New here -- LOTS of questions.....

[Unregistered]

Hi. Please bear with me. I just found this site and I'm so overwhelmed at this point, I just need some help.
I am planning our (DH, DD-9 and maybe DS-22) first (gasp-yes!) trip to WDW at the beginning of October. Friends of ours gave us their timeshare at the Horizons Marriott for 7 days and we booked another room at the Ramada Maingate West for another day - making a total of 8. We are taking the autotrain so will have our car. Unfortunately, I NEED to budget the trip as much as I can......
Here are our thoughts so far, and I would appreciate any input!!!!
Friday - Arrive Sanford. Depending on how long it takes to get car - maybe go to Downtown Disney, just to see things. Check in. Drive to Fort Wilderness and get take out chicken dinner from Trails End - eat it at the Chip and Dale cookout - stay for movie - watch water pageant. Home
Saturday - Animal Kingdom (maybe park hop later in afternoon)
Sunday - Disney MGM (maybe park hop later in afternoon)
Monday - Magic Kingdom
Tuesday - POSSIBLY Discovery Cove (if I can find a discount)
Wednesday - POSSIBLY Sea World
Thursday - Epcot
Friday - Park hop / end at Magic Kingdom - Character dinner at Crystal Palace (watch fireworks)

Does this seem like an ok itinerary?? Will it allow us enough time to do/see everything? DD would like to eat at the Whispering Canyon(?)(she's heard about certain "episodes with ketchup"). What day would work best for that?
Also does anyone know how much tax they charge in and around Disney? Is it on everything??
We figure we will eat most breakfasts in the room - most lunches in the parks and SOME dinners in the park, some back in the room..... Any thoughts on this as well?? I've already heard to bring our own bottled water and pack snacks to help stretch things out farther....
Thank you for any help you can offer. I REALLLLLY want this to be a memorable trip.

 

[disneydreamin-gang]

It sure looks like a packed week. With all that you will need a vacation after your vacation. My family likes things a little less stressful. The first day of your arrival is what we usually do. Take in DTD and relax by pool. We usually take in a park the next 2 days then take a day off to just chill out by the pool. It gives everyone a chance to relax, sleep, and just enjoy each other. We have found after 2 days in a row the kids are spent and cranky. I would rather have them rearing and read after a days rest than to fight and have them whining at the parks. I have seen families with kids so tired that no one was having fun anymore.

I have a friend who hits the parks everyday for a week and would never dream of taking a day to rest. They come back exhausted and loved every minute of their trip.

You know your family best. You will have a great time and make memories for a life time.

 

[JeanfromBNA]

I agree with the previous poster that you certainly have a packed week planned. If you haven't picked it up already, get the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2007. It has tons of useful information, but read the sections "Allocating Time" and "Walt Disney World With Kids." The UG also has reviews on all of the WDW table service restaurants and profiles on counter service eateries.

Whispering Canyon Cafe is in the Wilderness Lodge. You can take the boat or a bus from the Magic Kingdom to WL, so combine it with a day at the MK. Your daughter will love it. Tell her to ask for the ketchup while she's there.

Don't know about the taxes, but I bet that Disney Central Reservations could tell you.

Have a great trip! Maybe we'll see you there

 

[disneydreamin-gang]

Oh yea. I had forgotten about the Unofficial Guide. It was the most valuable tool in planning for our last trip. I read and reread it and still found info i had missed.

An other tool is on Disney site, My vacation planning. You can now order maps of the parks with your favorites marked. I think it will be a great addition to my planning for the next time. For you it will help you become familiar with the parks before you ever arrive.

 

[Geomacey]

OK... Now that I figured out this "Unregistered" thing .....
Thank you for your responses! It sounds to me like you guys might be gently telling me that we're doing too much??
I borrowed a book from our library -- WDW with Kids 2007 by Kim Wright Wiley. What is the Unofficial Guide? Sorry to sound so stupid, but I really am at a loss here.....
One more question .... since we are not staying AT Disney, how do we get to use the free transporation from park to park??
TIA for all your help.

 

[MariaEllerºoº]

I would suggest either the Unofficial Guide or the Passporter or even both. They're both great with lots of info. One thing I found great, even though I've been to Disney 48 times is the extra pages in the back of the Passporter where you can pencil in your itinerary, ADR's, Confirmation numbers, etc....

One suggestion that I would make on your itinerary is not to plan on leaving the parks to go back to your offsite hotel for meals. This will take away a lot of your park time when fighting with traffic and the amount of time it takes to fix and eat a meal. I would plan to eat breakfast at your place and then the next two meals at the parks...closing the parks down at night. MGM is basically a half day park for our family. MK at least 2 days, Epcot 2 days and AK one full day.

 

[ransom]

OK... Now that I figured out this "Unregistered" thing .....
Thank you for your responses! It sounds to me like you guys might be gently telling me that we're doing too much??
I borrowed a book from our library -- WDW with Kids 2007 by Kim Wright Wiley. What is the Unofficial Guide? Sorry to sound so stupid, but I really am at a loss here.....
One more question .... since we are not staying AT Disney, how do we get to use the free transporation from park to park??
TIA for all your help.

The Unofficial Guide is "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World" by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa. It's published annually, and the current version is 2007. It's an 800 page book with tons and tons of information that will help anyone have a much better first trip to WDW.

As for the transportation, you can use it without being an on-site guest. It's no problem!

 

[themudd4]

Yes your plans look fine to me, (although heads up...discovery cove is not what I would say is budget freindly). I don't think you have to much on it, simply becasue you are not going to have younger children...a 9 and 22 yr old should be able to hang with this plan rather easy.

My family really enjoys WCC. I think it would be well worth your time to try and fit it in. Maybe even on the Sat. of your trip when your going to be at AK...I say that because AK is a 1/2-3/4 of a day for most ppl. You could still go to another park that evening.

One other thing you may want to consider is MNSSHP. It is a hard ticket event but with you all going in Oct. I think you may enjoy it! You also may want to look into the dates on this before finalizing your itinerary, as MK closes early on the nights the party is going on!

I too would suggest the UOG! It will answer more questions than you even can think of...PLUS it is a great read. My DH makes fun of me becasue I re-read it time and time again!

 

[geomacey]

MNSSHP??

Please share .....
I really don't want to miss ANYTHING big iykwim....

DH and I will also be celebrating our anniversary down there ..... Any suggestions? Need both kid friendly (in case DS cannot get out of manuevers and go with us) and adult (in case he CAN!)

Thanks again!

 

[schmoopypoo]

MNSSHP stands for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

Here is some info from last year's event
http://allearsnet.com/tp/mk/mnssh.htm

 

[Disney Crazy Debbie]

I would agree with the suggestion of WCC on the night of the AK day simply because that park usually closes early than the other parks, but I have never gone in October. I would suggest planning on MGM being a full day because you'll want to make certain to schedule the Fantasmic show, your DD9 will love it!

 

[geomacey]

I'm sorry to have so many questions that I'm sure are obvious to the rest of you but if you don't mind.....

I found the link to the Halloween Party. It just lists "days in September-October, 2007". Nothing listed on the calendars and no where to click for tickets. How will I know when this becomes available? It looks pretty neat. Same questions for the Wine and Food Event at Epcot. Do you need special tix for that as well??

I have penciled in the Cafe to our working itinerary. Also DH thinks he'd like the 50's Diner at MGM. Is lunch as much fun as dinner??

Thank you for your patience!

 

[themudd4]

I have penciled in the Cafe to our working itinerary. Also DH thinks he'd like the 50's Diner at MGM. Is lunch as much fun as dinner??

50's PT is one of our family fav's. We go each and every trip. We have never been during lunch, since the kids really like Sci Fi and we try to do a light lunch there and dinner at 50's PT.