Officially planning our first trip with kids!!

[wonderstruck88]

This is a surreal moment for me...the last time I was obsessing over disboards I was planning my honeymoon, and now 6 years later we've decided our first trip with our kids will happen next year! This is the first time we've set a Disney vacation so far in advance that it's not able to even be booked on the website yet, so I guess I'm wondering - how early is too early to really begin planning and booking things? My understanding is that reservations for next year will likely open up in late June, although without any discounts attached (I realize we can call and add those after though - lately I keep being tortured by pin codes we just can't afford to use quite yet, so hopefully some kind of discount pops up eventually for our travel dates.)

I already ordered the Unofficial Guide to Disney World With Kids and am reading through that. I've always been the kind of person to show up at rope drop, not push too hard since our strategies for lower lines usually work out well, and to go back to the hotel for a mid-day rest, so I anticipate all of that will be useful. We need to figure out if we're going early or mid-May - I'm finishing up a degree and will graduate at the end of April, so we'll either go right after or make it a birthday trip for my oldest, who will turn 5 a couple weeks later. The other big debate I'm having is about strollers - our kids will be about 5 and 3.5. Part of me doesn't want to deal with the stroller, and they're the kinds of kids with tons of energy, but I've spent enough time on these threads to know some (possibly many) would consider that to be a horrible mistake, and I can see the benefit of having them when it comes to heading back to the hotel after nighttime shows/fireworks.

Overall I guess I just needed to gush a little to other Disney fans who would get the excitement of taking your kids for the first time. In my mind I've been planning this for a long time (geeky story - while having an emergency c-section with my oldest, my husband distracted a terrified me by asking what hotel we should stay at the first time we take him to Disney - so I have literally been planning this since he was born! Haha.) Anyways, I'm very happy to be here and hoping to be more active than during my honeymoon planning. And also, getting back to my original plan....how early do you book for a vacation the following year?

 

[kreckl]

We usually book as soon as the flights are available. I like the option of tweaking a day here or there to save some money. Where are you staying? Are you flying? How long will your trip be?
We took our son for the first time when he was 5. We didn't even own a stroller anymore, but I researched lightweight ones and found one that was big enough, and bought it. We were happy to have it- at the airport, and at Epcot which is very spread out. We didn't need it at the MK, the attractions are close together. But its a great place to sit for parades and getting in and out of the parks with tired kids! I sold our stroller when we got home, for about the cost of what we paid. It was only used for a week....

 

[Klayfish]

First and foremost, you should gush about it, that's really exciting!! A trip with the kids is SO different than just as a couple. You're now going for them, instead of you. Watching their eyes light up in wonder as they stare at everything is better than any ride WDW has. It's just cool beyond words.

As for how early to book, I think most here will tell you to book as early as the system will let you. If you're staying on site and doing a dining plan, I would trust what they tell you. We stay off site and bring our own food, so really our planning requires very little time. We'll book the rental house up to a year in advance, simply because we want to, but we can do it all the way up to last minute. Beyond that, we plan our FP+ at 30 days.

As for the stroller thing, yeah, definitely varying opinions. I'm very much of the opinion that it's a terrible mistake not to bring it. Our kids are high energy too, they all play year round sports. But WDW is HUGE, MASSIVE, ENORMOUS. My wife and I are both extremely physically fit and it can even wear us down. I'd rather bring the stroller and be sure they won't wear down than have them "crash" mid-day or early evening...we're not even rope drop people, but still. Plus, I think it's much easier to keep tabs on the kids after fireworks if they're in a stroller that you're pushing. Trying to hold the hand of a very tired child, or carry them, as there is a mass exodus out of the parks isn't a lot of fun.

If you haven't been in 6 years, much has changed. Most notably the FP+ system. Make sure you read up on it, and the other changes.

 

[piglet1979]

I took my kids when they were 4 and 5 and again at 6 and 7. I had a stroller both times. The first time we rented one from Disney. they were not my favorite but did the job. Just not as comfortable. The second time we ordered a double stroller from a place that delivered and picked it up at your resort. This was much nicer. it was nice to have some storage space too. My youngest does not like walking a lot and gets tired very easily. She napped both times while in the stroller at the parks. My oldest on the other hand has more energy then anyone could have. He still got tired and would sit every once in awhile in the stroller. He is also doesn't pay attention and will walk off. In the big crowds at night it was nice to have in the stroller so he wouldn't get lost in the crowds. Both times we were at the parks from rope drop til close. We have now changed that to have a break in the middle of the day.

It is never too soon to plan. We do wait until about 6 + months before we book because we wait to see the deals to see what we can afford.

 

[kboo]

Stroller: YES! We are renting a double stroller for our upcoming trip, when our kids will be almost 6 and almost 2. The 6 yo walks everywhere in the city, she can go for miles. But disney is a completely different animal.

May will be a terrific time to go, especially if you are there before Memorial Day - crowds should be low and the weather should be amazing. And you should celebrate both your graduation and your DS's birthday! Congratulations!!! You can get free pins at Guest Services or at your resort that say "I'm celebrating" and "Happy Birthday ____" that you should definitely wear. Also "First trip" for your DS. Especially with the birthday pins, guests and CMs will wish your DS a happy birthday all week, and you may get pixie dusted here and there too.

Spend some time on the threads here and mousesavers to figure out best strategies for getting the best room rate - it isn't always through the website. Sign up for a planning DVD fromDisney, get on their mailing list - you may get lucky with a 1-time use pin for special discounts on rooms as well. Rooms are usually fully cancelable pretty far in advance (unless you're renting points), so you can always reserve a placeholder room if you see a good rate at your resort of choice, and then change your reservation if you see a better rate or discount that comes out (or if you get a pin code).

Unless you're coming from a tiny market, it's worth waiting until about 3-5 months before your trip to actually book airfare. We had our August 2017 trip planned almost a year in advance, but airfares on our preferred airline were $500+ for months (and barely sold!), until a few weeks ago, when we got them for $200 less per person.

Enjoy! It's going to be fun!!

 

[wmmoorejr]

We are going in February 2018 and I booked our rooms at the beginning of March. There are no discounts available and you have to call for the reservation. When I was speaking to the CM about our different options (Wilderness Cabins or AOA Suite) he recommended reserving the AOA Nemo suite now because those are always the first to go and then we could change to something different later since the other options usually don't sell out. He also recommended reserving more days than we would need, just in case our plans changed since it is easier to remove days than add them. All in all a very helpful conversation. He said we could call him back as many times as we wanted to make changes, or add discounts as they become available. The only upfront cost was a deposit of the first nights fee, and that is completely refundable if we cancel the trip.

Our children will be 7 and 4 1/2 for this trip and we will bring a single jogging stroller for this trip.

 

[wonderstruck88]

Thanks for the replies, everyone! At this point we're thinking a six day trip, and we'll definitely be flying. First plane ride for the kids as well, although we live not too far from Detroit's airport and any time we pass it our oldest asks when we're going to take a plane somewhere and that he wants to take one to Disney World, haha. Our initial plan was to stay at Wilderness Lodge mainly for sentimental reasons, but now we're also considering AKL or BLT and renting DVC points to do so. Being walking distance to MK would be nice, and so would being able to relax on the balcony for a bit with a savanna view once the kids are asleep. Open to opinions/suggestions on that! Of course, now that we started considering that since I last posted, it somewhat changes things as far as when we can/should book our room.

We'll definitely get a birthday pin and first visit pins for both boys! We were incredibly lucky to get a huge amount of pixie dust on our honeymoon (upgrade to a club level room with theme park view at the Contemporary!), so while I feel like we pretty much used up our pixie dust for life right there it would be nice just for him to get all of the birthday wishes.

And I think the stroller crowd is winning me over. We already own a City Mini double stroller that is very easy to fold, so perhaps we'll just check that and bring it with us. In my head I'm unsure of the mechanics of getting it on the tram, but it's fairly easy to fold and seems to be a popular rental option. Most likely renting a car as well - we always drove rather than flying when I was a kid, and basically I've been spoiled and hate dealing with the often insane lines to get on a bus as the park is closing.

 

[Princess Minnie321]

Enjoy! It is so much fun to see the excitement your kids have on their first visit! We had our first visit in November and since we returned, our kids keep asking when are we going back. We just booked for next April.

I agree with the stroller. My kids are super active and they were tired at Disney. They were also 5 and 3.5 on our trip. We rented a city mini double and i was glad to have it. When we were going from ride to ride in one area, we would park it and they would walk and then we would grab it to move to the next area. It was great to have when we needed to cross the parks. I am definitely renting for next year too.

We just booked a room only for next year. We are going on our April vacation so I wanted to be sure we had a room. She said the packages should be released for 2018 sometime in June and I assume they will be without discounts. Usually the discounts are not this far in advance. I just received an email yesterday with the fall discounts.

You will want to make table service reservations when you are at your 180 day mark. The popular places will book well in advance. You can reserve fast passes at 2 months. I learned so much just reading the threads on these boards.

 

[Gwoman8920]

Ahhhh right there with you! We are booked for November. My husband and I are Disney nuts Honeymooned there too and LOVE everything about Disney! We used to have season passes when we lived in Florida! Our first son was born premature, and therefore due to medical reasons and budgets we have been unable to go. Add another son 15 months later and well, we've finally recovered our sanity, and our wallets and are ready to go!

Our boys will be just turned 3 and 4.5 and we feel like this is going to be such a magical trip! Kids grow up so quickly now, and I'm so excited we will get to share in the Disney Magic with them at this age! Can't wait to get there. Scouring these boards for tips and advice. I feel like this is a whole new Disney now that we're going as Parents! Can't wait!!!!