Hello, planning our FIRST WDW Vacation!

[thelucky7]

Hello everyone! My name is Mandy and I'm planning our first Disney Vacation. We plan to go in May 2012 to celebrate my daughter's 3rd birthday. I started looking into beginning to plan back in the fall but everything seemed so confusing and overwhelming. We are now about 14 months away from our vacation. Is this too early to begin planning? I plan everything far in advance so I am not sure about this.

I also have a question about something that has really been bugging me. I have a couple "friends" who roll their eyes every time I mention this vacation. They think we are just beyond crazy for taking a 3 year old to Disney when, "she won't even remember it". I guess I just don't get this logic. I don't plan to quiz her on the trip in the years that follow. As long as she has an awesome time that week, I'm happy. My husband and I have also never been to WDW and when I was a kid, going there was like a dream to me. So I feel like we'll have a wonderful time and get pictures and memories that will last a lifetime even if she's too young to remember it. I also want to go while my daughter is young enough to really believe in the magic of it all. So, am I crazy for driving 10 hours one way, spending thousands of dollars, for a trip my daughter "won't even remember"??

Thanks for any tips! I look forward to "meeting" everyone and learning lots of great info!

Mandy

 

[Michelle1123]

It is definitely not too early to start planning! Depending onthe time of year you are going (May can be busy since some schools might be out already) you want to plan as far in advance as possible.

We go to Disney every year - we took my first daughter when she was 1 1/2 months old. My son's 1st trip was 9 months and same for the 2nd daughter.

They might not remember it, but my kids can recall things that happened on trips when they were 2 or 3 that I almost cannot remember. And if they dont remember, YOU will.

No one is ever too young for Disney

 

[02AggieGirl]

Have a great time planning! I love to plan too!

I took my oldest when she was 20 months old. She had a great time!! It's not like they remember any vacations you take when they are that young, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go anywhere

 

[thelucky7]

Oh, thank you both SO much! I really felt like she would definitely be old enough but you know how it is when someone puts so much doubt in your mind. Party poopers.

I am SO excited about this trip. I grew up in a big family without much of anything so DW might as well have been on Mars. You know? I remember my best friend went when we were in 1st grade and I was just in complete awe that she was going. So as corny as it sounds, it really is like a dream vacation to me. Hopefully it will become a family tradition of ours.

So where do I even begin? I got on the WDW website and you can't actually make reservations that far out yet. Is there anything else I can be doing to plan or get a real idea of the cost? I have sort of figured around $5k for hotel, park tickets, and food. Is that doable for two adults and one child?

 

[thelucky7]

I just noticed my title "earning my ears" Cute!

 

[jemmouse]

Many moons ago my very first trip to Disney was when I was 3...at that time the characters all came out in the area in front of the castle. I saw Winnie the Pooh I was so excited this I. Was told by my mom BUT I do remember getting up to see him and he stepped on my foot and I cried. That memory is all my own, nothing else about the trip but that. I do know my parents bought me my first Minnie Mouse stuffed animal and to this day I still have her. She might have a whole in her ear, but she is still the best. We took my son when he was 4 for the first time. It was a full circle moment for me. Seeing the joy in his face must've been the same joy my parents felt. And yes I bought him his very first Mickey Mouse stuffed animal!

Have a great trip, be sure to get the pins that say "my first visit" and also a birthday pin for your daughter. The fun you ALL will have, WOOHOO

 

[02AggieGirl]

Oh, thank you both SO much! I really felt like she would definitely be old enough but you know how it is when someone puts so much doubt in your mind. Party poopers.

I am SO excited about this trip. I grew up in a big family without much of anything so DW might as well have been on Mars. You know? I remember my best friend went when we were in 1st grade and I was just in complete awe that she was going. So as corny as it sounds, it really is like a dream vacation to me. Hopefully it will become a family tradition of ours.

So where do I even begin? I got on the WDW website and you can't actually make reservations that far out yet. Is there anything else I can be doing to plan or get a real idea of the cost? I have sort of figured around $5k for hotel, park tickets, and food. Is that doable for two adults and one child?

I would definitely start with researching the hotels. allears.net is a great site with lots of pictures of the resorts--hotel rooms, pools, grounds.

To get an idea of the cost, go to the website and see what it will cost to go this May for the same number of nights, hotel, tickets, dining plan (if you plan on doing that) and that should give you a very close estimate of what it will cost you next year.

You can book a 'room-only' for May 2012 if you call the reservation line, if you really want to make sure you get the type of room/hotel you want and then add on tickets and dining later.....but I don't think that's really necessary yet.

Our family of 5 is going in Oct for around $3000 so $5k is definitely doable for yours.

 

[forever11709]

I dont think its too early to start planning or do i think your daughter is too young. I will be taking my daughter this summer and she will be 15 months, we would go earlier if we lived closer My parents took me for the first time around the age of three and i remember eating breakfast with Aladin but thats about it, oh and remember the hotel, we stayed off site at a holiday inn, which had a playground, and special kids dining, and a character named "Max" .. I hope you have fun!!!

 

[pepe of ohio]

Oh, thank you both SO much! I really felt like she would definitely be old enough but you know how it is when someone puts so much doubt in your mind. Party poopers.

I am SO excited about this trip. I grew up in a big family without much of anything so DW might as well have been on Mars. You know? I remember my best friend went when we were in 1st grade and I was just in complete awe that she was going. So as corny as it sounds, it really is like a dream vacation to me. Hopefully it will become a family tradition of ours.

So where do I even begin? I got on the WDW website and you can't actually make reservations that far out yet. Is there anything else I can be doing to plan or get a real idea of the cost? I have sort of figured around $5k for hotel, park tickets, and food. Is that doable for two adults and one child?

As stated in other posts, allears.net is a good site to find: value season (cheapest rack rate)....menus and prices and just about everything you need to plan...

Your figure is kina high but you're in the right mind set...Disney can be expensive and it can be cheap....to a point....do the homework, ask the questions and use the Disney discounts...

Also, forget about what people say...we're on trip 45, took our daughter when she was 14 months(30 years ago) and just returned this past December when our granddaughter did her first Mickey trip (11 months)...she had the time of her life, we got pictures and movies to preserve the memories...her first hair cut, micket ears...got to pick her first stuffed critter...she rode alot of rides, ate cotton candy....the list goes on and is unforgettable.....and we were blessed to be asked to go along.

Send for the Free Planning DVD, good overall insight into the world of Disney, parks and resorts....easier to make your choice and send for the personalized park maps and get to know the layout of the parks...best tip I can give you is stay as long as you can...makes touring more relaxing doing it at a leisurely pace and remember, you won't get it all done...go for the fun, magic and memories....

 

[02AggieGirl]

Your figure is kina high but you're in the right mind set...Disney can be expensive and it can be cheap....to a point....do the homework, ask the questions and use the Disney discounts...

I thought her figure was high too but then I started thinking, well she could be wanting CR with a MK view, tickets park hoppers, adding a deluxe dining plan....so that it would be closer to $5k that $1500. But you did give great info on ways to save if she has a budget.

 

[thelucky7]

Seeing the joy in his face must've been the same joy my parents felt. And yes I bought him his very first Mickey Mouse stuffed animal!

HOW SWEET!

Thanks so much for all these tips! I can see this site is definitely going to be a huge help. I'm off now to go through the reservation process and see what it says for May of this year.

I was thinking of doing one of the packages that includes hotel, tickets, food, just to make things easier. This visit will probably be a major learning experience and we'll know what to do differently next time.

We are planning to arrive on a Saturday and the following Monday is her actual 3rd bday. I think it will be awesome to celebrate her birthday in Disney World.

Thanks again!

 

[Metro West]

 

[Aliceacc]

Here's an email I sent to a friend the other day:

"
At some point, this WILL get to be information overload. Just let me know and I'll back off.

OK, first things first. Next year's prices won't come out till August, so it doesn't really make much sense to book before that point. But never fear, there's lots you can do first

1. Start thinking about a resort. There are something like 20 resorts all on Disney property (the "onsite" resorts.) In my opinion, you WANT to be there. For starters, they're pretty cool resorts. But more than that, they give you access to EMH-- Extra Magic Hours. They're time slots when the parks are only open to guests of the Disney resorts. Yes, 20 resorts mean a LOT of guests, but still-- it's not the whole wide world.

Disney breaks its resorts down to 3 classifications: Value, Moderate and Deluxe. The differences in them involve price, theming, amenities and location. (But all count as far as the EMH go.)

Take a look here: http://allears.net/acc/faq_hot.htm The resorts are listed along the left hand column. The fact sheets and slide shows will give you a good idea of the resort and what it offers.

As a family of 5, we're somewhat limited. As a smaller family, you have lots and lots of options. T. stays at one of the Value resorts-- I know C. goes to All Star Movies. D. is talking about Carribean Beach, a moderate. (A good friend of mine stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, another moderate, and loved it!!) We've stayed at the Polynesian (LOVE it!!!) and this time will stay at the Beach Club (both Deluxes) in the hopes of saving a few hundred dollars.

Also, since you're talking about driving, consider the Swan or Dolphin. They run a GREAT teacher special-- something like $129 per room-- for teachers. They're not on the meal plan, but it's a great price for a Deluxe resort. (We would need two rooms, so not an option.)

2. Next decision (if you're not at the Swan or Dolphin): to meal plan or not. The meal plan includes one full service meal (including character meals), one counter service meal, and one "snack" (think bagel or croissant) per day per person. The adult price is ballpark $40, and anyone under 10 is $11 or so-- will Jenny be young enough? Take a look at the menus at allears.net and see whether or not it's worth it for you. It is for us-- we've had some great meals at Disney!!!

3. OK, I can hear the "cha-ching" going off in your head. This is not a cheap proposition. Our next job is to find discounts. We will NOT pay "rack rate" for a room at Disney, ever.

Are you a member of AAA? If so, they'll start you off with a discount of 10-20% off your room. There's an AAA travel agent in Garden City who will book the trip for you and get you the discount.

Or course, we're hoping for much better than the AAA discount. So your next step is to go to the Disney reservation site http://bookwdw.reservations.disney....rocessEngine?startOver=true&gatewayID=landing and play. You don't have to book anything yet, but play with dates and resorts (include a few deluxes) along the way. The idea is to let Disney know they have a potential new customer. The hope is that they'll send you one of the elusive PIN code discounts. In 2008 we got the gold ring: 40% off our resort bill!!!
Also, go here: https://www.disneyvacations.com/dv/...ferrer=wdw&hdrType=default&vcnType=wdw&bhcp=1 and order the free DVD. Again, let Disney know you're interested! (if you do receive a PIN,it will be from Disney Destinations. It could come via email or snail mail. That first time, ours came in January.)

Disney has also been know to run some great specials. In 2009 they offered the 4/3: we paid for 4 nights and got 3 for free. (The economy had crashed, and they wanted people in the parks. I will, of course, be keeping my eye out.)

Disney has, for the past few years, offered free dining at different points during the year. It's normally from about August 16 or so-- kind of late in the summer for us. And they tend to offer it pretty late; this year's dates aren't out yet.

We'll be making our reservations in August, to ensure that we get the room we want. If a special is offered, a travel agent can just apply the code to our reservation. It will take a $200 deposit to make the reservation; the rest is due 45 days (I think) before the trip. We tend to just dump it onto our Disney Visa, so we earn 1% back in Disney Dollars as spending money.

OK, that probably has your eyes glazed over. Have fun looking!!
Alice

 

[Princess/es19]

My grandparents took my siblings and I to DLR almost every year. I can remember some things like, falling asleep on my grandfathers head - he liked to walk around with me on his shoulders - eating at goofy's kitchen, and losing my first tooth in the park. and while I may not remember all of the time i spent, the pictures i have are PRICELESS, especially the sillhouette shops cut out ones that show us growing up.

My family (read:my mother) thinks we are crazy to spend thousands of dollars going to the world instead of a cheaper trip to DLR. But you know what? I am not going on the trip for them. I am going to a place i have wanted to see since i was a little girl.
So go for it! take lots of pictures!

 

[Shimey013]

Never too early to plan.. Shoot for the past year I have been planning how I will become a DVC member, even knowing my money situation is horrible.

Anyway, I recommend you make time for the shows. They are a nice break from all the running around and they are great to watch, they are just amazing. So make sure you check out Lion King, Beauty and the beast, Finding Nemo, Philamagic and there are other shows but I'm drawing a blank.


Also when you are at epcot dont rush world show case or you will miss alot, there is alot there, and lots you can learn. Enjoy it.

Dont overplan your vacation though, leave time to just run around and be spontanius, alway good to have a plan but some time things just dont go to plan. It's fun

Also never be afraid to just go back to the hotel and relax around lunch time, another good thing to do if you are staying in the park, its can and will make your day so much better if you find yourself needing a nap or whatever.

Also Just have fun, enjoy yourself. The 1st trip can make or break your disney experience, my 1st trip was amazing and ever since I try to get back as soon as I have the money. Hope you enjoy your first trip.

 

[kathleentn.55]

I am taking two 4 year old granddaughters for their first trip to the parks in September and I need help doing a Proclamation and letter from Fairy Godmother. I did seen a post on that but now I can't find that again.