Four college kids and the Mouse

[Scissors4Franky]

Myself and three of my friends are hoping to visit WDW in June of next year.

We were thinking about staying at Pop Century on the dining plan, but we aren't sure about wether we should get park hopper passes or not.

I myself have been to WDW many, many times and Disneyland once. My mother is an expert at planning Disney vacations, and at the 180 day mark, she will be booking everything for us.

There will be two first-timers with us, and coincidently, its BOTH of their birthdays on the same day, so we weren't sure what resturaunt would be good for their birthday dinner. Chef Mickey's, maybe?

Some advice, please?

 

[Shmily1]

We only do PHs when we are going to be staying close to a park. It takes too much of my precious WDW time to be traveling from one park to another.

You can always get your package without PH when you are ready, book your dining reservations, then if you find you need PHs, you can add them before you get there or at concierge when you get there.

 

[CTdiznymom]

Can't tell if you are girls or guys going to WDW. I personally find the dining plan too restrictive. I don't like having to plan my day around my meals and have to be at a certain place at a certain time unless I want to be!

For the birthday celebration I would go with Chef Mickeys and maybe order a small cake. We did that for my girls 18th and it was delicious. Plenty leftover.

 

[MarilIncredible]

For some first timers, character meals *may* be just too much, especially if they are all college age.

I also wonder if you are going to want to do a sit-down meal each day. When I took my DH on his first trip (he was 35!!) he found it kidn of overwhelming and a few nights he just wanted to get some QS and relax at the resort in the evenings with a few adult beverages.

I personally wouldn't bother with the dining plan. When I was in college, I probably wouldn't order dessert so much as I would order a fancy drink (and drinks aren't covered on the dining plan).

 

[Mickey527]

If you are going during "free" dining then definately take the plan. It will be quick service only but I would recommend that plan anyhow. If you are first timers you won't want to spend all your time waiting for reservations then the time to eat, etc... It could waste 2-3 hours per day. quick service has lots of choices and you only have to wait in line to pay for your food then eat. there are plenty of places that are favorites on the boards, when the time comes ask for lots of recommendations. Quick service dining does not include the character meals. the other plan with a QS and a sit down do, but character meals use up two of the sit down meals pp.
Are you getting a car? If you will have a car you can go off property to eat. There are lots of cheap places right outside the gates. You won't need the meal plan and will save some cash.
I would recommend 50's Prime Time at DHS for a birthday dinner. You can have lots of fun there, especially with a group of younger people. Hope you get a good "cousin" that makes it even more fun.
Hoop Dee Doo is also a fun option but a bit expensive. You can get discounts if you go to the 9 pm show. If you are over 21, they have beer, wine and sangria included in the meal.....
I like having the option to park hop. If you are staying at a Disney Resort you can go to early entry at one of the parks and stay there all day, then go over to another park that might have a later closing time to finish the night. Usually during the summer MK stays open later than the other parks but you might not want to spend the entire day there. Having the option to hop means you can do AK from opening to close (usually around 7 pm) then go to another park till 11 or midnight, or sometimes up to 2 am depending on the time of the year. If you dont' have a hopper your park time is over at 7 when AK closes.
I would recommend looking into renting points from a DVC member for a DVC room. You can get a great room at BCV (meal plan never free for DVC but you can pay for it). The rooms have 2 queen beds (Pop has double) a fridge and microwave. BCV has a fantastic pool too. There are other choices with DVC too. I can't get the cost for next June right now but June this year, a week from Sunday to Friday would be 60 points for OKW, 75 points for SSR, and 80 points for BCV. You cna rent points for about $10 per point which would be $800 for 5 nights, divided by 4 $200 each for 5 nights, for a much bigger room, fridge, and bigger beds.

 

[cseca]

Depends on how long you're going and your nighttime plans. The good thing about PH is that you can go to one park in the morning and then hit another park at night for their nightime activities (wishes, illuminations, fantasmic). But if you think you guys/gals will do 1 park from am to pm then there's no need for PH.

Regarding restaurants for bday, I suggest you hop over to the restaurant board. There are reports, pictures, and anything else you could possibly think of.

Also depends on what you friends like to eat or if they are character fans at all.
If they like Pooh then Crystal Palace is a good place.
If they like Mickey and the gang, Tusker House is awesome.
Or if you just want non character meal, Sana'a a new restaurant at Kidani village (Animal Kingdom Lodge) has GREAT indian food.
Boma has great buffet (bfast or dinner).
Le Cellier is always good (you'll hear people who are definitely pros and definitely cons, not very much in the middle).
Lilo & Stitch is at Ohana bfast.

So many options!!! Make sure to get their birthday buttons and wear it throughout the day...

 

[Scissors4Franky]

There are three chicks and a dude going on this trip. We were hoping to stay for a week. Spend two days at MK and two days at EPCOT.

Also, we figured we'd get the dining plan because we are going in June. The parks will be crowded and its gonna be a pain in the butt to get into a sit down without reservations. Also, the meal plan seems the best choice so we dont have to worry about our buget when it comes to meals.

We'll be 20, so drinking isnt a problem.


Also, hoping to go during Star Wars weekends.

 

[Shmily1]

I do agree with getting the meal plan. If you happen to lose your wallet, you can still eat. Actually, that's not why. DS20 loves the sit down meals!! DD19 would love them more if they had pizza and chicken fingers on there. As for taking them to character meals--yep, they both still love them!! We went to some last month and had a blast! I thought they would be too cool to have a character meal, but they were the ones cutting up with the characters.

Have a great time!!

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Are they turning 21? I would go with a longer ticket (so you can go into the parks everyday of your trip) and hopping and skip the dinning plan. You can eat for less than the plan and you can be much more flexible in your day if you don't have a lot of sit downs planned.

For the birthday meal I would do a character meal. Maybe Crystal Palace with Pooh Bear? Or the Princesses? Expensive but memorable. Let that one meal be your really special treat and live on burgers, hot dogs, and wraps - counter service - the rest of the week. You could even pick up some sandwich stuff at the store on the way in and have a picnic by the pool a couple days.

 

[Karenj2]

I went to Disney World during spring break my freshman year, and we loved it! The Dining Plan didn't exist then, and we were offsite, but we did plan on one "fancy" meal - we ate at the Living Seas and LOVED it! Right after college, DH (back when he was DBF) and I also went with another couple about 14 years ago and stayed at the Wilderness Lodge & ate at quite a few table service restaurants (Whispering Canyon & Tony's Town Square come to mind)

You know your friends better than we do - do they like fancy? Are they willing to goof around? Are they pizza people, or steaks? Are they willing to try new things? Are both the birthday folks girls?

Personally, I'm a foodie, and have always loved dining out as part of my vacation, so I'd rather make time for dining than trying to see every attraction... Since you've been there, you know what rides/attractions are skippable. Besides, maybe this will turn them into Disney freaks, and you can make it an annual tradition!