newbie! july 2015 :D

[minimog]

Hello! Ive been lurking for quite a while, thought id come say hi!

Theres me (30), dh (30) and dd (4, will be 5 when we go). Dd & I are disney mad & dh is marvel mad. Dd absolutely adores stitch, so the ohana breakfast is an absolute must do. I think she'd love bbb as well as she loves to dress up.

I cant book till nov when I get my holidays at work booked and approved. We are hoping to stay at AoA. We are also planning to keep it a surprise for dd until just before we go.

I just want to plan!!

So ive got a few questions-

Firstly, we'll be going to seaworld, universal, IoA & hopefully discovery cove on the trip, is it worth going for the dining plan?

Getting around- dh doesnt drive, it'll be me. Ive never been to the US before, or driven abroad. Is it stressful? How to prepare? And is it a massive inconvenience to not hire a car?

Thirdly and lastly- how do people with 5 year olds keep a child with a very short attention span happy on a long flight? Its a long time, ive been to the dominican republic and thats a similar flight length and ive got to admit I was almost climbing the walls towards the end! Lol!

Thank you in advance

 

[wilma-bride]

Hi there and to the DIS

Firstly, as far as the dining plan is concerned, it really is personal preference, however if you are planning a lot of non-Disney activities/other parks and will be eating there, I would say you would be better off without the dining plan. Other people may have a different opinion. If you will have a car, though, I would also consider eating off-site (outside of the parks). There are so many wonderful places to choose from and the food (in my opinion) is much better quality, choice and a heck of a lot cheaper.

I've never driven in the US. I am a fairly confident driver but just haven't plucked up the courage to actually do it. My DH does all the driving but I have been told that it is pretty easy. Our first couple of trips, we didn't have a car but now I wouldn't be without one (although my DD and I are visiting for a week in March and are still debating whether to get a car - I already know, though, that if we don't it will be difficult when we want to go shopping). If you want to visit other parks and will be staying onsite at Disney, you might find it is an inconvenience to get public transport or an extra expense you could do without to get taxis everywhere.

As far as keeping your DD occupied on the plane, my DS was just over 5 the first time we took him. We took colouring books, reading books and card games. He also loved watching the kids' TV programmes and films on the seat-back TVs. He didn't really sleep on the way out but he was pretty good generally. Every hour or so we would go for a wander around the cabin just to let him use up a bit of energy.

Happy planning

 

[minimog]

Thank you so much for ypur reply

I think I may have to be brave, read up on driving in the us & do it. Eek!

Id imagine we will probably be spending around 60% of our time at disney so im guessing the best way to figure out the best value way of eating is to visit websites, check out menues & price it up!

I think im going to make up a special flight bag for dd with lots of activities in- colouring books, puzzles, sticker books, little treat size snacks and so on. I think she will be buzzing with excitement so I sincerely doubt that she will sleep on the way out

X x X

 

[Elise79]

Our DD is 5 now and has done the trip a dozen times. She is an active child usually but has always been really good on the plane. In her suitcase she has colouring, card games, her favourite soft toys and her iPad. Between them and the IFE there is plenty to keep her occupied.

We wouldn't be without a car - I love driving over there its so much nicer than here I would maybe suggest getting transfers on arrival and then collect the car the next day when you are less tired

Personally, I would never pay for the dining plan as it would never be cost effective for us and with the number of offsite things you have planned I would say the same would apply. If you can get free dining then that's a no brainer!

 

[princess_ariel_85]

Welcome and happy planning!

We've never done the dining plan, we were tempted by it at one stage though but in the end it wasn't worth it for what we had planned. If we could swing free dining however that would be good. There's only 2 of us so I think that has a part in it. I suppose it comes down to how often you plan on eating in Disney.

We've never hired a car but if we planned on doing as much off-site things as you I think it is worth doing. We spend most our time on-site and aren't to fussed by waiting in line for a bus. Again though it is just me & Dh, if we factored a child into it, our car hiring opinion might alter.

No kids for us yet so I can't really comment on keeping them entertained. I have seen children with activity/colouring books and they do seem to work. Sometimes depending on which airline you're flying with they hand out activity packs for younger flyers.

 

[minimog]

Im hoping we might be lucky enough to get free dining but im budgeting as if we wont so we'll be fine either way. Dh is set on going to a disney resort, and we all want to go to the other parks, although I must admit that im most excited about disney!

I think driving will give me more freedom, id love to visit a mall too.

I not sure how we'll fit it all into 2 weeks! Will probably need to factor in rest time for dd too.