first timer needs advice

[ohiofam]

We are planning our first trip to Disney with our 2 girls, ages 3 & 5. Am feeling overwhelmed with all the choices. What does everything think - do we book directly ourselves with Disney, or us a travel agency? And does it make sense to stay at an upgraded resort, or are the value resorts just fine? Thanks for all help as we get started here!

 

[stellablue]

We booked directly, but that's because we wanted to be directly involved. If you are feeling overwhelmed, I would go with a travel agency.

I'm sure someone on here can refer you to popular ones they've had good experiences with.

The worst thing you want to do is book via online booking without speaking to an agent at all-I've read lots of negative reviews about this method.

As far as resorts, it depends on what's most important to you. They are all special in their own ways, with positives and negatives to each.

Please give us a little more info on what your priorities are in terms of:
-Theming: what do your kids like?
-Noise level: Do you prefer quiet and peaceful or a bit more hustle & bustly
-Comfort level: are you picky about this?
-Location: Which parks do you asnd your children enjoy most? Are you interested in a park view?
-Price range:
-Transportation: Are you ok with buses, would you prefer to walk to the parks, take a boat, monorail?

Expand a little on your interests and we can help you a bit more

 

[ohiofam]

Oh Thank you!
Our girls are princess obsessed - so that is our primary focus.
I'm not sure how much we care about the view etc., my main concerns are cleanliness and convenience - With a 3 year old, I am worried about all the stories I keep seem to be reading about long bus ride/waits and walks to the busses. I keep hearing about the monorail, but that seems to be tied to more expensive resorts.
We plan to try to do one day at each of the four parks.

Don't care about quietness vs. activitym really.

Price is of concern. But I am willing to pay more if it is really really worth it.

This is our first family vacation and my first time on a discussion board, so I am a total newbie!

 

[Kaler131]

The value resorts are great....especially at those ages! My kids LOVE Pop Century. I took my DD to All-Star Music when she was 5 and she loved it so much that she asked if we could live there....LOL. Of course since she's gotten older she now wants to live at the Poly! I took one of my DS when he was 4 to All-Star Sports and it was the best thing he ever saw.

 

[ohiofam]

Oh Thank you!
Our girls are princess obsessed - so that is our primary focus.
I'm not sure how much we care about the view etc., my main concerns are cleanliness and convenience - With a 3 year old, I am worried about all the stories I keep seem to be reading about long bus ride/waits and walks to the busses. I keep hearing about the monorail, but that seems to be tied to more expensive resorts.
We plan to try to do one day at each of the four parks.

Don't care about quietness vs. activitym really.

Price is of concern. But I am willing to pay more if it is really really worth it.

This is our first family vacation and my first time on a discussion board, so I am a total newbie!

 

[joelp]

We stayed at POFQ with our DD-3.5 (also princess crazy!!)

It's small - only a 2-3 minute walk to buses, food court, pool, etc. Speaking of which - kids LOVE the pool at POFQ!!

The bus service was pretty good, but expect a wait at night and crowded buses when the parks close (this is true for any of the resorts ...) We came back to POFQ just about every afternoon for a nap or swim, and travelling wasn't a problem. With walking to/waiting for a bus, you need to figure it will take about 45 minutes to get to the parks from your resort ... and vice-versa ...

When we started planning our last trip (the first time staying on site - and with the DD) I wasn't even considering staying at POFQ. But after getting some on-line advice and reading about it - I'm glad we stayed there.

When the DD was only 3, we couldn't "justify" spending the extra $$ for a Deluxe Resort ... but we'll be going back in December and this time we'll be staying at AKL ... and eating at least twice at Boma ... ... which makes the DW very happy ... ... and now the DD will be old enough to do some of the kids activities and hang out at the resort "kid's club" ...

Check out http://allearsnet.com/ for info and reviews in the resorts, restuarants, etc.

Make sure you bring (or rent) strollers ...

I book through AAA - they seem to know what they're doing, you get a decent discount on the rooms, plus some extras ...

If you haven't done so, pick up a guidebook and start reading - I use the "Unofficial Guide" and the Fodor's "WDW with Kids" ...

When are you going?

Joel

 

[Pea-n-Me]

You will have a great time at any Disney resort, so don't worry! Pick what suits your taste and budget.

 

[tluvstink]

You may want to check out allears. They have great reviews and pictures of everything Disney!

Have fun planning and try not to let it overwhelm you. (easier said than done)

Terri

 

[ohiofam]

This forum is so helpful! We are kind of last minute - we want to go asap, looking like April. We want to go before it is too hot/summer.

So far I am leaning towards contacting AAA, renting the strollers, still unsure on the park hopper, thinking yes, and debating still on resorts. As of now thinking value, movies resort. Sorry, I am not good at the abbreviations, so I'm just writing things out!

I want to be sure we do a princess meal. Any thoughts on breakfast lunch or dinner being better? Girls just have to meet princesses!

Will check out the travel guide. Man there is just a lot to do!

Vicki

 

[Deb & Bill]

You have a travel agent right on this board, Dreams Unlimited. So you might try them.

Also, get a copy of the Birnbaum's WDW Travel at your closest bookstore. It has lots of photos and you can read in your leisure. There are also lots of photos on this board so you can see what the resorts look like.

We have all been in your spot and managed to get through it okay. Have fun planning and come back to the DIS for help if you need it.

 

[luvdisney24]

I like using a TA as I know they are looking out for discounts for me and they will modifiy my reservation if a discount comes out for my travel dates. I have used Small World Vacations on my last 3 trips and they were great. For my first trip to Disney I looked into AAA and the agent I met with told me that they would not be looking out for further discounts other than what AAA offers. I ended up with SWV and with the package discount they saved me more than what AAA was offering. Since you are a newbie you might want to look into booking with an agent who is a Disney Specialist. Good luck!!

 

[Aliceacc]

I'll throw some ideas at you:

-For resorts, consider the Contemporary with an AAA discount. The huge advantage it has is that you can WALK a cranky child home from the Magic Kingdom for a nap or swim. It's expensive, but that one fact kept me coming back to the Contemporary when I was first planning. Get the AAA discount, and take a look at the numbers.

- Since you're staying on site, consider getting the DDP- Disney Dining Plan. It would run about $40 per adult and $10 per child per night-- so $100 per day for your family. It includes 1 sit down meal, one table service meal and one snack per day per person. The reason I mention it is that many of those table service meals can be with the Characters. (Cinderella's castle counts as 2 meals, but most of the other character meals count as just one.) So you could do the Princess breakfast at Norway in Epcot, have dinner with Cinderella and the stepsisters at the Grand Floridian, and so on, all within the DDP, for less than it would cost out of pocket. It's most certainly something to consider.

-The park hopper is a good idea for my family. I'm thinking lots of days at the Magic Kingdom (we're big princess fans too) and nights at Epcot (where lots of the good restaurants are!). We opted not to get the water park passes, since our resort has a wonderful pool (and we have water parks on Long Island anyway.)

 

[jklmw]

Have Fun and Do NOT stress. ( I should take my own advise)
Read as much as you can and visit the DISboards everyday. My husband thinks I am crazy...and??? It's funny, he was in here with me last night planning.
I am not a Disney veteran, trying to be, but not. I think you should go direct with Disney. I feel more connected with the entire planning.
Our DS3 and DD2, we are doing the park hopper, staying at ASMu family suites and just enjoying the magic. You will love it. I can't say enough do the character meals if you can. Crystal Palace is unforgettable.
53 more days and I know the time will fly by once we get there. I am really enjoying the countdown.

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

I have two children now ages 6 and 4, and we've stayed at All Star Movies twice. They LOVE the theming (no princesses, but my princess-obsessed DD still loved it). I plan on trying a moderate resort the next time we go, but we joke that our kids won't think it's Disney if we don't stay at "our hotel." I paid something like $15 per night extra for one of the closer rooms in the Fantasia building, and the walk was nothing at all. The first time we stayed, I actually got two sleeping kids in strollers back to the room without a problem while my husband ran an errand.

I've also always worked with my local AAA office (easy for me, since the office is about ten miles away). We've had wonderful service, even with the millions of changes we made between our original booking and our departure this past summer, and we've gotten good deals. Our agent was very patient, and was able to do things like add people to our party and add the DDP after our original reservation without blinking an eye. The only snag we ran into was, as a large group, we had to go through AAA to register for any of the Magical Gatherings activities. Since the one I wanted was pretty booked, and I'd been calling and calling to find out if there was a cancellation, having to wait until my AAA office opened the next moring to actually get the spots was frustrating (as I imagined other people taking them). But, especially since this is your first time, I'd advise you to go with an agent. Hope my rambling helped!!

 

[gail789]

I have a 6 year old and we are going to the Pop for the second time. I find the entire resort extremely kid friendly. Even the food court has Huge TV's with cartoons playing.
The bus wait sometimes is tiring for them at night, but when she was 4 and we went, we just held her until the bus arrived. It really isn't a long wait. (maybe 10 minutes).
I also found getting the meal plan and booking a lot of character dining meals was a lot of fun for her and us as well.
Have fun.

 

[brergnat]

First of all, welcome! You came to a great place for information.

I would highly suggest you look at your travel dates! April is divided into PEAK season and REGULAR season at most Disney hotels. The difference in price between peak season and regular season can be very substantial. Try, if possible, to book your trip to take place during regular season (after April 15), to save money on the hotel room rate.

I would go against the crowd and advise you to stay away from the Values. For a first time family visit, I highly recommend the Moderate resorts, specifically Port Orleans Riverside or French Quarter. French Quarter is smaller, more compact. They are "sister" resorts, adjacent to each other, and if you stay at one, you are entitled to use the facilities at either resort (pool, food court, recreation, etc.). The reason I really like the moderates over the values are:
-better theme (more subtle, but better for adults---hey, it's YOUR vacation too!)
-better dining options, the mods have at least one sit down restaurant
-recreational opportunites: bikes, boating, fishing (at POR)
-a more relaxed atmosphere and more centralized location: the values, by comparison, are located at the very edge of resort property, and are thus far far away from EVERYTHING
-as a bonus, the POR has a boat to Downtown Disney, which is very fun and relaxing

I honestly think that a first time visitor should NEVER stay at the Values. I have stayed at the values a few times, but only after being an experienced WDW traveller. Once you've gone at least once, you will know what type of traveller you are at WDW. It is a vacation unlike no other. Mainly, it is EXTREMELY overwhelming, tiring, exhausting, overstimulating, etc. When you leave the parks, it is SO nice to have a relaxing retreat to go back to. The values are just like the parks: loud, crowded, long lines for everything from check in to the food courts, buses, etc. You never get a break at the values.

Stay moderate for your first trip. That way, you can decide for your NEXT trip how important the hotel really is for your family. You can move up to the deluxes if you felt a bit cramped in the room and need larger accommodations and some more "pampering" or you can move down to the values if you really found that you didn't use the amenities at your hotel very much, and really want to focus on the parks.

Oh, and get the park hopper option! It's nice to be able to bail out on a park that is overly crowded and head to another one. It is also good to have the option to return to a park to "do over" some favorites.

 

[shmedly123]

you also might want to look into buying one annual pass to get the AP discount. We are staying at the BC for 5 nights and it was actually cheaper than the AAA discount. Like posters above I have always dealt directly with Disney but if you are feeling overwhelmed talk to a TA...Dreams unlimited travel will continuously monitor you travel dates to look for discounts.

 

[joelp]

I want to be sure we do a princess meal. Any thoughts on breakfast lunch or dinner being better? Girls just have to meet princesses!

Will check out the travel guide. Man there is just a lot to do!

Vicki

With a young kid, my thinking has been to avoid dinner reservations (you never know what kind of shape they will be in or how long a nap they need ...)

For breakfast, try Akershus at Norway at Epcot. I haven't done it - but we had the DD's grandfolks take her there, and they liked it and said the food was good, too.

The Crystal Palace is also fun - Winnie the Pooh and Co.

Since you're going in April, you need to make dining reservations (ADRs) as soon as possible. And if at first you don't get what you want, be flexible with the time as much as you can, and then keep calling back to see if something opens up ...

We had lunch at Cindy's Castle - another wonderful time and they treat the kids extra special!! The food is good - although you really don't care!! You may want to try breakfast with an early seating - before the MK opens ... you'll be in for a treat ...

With the kids, look into the DDP - it's tough to feed them on the $10 a day it will cost you ...

Another thought: be aware of the crowds in April during school breaks, etc. You may want to consider early May (Mother's Day? - that's where we were - having lunch with Cinderella!!)

So - here's what you need to do:

(1) Choose dates
(2) Choose a resort (and have a back-up ... this close, you may not be able to get your first choice ... )
(3) Decide on tickets (how many days? - after 5 days the additional price per day is negligible ... Park Hoppers? - I would say "no" - either go back to the same park at night [if you do one thing: TAKE AN AFTERNOON BREAK!!] or stay and play/rest at the resort or DTD ...)
(4) Decide on DDP (unless you mainly want to do counter service - as opposed to table service - meals, with kids, go for it ... )
(5) Make your ADRs ...
(6) Start packing ...

And as someone else mentioned, don't stress out ... and get ready to suck in that WDW magic ...

P.S. the DW is a "Vicki" also ...

 

[Pea-n-Me]

stay away from the Values

I honestly think that a first time visitor should NEVER stay at the Values

Staying at a Value resort may be the only way some families can afford to go to WDW.

I think the Values have a charm all their own and would tell any first timers reading here not to worry about it, they're just as Magical as any other Disney resort

 

[shmedly123]

in my opinion the biggest advantage of going from a value to a moderate is that the mods have a slide at the pool. If you think you will be taking a day to stay at the resort and swim then i would suggest upgrading to the moderate as the feature pool is way better themed. If you just plan on using your hotel as a place to crash then the value is perfectly fine.