Need Advice: First Trip Ever!!!

[msmenglishtchr]

I am taking my 3 boys ages 13, 8 1/2 and 6 to WDW for the very first time on 8/26! Got in on a great deal (Fairytale Package) so we are doing 8 days/7 nights on Disney property.
*Just me and the 3 boys!
**note: My oldest has mild Tourette's Syndrome and ADHD and youngest has severe ADHD and ODD (oppositional defiance disorder) so we need to keep things very relaxed but structured.
TG for RITALIN!!! lol!

Our flight is 8:35 am from MacArthur Airport on Long Island - direct/non-stop arriving in Orlando at 11:15. We have Limo service to our hotel so we can stop off at Publix to pick up milk, bottled water and any other supplies we need for bfasts, late night snacks, etc. (I am also shipping a box ahead with cereal and favorite snacks, etc. that I get free or close to it at our local supermarket - yes I am an AVID coupon queen!!!)

We are staying at the Caribean Beach Resort - we requested a "water view" first floor room location. Any suggestions regarding our room location there?

I have booked dinner night #1 at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney @ 7:15, Chef Mickey's Character Bfast at the Contemporary (11:15am - last seating for bfast) on an early entry day to the Magic Kingdom, and the Fantasmic Dinner Package @ 6pm at Hollywood & Vine at MGM on 8/31 (show starts at 8:30 that night).

We plan on spending one day split between Animal Kingdom (early entry day for the Safari) and Epcot (we plan on racing to see if we can fill up our passports in one afternoon while snacking our way through!)

We are also planning on spending one morning (thru lunchtime) at one of the water parks (Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon) Which one has the most to offer ALL 3 of my boys?

Then we plan on returning to our hotel, changing and going back to either MGM or Animal Kingdom to re-ride some of our favorites.

IS there anything we are missing that is a MUST SEE???
I don't want to become the "vacation gestapo", screaming orders and rushing everyone around all week - this our first BIG vacation EVER and I want to keep it relaxed, memorable and above all, FUN!!!

Any tips or advice on travelling with these ages and only one adult?

Any hints about packing or what NOT to bring with us?
*We already have Squeeze Breezes and mini personal fans, and 3 gameboys. Also, my 13 yr old and I have a family plan on our cell phones that allows for unlimited cell to cell so we don't need FRS radios.

I know how good everyone is here on these boards so I am expecting LOTS of great ideas, hints and tips!!!

Thanks All!
Jenn

 

[LovesHauntedMansion]

I admire your bravery: 3 kids vs. 1 adult. I would make a plan as to how you will address the differences in interests & heights as far as rides & shows go. When there are at least 2 adults, often 1 parent will take the smaller ones & one can take the older ones on the rides they like. One bit of advice that I thought of is to find a description of the rides - either on the internet or a trip planning book & try to determine who will want to ride what ride. You probably already know which ones are more brave when it comes to rides. There is a strong possibility that the 6 year old will not be tall enough to ride some of the rides that he sees. Measure him before you go & check the height requirements. Either prepare him in advance that he will be too short or find a way to bypass the ride if you know there will be a problem. Also, because ADHD kids like to be "on a mission", I think that the idea of the passports at Epcot are a great idea. You can also find a list of hidden Mickeys & keep the kids focused on finding Mickeys throughout the parks. I would encourage you to let the kids go through the parks at their own pace. Try not to have too many plans as far as switching parks or running from 1 end to the other for meal reservations.

 

[bjakmom]

Welcome to the Dis! I have travelled alone many times with just my kids and always had a wonderful time - I've just needed to be well-prepared and flexible! We've stayed at CBR several times and I always request a bldg near to the main pool/food court area- I would not hesitate to mention that I had special needs kids - they have always gone out of their way to help me and CBR is a very large resort, with some buildings quite a hike from the main complex.
We love BB because they have an area geared to Jr's where we like to park ourselves- lots of places to sit where you can see the kids in this area (last year we were lucky enough to get there early and get a picnic table under cover)- my bigger kids just head out from there.
Last year DS was adjusting to med changes similar to your boys and the most important thing for me was to stay flexible (I'm sure you know that one!) - the parks can be over-stimulating and, though the crowds were low at the end of Aug, the weather was hot - we had to try hard not to get caught up in trying to do/see everything - that's the surest way ruin a WDW vacation (IMHO)- we went to the parks early, took a break at lunch time and returned to the parks in the afternoon. Enjoy!

 

[Magic2000]

Sounds like you have a great plan!!!

I would also suggest getting to the parks early, and taking a swim/nap break around Noon or 1:00 PM, then heading back out around 5:00. My family usually goes during the summer, and by the second day, we are all looking for that nap!! (I have two teens and a 7 yr old)

You may want to check out the SciFi diner at MGM. My girls love the inside of that place! The burgers are good, as well as the shakes!!! The kids like sitting in the "cars" and watching the movies!

Have fun!!!

 

[snuggles]

First of all..Welcome to the Dis!
We usually plan but not too much. Getting a general idea of what you want to do and being flexable enough to change it is the best way to go. Have you visited our Resorts Board? They will have all the info you need on the Caribbean Beach. I've not been to a water park but my friend thinks that BB is the best one for kids. We also use our cell phones to stay in contact at the parks. They work well. Have a wonderful trip.

 

[grinningghost]

When I read it was your first trip to WDW, I expected you would be very lost as to how to plan - was I wrong! You have a great plan!

I totally agree about the Passporter at Epcot. This will keep the kids interested in visiting all the countries. They are so wonderfully detailed you'll feel like you really are in another country. You don't want to miss them.

I can't say enough good things about Disney waterparks. I'm a Typhoon Lagoon fan myself, but Blizzard Beach is also really amazing. No matter how tired and cranky you're getting from WDW overload, the waterparks seem to melt it all away. We always have a great time there and I always end my trip wishing I'd spent more time doing waterparks. You and your kids will love Blizzard Beach - I'll bet they won't want to leave when it's time.

Have a wonderful time - and maybe I'll see you. We'll be there during that time too. If I see a frazzled parent with 3 boys, I'll be thinking of you. (Just kidding).

 

[Castillo Mom]

I too have one child with ADD and one with ADHD, so I understand the importance of planning ahead to avoid certain situations. I've learned so much from these boards and I'm also planning our first trip to WDW. I would suggest trying to get a room in Trinidad North or Matinique building 26. These are the buildings closest to Old Port Royale and the main pool. I know my ADHD son would not be happy about long walks from our room to the food court before or after having to walk all day in the parks, so the closer the better. As someone else posted, visit the resorts board, there's a FAQ on CBR with great advice and photos (thanks to SafetyMom).

 

[loriandmatt]

a word of advise for any first time visitor. Even though you will be there for 7 nights, you will more than likely not see everything at WDW.
Have your boys go over park maps and pick out their "must do's" from each. Prepair them as much as possible for the things you won't have time for and/or they won't be tall enough for.

good luck and have a great vacation.

- lori

 

[nataliesdaddy]

I concur with loriandmatt

I am a single father with a 7year old hyper little girl with boundless energy - I had to force her to bed each night at MIDNIGHT!!!! and she was still charged and ready to go !!! and then she woke at 6:30 to 7 every morning with no problem!! Dad had vacation when we got home !

SO first thing I would suggest is be fully prepared that this is the kids's vacation and not yours -

To make sure your all of your kids's expectations are met do this one thing much along the lines of what loriandmatt said. Go to the waltdisneyworld site - cut and paste each attraction with explanation and pictures into a word document. Do 4 sections - one for each park. Then you will have these enormous lists to go over with your children. Explain to your kids it is impossible to do everything at Disneyworld. Plant that seed now !!! Then have them go through and put an x or whatever on everything they want to do. My daughter put a mark on almost everything. Then I had her go through again (reinforcing that there is not enough time to do everything) and having her put another mark my those rides she Absolutely Positively HAD TO DO. Then I had her go though and put another mark on the ones that she WANTED TO DO, and then one last time for the ones that she wanted to do but if we did not have enough time for it would be ok. SO essentially I had a list of 1's (most important), 2's (next most important), 3's Things that would be ok to miss, and a handfull of things that she did not put a mark by at all.

Then I told my daughter the truth - there are different times when it is best to see different things - really popular rides are best to do first thing right as the park opens, or during parades because everyone is watching the parade, or during early entry morning or e-ride night. And I told her so we need to match what you want to do with what days the parks open early for US and not everyone else... and we will need to get up very very early to get those rides done...!!! Well if your kids are anything like my kid ...it was enough of a hassle for her just to go over the lists,,, she did not want to have to plan everything with dad... and by explaining everything to her about schedules and early days and different ride times and some rides have fast pass and some don't... well lets just say she was willing to trust dad to make sure we got to do everything important on her list.

This gave my daughter control in one sense and gave me control in another sense. She drove the what we see decisions - I drove how we got it all done. And I explained it to her - "honey if you want to do space mountain and then you want to go over to thunder mountain that won't work because they are so far apart that we will spend all our time walking back and forth to rides"...

So then my kids expectations were set - I batched all the "must do" rides into geographic locations that way you go to one place and you crank out a few rides real quick. I.e. Space mountain, Buzz lightyear, Alien encounter are real close together. They were all MUST DO's. They are also all e-ride night rides. SPace mountain is extremely popular so first thing on e-ride night and first thing on early entry day we did Space mountain with NO WAIT!! And that ride sometimes has waits up to 2 hours during mid day. On early entry we did SM first thing and then daddy got fast passes to do SM again and we hit Buzz and Alien. BAM three must do's done real quick one of them twice.

Then her other MUST do's at MK were all the way on the other side of the park at Frontierland so we did those on another day that dad got early entry because I got us 8am seating at cindrellas palace. So we hit that side of the park and did a bunch of those rides.

To make a long story short, by grouping rides by priority and by location, by going to rides during parades, and by using fast pass and e-ride night... even though we did not get everything on the list done we got all the MUST DO rides done, all the WANT TO DO rides done, and a handful of the "I don't mind if we don't have the time" rides done. When I asked my daughter if we got all the rides she wanted to do done she said "Yep and we even got more done then I wanted" We also got pictures of her with and signatures of almost the entire stable of characters available.

which reminds me - your two youngest may want to do the autograph meet the character thing - so be sure to calculate that in - don't know about your kids but for my dd she saw a character and what rides she wanted to do became inconsequential to her..."daddy daddy daddy....look" and off we went to get autographs... I did not count but she says we got 63 autographs... frankly I had no idea there were that many characters.

things to pack - ponchos, wipes, antipersperant spray for your feet (it really does help alot preventing blisters for the grown ups)
mole skin, and unless you want to be buying a ton of water bring some kind of refillable water bottle

lastly - make sure your kids expectations are set - explain to them that if they don't follow your plan that waits for some rides can be up to two hours long...

my daughter was amply impressed that we never waited for more then a few minutes during our entire trip

 

[msmenglishtchr]

Thank you all SO MUCH for your great advice!


I had already made my request for bldg. 25 or 26 at CBR (nearest the food court/arcade/etc.) and have made sure to have my boys' special needs requirements noted on our reservation info, too. Had to get manager's approval for 1st floor a requirement rather than a request because my 6 year old almost went over a balcony last year at Hershey and I really don't want to have to re-live that experience! I'm bringing medical documentation with us so we may be able to get a DISabilities pass for some of the longer waits - I've been told this can help when your children have problems like mine do or when you travel to WDW with children who are autistic, etc.

Overplanning is never an issue with us - ADD and ADHD, Tourette's and ODD have cured me of that over the years!!!

Thanks to a GREAT 20% off code at the DisneyStore.com I have already purchased T-shirts with the Making-the-Magic logos on them for the boys to get autographed while we are there - they go back to school the morning after we fly home and they can wear them for the first day (better bragging rights that way! lol!)
We also hit the Disney Store's brick & mortar 75% off sale and the boys have some great Buzz Lightyear shirts and Adventurers PJs to take along on the trip, too. My 6 year old even got a Finding Nemo bathing suit there on sale - he will flip when he sees them at the meet and greet at the Transportation Center our first morning at Disney!

I did Hershey for 3 days last year with the boys as a "practice run" for this trip and they had a ball. They are used to the "Don't expect to get EVERYTHING done this trip" speech and are really good about that aspect of vacation. It rained most of the time we were there, but we brought rain ponchos and wore swim shoes there - and NO LINES!!! lol! We were in our glory! I was raised with the "Lemons into lemonade" mentality - guess my Mom prepared me pretty well for what life had in store. Who knew???

I forgot to mention in my original post - my 13 year old knows we are going and has been helping me make plans since June. My two little guys still don't have a clue yet.
My 8 1/2 year old asked me if I thought we might be able to afford Hershey again this year after camp ends - I told him I didn't think so. (I didn't tell him that's because WDW has all my vacation money already!!! )

I had reservations for Hoop de Doo on 8/31, but at my 13 yr old's request I cancelled them. He heard about a Chip & Dale campfire Sing Along where we can roast marshmallows, make s'mores, and see a classic Disney movie (somewhere near the campgrounds???) from a friend. Since Chip & Dale are my favorite characters he wants that to be "MY" night (maybe this will be partially my vacation after all!!! LOL!) Of course, the fact that there is an all you can eat buffet near there for dinner with all of HIS favorite foods couldn;t have influenced him, now could it???

Did some additional checking and found out that there are no scheduled e-nights after 8/21 for the dates we will be at WDW so we are going to have to get everything done during regular park hours that we can. If anyone can suggest good combinations of rides to offer to them in groupings - that is the best way for me to let them "choose" what they want to do, otherwise as another poster mentioned we will end up running from one end of the park to the other trying to get to everything they want to see & do.

Thanks again for all your input and your encouragement! I feel so much more prepared now!

Jenn
Mom to Greg - 13, Matt - 8 1/2, and Ben - 6