Newbie and have no clue where to start.

[zickig]

We havn't booked yet but plan on it this weekend. We are going the first few weeks of Aug this year, I thought I was getting to planning early but came here and found out that I'm starting LATE. LOL

Ok so I have no idea about anything...lol

Decorations on the room doors/windows, does everyone do this and why and what do you do?

Pins? What are pins(ok I know what pins are) but what is the deal with them? Do people wear them in the park or just buy them there or what?

Autograph books, do they kids love to do that kind of thing? I NEVER thought about anything like that till reading here!

We are driving 22hrs, will have our van with us, and we are staying at one of the value resorts, should we take the bus or should we drive to the parks?

Where do you call to make dinner reservations?

Do you get tickets for parks each day you are there or do you take a day off to drive to the beach or something like that? We will be there 7 nights 8 days.

Do you get the park hopper pass and do you use it, what for and why should I get it or not get it?

My kids that are going are 5y/o, 2y/o, 1y/o so any tips for dealing with small kids in the parks, what about strollers/diaperbags...that kind of thing?

What dining plan do you think we would use more, the basic one or the one that gives you more sit downs?

Also what resturants do you recomend? I know we would like Crystal Palace and also Chef Mickey's but other than that I'm stuck, are there any good table service places near the value hotels?

 

[MickeyReeds]

I'll take a shot at answering some of your questions. I know these boards can be overwhelming, but you can find out tons of tips and info here!

We did not decorate our room windows, although we saw a few that had. I would say this is completely up to you.

Autograph books were a big hit with my kids. I bought a small scrapbook in the kids craft section at wal mart--it has a foam cover. I personalized them and at character meals and when we saw characters in the parks, they got them signed--we also brought the retractable sharpie markers--the large size since some of the characters have costumes which make it harder to hold a small pen. My kids had a character sign and left the opposite page blank--we then put a photo opposite the signature. This made a great memory book for them. They chose other photos from the trip to fill in the extra pages.

We had a rental car and used that and the busses to travel back and forth. I just depended on what we had planned for the day. For example, we had a very early breakfast at Chef Mickey's, so we drove to that.

Dining reservations are made by calling 407-WDW-Dine. We used the regular dining plan and it was plenty for us. We thought the character meals were great--no standing in line for autographs and food my kids would eat!

We only had 6 days in the parks, so we didn't do anything else, like the beach.

We enjoyed eating at Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness lodge for dinner. There are many reviews of restaurants on the Restaurant section here, so you may want to check that out.

Hope some of this is helpful. I was overwhelmed at first, but it all came together for us and it will for you too!

 

[Aliceacc]

Hi and welcome!!!

I know how you feel; it's totally overwhelming at first.

I started this thread for other newbies: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1715551


Now, take a deep breath:
- your first priority is getting a resort. Decide on the one you want, and call and make reservations. If you're AAA members, there's a nice discount available.

-next come those dining reservations. You're within your 180 day limit, so you can call and make then whenever you want. (Sooner is better than later.)

Everything else can wait. (Although we got pins, autographs, fanny packs and park hoppers-- I hit all that stuff in the link I gave you )

 

[IHEARTNY]

Yes, I agree. Make your resort and dining plans NOW!

It's quite possible that you'll have trouble finding a restaurant you want at the time you want already. I just did some ADRs for our late September trip and we even had to pick between 6:40PM and 8:15PM for our Kona Cafe dinner when we wanted 7:15...

Essentially what I am saying is find out where you're going to stay and eat ASAP!

After that you should worry about everything else.

When that everything else time comes....

Decorations on the room doors/windows, does everyone do this and why and what do you do?
It's not really all that common, people from DIS usually decorate their windows saying "hey (your s/n) is here!" There's also the Disney paint chip, Alien green color, that many put in their windows/EVCs/car windows, announcing their DIS involvement. But it really is mostly a DIS only thing...

Pins? What are pins(ok I know what pins are) but what is the deal with them? Do people wear them in the park or just buy them there or what?
You can get a lanyard, vest or hat that you keep pins on that you buy from the Disney stores. Poeple like to simply collect them but many, esp kids, can trade them with other CMs. Almost every CM has a lanyard and if you like what they have, you can trade them one of yours. The pins can range from 6.95-8.95 typically with a few exceptions to the limited edition or special pins that are more...

Autograph books, do they kids love to do that kind of thing? I NEVER thought about anything like that till reading here!
It all depends on the kid, a 5 y/o would love it I think, but once you have one, you'll try to get as many as you can and it takes a lot of time. But it's definitely something for a kid to do once. I still have mine from DL when I was 7 and that was 15 years ago.

We are driving 22hrs, will have our van with us, and we are staying at one of the value resorts, should we take the bus or should we drive to the parks?
To the parks, leave the van at the resort, it'll save you so much time, and some money. Now if you have a ressie at a harder to get to resort, take the van. For example, if you have a ressie at the CR, Poly or GF- I say leave the van and just take the monorail from MK. So with that you'll just need to plan a little to keep your ressies around what park you'll be at. If you plan on going to Jiko at AKL, go to AK that day... We have rented a car for a few times and felt it was easier to not even use it on WDW property. We mostly used it for going to USF/IOA and Tropicana Stadium to catch some ball games.

Where do you call to make dinner reservations?
The # is posted in a PP

Do you get tickets for parks each day you are there or do you take a day off to drive to the beach or something like that? We will be there 7 nights 8 days.
You can get tickets for 1-10 days, park hopping, water & fun, no-expiration options are all up to you. Check out prices, see whether you'll want to go to two different parks in one day or not, do you even care to go to a water park with such young children...?

Do you get the park hopper pass and do you use it, what for and why should I get it or not get it?
I always get it and I always use it. Staying on WDW property you get to take advantage of EMH and with small children, it's very easy to head out early, take an afternoon break by going back to the hotel for a few hours and head out to whatever EMH Evening hour is going. Plus if you do end up doing the dining plan, you're almost crazy to NOT park hop.

My kids that are going are 5y/o, 2y/o, 1y/o so any tips for dealing with small kids in the parks, what about strollers/diaperbags...that kind of thing?
I have only travelled with twin 4 y/o once and then again when they were 5 but I wasn't really responsible for them or anything so I can't really help you there, sorry.

What dining plan do you think we would use more, the basic one or the one that gives you more sit downs?
OK, there are quite a few different dining plans, you'll just have to do the research to find what will suit your family the best. When you do the research make sure you get a 2008 version as they DDP has changed consideribly. If you plan on doing more character meals and signature meals, I'd recommend the deluxe DP but keep in mind that CRT and the like may be booked up already or have very akward times...

Also what resturants do you recomend? I know we would like Crystal Palace and also Chef Mickey's but other than that I'm stuck, are there any good table service places near the value hotels?
There aren't really any TS restaurants in value resorts, they all have food courts, which are very good and big. You will have to go to another resort or a park. One of my favorite for character viewing is 1900 Park Fare at GF. Very kid friendly also. Others include '50s Primetime at DHS, there's a Princess storybook meal (b,l & d) at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall-Norway (EP), 'Ohana at Poly are all restaurants I'd also recommend for dining with kids!


I hope this doesn't scare you! We're all hear to answer questions so definitely ask them!

Most of all have fun, know you won't be able to do EVERYTHING, but enjoy what you end up doing. Also know that August is very hot (the hottest month) and also one of the rainiest. So is September and that's when we always go, it's not that bad but some people are shocked by it.

Good luck!

 

[zickig]

So does anyone have a pic of the decorated doors/windows?

And what restruants do you all recomend? I'm having problems with this because I have never been there and have no idea when to go/what days/times or places really.

 

[Aliceacc]

Wait, let's start with basics:

Do you have an idea of where you want to stay? Or a budget?

Can we assume that all 4 of your kids are coming, along with you and your husband (sorry if those assumptions aren't right) Is your youngest child under 3? If so, you can stay in a room designated for 5. Your options would include the Family Suites at All Star Music (Value - $184 during Value Season, which starts Aug 3), a trundle bed room at Port Orleans Riverside (Mod $149), a Deluxe (the Contemporary starts at $270), a cabin at Fort Wilderness... Here's a review of the family suites: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=17640774&postcount=7

Start there, and get your dates down. Then you can think about dining reservations. Then there's tons of time for all the rest.

But first reserve your resort.

 

[8disneyfans]

Hi,
I will throw my 2 cents in. It can be very overwhelming! My husband and I took our 6 children for the first time last October, we had so much fun that we are going back the end of April(WDW). We used to live in CA so went to Disneyland lots of times.
We live about 20 hours away and drove the first time (flying this time). I say get a dvd player for the van, it was a life saver! Ages of our kids are 16,14,11,8,6,4. So we have a very wide range.
Autograph books: We LOVE them. The kids (all of them) love getting the characters autographs. One of the best ways to do this is Character meals. We always take pictures with them.
Pins: We didn't know too much about them when we went, but now are addicted! It is such a good way to interact with the cast members. We are buying some on ebay...shhhh! My kids wore their lanyards everyday. Each one now is collecting a different theme.
Window decorations:didn't do this, but I want to put a few up this time.
Resorts: book now! We stayed at PC last time and again this time. We are hardly in our rooms so it doesn't really matter where we stay. We are a go, go type of family. Even though we drove we used the Disney transportation the whole time. It is easy and convient. We did Disney for 7 days and then the beach for 4. This time we are doing Disney for 7 and the kids decided not to do the beach this time. They love Disney!
Park Hopper: I would say yes. It gives you a little more freedom. One day we were at 3 different parks.
Dining: We did the dining plan, just the regular one and believe it or not it was too much food. Some of the counter service meals were big and could be shared. It makes it stretch just a little. We are doing the same thing again. We are staying for 6 days but only getting 5 days of dining, we are making it last the whole time. One of our favorite places to eat was 50's primetime cafe. We did the princess dinner in Norway at EPCOT. I don't recommend that since it is authentic Norwegian food. I heard the breakfast was great.
Some more tips for you (some I learned here):
We all wore the same color shirt. Sounds corny but believe me when you are in a large crowd it is easy to spot your group. And if someone gets lost (hopefully not, my youngest did) you can tell the cast members exactley what they are wearing.
If you are the first to Tinkerbell Treasures you can wake Tink up! That happend to us and I cried it was so darn cute!!!!

I will stop here before you fall asleep reading. I hope you trip is the best ever!!!!

 

[zickig]

Thanks so much to everyone so far!



I think only 3 of my kids are comming and my husband. So 2 adults and 3 kids age 5y/o, 2y/o, 1y/o



We need a value resort and it will be the first week in aug, if there is a price difference with hotel then we can bump it to the second week.


I'm really having a hard time with the dining because of never having been there, I don't know where anything is located and where it is close to and I'm just not sure about that. Let me also say that I struggle with this becuase I'm not a planner, I hate to plan things and planning where to eat dinner 5mos from now goes against every bone in my body...lol

 

[zickig]

If you are the first to Tinkerbell Treasures you can wake Tink up! That happend to us and I cried it was so darn cute!!!!

I will stop here before you fall asleep reading. I hope you trip is the best ever!!!!

Thanks!

I'm glad to know that the basic dining plan worked for you guys

 

[Aliceacc]

OK, then you can book any room in any resort, since your youngest is too young to count in the headcount.

Take a look here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=236234
and compare the 3 All Stars and POP-- those are the 4 value resorts. They're all the same price, so decide which you think your family will like best. And since Value season starts Aug 3, you may want to put things off til then; you can save money each night just by waiting.

As to the dining plan: you're one of those families that can do well with the plan. Your 2 youngest are too young to count, so they can pick from the plates of everyone else. For $90 per night, you can get a snack, a table service meal and a snack for you, your husband, and your oldest. That can include character meals. If you think you'll need more, you can always order a side or an appetizer for your younger kids to share and pay for that out of pocket.

I haven't been there since 1990, but have been planning like a crazed thing since last Aug. For what it's worth, here are my ADRs:

- Chef Mickey's (character meal-- I chose dinner because of the ice cream sundae bar) It's in the Contemporary, easily reachable by monorail from Magic Kingdom.

- Le Cellier (in Epcot) my son is a HUGE steak fan!

- Fantasmic dinner package at Hollywood & Vine (at HS- the former MGM)

- 'Ohana at the Polynesian, easily reachable by monorail from MK

- dinner w/ Cinderella & the stepsisters at 1900 Park Fare (in the Grand Floridan-- on the monorail line too)

- The Coral Reef in Epcot. ONe entire wall is an aquarium. It's the one meal I remember from 1990 and needed to go back to!

 

[cjstarr]

zickig here are a few web sites that might help!!!

http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/maps.html

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/propertymap.htm

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/propertymap.htm

If you need more information just let us know what you're looking for as most of us have the sites saved to our computers.

 

[zickig]

I think we are going with the Value resort Movies because the kids have and watch most of the movies that are part of the resort decor.

How do you decide what day to eat where? Just when they have an opening for you or do you plan your parks first? I'm thinking we should plan the meals and then plan the parks around them.

I switched from the last week in July to the first week of Aug and saved around $300...woot woot...thanks a ton for telling me that

 

[8disneyfans]

To wake tink up is to wake up Tinkerbell. Because she has been up late (flying for the fireworks) she is really hard to wake up. The cast member in the store will have the kids take a wand or sword and tap on her treasure chest. It really is cute, fun to watch even if you don't get to wake her up. It was our first day and the first thing we did, so I got a little emotional.

I am so glad to hear you are not a planner!!! I am the same way, it isn't in my nature. But once you start planning for Disney it is hard to stop.

Here is where we are eating this time:
Crystal Palace: first breakfast of the day so that we can get a picture in front of the castle with nobody in the background (my hope anyway)
Ohanna's breakfast:I keep hearing that this is an awesome place to eat!
Whispering Canyon Cafe:Heard this is fun
Garden Grill:Heard this was good too.

I haven't planned our counter meals yet. You don't need reservations for those, my husband just likes to know (he is the planner and yes we are still married...amazing)

 

[8disneyfans]

I like to see what parks have the extra magic hours and then try to plan around those times. You will be able to participate in the extra hours because you are a resort guest. But that is just one way to do it. If you are eating at a resort (chef mickey's) you can get there from anywhere.
The day we eat at Crystal Palace we plan to be at the Magic Kingdom all day.

 

[cjstarr]

8disneyfans the link below will give you the months. All you need to do is click on the month you will be there and it will show all the park hours plus the EMH hours that each park will be open.

http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/hours.html

 

[Aliceacc]

Here's the link with the EMH calendar: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/earlyentry.htm

Figure that with young kids, you're going to spend a LOT of time at the Magic Kindgom.

I'm also planning on time back at the resort pool every afternoon. I know my kids; pool time is vital to an enjoyable vacation, especially in August.

For what it's worth, here's our tentative schedule:

day AM PM dinner
WED 8/13 Arrive-- pool Magic Kingdom Chef Mickey’s ( 5:00)

THUR 8/14 MK Epcot Coral Reef 5:10

FRI 8/15 Epcot MK ‘Ohana 5:45

SAT 8/16 pool HS Fantasmic Dinner Pack at Hollywood & Vine- 5:00 dinner, 9:00 show

SUN 8/17 AK MK 1900 Park Fare(4:55)

MON 8/18 DDT Epcot Le’Cellier(4:20)

TUES 8/19 MK MK Return home

 

[zickig]

Thanks for that! Do you do ADR for lunch's too or just dinner?

 

[Aliceacc]

I'm planning all dinners. I figure we'll tour in the morning, have a counter service lunch, then head back to the resort for a swim. My dinners are all fairly early so we can hit the parks afterwards.

But I seriously thought about doing some lunches. In particular, if you're thinking about skipping the pool break, a nice air conditioned lunch might make for a great break.

You can make ADRs for Breakfast, lunch or dinner.

 

[zickig]

Ok, I think I'm calling to make the reservation tomorrow or friday...good ole pay day, LOL

So when I call I can make the resturants too, and I think I'll just make a list of the ones I would like to go to and then see what is open still for times/days for dinner and then just plan on having lunch as CS wherever we land.

So I'm thinking we can go to a park in the morning, go back for a pool break/room nap break and have lunch somewhere early. Then go to wherever it is we are eating dinner and either go to the park first and then dinner or flip flop that like you and go to dinner and then the park.

After all the talk on here I'm just scared that we wont get into any of the places we want since we didn't make them right away at the 180 day mark....sigh.

 

[zickig]

zickig here are a few web sites that might help!!!

http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/maps.html

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/propertymap.htm

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/propertymap.htm

If you need more information just let us know what you're looking for as most of us have the sites saved to our computers.

Love the link to the map, thanks so much for that!