First time WDW visitor. Please direct me to a first timer's source of info.

[arcadiandj]

My wife and I (DL vets) will take our first trip to WDW in October of 2017 (Epcot Food and Wine!). As DL vets, we pride ourselves in avoiding crowds while getting all of the experiences that we prioritize. We realize that to get those experience that everyone else is going to want, you have to take extra steps.

As such, we want to ask you WDW vets, "As newbies, how should we begin to plan a WDW vacation (7 days in the park)?" We will be staying at the Beach Club resort and figure we will spend a significant amount of time and Epcot. Certainly, we will spend some time at the Magic Kingdom, and I have been learning a lot about the Animal Kingdom and HAVE to ride Expedition Everest. I also HAVE to visit Trader Sam's. SO, we have our priorities, but want input from people in the know about where else to put our focus, AND, how to do our research. We will watch many Dis Unplugged videos (and have already about hotels), but wondered if you all would have any suggestions or guidance. Ok, enough for now. Thank you in advance for sharing any of your thoughts.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Welcome to the WDW-side of planning!

The FP system is important to focus on and @mesaboy2's FP Superthread contains everything you'll need to know:
The FastPass+ Frequently Asked Questions Superthread

Crowd calendars will help you plan which days will be best for your choice of parks and can be found at Touringplans.com as well as kennythepirate.com. **************.net is also a very good source.

 

[amichaell]

I've found this site to be the only resource I need.

As far as logistics, I've found it easiest to determine my must do's and schedule around those.

 

[siskaren]

http://www.amazon.com/Guide-First-D...21167&sr=8-7&keywords=disney+world+guide+2016

 

[Accident]

^^^ that book will help you a lot...

 

[knicksak2]

http://www.easywdw.com/easy/ is a good site as well

 

[MainMom]

I would just start reading here, resorts and restaurants. Read everything especially as F&W 2016 approaches. It will give you insight into next year (although things will change.) You never know what helpful bit of information will be lurking in a thread.

 

[hiroMYhero]

And before you purchase the book that is linked above, check the **************.net and easywdw.com sites. The book and sites are authored by the same two guys.

 

[arcadiandj]

Wow! Thank you everyone for your quick response! I believe this will be a GREAT place to start!

 

[arcadiandj]

Where would be the best place to start FIRST?

 

[Raeven]

I found a subscription to touringplans helpful, this board has a lot of information too. As well as the disney website itself and many recommended in this thread.

 

[dachsie]

I planned our first trip using allearsnet.com.

 

[MDIME]

I agree with all of the suggestions above, especially reading specific boards & threads on this site. Also a Touring Plans fan and the Unofficial Guide book is good. I would add WDW Prep School to that list too. The website and the podcasts are great for first timers! You can also search for podcasts on iTunes with different key words, "Beach Club", "Epcot Food and Wine" etc. Have fun planning & researching!

 

[720L]

This is where we learned everything on how to plan the perfect trip! Sometimes I look at other sites, but the DIS is the best!

 

[lovethattink]

Where would be the best place to start FIRST?

You've already got a resort, so that's a great start!

I'd start with crowd calendars 1st and figure out parks of the day and if you are going to hop.

Also dining is a good place to start. Begin to check out restaurant reviews. ADRs open at 180 days. It's good to have an idea of where and when you'd like to dine.

Keep in mind that park hours can change last minute. So adding in some flexibility will help!

 

[Parker Clan]

I agree with the PP.. The Internet was where we started for our first time at the World. After choosing our resort, we then focused on dining options since that's what you book first.

We are the people who don't use crowd calendars but that's because we always go in August and it's just not that crowded. But we do make an initial itinerary before Park hours are released with what Park on each day and then put our dining choices in.

In addition to the Internet we thought Birnbaum's official Disney guide book was helpful as well.

Happy planning!

 

[warrenz1963]

First I have to say, if you don't enjoy planning like so many of us here on the boards do, consider using an authorized Disney Vacation Planner. You give them your dates, priorities and "must dos" and they take care of the rest. But if you enjoy planning, putting together a trip to WDW will satisfy your obsessive-compulsive urges! LOTS of details to consider, and it's a lot of fun to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

You've chosen a great resort for focusing on Epcot, so you're already well on your way! Here are the ordered steps I usually take:
-read as many sites/blogs about WDW as I can find. There's a lot of repeated information, but also a lot of individual viewpoints and ideas to consider. You'll discover (if you haven't already) that planning for WDW is quite different than planning for DLR.
-check crowd calendars for best days to visit the parks I want to visit (keep in mind, as time goes on the difference between "slow" and "busy" at WDW becomes less and less noticeable)
-decide which table service restaurants are "must do" (you'll need to know this for making ADRs. The ADR window currently opens 180 days out.)
-decide which attractions/shows/parades are "must see" in each park (you'll need to know this for making FP+ reservations)
-set alarms/notifications in my electronic calendars for when reservations windows open
-strongly consider utilizing premium experiences (like the current Early Morning Magic at MK) if your budget allows. They can make all the difference in checking attractions off your list.

 

[sharonabe]

Where would be the best place to start FIRST?

Go back over to the Disneyland board and read HydroGuy's tips. That's a great place to start.

And you don't need to buy the book mentioned before, you can just browse the website: http://**************.net/

 

[Mikie]

Where would be the best place to start FIRST?

Everyone above has covered my must-read resources, but as to where to go FIRST, I'd actually say NOT the DIS. I love it here and it's invaluable, but the guide book and web sites are laid out in a more logical fashion from start to finish of planning. Walk through those and then come here for all the specifics, clarifications and nit-picky questions.

As DL vets who already "get it" about the concept of planning to efficiently visit the parks, you're ahead of the game!
You already know about your resort, food&wine and some must-see attractions. Now, probably sketching out park days is the next step. Even if you don't stick to a plan like glue, having a general idea how much time you want/need in each park and general idea of when will help you lay out dining ideas, pick Fastpasses when you're closer to travel date, and avoid crowds as best you can.

There's debate on here about whether crowd prediction calendars are valuable or not, but at least looking at them (on the web sites above) and reading their philosophies will help you decide for yourself. You may want to skip their advice if it's important to you to start in Magic Kingdom, or be at Epcot for certain Eat to the Beat concerts for instance, but you'll at least have a basis for making decisions like that.

Welcome to the WDW side and have a great time!!

 

[AFwifelife]

EasyWDW is great for figuring out a game plan and I like Touring Plans for figuring out what you can possibly fit in a day. I use TP to get an idea of what will fit in a day and when is the best time to schedule FP+.