First timer needing tips

[Kyla Moore]

1. My husband and I are planning our first trip to Disney with our two children who are 8 & 16. We are planning a 5 day trip and want to stay inside one of the parks. Any tips/strategies would be appreciated. This will probably be the only time we could afford a trip there so it is important we make the most of it!
2. Best hotel to stay within the park?
3. Best place to find package deals?

 

[mesaboy2]

There are no hotels inside the parks, only inside WDW resort as a whole. There are approximately two dozen resorts there, at several levels of cost.

For how FastPass works, you may find the green link in my signature helpful.

 

[minnie mum]

. Welcome to the Dis.

There are no resorts in WDW that are inside a park. There are deluxe resorts that are located very close to each of the parks. Moderate resorts are located within a very short bus ride to the parks, and value resorts are slightly further away from some parks. But all are still located on WDW property.

You might want to do some research about WDW as a whole, the various parks and resorts, and how to go about planning a WDW vacation.

There are some excellent books available at bookstores and libraries. One I like is The Easy Guide to Your First Visit to WDW. There are two websites associated with it : **************.net and easywdw.com.

Another classic WDW guide is The Unofficial Guide to WDW. It's website is touringplans.com.

Also, the WDW official website has some basic information on planning your trip. There is also a section on their main page that will show current promotions and special offers.

Once you have a rough idea of what kind of resort you want and type of package you want, you can ask specific questions on one of the Dis forums. There are specific forums for questions about parks and tickets, resorts, and dining.

 

[PlutoFan10]

After doing some reading, you may want to seek out a travel agency, sinc this is your first trip. You can also look at the disney world website to get an idea of the different resorts and cost of each -- before any discounts/package rates.

 

[sharonabe]

Spend some time at disneyworld.com perusing official information and order the WDW planning DVD.

Two other websites to begin digesting information are **************.net and easywdw.com

There is an enormous amount of information just on those three sites, and there are many more, so take a deep breath and just wade in looking at the things you WANT to know for YOUR family. Once you have some knowledge under your belt, you'll probably have a lot of questions that people here on the DIS will be happy to help you answer.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

One I like is The Easy Guide to Your First Visit to WDW.

This book is awesome - the 2016 version just came out:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/19...&tag=playoufirfamv-20&linkId=M4KWDXYMIR2O7IQT

 

[momimouse27]

Kyla, welcome! And congrats on your first trip, hopefully you'll come home completely addicted like we are

When you are going is pretty important in determining what types of discounts are available. If you have flexibility, mid fall is a good time as there are normally multiple discounts including free dining.

The websites mentioned are great sources, and I will add another. Mousesavers.com will have all the discounts and packages that are going on right now-check it out!

You didn't mention what level resort you want to pay for, so I'll tell you my favorites at each level, going on your info that you have four people: Value: Pop or All Star Movies /Moderate: Port Orleans French Quarter /Deluxe: Contemporary or Beach Club.

Another good thing to do is get on the WaltDisneyWorld.com website, and order a Disney Vacation Planning DVD, it is free. While you're at it, go ahead and register for a free account with your email. You'll need it in the future!

The next best thing is read, read, read these forums. So much great info here. And also on the Disney Mom's Panel website, where you can ask questions as well. Let us know what you decide, and have fun planning!

 

[Serenebean]

mousesavers has a list of historical discounts and when they came out.

http://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#2015

 

[slbgnb]

mousesavers has a list of historical discounts and when they came out.

http://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#2015

Was just looking at this...we are going in July. If we book all of our stuff and then one of those 10-30% deals come out, is it easy to get that discount applied to our already booked package?

 

[Mikie]

Was just looking at this...we are going in July. If we book all of our stuff and then one of those 10-30% deals come out, is it easy to get that discount applied to our already booked package?

The process is easy - you just call and ask to have it applied. It may not always be easy to get, though, because the offer a limited rooms at each resort at the discounted price. You may need to have backup plans available if you can tweak your dates, or need to move to a different resort to get the discount (maybe your resort is already pretty booked, but another one has more empty rooms), or need to switch to a "preferred" room instead of a "standard". If you want to do this, it's important to keep an eye on Mousesavers.com or the Discounts page on this board, or the Special Offers page on Disney's site to call as soon as you see a discount available.

 

[Serenebean]

Agreed with what Mikie said. We got a discount applied after that fact. We did have to switch our room initially but I kept checking back and we got our original room back with a discount! If you can be flexible it should work out for you. You can also get a TA and they will search and apply the discounts when they come out.

 

[Nancyg56]

I agree that you need to research and that part is so much fun!

We can all offer suggestions, and happily do so, but before we can we need to have an idea what your budget is for your resort, and what you are planning to do in regards to dining. Also, what are your expectations for the trip. The kids ages make it so wide open!

I also think that for a first time visitor a very good DIsney TA is well worth the time it takes to engage one. There ae several good ones, and while I cannot mention the TA who lives in my town, I know that she even plans intinerary and books Dining and FP for you. I'm sure that if she offers this service, others do as well.