Help planning walt disney (world) vacation?

[Stinky2u4u]

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[blessedby3]

I think one of the best times to go to Disney is after Thanksgiving and thru the first couple of weeks of December. Since you are homeschooled this shouldnt be a problem. I just pull our kids out of school and we go in the off times. The Christmas decorations are up and they are playing Christmas music and everything is so festive. The crowds are very low so you get to ride more stuff. We went the week after Thanksgiving last year and had a blast. You can also enjoy the Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party during this time. We had a blast at this. It is a separate ticket from your park ticket. They have special parades, shows, fireworks and they blow snow on main street and you can get cookies and hot chocolate.
I have never stayed in the cabins and dont know how the transportation is for them. I would recommend the Contemporary resort or Wilderness Lodge for ease to the Magic Kingdom. We have stayed at the CR and are staying at the WL this Dec. I have also stayed value and moderate, but prefer deluxe for the ammenities.
You shouldnt have to worry about meals since you posted your package has the dining plan (or the one you are looking at). You would only have to get breakfast and if you did stay in the cabins, you would have a kitchen.
There are so many rides that I would recommend getting a travel guide for Disney. I like the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and have recently gotten the Passporter also. You can check with your local library if you dont want buy one. Just make sure that it is a fairly current edition.
If there is some ride you want to go on that your brother does not, there is usually something close that he could go on or he could get a yummy treat to snack on while he waits with someone.
Im sure you will have lots of fun planning your trip.
Check out www.mousesavers.com or www.wdwig.com for more information

 

[The Sweetness]

For the past 2 years, there has been a free dining offer in September. There's no garauntee that it will be offered again, and there was a limited timeframe in which you could book your package. I have not taken advantage of this, but there are many dis'ers who have, and have reported on their experiences on some of the other boards. The DDP (Disney Dining Plan) board, and the Dining Reviews board for starters. You can find an infinite amount of info about WDW vacations on this site. Some will be facts, others will be opinions (such as reviews and trip reports) Read, and enjoy to your hearts content

 

[Donald is #1]

Like if our family wants to go on the rides for older people, can we leave our brother somewhere for just a short while or something?

How many fast-passes are you allowed to have.

How old/tall is your brother? He may be tall enough for the all/most of the rides. If he is not tall enough, then Disney allows a "child swap" where everyone waits in line. Then when you reach the front of the line, one parent goes on ride with anyone else in the party that wants to go, while the other parent waits with the young child. When the first parent completes the ride, they then take the young child while the other parent goes on the ride.

You can have 1 fast pass/ticket at any one time. So, for 5 of you, you could get 5 fast passes at the same time using each person's ticket.

Have a great trip!

 

[Donald is #1]

Also, be sure to check out allearsnet. AllEarsNet This site has awesome information on WDW. It covers everything from the hotels (& cabins) to the restaurants to the parks.

 

[mecllap]

If you're only going to be there 6 nights, you might not want to get the tickets with the Water Parks option (the water parks are great in warm weather, but each one takes up most of a day). We can give you more advice if you tell us the ages of the kids. You can't just leave your brother, unless your folks hire a babysitter, but you can do the "baby swap" at the rides.
You have a hefty budget -- but money does go fast at WDW. If there's any way you can stay 8-10 nights, that would work out a lot better for your family, esp. coming from so far away. You could stay someplace less expensive in order to stay longer (altho having a kitchen can be a big help for a family).
Hopefully, you're not really going in just a couple of weeks (this Oct.) -- it will be helpful to have some time to plan; getting one guidebook is good, and reading a lot on this board, and intercot. com and allearsnet. com is also helpful.
WDW is huge -- even two weeks is not enough to see and do it all -- there are 4 main big parks, plus 2 waterparks, and other stuff. You can hit the highlights of the main parks in a day, but 2 is better, esp. for Epcot and Magic Kingdom (the one like Disneyland).
Use PhotoPass a lot.
Try to go at a less crowded time -- after Thanksgiving and before Christmas break is good to see all the decoration, etc. Spring is also nice; the Flower Festival at Epcot in the spring is good, and you can overlap that with Star Wars weekends in May.
It's good to have a basic plan, but know that you can't do everything.
Ask all the questions you want here; you'll get a lot of advice.
Have fun!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Welcome to the DIS, Stinky2u4u. This site will be a HUGE help to you, just make sure to read, ask questions whenever you have any, visit all the planning boards,

As for a time, I too think the time right after Thanksgiving is the best...lower crowds, value rates at the resorts, so many beautiful Christmas decorations and activities, great weather.

Just know you will never do it all in 6 days. I ahve been there 15 times, still have a lot I have never seen or done.

And I agree, 6 days, maybe forget the water parks for this, your first trip.

Also, maybe check the TourGuide Mike site, (banner at the top), can be a greta help.

You'll love it.

 

[KittyKitty]

I'm from Seattle, and know that 6 days will not be enough for the long flight we have to take to get to WDW!! But that will give you another chance to go back.


WDW is huge. It is 47 square miles, so if you don't have a car, it might take 1 hour to 90 minutes to get from Ft Wilderness to another resort, unless it is a resort on Bay Lake(Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary, Floridian, Polynesian.)

The cabins will be great. You might want to rent a golf cart to get to the lake and other places at Ft Wilderness. Be sure to check out Wilderness Lodge, you could walk to it if you want. It is beautiful. And has a great restaurant,Whispering Canyon, fun for families.

Get a guide book. Maybe Unofficial Guide to WDW. Its huge, but has lots of info you will want to know. Passporter is a good one too.

Have a great time!!

 

[Stinky2u4u]

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[amyminzey]

Well you have definately found your way to the right place! The people here have helped me so much!
Another resource I have found incredibly helpful (which I found out about here on the dis) is The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World by Bob Sehlinger; this book has everything you'd need and want to know, plus it contains touring guides. Also, like another person mentioned, check out allearsnet. Tons of info here with pictures of everything, and it has menus for all of the disney restaurants, including prices. Oh, and on the official disney website, you can order a free vacation planning kit. This includes a video of all the parks (and I think I read that the new one just came out).
If you are going for 6 nights, I would not get a 6 day park hopper with the water parks option. You should probably get a 5 day park hopper w/ water park (or a 4 day ph w/ wp). (?)
As far as the food goes, it looks like in your original post you had included the dining plan in your package? If so, you won't have to worry about food, really, since it's included (someone here will be able to explain this to you much better than I can!)

 

[Donald is #1]

My brother is 4 and is about 45 inches tall.

Awesome, he is tall enough for most of the rides. (All of this information is from my 2006 UG)

• MK: He will be able to go on all the rides if he wants to. The only ride that has a taller height restriction is the Tomorrowland Speedway but only if he wants to drive by himself. If he goes on with you, then he will be fine.
• EPCOT: He meets all of the ride restrictions.
• MGM: He will be too short for the Rock'n'Roller Coaster which I think has the child swap option.
• AK: He will be too short for Primeval Whirl.

Now, even if he is tall enough for the rides, you should read the decriptions of the rides either on-line or in a guidebook to determine whether he should go on them or not. In other words, you won't want to bring him on a ride that will frighten him such that he won't want to go on any other rides. Besides AllEarsNet site that I mentioned in a previous post, I recommend the following guidebooks:
1) Unofficial Guide to WDW World-- Great descriptions and they rate each ride for various age groups from preschool up to adults.
2) Either Birnhams guide with Kids or the Unofficial Guide with Kids

Also, as other posters have mentioned, if you only have 6 days, then I recommend skipping the water parks and concentrating on the 4 theme parks.

 

[krissyh]

In the disney cabins with 2 adults and 3 kids, (me being one of the kids)
The cabin is:
Arriving on 10/10/06 (this is not a specific date) for 6 nights
Adults: 2
Children: 3 Room Type: Disney's Fort Wilderness (Cabins Only)
Park Tickets: 6-Day Magic Your Way with Park Hopper and Water Park Fun and More options
Package Type: Magic Your Way Package with Dining
Package Includes New 2006 Package Inclusions
It all costs $4,306.04.


(It's a bit long)

Is the date of 10/10/06 correct? If you plan on going in less than two weeks - you have a lot of planning. If you meant 2007 - you have a lot of time.

Children: How old will all of the children be when you go?
Tickets: If you plan on six days - don't get six day hoppers and water parks - not enough time. Just get the hoppers.
Dates: This is a good time of year. Not the intense summer heat but remember it is still hurricane season.
Accomodations: If you are looking at a budget - you might want to look at the All Star suites or two adjoining rooms at any value (I like POP) that way the parents could be in one room with the kids on the other side of a door - might be cheaper and give everyone more space.
Dining: Food is expensive at WDW but if you are planning on the Dining Plan you will have one snack, one counter service and one table service per day - that means you won't need much (maybe $30 a day extar for the family) We pay out of pocket for for a quick breakfast on our way to the bus, then do CS cor lunch at the parks and do our TS for dinner. Tons of food. You really need to decide where you wish to eat and make ADR (reservations) for dinner at TS restaurants. Plan on earlier ones since there will be kids. You can find menus at www.allearsnet.com under dining.
I do recommend a book like Unoffical Guide and if you aren't making this trip in Oct of this year - rder the planning video. Also - if you will be going at another time - early Feb is very slow - though weather can be a bit iffy.

Planning is so much fun. Enjoy.