
I have been planning, in my head, for a first-time family vacation to WDW hopefully soon, and coming from Washington state I am overwhelmed with how to go about planning and where to begin! Like...
*What's the best flight situation?
make sure you're flying into MCO, and not Sanford, if you are using ME.
*Is a car rental necessary?
You can go either way on this one. WDW is NOT like DL...it is very spread out, and you can't really walk from park to park (like at DL/CA). You can use the bus system, Uber, taxis or rent a car. We're local, sometimes we use our car and other times we use the bus system.
*How long would make a sufficient first time vacation?
Ideally, to see everything, I would take 9 days. 2 MK, 1 Epcot, 1 AK, 1 HS, 1 day at each water park and one day for downtown Disney. Add two days if you want breaks from the parks, just to stay at the hotel and chill. However, you don't have to do everything in one trip (what a great excuse to plan another!).
*What are some good resorts/hotels for a small family? (Two adults, one child(5), so far)
It depends on your level of comfort. Do you want to stay onsite or off? Do you want bigger rooms or better theming?
*Would going to WDW during a holiday festival,i.e. Halloween, Christmas, etc. be too much for a first time visit? (Really want to go for Halloween or Christmas

or maybe for my daughter's birthday in Mid-November

)
Christmas would be overwhelming, I think. Maybe mid-November. Avoid summer unless you can take the humidity.
*What are some must-haves to make the trip run smoothly? (Bands, photo passes, ADRs, FP+, etc)
All those things. Plus patience, a sense of humor, and cash. Don't try to make too many sit down meals, and pair those you do choose to do with the places you'll be. Having an ADR at Epcot when you are going to be at MK for the day is just too much work.
*Any other advice for west coasters???
Again, avoid summer...humid and lots of vacationers. Once you decide how many days, and where you'll spend each day, then set your ADRs, and have each person pick one MUST DO item (i.e. parade, ride, show). Make sure you do those MUST DO things; then if you get to do anything else, it's a bonus! Hydrate, and bring a water bottle with a filter...Orlando water is not tasty.
I've been getting the hang of planning out our annual DL vacations and usually use the Disney website for convenience purposes, but if there's options that will save money or better promotions and package deals, I want to hear about it, please

!
I've been searching for other threads with a similar subject, but can't find any, or I'm not searching correctly...


