Help..first time.

[karibritt01]

WL Wilderness Lodge

Don't give up on breakfast with Cindy... if you are flexible, you may still be able to get in. Call the dining # and let the CM check for any day during your stay. Also, if you are willing to go late (10:30 or 11 for a brunch) they may still have more openings. We scheduled late last year, and were full until time for our dinner reservations! You can eat at any resort, but getting to them can be a pain. If you use the buses, which are great, then you go to any park, then take the bus (or monorail or boat if the resort uses those) to your destination. Driving is tough around there, as many roads almost meet, but not quite. Also, maps and road signs are not the greatest. Buses are the easiest, most stress-free way to travel - just allow extra time to get where you need to be.

If you can't get breakfast with Cindy, I would do the one at Epcot (Norway.) We haven't tried Chef Mickey yet, but I do hear many rave about that one, as well. Another can't miss with girls the age of yours... Little Mermaid show and Beauty and the Beast show, both at MGM.

 

[Ariel8676]

We love Crystal palace for breakfast (pooh and gang)! Liberty tree tavern is a good character meal, Princess breakfast in Norway is good (lunch and dinner are traditional Norweigan food).
Le Cellier (steakhouse in Canada..EPCOT) is very good, we also had a great dinner in Teppanyaki (Japan..EPCOT)

Usually when we go ( i have 5,4 and 1 yo daughter's) we pack a small suitcase with snacks and carry it on the plane, but if you are driving it will be MUCH easier. We bring the small boxes of assorted cereals, fruit snacks, cereal bars, crackers, and cookies. You could also bring bread and peanut butter if you'd like. We always have a couple of cases of water shipped to the resort as well...again much easier to take if you are driving.

Another tip which works good for our family is to wake up nice and early and get to the parks at opening...we can normally get all of Fantasyland done in an hour(with riding some rides multiple times). Then head back to the resort around lunch (or eat at the park and head back), then we can nap or swim or just relax, then head back to the parks around dinner time. That way everyone is relaxed and no one gets overtired or cranky.

 

[vatchr]

WL is the Wilderness Lodge (as another poster said) - that is where we stayed. You can eat at any resort. We are also planning on eating at Boma - at the Animal Kingdom Lodge this next trip. We also got up early and hit the parks when they opened. We used the resort transportation. We flew down and didn't have a car. We took buses and boats to every park. We left the parks after lunch and went back and rested up for the evening. It worked very well!

If you are at the Magic Kingdom you can take the monorail to Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort for Lunch or Dinner, or to the Grand Floridian for 1900 Park Fare Breakfast or Dinner. My girls loved the monorail. If you are lucky, you can ask to sit in the front of the car and help "drive." The monorail also goes to the Poly for the "Stitch" Breakfast.

One thing we didn't plan on, but ended up doing was renting a stroller for our 4 and 6 yr olds. We thought they would be able to walk, but after the first day, we got a double stroller for when they were worn out and just needed a quick rest. It was amazing the kids that you saw in the strollers - some maybe as old as 7 or 8. It is definitely a LOT of walking for those little legs.

Again, have fun planning - the best part is being there - but the planning is SO much fun also!

 

[sunny1016]

Any suggestions for which parks to see and when? For example, on the first day when we arrive what do you usually do on that day?? How about last night there? Also how do people usually book a weeks stay? On our ocean house it is always sun-sun or sat-sat. Does this matter at wdw? I have noticed when going through the booking process at the disney site that there is a $135 difference between booking starting on the 15th from the 16th of April.??
So far I love reading everyones advice! I am trying to go through old posts but there are so many it is quite time consuming!

Christine

 

[vatchr]

When we went, I had to do Magic Kingdom first and last. But that is my preference. THat is also the park that my girls had the most interest in. It was recommended to me to do a Chef Mickey's dinner the night that we arrived - as sort of a welcome to Walt Disney world and it was great. A perfect start to a perfect week. We also ended with Chef Mickey's breakfast on our last morning.

This year we are starting with CHef Mickey's dinner again, sort of a tradition now But our first morning there we have 8:00 am ADR's at Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom. Crystal Palace is a buffet breakfast with the winnie the pooh characters. We're not big Winnie the Pooh fans, but the early entrance into the MK is a good reason. By getting an 8:00 ADR, you can get into the park an hour before it opens, eat and then be at the rope drop at 9:00 ahead of the crowds. I'm looking forward to that for the photo ops in front of the castle without the big crowds.

If you do that, just make sure to not schedule it for an EMH morning at at the Magic Kingdom.

 

[sunny1016]

You say you have an 8 am breakfast the first day... BEFORE you check in??? Or do you mean the next morning? And are you saying to have an early breakfast somewhere in the MK, how many places are there? Also what is emh?

Christine

 

[vatchr]

our 8 am breakfast is the next day - our first full morning there - there are a few table service restaurants in the Magic Kingdom. I've never done Crystal Palace before, but have read a lot of good reviews, especially about getting into MK early. You get a confirmation number for your reservation and you tell the people at the gate your number and they let you in before the park opens. EMH is extra magic hours - the parks open one hour early and stay open 2-3 hours late on certain days for resort guests only. THe park hours are posted on the WDW website, just search "park hours and month", the EMH hours are also posted.

Before we went last year - I ordered the book - Walt Disney World with Kids - I got it from Amazon.com and it helped SO much! You don't want to overplan, but you definitely will have a better vacation if you do plan before you go. This book helped me so much, it has answers to all the questions you could have and the way it is written, it is geared to parents and first timers travelling with young children. I had the same questions that you had, but after reading the book and lurking on the disboards, I was so prepared.

 

[sunny1016]

I think i will order that book, thanks. Do you know if anything special goes on during the weekends? I thought I remembered something, but I don't remember what We know we are planning late so we are trying to not get to caught up in planning but I do like to have an idea in mind. We went to Aruba and although I didn't plan every minute I did plan something for every day and we had a great time. We went to the beach with no plan and were bored with not knowing what to do.

Also karibritt01:
Thanks for the tip about Cinderella we will try and keep are fingers crossed just in case!

 

[LaraK]

We also do an 8AM at CP (Crystal Palace) on our first full morning. We love Pooh and the gang and there is something magical about walking down Main Street with so few people there.

On the day of arrival, we usually get in mid-day (fly out of BWI at an obnoxiously early hour) and the go straight to Downtown Disney until we can check in. We have rented a car at the airport the last couple of times we went (we will not ride the busses until our children are old enough to go all day without strollers) This time we are taking the Magical Express to Wilderness Lodge (WL) and then will just hang out at the resort the first afternoon. We have an ADR at Whispering Canyon that night....we've never been, but have heard wonderful things about the dinners.

In terms of my recommendations....we LOVE Boma. We aren't going this year because we're trying out a couple of new places, but that was our first night dinner the last couple of trips. If you go early, you can walk around and see some animals. Crystal Palace's breakfast is yummy and plentiful. Chef Mickey is also yummy and there is great character interaction...plus, seeing the monorail pass through while you're eating is really a cool "all Disney" kind of experience. We always get park hoppers and spend most evenings in Epcot....that way we can get some mommy and daddy time and great food. Our favs in Epcot include Germany's Beirgarten (dancing and oompa music while you eat lots of "wursts") and (believe it or not) the Rose and Crown in England (YUMMY prawns!).

 

[LaraK]

I think i will order that book, thanks. Do you know if anything special goes on during the weekends? I thought I remembered something, but I don't remember what We know we are planning late so we are trying to not get to caught up in planning but I do like to have an idea in mind. We went to Aruba and although I didn't plan every minute I did plan something for every day and we had a great time. We went to the beach with no plan and were bored with not knowing what to do.

Also karibritt01:
Thanks for the tip about Cinderella we will try and keep are fingers crossed just in case!

You'll memorize the phone number for reservations pretty quickly...Cindy's requires payment in full when you make your reservation, so people who have a change in plans DO call to cancel. Any time you call for another reservation, check on Cindy's....just be careful. The breakfast is magical, but consider if a reservation at or just after park opening is worth the loss in touring time. If your daughter is really into the princesses, you can always go to see them over in Toontown (that's another strategy...you wait for the rope drop at Toontown...about an hour after normal opening of MK on most days...and then you SPRINT to the princess line in the Hall of Fame...we walked once (I thought sprinting was undignified) and ended up waiting for over a half an hour to get to the meet and great, even though we were there at rope drop)

 

[karibritt01]

We live in NC, so it is only a 9 hr drive for us. We schedule our resort hotel from Sun-Sat. We get up early Sat AM and drive to Orlando, getting there around supper time. We eat and let the kids shop at the 'Disney Strip' outside of the main gate, and sleep in a cheapie motel. We get up on Sun AM, check into the resort, pick up our tickets, and hit the park. This year I have an ADR for 1900 Park Fare for 11 AM on Sun for breakfast our first day, then we will go over to MK. Our last day, we also do the park until closing, or the kids get tired, whichever comes first. Then we drive as far as possible toward home, before stopping at a hotel for the night. We have found by being there already on our first day and staying all day on our last day makes the vacation feel more relaxed, and giving ourselves the 'extra' days to drive makes it more pleasant.

As for driving, I buy a few DVD's my kids haven't seen before (usually off of ebay) and save them for the trip. When they get bored, I can break out a new movie, and they will sit and watch. With their old movies, they get bored and fussy easier. We also stop at McDonalds with a playground for lunch, and give them a break to run around every few hours - stop at a rest stop and let them run in the grass, etc. I also took Mr Mystery books for my son - the puzzle books that reveal the answers when you color it with the special pen.

 

[sunny1016]

Great tip about spending the night in the cheapie motel. My husband likes that idea too. Its only 9 hrs from NC? Thats pretty good. We're about 10 from the Outer Banks, and I think around 12 from Oak Island. But I'm not sure which way we travel to get to Disney.
Well anyhoo, as you can see by the time, my mind will not let me rest from the Disney turmoil I have begun. I have yet another question(s)....does every meal have to be pre-planned? Are there places you can just arrive at and eat? And I'm guessing that sleep isn't something to be had at Disney?? If we are at breakfast by 8 and then straight to the parks, am I right that a 4 and 6 yr old (and their parents lol) will be ready to fall over by dinner?

 

[vatchr]

If you want to eat at a sit down, table service restaurant (most of the character meals) you would probably need a reservation or be prepared to wait a long time. All of the parks have counter service restaurants (fast food) and those are all just walk up. There are also snack carts all over the place. We usually did one table service meal a day and the other two meals were counter service. So we only "planned" one meal a day. The other two happened wherever we were at the time. For breakfast, we usually ate that in the hotel room - pop tarts, granola bars, cereal boxes with milk, juice boxes - unless we had that meal planned as our big character meal for the day.

As for sleep - we would get to theparks early, leave arund 1:00pm, go back to the hotel and take a forced nap. It didn't take long for even my 6 year old to fall asleep. Then when they woke up we would head back out for dinner and more fun in the evening. There were a few nights where after a good nap, my four year old was going strong at 11:00 pm. You sort of lose all sense of routine at Disney. I just listened to my kid's bodies, and when they were tired, we stopped. Often they fell asleep in the stroller and had a quick power nap also.

 

[wdwdancerwannabe]

Wow, thanks for all the info. Okay here's another question....we haven't decided about the dining plan, we are going to try AAA for more info. But how much $$$ do people usually spend in a week??? I know it could vary widely, but could someone post a round about amount they have spent? Not including your room.

We used the DDP and didn't think we would need a lot of $ if the food was already paid for.

Whatever you decide on $, budget on a per day basis....not for the week.

When we go, we have a specific amount of spending money for the family -- then when it's gone, we can't buy anything else until the following day.

If you don't go DDP, go ahead and decide ahead of time which restaurants you want to go to - look up the menus and get a round about idea of how much each individual meal will cost...

If it were me, I would separate the food budget from the "fun" money...souvenirs/etc.

We didn't think we would spend that much and we spent $200/day for the family of 3 (and we were on DDP).

 

[karibritt01]

I think you said you were coming from PA? If so, you will go straight down
I-95 the whole way. We are in Raleigh. We left here around 10:30 AM, and got to Orlando around 8 PM. We did stop at McDonalds and let the kids play for 30 minutes or so at lunch, and took a couple of long rest stops to let them run in the grass.

If you decide to use the DDP, you definitely need reservations for TS meals. We ate around 6 last year, and often saw people being told 2+ hr wait, or turned away for the rest of the night. However, we did go in June, so I don't know how the crowds compare. We did find that 6 was a little early for us last year, and we weren't very hungry yet from lunch. This year we scheduled dinner around 7. As for the CS meals, leave those open for where ever and whenever you decide you are hungry. You will be glad not to have every last detail planned. In case you are still on the fence about DDP, keep in mind that with both kids under 9 (I think I read that) - you can never feed them a CS, TS, and snack for $11/day. I doubt seriously you can even feed 2 CS for that.

Sounds like your family goes early and gets done early. I would highly suggest taking a break in the afternoons, and either letting your kids nap or swim at the resort. Especially if you stay at a mod, as they have great pools and slides. This gives the kids a chance to recover a little. Then head back to the park for dinner, and stay until they start to tire. You want to plan your day so they are not to tired to see the fireworks and parades.

 

[lovethecastle]

I think you'll find that sleep is important. Napping in the afternoon is good.
If we don't rest than we get very cranky and that is not fun on vacation. Do what is right for your family.
It's hard to resist though not getting up at the crack of dawn when you are so close to the parks. We found not too many counter service restaurants for breakfast at MK.(there is a list of abbrev. on this website somewhere)
Although in every disney resort there is a very moderately priced counter service restaurant that makes fresh hot breakfasts(also L&D)also have cereal,bagles. You can buy refillable mugs in these restaurants & use them for your entire stay.(for like coffee, soda, juice)They make great reminders of your vacation when you get home. (several people have come up to my husband on the train in the morning when he is drinking out of his WL cup to say 'we were there, loved it'.
Also on this website are listings of disney restaurants & menus with prices so you can see what things cost.
If you want to get an idea what the weather will be like when you are going-go to the weather channel website & I think you need 'travel forecasts' it will give you historic weather & forecasts.
The walt disney world web site will tell you what days they have fireworks & spectromagic(nighttime light parade which I highly recommend). Sometimes they don't do them every night depending on season. Go to the calendars.
Have Fun!!