New here and trying not to freak out...

[emksmama]

We are heading to WDW in 13 weeks, and I am freaking out about planning and trying to "get it all in". I did read the newbies sticky that mentioned going with the flow, so I'm going to try SUPER hard to keep that in mind!

This trip is a total surprise for our DD's, who are 8 & 9. I haven't been to WDW since 1986, so needless to say, a lot has changed since then. DH has never been. We'd been planning a family trip to Michigan, but couldn't find a place for all of us (my parents are taking us, plus my siblings/spouses) so they opted for Disney. The girls still think we are going to Michigan, and we won't tell them until we hit the Florida state line. (We are driving from Indiana to FL through the night...hoping they sleep as we cross through the other states!) They won't know about Disney until we board the shuttle the next morning.

I've downloaded the Undercover Traveler app for WDW to my iPhone, so I'm learning a bit there about crowds, EMH's, etc. We aren't staying at a Disney resort, but at Shades of Green.

So...hello to all and I'm off to explore...trying to keep from feeling overwhelmed!!! ETA: we have 4 days for the parks, and I think my only MUST DO is a character meal....thoughts?

Amy

 

[iwannbindisnee]

Welcome! You are gonna do great! There is so much info here , I know it can be overwelming...A character meal will be awesome (even myself & hubby liked it) Also, if the girls are into the characters & prinesses, do a search here for Characters in EPCOT. They can be found various places & usually without the HUGE lines elsewhere... There are also various threads on the quality of interaction that characters have at various places depending on who you want to see. THe Disboards are very helpful--enjoy & realize that in 4 days you WILL NOT see everything! BUT that's OK, always something to come back for... A fun little thing to do is if they are allowed to pick out one "keepsake" or buy a souvenir (sp?) there's a "$10 dollar" store at DOwntown Disney--I think most if not all things are under $10 there...
Just a thought...Feel free to ask questions here.. someone will know! Debbie

 

[iwannbindisnee]

Oh & I did want to mention....if you are leavingin 13 weeks--that means July---remember to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! It is nasty hot there usually...Or take a nice break in the afternoon, (go back to SOG & swim..) as the parks are open nice & late in the summer, so you have long days to get things in... Deb

 

[emksmama]

Thanks for the tip! We are all big water drinkers, so I know we'll be chugging away on the water bottles. It's funny, when I was a kid we went to Disney twice, and now again as an adult...every.single.trip. was the third week of July. Sheesh!

Another friend mentioned searching for character meals at Epcot. My 8 year old ADORES anything Paris, so I know we'll be there, and I think that would work out really well. If she could see Sleeping Beauty, Belle or Tiana in Paris, that would send her over the moon!

 

[ToddyLu]

Belle can be seen in her regular blue dress in the France area of Epcot several times throughout the day. The Beast is there sometimes too. I am not sure if he makes an appearance in the Summer due to his fur. There should be times listed on the park guide when you enter the park. She has a little walkway near the water where she stands.

One of the best Princess breakfasts is at Norway. Sleeping Beauty, Snow, Ariel and others are there. You can see Mrs. Tremaines and the Ugly Stepsisters with Prince Charming I think at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian at that breakfast buffet.

 

[ToddyLu]

One good thing to do is to look at the map of MK and Epcot especially and get a general idea of where things are--like tomorrow land is to the right of Main Street. Stuff like that. It will help save time.

Definitely get a FP for Soarin' first at EPCOT as soon as you hit the park. It is in The Land pavillion. At Animal Kigdom, you want to walk to the back of the park early and do the Safari first then Expedition Everest next or get a FP for later. Then you can take your time to enjoy the rest of that park. Depending on when you get to Hollywood Studios everyone heads to Toy Story Mania first to get a FP then you can head back to ride Rockin'Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror--if you like those kinds of rides. The floor shows are very good.

AK-Festival of the Lion King and, Finding Nemo the Musical are both aweson.
DHS-Beauty and the Beast stage show.

 

[Aliceacc]

Hi and welcome!

Rule number one: remember, this is a vacation! There's no way you can possibly see and do everything, so don't even let that be an issue. Instead, concentrate on finding some of the things you and your family can do together and enjoy. Anything you miss is simply something to put onto the list for the next trip.

As to a character meal: I'm going to assume your daughters are into the princess thing. If so, there are 2 I recommend highly:
- Dinner at 1900 Park Fare (In the Grand Floridian, easy to reach via monorail from the Magic Kingdom.) Cinderella, the prince, the stepsisters and step mom all go from table to table for photos and autographs. The stepsisters argue about who is prettier, and it's an absolute hoot!!! Dinner is a buffet, so there WILL be something there for everyone. In particular, try the cold strawberry soup!

- breakfast at Aukerhaus (Norway in Epcot.) FIVE princesses go from table to table for autographs and pictures. They're actually there all day, but breakfast features lots of familiar foods... one of my daughters is awful about trying anything unfamiliar. We booked it for an early EMH day. We got to Epcot for rope drop, then had our character breakfast at about 10:30 or so. It was actually more of a brunch for us, and worked out perfectly.

For both of those, your kids can feel free to wear a princess costume-- probably a third to half of the little girls do. (We just found old Halloween costumes and put them over shorts and T's on the way in.) The girls will be greeted as "Your Highness" by the other princesses.

-If they're not into the princess thing, make sure you get to Chef Mickey's. (In the Contemporary, easy to reach via monorail from the Magic Kingdom.) This time it's another buffet wih Mickey, Minnie, Donald and the crew going from table to table.

A couple of other things from a family with 2 teachers (so we ALWAYS go over the summer
- hit amazon.com and order some Mistymate personal misters. They're the size of an electric toothbrush, don't require batteries, and make the summer heat so much more bearable!!!

- consider having bottled water delivered to your room. I'm on the fence between www.wegoshop.com and www.gardengrocer.com We've used gardengrocer in the past and loved it. We get 2 cases of water, cereal, milk, and park munchies. (Though if you're driving, you may be able to just load this stuff into the car instead of buying it in FL.) Bottled water in the parks is expensive!!!

-Consider hitting either the dollar store or Oriental trading for those glow in the dark bracelets/necklaces. it's a whole lot easier to spot your own kids in the dark if you're the family with the blue and green glow bracelets.

- Hit Walmart or the dollar store and stock up on ponchos. Some years we hit lots of rain, some years less. But we've never NOT used any of the ponchos. I'm bringing 3 each for our upcoing 7 night trip in August.