First trip to WDW for all of us and OVERWHELMED!

[maprn05]

Good morning everyone! We are planning our fist trip ever to WDW for all of us! Myself (40), DH (41), DS (14), DD#1 (11), DD#2 (4) and my mom (I know better than to list her age ). We are traveling during the kids Fall Break and will be driving in from TN on October 8th and staying until October 13th. We already have our reservations at the AoA with a 6 day PH option and the dining plan. I'm just overwhelmed in trying to plan which park to go to on which day and trying to fit in where the kids want to eat each night. Needless to say, I'm wide open to suggestions from those of you who are seasoned Disney vets!

Thanks!

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I know the feeling! When I planned my first trip for my family I joined Touringplans.com. They have a crowd calendar which tells you which park to go to which day. This really helped us plan our ADRs and minimize our time in line. We also followed their park touring plans because we wanted to see/do/ride everything and did not know how to fit it all in. People who go to the parks all the time don't need touring plans...they know their way around and know what they like. As a newbie I found the plans very worth it! You can get a discount code for the subscription on the mousesavers.com website.

Another thing I always tell first timers: If you are at all interested in photopass prepurchase the photopass cd for $99 before your trip. It saves you $50. Then go to the stitchkingdom.com site and read all about photopass - where to find the photographers, magic shots, etc so you get the most bang for your buck.

Have a blast planning!

 

[songkat]

Before my first big trip, I devoured the Birnbaum Guide to the parks. It really gave some helpful, interesting hints (like in Epcot's World Showcase, start your journey to the various countries on the left in Mexico and make your way around; in attraction cues, use the left ones). I don't know how current those two suggestions are, but they've worked for me in all my trips.

As for which park to visit on which day, it seems to change depending on when you go and what's going on. I think you're visiting during a time that may not be too busy, but if you can afford the extra money, definitely check out the Not So Scary Mickey Halloween at the Magic Kingdom. For the extra money, you can stay in the park longer, partake of trick or treating, special shows/fireworks/parades, and in general enjoy the fun of trying to figure out who is a cast member and who is a guest - since everyone is dressed in costume!

For dining, the best hint I can say is to not plan a huge meal for lunch and dinner; we did that once and ended up barely touching our dinners (and wasting a lot of money) because we were full from our lunch. Go light for two of your meals and then make one of them larger or more fun. As for where to go, it depends on what your family likes. If you want character meals, plan ahead and make reservations. In general, I've never had a bad meal at any of the parks.

Above all, enjoy, have fun, relax, and welcome to the Disney mania! I'm sure this will not be your only trip.

 

[akclayton]

The park hours usually come out 6 months prior and same for the openings to book most ADRs for eating choices. Since you aren't going in a hugely crowded time, doing it ASAP isn't that important. I would have an idea of where you want to eat though. Once the park schedule comes out, look at that and determine which parks you will visit. I've read where a lot of people go to the parks that came off of the Early Magic Hours the day before. The EMH parks will have bigger crowds. You won't need the EMH during your visit in order to see everything IMO. Also, when you book your dining options, make sure to make the ADRs based on the park or area that you will be visiting that day. It's much less of a hassell when your dining spots are in close proximity to your days activities. Less stress on you trying to get to places on time. I also agree with a previous poster who recommended doing only 1 big table service a day. Also, take a resort rest day. Relax around the park or go to DTD and do some shopping.

Once your 6 month point hits, start looking into parks and what days to do what and then post proposed itineraries on here and everyone will gladly give you their opinion on what to change, etc.

Good Luck, have fun!

 

[yensidgirl]

We are in the same boat. All first timers (DH went when he was young though) and I've stayed on property and visited downtown disney but I was there for work and had no free time for anything else. That being said, our family of 5 will venture to WDW for the first time in November.

I feel incredibly overwhelmed by the amount of information available and options for everything. I have found these boards and will agree with the person who mentioned the touringplans.com site. The crowd calendar there projects the attendance at the park on the days you will be there and helps to direct you in which parks have the best overall attendance for visiting on which day and the parks to avoid if possible. It has helped ease my anxiety tremendously since we are going during the peak holiday time over Thanksgiving.

From what I've read and heard from others, I believe the dates you have chosen are going to be ideal for being in the parks. I think being armed with a plan is a great idea but also maintaining the attitude that, more than likely, your trip will not go exactly according to plan so the ability to be flexible and just enjoy the fact that you are there experiencing your first ever trip will be key in your overall experience. (I'm going to have to keep this in mind myself)

Enjoy!

 

[Metro West]

 

[goof4ever]

I am also in TN and I plan my WDW vacations as many times a year as possible. I was there at the end of January and now looking forward to May as my next trip. Each trip is never the same when it comes to how I get there, where I stay and what we do. The best advice is to get input from every family member. Watch videos about rides and dining experiences and read these boards for reviews. Your trip will be exciting and filled with memories not matter what you end up planning.

 

[txnana]

My steps: print out calendar of park times, show times at all the parks on kennythepirate dot com. Decide on table service meals from the menus on allears dot com. Decide on meal times from the decision to eat early (5pm) and return to a park, Or finish a park and eat later (8pm). Make ADR's at the 180 + 10 date. Then let everyone choose one or two must do's at each park and schedule those to coincide with fast passes, so everybody is happy at the end of the day. Rinse, and repeat for every park day allowing some time to just ride the monorail around to see the resorts - especially for your mom! I am a grandmother getting ready for a food and wine festival trip with a good friend and we plan to spend an afternoon on the monorail and shopping at the resorts.
Order the dvd and the maps from Disney for free to allow everyone to become Disneyfied and knowledgeable before the trip.

 

[gokdog]

Our family just did "The World" for the first time this past December, also with the Dining plan and loved it.

Tons of websites out there obviously, but just to add another, my DW and I both love Josh's easywdw.com

The Dining plan does require some serious planning and I would highly recommend doing that and having dinner reservations during your stay, it helped us immensely.

I originally also had the PH option, but is not quite as easy as at Disneyland, due to a few factors, but mostly the distance between the parks just makes it harder. After having a few people look at our plan, we noticed we really we not hopping until the 5th day of our 10 day stay and then only one other time, hardly worth the $350 cost.

At Disneyland, we took advantage of Magic Morning at every opportunity, but longer hours, both pre-open and post close at WDW often draw huge crowds and many recommend going to the other parks that day. Touringplans, as previous posters have recommended and other sites, including the one linked above offer recommended days, something I strongly suggest.

Most of all, build in plenty of time to travel from destination to destination and relax and enjoy yourself, do not overdo it.

Cheers,

 

[tomgreen41]

Yeah, it is a bit overwhelming. I'm planning a trip for 1 year from now and just getting started on the research. Disboards has and will be a great help over the next year. My first question is:

What are all the Disney-based theme parks in Orlando? I know there's WDW and Epcott Center (I have no idea what this is). Anyone know a good newbie guide that gives a brief overview of what is in each park?