Never been to Disney, and our first trip is in 5 weeks!

[AubsCheerMom]

Hello All!

My family and I are planning to travel to Orlando on April 15th for my daughter's national cheerleading competition. (Wooo! ) I have never been to Orlando, much less the parks. Needless to say I am super pumped, but I honestly am going into this pretty blind. I know that we are booked at the Regal Sun resort. It looked pretty nice when I looked at everything in comparison. We are renting a car because we want to go to the beach one day too, which is something I have never done either.

Is the regal sun a nice place? Is there anything special about it? I read some reviews saying that the website claims that it's in the "Disney World Resort", but what does that mean? That it's better?
See how lost I am??

Also, how do I know how much money to take with me? The trip (stay at the resort, car and flight) is paid for, but we haven't bought tickets to the parks, plus I don't know what to expect as far as food, gas, expenses etc...

I guess this is the biggest trip I have done, and I like to be prepared, so any suggestions would be great. My children are 5 and 1. THANKS!!!!!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I've never been to the Regal Sun, so I can't comment on that.

Ticket prices depend on how long you are staying. A one day adult ticket (and children 10+) is $84.14. Children 3-9 are $72.42. Under 3 is free. This thread, posted by a DISBoards member who also works with tickets in Disney, has a lot of great information. You can buy your tickets in advance at a Disney store or online.

For food, the average counter service (fast food, walk up and place an order) adult meal is about $10. Table service meals will cost more, but you would also really want to make a reservation now if you plan to eat at a sit-down restaurant on WDW property. The Dining section of WDWInfo.com will give you menu and price information.

I don't know how far the Regal Sun is from the parks, but I can tell you that currently gas runs about $2.79/galon. The resort also apparently supplies its own transportation to WDW parks.

 

[AubsCheerMom]

Wow! That thread looks like that will answer a ton of questions!

Do you (or anyone else) have any insiders tips? Such as, where to go first, what not to miss, and what to bring and how to navigate it all? I seriously feel like I'm going to Mars. I feel like I'll get there and it will be so overwhelming that I will be disappointed. Like I said, my kids are little, so I want to take that in to a lot of consideration....

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I think the best thing to do first is read a tour book like the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. There is so many different things to learn. I'm not sure we could answer all your questions in one thread.

As for "stuff not to miss", it all depends on the type of rides you would like, how many days you going to be at Walt Disney World, and which parks (there are four) you will be going to.

 

[AubsCheerMom]

Well, our kids are 5 and 1 (both girls), so my guess is that there are some parks that won't be so great to take them to. Maybe Magic Kingdom and Animal kingdom? We MAY go for 2, but definitely at least one day. So, from my understanding, if you want to go to more than one of the four MAJOR parks (epcot, animal, magic, or hollywood studios) then you have to buy a park hopper, and then you can go to all four, right? The one year old won't be able to ride much, and my guess is that the 5 year old doesn't have much to ride either, so I imagine that will limit our park choices.

 

[EKW]

My best advice is to not let things wait until the last minute. I'm a planner. Our tickets and hotel room is paid for before we leave home. I have a basic itinerary marked out. Okay, that's a lie...I have a detailed itinerary mapped out!

I would strongly urge you to not think that planning will somehow structure your fun. You need to know what parades and shows are running right now, including their running times. Know park hours. You won't be able to take advantage of the extra hours, but you need to know what parks have early and late hours each day so you aren't swimming upstream. If I were you I would completely avoid the parks that have early and late hours on a given day.

If you want to sit down and eat, plan now! All Ears has fairly reliable menus...know what each restaurant serves and the general prices. Don't assume you can show up and just walk in and be seated.

The good news is, you might luck out and hit some low-level days. If you want predictions based on the past, buy the Unofficial Guide and use their online info to plan which park you'll be in each day.

Go to Youtube and watch the Samantha Brown specials.

I have friends who went to WDW every year for about 10 years when I went the first time. I came home with photos and my friend kept saying, "Now, what's that? Oh, that looks wonderful! Where is it?" She just went and wandered. Until she saw how much more we got to see and do she never saw the value in planning.

I hope you'll give planning a shot!

 

[EKW]

Well, our kids are 5 and 1 (both girls), so my guess is that there are some parks that won't be so great to take them to. Maybe Magic Kingdom and Animal kingdom? We MAY go for 2, but definitely at least one day. So, from my understanding, if you want to go to more than one of the four MAJOR parks (epcot, animal, magic, or hollywood studios) then you have to buy a park hopper, and then you can go to all four, right? The one year old won't be able to ride much, and my guess is that the 5 year old doesn't have much to ride either, so I imagine that will limit our park choices.

No, you only need a hopper if you want to visit more than one park in a day. If you plan to visit one park a day, you don't need hoppers. You REALLY need to do research! There are a ton of rides your one year old can go on!!!

Your post makes me sad...don't waste your time there trying to figure out what you can do. Use this site and others...buy the Unofficial Guide...educate yourself on all the options that are out there!!!!

 

[monkeybug]

How many days are you going to the parks? Just one?
With your aged Children I would maybe do just Magic Kingdom (MK). You won't be able to see it all in one day, and it is the park with the most for their age group. You should try to arrive at Rope Drop (RD) if you can. Rope Drop means you get to the park maybe 20-30 minutes before the park opens, they have sections of the park roped off, and you wait at these areas. There are much less people in the parks that early in the morning, and you can get much more done in a short amount of time.
If you want to eat at a restaurant call and make reservations now! People make reservations up to 180 days in advance, and the picking can get slim the closer you get to your trip.
Chef Mickeys would be a fun place to have a meal on your first Disney trip. It's not outstanding food, but you get to meet the main Characters with out waiting in line.

 

[momof1princess]

Well, our kids are 5 and 1 (both girls), so my guess is that there are some parks that won't be so great to take them to. Maybe Magic Kingdom and Animal kingdom? We MAY go for 2, but definitely at least one day. So, from my understanding, if you want to go to more than one of the four MAJOR parks (epcot, animal, magic, or hollywood studios) then you have to buy a park hopper, and then you can go to all four, right? The one year old won't be able to ride much, and my guess is that the 5 year old doesn't have much to ride either, so I imagine that will limit our park choices.

MK and AK will be great for the younger kids. AK is good for animal lovers, but there aren't many rides. DHS would also be good for the younger ones-there's the playhouse disney show, the voyage of the little mermaid, toy story midway mania and lots of characters to be found. i've been many times, and given a choice, i would choose DHS over AK, but YMMV. have a great time!

 

[monkeybug]

You should also head over to the theme parks board and read all about fastpasses!

 

[mjkacmom]

Well, our kids are 5 and 1 (both girls), so my guess is that there are some parks that won't be so great to take them to. Maybe Magic Kingdom and Animal kingdom? We MAY go for 2, but definitely at least one day. So, from my understanding, if you want to go to more than one of the four MAJOR parks (epcot, animal, magic, or hollywood studios) then you have to buy a park hopper, and then you can go to all four, right? The one year old won't be able to ride much, and my guess is that the 5 year old doesn't have much to ride either, so I imagine that will limit our park choices.

It took me 11 months of planning to feel comfortable - LOL! Park hoppers are if you want to go to more than one park a day. If not, then just one park each day (any park you choose). It's going to be busy, so you want to have a plan - which parks on which days, what you want to go on, and have somewhat of an order (ie - you don't want to rush to it's a small world and plan on dumbo later in the day). Learn about fastpasses. Your little one will get to go on most rides at the MK.

As a PP mentioned, if you want any sit-down meals, make ADR's YESTERDAY - you can make them 180 days out, and most who do the popular character meals have made their ADR's months ago.

Edited to add, my biggest tip is to get to the parks at rope drop, especially going at a busy time - we got more done in the first 1 1/2 hours than the whole rest of the day. We'd plan on what attractions were a must, and after lunch, just kind of wander.

 

[ajjollie23]

Wow! That thread looks like that will answer a ton of questions!

Do you (or anyone else) have any insiders tips? Such as, where to go first, what not to miss, and what to bring and how to navigate it all? I seriously feel like I'm going to Mars. I feel like I'll get there and it will be so overwhelming that I will be disappointed. Like I said, my kids are little, so I want to take that in to a lot of consideration....

Your children are young so you are probably going to want to spend most of your time at Magic Kingdom. It has the most rides that they can go on.
Winnie the pooh, peter pan, (Fantasyland in general)
Hollywood studios has lots of great shows but it depends on your children if they will sit through them and some are dark and loud. it does have playhouse disney which the younger kids like.
Animal kingdom is the hottest park with little shade. Your oldest will be able to go some rides here, you will probably have to child swap with a lot of them though. (if you ask the person at the fast pass for a child swap (switch rider) your husband or you can go on first with your daughter and then you switch. When you switch you get to go on the shorter fast pass line.
Epcot-a lot of walking. My 5 yo son LOVES journey into imagination and Test Track, as well as soarin.

 

[ajjollie23]

Actually at MK your 1 year old can go on most of the rides in Fantasyland and a bunch of others. How tall is your 5 year old ? Mine was able to go on almost all of the rides in every park (there were very few that he couldn't go on). Park hopper is really a great thing to do if you plan on going to multiple parks. We like to go early to one then go back and relax at hotel and then go to another park in the evening

 

[RDM83]

This will also be my first trip and just a few weeks back I WAS LOST

BUT NOW I AM PUMPED AND READY TO GO!!!
You learn so much by searching the threads, SERIOUSLY anything you want to know is HERE...

SO MY ADVICE..TAKE SOME TIME AND SEARCH THESE BOARDS!!!!
Boy oh boy will you be grateful, I have not stepped foot in Disney, but I've been living through others' trip reports and jotting down notes, and heck I'M READY FOR THE WORLD!!!

GOOD LUCK, and just take a few minutes a day to do your research, well worth while..

You're in good hands