I am so completely overwhelmed.

[Treysar]

OH god, there is so much to learn! I have a year before we go and I have no idea where to begin planning. There are so many board, so many ideas and tips and opinions!

Right now I'm thinking that the contemporary is the best resort choice because of the convenience of the tram, proximity to Magic Kingdom. There are 5 of us, 3 kids, (8,6,6) and 2 adults. We are not big Disney heads, but we want our family to experience Disney. We are staying 4 nights. We are thinking of skipping Epcot and doing MK twice. We are don't a food plan. 2 of my kids have autism.

How do I figure out which activities to choose? I Gus's I need to really start reading all of these boards but it's making me feel even more overwhelmed!

 

[mjkacmom]

Unofficial Guide. These boards are very helpful if you have gathered a bit of basic information first.

 

[mousehockey37]

First, relax.

Take a step back and look at your budget. The Contemporary is very close the MK and is also one of the monorail resorts. So that's a huge help with getting around. Look at what time of year you are going to be going? Is it during the summer? Is it the start of fall? The timing of your trip is going to dictate a lot with crowd size (somewhat) and such, which for people travelling with kids with autism, can be a big deal.

Also, you want the kids immersed in the Disney experience, well, Hollywood Studios is going to be a mess sooner than later with the construction of Star Wars land as well as Toy Story Land, so things will probably be more on the limited side there. EPCOT's FutureWorld is kind of empty, but the WS is still an educational place. Sure, there's not much in the way of rides, but exposing your kids to the other cultures of the world is good too.

If you want to do 2 days at the MK, then go for it, also, don't forget that Park Hoppers are great and you can jump around to different places during the day.

As far as the dining plan, I'm seeing 5 people going correct? Are you going to want to do character meals? Is your family a bunch of big meal eaters? If so, then the dining plan may be something for you to look into as the bill can get rather big, rather quickly. Also, the "bigger" the meal, the more time you'll be spending sitting in a restaurant, so keep that in mind, since you only have 4 days.

As far as figuring out activities, start with what your kids can handle then go from there. The official Disney World website has a ton of information on it.

So again, I'd pick a resort, then start to lay out a very changeable plan of what you might want to do and go from there. With being able to book FP's and getting the ones you want, as well as getting the ADR's you want, those are going to be what kinda bolts down your schedule to a point. So that's a good place to start.

 

[AntJulie]

Yes, it can be overwhelming--decide on what your children would like to do and focus on that--we only spent one day at Animal Kingdom--one day at Hollywood studios--two days at EPCOT (food and wine festival)--three days at Magic Kingdom (MNSSHP)--my 6 year old granddaughter liked AK best (worst weather day--it rained on & off)--she also loved Splash Mtn, Big Thunder Mtn RR, 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, Tomorrowland Speedway, Buzz Lightyear ride, Tower of Terror, of course Toy Story MM, all fireworks and parades (they were fantastic)--she likes Frozen (Anna & Elsa) but not so into the other princesses (NEED a FP+ to see them at MK)--But she did enjoy all the character meals and many were princesses as well as the fab 5 (pics and autographs)--waiting on long lines for pics and autographs can be too much for little ones (we had a 2 year old with us also)--there are many character meals for breakfast, lunch or dinner (if your kids like pics and autographs I would recommend ADRs which you can and should book 6 months ahead for character meals)--we did Akershus (princesses at EPCOT), Chef Mickeys (fab 5 at Contemporary resort), Hollywood & Vine at HS (Disney JR--Jake, Handy Manny, Doc McStuffins, Sofia), Tusker House at AK (Donald, Mickey, Daisy, Goofy), 1900 Park Fare at Grand Floridian Resort (Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, both stepsisters), Cape May Cafe at Beach Club resort (Minnie, Goofy, Donald)--Most important Focus on what you and your children want to do--there are so many different things to enjoy--be flexible if you don't have dining reservations or Fast Passes to get to--things happen--allow extra time to get to your dining reservations (1.5 hrs is recommended)--Good Luck and ask questions here--Many people will try to be helpful!

 

[Treysar]

Omg i don't even know what those letters mean. I need to print out the frequently used list and go through this again. What is adr? Is akershus a restaurant? What is hs and ak? Animal kingdom? Lol, I'm having a heart attack!

 

[han22735]

Omg i don't even know what those letters mean. I need to print out the frequently used list and go through this again. What is adr? Is akershus a restaurant? What is hs and ak? Animal kingdom? Lol, I'm having a heart attack!

Just go here and read up and you'll be fine...

http://**************.net/

 

[mommyk8]

Definitely make a Touring plan. The Unoffical Guide is the best place to get all the information and tells you how to make a touring plan so that you can plan what you want to see and how to see it with least amounts of line. If you want to see characters Mickey Minnie, Princess etc the best thing to do in schedule a character dining and you want to make an Advanced Dining Reservation-ADR. There is a lsit of all the character dining and what characters are at each in the dining venue.
For basics get to the park early, schedule Fast passes for 3 must do rides that the kids want to do (check with Disboards to see what is best to use FP on), do as much as you can early and then take a break. This is what is going to work with kids.

 

[Treysar]

Is that a book?

 

[harrowgirl]

My little guy (5) with autism loves Disney. the biggest trick is to go at their pace. I like the idea of staying near Magic Kingdom, so you can make a quick getaway if you need to. Staying onsite is very helpful we have found, as if we stay offsite with a rental car, we need to ALL leave when DS has decided he has had enough, whereas onsite, one of us can stay with DD, and the other can go back with DS.

The biggest thing you will want to look into is the Disability Access Pass (DAS card) You get it at guest services at the park you visit on your first day and it is good for your whole trip. Basically what it does is allows you to wait for a ride outside of the line. So if the wait on the ride is 30 minutes, you go to the cast member at the end of the line and tell them you want a DAS return time - and they basically give you a fastpass that is good for any time after the 30 minute wait. So you still have to wait for the ride, but don't need to stand in line. The person with the "disability" (autism) needs to go on the ride though, and they do check to make sure. The person who has the DAS doesnt need to be the one who GETS the return time, so I would go with DS's magic band and get the return time (so he wouldn't see the ride and insist on riding immediately), and when the return time came up we'd all go.

The nice thing about staying at the contemporary is that you can go to the park for a couple hours, break at the pool or hotel room, and then go back to the park later and it isn't a huge time suck. Nice for sensory breaks.

 

[Treysar]

Harrowgirl, thank you! The DAS sounds awesome! That is exactly what would be hard for my kids. The line itself. We don't mind waiting if we can move about. It helps get the wiggles out, ya know?
Re: contemporary, that's what I was thinking. Easy in and out plus my husband can take the boys home and I can stay with my daughter if things go bad.

 

[harrowgirl]

Yes - for sure! I hate "cheating" my daughter out of experiences, so it is nice when we can split up, and one of us can take DS back to decompress and the other can continue on with her. I really like the DAS - it is changed from an old system which people preferred (immediate access to the ride, vs having to wait), but for us it is perfect (so far!).

The DISabilities board has some great tips. We literally just got back from a 10 day trip. Your guys might be too big, but we had a stroller as it was a long trip, and DS would climb in and pull down the sunshade to create his own personal space in the crowds.

I would check over some crowd calendars (google "crowd calendar Disney") - the last couple days of our trip were super busy at the parks, and I noticed it was a lot harder on my son than some of the less busy days. He definitely wanted to be in the parks less on crowded days.

The biggest thing we tried to do was respect him when he said he'd had enough - it was disappointing sometimes as I think he missed out on some things he would really love, but it helped manage meltdowns.


I would reconsider EPCOT. Both my kids loved it, and there is a huge aquarium there - we rode the nemo ride I think 3 different times just so DS could visit the aquarium.

I would definitely do 2 days at Magic Kingdom - there is SO much to see there.

Hollywood Studios is a lot of shows - I personally found my son didn't like it as much as you have to sit for shows, and shows have specific start times obviously, so there is less flexibillity in your schedule. There are some big rides at HS if they are thrill seekers though....Rockin Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. DS doesn't like fast rides, so while he loved the toy Story Mania ride there, there wasn't a lot at HS for him.

If you have 4 park days, I would do MK 2 days, EPCOT 1 day, Animal Kingdom 1 day.

As far as EPCOT goes - DS loved the aquarium/Nemo ride, Spaceship Earth, the acrobats in the China pavillion, Journey into Imagination, the miniature trains in I think it is germany. There is actually quite a lot there for kids. DD loved Test Track, Soaring and Turtle Talk with Crush. They were both a bit lukewarm on Mission Space, but DS LOVED the Astronaut video games that you can play after the ride....and I believe you can skip the ride and just play the video games.

Animal Kingdom was my little guy's favourite - nice slow pace, lots of animals

 

[msmama]

I suggest heading to your local library and picking up a Disney book. The unofficial guide is a good one but there are others, too. Some that deal with your first visit.

Once you've looked through the book and gotten the "lay of the land" so to speak then these boards become more helpful and you can ask more specific questions.

There's also a disabilities forum that may be helpful in navigating the parks with your kids.

 

[jacknsally19]

I think that these forums are great when you have more specific questions. I would suggest using **************.net or wdwprepschool.com to get started. You should probably consider using a travel agent that specializes in Disney - it's free and they will help you with dining reservations, park decisions, and figuring out which resort is best for you! I love The Contemporary but if your kids need some quieter time - I might suggest a different resort.

 

[rigs32]

I third what others have said. Go read a Disney guidebook. Then come to the boards.

 

[Treysar]

Thank you everyone for being so helpful!

 

[lanejudy]

Right now I'm thinking that the contemporary is the best resort choice because of the convenience of the tram, proximity to Magic Kingdom. There are 5 of us, 3 kids, (8,6,6) and 2 adults. We are not big Disney heads, but we want our family to experience Disney. We are staying 4 nights. We are thinking of skipping Epcot and doing MK twice. We are don't a food plan. 2 of my kids have autism.

First, realize that you can't do EVERYTHING. Yes, there are tons of options, tons of choices, lots to do. You will miss some things but the kids don't know that. They'll love what you plan regardless of what you decide to skip.

Now, I'm going to offer an alternative, just to give ideas for you to think through. Four nights is going to fly and you might feel rushed. The Contemporary is convenient to the Magic Kingdom, but it's also one of the highest-priced resorts. If you planned a moderate resort (both PORS and CBR have rooms for 5), would that allow you to extend your stay another night or two? We also have a a special needs child and we've found that we need to plan a "resort day" for every 2-3 park days; trying to do parks 4 days in a row is too much. A day to relax and hang around the resort helps "re-set" our ability to function in the overstimulating environment of WDW; maybe with a side-trip to Disney Springs for lunch and then the afternoon at the pool.

I also would choose Epcot over Hollywood Studios. Two days at MK is great, especially if you don't anticipate another visit for several years. You can choose to focus on 2-3 lands per day. For my family, Animal Kingdom never takes a full day.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[Pesky]

I think you have a good start -- you picked date! Agree on looking at a book, ************** website, and then looking at the forums. Start to prioritize what is important for your family. I've discovered downtime (naps, swimming at the pool, table service meals) is huge for my family so that means we see even less but have a better time. Again, priorities! Also, for monorail access at a better price, consider renting points for a DVC stay. I tend to agree that the time will seem to fly by. Something to consider is having a down day but go to the parks for one of the parties (MNSSHP or MVMCP, not sure which will be during your time). Whatever you do, you'll have a great time!

 

[Accident]

I also recommend a book and the websites that were previously recommended, they are a good way to get your foot in the door to wrap your head around the options..

I do want to add that you should check out the disabilities forum here while reading about disney in general. You mentioned 2 children with autism that will be attending. Disney is special needs friendly and that forum is going to have the most up to date information and might help you decide on some choices for your initial planning.

 

[Happyjen27]

I love the Contemporary! I think you'll be very happy there.

Some argue, but I find EPCOT utterly skippable if I were only going for 4 days, I would skip it.

For now, just read, read, read, read. Books and websites and these boards. My first trip was overwhelming to plan, but, I'm so glad I put the time in, and knew what to expect, what restaurants to book, where to stay, etc.

 

[Dinohood]

dude chill first plan it by month, and read you know you are staying four days ok how plan at what hotel take it little by little