Newby, Any Tips For A First Timer To Florida

[disneydave26]

HI All.

AS the title says has anyone got any must have/do tips for a family of 5 (2 adults 3 kids age 8,7,5) We have already got our tickets and we are going 1st of june. Havent planned any days or anything yet. Starting to panic now as I have just looked at the calender and only got just over 4 weeks to go. I have read a lot about people buying clothes over there is this best, we were going out holiday shopping this weekend, but not sure what to do now.

Any help would be gratefully accepted no matter how big or small.

Thanks inadvance and looking forward to hearing from you all.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

The best tip for first timers is not to rush around to much trying to cram everything in.
Take things at a leisurely pace and it will be all the more enjoyable, especially as it will be very hot in June.
Comfortable footwear is essential whilst walking around any of the theme parks, you will walk miles so it is not the place to break in a new pair of trainers.
Regular breaks for drinks and refreshment are vital too, drink plenty of water etc.
You will find the parks are quieter and cooler either 1st thing in the morning or later in the evening, you will be surprised how many people do not arrive till midday.
Do a certain amount of planning, you already have your tickets, but just take each day as it comes, like you say shopping is very good in Orlando and it does also provide a welcome break from the parks.

As regards the extent it just depends really, we tend always to be pretty stocked up on summer clothing before we go, although that does not necessarily mean we don't do plenty of shopping too!
Many people take very little, must admit we tend to take a lot with us , generally as a lot of them are only worn when we are on holiday anyway.
Sportswear, jewellery, perfumes, denim are particularly good value for money out there, naturally the US labels such as Ralph Lauren, DKNY etc would be cheaper to buy out there than in the UK, a pair of Oakley sunglasses that would say cost $150, could be as much as £150 over here. ...on the other hand it would not be the place to look for European designer wear, naturally it would be much more expensive.

The Florida Mall is probably the best overall for a good selection at all prices, several good department stores with a good food store too, the Mall At Millenia is the newest and has a mixture of designer stores plus major department stores such as Macy's and Bloomingdales.
For bargains Premium Outlets is good, especially for sportswear, Adidas/Puma and Nike all have stores there - it can be a bit hit and miss, as with all outlet stores.
Festival Bay is another newish mall which is taking a bit of time to get fully going, however is well worth a visit, there is a very good RonJon's surf store there.
Generally you can find bargains anywhere though, I guess it just depends on how much shopping you want to do.

 

[wifey]

As above but if you can go to a local supermarket and stock up on drinks (including water)snacks extra toiletries especially soap powder and conditioner it's amazing how quickly you all go through clean clothes!!Keep drinking water very important during the summer months you can bet grumpy kids are dehydrated and stop from time to time and take in the atmosphere and attention to detail in the parks. Look around for the local wildlife too we saw lots of tiny lizards many birds and in a couple of lakes we passed we saw fish and even a turtle, from the monorail we saw turkeys deer and even an odd alligator don't worry they don't get too close Remember the sunscreen reapply it frequently to everyone!! The sun here is VERY stong and kids often catch it very quickly.See if you can get hold of a copy of Brits Guide to Orlando before you go it's a wonderful book to help visitors Thanks to the author
Clothes sizes for adults are one size smaller than the UK but kids clothes sizes varies a little from store to store.If you look around there are some great kids shoe shops and sports goods stores at very reasonable prices personally we like the PRemium Outlets at Lake Buena Vista and the I-Ride trolley stops there before going back up I-Drive .Hope that helps

 

[edinburghlass]

We were 1st timers last year and my bible was the stickie thread WDW Secrets, I printed it out to take with us and tried to read up about each park either the night before or in the morning.

From the "silly" things of finding a speaking water fountain or looking for Tink in the chest of drawers to knowing that you can ask to sit up front on the monorail, all these tips by Dis readers positively made our holiday

Just booked a last minute 7 day trip leaving 11th May and I will be packing this list again so I can look for all the things we missed last year.

 

[Spook]

Hi DisneyDave, on our 1st trip we thought our park tickets only alllowed us access to the parks. Didn't realise we could check out the Disney hotels/Boardwalk area to take a look around/get something to eat. We didn't even get to DTD. Checking the Dis gives you so much info on things you would overlook

Have a great trip

Jan

 

[carolfoy]

My best tip would be to take a good look at the trip reports board, it'll give you good ideas on exactly how to spend your time, how much things cost, weather conditions etc and there are thousands of little things when people say 'I'm so glad we brought xx' and 'thank god we didn't miss xx' etc.
Any specific questions will be answered on this board within a few hours of posting.

 

[AndRu]

Not much to add to what has been mentioned already but I would reccommend planning what you'd like to do each day. It'd be a horrible feeling to get down to the last couple of days realising that you're going to have to miss something out. On the other hand, don't try and do everything as you'll fail! There is so much to see and do in and around Orlando that you can't do everything. Realistic planning and rest/shopping days are required to make the most out of your trip and as carolfoy mentioned, the Trip Reports Board is a good place to see what others have done.

Our kids were 8, 6 and 5 when we went in September '03 and the one thing we found was that the younger 2 could only do so much. You think kids have an infinite supply of energy but they soon wear out in the heat. On some days, especially when trying to get to a theme park early, they just didn't want to wake up. It's easier getting them out of bed on a school day than to get them up for a visit to Disney / Universal etc. You need to add rest days / lie in's so they can recharge their batteries.

Have a great trip!

 

[Goofyish]

Welcome to the DIS Boards DisneyDave

 

[wifey]

Days off are a good idea they give you chance to recharge and prepare for the next few days at a park or shopping and give the kids chance to unwind play in the pool etc.We always try to have a walk about the area we're stopping and don't worry everyone is friendly in the shops and restaurants. Many of the food places used by the locals are very good value for money and very tasty and filling so think about a few meals out of the parks.
Roads are easy to cross there are plenty of crosswalks. Before you go get the kids a few things together with their fave characters on and give them out while waiting in queues or give them a couple of disposable cameras so they can take their own piccies and if you think they may like to collect autographs get some autograph books and thick markers for signing when the kids meet the characters in the parks. Take things easy and enjoy the trip

 

[Jennie4647]

Hi,

Love the WDW Secrets thread, is there a similar one for Universal/IOA, DC or BG?

Thanks

Jen

 

[bazzanoid]

Roads are easy to cross there are plenty of crosswalks.

And remember, if you don't use a crosswalk to cross the road, expect to spend the night in the cells.... florida police are very unforgiving of crossing the road elsewhere. Residential areas aren't a problem, but any major road (basically, if it's a busy road) is. Also because of this law, drivers in FL tend not to pay much attention to the pedestrians except at crosswalks...

 

[bazzanoid]

Love the WDW Secrets thread, is there a similar one for Universal/IOA, DC or BG?

There's one here on universal/ioa:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=909615

 

[disneyholic family]

Days off are a good idea they give you chance to recharge and prepare for the next few days at a park or shopping and give the kids chance to unwind play in the pool etc.

rather than days off, we prefer to take afternoons off.
We get a very early start every day. You really should be at the parks before opening, since the crowds build through the morning and also it gets hotter and hotter and hotter through the morning, until the afternoon really gets quite unbearably hot (the heat radiates off the cement).

So you want to get to the park before opening and then leave in early afternoon. Then in the afternoon you can swim, rest, shop, etc.

then if you're not too tired, you can go back to the park in the evening. Or not. We often go to sleep very early, since we get up at the crack of dawn to get to the park on time.

 

[juliebro]

Hi DisneyDave, on our 1st trip we thought our park tickets only alllowed us access to the parks. Didn't realise we could check out the Disney hotels/Boardwalk area to take a look around/get something to eat. We didn't even get to DTD. Checking the Dis gives you so much info on things you would overlook

Have a great trip

Jan

Totally agree. We were exactly the same. Didn't even know what DTD was!

Also - as others have advised. Get a copy of the Brit's Guide. We buy it every year for our trips. It's our Disney Bible!

Julie

 

[paul_sheps]

Hi Dave
We did our first trip last year in August, 5 of us also. Planned to do all the parks but only managed to get the Disney parks done. The heat and humidity meant the kids were flagging after a few hours.
We did each of the disney parks twice apart from AK (only once) and the 2 water parks, with rest days in between spent around the pool.
Hoping to go back this year and concentrate on Universal and Seaworld.
Cheers

 

[sharon78]

Hi and welcome to the boards
Youve been given so much info Im sure you'll be fine.Loads of helpful tips for you to read through.The Dis Boards are great for a first timer,it helped us plan no end for our first trip,stopped us from making expensive mistakes.

Enjoy it.. hope you dont get to many headaches and sleepless nights thinking about it.Your going to need all your energy.

Have fun,start making some plans

 

[ajcolorado]

You will really benefit if you can either subscribe to tourguidemike.com or get a copy of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World so that you have a good touring plan. These have both studied Disney crowds extensively and can really help cut the time you spend in line. We never spent more than 20 minutes in any line last June.

Also, if you are going to Epcot, it is really, Really, important to check the entertainment schedule for the World Showcase. If you don't, it will just feel like country themed gift shops. I recommend "Off Kilter" in Canada, the World Showcase Players in UK & Italy, the Dragon Legend Acrobats in China, and the Candy Artist in Japan as some favorites.

Did you buy new shoes to wear at WDW? If so, start wearing them now - you don't want to have to "break in" new shoes on the trip.

 

[mushumadness]

I cant really remembe rmy first time with my parents

but the first time I went with dbf, we tended to do the parks either in the mornin or on the evening and rest or shop in between.

As you can see from the tag I am a shopaholic, so I will suggest some shops to go to, dont miss the florida mall (great for toys r us, yankee candle etc), mall at millenia (bloomingdales), prime outlets (though this is still being delveloped), pointe orlando, and lbv factory outlets.

I would definatly go to a walmart and stock up on pop water and snacks. Also you will find very good prices on toys etc at walmart.

Oh and definatly try and do at least one character meal they are a great experiance for both children and adults

mos of all ENJOY yourself

 

[Huggles]

We take large ( but not oversize) holdalls with built in wheels. They 'stretch' better than suitcases when full and we put one empty one inside the other before we pack it to go. This means we have another holdall for all the souvenirs we gather over the holiday. I always buy a roll of duct tape at the supermarket over there ( very cheap) and wrap a couple of 'straps' of it round the holdalls on the way back , just in case they give up under the strain.
Don't buy the enormous body sized holdalls as they then have to be checked in and collected at oversized luggage points..more hassle.

The above works for us but we may be unusual in that we pack light and rinse through items whilst away. We (2 adults and 2 early teens) went to Canada in April and the check in woman was really impressed, no she was gobsmacked, because we had one large wheely holdall ( not body size) for the 4 of us for a week, plus a wee carry on backpack each.

PLEASE remember though that there are weight allowances for baggage and it is extrememly expensive if you are well over your allowance and the airline decides to charge. It is easy to run around picking up bargains only to find you end up paying more than the UK prices due to excess baggage.I recall seeing it happen to a couple checking in in Orlando to come home. They were having to pay £300 excess baggage and had no money left. They had to contact someone in the UK to pay by credit card or sacrifice a lot of their purchases. They didn't turn out to be much of a bargain after that.
ALSO remember that there are allowances to be followed for HM Revenue and Customs too. I don't know how often folk from Florida get stopped but it's something to bear in mind as it's easy to keep buying without thinking about the other end.

All that aside, have a wonderful time.

 

[Hedvig]

My FAVORITE place: Belz

I believe it's the biggest outlet mall in Orlando, they have 2 Disney outlets (one in each building)

You can find info on google by writing belz+orlando (I've got too few posts to be allowed to post a URL...)

There are 2 large (very) mall buildings and quite a few annexes, at the end of International Drive.

But as an other poster said, make sure to check your baggage allowance

Best for luck for your trip, we're going back in 42 days (but who's counting )

Hedvig