My first trip

[momtokasidy]

We will be going to Disney World for the very first time mid September. It will be my husband, my 4 year old daughter, and myself. We will be staying for seven nights. We are driving down, so no airfare costs. I am currently thinking of staying at the All-Star Movies. I will request the Toy Story area, because my daughter loves that movie. I would like any advice for first timers, as well as anything else you think I should know. I am so excited, I just want to know as much as possible so we can have a great trip. Thanks to anyone who is willing to give me any information.


Amy

 

[maepartner]

Where to begin?? I would suggest gettting a fridge for the room as you will be there a week, and would save alot if you got some cold cuts, cereal, fruit etc. I freeze water bottles and juice packs at nite, and take them to the parks still frozen. Definitely have a stroller for your dd and take sunblock!

Im sure you can learn alot just by reading the themeparks boards..and Im sure other people will jump in here with their best advice.....have a great time! Mary

p.s. Welcome to the DIsboards, I see this is your first post

 

[barbeml]

Welcome to the DIS! How I envy you--nothing compares to your first trip to WDW--it is truly magical. I can't give you any info on value resorts, but my best suggestion is to get Birnbaum's 2003 WDW Guide--it has never let us down. It is important to accept that you can never see everything in one trip, but the book can help you to put together an itinerary that will make all of you happy. Young kids can easily get tired and overwhelmed, so you will want to build in "down time" at your resort.

Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom seem to have the most appeal to little ones. If there are character meals or restaurants that you simply must do, make sure to make priority seating arrangements.

You can get so much information by reading posts in the Resorts, Restaurants, and Theme Park sections of the DIS.

Mid September is a great time to go. We always go in the fall.

Good luck and have a wonderful time!

 

[KatRob]

I would also suggest Kim Wiley's "Walt Disney World with Kids". It has a ton of information from the "scare factor" of attractions to the least busy restrooms!

Study all maps and get a plan in mind (on paper doesn't hurt) so you will not be overwhelmed by the parks once you arrive. Nothing carved in stone, but a game plan. My husband jokes that I approach WDW like a military operation...but he hasn't missed any attractions or shows because we didn't know where to go next.

Take time to really enjoy your daughter's first time. It is so special at that age. Remember, you are making memories and the magic will happen for her everyday.

Welcome to the boards! You can learn a lot from these good folks to make the planning less stressful.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Okay, I'm going to make it plain and simple for you since this is your first trip. Visit the following links I'm going to leave you below as all of them have wonderful information.

www.ourlaughingplace.com (for the transportation wizard. It will show you how to get to one place from another on the resort. Click on resorts then transportation wizard)

www.mousesavers.com (for codes and other awesome tips. Go to Walt Disney World then click on the Disney resort link. You'll find some wonderful codes to save money.)

www.wdwig.com (for the menus. Click on dining then menus from around the world. That's how I made a lot of my decisions on dining for hubby and I a few years ago.)

www.ticketmania.com (for discounted tickets)

www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com (for resort information and requesting a reservation. I let one of their agents named Cathy Miller handle my trip for me in 2001. She took A LOT off of my hands and when hubby and I go back to Disney we will be using Dreams and Cathy Miller again!!)

That should get you started. Have fun checking everything out, and have a WONDERFUL trip. I remember planning my first trip to Disney with my husband...WHAT FUN THAT WAS!!

 

[tink2dw]

How to get started Planning a WDW Vacation!!


Now you can start deciding what are the things that are "must do's" and "must see's." and decide the length of your trip.

Then decide on the tickets you will need here.
http://www.mousesavers.com/tickets.html

To keep an EYE on All the discounts for on-site and off-site resorts check here often and sign up for the MouseSavers.com newsletter to get all the best news.
http://www.mousesavers.com/wdw.html

For Air fares sign up at all the Airline Web sites that fly out of your airport that fly to Orlando or MCO in airline speak. Then Check Expedia,Travelocity for airline deals. Also check out the Transporation Board air,car deals.
http://www.disboards.com/

Start a WDW change jar to save for your trip.[there are many tips here on this
board!!]

Also you can decide where you will want to eat and start making plans to make your food budget and check the Priority Seatings Calculator to know when you can make PS's some are as far out as 730 Days.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining.../dispscalc.html

Also to help decide where to eat you can find menu's at Deb's wdw site,this works 2 ways to see where to eat what,and how much it costs, to finalize the food budget.
http://www.wdwig.com/menu/menus.htm

IMPORTANT TIP: To keep all this info in one place,here is a computer Disney Vacation Planner. It will print each day on a seperate sheet. Also check the pull down menu'sat the top for loads of info!!
http://www.intercot.com/planner/default.asp

Well,this should get you start on a thousand more Questions!! So,don't be shy! Ask away!! The kind members here will share what they know! So,check back often!!

tink2dw

 

[momtokasidy]

Thank ya'll so much!!!!!! I will start going through all these websites. I'm sure I will have a million more questions before September. Thanks again.

Amy

 

[Pat_Elliott]

Amy,

Welcome to the board! Everyone gave excellent advice, so I'll keep mine to a minimum. Know that the links given to you are indicative of the main objective: Read, read, read; research, research, reasearch; when you're done, do more.

This board is the greatest help for more precise questions and current information from those who've just been. Boards like Deb Willis's and Brian Bennets have great historical and planning info. And Brian's has some of the best trip reports, which are an overlooked source of planning, as you can read how people actually ran their vacation. And Mousesavers will keep you abreast of a lot of discount information.

A hint: Go to Walmart, Walgreens, or some other major store and get Britta invididual filtered water bottles. Florida water is terrible! and Disney bottled water is expensive.

Congrats on picking September. A warning: going in September or other "value seasons" will ruin you for life. Expect shorter park hours, but delightfully low lines, low prices, and prepare for warm weather.

I'm happy for you. Enjoy!

Pat

 

[The Sweetness]

In 7 days, you should have ample time to see everything you want to see in the 4 parks, and even have a couple of do overs. Enjoy yourselves, and dont let DD boss you around too much ((you and DH are kids too((esp at wdw))) I stayed at the all star movies once when they first opened. ((I was the first to use my room in the 101 Dalmations section)) The room was small (like a days inn)) but it was very convenient to be right there to catch the bus and not worry about parking, and the food court was HUGE Take lots of pics and have fun! ((my #1 top is to line up at the curb for parades early, so that DD can sit on the curb and not have her view blocked)) My fave spot used to be ((its been a while)) at a bench not far from the haunted mansion. DD could sit on the sidewalk, I got the bench, and there was an ice cream cart right beside us. It was perfection! (and we didnt have to wait for the whole parade to be over before we got back to the other attractions(the parade ends on Main street). Speaking of Main Street, if DD is a fan of Lady and The Tramp, Tonys may be worth a little extra $$ for the lovely relaxing sit down meal, and DD can sit and watch L&T while you wait to be seated

 

[diznee]

We have travelled many, many times to WDW with our small children. Since you are driving, it makes sense to pack a cooler with sandwich stuff, fruit, carrot stix, juice boxes and goodies. We also made use of a cardboard box to store cereal, granola bars, bread, snack items, bagels, vinyl table cloth, wipes, etc. It was great to be able to stop at our leisure whenever we happened upon a rest area with picnic tables. While I spread out the vinyl table cloth and put together some sandwiches and fixings, DH played referee while the children played outside and rounded them up for bathroom time. Do closely supervise your children in these areas because in some cases the interstate is quite close.
As a September frequent traveller, I have discovered one needs to be prepared for unpredictable weather ( even vacationed during 2 hurricanes!). We brought raincoats (those ponchos are the worst!), umbrellas, spray misters, sunscreen, waist bags with water bottle holders (carried small ziploc bags with powdered drink mixes to shake up with water), sweaters, jackets, and appropriate footwear for weather changes.
I could go on and on, but I will let others get in their advice. If you care to email me, I will share some more I have learned through the years. Have a great and magical time!

 

[karebear1]

About the frig-it'll cost at least $10.00/day. If you don't want to add that extra expense, use your cooler if you're bringing one with you, if not- buy a cheap styrofoam cooler- and fill ziplock bags with ice from the resort- that's free! It's important to use the ziplocks tough- otherwise the cooler , at least the styrofoam cooler- will sweat. Also- buy a case of water, and other snacks, before you leave- it'll be way cheaper if you do that! You're so lucky you can drive! I agree with TheSweetness- parades are not to be missed- they are wonderful, so be sure to take th

 

[mm6mm6]

You're going to have an absolute blast!

We went for the first time this past June '02 with our daughter who was five (DD5!).

If you have room, we bought a 50 gallon Igloo cooler on wheels with a handle and stocked it with ice and 24 oz individual bottles of pop and water (our fav flavors) and we brought about 12 six packs for the whole trip. It saved us a ton (on pop and not renting the fridge) and still had room for juice boxes, apple sauce, and milk when we got to our resort room. We just kept filling it with the free ice from the resort's machine everyday and then drained the extra water from the petcock on the bottom. Sure saved on the "rent a fridge" idea and we still have the cooler for other times (including WDW again this August!)....

When you take pictures with the characters, pose like crazy! We took alot of pictures but next time I'll tell my daughter to pose just like the characters do. You can see our trip pics at http://community.webtv.net/sktracy

I would highly recommend upgrading to a moderate resort. My DD5 just loved the beach at the Caribbean Beach Resort. When you compare the overall price difference, I think you'll find it to be very small in comparison to the total cost of your trip.
The room size was great for the three of us and the pools and food were wonderful.

We also brought a small (40 oz) cooler on a shoulder strap and filled it with fruit punch each day for drinking at the park.

We rented a stroller each day (don't forget the $1 coupon for returning it since you'll probably rent again the next day).

Have a blast!

 

[aide4]

I agree with everything here!!! The only thing I have to add is you will LOVE ASMo, we stayed there in Feb 2002 on our first trip and our kids loved it, we would not hesitate to stay there again...