First Timers Need Advice/suggestions/tips

[jscf201108]

Hello,
My partner and are are planning our 6 month anniversary in May and we have decided to go to Disney world. Neither of us has ever been and we would like some help in planning the trip. We are on a limited budget and would like the best possible experience. We were thinking of Staying at the Holiday Inn Express ($89p/n) just because it got such great reviews...what do u think? I only know that want to take her to see the cirque de soleil show . Other than that HELPPPPP lol. WE are both in our late 20's and really wanna have a good time.

 

[donald...really]

How exciting. Your first trip to Disney World. First, a couple of questions:

What are the dates you are planning on going?
What types of things are you interested in?
Would you rather have a relaxing vacaction, or a see it all type of vacation?


Here are a few suggestions:

First, do your home work. Get a good guide book and read it. Figure out which of the attractions you want to see and make a plan. A Disney trip is OVERWHELMING, especially for people who have never been before. Know what to expect ahead of time and it will really help you.

If you were only going to follow one piece of advice it should be this: Get to the parks EARLY, about a half an hour before they open. You will be able to do and see more in the first hour and a half the park is open then you would for the rest of the day.

You said you wanted the best possible experience, so I would stay on Disney Property if there is any way you can afford it. This way you could take advantage of extra magic hours, where a different park opens early and/or stays open late each day for Disney resort guests. You can also do Disney's Magical Express, a service that picks you and your luggage up at the airport and transports you to your room, and then brings you back to the airport at the end of your trip, all free of charge. You can then take Disney Transportation aroung Disney World, also for free. This would help you save the cost of renting a car.

Go to the budget board on this website and learn different ways to save money on your disney trip. Sometimes there are discount codes for hotel rooms, etc. that people share, plus ways to save money on food, etc.

The Magic Your Way disney park admissions ticket system is a little confusing with a number of different options, so make sure you know how it works so you get the best tickets for your trip. You don't want to buy a ticket feature that you don't need just because you didn't understand how it works.

I know you are on a budget, but will you want to have any nice meals in sit down restaurants while you are there? If so, you should make a reservation ahead of time, otherewise you may be out of luck. If you are staying at a Disney resort you can call and make a reservatoion up to 180 days (I think) before your trip. Lunch is less expensive than dinner in the same restaurants, so have you main meal at lunch with counter service for dinner.

Get to the parks EARLY!!!

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

The first trip to WDW is so very exciting! It is overwhelming.

Some ways to conserve on the budget: Bring your own lunch to the parks, or your own snacks, or at least your own water (or bring little packets of flavored drinks to add to the WDW fountain water). Disney will allow you to bring in soft sided coolers. No glass containers or alcohol, but anything else pretty much goes.

Use counter service dining instead of full table service. It will cost less, and you will be able to share many of the selections. Or, you can order a child's meal (if they appeal to you) from counter service. If you want to do a full service table meal, plan on doing it for lunch as many of the restaurants have the same menu for lunch only at a lesser cost.

Drinks at Disney are expensive. From water to beer to wine, to whatever, you are going to be paying MUCH so try to defray that cost whenever possible.

Tickets are tickets. You'll want to make the best choice. If you don't pay for the park hopper feature, then you will do one park per day, and one park only. That works sometimes! I paid for the park hopper feature for a guest, and we ended up never park hopping! If you don't want to pay an extra charge for your ticket never expiring, be certain that you purchase only enough days to use for this trip.

Cirque is wonderful (and expensive). Well worth doing though, so go and enjoy!

Trim your souvenir budget to the bone. You can purchase some very nice things (usually, but not guaranteed) at the Disney outlet store at Premium Outlets (very near DTD).

Will you have your own transport? If not, you'll really want to consider staying onsite. Often, you can get a really decent rate at the value hotels. They are LOADS of fun! They also have food courts (the All Star Resorts have the best, in my opinion) which help tremendously in reducing your food costs.

Disney is a huge place with so very much to do, you will be amazed. Do be certain to get that good guidebook, and know what is available in each park. Have a rough itinerary of what you would like to accomplish in each park, but keep yourselves open for the unexpected and spontaneous events!

The time of year you plan on visiting will have much to do with the way you plan your days.

 

[dmwang9]

In addition to what the previous posters have said, I'd also suggest you consider working with a travel agent who specializes in Disney World vacations. That way, you can discuss what you want to do and have them help you figure out how to do it most efficiently and economically. Also, if you're planning on eating at table service restaurants, many travel agents will make your ADR's (advance dining reservations) for you, so you don't have to deal with that particular hassle.

If you do decide to use a travel agency, make sure it's one that specializes in Disney. Vacations at WDW are complex enough that a certain level of expertise is required for good planning.

Have fun!

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

If you would like to work with a travel agent (absolutely free) then let me know. I know the VERY best TA Disney specialist! Drop me a PM and I'll share the info with you.

 

[jscf201108]

If you would like to work with a travel agent (absolutely free) then let me know. I know the VERY best TA Disney specialist! Drop me a PM and I'll share the info with you.

I tried to pm u but i get an error message that says my post count is too low...But i am really interested.

 

[jscf201108]

We are gonna be there May 10-17. As far as what were interested in, were pretty easy going up for anything. This trip is gonna be fun and relaxing, no stress to see everything, just wanna have fun @ the parks and universal etc and then maybe experience 1 or 2 nights of the night life. any gay friendly places u recommend? i wanna go dancing, take her to a nice dinner. most days and nights we can do the healthy fast food stuff (if that exists lol) other than that we havent really though about it... except trying to decide if we need to rent a car....and which hotel to stay at...

 

[OrlandoMike]

I can help with the healthy fast food.

It does exist, you just have to look for it.

Every park has a fruit stand, in MK it's across from the Haunted Mansion, at the Studios it's on Sunset Blvd, at DAK its at the entrance to the safari, and at EPCOT it's pretty much The Land food court, and all around World Showcase.


Most quick service locations will have a salad option or two, some great places to have soup and a salad, look over on the restaurant board for ideas.


Try to get in a big breakfast, snack during the day, and then one nice sit down restaurant for dinner. They are not all signature high priced places, Disney has some great sit down locations that are moderatly priced, and they can be a lot of fun! (Prime Time at the Studios for example)

Now I'm hungry!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Buy your tickets to Cirque early so you have a wide choice of seats. We went last summer and had Tier 2 seats that were great! After the show we had dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Cafe. The portions were HUGE - none of us finished our food. That is saying something, because DH can eat a lot. He ate his appetizer and his entree but he took his dessert back to the hotel!

We have stayed at Pop Century and really enjoyed it. If you are thinking of staying offsite and renting a car, maybe see if it is the same price to stay onsite and use Disney transport. We have never rented a car and we have managed to get around just fine. If you haven't been to WDW before it is hard to understand how HUGE it is and how much there is to see. In 7 trips over the past 3 years we have never left Disney property and we still haven't had enough. We're going for 16 nights in August and plan to stay on Disney property the entire time.

 

[grarsh]

Congrats on your first trip to Disney!

When I went I bought the "Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World," and it was a lifesaver. It gives information about everything, from hotels, to transportation, to cost of food at every restaurant. It makes planning out the trip very easy, and you know upfront what all the costs are, which was nice because I was also definitely on a budget.

When I went I stayed at the All Star Movies on the disney property. During the off season the cost of staying there was about the same as the Holiday Inn express, and you get the added benefit of being able to go to the parks during the special opening and closing times.

I'll also second the notion about trimming the souvenir budget to the bone. I ended up just bringing my own camera, and for souvenirs limited myself to a pair of mouse ears and a photo album. I feel totally satisfied with the souvenirs because they feel special and I have great memories from the trip.

I hope that helps! Enjoy your trip!