Hi, I'm new, overwhelmed and clueless!

[DustGlitterVapor]

Planning a trip for my family of 4 (me, DH, 9yoDD, 7yoDD) sometime this summer.

The reason I say "sometime" is because we are waiting untill the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios opens. There's no set opening date yet, and DH understandably doesn't want to book tickets, etc. until the park actually opens (he has visions of a Clark Griswold scene of us running to the park only to have our two little ones burst into tears).

We want to do both the Wizarding World and hit the highlights of Disney in one week.

I haven't been to the park in 20 years. DH has never been.

I'm torn between staying at Disney in a Disney resort or staying outside the park. Not considering the hotels at Universal because we think we'll probably spend more time at Disney (plus the Royal Pacific got panned in the WSJ).

Where should I start to formulate a "game plan" for finding a hotel, making reservations, scheduling meals and special things like character breakfasts, etc. ? I feel like there is just so much to do and that somehow I'm going to miss something. A timeline or checklist would be helpful. Thanks!

 

[disneygirl212]

Planning a trip for my family of 4 (me, DH, 9yoDD, 7yoDD) sometime this summer.

The reason I say "sometime" is because we are waiting untill the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios opens. There's no set opening date yet, and DH understandably doesn't want to book tickets, etc. until the park actually opens (he has visions of a Clark Griswold scene of us running to the park only to have our two little ones burst into tears).

We want to do both the Wizarding World and hit the highlights of Disney in one week.

I haven't been to the park in 20 years. DH has never been.

I'm torn between staying at Disney in a Disney resort or staying outside the park. Not considering the hotels at Universal because we think we'll probably spend more time at Disney (plus the Royal Pacific got panned in the WSJ).

Where should I start to formulate a "game plan" for finding a hotel, making reservations, scheduling meals and special things like character breakfasts, etc. ? I feel like there is just so much to do and that somehow I'm going to miss something. A timeline or checklist would be helpful. Thanks!

My suggestion is to order the WDW trip planning DVD. Set a budget and sit the family down to discuss must sees.

We are partial to staying on Disney property. There's nothing like it. As for making reservations, you can also do that online. It's very simple. I believe you can make dining reservations now 180 days in advance.

 

[Chkultr]

Welcome,

Are you Driving to Disney/Universal?
Are you flying and renting a car?
What characters are your kids into?
How many days are you planning on being at WDW and US?
What do you consider a priority or highlights at WDW?
Are you into the parades?
Are you doing the water parks?
Do you like to hit the rides and run or stay and enjoy the parks?

Probably a day at each park with two days at EPCOT.

The typical @ MK Dumbo, Carousel of Progress, TTA, Carousel, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, It's a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise

The Typical @ DHS Tower of Terror, Rock & Roller Coaster, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, The Great Movie Ride, Muppets 3D, Toy Story Mania Lights, Motor, Action Extreme Stunt Show,

The typical @ Epcot Mission Space, Soarin, Living Seas Pavillion (Turtle Talk with Crush and The Seas with Nemo) Test Track, Spaceship Earth, Journey into Imagination with Figment, MUST DO is Club Cool!, World Showcase

The typical @ Animal Kingdom Tree of Life, Nemo Musical, Lion King Show, Kilimanjaro Safari, Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, Dinoland (Primeval Whirl), Kali River Rapids, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Note: This is the hottest park. Take plenty of water with you to this park.




I personally would stay on property. Especially is the majority of your time will be at WDW. You can use the WDW transportation to get around and Universal is just a short distance away and the drive is not that difficult or bad.

I would check out the restaurants first to see what and where you would like to eat. A list of the different characters that you would like to eat breakfast with.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/restaurants/

Hope this helps and does not further confuse you. A lot of other people have great information to share on this board.

Edit: PM this person for a great set of planning cards. Will help keep all of your information straight!

Mickey's Best Girl

 

[DustGlitterVapor]

Thanks to both of you for your replies!

To answer your questions:

We are flying/renting a car to Orlando.

Oldest is into Harry Potter, youngest still likes Tinkerbell. They're not so much into the Princesses anymore, but they love Phineas and Ferb!

We're planning on spending 7 days, like parades but not water parks.

 

[Chkultr]

Thanks to both of you for your replies!

To answer your questions:

We are flying/renting a car to Orlando. So I would stay on property

Oldest is into Harry PotterI figured they were into HP and the reason for doing US, youngest still likes Tinkerbell. They're not so much into the Princesses anymore, but they love Phineas and Ferb!Check the restaurant site and look at all the places that have character breakfast and pick the one that fits both the food and entertainment you think you will enjoy. I have been to Ohana, GFL, the extinct breakfasaurous which was a blast, chef mickey that I will bypass,

We're planning on spending 7 days, like paradesI really like the spectromagic parade, voices of liberty (a quick pre show in the american pavillion at EPCOT) illumination, but not water parks.

These are my opinions....
I would get the DVD and get the planning cards downloaded from the Diser I posted earlier. If I think of anything else I will come back and post.

Contact numbers.
407-WDW-DINE
407-WDW-DISNEY

 

[GraceLuvsWDW]

I read that WSJ article too. Yikes! At least he finally got in to Cali Grill and had a good review for that!

The way our trip planning goes is this:

Figure out when you're going (you haven't completed this step yet so this would need to be finalized before anything else is done)

Find out which days you'll be at which parks. Use a service for this if you can such as Tour Guide Mike or touringplans.com

Make dining ADR's at 180 days out. (So all the above needs to be completed before then!)

Look for discounts and specials at resorts. On site is not THAT important, for us the best deal trumps all else. There are some decent, inexpensive alternatives to look at:
Offsite Hotel on I Drive (good deals to be found close to your date!)
Private Rental (using VRBO or windsorhillsrent.com)
On Site deals-check here at the DIS for those

Find inexpensive airfare

Find inexpensive car rental (look here on the transportation board for those threads!)

Then, as your dates get closer and closer and all the pieces fall into place you can fine tune your touring strategy.

If I were you I'd subscribe to as many planning sites as possible to get the emails of the "deals" when they are released. These are mousesavers.com, allearsnet.com and visit the DIS as much as you can. Trust me, the planning can be as much fun as the trip itself and can get very addicting!

Good Luck!

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

Planning a trip for my family of 4 (me, DH, 9yoDD, 7yoDD) sometime this summer.

The reason I say "sometime" is because we are waiting untill the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios opens. There's no set opening date yet, and DH understandably doesn't want to book tickets, etc. until the park actually opens (he has visions of a Clark Griswold scene of us running to the park only to have our two little ones burst into tears).

We want to do both the Wizarding World and hit the highlights of Disney in one week.

I haven't been to the park in 20 years. DH has never been.

I'm torn between staying at Disney in a Disney resort or staying outside the park. Not considering the hotels at Universal because we think we'll probably spend more time at Disney (plus the Royal Pacific got panned in the WSJ).

Where should I start to formulate a "game plan" for finding a hotel, making reservations, scheduling meals and special things like character breakfasts, etc. ? I feel like there is just so much to do and that somehow I'm going to miss something. A timeline or checklist would be helpful. Thanks!

if you decide to stay @ Disney you may be able to get free dining - depending on when you book you trip. Free dining is usually announced in early April. We've only stayed "on site" during our 4 visits as we feel we are closer to all the fun.

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

I like staying in the parks b/c you can take advantage of Extra Magic Hours and you can depend on Disney transportation to get you where you need to go around the world. They have free dining plans during certain times of the year, also, as previous posters said. And also, as they have advised, get the FREE planning DVD!

You may also consider visiting WaltDisneyWorld.com as you can look to see what's available to you and plan your trip.

Good Luck and have fun planning the best vacation ever!

 

[Metro West]

 

[cmunson01]

Thanks to both of you for your replies!

To answer your questions:

We are flying/renting a car to Orlando.

Oldest is into Harry Potter, youngest still likes Tinkerbell. They're not so much into the Princesses anymore, but they love Phineas and Ferb!

We're planning on spending 7 days, like parades but not water parks.

Since you are renting a car, some of the best advice we were ever given was to stay at a disney property so you get your parking covered and drive to each park. Disney has a great bus system, but you will spend at least a few hours total each day standing around waiting for the bus to pick you up. the other thing to consider is a park hopper pass. it's a little more expensive, but it's definitely worth it. it allows you the freedom to go from park to park as much as you want. We typically, will go to MK for a while, then head over to the studios for lunch or dinner and then over to Epcot for the light parade. you can do this if you have a park hopper, but if not, you are limited to one park a day.
have a blast