Our 1st ever trip is finally, really happening! 10 days to go!!!

[sarahmae3]

After 10 years of wishing, hoping, planning, almost booking, backing out, more wishing, hoping, planning, and saving... we are finally going to Disney World! A bit of background, none of us have ever been to Disney, us being - myself: Sarah, a stay at home mom, my husband: Erick, a hard worker who loves his job, and our four children (three pirates and one princess): ages 13, 10, 7, and 4 years old. I have been wanting to go to WDW since my older two were itty bitty, but I never thought we would be able to afford it! I even ordered the planning DVD several times over the years, and joined this board several years ago in when we were {this close} to booking a trip... then I found out I was pregnant!





So anyway, in May I finally booked and paid for our November 2014 trip and I am so excited! We are staying in the Fort Wilderness cabins and have free dining! I was able to book most of the ADR's that we wanted, even though some are not at ideal times, and my fastpass+ date is fast approaching which is what has prompted me to make this pre-trip report. Anyway, I could use all of the help/advice and suggestions/tips that you all can give me! I will post more later about our plans so far.

 

[Miss Whimsy]

Congrats on planning your first trip!! How long are you all staying?

I think the first step to planning is to look at your family and figure out who likes roller coasters (or not), and who wants to do meet and greets with characters, and who has a must-see Princess or must-do ride and start your planning from there. That's how my BF and I do it--figure out the must-dos and then let everything else settle around it.

 

[sarahmae3]

Congrats on planning your first trip!! How long are you all staying?

I think the first step to planning is to look at your family and figure out who likes roller coasters (or not), and who wants to do meet and greets with characters, and who has a must-see Princess or must-do ride and start your planning from there. That's how my BF and I do it--figure out the must-dos and then let everything else settle around it.

Thanks! We are staying 6 nights, 7 days. We are all up for pretty much anything - except for waiting in long lines! LOL.

 

[sarahmae3]

So, our plans so far are as follows:

Sunday, November 16th, 2014
Arrival day - we are driving (aprox. 14 hours), probably overnight and hoping for an early morning arrival. We are not sure if we will want to head straight to the MK when we get there or if we will just want to explore Fort Wilderness and go swimming, etc.

We have Chef Mickey's ADR's at 9:00 PM. (Only time we could get.)

17th:
EPCOT
Coral Reef ADR's at 1:05 PM
Hope to see Illuminations at 9pm

18th:

Hollywood Studios
Scifi Dine-In Theater ADR's at 1:35pm
Want to watch Fantasmic! at 6:30pm

19th:
Magic Kingdom
9:40am ADR's at The Crystal Palace - not sure if we should keep or not?
Really want to see both *MSEP: 8pm and *Wishes at 9pm)

20th:
Animal Kingdom
No dining reservations – plan to eat at Yak & Yeti (counter service) and/or Flame Tree BBQ (counter service).

21st:
Family’s Choice (plan to vote on which park we want to visit)
ADR's at 1900 Park Fare at 7:05 PM

Saturday, November 22nd, 2014
We have ADR's at 'Ohana at 9:00 AM
*I feel like we will all be ready to head back home by this point! (But if we don't visit a park on our arrival day we could visit one this day. We could also go to DTD if we don't make it there on any of the other days.)

 

[sarahmae3]

Would love any input on our current plans! Thanks!

 

[sarahmae3]

Okay, I added a couple of pics to the OP so you could all get to know us!

I made my FP+ reservations this morning, we didn't get the 7D Mine Train or Anna and Elsa, but I knew that was a high possibility. We did get several others that I hope will work out well for us.

I ordered a few t-shirts and outfits for the kids today, so we can coordinate a little on our trip.

I'm still checking all the time to see if I can get better ADR's!

 

[moe10378]

Hi!!! I can't really help you w/ Fast Pass, but I did wanna say Congrats on the trip!!! You all will have a blast!!

 

[sarahmae3]

Hi!!! I can't really help you w/ Fast Pass, but I did wanna say Congrats on the trip!!! You all will have a blast!!

Thanks!!

 

[vleeth]

What FP+ did you end up with?

I'd be willing to bet money that your family decides to go back to Magic Kingdom.

 

[sarahmae3]

What FP+ did you end up with?

I'd be willing to bet money that your family decides to go back to Magic Kingdom.

We'll see, but you are probably right!

We got FP+ for BTMR, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Soarin, Mission Space, TTw/Crush, Frozen Sing, Toy Story, Little Mermaid, Space Mountain, Enchanted Tales w/ Belle, Under the Sea, kilimanjaro Safari, EE, and Dinosaur.

Thanks!

 

[vleeth]

We'll see, but you are probably right!

We got FP+ for BTMR, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Soarin, Mission Space, TTw/Crush, Frozen Sing, Toy Story, Little Mermaid, Space Mountain, Enchanted Tales w/ Belle, Under the Sea, kilimanjaro Safari, EE, and Dinosaur.

Thanks!

What a great job picking FP. You must be doing some good planning. I remember being so happy to have one for Belle. We enjoyed it, but I think if we had waited in line (45-60min wait) I would have been upset.

 

[sarahmae3]

45 days to go!

I have been doing a ton of planning, but now the closer I get the more I keep second guessing our plans. I am seriously considering dropping our Chef Mickey ADR for that first night after reading all of the bad review about cleanliness lately. I don't know what I would replace it with though... or if anything good would even be available at this point. I wanted to get HDDR but I need to use dining credits and its all booked except Cat 1.

 

[sarahmae3]

So just an update on my last post, I did go ahead and cancel our late CM ADR for our arrival day. I booked us dinner at the Trail's End Buffet for a more normal supper time! I think that will just work much better for our family. I told my DH we can still ride the monorail into the Contemporary hotel. He really doesn't know much about WDW and isn't really interested in the planning but he thinks that will be cool. LOL.

Also, I put in my order for Garden Grocer today and they called to confirm so we are all set on that. I got the kids some autograph books, Mickey Mouse t-shirts, and comfy shoes! I made a list so I can go and get all of the little misc. things will we need from Walmart (like ponchos, bandaids, bug spray, etc) so I can go ahead and start packing things away. I'm getting so excited!!

 

[vleeth]

I would suggest bringing more than one pair of shoes for each person!

 

[sarahmae3]

I got an email that said our Magic Bands have shipped! In two days, I'm hoping to get a BOG fast pass for lunch. We have a countdown going on our chalkboard. I'm so excited!

I would suggest bringing more than one pair of shoes for each person!

Yes, we definitely will! Thanks! We all already have a broken in pair of tennis shoes, but I recently ordered the boys some new crocs.

 

[VBelle68]

you are going to love the Fort! I have stayed there multiple times and much prefer it over some of the other resorts. You have enough space (and privacy!) You can save a little bit of money by having some meals in the cabin, and the kids can go outside to play without having to go down a long hallway!

Congrats on the first trip!

 

[sarahmae3]

you are going to love the Fort! I have stayed there multiple times and much prefer it over some of the other resorts. You have enough space (and privacy!) You can save a little bit of money by having some meals in the cabin, and the kids can go outside to play without having to go down a long hallway!

Congrats on the first trip!

Thank you! We are very much looking forward to staying in the cabin at FW. I thought it would be a nice 'break' from the hustle and bustle of the park, and allow my LOUD children some space to run around without worrying about the people around us. LOL. Plus, we got a great a deal - it was even cheaper than the family suites for us!

 

[ksl5f123]

Joining in! You are going to have such a great time!

I also love the Fort (and have 4 kids) but we usually tent camp. I highly recommend taking the boat directly from the Fort to the Magic Kingdom. It is such a magical way to arrive!

Kids of all ages love WDW, but in my experience, 4 is the most magical age. They are big enough to try lots of rides, but little enough to believe in the magic.

 

[sarahmae3]

Joining in! You are going to have such a great time!

I also love the Fort (and have 4 kids) but we usually tent camp. I highly recommend taking the boat directly from the Fort to the Magic Kingdom. It is such a magical way to arrive!

Kids of all ages love WDW, but in my experience, 4 is the most magical age. They are big enough to try lots of rides, but little enough to believe in the magic.

Hi! Thanks! We went tent camping this past weekend and I can't imagine doing it for a whole week - hats off to you! My 4yr. old is super excited - she can't wait to meet the princesses and other characters!

 

[sarahmae3]

I was able to make our FP for BOG today, and our magic bands came earlier this week. I got a bag to carry around in the parks, and I'm gathering the things that I think I'll need to put in it. I also ordered small autograph books and retractable sharpies for the kids. It's getting close!