New to WDW from Arizona

[dragonshelm]

We just booked a vacation through WDW website and I am from the West (Arizona). I have never been east of the Mississippi River before so I am asking a multitude of questions over the next several months. I admit I am too lazy to find answers from reading older posts.

We will be there the first two weeks of May 2006 and will be staying at the French Quarter Port Orleans.

First two questions:

How is the weather in May

There is supposedly a river transport from French Quarter to Downtown Disney. How long is this trip down the water?

In advance. I appreciate any patient you bestow upon us and we really look forward to getting there but it seems so far away as of right now, but never too early for planning stategy. We will be there for 10 whole days.

 

[danny1649]

On our trip this May the weather was hot with plenty of sunshine and a very few showers during our stay.10 days is a great length of stay you will have a great time.POFQ is a great resort and one that gets great reviews here on the Dis.T he boat ride when we took it seemed to be about 25 minutes.Have fun planning your trip,look forward to seeing you on the boards.

 

[GrimGhost]

Here is a breakdown of the weather in May, from another site:
http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/weather/whentovisit.asp
Look all the way down the page.
I've been a couple of times in May, it's great!!! Crowds are not bad, weather great.Have a great time, and post any other questions you might have, someone here always has the answer.

 

[dragonshelm]

Thank you. I fugured it would be warm and us living in Phoenix, Arizona know all too well about hot, but we pale in humidity compared to the east. I was hoping 10 days would be sufficent to hit all the parks in a nice comfortable pace. That is why we settled for 10 days. We wanted to book 11, but the vacation package only allowed for 10 days, so we figured someone was trying to tell us something.

 

[GrimGhost]

With 10 days you will cover alot. But I would still try and plan. If you watch these boards, you can find other peoples trips described in great detail under trip reports:http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=18

You want to get the most you can out of not only what the 4 theme parks and 2 water parks have to offer, but what each resort has..Dining, recreation, etc.

 

[philaround]

I believe that the boat to DTD does not start until 11AM

 

[dragonshelm]

We were thinking of going to DTD in the evening for the nightlife and shopping for the most part. We will be planning or at least we will have a tentative plan that will no doubt be altered many times until then. That is part of the fun.

We have been to Disneyland twice in the last 8 years, but the wife has always wanted to go to Disneyworld, so we broke down and made the ultimate decision just a few days ago. Then I found this website which is just awesome.

We will not be renting a car as a money saver strategy. Therefore, we will be waiting in limbo until we find out the routes of the Disney system and its time schedule to all the resorts and parks. At this planning stage, we are skipping the waterparks to savor other areas of interest.

We will traveling with no children because our daughter is 24 years old now and out on her own, as per se, but still costly

More questions to come and any tips for us newbies would be quite welcome.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

Thank you. I fugured it would be warm and us living in Phoenix, Arizona know all too well about hot, but we pale in humidity compared to the east.

Howdy neighbor!!! We are just "down" I-10 in Tucson. We moved here less than a year ago from Louisiana and LOVE LOVE LOVE the desert heat without humidity (except during monsoon, of course).

Have a great time planning your trip. Ours is next month (I can't believe I can finally say that!!), and I am almost done planning. Now it is time to start organizing and packing. Since we travel with 2 kids (6 and 3), most tips I could give are geared towards the family experience. However, like here, you need to stay hydrated while at WDW. And if you are not used to walking long distances, start a walking program several months before you go.

 

[dragonshelm]

Nice to meet you and have fun next month and let me know all the dteails when you guys get back. Yes, we will need to do some walking exercises for the trip and I know there will be lots of walking.

How many days are you going for?

 

[Dsnymouse]

Dragon best of luck on your upcoming trip! I am as well a fellow Arizonean - we have only been to Florida in November. The temps are warm like AZ but humidity was a bit crazy and bring bug spray.

Grim, thanks for the great link on temps. and when to visit Disney. It's a great tool.

 

[julfre]

One piece of advice is to adjust to the time difference the first day. Don't try to stay on arizona time or do it gradually. My niece is from Arizona and I always have to drag her out of bed the first day at 8am (Arizona time would be 5am since right now it is 3 hours different) and we take it easy that day. By the third day she has adjusted. Adjusting early helps get you on the right schedule for the parks and etc.

 

[WEDWDW]

HELLO AND WELCOME! THE FIRST TRIP TO WDW IS AWWESOME-AWESOME-AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!You have picked a great resort.Port Orleans Resort is the only moderate resort with two "sister" resorts-Port Orleans-French Quarter and Port Orleans-Riverside.You can use any of the facilities-pools,restaurants,food courts,lounges,etc.-at both resorts.POR is only a short walk or boat ride "up-river" from POFQ.Port Orleans is also the only moderate resort with water taxi{boat} access to another part of WDW.The water taxi ride to DTD is really fun with beautiful scenery.WDW is SO MUCH bigger than Disneyland.PREPARE TO BE AMAZED!Remember,the more research and planning you do,the better trip you will have.CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR FIRST TRIP!

 

[dvcgirl]

First trip to WDW....good for you! You'll have an absolute blast. First of all, you've chosen a wonderful time of the year...the first two weeks of May are wonderful here in Central Florida. Crowds are moderate, but never crazy busy and the weather is nice but not too hot or humid yet. 10 days is a nice amount of time as well. You'll have lots of time to prepare as well, and there's a *ton* of information on this site. May I also recommend www.allearsnet.com That's Deb Will's site, and it's one of the best on the net. This site is wonderful because there are lots of Disney fans here and many can answer the millions of questions that you'll likely think of over the next 9 months. Welcome to DIS!

 

[KIANGA]

One Good Tool For You Might Be A Chart Of Driving Distances Just To Give A Perspective Of How Big Wdw Is. Go Back To Main Page, Go To Search, Right Top Corner, Type "driving Distances" Then Click On Driving Distances. Be Sure To See Spectromagic, Illuminations, Festival Of The Lion King And Eat At The Kona Cafe At The Polynesian And At Boatwrights At Por For Breakfast And Have The Sweet Potato Pancakes. Have A Great Time.

 

[d'Isigny]

We just booked a vacation through WDW website and I am from the West (Arizona). We will be there the first two weeks of May 2006 and will be staying at the French Quarter Port Orleans.
There is supposedly a river transport from French Quarter to Downtown Disney. How long is this trip down the water?

Dragonshelm - frist of all, it's great to welcome a neighbor to 'the dis'. This is a wonderful Iternet community that offers you wonderful assistance to plan your Disney vacations. With the folkes on these boards to direct you - you're in good hands!!

I say 'neighbor' as we live in the Metro Center area. Hope I can offer you some info.

We were in Orlando the end or april - first part of May. The tempatures were just a little lower, but the slight humidity increase made it feel - 'close to home'. It was cool to us in the morning/evening...and 'warm' during the mid-morning...late afternoon. All in all...we enjoyed the weather a little more.

We stayed at French Quarter and loved the resort. I love the 'theme' and everything is close together.

Yes - you can take the river boats to DownTown Disney. This is probably the best, and most enjoyable way (IMHO).

You mention 'relying' on Disney transportation - don't worry...they have a great system. if we did not enjoy some activities 'off property'...I would use DT instead of renting a car.

 

[dragonshelm]

I am close to Glendale Community College myself. It is nice to have some local help as well as help abroad. Thanks again in advance.

I am in the process of bumping up my stay by one day now, so I will have access to the resot for 10 whole days, so I can take things a bit more leisurely.

 

[dragonshelm]

Thanks for all you help so far. My next question is about a laundry? Anything close to the French Quarter?

 

[disgram]

You are going to have a wonderful time!!! We stay at POFQ most of the time we are at the World. They have a good laundry area near the pool. Just bring quarters!! Cost per load is 4dollars!!
Be sure to get the Unofficial Guide to WDW. This is about the greatest guide book out there!!
Willing to help any way possible!!
Again, WELCOME!!!!