First trip- woo hoo!!!!

[CaperBrat]

Hi everyone! Im sure what i am about to say you have all heard a million times on here. Lol. Our dream is coming true and we are going to Disney World for the first time. I am sooooo overwhelmed that I just stop looking at things and haven't booked anything. We are a family of 3 with my then 5 year old daughter and this trip is all about her love of the princesses. We are hoping to go end of April2015. My biggest concerns are dining plan, how to I find deals and even figure it all out??? And how to I find out about all the attractions to know when to plan what??? Who do people book their trip through?

Plus all the other million plans in my head...lol. Any help, suggestions would be super appreciated...I wanna get this booked soon

 

[Hitchhiking Ghost]

Hi everyone! Im sure what i am about to say you have all heard a million times on here. Lol. Our dream is coming true and we are going to Disney World for the first time. I am sooooo overwhelmed that I just stop looking at things and haven't booked anything. We are a family of 3 with my then 5 year old daughter and this trip is all about her love of the princesses. We are hoping to go end of April2015. My biggest concerns are dining plan, how to I find deals and even figure it all out??? And how to I find out about all the attractions to know when to plan what??? Who do people book their trip through?

Plus all the other million plans in my head...lol. Any help, suggestions would be super appreciated...I wanna get this booked soon

First off Congrats and

Second, you are starting out right, find a good message board or two that you like and trust and just fire away. There are some real experts on this board (not me ) but they are out there and extremely helpful, no matter how dumb you may think the question, they will help. Just try not to ask every question in one post, that will get overwhelming.

First though, if you are wanting to do the dining plan, make certain you are aware that it requires that you stay on Disney property. You didn't indicate where you were staying or at what level (value-moderate-deluxe).

I guess I'd start the process by narrowing down where you want to stay. Our family budget pretty much necessitates moderate level resorts and we've been extremely happy with Port Orleans Riverside as a family of 5.

Second, I honestly wouldn't lose sleep about the dining plan. There are no discounts out yet for 2015 and your planned time for travel is around spring break time, so while there most likely will be some room discounts offered, I would be hesitant to expect any free dining for that period. My own personal opinion is that I wouldn't pay out of pocket for the dining plan. There are a lot of threads out there that discuss the pros/cons of the plan that should be of help to you.

Good luck with your planning.

 

[CaperBrat]

Thank you so much for the advice to get started. I'm trying to decide between a value resort or just going all out and staying at the Wilderness lodge. While we will be going to all theme parks, most of time will be spent at Magic Kingdom. time to get started I guess.lol

 

[dmband]

Welcome and congrats you are going to have fun

Personally I wouldn't spend the money on wilderness with a five yr old and/or first trip
Value is very kid friendly and pretty much every other resort is better IMO for a five yr old

 

[CaperBrat]

Thanks for the advice as I am starting to realize that the value resorts are the way to go. The reason behind that is that the boat that goes to magic kingdom from Wilderness Lodge and I thought it would be easier. Now I gotta rethink this

 

[Disneyluv111]

Our first WDW trip is in February 2015. We are just as excited as you are!

 

[MaleficentEvilSister]

Thank you so much for the advice to get started. I'm trying to decide between a value resort or just going all out and staying at the Wilderness lodge. While we will be going to all theme parks, most of time will be spent at Magic Kingdom. time to get started I guess.lol

If you are considering staying at the Wilderness Lodge, may I suggest saving some $$$ by renting points from a DVC owner at Wilderness Lodge. It could save a bundle compared to rack rate.

Also, another thing to consider, if you dates aren't written in stone, you will probably be able to save even more money by going in the beginning of May as opposed to the end of April.

 

[Hitchhiking Ghost]

I think the other thing to consider is, is this a one and done trip? Or do you see yourself returning in a year or two?

If its one and done, I'd probably splurge on WL even though a 5 year old might not fully appreciate it, but you probably would. If you see yourself coming back in a couple years (or sooner) then I'd probably go value and save your $$ for when you can enjoy and appreciate resort time a bit more.

 

[CaperBrat]

You guys have given me some serious things to consider. I'd say Wilderness Lodge will be out until my daughter is older. We are now going between Art of Animation and possibly Port of Orleans-Riverside. But I just saw a SUPER bummer for us...Cinderellas royal table is closed from January until Spring 2015. That's a big part of the trip for us

 

[dmband]

You guys have given me some serious things to consider. I'd say Wilderness Lodge will be out until my daughter is older. We are now going between Art of Animation and possibly Port of Orleans-Riverside. But I just saw a SUPER bummer for us...Cinderellas royal table is closed from January until Spring 2015. That's a big part of the trip for us

Sorry to hear about CRT
I don't think you can go wrong though with por or AoA
Por has "special" princess rooms that might be nice to upgrade to and AoA regular rooms are little mermaid, just fyi

 

[CaperBrat]

So after reading all of the wonderful and very helpful threads, we have decided to stay at AoA and get a little Mermaid room. From what I can tell, the walk is not that bad...I Hope...lol. So on to my next question......who to book my vacation with???? Help please

 

[aylarosie]

i TOOK MY GRANDSONS LAST fEB.i BOOKED EVERYTHING THROUGH THE DISNEY SITE.wE DID HAVE THE MEAL PLAN.wE STAYED AT ALL STAR SPORTS AND HAD QUICK SERVICE PLAN FOR FOOD.wE DYD 3 SPECIAL MEALS OUT OF POCKET cRYSTAL PALACE BREAKFAST BEFORE PARK OPENED-GREAT PICTURES WITHOUT CROWDS ON MAIN STREETaNIMAL KINGDOM tUSKER BREAKFAST AND AT THE Grand Floridian Cinderella ,stepmother and sisters and Prince Charming dinner Happily ever after I think it was called.Have a great time.

 

[dmband]

So after reading all of the wonderful and very helpful threads, we have decided to stay at AoA and get a little Mermaid room. From what I can tell, the walk is not that bad...I Hope...lol. So on to my next question......who to book my vacation with???? Help please

I have used AAA and done it myself
The only reason I did AAA, it was cheaper. You can do it easy yourself IMO, even if you do a package direct from Disney all the way to everyone individually

 

[CaperBrat]

So CAA for us was the same price (we are in Canada) so we are going with. Dreams Unlimited and going April 25th. Now the real fun starts. Lol. Oh my nerves!!!

 

[Shaden]

Keep in mind, deals for April wont be released until January.

As for where to stay, the first trip is just a BLUR, especially as it goes for the resort.

You are going to be trying to do and experience SO much in the parks, that you probably wont really spend much time a the resort.

On top of that, Values are truly great hotels, yes there are things that the moderates and dlx offer that are a little nicer (though I think Mods and Dlx are equal as far as hotels go) ... but I don't know that you will notice them if you haven't stayed in a Mod or Dlx before.

IF you are looking at Mods or DLx, I would suggest a Mod, the splurge on a Dlx doesn't really offer much of an upgrade (IMO) and I really don't think you will get to appreciate what it does offer very much on your first trip regardless.

That being said, when the deals come out, sometimes the difference between a Mod and a Value is only a couple hundred dollars, and for that difference, I personally would upgrade to the Mod, PoR, CSR, or CBR. (POFQ wont have a deal offered, and I am not really a fan anyway )

IF you book through CAA, just ensure that they will apply any discount that is offered in January when it is made available, because it almost certainly will be.

Good luck, and enjoy the process, it can be a little stressful, but its also part of the fun !!!

 

[LetsTalkWDW]

You guys have given me some serious things to consider. I'd say Wilderness Lodge will be out until my daughter is older. We are now going between Art of Animation and possibly Port of Orleans-Riverside. But I just saw a SUPER bummer for us...Cinderellas royal table is closed from January until Spring 2015. That's a big part of the trip for us

Just found this on AllEars.net (http://allears.net/tp/rehabs.htm)
Cinderella's Royal Table will be closed for renovation from January 5 - March 6, 2015.

So you might be OK.

On the down side, I think discounts for Little Mermaid rooms are harder to get