Need help planning first trip!

[kamom]

We found a great deal on livingsocial.com for 3 nights at Kissimmee Country Inn and Suites. We have until April 2012 to use the deal. We have 2 girls 8 & 5 that we are willing to take out of school. Was thinking of going in Feb. or March 2012? We do not want to go when it will be swamped (like spring break). Any thoughts/advice. Of course, we are on a budget so we want to get the most bang for our buck. DH and I have never been either so are basically clueless - any advice would be helpful.

 

[Dani C]

First, let me welcome you to the site. There is a wealth of information available here and always people ready to help you.

My personal choice would be to plan for February rather than March, for reasons such as crowds, weather, etc. You will find that everything about a trip to Disney tends to be rather expensive, but if you bring snacks from home, and remember to pack the essentials, you should be able to make the money go a bit further.

Check out the threads related to tips and traveling with a family, these should provide you with assistance on some of those essentials i mentioned. Above all, plan for a fabulous and magical vacation.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

We found a great deal on livingsocial.com for 3 nights at Kissimmee Country Inn and Suites. We have until April 2012 to use the deal. We have 2 girls 8 & 5 that we are willing to take out of school. Was thinking of going in Feb. or March 2012? We do not want to go when it will be swamped (like spring break). Any thoughts/advice. Of course, we are on a budget so we want to get the most bang for our buck. DH and I have never been either so are basically clueless - any advice would be helpful.

If you are willing to take the kids out of school, then that opens up a lot of discounts in regards to booking with Walt Disney World. If you go in the off season, you can actually stay for a reasonable price, even cheaper than off-site. We rotate our yearly trips around WDW Free Dining Promos. New Free Dining details were released yesterday for August - September dates. The crowds are super low during this time frame and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party dates will start in September also - which is super fun. But if you are wanting to go in February or March, there may be more free dining dates coming later in the year. February is super busy during President's week and March Spring Break crowds start rolling in by the 15th and it will be super busy from that time until the first week of April. Also, I would recommend at least 5 days in the parks - 2 days Magic Kingdom, 1 day Epcot, 1 day Animal Kingdom and 1 day Disney Hollywood Studios.

Here is the info on the new free dining promo:
FREE DINING dates released: Disney Visa holders can book, starting today, free dining packages for the dates of August 28 - September 24, 2011. These free dining dates will open for general public bookings on Monday, May 2. If you check in by September 24, you can receive the free dining discount for your length of stay, up to 14 nights.

I highly recommend that you get The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World or check out their companion website, www.touringplans.com. I use their Best Days/Crowd Calendar to plan out our park days each year. Staying at a Value resort and getting a free dinining discount will be cheaper than staying off-site - plus on-site is much more fun and convenient. The biggest thing you need to concentrate on right now is picking a resort - AllStar Movies is our favorite Value Resort - planning your park days and getting your Advance Dining Reservations made. A lot of the character meals and popular restaurants will already have limited seatings now for August and September. Here's a few tips for new visitors:

1. Make sure you have Advance Dining Reservations for any Sit Down/Table Service/Character Meals most restaurants will not be taking walk-ups.

2. Get to the parks at opening. You really can get a lot done in the morning because so many other people sleep in.

3. Eat lunch around 11:00 or 11:30 a.m. before the fast food places get busy. Then when while everyone else is eating lunch, you will have lower crowds.

4. I buy a ton of the two for a dollar ponchos at the dollar store and keep them in the backpack. That way you can throw them a way after use and not worry about keeping up with a wet bulky poncho the rest of the day. Bring throw away ponchos to wear on Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom, if not you WILL get soaked.

5. Other things I put in the backpack each morning are Tylenol/Motrin, small first aid kit, camera with extra batteries, small hand towel, hand sanitizer, wipes and a bottle of water.

6. Most single service items under $4.00 are considered a snack credit on the Disney dining plan. (This doesn't apply to you since you are staying off-site)

7. At Magic Kingdom always head to Fantasyland first, if you are not doing Fantasyland on a particular day then head to Splash Mountain first, then Big Thunder Mountain; at Epcot always ride Soarin' first and get a Fastpass for later after you get off of the ride; at Disney Hollywood Studios always ride Toy Story Mania first, then head over to Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror; and at Animal Kingdom ride Expedition Everest First then head to the Safari.

8. Favorite fast food restaurants at MK are Pecos Bills and Cosmic Rays; favorite fast food at Animal Kingdom is Flame Tree Grill and Pizzafari. If you are there while it very hot, go to Pizzafari.

9. If there are two lines going into an attraction, always take the line that goes to the left.

10. My best tip would have to be USE THE FASTPASS SYSTEM. Our rule of thumb is if the wait is 25 minutes or less, we wait in line. If the wait is 30 minutes or more, use a Fastpass. It is not highly publicized, but your Fastpass does not expire until the end of the day. You can never use it before the return time stamp on the pass, but you can always use it after. We try to collect Fastpasses during the early part of the day and then use them later in the afternoon when the parks become more crowded.

Click on this link from fellow Diser Doconeill and it will give you an excellent overview of Fastpass:

http://www.oinc.net/disney/fastpass.php

If you still don't understand, just let me know your specific questions.

11. I like the Photopass. You can pre-buy it before your trip for $99.00. When you enter the parks you will see the staff photographers, they will take your pictures and give you a Photopass and you can use that for the rest of your trip. Each time you see a photographer have them take your picture and they will scan your picture. Then when you get home you can pull up the pictures, with the code they email you after purchase, and pick the photos you want on a CD. They will then mail you the CD and the copyrights to the CD and you can take them to Walmart or Walgreens or wherever and get them developed. They also have a lot of cool software that you can use to edit your photos before you have them put on the CD.

My favorite Disney planning sites are:

www.disboards.com
www.allearsnet.com
www.wdwinfo.com
www.intercot.com

 

[raysmom]

HI, Welcome to Dis and to being a Disney World Trip planner. You already recieved good advice. I see you brought a hotel package already so you would not be able to do th dining plan on site but no fret you still can save money.

a hint is normally when you buy those packages you can call the hotel to buy more nights at a discount as well. I would stay at least 5 nights so your not so stressed and can see everything at a nice pace.

You need to have dining reservations you can look at allears.net and search dining and they have list of menus, you can pick which places you want to eat

You will need tickets, Not sure if we can post suggestions to discount tickets on here so I will private message you about tickets

My suggestion is if you can swing it to go in Sept- mid November this is a low time after Labor day normally. The Halloween party is great and as the winter nears the temp is wonderful but not unbearable

would you fly or would you drive?

If flying check Allegient Air they have great deal somtimes as low as 19.99 each way and fly into Orlando from most areas around the country. You have to check all the time thier rates change and go up and down and are best within a month from date of travel normally.

If your off site, Def get a rental car, you can get cheap rates close to the time your going rates go lowest under a week till you need the car. I usually rent my car the day ro 2 before I go for the best rates. Hotwire is great

 

[Metro West]

 

[kamom]

Thanks for the great advice! Couple more questions:

The photo deal sounds great - how do you buy it? And, do the characters take pictures with your camera or theirs? Can you take as many pictures as you want?

Also, we know we want to have a meal with characters - probably princess. Where do you suggest we do this?

What rides would you suggest to be the "must do" for an 8 and 5 year old?