We do have park hopper passes and nope we are not on the dining plan, this is all OOP. Have you been on the dining plan, how was it in your opinion? Also, is there a site that tells you what times the parades and fireworks start and where to catch them? My son loves video games, LOL, I didn't know about Disney Quest, thanks!
If you are planning on doing that many sit-down meals, then I would highly suggest getting the Basic Dining Plan (1TS, 1CS and 1 Snack per person per day). We always do at least one sit-down meal per day and it saves us at least $200.00 vs. out-of-pocket.
Also, the Free Dining Promo this year should be between the dates of August 15 - October 2, 2010. If you could start your trip on the 15th, and plan on all of those restaurants, you would save a huge chunck of money.
You can view the calendar at WDW website and you can click on each individual date to get fireworks and show times. I also like
http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/calendar/parkhours.asp
Here are some other tips:
1. Make sure you have Advance Dining Reservations - it is a MUST. You will be at WDW during a very busy time and they probably won't be taking any walk-ups at the restaurants.
2. Get to the parks at opening. You really can get a lot done in the morning because so many other people sleep in.
3. Eat lunch around 11:30 a.m. before the fast food places get busy. Then when while everyone else is eating lunch, you will have lower crowds.
4. I buy a ton of the two for a dollar ponchos at the dollar store and keep them in the backpack. That way you can throw them a way after use and not worry about keeping up with a wet bulky poncho the rest of the day. Bring throw away ponchos to wear on Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom, if not you WILL get soaked.
5. Other things I put in the backpack each morning are Tylenol/Motrin, small first aid kit, camera with extra batteries, small hand towel, hand sanitizer, wipes and a bottle of water.
6. Most single service items under $4.00 are considered a snack credit on the dining plan.
7. At Magic Kingdom at always head to Fantasyland first, if you are not doing Fantasyland on a particular day then head to Splash Mountain first, then Big Thunder Mountain; at Epcot always ride Soarin' first and get a Fastpass for later after you get off of the ride; at Disney Hollywood Studios always ride Toy Story Mania first, then head over to Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror; and at Animal Kingdom ride Expedition Everest First then head to the Safari.
8. Favorite fast food restaurants at MK are Pecos Bills and Cosmic Rays; favorite fast food at Animal Kingdom is Flame Tree Grill
9. If there are two lines going into an attraction, always take the line that goes to the left.
10. My best tip would have to be USE THE FASTPASS SYSTEM. Our rule of thumb is if the wait is 25 minutes or less, we wait in line. If the wait is 30 minutes or more, use a Fastpass. It is not highly publicized, but your Fastpass does not expire until the end of the day. You can never use it before the return time stamp on the pass, but you can always use it after. We try to collect Fastpasses during the early part of the day and then use them later in the afternoon when the parks become more crowded.
Click on this link by a fellow Disers and it will give you an excellent overview of Fastpass:
http://www.oinc.net/disney/fastpass.php
11. I like the Photopass. You can pre-buy it before your trip for $99.00. When you enter the parks you will see the staff photographers, they will take your pictures and give you a Photopass and you can use that for the rest of your trip. Each time you see a photographer have them take your picture and they will scan your picture. Then when you get home you can pull up the pictures, with the code they email you after purchase, and pick the photos you want on a CD. They will then mail you the CD and the copyrights to the CD and you can take them to
Walmart or Walgreens or wherever and get them developed. They also have a lot of cool software that you can use to edit your photos before you have them put on the CD.
My favorite Disney planning sites are:
www.disboards.com
www.allearsnet.com
www.wdwinfo.com
, staying for a week and a half. I would like to know if anyone can recommend me places to eat that the kids would enjoy and also the not to miss places and rides for them. I've been doing my own research but I would love to hear suggestions! My mom is leaving the planning up to me and I don't want to disappoint the kids.
