first trip, would like advice on parks

[gobigorange]

just booked our first trip for next year. arriving mem day, leaving sunday. 4 adults, a 17 and 14 year old. staying at art of animation. we arent hopping and as of now plan on the parks in this order...EP, AN, MK,HS,MK,EP..........does this sound about right? having second thoughts on swapping the monday with wed, and/or the tues with thurs. your thoughts? also plan on Ohanas for breakfast wed am.....would like to go to another character meal, but we all decided its just too much for one meal, would appreciate any advice on a couple nice table service rests. also, from this point, what is the best website, etc to get a good plan to attack the parks. we plan on arriving before opening each day. ive looked at touring plans and its not the most user friendly website ive ever used. thx so much for ur input

 

[jar]

The weekend you are there is probably a Star Wars Weekend at HS (dates should be announced in about a month). So the key question is whether that interests your family. If so, definitely plan to be at HS either Friday, Saturday or Sunday. If not, stay as far from there are possible those days.

 

[minnie mum]

I agree with jar. I use easywdw.com to plan which park to go to each day. I also use their cheat sheets for park touring strategies and FP planning. We plan our ADRs according to our park days. Either in that park or at a nearby resort, so as not to waste a lot of time with traveling to and from. Have a look at the menus of the restaurants that you are considering and go with whatever appeals to you the most.

 

[Mikie]

Yay for you! Just reading your post, I remember the excitement of a first visit!

Web sites: **************.net. And easywdw. Great tips and advice distiller for first timers especially. Here at the DIS is great for particulars, but I really like those for an overview.

Your park days sound perfect to me, but what kinds of things do you like to do at an amusement park? My family does a little of everything - fast rides, slow rides, live/theater shows, 3d shows, soaking up the atmosphere. If you don't like all of that, that may effect your park days. Since your second MK and second EP are at the end, you could easily decide to re-visit a different park of even reduce one to half and hit your hotel pool or try DisneyQuest at downtown disney.

For non-character table service, I loved the buffet at Boma in Animal kingdom lodge. It's a short bus ride from AK park at the end of that day. In Epcot there are tons of good choices - I like Rose&Zcrown in UK, Teppan Edo hibachi grill place in Japan and we enjoyed Coral Reef in the Seas Pavillion.

Nothing is too awesome in DHS, but my family enjoys the comfort food and fun atmosphere at 50s prime time cafe.

 

[loveshak22]

Congrats on your first visit! You all will have a blast and, if you're like me, all this planning will be fun as well.

People have already mentioned easywdw.com - it gives a great breakdown of predicted crowd levels and why. You can also try touringplans.com but they charge a small fee I think. I've never used touringplans but have read good things on here. I think some of the best tips we've gotten is that no matter which park you go to if you can get there first thing in the morning that helps you hit some of the popular rides when crowds are their lowest.

Do you plan on using the Disney transportation to and from parks or driving? I only say that because of what options you might have for meals depending on your plans. Do you want to get to the parks early, take a break in the middle of the day and relax and have a nice meal, and then go back to the parks? Do you want long days at the park and then a nice meal at the end of the day before heading back to your hotel?

Since you don't have the park hopper option you'll have to either eat at restaurants in your park that day or leave and go to one of the restaurants in one of the hotels. There are tons of good restaurants but would you prefer suggestions in the parks or at some of the resort hotels, or both?

 

[gobigorange]

thanks so much for the quick and informative posts so far. we arent a star wars family, so thats why we planned on HS on tues or thurs. we do want to do everything in the parks, fast/slow rides, shows, etc. we all love the whole idea of disney so want to take it all in. we do plan on using disney transportation and as for restuarant ideas, we were looking more for ideas in the parks. we hope to stay in the parks all day, but maybe in the middle of the week, take a half day pool day. btw, when we go to ohanas for breakfast wed am, do you take the monorail to MK from there?

 

[AngiTN]

Hi "neighbor". You've gotten great advice so I mostly popped in to say Hi!

I do want to stress that it's really going to be helpful to you to plan your park days AFTER you read the crowd calendars at EasyWDW. Don't get hung up on going to MK on day one, or a specific order. Strive to visit the most recommended park that day. Your trip will go so much smoother and you will have so much reduced stress in doing that it's worth the research.

The May calendar is up and the June will be up soon. Just check back at his site regularly and as soon as he gets it done plan your park days.

 

[Mikie]

thanks so much for the quick and informative posts so far. we arent a star wars family, so thats why we planned on HS on tues or thurs. we do want to do everything in the parks, fast/slow rides, shows, etc. we all love the whole idea of disney so want to take it all in. we do plan on using disney transportation and as for restuarant ideas, we were looking more for ideas in the parks. we hope to stay in the parks all day, but maybe in the middle of the week, take a half day pool day. btw, when we go to ohanas for breakfast wed am, do you take the monorail to MK from there?

Depending on your reservation time & when you get up, you can either get a cab from AofA to O'hana or take a bus to MK and switch to monorail to get to the Polynesian - for bus/monorail, probably allow 60-90 min from the time you arrive at your bus stop til your reservation time to assure you make it on time.

More on restaurants - we don't take resort breaks midday as many do, so we like a table service meal once daily as our break/relax time. In MK, I prefer Crystal palace or Cinerella's Royal table (both characters, Both pricey) but would thoroughly enjoy Liberty Tree Tavern or Tony's Town Square (Italian) as well. Tony's gets mixed reviews here, but we like it

Agree on checking sites for recommended park days, but Monday is usually most crowded at MK and I think a holiday Monday even more so. So it's likely a better idea to keep EP on Monday and MK on Weds.

 

[loveshak22]

thanks so much for the quick and informative posts so far. we arent a star wars family, so thats why we planned on HS on tues or thurs. we do want to do everything in the parks, fast/slow rides, shows, etc. we all love the whole idea of disney so want to take it all in. we do plan on using disney transportation and as for restuarant ideas, we were looking more for ideas in the parks. we hope to stay in the parks all day, but maybe in the middle of the week, take a half day pool day. btw, when we go to ohanas for breakfast wed am, do you take the monorail to MK from there?

To answer your last question, yes - after Ohanas for breakfast you can take the monorail to MK or you can take a boat if you'd prefer. There's a boat that runs from the Poly to MK.

As far as table service restaurants in the park here are some of my thoughts:

- MK: I really have only done Crystal Palace for breakfast. I thought it was good and there was a ton of character interaction with the Winnie the Pooh characters. But like you said in your original post, it can be expensive. But there is a ton of food and for a buffet it's not bad quality. And if you can get a reservation before the park opens it's nice because you can eat and have a head start to the rides when the park does open and you'll be so full you'll probably only need a light lunch (which can make up for a pricier breakfast). Be Our Guest might be a good dinner option for table service. I haven't eaten there. It just opened when we went on our last trip and I couldn't get a reservation. However, it's counter service at lunch so you may want to try it for lunch. Also, for MK you can get to several resorts quickly on the monorail or boat so I'll still give you my recommendations for TS at the resorts easily accessible from MK I am a big fan of Artist Point in Wilderness Lodge. It's a little more upscale but the food is delicious and the WL is gorgeous to just walk around. You can take a boat to WL from MK. I also enjoyed California Grill at Contemporary and you can walk there from MK for dinner and back. Again, it's a more upscale menu but the food is good. Ohana's is also good for dinner but if you're doing breakfast there you may not want to do it twice.

Epcot: There are tons of great food options here! I love Le Cellier. Although I will admit that the filet is the best steak you'll get there. I ordered the NY strip once and it wasn't that great. I also love Tangierine. I was not a fan at all of Les Chefs De France. Coral Reef is also a good choice that the teenagers might like. The whole front of the restaurant is an aquarium so it is a nice atmosphere while eating. I thought Coral Reef was just OK but I'd go back, especially with teenagers.

HS: As someone else said there's nothing great here but 50's Prime Time Café and Sci-Fi are fun and decent enough food. Google them both as they both are themed and see which may be more fun for your family. I'd say 50's Prime Time may have a little better food choices but Sci-Fi is fun for the drive-in retro feel!

AK: This park is the worst for food options IMO. As someone else mentioned you can take a bus to AKL (which is fun because you can walk around and see the animals that they have at the lodge) and eat at Boma or Jiko and both are really, really good. Jiko is more upscale and Boma is a buffet but with more variety than you'll see at most Disney buffets. There's also Sanaa which is in Kidani Village and we really enjoyed our lunch there. It's Indian inspired and you can watch the animals while you eat. You'd have to do this and head back to the park though because there are no buses that take you from resort to resort. I've never had any luck with restaurants in the park but I've only done Yak and Yeti and Tusker House. Neither were horrible but I wouldn't go back to either unless it would just be way too inconvenient to leave.

So I guess even though you asked for suggestions in the Parks I gave you a few outside

You can find all the menus at http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/disneydining.cfm if you want to go through them and see what your family may like best!

Let us know what you decide as you start to finalize plans!!

 

[gobigorange]

you guys are awesome.....i checked the crowd calendars for easywdw and touring plans....easywdw suggest AK on tues opposed to thursday, but touring plans shows it as being the busiest day of the week for AK....which is correct?

 

[AngiTN]

you guys are awesome.....i checked the crowd calendars for easywdw and touring plans....easywdw suggest AK on tues opposed to thursday, but touring plans shows it as being the busiest day of the week for AK....which is correct?

Touring Plans uses computers to crunch data to come up with their rankings. They are also prone to change a lot during the 6 months leading up to a trip so while AK may be recommended for your date today it may not be by the time the trip arrives. I've never not had the days on my trip change ranking on Touring Plans

EasyWDW is a person, 1 man specifically, that analyzes the figures and uses his experience to determine what rankings to give each park.

I go with human over computer
And I like that once I have my plans set they won't change, baring a significant change by Disney (rare but do happen)

 

[cmpeter]

We were at WDW in 2011 and used the suggestions for parks and touring plans from easywdw...he was spot on and I would use him again without question.

For restaurants (I also went with two teens). We ate at:

'Ohana - we did dinner. It was a favorite for the kids and I think my ds went into a food coma with all the meat he got to eat! We had a late seating and after walked down to the beach and watched the fireworks.

Wolfgang Puck - Downtown Disney - we were catching the Cirque show and ate here beforehand. It was fine...not my absolute favorite place, but the kids liked the pizza. We ate at the Cafe version.

Teppan Edo - Epcot - another favorite. My son still talks about the swordfish he got here as one of his favorite meals ever.

Tusker House - Animal Kingdom - we did the character breakfast here. We like being in the parks at rope drop and didn't want to eat breakfast out of the parks and miss rope drop. We had the first seating and it was fun to walk into the parks before they were really open. After eating, we were right at rope drop near the safari ride and one of the first groups on the safari.

Liberty Tree - Magic Kingdom - The pork BLT sandwich was one of my favorites and their Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake was to die for!

50's Prime Time Cafe - Hollywood Studios - we went more for the experience, which was OK and the food was OK too. I know the kids liked it more than the adults.

 

[mrcricket]

I've used TouringPlans for years and swear by their crowd calendars. I've booked my ADRs based on touring plans suggestions. The parks may change some, but I've never seen a drastic change in park recommendations in my years. Can't talk for others, just my experience. I also having touring plans optimize my daily plans and I usually get a lot done in the mornings by following their suggestions, BUT that said, I will make changes to some of their suggestions when they just don't make sense. I have to put my own spin on every plan.

 

[siskaren]

you guys are awesome.....i checked the crowd calendars for easywdw and touring plans....easywdw suggest AK on tues opposed to thursday, but touring plans shows it as being the busiest day of the week for AK....which is correct?

I don't think it's a matter of "correct" as looking at why they make their recommendations. For instance, Josh at easyWDW says that most people start their vacations at the beginning of the week and tend to visit the other 3 parks first, therefore, Thursday would be a busier day than Tuesday.

 

[BrianL]

I gotta tell ya, for a first trip, to me, you should start with Magic Kingdom. It just...I dunno, it IS Disney. The Welcome Show will bring a tear to your eye and set the tone for the entire trip. That's just my personal take though. You'll have fun no matter what!

 

[Networth]

Personally trust when picking parks Josh, but that's just me. His analysis of the "horde" movement makes sense to me.

 

[feltmannj]

We've used touring plans on the past, was a little tricky at first but you can plan all your meal breaks and it will tell you the best way to do the parks with or without a park hopper (definitely recommend getting this).

We love Le Cellier...their soup is delicious. We also like both Italian restaurants and the Japanese restaurant in Epcot. We like Tony's at MK and we always make the effort to eat at Bongos in Downtown Disney. We also love 50s Prime Time, huge portions of home cooked meals. I would highly recommend planning out your table service meals and booking reservations. You can book 180 days in advance and they book up quickly. We tend to book later meals (2is or lunch/8ish for dinner) we have better luck with reservations at off times.

 

[gobigorange]

I gotta tell ya, for a first trip, to me, you should start with Magic Kingdom. It just...I dunno, it IS Disney. The Welcome Show will bring a tear to your eye and set the tone for the entire trip. That's just my personal take though. You'll have fun no matter what!

i would love to do this, but due to graduation and a couple other things, we wont arrive in Orlando til about 9-10 am mem day. that was another reason we were cool with making Monday epcot

 

[imprimouse]

Welcome to DISboards!

most of your questions have been answered so i thought i'd just add a few of the 'cant miss' things we always enjoy.

in MK, for a great lil place to cool off, relax and enjoy a meal this isn't a burger.. visit Columbia Harbor house, its counter service, so after you get your order head upstairs. it's less crowded and the AC works great!
in HS take time to watch the streetmosphere actors, they work the main streets of the park during the day and are really entertaining, always brings a laugh.

there's tons more info and tips, I highly recommend listening to the DISunplugged podcast, they usually churn out a new one each week, but you could go back a ways and listen to some older ones that may contain info that interest you. enjoy your planning!

 

[hddanis]

Just a helpful hint, you're not going to be able to do EVERYTHING you want.. There just isn't enough time to do it all. Pick your absolute must do's for each park and then pick the ones that you want to do but won't be crushed if you missed them.... Trust me, our first trip was 12 days and while we did a lot, we still didn't get to do things for one reason or another (Fantasmic got rained out both nights we attempted it)