Newbie- bringing his kids for the FIRST time!

[Geo1]

Hello and thank you for the welcome! Taking my 10 yo DD and 12 yo DS to WDW for the FIRST time in July!! Last time I went was 20? years ago with an ex and her 8 yo DD. Ran from sun up to sun down and deep into the night. Hopefully, I still have the energy.. LOL.

We're going without a plan- other than days scheduled (7), flight, and hotel reservation (in WDW). I'm trying to read up on the forums to figure out if we should get hoppers, how to get FP, etc. It's quite overwhelming when it's just one person planning the trip!!

Anyway, thank you for this forum and any advice I learn from it!

George

 

[luvmy2boyzz]

Hi George!
Welcome! I also plan everything for my boys and I myself, while it can be overwhelming , for me it's part of the fun of going to Disney and also makes our vacation that much more enjoyable! While I find it necessary to plan there are a lot of people that wing it and still have the time of their life! I would suggest downloading the MDE app on your phone. Pretty much everything can be done from there, FP's, dining reservations, checking wait times and show schedules. It's really handy! I buy park hoppers because we like to hit the parks multiple times during our trip and usually only have 5 days to do it in. It really is personal preference. If you haven't already scheduled FP's I would suggest you do it soon. There are some rides that can be hard to get. We usually rope drop a park and schedule our FP's for later in the morning. For example we will rope drop Magic Kingdom and do all the mountains with minimal wait plus schedule FP's for them that allows us to do our fav's at least twice . We also never schedule FP's at Epcot, we rope drop for Test Track, Soaring and Mission Space and schedule our FP's for a different park in the evening. This year we scheduled Animal Kingdom for the evening. We have Flight of Passage, Kilimanjaro Safari and Expedition Everest. So we will have 6 popular rides that day with no wait. I would find out what your kids would be most interested in and begin from there. You are in the right place for sure though! There is so much information on these boards! Good luck and Happy Planning! (Or Not!) Which ever you choose you will be at Disney with your kids! It can't get any better than that!

 

[BrianL]

Hi, and welcome to the DIS. If you're staying onsite, you're a little behind the curve for FastPass+ since you could book them 60 days out, but don't worry. You should still be able to get plenty of good ones. I would start with this thread:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/fastpass-frequently-asked-questions.3491680/

That is the FP+ FAQ by mesaboy2, and it is one of the most useful things on the DIS. I would try to make FP selections soon as it may be difficult to get some of the newer stuff, like Toy Story Land, which will open this month! If you can't get a FastPass for something that you really want to do, I will recommend getting to the parks early (before they open) and going at what we refer to as Rope Drop, when they open access to the lands and attractions (this is done at the opening time, but they do scan people in and then hold them in the central areas behind ropes, hence the term).

As far as hoppers, that's really up to you. I like them, but I like to bounce around a bit. 7 days is a good amount of time, so I don't know that they're needed. You can always add them while there should you decide you want to.

Anyway, have fun planning and enjoy your trip. Try not to stress too much about it as it will be magical no mater what.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Welcome!