Help planning our 1st WDW vacation

[JNBDream]

This is our first trip to WDW and would like anyone's help figuring out how to plan. Does anyone have any information on how to bookfor the Character Breakfast? Also if anyone has been to the 2 water parks Typhoon lagoon or Blizzard Beach which in your opinion is the better of the 2 with 3 kids ages 10,7 and 4? Also one more opinion for anyone, we plan on arriving in Orland on a Saturday. Is it best to check in on Saturday then plan on beginning our WDW adventure first thing Sunday morning or checking in (in hopes that Disney Resorts will hold our luggage until check in time) Sunday and beginning that very same day. We are on a limited budget and one less night would be very helpful. Thanks so much.

 

[eliza61]

This is our first trip to WDW and would like anyone's help figuring out how to plan. Does anyone have any information on how to bookfor the Character Breakfast? Also if anyone has been to the 2 water parks Typhoon lagoon or Blizzard Beach which in your opinion is the better of the 2 with 3 kids ages 10,7 and 4? Also one more opinion for anyone, we plan on arriving in Orland on a Saturday. Is it best to check in on Saturday then plan on beginning our WDW adventure first thing Sunday morning or checking in (in hopes that Disney Resorts will hold our luggage until check in time) Sunday and beginning that very same day. We are on a limited budget and one less night would be very helpful. Thanks so much.

Welcome to the dis. Planning for a character breakfast is just like any other adr, with the exception of Cinderallas castle. You can book 180 days from the day you want to dine.

My kids preferred blizzard beach to Typhoon lagoon. They didn't care for the huge wave pool at Typhoon lagoon.

Little fuzzy on your last question. If your reservation begins on Sunday, you cannot arrive on Saturday and have WDW hold your luggage until Sunday. Not sure if that's what you meant. If you arrive Saturday night at 10:30 pm unfortunately you pay for that night. Remember technically check in time is usually late afternoon, as a courtesy disney will hold your luggage the day of when you arrive early, give you your park admission and let you play until your room is actually ready.

 

[Wendy1953]

This is our first trip to WDW and would like anyone's help figuring out how to plan. Does anyone have any information on how to bookfor the Character Breakfast? Also if anyone has been to the 2 water parks Typhoon lagoon or Blizzard Beach which in your opinion is the better of the 2 with 3 kids ages 10,7 and 4? Also one more opinion for anyone, we plan on arriving in Orland on a Saturday. Is it best to check in on Saturday then plan on beginning our WDW adventure first thing Sunday morning or checking in (in hopes that Disney Resorts will hold our luggage until check in time) Sunday and beginning that very same day. We are on a limited budget and one less night would be very helpful. Thanks so much.

Call the 1-407-WDW-DINE number 180 days before you want the Character Breakfast, ask for the time you want, and if they say nothing is available for that time, ask what times are available or give them times in 15 minute increments.

No advice on the water parks.

Are you planning on arriving early on Saturday? Anyway, you can check in, if your room isn't ready they will store your luggage for you, and give you a number to call during the day to find out if your room is ready. Just make sure you take everything you will need for your plans for that day, as you cannot access your luggage until they deliver it to your room. (ex.TL or BB make sure you have your bathing suits, suntan lotion, etc.)

 

[pooch]

I still feel like a newbie here but I love to help when I can.

If you want to book a character breakfast, the # is 1-800-828-0228, option #3. You can call 180 days before the date you want the breakfast.

If you're looking to save a night on your reservation, you can check in early at the resort, get your park passes and have them hold your luggage while you have fun!! They'll give you your room assignment when you get back.

Spend some time on these boards. There are tons of terrific tips to make your trip magical. The people here truly know more about Disney than Disney does! There are many things to see and do that cost little or nothing beyond what you pay for the trip itself. If you give us a little background and trip information (who, when, etc) I'm sure you'll get lots of info!!!

 

[searlproudbottom]

Dear JNBDream

Hope I can help

From my two daughters ages 9 and 13
Water Park = Blizzard Beach

I would suggest to you the Budget board.

When my wife and I first starting going to Disney World it was 1980. They had an all-inclusive plan called the gold key, I am pretty sure it was 5 nights and 6days. What we would do is take a Red Eye flight from California and arrive around 8:00 am at the world.
We would check our luggage at the resort and enjoy the parks. Once we arrived at 11:00 pm so we got a cheap room close to the airport and arrived early at Our Disney Resort Hotel. When our Children were very young we tried the red eye again thinking we could all sleep on the way. We had a family with a newborn who sat directly behind and cried for 6 hours. The next year we tried it again with the same results. We saved some money but lost a lot of sleep. Bottom line, do what you have to do. There has never been a problem for us checking luggage.

If you need any further help feel free to pm me.

Sincerely
Searl

 

[CrzyGmer789X2]

Hi, and congratulations! lanning a Disney trip will be overwhelming, challenging, and exciting. The only question that I can answer is the water parks one. It's really up to you. Typhoon Lagoon doesn't has as many tall & rough slides as Blizzard Beach, so that could be better for your kids. However, Blizzard Beach has an excellent pre-teens & under area, including ice berg crossings & minature zip lines. Also, the theme can set your mood, so it depends also if you're a winter or summer person. Both are phenominal, so it's up to you.

 

[disgirl]

Hi and welcome!
I am sorry I do not have much recent personal experience with character breakfasts. DS is almost 15 so we have not been to one in many years.

I think your children would enjoy either water park, as I have been to both. However, I feel Blizzard Beach has more "challenging" slides that might be better for preteen-teenagers IMHO. When my son was 6, we asked around which water park people thought would be best and we were told although BB was a great water park that for his age TL would be better. We followed the advice and went to TL and we all loved it. We tried BB when DS was 11, I believe, and he did fine, but we all agreed TL is our favorite.

I think I understand your last question and if money is a concern I would say Yes, check in early Sunday and Disney will hold your luggage at your hotel and you can go visit the parks. Many people seem to do that. We, however, usually spend the first day at the hotel pool and take it easy and visit the parks on the second day, but we are DVC members so we try to visit once a year. Since this is your first trip and you are on a budget I say go Sunday and visit the parks then after checking into your hotel.

Here's wishing you and your family a wonderful first trip to my favorite place!! Have fun planning!!

Sorry, I just reread your last question, maybe I did not understand correctly. I thought you were asking if you should arrive Sat. and wait until Sun. to visit the parks or arrive early Sunday. As someone said before, Disney would only hold your luggage after you check into the hotel. I hope this helps. Good Luck!!

 

[AllyGirl_79]

First, the hotel issue. Some people like checking in later, hanging around the hotel, getting a good night sleep, and attacking the parks the next day. If you prefer not to pay for the extra night, Saturday in your case, you can stay at a more inexpensive hotel on Saturday night (or simply fly in on Sunday morning if you're flying) so that you arrive at your hotel early on Sunday. Disney Resorts will hold your bags so that you can start playing right away. You can check in as early as you like, get your tickets if they're included on your reservation, and then head out. You get a card with a phone number that you can call to get your room number later on in the day.

As for the character breakfast, there are loads of them. Pooh and Friends at Crystal Palace at the MK, Mickey and Goofy at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary, Lilo and Stitch at Ohanas at the Poly, Playhouse Disney characters at Hollywood and Vine at MGM, princesses at Cinderella's Royal Table (MK), 1900 Park Fare (the Grand Floridian Resort), or Akershus (Epcot) ... and the list goes on. You need to pick which place you'd like to go and then call Disney Dining. You might want to have a back up in mind if your first choice is booked on the day you want it.

 

[moorekw]

This is our first trip to WDW and would like anyone's help figuring out how to plan. Does anyone have any information on how to bookfor the Character Breakfast? Also if anyone has been to the 2 water parks Typhoon lagoon or Blizzard Beach which in your opinion is the better of the 2 with 3 kids ages 10,7 and 4? Also one more opinion for anyone, we plan on arriving in Orland on a Saturday. Is it best to check in on Saturday then plan on beginning our WDW adventure first thing Sunday morning or checking in (in hopes that Disney Resorts will hold our luggage until check in time) Sunday and beginning that very same day. We are on a limited budget and one less night would be very helpful. Thanks so much.

Welcome from another newbie! It seems that the first question was sufficiently answered as to the how. Which Character Meal is another big decision as well. For example, we have consistently had a great time at Chef Mickeys and the Crystal Palace meals.

Our two kids (8 & 13 y.o) LOVE Blizzard Beach (and I can't get enough of Summit Plummit).

With regard to the check-in question, I think a big consideration in this is from where you are traveling to the world. If you are coming from the West of the Rockies or Europe, it may be worthwhile to check in the day prior to hitting the parks in order to allow for (hopefully!) a decent night's rest before heading out to the parks. If the travel is not too far Mid-/Eastern U.S./Canada, then the time en route shouldn't be to imposing and same day as park arrival wouldn't be too bad. We live in Maryland and can usually get a good start on the WDW vacation the same day as arrival.

Best of luck and, as another poster suggested, explore the boards as there is an invaluable wealth of information to be found herein.

 

[dburg30]

Any ideas when you are planning this? Reason I ask is that if it's this year (later, like winter time) you may only have one choice of water park, as they are doing rehabs in I think Dec / Jan. When one is closed the other is open and vice versa

And if you are staying at a WDW resort you can book your ADR's 10 days past 180 days from your arrival.

 

[moorekw]

Any ideas when you are planning this? Reason I ask is that if it's this year (later, like winter time) you may only have one choice of water park, as they are doing rehabs in I think Dec / Jan. When one is closed the other is open and vice versa

And if you are staying at a WDW resort you can book your ADR's 10 days past 180 days from your arrival.

The water parks closures is an excellent point...

Blizzard Beach - 1/6/08 - 3/8/08 - Closed for refurbishment

Typhoon Lagoon - 10/28/07 - 1/5/08 - Closed for refurbishment