LonghornMickey
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2003
- Messages
- 8
DW, 3yo DS, and I just got back from our FIRST trip to WDW. 
WOW! Where do I begin? I took detailed journal notes for each day that we were there, but I thought I would provide a high-level overview of our trip instead of a traditional trip report.
Things we did right:
· Read the DIS boards. I found out most of the information I used to have a great time in the parks by reading these boards. I spent hours reading the posts, but it was worth it.
· Guest of Honor badge. The CMs called 3-yo DS by name and characters personalized autographs. We got ours at the Christmas store in Downtown Disney for $5. At Cosmic Rays the CM giving us our food thought my DS was cute and asked him, by name, if he would like a brownie and gave it to him for free.
· Ride details list. Before we left home, we made a list of all the rides and all the details we could get from the different guide books. Knowing the themes, lengths, and line details about each ride helped us have a better idea of how to plan our experience (I would be happy to share these if you are interested).
· Co-pilot the Monorail. We loved sitting up front and the pilot gave my DS a Co-Pilot License that he held on to for the rest of the night. Later, my DS would tell all the people around us in line for the Monorail that he was a co-pilot.
· Downtown Disney. The shops were nice and my DS loved the dancing waters near the Christmas store. In fact, that was one of the best free things we did because it kept my DS entertained for an hour and we able to relax and enjoy him having a great time.
· Fast Passes. These were a great time saver! We rode Buzz Lightyear three times, and never had to wait in the 30-minute line! That saved us a lot of time right there! We did the same for Peter Pan, the Honeypots, the River Boats, BTMRR, and SM. We saved hours of waiting in line.
· Linger after the fireworks at MK. As the crowds headed out of the park, we got some ice cream at the Plaza Ice Cream Shop (great ice cream) and sat under the glow of the castle. It was nice to have a leisurly stroll down Main Street after most of the other guests were gone.
· Autograph book. Though our DS was hot and cold about liking the characters, getting their autographs was very fun. They were extremely nice. My DS was really tired one day and said that getting Tiggers autograph was stupid. I had a long talk with my DS that night and the next day when Tigger walked by in the parade, my 3yo DS told Tigger he was sorry.
· Buy food in Orlando. We stopped at a Wal-Mart on our way from the airport and bought some snacks and breakfast foods. We put chocolate chip cookies in our cooler every morning and they were refreshing though the day. Having juice boxes (that we froze overnight) with us in the park was great, and our DS ate a lot of healthful snacks from our bag (granola bars, etc.) instead of overpriced junk food in the park.
Unexpected surprises:
· The TTA! I let my DW and DS ride it while I went on Space Mountain like a big man. Later, I went on it with them, and enjoyed it almost as much as I liked SM. I enjoyed how happy my DS was to ride it.
· Disney Magic. I did not think I would be affected by the atmosphere, but I was. It really is different from going to any other theme park. I was enchanted by Cinderella, I loved the characters, and the parade blew me away (the music is still repeating in my head). At one point my DW asked our CM waiter about what it was like to be in one of the character costumes and he said, puzzled, Theyre not real? What do you mean? I dont follow you? Costumes?
How fun?!
· Lion King show at AK. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the show was. It was entertaining and relaxing. I even liked the warmup act. Though we did not spend a lot of time in AK, I thought it was a nice park and the experience seemed to be complete as if the theme fit together well.
· Chip and Dale. We rode the boat from TTC to MK and Chip and Dale (in sailor suits) were on the boat with us. We went up to get their autographs. We got Dale to autograph my DSs book (he signed his name upside down) and then we went over to get Chips autograph. While Chip was signing, Dale came over and started digging through my backpack! What a hoot!
· No agenda needed. I planned out our route in the MK down to the ride. I had a detailed list of the order of our tour. Once we got there, the plan got thrown out the window, and that worked out well for us. We saw everything we wanted to see just by taking it easy and going where we wanted to go. No detailed plan was necessary.
Things we would do differently:
· Go in the off season. Spring Break was just a very busy time, and Friday at MK was terrible! That said, however, I dont mean to scare anyone away. We did every ride we wanted to do, and we did several of the popular rides multiple times even on a terribly crowded day.
· Arrive at the parks early. We arrived at the TTC at 10 a.m. on our first day. It was PACKED! The next day we arrived at AK at 9:00 and it was much better. The extra hour seems to make a difference.
· Stay at a Disney property. It was not bad being off-site, and the price was right, but we would like to experience the feel of a Disney property next time.
· Take a rest day. We were there for four days, and we decided to do all four parks straight. Well, our plans fell apart as we got more tired. Day 1: a (crowded) day at MK. Day 2: morning at AK, afternoon/evening at Epcot. Day 3: A (less crowded) day at MK. Day 4: Downtown Disney and a Monorail ride. We skipped MGM on this trip. Next time we will do MK on day 1, spend the next day at the pool
, and then go to the other parks.
· Eat differently. We ate lunch at Cosmic Rays both days we were in MK, but next time I would like to try different eateries. We also missed the international foods at Epcot, which I would like to try next time. We ate at Tonys in MK and that was very nice.
In the end, we did everything we wanted to do, plus a lot more. We even got to see a rocket launch from the highway on our way to the airport, and we got to see the fireworks at MK as our plane took off. We were blessed with a great experience, and we can't wait to go back.
As a freshly-initiated newby to WDW, I would be happy to share anything I can to those who are about to experience the magic for the first time. I am by no means an expert after my first time, but I am keenly aware of the issues and feelings a first-timer experiences.
Hook 'em Horns!
WOW! Where do I begin? I took detailed journal notes for each day that we were there, but I thought I would provide a high-level overview of our trip instead of a traditional trip report. Things we did right:
· Read the DIS boards. I found out most of the information I used to have a great time in the parks by reading these boards. I spent hours reading the posts, but it was worth it.
· Guest of Honor badge. The CMs called 3-yo DS by name and characters personalized autographs. We got ours at the Christmas store in Downtown Disney for $5. At Cosmic Rays the CM giving us our food thought my DS was cute and asked him, by name, if he would like a brownie and gave it to him for free.
· Ride details list. Before we left home, we made a list of all the rides and all the details we could get from the different guide books. Knowing the themes, lengths, and line details about each ride helped us have a better idea of how to plan our experience (I would be happy to share these if you are interested).
· Co-pilot the Monorail. We loved sitting up front and the pilot gave my DS a Co-Pilot License that he held on to for the rest of the night. Later, my DS would tell all the people around us in line for the Monorail that he was a co-pilot.
· Downtown Disney. The shops were nice and my DS loved the dancing waters near the Christmas store. In fact, that was one of the best free things we did because it kept my DS entertained for an hour and we able to relax and enjoy him having a great time.
· Fast Passes. These were a great time saver! We rode Buzz Lightyear three times, and never had to wait in the 30-minute line! That saved us a lot of time right there! We did the same for Peter Pan, the Honeypots, the River Boats, BTMRR, and SM. We saved hours of waiting in line.
· Linger after the fireworks at MK. As the crowds headed out of the park, we got some ice cream at the Plaza Ice Cream Shop (great ice cream) and sat under the glow of the castle. It was nice to have a leisurly stroll down Main Street after most of the other guests were gone.
· Autograph book. Though our DS was hot and cold about liking the characters, getting their autographs was very fun. They were extremely nice. My DS was really tired one day and said that getting Tiggers autograph was stupid. I had a long talk with my DS that night and the next day when Tigger walked by in the parade, my 3yo DS told Tigger he was sorry.
· Buy food in Orlando. We stopped at a Wal-Mart on our way from the airport and bought some snacks and breakfast foods. We put chocolate chip cookies in our cooler every morning and they were refreshing though the day. Having juice boxes (that we froze overnight) with us in the park was great, and our DS ate a lot of healthful snacks from our bag (granola bars, etc.) instead of overpriced junk food in the park.
Unexpected surprises:
· The TTA! I let my DW and DS ride it while I went on Space Mountain like a big man. Later, I went on it with them, and enjoyed it almost as much as I liked SM. I enjoyed how happy my DS was to ride it.
· Disney Magic. I did not think I would be affected by the atmosphere, but I was. It really is different from going to any other theme park. I was enchanted by Cinderella, I loved the characters, and the parade blew me away (the music is still repeating in my head). At one point my DW asked our CM waiter about what it was like to be in one of the character costumes and he said, puzzled, Theyre not real? What do you mean? I dont follow you? Costumes?
How fun?!· Lion King show at AK. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the show was. It was entertaining and relaxing. I even liked the warmup act. Though we did not spend a lot of time in AK, I thought it was a nice park and the experience seemed to be complete as if the theme fit together well.
· Chip and Dale. We rode the boat from TTC to MK and Chip and Dale (in sailor suits) were on the boat with us. We went up to get their autographs. We got Dale to autograph my DSs book (he signed his name upside down) and then we went over to get Chips autograph. While Chip was signing, Dale came over and started digging through my backpack! What a hoot!
· No agenda needed. I planned out our route in the MK down to the ride. I had a detailed list of the order of our tour. Once we got there, the plan got thrown out the window, and that worked out well for us. We saw everything we wanted to see just by taking it easy and going where we wanted to go. No detailed plan was necessary.
Things we would do differently:
· Go in the off season. Spring Break was just a very busy time, and Friday at MK was terrible! That said, however, I dont mean to scare anyone away. We did every ride we wanted to do, and we did several of the popular rides multiple times even on a terribly crowded day.
· Arrive at the parks early. We arrived at the TTC at 10 a.m. on our first day. It was PACKED! The next day we arrived at AK at 9:00 and it was much better. The extra hour seems to make a difference.
· Stay at a Disney property. It was not bad being off-site, and the price was right, but we would like to experience the feel of a Disney property next time.
· Take a rest day. We were there for four days, and we decided to do all four parks straight. Well, our plans fell apart as we got more tired. Day 1: a (crowded) day at MK. Day 2: morning at AK, afternoon/evening at Epcot. Day 3: A (less crowded) day at MK. Day 4: Downtown Disney and a Monorail ride. We skipped MGM on this trip. Next time we will do MK on day 1, spend the next day at the pool
, and then go to the other parks. · Eat differently. We ate lunch at Cosmic Rays both days we were in MK, but next time I would like to try different eateries. We also missed the international foods at Epcot, which I would like to try next time. We ate at Tonys in MK and that was very nice.
In the end, we did everything we wanted to do, plus a lot more. We even got to see a rocket launch from the highway on our way to the airport, and we got to see the fireworks at MK as our plane took off. We were blessed with a great experience, and we can't wait to go back.
As a freshly-initiated newby to WDW, I would be happy to share anything I can to those who are about to experience the magic for the first time. I am by no means an expert after my first time, but I am keenly aware of the issues and feelings a first-timer experiences.
Hook 'em Horns!
. She can't imagine going back with a 3yo (or younger) again. 
