First timer

[KORY]

This will be my family's first trip to wdw coming up in Sept.
what are some must do, must see, things to avoid, food to try or stay away from and why, and any helpful tips you can share. I will be traveling with my dw and my two dd's 4 and 1 also with my in-laws and grandparents.

 

[tjevans]

A Disney World vacation is truly like no other. If you go into it with no planning, you can have a miserable time. If you plan (the extent of planning is different with everyone) you can have a great time.

Judging solely on your question, it sounds like "you don't know what you don't know." Many people planning their first trip don't understand that there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of tips and must do's and don't do's. And they all depend on what your family is like.

There's so much information out there, that it can be hard to know where to turn and who to listen to. That being said, I always recommend first-timers get a good old fashioned guide book. It provides a good level of basic knowledge in a very structured way. This will help you more than you think.

I usually recommend The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. I also recommend you DO NOT get the Official Guide. That's because it is endorsed by Disney, so it is basically sales literature. The Unofficial Guide, on the other hand, tells you the good and the bad.

 

[aacvacation]

Completely agree with the poster above. Asking for general opinions/tips/suggestions on here is going to completely overwhelm you. With a guidebook you have an organized way to look at everything you can do and decide what you actually WANT to do from there.

 

[KORY]

I already have most things planed like what park what day my fast passes and where im eating im just looking for other little helpful ideas that might make my time in wdw that much better like a favorite snack. or something you have to do every time your there. just any helpful must do's or see's

 

[IamJBo]

I already have most things planed like what park what day my fast passes and where im eating im just looking for other little helpful ideas that might make my time in wdw that much better like a favorite snack. or something you have to do every time your there. just any helpful must do's or see's

Dole Whips! How long is your trip? Which parks are you doing? Are you staying onsite?

 

[KORY]

4 days all 4 parks and staying at the swan from sept 3-7

 

[ErinsMommy]

Here are the must that my DD then aged 4, 6 and now 7-1/2 especially loved:

Rides/Shows:
Enchanted Tales with Belle
Buzz Lightyear
Mickeys Philharmonic
Teacups
Swiss Family Treehouse/Tom Sawyer Island (gave us all a good break from spinning and rides, and we had to drag her away).
Big Thunder Mountain RR
Turtle Talk with Crush
The Nemo show
Muppet Vision
Honey I shrunk the Kids (playground and again, a great break from the rides and spinning)
I don't know if they still have "Its a Bugs Life" which was a 3D movie, but it scared the **** out of my DD and she had nightmares for weeks that the bugs were biting her.

Experiences:
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is a must - expensive, but DD loved the attention and she said it was the highlight of her last trip there.

Dining
1900 Park Fair at Grand Floridian
Rainforest Cafe
Akershus
Be Our Guest
For "adult time": Le Cellier.
Cinderella's Royal Table was just "eh" in my and even DD's opinion



Enjoy your planning!!

 

[mjhannaf]

I already have most things planed like what park what day my fast passes and where im eating im just looking for other little helpful ideas that might make my time in wdw that much better like a favorite snack. or something you have to do every time your there. just any helpful must do's or see's

Personally I love searching for Hidden Mickeys (see signature). That said, I would take in the attraction the first time you ride through as you get tunnel vision when spotting Hidden Mickeys.

That said, there are some in queues that can help pass the time!

Have fun!!

 

[kay1864]

Agree with poster #2 about The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

Once you get an overview of the rides your family might like from the Unofficial Guide, here's my suggestions, which worked well for a friend of mine:

Since you have a large group, I recommend at least 5 days (1 day for each park, except allow 2 days for Magic Kingdom).

For Magic Kingdom I usually visit the "right half" (Fantasyland, Tomorrowland) on one day, and the "left half" (Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square) the other day. That way you get a break in the afternoon (for rest or hotel pool time). Plan on returing on one evening for the parade and fireworks.

For Hollywood Studios, it's worth it to get the Fantasmic Dinner Package, which gets you preferred seating at the evening Fantasmic show. You can reserve this on the Disney site (Dining section). If you get can Mama Melrose's for lunch, it's the best value of the Dinner Package restaurants, and the food is very good.

There's a website called RideMax.com which is excellent for planning your vacation, and you can put in breaks as needed. $17, but compare that to the cost of standing in line for 8 people (and the cost of their tickets!). It will save you hours standing in line.

In a nutshell:
1. Set up your My Disney Experience (MDE) account here.
2. Buy your tickets (if you haven't already) online. 5-day tickets should be fine for your group no need for embellishments like Park Hopper or waterparks.
3. Link the tickets (to the people in your group) in your MDE account
4. Use easywdw.com or RideMax.com to select which days/which parks. Crowd levels will have a huge level on the enjoyment of your visit.
5. Get the Fantasmic Dinner Package for your Hollywood Studios day.
6. Use mesaboy's list to select your 3 FastPass attractions.
7. Select the rides for each park in RideMax, to generate the touring plans, including FP times.
8. Go to MDE to select the FPs and times for the people in your group, based on the FP times in the RideMax schedule.

Sounds like a lot of planning, but really it only takes about 2 hours (plus the time reading the Unofficial Guide), and will save you lots of time in line, and you'll get to see the rides you want to see, without a lot of backtracking.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions.

 

[lroger01]

My suggestion is to take a pre-trip with the entire group. Go to the zoo or a museum, flea market, or something else that is mostly walking and looking. This will give you an idea how everyone might tour together. You'll know if grandma insists on stopping for coffee every hour for example. Your group will only tour as fast as it's slowest member. This practice trip will help you determine who that is.

Try and split up at least once during the practice trip to see how agreeable the group is to do that. Once at Disney it will help everyone if some get tired and are willing to go back to the hotel (and can find their way back) and let you keep touring. If not, then either everyone goes back, or the tired ones continue on somehow. With a group that size, tired, sick, hot or just don't want to, can easily happen only an hour after you arrive at a park.

Lastly, be willing to enjoy everything you get to do, and try not to worry about, or miss the things you don't. Four days is technically a short trip and you might not even make it to every area of each park. You can still have a grand time though and what you miss will be fresh and new next time.

The most important thing? YOU'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD