leaving in 1 week...advice!!

[wyldflower]

We leave in 1 week for our 1st trip to DW. It will be myself, hubby 10yr old son and 7yr old niece (who is more then a niece, as we all live together, and her mom, my sister passed away 9months ago, so we need this trip to bring some cheer). Should we buy WDW tix before we leave, or waite till we get there? Is there anywhere to get discount tix? We couldn't stay on site, but at the days inn. The kids want a Pal Mickey, but money is very tight and I hear they are $60. Are they worth it? How much $$$ do you think would be good for each kid in souvenier money? This is new to us, so any advice is welcome....

 

[all4fun]

I would by tix before you leave. We like to buy them in advance because it's so nice to just be able to walk right up to the gate on the first day and go in, and not have to stand in line first to buy your tickets. Mousesavers.com is a really good site for information about discounts for all things WDW - tickets, hotels, car rentals, etc. Here's a link to their page about tickets. I think that could be very helpful to you: Mousesavers

As far as Pal Mickey goes, we haven't bought one but I think you can rent them for $8/day. Maybe you could just rent it one or two days, that way you at least get to enjoy it in the parks. Just a thought.

We gave our 8-yr old neice $20 for souvineer money on our last trip (we paid for everything else). To be honest, $20 doesn't go very far in the parks, IMO. Maybe my standards are too high, though, and I'm just looking at all the expensive stuff, lol. We like to go to the Orlando Premium Outlet or Belz and shop at the Character Warehouse & Character Premier since you can get great deals on WDW merchandise there (hat's that are typically $19 were $5-10 there, keychains $3, for example). Our niece got a really cute WDW Princess baseball cap there for $5. She was happy because she bought quite a bit of stuff for her $20 and it went a lot further than it would have in the parks. Of course, you may not want to take the time to go there if your time in the parks is limited. If you do though, the Character Premier at Orlando Premium Outlet mall is closer to WDW and the store is easier to find than at Belz. Both malls are located near the main highway I-4.

hth,
Cheryl

 

[iwannbindisnee]

Wyldflower--We jsut got back from our 4th trip in 3years! I definitely recommend the mousesavers website for tickets vendors. On my last trip in Feb we used ticketmania & they delivered the tickets to our hotel for us-You can pay for tickets over the phone or internet, but must give them at least 3 business days! (also we always stay on site, so not sure if you can get them delivered, but they will also mail them, or you can pickthem up down there-this does 2 things-saves some money from WDW's prices & like previous poster said, you don't have to start your trip standing in a WDW line--There will plenty of those!! ha!
As for the $20, it won't go far in the parks, but they now have a new store in DTD that has all things for $10 or less, so it does allow them to look at items & know they are in their price range. Also, previous poster had good ideas about outlet mall-just be warned we went there on a rainy Sunday & it took us 1 hour to go 1 mile to get into the outlet b/c of the lights & horrid traffic! (go on a weekday!) You also could tell them to take their first few days in WDW to decide what they want since the $20 will only buy 1 or maybe 2 things & then after looking for most of the week, they won't impulse buy-they will know what still sticks in their mind as their favorite thing. I would recommend DTD for shopping-it has great atmosphere & alot of shops all in one place. ALso there is a list of free things to do at WDW, & it really is a great resource-pm me & I can give you the site-I think it was mousesavers as well, but will have to research it.
Also, here's a thought buy two autograph books before you go (if you think they would get a kick out of getting autographs--I know my kids did when they were 8 & 5 & my niece is 9 & loved it in Feb.) at a Dollar store or place like that & marker. You don't want to have to buy disney autograph books! It will just eat the money up.
I don't have any experience w/ Pal Mickey except that I have heard he is very hard to hear b/c of all the noise in the parks. Just a comment I read on one of the disboards. If you have any other questions-I love Disney as do all people here on the boards & love helping people to have the best experience ever! Debbie (Sorry for the long post--I just couldn't help myself! You can certainly pm or e-mail me for more ideas!)

 

[pooh4evr]

you can also purchase tickets at the Disney Store, if there is one in a mall near you! They are cheaper there than at the gate- ex. a 4 day park hopper is 206 for an adult and 183 for ages 3-9. The price only goes up to 223, 186 for a 7 day pass.

 

[zurgswife]

Since you can't take advantage of early entry I would make sure i'm at the gates as soon as the park you want to see is open to the public....next week will be extremely busy..plus some. We arrive in 5 days and that is our plan of attack to do EMH everyday we can....

Don't try to see it all because with the crowds there is no way....plan for long lines and lots of people...but have fun...

 

[Nank]

Have a good time!

 

[wyldflower]

ok, I just bought my tix from the Disney store yesterday!!! I am so excited!

 

[juliesue]

Since this is your first trip and you are going during Spring Break- here is my advice on having a good experience. My family has been to WDW at least 10 times in the past few years - once during March.

#1 - USE FASTPASS!! This is a FREE service for all people in the parks. Since you are staying off property, you won't have the 4 TV channels to explain it to you.

Disney has come up with a way to try to spread out the lines for certain popular rides. Basically, you go to the ride you want and walk over to the Fastpass machines. You put each person's park ticket (don't worry they don't keep it) and you get a pass with a time on it. The pass allows you to come back anytime within an hour long window. You come back to a special entrance that allows you to bypass the regular line. You are basically moving to the front of the regular line. This cuts the wait time in line down considerably and allows you to do other things (include spend more money in Disney's view) during the time you would otherwise have waited in line. Be sure to ask a cast member for help if you have questions - but I guarantee this will speed up your experience and make you feel like a VIP.

#2 - Choose your Must See Attractions before you go to the park - Take the time to poll everyone on what they absolutely want to see and what is a nice-to-see. You are going during a VERY busy time and like another poster said, you shouldn't expect to be able to do it all. That way you don't spend time on something you didn't really HAVE to see and miss something you really wanted to. If you have questions about attractions, that part of these boards is great for advice.

#3 - Get a lot of rest - A WDW vacation is very physically wearing. There is more walking than you ever thought you could do. And working around crowds is also wearing. Don't be afraid to spend some extra time in bed one or two mornings. We regularly skip park openings so that we can sleep in a little. It also helps us avoid the opening crowds. A tired family is not going to be happy no matter what!

#4 - Avoid Early Entry parks on those days. Even though we stay on property, we always avoid the park with the early entry. Since the resort guests tend to flock to that one, the other parks are much less crowded in the mornings. By noon, this tends to equalize out due to park hopping.

#5 - Get the park hopper ticket. That gives you so much more flexibility. If one park is too crowded, you can move to another one. For example, MK is ALWAYS extremely crowded on Saturdays. If it is unbearable, you can go easily go to one of the other less crowded parks.

Have a great time!!!!

 

[cinderminnie]

I can offer some advice on Pal Mickey. Do not bother! We got it last year and paid the $60 to keep it. Now today, you can NOT rent Pal Mickey anymore. They are only for sale. I thought that it would be great to info us of parade times and short line wait. NOPE! It buzzes when you come near an attraction and tells you a fact about it. Most of the time he does jokes. Actually all the time. I did hear that they are coming out with a 50th anniversary special Pal Mickey. My daughter still wants to take it to the park each day but guess who gets to carry it...mommy or daddy. Thank goodness it has a clip on it. But I have to say that he is the perfect size Mickey to cuddle with as my daughter says. If you have another things the kids would love then use the money for that instead of Pal Mickey.
Have a wonderful trip in the magical land of WDW!

 

[DisneyMomOfThree]

I have read on other discussions that Maple Leaf has a great price on tickets. You may want to check it out. I like the idea of telling the kids to wait at least 2 days before buying anything on impulse.