming to skim that book first, especially the ride and restaurant descriptions. Once you have a general idea what most interests you, then you can spend time looking for more specific information. Just an idea as I know for *me*, if I hadn't read the Unofficial Guide first, I would have been totally overwhelmed coming here (and I've been to WDW four times before, though it's been 10 years since the last).

Good luck! I find the research and planning rather, uh...addicting lol.

 

[justsyd]

You guys are the BEST! We have figured out where we are going on each day based on early/late hours. I am taking one day at a time and ds is helping me figure out what rides, shows, etc. interest us. We now have reservations for a character breakfast at the Beach Club. Out of all the Disney characters my kids wanted to eat with LOL!

I am still on day one. We have decided to do Epcot the first day since we will arrive probably mid morning and out of all the parks I feel like this will be the kids least favorite. This will also be July 4th and I believe I read that Epcot has an awesome firework show. I need a good restaurant suggestion at Epcot for dinner.

Thanks again!!

Melissa

 

[bopper]

July 4th will be crazy crowded, esp. at those parks that have fireworks. So go early and stay all day...sometimes the parks get to capacity on holidays.

 

[Lynne M]

In addition to the Unofficial Guide, I'd strongly recommend getting a copy of Birnbaum's Official Guide to WDW. It's available on Amazon and in your local bookstore.

The Unofficial Guide is great, but I think it works best if you already have some basic knowledge of WDW. Birnbaum's will take care of that. it's a great overview, and will give you all the info you need on the basics of ADRs, fireworks shows, etc. Then pick up the Unofficial Guide to help you fine-tune your plans.

 

[indigoxtreme]

Try to get the Garden Grill with Chip and Dale. This is in the Land Pavillion where, Soarin is. The kids will also love this ride. Go through the main gates past The large Ball (Spaceship Earth) Turn right and the land is straight ahead. Go downstairs and to the left and get Fast Pass for the Soarin ride.

 

[cabanafrau]

I recommend Mickey's Philharmagic in MK as a show you won't want to miss -- and it's air conditioned seating for a "mini break" from the heat and the walking in July.

 

[justsyd]

Do shows like Fantasmic and Mickey's Philarmagic cost money?

We now have dinner reservations almost every day and we also have reservations for the Hoop Dee Doo. We changed our character meal from the beach resort to one at Animal Kingdom.

I can't believe we only have 17 more days! I don't see how some of you plan months in advace and wait so long!!! That must be torture!! LOL!

 

[tinkersmama]

Fantasmic and Philharmagic are not extra. Shows inside the parks are never extra.