I Got My Way....i Got My Way....i Got My Way....

[pta-mom]

pta-mom, welcome to the DIS, home to many a loony Disney lover! We will also be there at that time, it's become something of a tradition for my family, it's our school's spring break week. You are going at a great time, albeit a little busy due to all of the spring/Easter breakers. At busy times like that your husband will kiss you when he sees how easy things become when you stay ONSITE! No traffic worries, simply take your free Disney transportation. You will also be there at a perfect time, Animal Kingdom's new super headliner ride, Expedition Everest is set to open around then. We are hoping, since we missed the passholder preview last weekend, that it will actually be open for riding while we are there. MGM has become one of our favorite parks as our girls have gotten older, if they enjoy thrills, Tower of Terror and Rockin Rollercoaster are great. Try to arrange a priority seating at the Sci Fi Dine In for lunch, grab a burger there and sit back in the cars and watch the cheesy old sci fi movies in "the open air". Hopefully we will manage to see Lights, Motors, Action while there this time. Invest in a good travel book like "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World" or Birnbaums WDW, for kids by kids. That is one of my kids' favorite ones. Your boys will love being able to get other kids ratings on the attractions. See Fantasmic at night, try to see Illuminations at EPCOT one night, along with WIshes at the Magic Kingdom too. Most of all, enjoy watching your children's faces as you enter the Magic Kingdom and walk "right down the middle of Main Street USA". I guarantee you, you'll have tears in your eyes! Enjoy, maybe we'll see you there. We arrive at the YAcht CLub on the 3rd, depart on the 7th (unless we can talk DH into a trip before then ). One of the advantages of living 6 hours away by auto!

Thanks Robin! You have mentioned many of the things that I thought my family would love to do! I am a little disappointed though (and obviously a little naive) as I thought March break would be done by April 3!! Oh, well! Anyway, It's all good! Maybe I'll see you there....look for me!! I'll be the crazy Canuk standing on Main St USA with tears in her eyes!!

 

[mejaie]

You don't say if you are getting hopping passes. We did have them last year and went to each park 1 day, and for the last 2 days we hopped. We ended at MK and watched Wishes, as our last event, and yes there were tears.

Funny thing though, that once in a lifetime trip will be repeated in February of 07. I wonder what DW and DD were wishing for????

 

[pta-mom]

Yes, seven days worth of passes so we have the ability to go when and where we want.....awesome! And yea, I know that whole "once in a lifetime" thing sometimes backfires, but that only will happen if my DH has tears in his eyes....and not from the bills!!! LOL!!!

 

[mejaie]

DW and I can be pretty skeptical, but there really is something to the magic. Staying onsite with the bus service was also a big part of it, not having to drive, or look at maps...........

 

[rcraw45425]

pta-mom, look at all of our visits in my signature line, I still tear up when I see the castle! It's funny, with our GPS we now drive into WDW from the back, use the cast entrances, come in by where the monorails park at night. It doesn't matter, if we're staying at an MK resort, that sight of the monorail, then the backside of Space Mountain is all it takes. Same thing with EPCOT, all I have to do is see Spaceship Earth in the distance. The funny thing is my girls came across some of my parents photos of an EPCOT trip in '83 or '84, they were going nuts because the wand and the sparkle weren't on them!

 

[dbarker]

As for the weather: since you are from way up north, you might find the temps rather warm. Not HOT yet, but warm. Bring shorts and t-shirts. And bring rain ponchos. I think it rains for a short time every day.

You are going to have so much fun.

 

[momshark]

I would also opt for 1 day at MGM and 2 at Epcot. May I also suggest that you take care of your ADRs soon. (Advanced Dining Reservations) And make sure that if you want to go from one park to another in the same day that you get "Park Hopper Passes"
You will have a blast! When we brought DH we went all out to make the trip as easy and comfy for him as possible - worse than bringing a baby.

 

[pta-mom]

Yes Momshark, I can relate...I too want DH comfy and happy...makes our vacation much more relaxing! I have already done most of our ADRs and yes, I made sure to get the Hopper Passes as well. This Dis site is so amazing....I swear, I would have been lost without it! I had no idea how big DW was, how much to do, all the hotels and restaurants....I honestly thought we would go, stay at a nice hotel, visit "the parks" a couple of times and than swim at the hotel pool! I thought, if we're hungry, we just go to a restaurant!! I am so very glad I found this site because I think my family and I might have had a very different DW experience! And I can't believe an almost 40 year old woman jumping up and down in front of her kids saying, "59 days, 59 days!!". I am so excited!

 

[mickman1962]

I'm a 40+ male going 62 days! 62 days! And I've been there 12 times.

 

[indigoxtreme]

Yes, seven days worth of passes so we have the ability to go when and where we want.....awesome! And yea, I know that whole "once in a lifetime" thing sometimes backfires, but that only will happen if my DH has tears in his eyes....and not from the bills!!! LOL!!!

PTA seven days passes doesn't translate into park hopping. As several have mentioned after you do each park 1 day you may want to start in 1 park one day and finish in another or have dinner at a seperate park. Check to make sure you have the park hopper option on your passes.

 

[Magic Man]

I am confident in saying it will NOT be your only trip to WDW. Once you experience the magic...your hooked. I only went the first time with my family to watch the kids and wife have a good time, expecting to be bored myself. Boy was I wrong. There is something about the place that draws you in and coming back for more. After 3 trips in 3 years I was ready to do something different after leaving this past summer. But by October I was already changing my mind and now can't wait for December for trip #4.
As a DH I can tell you to go a little easy on all the souvenir stuff and expensive items. Disney majors in marketing and they do it well. Every attraction ends in a gift shop...remember you don't have to buy anything. Limit yourself so your husband doesn't see this as a very expensive proposition. If you plan properly (and my wife is GREAT at that) you can do Disney very reasonably.
Have a great time, but if you don't get to everything this time...don't worry. You will be back!

 

[DisneyArk]

pta-mom,

You've gotten tons of great advice! I agree to start by visiting each park one time and then choose from there. We love the park hop!! We usually visit 3 parks on our last day! We let our sons choose their favorite things and we try to do them all again on the last day!

You might want to review which attractions/rides are at each park and make note of the ones that you want to try. You'll be surprised how big the parks are!! The parks are so much fun, but it can be overwhelming to keep looking at the park maps and not knowing where to start. On our first trip we missed quite a few attractions and I was a little sad when we got home and realized we didn't do them. But it meant that we "needed" to go back.

You might want to plan to eat at Coronado one evening and let your sons swim in the pool and relax!! That pool looks awesome.

I hope you have a wonderful trip!! I love staying on-site and taking the Disney buses! I think it's nice to cool off in the air conditioned bus while someone else figures out how to get where I want to go.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Congrats! I suggest that you take a look at www.TourGuideMike.com. His advice is extremely useful to a WDW "newbie" and especially to someone who is visiting the world during a very busy season. You can join his site for $20, but I think you can get a discount code over on Mousesavers. He does offer a money back guarantee. We have used his itinerary planning on 3 previous trips and I will be using again in April 2006 and February 2007.

Either way, have a great time!

 

[KayTX]

Hi pta-mom. I'm excited for you and your family! Hope you'll have a wonderful and magical trip, and please share with us after you get back home.

 

[cranbiz]

Remember, there is more to a Disney vacation than the theme parks! Does DH like boating or Golf?

Renting Searaycers at the resorts, playing golf at some of the courses are great ways to further yourself in the entire Disney experience.

Disney Quest and a night out at Downtown Disney or Pleasure Island may also be the ticket. Don't forget the mini golf gourses and the water parks.

I'm guessing that this will NOT be your only trip. Just let him find himself and yes, go easy on the souvineers.

A good place to get Disney souvineers is the nearby outlet shops. Of course this works better if you have your own transportation, but you can get there by Lynx bus.

2 days at MK, 1-2 days at EPCOT and 1 day each at MGM and AK is a good start. Remember, You WILL NOT be able to do everything. Get one of the guide books mentioned and make a plan. You will find that Disney restaurants give generous portions, 1 sit down meal a day and either food court or counter service will be more than enough.

IMHO one of the best buffets is BOMA at Animal Kingdom Lodge and touring the lodge is an event in itself.

 

[pta-mom]

I'm a 40+ male going 62 days! 62 days! And I've been there 12 times.

That's awesome!! 12 times!! Wow!! Maybe we'll pass each other at MK!! Have a great time!! 58 days!! 58 days!!

 

[pta-mom]

PTA seven days passes doesn't translate into park hopping. As several have mentioned after you do each park 1 day you may want to start in 1 park one day and finish in another or have dinner at a seperate park. Check to make sure you have the park hopper option on your passes.

Thanks Indigo, yes, I made sure to get the Park Hopper after reading about it on the website!

 

[indigoxtreme]

I know you will win you DH over. I tried several years to get my DH to go back after the chidren were older, just us. He wouldn't. The last time he went was in 1989. This past Sept we took our DGD (4) to the world fr her first trip along with DS's 22 and MIL 70 we had a blast. Our 30th wedding anniv is Feb and I asked him what we could plan to do. I told him I would like to do something special as our daughter got married on our 25th anniv and we didn't get to spend any time together alone for that. He surprised me and said he wanted to go back to DW and stay at POFQ just the 2 of us and he wanted to do the dining plan again. Needless to say I was all for it and very happy... Your DH will be won over when he SEES THE WORLD THROUGH YOUR CHILDRENS EYES

 

[abeyst]

pta-mom, I'm sooooo happy for you!! I remember our first family trip in 2000-I was in tears every time I walked up to a park entrance. DH thought I was nuts!

I agree with the majority here-do each park once and go back to your favorites a 2nd time. Use your extra magic hours, too. You can see twice as much in the early mornings (up til 10 or 11) than you can mid-day.