Never been to WDW, where to start?

[I Believe n Fairies]

So I have led a sheltered life. I've NEVER been to WDW. I'm now happily married and mom of two, and think it's about time I went. For our first trip, DH and I want to take our 4 1/2 year old princess and leave ds at home. I want my dd to have a truly magical time. We'll all go once ds is older.

Questions may be silly, but I have NO clue where to even begin.

1. What book do you recommend to read?
2. For all the special princess meals, events (like the tea parties), shows, etc., is there an additional fee?
3. I'm thinking Jan or Feb. at All-Movies. Ok for first timer??
4. Is it normal to have this giddy feeling in my tummy when I think about going to WDW?

I've been lurking for a couple weeks, and I've already started my list of tips from here.

Thanks for your help!!
I Believe in Fairies

 

[bubba73]

So you are finally going to WDW. Well, I know that you are going to have the time of your life. As far as answers to your questions, I have never read a book on Disney. All of my knowledge has come from actually going to the parks on multiple occassions and reading this website on a daily basis. I can tell you what to do when and which parks to go to on what day but none of that really matters. Everyone has their own plan of what they need to do when inside the parks. Everyone even has their own favorite place to stay. Personally, I would stay at POP Century (preferably in the 50's section lakeside so you can watch Illuminations from the walkway). All the character dinings do have an extra fee. They can be fairly expensive depending on your financial status and what experience you want to choose from. Teas are a little less expensive than the full meal. The time of year should be good as kids will still be in school so it will be less crowded. And as far as having a giddy feeling in your stomach, I have been to WDW over 20 times and I just got back from my first trip to DL and I still get that giddy feeling. That is the magic of Disney.

P.S. If you are interested, I will PM you some of my thoughts on an itinerary. I have went with a 4 year old. But you need to let me know how many days you are planning to go and how many days in the parks do you want to go. Look forward to hearing from you.

 

[I Believe n Fairies]

Thanks for getting back with me. I'm thinking about 5 days, and I'd like to do the parks each day. I would get the park hopper. Do you recommend?? I want to be sure and spend time each day back at the hotel to allow us down time. A suggested itinerary would be great.

I see you're from Bama, too!! Do you fly to Dis or drive?

Thanks again for your help!!

 

[Rella Bella]

You are in for the time of your life!
I have two suggestions... find a thread (or start one) about the different 'Princess Meals/Teas' to get a good idea which one would fit your daughters personality/ability to sit still. Then immediately make Advance Dining Reservations (407) WDW-dine. The Princess meals book up about 90 days in advance. It may be easier in Jan-Feb... but I know some times of the year they fill up the day they open the day for reservations.

Then plan a relaxed itinerary. The characters come out, in groups, several times a day (we can give you pointers where to find them). When they come out the kids all line up to hug/get an autograph/take a picture. Five or six characters can take 30 to 40 minutes... and the kids love this!! We didn't know about this the first time we went. I guess I thought they would just be walking around, but it's much more organized. You'll be more relaxed if you plan time for it. The other thing to plan for is the parades. I don't really care for parades... except at Disney! I won't miss any there!! They are wonderful and magical! Plan to find a place about an hour before and enjoy a 'rest time' until it begins. The magic is worth it!

The best advice I got was: 'You'll never see it all, so just relax, enjoy each moment and see what you can see'. Some of our most precious memories happened when we were on the way to do something else.

 

[MiaSRN62]

My kids love the All Star Movies---especially the Toy Story and Dalmation sections.
There are so many good websites out now that a book may not be necessary. Check these sites :
http://www.wdwinfo.com/
http://www.allearsnet.com/din/chglance.htm
http://www.allearsnet.com/
http://www.mousesavers.com/wdw.html


There are some good guidebooks though, if you want something you can carry around : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1587710188/debsunoffiwaltdi/103-2823057-2635859
It's totally normal to have that giddy feeling because planning is half the fun.

 

[Akumal]

Guess what? I'm going for the first time too. Next week! But for me, it's a 50th birthday present! I've been all over these boards for the last few weeks for tips. It's all very overwelming!

 

[MHTeacher]

Dear I believe in Fairies,

Someone already posted the web site for allearsnet. This is one of the best web sites for planning a WDW trip. I went to WDW several times as a child, and am 48 days away from our family's third trip. We stayed at an all star the first time. It was fine for our family. The real magic is being at Disney, not what hotel you are sleeping in. We live in North Alabama and have flown each time we have been to WDW, but are more than likely going to be driving this time. Good luck planning your trip.

ROLL TIDE !!

May 2001-All Star Sports
July 2003-CSR
Nov./Dec. 2005-Wilderness Lodge 48 DAYS !!

 

[byoung]

Have a great time.

 

[aquaticmom]

To both of you going for the first time - stop and smell the roses and enjoy your first trip. I'll bet you become addicted just like the rest of us here. Eleven more days until our next trip to the World!!!

 

[Chrissi242]

We are making our way to WDW in March for the very first time also! We are staying at the VWL. I am SOOO excited about it, more so than my children actually! LOL

 

[FF04]

Our first trip as well. 10/29 -11/3 @ POFQ with 10/31 MNSSHP. I have spent the past three weeks combing these forums. There is an unbeleivable amount of information! I must admit, before I came here I was mildly excited about the trip. I now can not wait! I have one additional ?. Where can I find tips on when the group of characters appear. Thanks for all your help.

 

[eblack0409]

I just took my first trip to WDW in September on my Honeymoon....you will have a blast! I do highly recommend the park hopper option and it might not be a bad idea to sign up for the Disney dining plan, you can go to Chef Mickey's for a character breakfast for no additional charge. We stayed at Pop Century and absolutely loved it! You can always call the Disney reservations to help you with any questions you have. If you are looking for savings, I would recommend joining AAA if you aren't already a member, they are saving me 15% of my room cost for my trip in May! Also check out www.mousesavers.com it's also a great way to save some money. As for planning meals, I think someone already mentioned this, but allearsnet is a great place to get menus and meal ideas http://allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm

I hope you all have a magical time!

 

[ssferguson79@yahoo.c]

We just paid off our first trip to WDW. We leave in 45 days!!!!!!!! It will be DH and I's first time. I have been to Epcot only as a child and DH grew up near Anaheim so he has been to Disneyland a million times!

For those who are driving from Alabama, what route are you traveling? Everyone seems to be giving us a different route.

 

[lisajl]

Hey all you newbies going to WDW! You should have seen me when I first went. I was 25 with a 2 year old daughter and husband in tow.
I ran off the boat (don't take the boat)..takes too long to get there, and the man on the boat yelled at me for running!
I could not believe it! When I look back on it, I'm sure I looked like an idiot!! But, Boy,oh boy, what a great time we had. We only went to MK then, and walked around what is now DTD.

Have a fantastic time, take your time, look around and enjoy it all!!

We are going back with that daughter who will be 20 in a few weeks, and our two boys 11 and 8 year olds.

This will only be our 4th trip to WDW, but even if we went every year it would still be special!!

Have a great time!!!!

Lisa

 

[alwayspooh]

I am so happy for you and your family. You are going to have such a magical time. My husband and I went together for the first time on our honeymoon. At that time I didn't know anything about this board. We just went on a whim. We had a great time but the last couple of times we have gone, I used at of the info from these boards and it made the trip a whole lot easier with children.

My advice for your first trip is not to try to plan every second of your day. You will spend most of your time trying to stick to a time frame instead of enjoying your time with your family and in turn you will end up upset because you didn't get to do everything that you had planned

Have fun planning and let us know how it is going.

 

[handicap18]

I stayed at the All Star Movie my first trip there in 2001. and we are going back to that hotel next month. I loved it. It was just my wife and I. Now we're going back with my in laws, my mother and DS (3 1/2) and DD (1).

First time was for 4 days and we did the 4 parks in 2 days, Universal on 3rd day then I had day 4 to myself and went back to MGM to ride Aerosmith a few more times.

Now we're doing a week and I found it very easy to make a spreadsheet for an itinerary to help plan meals and make sure we hit the parades for my DS and mother (her first time) and also Wishes and MVMCP. We're planning on 4 or 5 character meals too.

Soak up all the info you can and plan out what you can ahead of time. That way when you get there you have a much better idea of is going on where and when.

Have fun.

 

[indigoxtreme]

The guide book The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World gives you a lot of info too. All ears is good for the menus I highly recommend the dinning plan. For 35 dollars per adult per night of your stay you really get a lot of food. For your child it is 10.00 a day. It would be really hard to eat for that in WDW on your own. It includes the character meals etc. Here is the WDW link and all ears has the info on it too. We just returned from a 8 day trip with our 4yr old granddaughter (DGD on these boards). I recommend not starting with Magic Kingdom if you are going to go to the other parks. We started with Animal Kingdom and she got to meet several of the characters as well as see some great shows, then we went to Epcot, MAgic Kingdom and then MGM. I wanted to gradually build to the MK for the excitement.

She was able to enjoy all the parks this way. YEs get the hopper option it is well worth it....Have a Magical Time

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/tickets/packageDetail?id=PackageDetailMYWDiningPkg05Page

 

[theflowerladee]

When you check in pick up maps for each of the parks at the check-in counter and you will notice little icons and where the characters will be for
autographs/hugs. In ak you can go to camp mickey/minnie for all day characters and in mk you can go to the judges tent for all day characters.
We go thru dvc and cannot buy into the meal plan but i have priced it and would definitely do that if i could. i called 90 days out to make my thanksgiving ressies and at 7:30 am they had a recording saying cinderellas castle had already sold out , so i would highly recommend calling 90 days out from your first day of check-in to try and book any princess anything.

good luck and have a magical trip......i am sure you will.

 

[paytonjsplace]

I haven't stayed at any value resort other than Pop Century -- but I can tell you that I will ALWAYS stay at Pop (unless, of course, I win the Powerball tonight -- then I might splurge for a moderate resort!!!).

 

[I Believe n Fairies]

Thanks so much for all the great tips!! I'm really looking forward to my daughter meeting the "real" Cinderella. Most of her conversations beging with, "When we go to Disney...."

However, my dh is changing jobs, so it throws a wrench in the planning process. He will not be eligible for vacation until next year, so it looks like we will go next year with both kids. So, I have a year to absorb all of your knowledge and live vicariously through your trips!!

Thanks again!!