Nervous About Trip Planning

[ybeshsm77]

Hi everyone!

I am new here. I am planning our family's first trip to Disney World. I officially made reservations tonight for the last week of January at the Port Orleans Riverside resort. We are getting there a Saturday and leaving on Thursday. I got the free dining plan. Now I'm freaking out about making dining reservations. I am trying to figure out which park we will be going to each day and what times to make the reservations for. So many things I have been worrying about. We are taking my 8 year old son out of school for 4 days. He will be back to school that Friday, so he wont miss his spelling and reading tests. My daughter is 4 years old and will only miss 2 mornings of nursery school that week. The next time we do Disney again will be when they are in High School. I wrote out letters asking for permission from his teacher and principal to let my son miss school. I was so worried I wouldn't get permission and then my son came home today and told me that a girl in class has been out for two weeks on a cruise with her parents! I then find out from him that other kids have also gotten out of school for family vacations. Why do I worry so much!! I also worry about the cost but I worry about the cost of everything. We are big time savers. We have the money for the trip saved already but I still feel sooooo guilty spending any money. I'm a big tightwade. I hate spending money. Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! OK. I am glad I got this off my chest. Maybe I'll feel better now. Thanks everyone

-C

 

[mickeyandme2]

Just wanted to stop and say Hi.....
I am new here too...Theres a ton of resources here and many
with a lot of experience.Hope you have some fun with planning.
We always do.Good Luck!Bernadette

 

[Metro West]

 

[Aliceacc]

Hi and welcome!!!

First of all, breathe!!! This is a vacation, not the Normandy invasion. I think you'll find, as you plan, that the planning is at least half the fun!

And, for what it's worth, I have friends who have stayed at Port Orleans and ADORED it!!!

Your next step is to make those dining reservations.

If you KNOW your kids like masked characters (for example, you have pictures of them with the Easter Bunny), my first suggestion is a meal at Chef Mickey's. (It's at the Contemporary, easily reachable from the Magic Kingdom.) The characters come up to the table (though they'll back away from a frightened child and just wave). It's a lot of fun!! (Oh, and a wonderful Christmas/Hannuka gift would be autograph books and retractable Sharpies for those autographs!!!)

For your daughter, think about a dinner with Cinderella and the Stepsisters at 1900 Park Fare (on the monorail too) The stepsisters and stepmother are an absolute hoot!!! If she wants to wear her Princess dress from Halloween, she won't be the only one.

If you can get it, we love LeCellier in Epcot, though reservations can be tough to get. It's now 2 meals on the meal plan, so we're planning to get there for a late lunch.

In Animal Kingdom, we LOVE Yak and Yetti. That's another meal we do for lunch.

 

[eculmone]

Welcome regarding the 'tightwad' comment... I was diagnosed with an eventually fatal disease. I will pass away from this disease if I don't get hit by a car first. That being said, you never know when your last day on earth will be? Treasure this time, keep in mind that this will be something you can cross off your 'bucket list'. You can't take it with you.

Planning... think about where you want to be each day. i.e. Magic Kingdom, day one, Epcot day two, hollywood studios day three and then back to your favourite park day four... then post to us your picks and we can tell you our favourites in that area. I like dining at resorts so I can check out the other locations and then head back to parks etc. Once you have your itinerary of where you want to be and some ideas of where you want to eat, have pen and paper ready when you call for advance dining ressies. Places fill up fast, so be prepared for second and third choices. We love this site, so if your confused, post your questions and we'll all help you get some order to your days so you make the most for your family. Your gonna love it.

Our very first vacation was Port Orleans, riverside and I fell in love. I loved the mansion style hotels, the bikes, the boat ride to Downtown Disney... If you check out my signature, you'll see we've done it all.

So get your pen and paper and post ideas and we'd be happy to help you out!

 

[eculmone]

Hi everyone!

I am new here. I am planning our family's first trip to Disney World. I officially made reservations tonight for the last week of January at the Port Orleans Riverside resort. We are getting there a Saturday and leaving on Thursday. I got the free dining plan. Now I'm freaking out about making dining reservations. I am trying to figure out which park we will be going to each day and what times to make the reservations for. So many things I have been worrying about. We are taking my 8 year old son out of school for 4 days. He will be back to school that Friday, so he wont miss his spelling and reading tests. My daughter is 4 years old and will only miss 2 mornings of nursery school that week. The next time we do Disney again will be when they are in High School. I wrote out letters asking for permission from his teacher and principal to let my son miss school. I was so worried I wouldn't get permission and then my son came home today and told me that a girl in class has been out for two weeks on a cruise with her parents! I then find out from him that other kids have also gotten out of school for family vacations. Why do I worry so much!! I also worry about the cost but I worry about the cost of everything. We are big time savers. We have the money for the trip saved already but I still feel sooooo guilty spending any money. I'm a big tightwade. I hate spending money. Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! OK. I am glad I got this off my chest. Maybe I'll feel better now. Thanks everyone

-C

Also, you are going to be soooooooooooo busy trying to fit it all in in such a short amount of time. When you pick out days of where you want to be... remember to keep in mind, your agenda should be a 'suggestion'. Planning meals can be very stressful. Figure out a time that you all like to eat and keep that in mind when booking. I told my husband, if we don't make the reservation, the sky won't fall on us... it's just a suggestion. It worked out great. Print out your 'itinerary/agenda' and keep it with you so you have an idea of what you want to accomplish in that day. There really is no bad place to eat in Disney so IMHO it's ALL GOOD. Your gonna be fine.

 

[eculmone]

Sample idea to start you off and running:
Arrive Sat. - check in, check out resort, get settled, take boat to Downtown Disney... say OMGosh WE R IN DISNEY Wolfgang Pucks for lunch or dinner depending on your time that you arrive. Check out the Legoland in DD and watch your children freak out (Kodak moments). Check out Extra Magic Hours and hit that park... get a funnel cake, or bineaut (sp)at Port Orleans when you take boat back to your resort. Get off at Port Orleans and check it out while eating a 'snack credit' bin yay (pronunciation) and enjoy the sensation as it melts in your mouth and you follow the path back to Old Riverside as you revell in the fact that YOU R IN DISNEY Bring jackets & gloves cuz it's cold at night.

ok, so that is just an idea. No bad ideas in Disney....

 

[Applemomma]

Firstly...... You've come to the right place! And you're ahead of the game because you're planning a few months out instead of a week, which I've seen people do and I shudder to think how stressful THAT must be. You're arming yourself with knowledge and that will pan out big time when you get there!

Secondly ....as someone already said "breathe!". Just know that your family will benefit hugely from this time spent together and your son will probably learn more then you know during your time at Disney!

Third....try not to get overwhelmed. You really aren't allowing yourself a whole lot of time at Disney, mostly because it's too big to cover everything in a month let alone five days, so just concentrate on enjoying the experience you are having at that moment. If that means you have to cancel an ADR because you are having too much fun somewhere far from the restaurant then do it! Nothing will make or break your vacation if you don't let it.

Fourth and last .... you almost have to have your first Disney vacation in order to better plan your next so give in to the impulse of saying "we missed it this time so we'll be back!"