Newbie in every way

[April2012]

Aww thanks everyone, your all so lovely and helpful!!

amacspad - that's great to know about the fans, in fact I was only saying the other day that we should try to take something similar. DH joked I should get one of those hats with a little umbrella on the top! He's so funny....NOT!

loobzuk - Yeah I'm hoping DS will be outgoing and confident while we are there. I think he'll be fine although it does depend on mood at the time iykwim. He can be very shy but he's told me he's going to 'rock out' with Phineas & Ferb I'll believe it when I see it!
Pre trip report? It sounds good but we kind of don't have many plans apart from knowing where we are eating?
Nothing wrong with being nosey. I LOVE reading peoples TR's!! I have contemplated doing one but how the heck do you remember everything that happened? I reckon I'd have to walk round with a dictaphone so I didn't forget anything

Cinderella2006 - Wish I had a bit more time to be even more organised but hey guess I'd rather have less time to wait
Here's the restaurants we have booked already:

Fultons Crab House - Mon 16th
T-Rex - Tues 17th
Donalds Safari Lunch - Wed 18th
Turf Club Bar & Grill - Thurs 19th
Brown Derby - Fri 20th
Crystal Palace Breakfast - Sun 22nd
Turf Club Bar & Grill - Mon 23rd
Coral Reef Restaurant - Tues 24th
Sci Fi restaurant - Wed 25th
Cinderella Royal Table - Sat 28th

The rest of the time will just be as & when. Do they sound like decent ones to you guys? It's hard to choose isn't it? You may as well stick a pin in a board

Holstar - Thank you for that! I ordered Walt Disney World With Kids 2012 a while back but in honesty haven't had a chance to have a proper read through yet. Thought it would make good reading for the plane.
As you may have guessed, I'm a last minute kind of gal

xx

 

[Elise79]

Welcome - you sound like you will have a blast!

Our DD will be 4 in June and has passed the phase where she is scared of charaters although she does know her own mind now

Of your restaurants we love Turf Club and think it is a real hidden gem Crystal Palace is great for breakfast but expect to roll round the park for the rest of the day - so many nice things to try

The heat at this time of year is fine as there is no humidity yet. There are lots of air conditioned buildings to cool off in.

I would also suggest getting to the parks at rope drop (which is when they open) and then take a break mid afternoon. I would also suggest trying to get your son to have a nap in the afternoon even if he doesn't at home so he can stay up and see the evening parades and fireworks.

Magic Kingdom has little opening show which is nice to see and you would need to be there at least 20 mins before published opening to give you chance to get in and get a good spot. You want to me near the centre once through the turnstiles. Most people queue to the left or right as they just want to get in afterwards.

 

[Cinderella2006]

Cinderella2006 - Wish I had a bit more time to be even more organised but hey guess I'd rather have less time to wait
Here's the restaurants we have booked already:

Fultons Crab House - Mon 16th
T-Rex - Tues 17th
Donalds Safari Lunch - Wed 18th
Turf Club Bar & Grill - Thurs 19th
Brown Derby - Fri 20th
Crystal Palace Breakfast - Sun 22nd
Turf Club Bar & Grill - Mon 23rd
Coral Reef Restaurant - Tues 24th
Sci Fi restaurant - Wed 25th
Cinderella Royal Table - Sat 28th

The rest of the time will just be as & when. Do they sound like decent ones to you guys? It's hard to choose isn't it? You may as well stick a pin in a board

I think you have some great choices ... Do you like sea food by any chance We have been to T-Rex, Donalds, Crystal Palace, Sci Fi and Cinderellas Royal Table and we enjoyed each and every one!
We did the dining plan for the first time on our last trip and learnt so much from this boards but i still ended up with a load of credits at the end of the trip. We found it so much food! We used the snack credits to bring back lollies and sweets for the little ones friends and went to DTD to pick up some bits from Earl of Sandwich to take to the airport as there is not a great deal of choice there x

 

[dixonsontour]

Welcome to the DIS

You sound like you have got your sit down meals sorted.

My tip for quick service meals is that the credits are not split adult and child -so 2 adults and a child for 14 nights get 42 QS credits to share.

We find 2 adult meals is plenty to share between 2 adults and a young child once you factor in dessert.

Have a great trip.

 

[beautifullily]

How exciting only having two weeks to wait. We go for the first time at the end of next month and am wishing the time away

Look forward to hearing more about what you get up to.

 

[WiganTony]

For the dates you haven't made reservations, when you know which park you will be visiting it's worth calling at the concierge desk at your hotel in the morning and they will be able to check availability for you. You may have more success if you have a late lunch or early dinner.

If you can't get a reservation in the park restaurants, also worth keeping in mind the resort hotels near to Magic Kingdom - Contemporary (Chef Mickeys for Character Meal), Polynesian or Grand Floridian (1900 Park Fare for Character Meal) - or the Boardwalk area if at EPCOT or Hollywood Studios.

For the heat, when we go in August, we always buy some packs of 500ml bottled water from Walmart and freeze some. Pop a couple into an insulated bag with unfrozen ones and any snacks, and everything will stay cool for most of the day.

Also worth pacing yourself and calling into the air conditioned shows at the parks, and/or if at the parks early, consider going back to the hotel for a few hours for a swim etc then return later on, children permitting!! If you have tickets that gives you water park access, you may find that visiting a water park every four days or so gives you a break from the "mania" in the main parks, and gives you some chill-out time.

I would also familiarise yourself with the Fastpass system - it really does help you avoid queues if used wisely.

Finally, it's also a good idea to check if the parks you are planning on visiting have Extra Magic Hours (EMH), morning or evening. If you are early risers, morning EMH allows resort guests into the parks an hour earlier, and you can get some of the more popular rides done in this time, or get Fastpasses for later in the day. TBH, we generally avoid parks with EMH even if staying on-site, and try and visit them the day after.

Quite a ramble, apologies for the length, but hope you have a fantastic time........ and you will return!!

 

[April2012]

Wow you guys are fantastic! So much valuable advice, thanks so much!

I’m afraid I still haven’t fathomed how to quote individual people all on the same post....not sure if I’m missing something or not? Anyway:

Elise79 – Yeah our DS used to be scared of anyone in a costume too but now thankfully loves them! That would have been a nightmare finding out when you arrived they were still scared wouldn’t it?
Good to know about Turf Club seeing as we have that twice.
Yes, we plan to get to the parks at rope drop which shouldn’t be too hard considering the time difference & what not and I’m definitely hoping DS will have a nap mid afternoon. In fact he’ll have no choice as I’ll be wanting a nap mid afternoon too! I like my sleep
Good tip about the centre turnstile I’m gonna have to write these down!

Cinderella2006 – Oh Yes I LOVE seafood ha! Well actually it’s me & DS, DH hates the stuff....it must be love hey??
Loving the tip about the getting snacks with the credits to take goodies back! I’d have never have thought of that

Dixonsontour – Were ahead of you on this one lol!! I’ve already said that 1 portion between me & DS will be enough, unless I’m feeling extra peckish of course!

Beautifullily – Oh it’s just too exciting isn’t it? I sometimes wish I could just be told on the day like some of those lucky little ones that wake up and discover they are going!!
We actually have to take the laptop with us just to check in with work every now & again (how boring!!) so thought I might pop on and give a little update occasionally on what’s going on.

WiganTony – Thanks so much for all your great tips! All this is so helpful! Defo going to do the frozen water in the bag thing as nothing worse than sipping luke warm water!
Re the fast passes, we just got a reminder down the other day and DH was saying if we should bother or not. Well I think we’ll probably get that now.
Great tip about the EMH. I take it you don’t have to pre-order them so we can decide on this once we are there?
Thanks again all for the advice and I am 99.9% sure we’ll be returning....just getting DH to surrender his .1% shouldn’t be too hard I’m sure

 

[WiganTony]

Hi - the Fastpasses are free at the main rides in each park- you just insert your park ticket in the Fastpass machine and you will receive a return time for that ride. You can obtain another Fastpass once your first fastpass entry time comes around (tip - go for another one before riding) OR two hours after you get the Fastpass - the next availability to get Fastpasses will be on the bottom of the ticket you receive.

Extra Magic Hours is also free to Disney Guests - you just use your hotel/Keys to the World Card which acts as your ticket to get access in the morning. For evening EMH, you have to show your ticket to get on the rides.

 

[Disney Princesses LW]

love all your DDP tips, weve never done it before but if the free offer comes up agian we will definatly book this. Can I ask your thoughts on upgarding from qs to ddp? We are 2 adults and 1 teenager (13) and 1 child (6) will there be enough to fill us all ? also is it sensible to alternate breakfast then dinner adps??

 

[madmumof2]

Find shade! lol It's hot.

Another tip is fast pass. You collect a fast pass and it has a return time on it so you can come back and ride with little or no wait

 

[~Piglet~]

weve never done it before but if the free offer comes up agian we will definatly book this. Can I ask your thoughts on upgarding from qs to ddp?

We have the QSDP for this trip, which suits us fine as we have three small children in our party who probably wouldn't sit through a long TS meal! I would definitely consider the DDP in the future though (especially if 'free')

 

[madmumof2]

We have the QSDP for this trip, which suits us fine as we have three small children in our party who probably wouldn't sit through a long TS meal! I would definitely consider the DDP in the future though (especially if 'free')

We'll be there when you are!

 

[~Piglet~]

We'll be there when you are!

I can't wait! We've done nothing but talk about going back since May 2010

I see from your sig that you've been before in October, what is the weather like usually?

 

[wayneg]

love all your DDP tips, weve never done it before but if the free offer comes up agian we will definatly book this. Can I ask your thoughts on upgarding from qs to ddp? We are 2 adults and 1 teenager (13) and 1 child (6) will there be enough to fill us all ? also is it sensible to alternate breakfast then dinner adps??

For us no question we would have to upgrade (or as we do, stay at OKW which included regular DDP for same price as moderate resorts) we eat a TS meal every evening. Others manage with QSDDP no problem, possibly cheaper to pay OOP for the odd TS rather than upgrade.
We don't have time for breakfasts, in parks for opening then eat lunch & dinner, this next trip we just have 1 breakfast booked in 24 nights.

 

[loobzuk]

I hope we do get to see a couple of live trip reports from you if you've got your lap top - I've got way toooooo long until my next trip so I need to get my fix through everyone else!

 

[~Piglet~]

We don't have time for breakfasts, in parks for opening then eat lunch & dinner, this next trip we just have 1 breakfast booked in 24 nights.

NO breakfasts?! We like to get to parks for opening too, but there's always time for breakfast Wayne!!

 

[wayneg]

NO breakfasts?! We like to get to parks for opening too, but there's always time for breakfast Wayne!!

Never eat til afternoon at home so holidays no different.

 

[Holstar]

Never eat til afternoon at home so holidays no different.

We're the same! Well, I am... I never have breakfast, I can never eat first thing! Ben on the other hand, can't get through the morning without it.

I do try and make an effort when we've got our nieces to set a good example and what not (and cut down on mid morning "can I have some crisps?")!

We find that when we take the girls away, they're always too excited for it though! We have to practically glue them to a chair and make them eat something! I guess that's what holidays do to you :

xx