Hi, First family trip, lots of questions

[flamtap]

Hi everyone.

We are planning a family trip to WDW and I found this board and have already spent hours reading threads. Great resource!

Last time I was in WDW was on college bowl trips with the marching band. This is my first multi-day trip in 28 years and my first trip bringing my own kids!

I have tons of questions, thanks in advance for any answers or links to the right thread/section.

We are planning to drive to WDW from Raleigh, NC. We'll stay offsite the first night, then arrive at WDW in the AM 1/31 and leave 2/7 morning. This gives us 7 full days of Disney.

We have 3 kids, 8, 5, and 2. We need something with separated sleeping spaces so the adults can "decompress" some once the kids are in bed. Was thinking about the family suites at All Star Music, or the Ft. Wilderness Cabins. The price is nearly the same with the 5/2 or 7/3 deal. After reading up more I'm leaning towards the cabins as there is more to do nearby, though we would need to rent a golf cart. (OK, secretly I think a golf cart would be mega fun... )

We'll probably be taking afternoon breaks each day after lunch.

Anyone have strong opinions on ASMusic family suites vs. Ft. Wilderness cabins?

Tee Time rentals quotes about $250 for a cart for the week. Disney's carts would be over $400. I'm worried about Disney deciding Tee Time cannot deliver carts, though.

With the Dining Plan, can you use a table service meal at a quick service restaurant if necessary? If we're supposed to eat a sit-down meal each day, do we really need reservations months in advance for every day we're there?

I have more questions but I'll keep searching threads for answers. I like planning a lot of vacation details, but boy some of you Disney fans... Guess there's a reason there are so many books written about WDW!

-flamtap

 

[Puget Peach]

The cabins will provide some outdoor space for the kids to blow off steam that you won't have at the All Stars. Plus you get a FULL kitchen and the mousekeepers do your dishes!! There is something very calming at Fort Wilderness that you won't find at the more crowded All Stars. However, there is no real Quick Service restaurant at Fort Wilderness. I must say the breakfast spread at Trails End is simple AND spectacular.

As for dining, if you want to eat table service in the parks, your pretty much need to make reservations. A few of the resort table service restaurants are open for lunch, but not all. I find it hugely relaxing to eat at a park table service and not have to schlepp out of the park and then drive or bus to have a meal. There are some QS locations at the parks that aren't as wild & noisy as others. The dining board here on the Dis should give you a good idea of what each park offers.

Hope you have a wonderfully magical visit

 

[marcielm]

Welcome to the Dis!

I have to tell you, we LOVE the family suites at ASMu. The bedroom has a door that will close off, and it has a queen size bed.

There are 2 bathrooms in the family suite, that is also very nice. My kids all slept comfy out on the couch & chairs, and the baby was in a pack n play in our room. This next March, she might get her own "private room" in the closet part of the bathroom with the curtain drawn.

If you are going to be doing the dining plan, then you won't need the kitchen in the cabins, the small kitchette in the Fam Suites will work fine. We also had so much food, we often brought left over desserts home & stuck them in the fridge. There is also a small microwave, and with the fridge they are perfect for breakfast each morning. We took cereal (we drove from TX as well, arriving night before & checking in ASAP on our first morning) and oatmeal packets. We also had granola bars, bottles of water, trail mix packets & fruit snacks (to take into the parks with us). One word of advice, be sure take something you can "grab and go" for yourself for breakfast... I often caught myself eating the baby's Cheerios on the bus because I had forgotten to eat something!

The bus system was great, we probably only took 20 minutes to get from the resort to any of the parks (or at least that is all it seemed). We did go back two days for naps... the boys & DH went to play mini golf, and the next time hung out watching TV (girls napping in bedroom, us in the living area). One nice thing about the fam suites is they are in prefered locations, meaning they are in the buildings closest to the main building. Easy walk to the food court, pool, and buses.

As for using a TS meal for the QS meals... that's asomething that is left to be determined. I've seen people here say you can do the swap, and others say that some places won't allow you to use the TS meal for a QS. I have to say I loved having a TS each day, because it gave us time to sit down & slow down. Not to mention, all of ours were character meals, and the kids got tons of autographs (we didn't have to do any of the lines around the park). Mind you we were there during spring break, so a much busier time than the end of January.

As for planning out those reservations... it really depends on what you are hoping to do for the meals. If you want a high profile place like Chef Mickey's or Cinderella's Royal Table (in the castle), then yes you need to do those ressies months in advance. I can tell you that I booked some for a client that will be there over Marathon Weekend, without any problems, on their first day... however I didn't call until almost 10:00 am eastern, not the normal 6:00am online that I do for clients. Plus this was a group of 12 in a grand gathering, so I got lucky finding Chef Mickey's & a Fantasmic Dining package for such a large group.

Feel free to ask more questions, or PM me (once you have enough posts!). I love planning trips, and having been there with a larger family, about the ages of yours, I learned a few tricks & such (especially when it comes to things like stroller parking!).

 

[disneywithboys]

I am from Raleigh too and have 3 boys! (ages 7, 4, and 6 months). We are staying at coronado Springs. I am a little nervous about the resort. Not sure how we will like it. But we are SOO excited about our trip. We will be there Dec 10-15. We have Advanced Dining Reservations already for at least one table service per day (we are getting the free dining).

We are driving as well. Where are you planning on staying overnight the first night? Are you driving straight through? That is one segment of the trip I don't have planned yet.