Looks like we're going to WDW!

[Soaptopia]

First off, hello! I am a new member to these boards and still figuring it out. I have posted a few times already on the DLR board because I'm a frequent visitor there. The fiance and I were going to go on our normal 5-6 weekend trips here and there and planning a big trip in September. Then we got to thinking about WDW instead of DLR so many times. I've wanted to save WDW for our honeymoon in Sept '12 but both of us agreed that we would like to take a "sneak preview" trip.

So here I am! I am going to need all the info I can get, because we've never been there! We're staying September 3-8 2011 and we're not sure which hotel to pick. I'll make a list of preferences/questions...

-Would like to have a monorail close to the hotel to hop on to.
-can you ride the monorail to each park?
-planning on doing the dining plan, what are some must do restaurants?
-what are some rides we MUST do because they are not at DLR?

umm I'm not sure what else right now, but I'm sure I'll have more! There's probably some nice info thread to read but these boards are a little hard to navigate! Thanks in advance, I am thrilled to be actually planning this!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

The monorail only goes to Magic Kingdom and Epcot. If you want easy access to hop on the monorail, then stay at any of the 3 monorail resorts. There is the Grand Floridian, the Polynesian, and the Contemporary. These hotels are pretty expensive, but they are worth it in my opinion, especially for a first trip. Plus, you can maybe get a discount code for up to 40% off these hotels.

You've gotta make sure you get to Epcot and Animal Kingdom, because they are the most "Walt Disney World exclusive" parks. The only ride you will find in either of those that is in DLR is Soarin'. Magic Kingdom is a lot like Disneyland Park, and many aspects of Disney's Hollywood Studios are in California Adventure.

I definitely recommend the dining plan for a first trip, it's convenient and helps you to get the most out of the "Disney Dining Experience." Some must do restaurants IMO are Le Cellier in the Canada pavilion in Epcot, Coral Reef in Future World in Epcot, 50's Prime Time Cafe in Disney's Hollywood Studios, Les Chefs de France in the France pavilion in Epcot, Via Napoli in the Italy pavilion in Epcot, Ohana at the Polynesian resort, and the Tusker House character breakfast in Animal Kingdom. These are all 1 Table-service credit on the regular Disney Dining Plan.

 

[txmomto1]

-Would like to have a monorail close to the hotel to hop on to.
-can you ride the monorail to each park?
-planning on doing the dining plan, what are some must do restaurants?
-what are some rides we MUST do because they are not at DLR?

Congrats on your upcoming wedding. I'd vote for Poly if you are looking to stay at a monorail resort. It's a bit more romantic than the other two!

Previous poster filled you in that the monorail goes to MK and Epcot. Make sure you spend time at Epcot and AK as the other posted said. MK is really very similar to Disneyland. Epcot is my favorite park. I grew up in Southern California, and spent tons of time at DL.

California Grill, Le Cellier, The Wave would be great for the two of you.

If you like roller coasters, Expedition Everest is awesome. I love the world showcase at Epcot. Test Track is great too.

 

[Soaptopia]

The monorail only goes to Magic Kingdom and Epcot. If you want easy access to hop on the monorail, then stay at any of the 3 monorail resorts. There is the Grand Floridian, the Polynesian, and the Contemporary. These hotels are pretty expensive, but they are worth it in my opinion, especially for a first trip. Plus, you can maybe get a discount code for up to 40% off these hotels.

You've gotta make sure you get to Epcot and Animal Kingdom, because they are the most "Walt Disney World exclusive" parks. The only ride you will find in either of those that is in DLR is Soarin'. Magic Kingdom is a lot like Disneyland Park, and many aspects of Disney's Hollywood Studios are in California Adventure.

I definitely recommend the dining plan for a first trip, it's convenient and helps you to get the most out of the "Disney Dining Experience." Some must do restaurants IMO are Le Cellier in the Canada pavilion in Epcot, Coral Reef in Future World in Epcot, 50's Prime Time Cafe in Disney's Hollywood Studios, Les Chefs de France in the France pavilion in Epcot, Via Napoli in the Italy pavilion in Epcot, Ohana at the Polynesian resort, and the Tusker House character breakfast in Animal Kingdom. These are all 1 Table-service credit on the regular Disney Dining Plan.

Thanks for all of the info! I will have to write this all down. Originally I was planning on staying in one of the nicer resorts because I had only priced those out figuring I could do it, but THEN of course I just had to see how cheap it could be at the all-star resorts and was shocked at the price drop. It's hard to pay extra to stay in a hotel that's more expensive when I doubt we will even be in our room other than to sleep. I looked at the Contemperary though and the view is phenomenal! Definitely WILL have to stay there for the actual honeymoon and we will be splurging a lot more.

Congrats on your upcoming wedding. I'd vote for Poly if you are looking to stay at a monorail resort. It's a bit more romantic than the other two!

Previous poster filled you in that the monorail goes to MK and Epcot. Make sure you spend time at Epcot and AK as the other posted said. MK is really very similar to Disneyland. Epcot is my favorite park. I grew up in Southern California, and spent tons of time at DL.

California Grill, Le Cellier, The Wave would be great for the two of you.

If you like roller coasters, Expedition Everest is awesome. I love the world showcase at Epcot. Test Track is great too.

I have an app on my phone that shows me all of the attractions at WDW in all 4 parks. I marked all of the ones of interest down and all of the ones you included are top of the list! I'm so excited. I was thinking we would spend most of our time at MK, because it doesn't seem like the other parks would take ALL day. But that's just because I am so used to park hopping and could not spend a whole day at California Adventure to save my life. I'll try to make a plan of what we'll do on each day (mostly because I love taking all the time to plan) but I doubt we'll stick to it!

I think for now we're going to do Quick Service dining plan, just to save a little bit of money. I want to do the Segway tour and possibly dive with the fishies! I am going to probably start a Pre Trip Report so I'll be posting a link you guys can watch out for!

OH, I was wondering. What rides are ususally closed in Sept? I'm guessing HM will be closed to start up for the overlay, but I can deal with it if it means less crowds. Anything else I should expect?