Newbie needs HELP!!!

[alisonh]

Hello, I am new to DIS as well as to WDW. I have dreamed about a trip to disney my entire life, FINALLY we will be going. My ds is just turning 3 and we will go over my spring break (I am a teacher) leaving in just under a month! DH purchased tickets and booked our timeshare yesterday! Anyhow, I NEED HELP! I am so very excited but also realize that many people plan out their trips MONTHS in advance, if not years. I also know that most that dont have a larger budget or purchase everything in packages. We are next to broke and most of our budget is getting eaten just GETTING to FL. What are things that we MUST do? I am thinking a character meal, but where? How do I plan that? I have been told to book ahead and was then given the web address for these boards, but nothing else. I have just spent a 3 hour nap plus some reading and reading here, and although I am getting more excited I am also not finding all the help i am seeking. Is there someone out there who want to be my guide? THANK YOU!

 

[dogodisney]

Chef Mickeys at the Contemporary Resort and Crystal Palace in Magic Kindgom have good character meals. They both are buffets. You can call disney dining and make advanced reservations. The # is 407-939-3463. Keep in mind that you will need to be flexible if you want to have a chance of getting a seating. You may need to go at off times.

 

[Missin'Disney]

There is a character meal at Hollywood Studios in the Hollywood and Vine restaurant that features the Little Einsteins and JoJo. I would say to make your first choice with the character meal based on which characters your son would recognize and get the biggest "kick" out of. Then of course the availability is an issue. A party size of 3 isn't too hard to get a res for. Much easier than 5. Anyway, you may have to be flexible like the previous poster said. Chef Mickey's is a lot of fun....Mickey, Goofy, Pluto etc. Plus the Contemporary is on the Monorail line, so that should be fun for you guys to go over and check out. Check out Allears.net for lots of info on Dining and other stuff. You book the meal through Disney Dining. That phone number is listed on the allears site, or Disney's site in many places.
there shouldn't be too much Out-of-pocket expense. Try to bring water bottles and snacks in to the parks with you to cut the food expenditure. Snacks and drinks can really add up quickly at Disney.
You are in the right place to find lots of useful Disney tips. I suggest looking over on the family board and budget boards for tips! Best of luck to you and your family. You are going to love it at Disney. Let us know how your trip was upon returning!!

 

[RMAMom]

Start here
http://allears.net/din/cb.htm

Enjoy your trip!

 

[twinsmommy06]

We are in your same situation and I can tell you we've managed to do dw every year for the past 3 yrs. I do a timeshare promotion where you get a deal plus 2 free theme park tickets. I don't mind sitting through the time share promotion. My kids start acting up and they just say ok. Bye. We also drive down to FL in my van as it's cheaper then flying. Yes there's gas but no problems getting into the park. Course there is the parking fee but that's not too bad. Last yr we purchased only 1-2 souviniers for each child(I have 3) and then used the most money on princess lunches, did breakfast and dinner at chef mickeys and jojo's lunch. My kids loved these. We also saw 1 park per day and did NOT do any hoppers. I believe that saves $ too. Enjoy! We're going back in April.

 

[KJ and Crew]

We were newbies too, and just got back on Friday!

You are ahead of us, since you are scheduling the nap. We figured out we needed an afternoon break later in the trip, and it was great!

Our favorite kid moment was at AK during the Tusker House breakfast buffet (Donald, Mickey, Goofy, and Daisy). They sang a beautiful good morning song and the kids got to dance in a parade around the restaurant; it was awesome! Mickey held my son's hand since he was one of the smallest and they played tambourines -- adorable!!

We also like Garden Grill in Epcot for character dining b/c the food was better than most, a little more peaceful, and the characters came around THREE times! My kids think that Chip and Dale are their best friends, along with farmer Mickey!

The PP are right looking at which characters you want to see... Pooh is only at Crystal Palace although we were not wild about the food, and neither were the kids. But who could resist Pooh? It might be worth it!

Our favorite "do not miss" ride at AK was the Kilimanjaro safari. If your son likes animals, it is amazing, and a bumpy ride which makes it a lot of fun too!

Many of the 3D movies are scary for little kids so we avoided them, BUT the muppet 3D (DHS) and Philharmagic (MK) are not at all scary, and the kids love them!

At MK, they have THREE adorable little playgrounds (PG) for younger tots (age 2-5): toon town disney, fantasy land (pooh's playful spot), and adventure land (next to splash mountain). These are small and you can relax a bit knowing your little one is in a safe environment.

Epcot has a little splash area, no PG.

The other PG's at DHS (honey I shrunk the kids) and AK (bone yard) are LARGE play grounds w/ tall slides and climbing areas, and more larger kids running all over the place. Moms of younger children still go in there, and keep their kids close and follow them around...

Epcot has little areas at each country for coloring a little symbol that is attached to a mask, called Kid Cot stations. The science areas have a lanyard the kids use to attach different symbols (a dolphin, flower lady bug).

For rides, my son made me ride Nemo FOUR times in Epcot (thank God there are not usually any lines!). We also saw Turtle Talk with Crush twice, and he LOVED it!

If you are worried about rides going totally dark, bring a glowing toy or let your child hold your cell phone. I was surprised how many rides go pitch black and startle the young ones (my 5 yr. old is sensitive while his siblings were racing down space mountain! Diff. personalities!)

Whatever resort you are in, the pool and playground there will be a welcome change of pace for everyone. I wish we had planned more time at ours! We saw POR, BC/YC/BW and they all had stunning areas to explore, most resorts do!

Disney put little spots with Legos or TVs with cartoons in several lobby areas, so my kids were entertained. Restaurants provide crayons, coloring pages, and interesting visuals... it was refreshing! My kids loved the ferry to downtown Disney, and they have a lego playing area, a "build your own light saber" area, and potato heads with parts for the kids to play with... so much to play with and it's free! Even if you don't want to shop, you can go for free and have fun! There is one store where everything is $10 and under -- my personal fav!

You will have a WONDERFUL time! Sunscreen, bottled water (I liked Garden Grocer for groceries), naps, and play time... You are all set to have a perfect trip!

 

[alisonh]

THANKS so much, these are great ideas. I am taking notes, if you think of anything else let me know. How did you get tickets at a timeshare presentation? Did you set it up ahead of time or once you got there? We are skiers and the "norm" in some areas is they hit you up to see presentations up one side and down the other... in other areas they never seem to ask at all. We are more than willing to take one day to see a presentation and then hang out by the pool in order to get some good deal somewhere. I know that ds would like seeing the little einsteins... are they also around the park(s) or is the character breakfast the only place to see them? I am guessing that Handy Manny is not around the parks anywhere right? (that would be his "favorite") and he does not watch JoJo circus (actually I have never heard of it) He loves mickey, minnie, pooh, etc... he also is absolutely in love with the princesses... if I let him he would dress as cinderalla. His fav is Ariel I think, but he does also like the others. He is also into Wall-E but that is prob to new to be anywhere right?

A friend told me something about buying some photographer/picture package thing ahead, do you know what she was talking about?

How many days do we need at the parks? Do we go to all or just to a few? If you do not buy tickets ahead can you still get a break? Are all the parks "good" for ds or do we only do MK?

I am also wondering about the rides... ds is a real dare devil and would go on any and all rides, the bigger and scarier the better... unfortunatly he is in the 1% for height making most rides places out of the question. From what I have seen around in my searching he will be able to ride a good portion of rides at MK, and I didnt really look anywhere else. I know that dh and I also want to get on a few of the bigger rides too since it is OUR first time to experience Disney... is there some sort of way they let you do this? Do you go in the singles line or something? It wouldnt be an issue, except it will only be the 3 of us.

And for now... is Sea World something we should be considering or should we keep that one out of the trip for now? It looks like we will be getting in LATE friday night (we fly from MN to NYC to FL!!! with each leg being about a 3 hour flight!) so sat we will prob just want to lay low... but may be too excited to kwim? We fly out the following Fri, so we have basically Sat-Thurs to explore. DS loves to swim and water parks, but I am guessing that he will be too short for many rides at them either since he is to short at the WI Dells.

THANKS AGAIN!

 

[alisonh]

THANK YOU KJ and CREW... I was responding at the same time as you, and you helped answer several of my questions... some I didnt even know I had! The glow toy is a great idea... I think I have at one I got at CVS this halloween and never used!

 

[Metro West]

 

[alisonh]

Thanks

I am so excited, I think even more than my son and my husband put together... I am such a disney junkie!

 

[alisonh]

OKAY... so a different question too... how do I get one of the disney tickers in my sig? I know all about the lilypie ones etc but this obviously is from some other site. TIA!

 

[DWFan4Life]

Welcome to DISboards. This is a great source of info and I'm sure you'll find answers to all of your questions, also be prepared to become addicted to DIS.

Have a nice day everyone.

 

[RNtheRN]

Want a Disney ticker, try http://www.magicalkingdoms.com/timers/

 

[alisonh]

Thank you so much! Ticker is working now... and obviously I have started to become addicted here since I registered on Sat and now wed I already have 22 (I think) posts, a few pms, and am part of a photo pass group! The other boards I frequent are missing me lately since I cant keep current on them all!

 

[MarkinNM]

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lots of info to be had and give, ask and you shall recieve!!!