New here and very overwhelmed...

[KateMW]

Hello all~

I am new to the boards as of about an hour ago. Just found out today that my husband has a mtg at the Dolphin/Swan the first weekend of February. We're going to be in Orlando from the evening of the 4th-9th or 10th. Most days it will be my 5 year old daughter and myself at the parks, but we'll have a couple of days with DH and breakfasts and dinners as well.

WHERE DO I START? OMG, there is so much information out there and on here. We have special rates at the Dolphin, Swan, Coronado Springs, Boardwalk and PopCentury plus the Ritz that is close to the parks. Any thoughts off the top of your head about where we should book? Also, we get discounted tickets through the mtg planners, but I assume that they don't include a dining plan. Does anybody know if you can add that or should we just buy food al a carte when we're in the parks?

Thanks! I'm sure this will be the first of many posts!

 

[02AggieGirl]

Hello all~

I am new to the boards as of about an hour ago. Just found out today that my husband has a mtg at the Dolphin/Swan the first weekend of February. We're going to be in Orlando from the evening of the 4th-9th or 10th. Most days it will be my 5 year old daughter and myself at the parks, but we'll have a couple of days with DH and breakfasts and dinners as well.

WHERE DO I START? OMG, there is so much information out there and on here. We have special rates at the Dolphin, Swan, Coronado Springs, Boardwalk and PopCentury plus the Ritz that is close to the parks. Any thoughts off the top of your head about where we should book? Also, we get discounted tickets through the mtg planners, but I assume that they don't include a dining plan. Does anybody know if you can add that or should we just buy food al a carte when we're in the parks?

Thanks! I'm sure this will be the first of many posts!

If you would like to take advantage of Disney's Extra Magic Hours--on certain days, certain parks open an hour early or stay open 3 hours later than closing, then you should stay at one of Disney's resorts. Also you can only do the Disney dining plans when staying with them as well--however, i don't know how it works if you already have tickets....

 

[Metro West]

 

[02AggieGirl]

You should check out allears.net They have pics of all the resorts and other info about them. Also have menus to the restaurants. It's a great resource.

http://allears.net/acc/faq_hot.htm

 

[magicaldisney]

Also if you stay at the Dolphin, Swan or Ritz you can not use Disney's Magical Express. I would stick with one of the onsite resorts...Coronado Springs, Boardwalk or Pop Century.

As for which one, that really depends on you. Are you paying for the resort or is it going to be paid for through your husband's work? What are you looking for in a resort? You are looking at three very different resorts. Pop Century is a value resort. Coronado Springs is a moderate resort and Boardwalk is a deluxe resort. We can help you narrow it down with just a little more info!!!

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

Welcome!!

Personally, I love the Boardwalk....it is in walking distance to two parks, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. You are lucky in that you are not within your window for restaurant reservations yet, so you have some time to plan some of the most wonderful meals you may ever have!

You can go to this website, and start looking at some of the menus:

http://allears.net/menu/menus.htm

Also, be sure to check out the restaurant board. One huge tip, is book when you first have the chance, because the nicer restaurants get booked up QUICK.

Here are some of the "must dos" if I had a 5 year old daughter or son (still waiting for the grand daughter!!)

1. Breakfast at Chef Mickeys (Contemporary Resort)
2. Bippity-Boppity Botique (There is one in Downtown Disney, and the Magic Kingdom, they will transform your daughter into a princess...if interested, be sure to make ressies for this too)
3. Ohana's at the Polynisian resort is a family favorite for dinner. I'd make this a must-do for the evenings when your husband can join you.
4. On your Magic Kingdom day, there is a restaurant called Crystal Palace, that has an awesome buffet (dinner and breakfast). Winnie-the-Pooh characters will walk around and interact with your daughter.
5. Fireworks at Magic Kingdom and EPCOT every night.
6. I would set aside a day just to do KIDSCOT with your daughter. In each of the countries in EPCOT, they have little stations for your daughter to do a fun project. (I think they also have passport stamps and little books for them? )

That's all the "must dos" I can think of for now. I don't have small children any more, so these are just things I notice.

Oh, and also, if your husband has any collegues that might volunteer to watch your daughter one night, there are some really nice romantic places for you and your husband to have dinner together.

Also, if you stay on-site, you don't need to worry about transpo during your entire stay...there are monorails, busses, and boats to just about anywhere you might want to go! Just remember, you have to be staying on-site to take advantage to the early/late park hours!

 

[disney*mom*82]

Sounds like some good tips so far. I didnt see anywhere someone letting you know that you can only purchase the dining as a package, you have to buy resort, tickets and dining.

As others have said, Ide stay on WDW property, while Swan Dolphin is so close, I dont think they get to use WDW transportation or take part in the extra hours.

Start looking at places you want to eat now and write them down. As soon as you window opens up (Oct 27th I beleive) call or get online and start booking. If you are not park hopping make sure you dont book at a park that you are not going to be at for that day. You cannot just go to a park for dinner unless you have a hopper. We always eat at the park we are going to be at for the day or when we go to Magic Kingdom we eat at Chef Mickeys since it is a monorail resort and easy to get back and forth from Magic Kingdom.

If you have more question, just keep posting them, you will get plenty of answers and opinions here! GL and happy planning, I love the planning part!

 

[Micca]

Kate you have TOTALLY come to the right place. Check around the boards for info and let us know howwe can help

 

[Reifsy]

Hi and

I would vote for the Boardwalk assuming it fits in your budget.

 

[BeachClub1292]

The Swan and Dolphin do get to use WDW transportation(boat to epcot and studios, bus everywhere else) I don't know about the extra magic hours at the park though. They don't get to use magical express from the airport either. I just want you to know that they do have WDW transportation but I would not stay at them they just aren't Disney to me no Disney theme at the resorts.

The three Disney resort you can stay at are very different Pop is a Value Resort, Coronado is a Moderate Resort and Boardwalk is a Delux Resort. If your getting a discount and its in your budget stay at the Boardwalk. It has so many things to do right there at your resort on the actual Boardwalk. They have Midway games, shows(magician, comedy, juggling) ever night, shops, restaurants, ESPN Club. The pool is great with a nice slide. You can walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios or ride a boat, bus everywhere else. You can walk over to the Beach Club and go to Beaches and Cream(get the kitchen sink) or have dinner. You can rent a surrey bike(family bike) and ride it around the lake. Also it is a very short walk from the Boardwalk to the swan/dolphin if thats were your husbands meetings are being held. But I will say all three will be fun if you decide on one of the other two. Hope you have a great trip

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

First off, you came to the right place!

Second, my hotel opinion!!!! If the convention is at the Swan and Dolphin... book there. It's not as themed as the other on-site hotels BUT you will have the distinct advantage of direct transportation to Hollywood Studios (DHS) and EPCOT (EP) via the Friendships. You can also take advantage of the extra magic hours (EMH).

The weather may be chilly, but the crowd levels should be low and you'll have lots of time to do what you want to do.

I'm not sure about the adding the dining plan with discounted rates, but I do know that it is "attached" to the number of hotel days you have. Check on allears.net for the sample menus so you can get an idea of whether or not the dining plan is best for your family. It's about $42/day per adult, I can't remember the cost for kids. Not all of the restaurants in the parks are part of the DP and the contracts for the DP aren't set until mid-December. If you wait too long, you could lose out on valuable advanced dining reservations, which in 2 days, you're already going to be in the 180 day window to reserve! (but unless you are planning to book at the most popular restaurants, you should be okay).

From here, pick up a guide book. A lot of people will recommend Unofficial Guide or a Passporter. My first guide book was a Passporter as I liked the way the information was presented. I could start and stop whenever I needed. I marked up my book with mini-post-it notes and labelled them by park, food, our hotel, etc.

For character dining, I believe there is one at the Swan/Dolphin. There is a princess one at Akershaus (sp?) in Norway in EP. Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary hotel is very popular. Pooh and Friends are at Crystal Palace in MK. It really depends on what your DD likes.

Also, allears has height restrictions for the rides so you can see what you can and can't ride with her.

Good luck!

 

[PrincessTiffany]

You can not get the Magical Express Service or the Disney Dining Plan at the Swan/Dolphin, because it is not a Disney owned property.

All of the restaurants in the parks ARE part of the Disney Dining Plan and you won't have any trouble finding a ton of great places to eat. The only popular family places that aren't on the DDP are Rain Forest Cafe and T-Rex, as they are owned by Landry's Corp.

The Ritz has absolutely no Disney perks, so I wouldn't stay there.

As for the other three on-site Disney properties you listed, they are all great resorts, it's just a matter of how much you want to spend. Pop Century is a value resort, Coronodo Spring is a moderate and Boardwalk is a deluxe resort. But I would choose one of the three so you can get the ddp.

I would definitely recommend The Official Guide to Walt Disney World travel guide. It appears you would have about 5 days in the parks, so I would do 2 days at Magic Kingdom, 1 day at Animal Kingdom, 1 day at Disney Hollywood Studiow and 1 day at Epcot.