first time to disney!

[critty]

Hi there! I'm just in the beginning stages of planning a disney trip. There is lots of info here, maybe someone could point me to where I should be looking

I've never been to disney so this is a first for all of us. My DD1 turns 5 in Dec., my DD2 turns 3 at the end of January (so she is free, right?) My DH has a birthday in Nov, and mine in Jan. Do these birthdays help us with any discounts? We would like to go in the winter, or maybe the fall.

thanks for any suggestions!!

-Christy

 

[GoofyiiFan]

Hello, welcome to the boards! I hope you have a fun time at Disney.
There is a lot of books you can buy at your local book store, etc. They'll tell you a lot about Disney. You could also start an itinerary to plan what you'll be doing everyday. There's also some sites like allears.net that can tell you a lot about Disney.


If your looking around in the DISboards I'd suggest looking around these sub-forums. They have a lot of info about Disney:
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2
http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=17

Here's some threads you can check out too:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2104907
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1452684

Sorry I'm not very helpful. Goodluck planning.
Also, I believe for this year you can get in free on your birthday to Disney.
(don't forget to get a free birthday pin!)

 

[Pikester]

One of my favorite Disney planning books is called PassPorter's Walt Disney World. Great maps of parks, descriptions of rides and descriptions of restaurants. Here is a link to what the book looks like http://www.amazon.com/PassPorters-W...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246980357&sr=1-1

Here is a link to PDF maps on the DIS. You can look at Resort maps and Park maps. http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/

I think birthday wise the only discount you would get would be free admission to a park for the person whose birthday it is on that day. I believe you have to pre-register for that. If you buy a Disney package for the whole family which includes park tickets then you get a GC that equals the price of the ticket for the birthday person.

There are other discounts that are often available. Some people get "pin codes" that give them anywhere from 20% to 40% off of room rates. Some people get "pin codes" for Free Dining during those times. How they get the "pin codes" is anyones guess as it seems to be random although some have gotten them after they register to get the Free Planning DVD at the offical Disney website http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ Just scroll to the bottom and you'll see an ad for it.

Many times Disney offers a public code for discounts on packages or even Free Dining, that is what is going on now. Book a package by July 21 and get FREE Dining for your stay from September through October. Or, something like that.

Depending on when you stay there are different room prices. Deluxe, moderate, value resorts plus different times of the year. Value Season, peak Season, Regular Season, Summer Season, Holiday Season.

We've been in December for two Disney trips. Lots of beautiful decorations and holiday music. Value season for that time (2009) is 11/29-12/17. That is for all resorts except campsites.(Information from Passporter)

Don't want to overwhelm you so I'll stop there. I think it's easier to answer more specific questions once you know when you want to go, how long you want to stay, where you want to stay (on site/off site), what resort you want to stay at, Dining Plan or no Dining Plan.

Good Luck!

 

[MarkinNM]

 

[dana1003]

avoid the summer!!!!! best weather for us was oct thru jan..oh and dont kill urself..once u do disney once YOU will be back so whatever u dont do on this trip youll do on the next..think about staying on the property, all star music has a suite with 2 bathrooms that sleeps 6 and maybe think about renting their strollers..good luck and welcome

 

[Metro West]

 

[shannn]

Everyone else has given you good advice. Here's what I'd do (in order, don't get overwhelmed- just take things one step at a time)

1) Decide when you want to go. How long are you going to stay? Personally, I prefer shorter trips with more amenities (5-6 nights) but a lot of people go for longer trips (10-14 nights). You probably want to book at least 90 days out because that's when you can reserve dining.

2) Figure out your budget. Will you stay on site (yes!) or off? If onsite, what level of resort - value, moderate, deluxe? If offsite, a rental house or condo?

3) What kind of package do you want? If onsite, you can include the dining plan or not.

4) Start planning an itinerary. What parks on what days? What restaurants?

There is lots of great information here. Feel free to ask lots of questions. People love to help.

 

[critty]

Great!
I think I have a start
1 week- Dec5-Dec13; value season and, my DD will turn 5 on the 7th so that will be a great birthday and maybe a GC for that
I think I'd like to stay at the Pop with dining plan.
no specific questions from me yet, still soaking in the knowledge

 

[Tink_Taylor]

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!


Youll LOVE Disney

 

[Tigger_Tina]

 

[critty]

The family already has Plat. passes to all Busch Gardens parks, so we thought it would be a good idea to incorporate Sea World and Busch Gardens into our Florida trip. I can't seem to find out how close these parks are. Anyone go to all these in one trip? thanks!!

 

[Disney Crazy Debbie]

Great!
I think I have a start
1 week- Dec5-Dec13; value season and, my DD will turn 5 on the 7th so that will be a great birthday and maybe a GC for that
I think I'd like to stay at the Pop with dining plan.
no specific questions from me yet, still soaking in the knowledge

I think you will get a button or something for your daughter's birthday but also be certain to let the deck know this is your first trip to WDW. Disney is always good about recognizing first timers.

 

[Pikester]

The family already has Plat. passes to all Busch Gardens parks, so we thought it would be a good idea to incorporate Sea World and Busch Gardens into our Florida trip. I can't seem to find out how close these parks are. Anyone go to all these in one trip? thanks!!

Was feeling bored so I decided to do some research. Having never been to either Sea World or Busch Gardens I had to just type the information in and rely on what others had to say.

According to what I found Busch Gardens is in Tampa Bay, FL and is about an hour and a half give or take 15 minutes from WDW.

Sea World is about 30 minutes from WDW.

I personally think you will be busy enough with Disney being your first time especially if you have the DDP and are devoting an hour or more to Table Service meals. Unless of course you use the Quick Service dining plan then meals should be a little shorter.

We went for our first time back in 2006 and I knew Disney World was big but I didn't realize how far apart each park was. Took time to get from hotel to park. We had park hoppers so we often went from one park to another. Last December we did without park hopper and even then we were at the parks from rope drop till after supper time. I don't think we got back to Pop until 7 or 8 at night and we had our own vehile this time.

You may just want to make this a Disney only trip but of course that is totally up to you.

 

[Puget Peach]

Great!
I think I have a start
1 week- Dec5-Dec13; value season and, my DD will turn 5 on the 7th so that will be a great birthday and maybe a GC for that
I think I'd like to stay at the Pop with dining plan.
no specific questions from me yet, still soaking in the knowledge

GREAT time to visit! I took my BFF for her very first time the first two weeks of December a couple of years ago and it was perfect!!!! Extremely comfortable temperatures, low humidity, low crowds, high fun!!! All the Christmas decorations are up and we toured all the monorail resorts to see them. The Grand Floridian gingerbread house is amazing. We ate the roof (okay, we bought one shingle.... but still... )

 

[rosiejo]

November is by far the best time to visit And if you go on your birthday during 2009 you can get in for free!

Have a great trip

 

[Disneydonnam]

Have a great trip.