First Trip To Disneyworld!

[FirstVisitEver]

Hello everyone!!

I'm so glad to have found this site, there is so much useful information here! It's a bit overwhelming for a novice like me, though. I didn't think that we would get to Disney for a few years, but the timing has just worked out well for this June. I know that doesn't leave a lot of time in the way of planning, but I am hoping that with some help from all of you, we'll have a great trip anyway!

We are military, so we were considering going and using the current offer for 2009 for admission to the parks. As far as I understand it, my husband would receive a 5-day complimentary ticket w/ park hopper and water park options, and then we could purchase an upgraded 5-day ticket w/ the same options for our older daughter and myself at $125/ticket. Our baby would be free

If I'm wrong so far, please feel free to correct me!

But, does anyone know if this can be combined with the promotion that I have been seeing for something like stay 3 nights, get 3 free.. or is it stay 4 nights, get 3 free? I'm not sure what the details are and I'm not sure where to find them, but I know that I have seen it several times. Does anyone happen to know what the details are and which hotels? I'm not even sure where the best place to stay is!

Is there a dining package being offered now?

Is it too late to get reservations for some of the more popular character meals? I don't even know how to do that!

Our older daughter (4) is a total girly girl and really into princesses, if that helps with any recommendations!

I'm such a Type-A planner, but Disney is just overwhelming to me.. it just seems like there's SO MUCH to plan, from hotels (no idea!) to meals (no idea!) to which parks (no idea!) to length of stay (ahh!).

I would really appreciate and welcome any and all help!

 

[summermac]

I know nothing about the offers but I would imagine you can't combine the two. Normally I'd rec staying offsite b/c of that but with it being your first time, I think you need to stay ONSITE for first time.

It is not too late for ADRs b/c they've changed it now and you're only allowed to book 90 days ahead of time. So you're good on that.

You should maybe pick up a guide book to look over. Lots of recs are for "The Unofficial Guide to WDW" so I'd start there. But the boards here are great too!

When in June? We are going then too!

 

[RMulieri]

The promotion is buy 4 nights get 3 free.Not sure if you can combine the military offer with it though.Usually with Disney promotions you can not combine them.For instance you can't get the 40% discount (random person specific mailers that not everyone gets), and the 4/3 deal.As for the dining pkg, you can purchase a dining pkg ,as part of your resort pkg.You can not purchase it separately and if you are staying at Shades of Green , I don't think you are eligible for the dining plan since it must be a disney owned resort.It is not part of the 4/3 deal.If you are asking about the free dining promotion, it has not yet been offered for 2009 and is not for June anyway.Even then the rules of can't combine discounts apply.

 

[summermac]

There are dining packages available, I believe there's three options.
More info:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-dining-plan.htm

In order to book ADRs, you call their dining line and do it. I think the # is (407) WDW-DINE. Yep:
Dining Reservations can be made at all of the Disney World Table Service Restaurants 180 days in advance. Guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort can make all of their dining reservations for the length of their stay (up to 10 days in advance) at 180 days from their arrival date. To make a dining reservation call 407-WDW-DINE.

That 180 is incorrect though, it's now 90. If you are staying offsite, then you must call and maked ADRs for each day when that 90 day window opens OR wait until it's open for the entire trip and call. I think. Don't quote me on that one. LOL!

 

[angiejg]

Welcome!

As someone else said, it is not too late for character meals because you can't book yet (90 days out).

I, too, was overwhelmed in planning our first trip. Now I feel like an expert! I do suggest buying The Unofficial Guide and then asking your questions here. I never would have made it without my DIS advice!

As for your girly girl, you MUST do the princess meal at Norway in Epcot. We did the castle and it was fun, but we met several princesses at Norway and liked the individual attention more.

Other favorite character meals of ours (DS4 and DD9 on our first trip) were O'hana's at the Polynesian and Chef Mickey's.

I'm not sure where you are staying, but we have stayed deluxe and moderate and prefer the moderate resorts. It saves us money, but they are all very well done and themed.

Hope that helps some!

Angie

 

[angiejg]

A couple more things I just thought of:

Make sure you do make dining reservations. You won't get in to any sit down restaurants without them. Even if you make them and change your mind, at least you have them.

We stayed 5 days our first trip and wished we would have had one more day. The next time we stayed 6 and wished we had one more day! This trip (in June also) we are staying 7! I wouldn't advise anything under 5.

Angie

 

[FirstVisitEver]

Wow, thank you so much everyone!

We were thinking of staying 8 days, 7 nights.

Is everyone's advice to pick the resort first, THEN plan which park what days, and THEN plan meals?

I was considering the Polynesian.. but does anyone have any specific family-friendly hotels they love? I know there's another forum here for that, but I figured I'd throw it in there!

I'm trying not to get overwhelmed.. I just wonder if the 'park hopping' and going from one place to another for meals is stressful when you have young kids. I'm sure you've all been there done that, please tell me it's not as bad as it sounds :O).

When you have an infant, do you just hold them when you use the bus/monorail/ferry?

 

[angiejg]

We found park hopping to be stressful and hot in June. Last time we slept late, played at the pool, then cleaned up and went to the parks for the evening. That may not work with a baby though. Anyway, burning the candle at both ends will NOT work. We tried getting up early, going back to the resort, then going again, but by about day 3 everyone was cranky. For our family, the evenings work best and we are not park hopping this trip.

We choose our resort first, then look at the extra magic hours for the evenings and plan our park days around that. We do always start with Magic Kingdom on our first day and end with Magic Kingdom on our last though. It's just magical that way! DD and I cried as we left MK at 1:00 am on our last night last year! And we plan our meals based on what our park plans are. Don't schedule too many sit down meals or you will be tied to your dining too much. The first trip we had a sit down everyday, but last time we did mostly counter service or ate at our resort. We did do a couple of sit down. We never miss doing a character meal too.

As for resorts, we loved Port Orleans Riverside. We have also stayed at French Quarter, but you can use both pools if you stay at either. And there is a boat to Downtown Disney which is a nice touch. We only stayed one night at Coronado Springs, so I can't help much there. It seemed spread out to us. This trip we are choosing Caribbean Beach.

And you can hold your baby on the monorail, bus, etc. There aren't any seat belts.

Hope that helps more!
Angie

 

[angiejg]

The Polynesian is VERY baby friendly. You cannot beat the monorail with little ones. And it is gorgeous. Plus you could do O'hana's for dinner and/or a character breakfast right there. If you don't mind paying deluxe prices I'd go for the Poly. We loved it, but as our kids get bigger (6 and 11), we can rough it with the buses at the moderates!

Angie

 

[FirstVisitEver]

Thank you again, everyone! So helpful!!

I did call and you cannot combine the military rate with the stay 4 nights, get 3 free. Which is fine.. it never hurts to ask, though!

I think it's going to be the Polynesian.. I found a thread with a ton of photos and it woo'ed me ;o).

For 8 nights (without the stay 4 nights get 3 free, so that we can get the military ticket discount), she quoted me $2972 with the dining plan (one quick service, one sit down, one snack). Without the dining plan, it would be $2240. Does it seem to make more sense to get the dining plan? I know the meals can add up really quickly, and our 4 year old never misses a meal!

The park-hopper and water park tickets would only be $300 for the three of us. I am assuming it works out cheaper this way than doing the stay 4 nights get 3 free and then paying full price for tickets. So with the tickets, it would be $3220. We'll be driving, so there is no airfare.

There is only one other problem. The military tickets are for 5 days. What are regular park-hopper tickets for? Then it would be a little pointless to stay 8 days, unless there was somewhere else to go or something else to do :O). Then again, we could spend the first day at the hotel and the last day. Hmmm!

Does this seem like a reasonable deal? Or should I keep looking? We won't be going again anytime soon, so I don't mind the splurge - but I also want the best DEAL possible! :O)

I just feel like once I have THIS out of the way, I can plan the REALLY fun stuff!

 

[summermac]

Did you have her price out the 4/3 deal as well? I think I'd do that too just for comparison's sake.

Right now you're at: $3222.17

I'd be interested in seeing what the package would cost done as a 4/3 deal.

As for dining, it seems most on here recommend it. But it all depends on your family's eating habits. Also, keep in mind that the character meals are a bit pricier and many require 2 TS credits.

When it comes to the dining plan (and I did not know this until here) you are just given all your credits at once and you can spend them however you see fit. So if you want to use up nothing but snacks on day one, so be it. KWIM? So one day you could eat TWO counter service meals and the next day two table service meals (like a breakfast and then a lunch). Is that making sense?

We're staying offsite b/c we have a large party so the DDP isn't even an option for us. I hadn't quite decided if it was "worth" it or not but as I said, many here do think it is, if nothing else for the fact that you just don't have to worry about a bill when you get home and all that. LOL!

Oh and another thing to keep in mind - tips ARE not included. (I guess they used to be.)

 

[summermac]

Man you could really score a sweet villa/condo for that price. But since it's your first visit, I stick to my thoughts that you should stay onsite. That being said, we are renting a 5 BR villa for $1300 for our visit. Just throwing that out there. And I am pretty sure you could still use the military ticket thing.

Man, I don't know that I could "justify" the price for the trip even if it is my first visit. I'm waaaay too all about saving money to spend on the trip. You could probably pull off even a 10-14 day visit and have even more time to enjoy all aspects of the world (not just the theme parks) if you went offsite for the price you were quoted for accomodations alone.

Okay, shutting up now. Enjoy your first VISIT EVER!!!!

Oh and one more thing, are you sure you can't do the 4/3 for the accomodations and then get the tickets upon arrival? I don't think you can book the entire package together (military + 4/3) but I assumed you could do accomodations alone. Maybe not though.

 

[FirstVisitEver]

Ahh.. now I'm second guessing myself :O). Can you point me in the right direction to get more info. about staying off-site? I just don't want it to be too complicated to GET places, that's all. And having some restaurants right there is convenient, too. But I'm totally open-minded!

You have to get tickets ON your military base, so you can't get them when you're there. :O(

 

[angiejg]

I'm not sure about the pricing, but that seems like a good deal to me for the Poly for 7 nights. I'd check the 4/3 thing if I were you. We loved the Poly but I can't remember what we paid. I was like you. I wanted it to be perfect for our first experience. I know you'll love the convenience and atmosphere.

As far as what to do with 8 days, I think you'll want to do MK a couple of times and maybe Epcot. It seems like all the time in the world, but it really goes fast.

Angie

 

[angiejg]

No! Don't stay offsite with a baby and a four year old on your first visit! I know some will disagree with me, but you'll love the Poly. It's magical!

Angie

 

[FirstVisitEver]

Did you have her price out the 4/3 deal as well? I think I'd do that too just for comparison's sake.

Right now you're at: $3222.17

I'd be interested in seeing what the package would cost done as a 4/3 deal.

As for dining, it seems most on here recommend it. But it all depends on your family's eating habits. Also, keep in mind that the character meals are a bit pricier and many require 2 TS credits.

When it comes to the dining plan (and I did not know this until here) you are just given all your credits at once and you can spend them however you see fit. So if you want to use up nothing but snacks on day one, so be it. KWIM? So one day you could eat TWO counter service meals and the next day two table service meals (like a breakfast and then a lunch). Is that making sense?

Hmm.. I THINK that I get that. Math was never my specialty.. hehe. I think the dining plan will be a must for us, though. If our daughter was picky or didn't mind missing meals or grabbing something quick, we probably wouldn't get it. But she's an eater and we'll need breaks anyway to feed Miss. Priss :O).

I do need to get the quote for the 4/3 without the military tickets, but some little people were waking up. I have to call back later!

I COULD cut it down to 7 nights or even 6, and that would knock off $250-$500. Especially since we'll only have 5 days in the parks.

 

[summermac]

Or bring your tickets, I meant. Just meant not booking the tickets w/ the accomodations. LOL! But that isn't an option I don't think after rereading the 4/3 deal on WDW.com

Yeah, I know all about 2nd guessing. I'm still debating doing the 4/3 deal and not staying offsite. I just keep reminding myself that we are all going to have our own rooms and the space and the private pool + resort pool. We can only afford a value resort (well let me rephrase that, I'm too cheap for anything else) and 4 ppl (two kids -5 & 2) is just a little bit crowded in a double bed room. I even posted on the Orlando & other board about my dilemma in rethinking. Go check it out.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2056638

And honestly, 25% of me still wants to go onsite.

 

[summermac]

Oh and yeah, I still say stay onsite for your first visit!!!!! If you can afford it, do not cut down your visit. There's way more to do than just the parks!!!! That's an order!

 

[FirstVisitEver]

Hmm.. I THINK that I get that. Math was never my specialty.. hehe. I think the dining plan will be a must for us, though. If our daughter was picky or didn't mind missing meals or grabbing something quick, we probably wouldn't get it. But she's an eater and we'll need breaks anyway to feed Miss. Priss :O).

I do need to get the quote for the 4/3 without the military tickets, but some little people were waking up. I have to call back later!

I COULD cut it down to 7 nights or even 6, and that would knock off $250-$500. Especially since we'll only have 5 days in the parks.

Oh, I should have added.. the hotel is about $250/night.. so the buy 4 get 3 free would be about $1000, plus the dining plan and full-price for park tickets.

 

[FirstVisitEver]

Or bring your tickets, I meant. Just meant not booking the tickets w/ the accomodations. LOL! But that isn't an option I don't think after rereading the 4/3 deal on WDW.com

Yeah, I know all about 2nd guessing. I'm still debating doing the 4/3 deal and not staying offsite. I just keep reminding myself that we are all going to have our own rooms and the space and the private pool + resort pool. We can only afford a value resort (well let me rephrase that, I'm too cheap for anything else) and 4 ppl (two kids -5 & 2) is just a little bit crowded in a double bed room. I even posted on the Orlando & other board about my dilemma in rethinking. Go check it out.

And honestly, 25% of me still wants to go onsite.

I think what she meant is that we CAN do the 4/3, but THEN we CAN'T get the military discount for tickets. Not sure how they'd know, but I guess they would!

But, if our tickets are only good in park for 5 days, should I cut the trip down to 7 nights? That seems to make more sense, then we'd have the day we get there and the day we leave to just hang out in the hotel.. I think.

Thanks for the link, checking it out now! I know that we won't be going back for a LONG time and there's a chance that we'll be moving to CA, where we can take day trips to Disneyland (I know, not the same!). So splurging like this is really a very rare trip and probably won't happen again for a few years.

And it's really not my fault, the Polynesian picture thread totally did me in!!