First trip this August-help?

[gabesfamily]

Hi there- we are going on our first trip to WDW this Aug 1 with my two DS who are 6 and 3. Hubby has never been a big Disney fan so I am trying to plan this trip to the nth degree to make it run as smoothly as possible and seem like a vacation. We are staying at ASMO. I am now accepting advice. I have read the newbie threads, and I am still a bit confused about tickets.
Do we really need Park Hopper? Is it worth it to have that flexibility? I am still trying to figure out my Tour Guide MIke AVP thing.LOL Thanks in advance.

 

[Aliceacc]

HI and welcome!!!

This is my first trip in 19 years, so I'm pretty much in the same spot as you. The difference is that I found the DIS last summer and have been compulsively planning ever since then.

OK, here's my take on the big picture:

1) Are you on theDDP (free or otherwise.) If so (and even if not) make those ADRs as soon as possible. Even if you're paying out of pocket for food, try for 1 or 2 character meals (my most anticipated is probably Chef Mickey's.. I think my kids will love it.) Having one sit down meal per day will add to the sanity.

2) Don't plan on doing it all or seeing it all. It isn't physically possible in one trip. The one big piece of advice I took from TGM is this: no one ride or attraction or show or restaurant is worth the whole trip. So if waiting an hour to get onto Space Mountain (or staying late enough for Fantasmic or whatever) will make everyone tired and cranky, skip it. It will still be there some other time.

3) Plan on that daily trip back to the resort for a swim/nap. My kids are all water rats; the daily swim will be mandatory. And Florida in August-- there's NO way we'll survive without a break. So we're planning to be there at rope drop (except for out "sleep in" day) and be back at the Poly at lunchtime. We'll swim and nap and be back out for our 5pmish dinner reservations.

4) I went for the Park hoppers for 2 reasons:
a) it gave me a lot more flexibility with our meals. When I was deciding on restaurants, there were several in Epcot I wanted to try. But I'm not sure we'll need all that many days in Epcot; I think we're more the Magic Kingdom type. This way we can do both.

b) If one park is crowded or just not what the kids expected, we can hop.

5) Use TGM's advice on which parks to do on which days. Why not? This is what he DOES-- I'll be happy to take the advice of a pro. LIkewise, I'm trying to approximate a touring plan. It won't be carved in stone, but I may as well take his advice on which rides to do when if it will lead to a happier family.

6) I went out and got a stroller for my 5 year old. She has been out of the stroller for years, but I think she'll need one for the evenings. My plan is to leave it behind each mornng when we do our heavy duty touring. Then, when we dress for dinner (after that pool break), I'll bring it along.

Does that help at all??

 

[daleswife]

I don't ever get the park hoppers. Reason? It takes all day long to go through one park and most of the time you cant see all the park in one day. i save the money for the hoppers and put it either in souviners or dinner!!!

 

[Elmo888]

The need for park hoppers depends on your touring style. Personally, I always buy park hoppers.

Even before kids, we enjoyed park hopping. With kids, it is nice to go to one park in the morning, back to the resort for nap, and another park in the evening. Even on days we didn't take the nap, we could go to another park for dinner. We love going to Epcot in the evenings, eating and drinking our way around the "world" (World Showcase). There are lots of CS and drink options.

Park hopping was really helpful with TS (table service) meals that we had planned. I didn't have to pick a park to tour based on our dinner ADR (advanced dining reservation), since we could just go to that park for dinner (Epcot has a lot of restaurants, and we seemed to eat there the majority of the time).

Also, if you had half a day left to finsh touring a park, you finish that park in the morniong and go to a different park in the afternoon. We did that, too.

We rarely stayed at one park all day (I can think of one day in our last 8 day trip), and we don't do "commando" touring (going from opening to closing). This is fine for some families, even families with young kids who nap in strollers, but not ours. And since you are going in August, you, too, will probably enjoy a break from the heat, even if you go back to the same park. (BTW, when we went in Jan. 2007, DD#1 was 6, nearly 7, and she napped nearly every day. And this was January, when it isn't hot.)

That said, I would look at what you plan to do. If you plan to leave a park and go back to the same park, you may not need the hoppers.

DD#1 who was 6 at the time didn't need a stroller. I had conditioned her with walking, and she was fine (better off than DH). However, it was January. If it were August, she probably would have ended up in a stroller at some point.

 

[Tam1067]

Welcome!

For a first trip and with kids as young as yours, you probably do not need hoppers. We get them but we also hop a lot and know what we like to do. If you are organized, you can save a lot of money by not hopping. And, if you get there and decide you want to hop, you can upgrade.

May I also recommend that you buy one of the Unofficial Guide books? They are my favorite, favorite, favorite Disney guide books. There's the standard book and there's also a version for people going with kids. What's great is you'll get touring plans, but there's a chart about how scary rides are for kids and all sorts of things you will use. They're well worth the investment.

If you haven't made reservations for character meals yet, do that right now if you want to dine at any. By this time, some of the really popular place like Chef Mickey's are probably full, but you might get into some less popular ones. Then again, if it's your first trip, your kids won't know what they're missing, so it won't matter either way.

As another poster said, take the afternoon break. Plan on that and your life will be much better.

And relax. You will not see everything. Your kids will get tired and irritable. You will get tired and irritable. It will be hot. You'll get rained on. But it's great!

 

[Aliceacc]

Some little things I've done in prep:

1) Cheapo rain ponchos at the dollar store. It rains just about every afternoon in August in FL, and the park ponchos aren't cheap. Remember either a poncho or plastic tablecloth or something for the stroller(s) as well; you can miss an entire storm while you're inside at an attraction.

2) I got each of the kids a fanny pack at www.thebeltoutlet.com The kids ones are cheap (although the smallest one is SMALL!!) They can hold their own sunglasses, autograph book and a small snack (like a bag of goldfish) to cut down on the whining. I got myself a larger bag- the baggalini that people here recommend so highly, although a backpack or something similar would probably be fine.

3) I placed an order over the weekend at www.smalltoys.com (an Oriental Trading kind of place.) I got a dozen kiddy sunglasses (I KNOW they'll lose the first pair) some glow in the dark bracelets (again, MUCH cheaper than buying in the parks during the parades) some bandannas (some to wet down and wear around necks, and one to mark our stroller) and some bubbles to keep the kids occupied while on lines.

4) I also placed an order with www.gardengrocer.com We're on the DDP, but I wanted to have some breakfast foods in the room. I didn't want to "waste" a meal credit on breakfast, and I also wanted us to be able to get up and out in the mornings. I got muffins, donuts, poptarts, cereal, milk and some cases of bottled water (again, NOT cheap in the parks!!!)

 

[Ellester]

If you are not sure you want to park hop (we never do, too much of a time waster for us), don't get it on your tickets. If you decide after you get to Disney that you really do want that flexibility, you can just pay the additional price there and upgrade them on the spot. That way you are not out the extra money if you end up not hopping. Bring sunscreen, it is much more expensive at the parks. Ditto for film, batteries, etc. Drink lots and lots and lots of water, especially the kids. It will be HOT and dehydration can set in quickly. I would check out some trip reports that have kids around the ages of yours. I always get lots of tips from them and I've been to Disney plenty! You can always learn something new from others! I also agree with following TGM's advice. We did that last trip and hardly waited in a line at all. Well worth it. I'm sure you are going to have a wonderful time! Enjoy the planning!

 

[Taja]

Plan on touring at the younger child's pace. Sometimes it will be on foot, other times in the stroller. Remember, they are facinated with things we fail to notice!

You'll have a height differential for rides, so plan how you want to handle that. Who is riding first, who is swapping? What rides/attractions can each child go on? Allearsnet.com has a good list of height requirements. Also, think about what might scare either child. You don't want to spoil their fun, but you want to be prepared for their reactions.

And if mom and dad both want to go on an adult ride (ToT, RnRC, etc.), how will you handle the swap?

Tuck a change of clothes in a ZipLoc bag for the younger child--might not hurt for the older one, as well--in the stroller. Just in case! Things happen. It's amazing how many people end up having to purchase replacement clothing in the parks for one reason or another!

Be sure everyone is well hydrated and sunscreen is renewed throughout the day. Dont forget the ears and back of neck. Summer at WDW is brutal--for me, at least! *LOL* The heat is bearable, but the humidity! *eek* Better to have a lot of potty breaks than a trip to the emergency room. Been there, done that. Not at WDW, thankfully!

You may or may not want to take a break at your resort in the afternoon. Play it by ear--see how it's going. Is everyone holding up well, or has the heat and humidity taken a toll? Will time in an air conditioned attraction help, or are more drastic measures needed? Expect to take one, but be flexible if it isn't needed.

Table service meals are great, but with two young ones, you might want to limit them to one every two or three days. They can eat up a good portion of your park time. We've discovered that, even with adults, we enjoy grazing most of the time, with a serious meal every two or three days. There are a lot of food options in the park, from healthy to junk. And you can always bring in some finger foods for impromptu snacks.

Beyond that, relax and have fun. You won't be able to everything in one visit. Select the rides/attractions that will be the most fun for your family and don't worry about the rest. They'll be there in the future.