New to Disney World-----Need help!!!!!!!

[fullhouse]

I am trying to plan a trip to DIsney for the 1st time ever. Please help me get started. Here is the info. I have so far, please suggest some helpful ideas for me in the planning.

First time ever to Disney
First time ever to Florida
Going to drive from NC
Dates want to go--- July 1st-7th
People tell me that we should stay right at Disney at a resort. (whicj are the best)
Myself, wife and 8 yr. old son
Want to spend around 1,500 to 2,000 dollars.
Ordered a cd from disney to help plan


If you have any ideas in my planning I would appreciate it.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Since there are only 3 of you, I would suggest a room at Pop Century. It's economical and fun!

 

[fullhouse]

Just checked it out and it does look pretty good. What kind of funds did you spend each day. Just trying to guess how much need to save up for the trip?

 

[ajcolorado]

1. Go to www.mousesavers.com for excellent information on Disney discounts. You can feel comfortable in subscribing to the newsletter - they don't share your information with any others and they only send one newsletter per month.

2. You are going at a busy time and this is your first trip so, in my opinion, it is very important for you to have a good touring plan with "best days" information. I've used three that I felt were extremely worthwhile and that I feel comfortable with recommending. The Unofficial guide to Walt Disney world is a book - a thick book - that is easily found in bookstores and online. www.tourguidemike.com is an online subscription service that provides a lot of articles -they have sample plans that you can use "as is" or you can use their information to put together a plan of your own. www.buildabettermousetrip.com does custom touring plans and you deal with a real, live person. A good touring plan can literally cut hours of time wasted in lines from your trip.

3. Remember - there is no disadvantage to booking a reservation early. If a sale or promotion is announced, you can change or cancel your reservation up to 45 days prior to arrival with a package with no penalty. You can book a "room only" reservation and make changes up to 6 days prior to arrival without penalty. Booking makes sure you get in the resort you want.

4. Since you are new - going with a "Disney Authorized Travel Planner" or an "Earmarked Travel Agency" might be advantageous since they are more familiar with Disney. If you are a AAA member, it might be worthwhile to talk to that travel office. Make some inquiries without actually booking - if you feel like you are not getting good service or like the agent is constantly trying to Up-sell, then don't book through them. But be careful to note the difference between high pressure sales and just being given information about the various packages and services available.

 

[alloyd1170]

I live in mid-SC and drive via I-26 & I-95. If youre going that route, here are some places to stop....along I-26 exit 145 Orangeburg has a bunch of places to eat and fuel up. Along I-95, SC exit 53 has places to eat (Cracker Barrell, fast food), exit 33 Beaufort more fast food places. In GA the Pooler exit around Savannah has several places to eat & fuel. For cheap gas, be sure to fill up around exit 3 in GA (there are also places to eat there) before hitting the expensive stuff in FL. Since we have two little ones, we often break up the driving, stopping in Jacksonville. The next morning, we only have about 2 hrs to WDW. We then check in to the resort, sometimes getting into our room, then head to MGM for the rest of the day. For us its a good way to ease into things.

We stay at the Contemporary, which is nice being on the monorail. However, it is a deluxe and will chew up your budget. Do stay onsite though as you get perks (early/later entrance to the parks, dining plan if available....)

Be prepared for the heat and humidity. Drinks lots of water. You might want to head back to your resort for an afternoon break in the pool. You will do a lot of walking so wear comfy shoes. You might want to bring more than one pair, especially if they get wet. Your 8 yr old may need a stroller, but at that age I wouldnt bring one-Id wait to see if he needs one and then rent in the parks. Also, expect afternoon showers and storms. Bring your own poncho as the ones they sell are $$. Its also hurricane season, so be watchful of that.

Also check out the WDW Unofficial Guide (I believe there is one for families as well??) which has some good info and tips on everything WDW. There are some touring plans in it as well. Hope this helps a bit!

alison

 

[MeMom]

Spend lots of time on the Disboards, and check out All Ears. Any question you have, there are great people on these boards who will answer any question you can imagine. If you're going value- I second POP. You are in for a real treat when you hit Disney World! Your life will never be the same! It is an awesome place, and your family will have a blast. Please come back and share with us your trip as a first-timer.

 

[WildGrits]

Check out www.allearsnet.com.

She has great photo galleries of all the resorts and parks along with menus for all the resturants.

 

[In Luv with Disney]

Since this is your very first trip, I'd PLAN as much as possible! You're going at one of the most BUSIEST times of the year and without a plan, you will find yourself not wanting to go back!

I'd stay onsite. If money is an issue, I'd stay at Pop Century. I would also suggest getting the DISNEY DINING PLAN, which will cost you $38 per day for you and your wife and $11 per day for your son. With that, you will get:

- 1 Table Service per day
- 1 Counter Service per day
- 1 Snack per day (usually anything under $4...just ask the CMs)

I also can't urge you enough to MAKE ADRs!!! Advance Dining Reservations...that's Disney's name for a Reservation. You can make your ADRs 180 days in advance...you can make them NOW!!!! And since it is such a busy time, I'd get on the phone to make some ressies IMMEDIATELY. Just go to AllEarsNet.com to and click on DINING. There, you will get actual menus for ALL of the restaurants at WDW!!!! If you have any questions on a particular restaurant, just ask here on Dis! You can ask on the DINING board or just come here...we'll be glad to help you out!!!!

 

[coolbeans]

we drove from nc in 2004 ( I am soooo ready to go back!!) and it wasn't that bad. The only problem we had was with the directions on Mapquest..they were way off... we had to call the hotel and they had to get us back on track..they said that Disney hotels are not listed on Mapquest. (wish I knew that before we went thru all those toll booths!!)

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

I am also going for the first time this April staying at POFQ. My kids cannot wait! One question, has anyone here used Small World Vacations? I just booked my deposit with one of their TAs and she is very good. Answers all my emails within minutes.

 

[disguy1]

for the first trip...
1. stay at a value resort of your choice
2. order the disney dining plan
3. order park tickets in advance with hopper option
4. AAA has good rates to look at
5. mousesavers.com is a good website to check for info
6. planning in advance is key
7. you can visit one park a day or hop
8. have fun!!..we always do

 

[TheDizMom]

Thsi is what I would do

Stay at WDW value resort like Pop Century or All Stars, we stayed at the ***

Do dining plan for sure , it saves a ton. If your DS is an adventurous eater you may want to put him on as 10, otherwise he will be relagated to eating off only the kids menu unless you are at a buffet restaurant. Unfortunatley for some odd reason the kids meals are very dull and uninspiring. At Pizzafari they don't even have pizza on the kids menu! (or at least in 05 they didn't) This will cost you more but he'll be happier. You can only eat so many hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and dishes of mac and cheese

Once there park your car and use their transportation it's a lot easier, I have done it both ways and their system is effiecient and cuts down on transportation time.

Get park tickets ahead of time. With park hopper and water park and more if you plan to do a water park or Disney Quest arcade.

Getting all these thing ahead of time means you only have incidentals to worry about when you get there which makes for a much less stressful trip.

PLAN PLAN PLAN . If you don't you'll find yourself going around in circles. My sister didn't and when they went to Animal Kingdom they literally kept going in circles (every time they tried to get somewhere in the park they ended up at the same place. It seems my BIL can't read a map ) and never had time to do the Kilamanjaro Safari, which was the best thing at the park when they went. We planned out what park we were going to on what day during our trip and this made it easier. We weren't trying to decide where to go every day and it helps when making ADR's. If you plan on spending all day at MK then you know to pick a restaurant at MK

It's hot in the summer stay hydrated. Use the snacks in the DDP for beverages too. We found we didn't really want to eat a lot because we were hot, and I put fruit snacks and bags of goldfish in my bag for the kids if they did get the munchies. Of course you want the occassional Mickey ice cream bar, but it helps in the drink department to use your snacks

Take advantage of the fast pass. It is very helpful when the weather is hot to utilize those as much as possible so you don't have to wait in long hot lines. Trust me it's not fun You can only get one ride at a time. Once you have used your fast pass you can then go get one for the next thing you want to go on.

Do water parks in the morning. By afternoon they are packed and I didn't think it was very fun once they got crowded. It was hard to find even an inch of free water space. I thought the pool was better.

Lastly read as much as you can, so you know what you want to do when you get there. To make your DS more involved in the planning get him the Birnbaum's WDW for kids book. My DS was the same age when we went and he absolutely loved reading this book and knowing ahead of time what he didn't want to miss and what he just didn't want to do. I know a lot of people don't like the Birnbaum books but I have found them very helpful, even if they are done with the help of D. It helps when you get to the parks to have an idea what attractions you really want to see, so you make sure to do it before the day is over.

Oh! don't miss the night parade and fireworks at MK and Fantasmic at MGM. My DS loved those! They are amazing.

Have a great trip

 

[TheDizMom]

Oh I just thought of 2 more things. If you make purchases have them sent to your hotel for you, which can be done as long as you have one full day left before you leave(if I remember correctly). This way you don't have to carry it around. If you don't want it right away keep is in the hotel gift shop until your last night and then have them ship all your purchases home for you. It was so easy, they insure it so if it breaks it will be replaced(something you can't do if it breaks in your suitcase), I didn't have to worry if I had enought space in my bag, and it wasn't that expensive. We had a lot of breakable Christmas ornaments and so it was great not to have to worry about what the baggage handlers would do to them. Just make sure you have every single reciept with you when you go to ship them. If you don't have it they won't ship it.

Bring breakfast foods with you and eat that in your room when you are getting ready. It will save you some money and time because you won't have to spend the extra time going to a restaurant before you can hit the parks.

 

[Gillian]

Lots of good advice here!
My favorites for learning are
allearsnet.com - menus and pictures
mousesavers.com - rates, how to get discounts, how to figure out best deals for you
passporter guide book

Also, because you are going during one of the busiest weeks, consider tourguide mike. Look on the theme parks attractions and strategies section of the DIS for a discount link. We found him helpful.

Have fun!