Just tell me where to start!!!!

[soonerlpn]

OU1247....I KNOW YOU!!! I am also going in July with my son...when are you going? We are going to stay at All Sports..WE love football...!

P.S..okiediva is my alter ego!!

 

[OU1247]

GET OUT DIVA!
Who knew.....Talk about a way to escape the Fiesta Bowl Stress.

YOU NEED TO CALL ME.

 

[soonerlpn]

I know! SMALL WORLD! I am planning on July 21st thru the 26th..J*s birthday is on the 22nd..so I thought we would ring it in with a BANG!

 

[rickfromky]

how do i get a countdown?

 

[Unregistered]

I went to tickerfactory.com

 

[lovetoscrap]

The dining plan can be a great deal, but you will need to think about how your family lives and will park tour. And what is your overall goal/plan for your trip?

My family usually wants to do as many rides and shows as they can. They figure that the time used for a sit down meal is just time they could be on a few rides. Food is mostly a necessity so we will have enough energy to keep going. Needless to say we eat mostly Counter Service. We generally bring our own dry breakfast things--cereal bars, granola, juice boxes etc.. and eat them on the way to the bus. Then we have a big meal around late morning that keeps us going and usually a smalle meal late in the evening. Maybe a snack in the afternoon, but we also bring crackers and things so we really don't need to buy snacks each day. Usually we plan 1 or 2 sit down meal for the 7 days we are there and that is it. The Dining Plan isn't worth it to us. And we are like that at home. Always on the go and quick breakfasts. We dont' go to Disney to relax! We go to have FUN!

We did go when we had the Free Dining offer 2 years ago. We found our entire focus for the week was changed. We were no longer there for the attractions, we were there for the Meals. I had the ADR's and we had to work our days to accomodate them. We missed many rides and shows. It was okay, we knew that going into the trip and enjoyed many meals we might never have, but it just proved to us that the Dining Plan didn't work for my particular family. We couldn't eat all that food. We had lots of credits left over. We didn't like realizing we had to skip a few rides because it was time to go for our ADR.

Using the menus available on wdwinfo.com it is pretty easy to look and get an idea of how much money you would spend on food. Then look at the price of the dining plan and decide if you really think it works for YOUR family. Only you know what your family is like.

 

[tiggerfan1]

Welcome to the DIS boards!!!

It looks like the other posters have already given you a lot of great info. If you have any other general questions, try posting your question on the Theme Park Attractions and Strategies board. (For dining questions, the Disney Restaurants board, etc.) You'll probably get even more responses that way (or you may get more info by reading other people's threads).

There is no reason to feel stupid at all. I felt really clueless about WDW before I discovered the DIS boards. By reading through many of the threads, I have learned so much. There is so much to learn about WDW that it can be a bit overwhelming. Just take the planning one step at a time. Getting a good guide book and joining the DIS boards were good first steps. Happy trip planning!

 

[dunbarfamily]

Third post to this....sorry!

I was just thinking about you, OU1247, and if I were in your shoes, I would stay at a value resort. You said the boys are all boys, and the values are just as nice as the moderates, in my opinion anyway! They have a nice food court, the pools are nice, and it will give you a good taste of Disney. The value resorts are more "Disneyish" in my mind, meaning they are more "in your face" with disney themeing, while the moderates and deluxes are more resortish themed, which is still nice. THe giant icons are really cool at the values. While you are there, you could catch a bus to the other resort and see what you think for a future trip.

As for food, do what lovetoscrap suggested and look at menus/prices. She's right, only YOU can decide. Everyone does things differently. Maybe you guys are big eaters, maybe not. If you really don't know, I'd suggest going without the plan and keep track of what you eat/how much you spend. Then you'll know for a future trip. For us, its not really about if we save or not. We like having it paid before we leave and being able to order just abotu anything without having to worry about price like we do in real life. We usually don't have a problem eating everything. We love food!

No, you do not need a hotel or tickets to book dining. They will ask if you are staying on site, just tell them yes but you don't know where. FYI, you do not need to be staying on site to book ADRS, but you do need to be on site to get the dining plan.

I hope this helps!

 

[Rylee]

Hi,

I help 4 different families plan their first visit to DW last year, and all of them said... on their first day there, they felt as if they just fumbled through the day, BUT... by the second day, they felt like pros!

I'll share some thoughts, but of course, they are just my personal opinions and preferences...

Since you have narrowed down your hotel accommodations... are you first time visitors? Do you plan to spend most of your time touring the parks? If so, because of the price difference, I would recommend staying at ASSports. The pools are fine for afternoon swim. If you know you'll want to spend more time relaxing at the resort, you might want to consider spending the extra $$ for the moderate.

Also, if this is your first visit, I don't usually think "Hopper" passes are necessary, (unless you are only going to be there for a short stay and want to experience the highlights of each park.) There is enough to see and do at each park, and "hopping" takes time out of your day. Since you will be a guest at a Disney Resort, you'll be able to take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours (EMH) and for a July visit, the extra money that "Hoppers" would cost, might be better spent on Water Park visits.

Anyone, 10 and over, is considered and will be charged as an adult, for admission tickets and the Dining Plan (DP).

We love the DP. (I have always scheduled one Table Service (TS) meal per day, even when we weren't on the DP. I couldn't stand to eat Counter Service (CS) meals all week, it's a nice break in our day, and we love the atmosphere of the differently themed restaurants) but you'll need to figure out if it works for your family. Read menus and prices at allears. Does your family enjoy dining out or will you be content with CS for your stay? Are your sons picky or good eaters? Even if you don't choose to do the DP, but want to enjoy/experience a meal at a couple of the TS restaurants, you will need to schedule your Advance Dining Reservations (ADR) or you may not get in. *If you don't have Hopper Passes, you'll will need to schedule ADR's at restaurant within, or at a resort nearby, the park you will be visiting that day.* You may want to plan your itinerary around the parks hours for each day of your stay, and then choose your restaurants.

July will be hot and busy! Plan on getting to the parks early in the morning, hitting the "must-see-and-do" attractions for your family, and perhaps taking an afternoon break back at the pool and returning to the park in the evening. Or, schedule your TS meal of the day in the afternoon, (air-conditioned restaurant) when it will be at the hottest point and lines for rides will be the longest, anyway.

Figure out which attraction are must-see-and-do for your family at each park, and learn how to use the Fast Passes. Hit these attractions as early as you can, BUT beyond a plan for a few major attraction at each park, I really recommend relaxing and discovering the MAGIC at your own pace.