New to WDW

[RainyDayPixie]

Hi everyone.
I'm not new to the DIS, but am new to WDW. I've been to DLR dozens of times and never had a thought of leaving my home park.

But, I have a business trip down to FL and thought I might price out bringing the family.

Where do I start? The WDW boards are so overwhelming. Is there a sticky thread somewhere like the "DLR for WDW vets" thread?

Appreciate the help in getting started. This is a whole new ball game!

 

[DCLogs]

Are you thinking about staying on property? I would start there. What kind of budget? Value, Mods, Deluxe ,price vary quite a bit. Than go to the resort threads and read about some of the different resorts.

 

[RainyDayPixie]

It seems like staying on property is easiest. We'd probably stay in a value or moderate. I'll start looking through those.

How many days do you recommend? We usually do 3 ad DL and, of course, it's never enough, but it always feel like a good vacation. We'd like to visit Universal, too.

 

[disneymommy13]

If you want to see all four parks, it is good to have a hopper ticket. But if you have small children, I would not recommend the hopper and I would plan a pool day or two between park days. WDW can be overwhelming. Hope this helps.

 

[Kristina4109]

WDW is huge and the spaces between parks, hotels and other recreation is MUCH larger than at DLR. Although I stay off property when visiting DL quite often, I always stay on at WDW. Remember that the Value resorts (and sometimes the Moderates depending on season) cost less than the three DLR hotels.

Park hopping is more time consuming that at DLR. There are a couple of "hops" that are easier than others.

MK + EPCOT - connected by monorail with a transfer at the Transportation & Ticket Center.

EPCOT + Studios - connected by boat, or if you're feeling up to it, there is a walkway.

Any other theme park to theme park hopping will involve a bus.

The other huge difference is advanced dining reservations. If you really want to eat at a certain sit down restaurant, do it as far in advance as you humanly can. 180 days is the magic number.

WDW is awesome and I know you'll love it. I've been to both DLR and WDW many times and it's impossible for me to pick a favorite. They're both amazing in their way.

 

[Jenlyn75]

POR is a great moderate resort. My kids LOVE the resort. I would say a minimum of 5 days if you want to visit all the parks. Take a day off in the middle to enjoy the pool at the resort. Best of luck!

 

[Kristina4109]

Totally agree about five days - four is doable, especially if you know Disneyland so well so you won't feel like your vacation is ruined if you can't get on Dumbo or it's a small world. But five would be way less rushed.

If you don't have that much time to spend, I think you'd enjoy yourself much more if you just stuck to one park per day and agreed that you'd have to save other parks for another trip.

 

[RainyDayPixie]

Thanks everyone. This is really helpful!!

I will definitely look on site for hotel. We can easily do 4 days. I'll see if we can make 5 happen!

I think I need to sort of map out which park, which day, then plan each one like I would DLR.

I think I'm most excited to see the big castle! I hear "ours" is tiny.