Overwhelmed 1st timer!!

[trashcanman]

Hi everyone - I've been registered for a while now, since booking my first trip for August this year. Being an organised chap I bought the guide books etc and am now completely overwhelmed by the scope of what to do.

This is where y'all come in!!

I've got 1 week, staying on site, and I'd like your tips for 'must do' activities. I've got rides sussed but I'm more interested in the best of the on and off site restaurants/shopping/etc.

Is it worth making reservations at the Theme Diners before we go? I'm a bit wary of being tied to a schedule.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!


PS - how do you get one of those countdown thingys on your messages??? (I'm a bit useless really..............)

 

[BevS97]

if you've only got a week, then I would make yourself a plan - write down each day, and what park you want to visit on that day.
If there are any specific restaurants in that park that appeal, then make a note, and call for a Priority Seating.

You don't mention if you have kids - if so, I would plan at least one character meal, even if you don't have kids you can have a character meal if you fancy it.

If you wake up one morning, and just don't fancy following the schedule, then you don't need to do it, but it means you have a rough guide to work from. We nearly always end up swapping a couple of days around because we need a lie-in, or we just 'have' to go back to MK to ride Buzz lightyear TODAY, but by having a plan, we can say - right if we do MK today, then that means we are missing AK, so we will do that on Tuesday instead.

Bev

 

[vernon]

You don't say if you have a car, if not eating on site is going to be an easier option and by the time you factor in cabs probably a cheaper one as well.

On site,
In the parks Epcot has some really good restaurants, Le Cellier in Canada, Akerhus in Norway, the Teppanyaki in Japan ( although IMHO Benehana's at the Hilton in DTD is as good and 70% of the cost) and the restaurant in Morocco are all very good. I'm not that keen on any of the restaurants in the parks, Crystal Palace in MK does a pretty good buffet and the Brown Derby at MGM gets decent reviews.
In the hotels, GF has some fantastic places to eat but pricey. I like the Clam bake at the Cape May Cafe in the Y+B club hotels. The mexican at Coronado Springs is excellent ( but again pricey). The Swan and Dolphin also have some great restautrants
At Boardwalk the Flying Fish Cafe is excellent and Spoodles is a nice change fromt he more usual "American fare" . At DTD Wolfgang Pucs is good quality, House of Blues is fun and Bongos has a good atmosphere to it.

With all that choice on site, maybe the only place I would visit off site ( if I had a car) would be Bahama Breeze which is about 10 minutes drive from WDW in Little Lake Bryant.

For must do activities, you're gona be pretty busy with WDW parks, but I would suggest you at least think about Cirque Du Soleil, it is an AMAZING show.

For shopping, you're spoilt for choice. If you're looking for Disney gifts to take home I'd check the outlet stores in Belz before buying things at WDW. They don't have anywhere near the selection, but if you're flexible on what you want to buy you can save 40-50% on whatever you can find at the outlets, leaving you to pay full price for the balance. There are a couple of "minor malls" towards the 192 that have some decent fashion things. The Premium Outlet mall has some higher end fashion at discounts, Belz has A LOT of shops and the new Mall at the Millenium has to be seen to be believed. The MAM is the top of the range, but not much discounted gear here and you can expect to pay top $$ but it has some wonderful and classy shops.

 

[Olaf]

Some restaurants that we always try to hit are beaches and cream (hamburgers/shakes), Le Cellier, Mama Melroses (Italian/MGM), Chef Mickey's for a character dinner, lunch at the castle (not bad food, must have ressies), and Wolfgang Puc upstairs dining room (you need ressies here too). If you do plan dinner at Wolfgang Pucs you can combine it with Cirque Du Soleil, as Vernon said, an incredible show. The restaurant is a stone's throw from the big tent.

Have fun!

 

[WDWfan uk]

Hi there Welcome to the DIS! Firstly, you do not have to make Priority Seating arrangements before you go - I understand you don't want to feel tied to any pre-arranged times and you can always use your in-room phone to make PSs, or just drop into a restaurant at less busy times and see if you can 'walk in' ... or you could arrange a PS time directly with them.

As repeat visitors we do make a few PSs now, but didn't on our first couple of trips. There are plenty of places too that don't take Pss - this will be more fast food type eateries but there's quite a variety.

Don't let it overwhelm you - I would stick to the basics - which parks appeal to you most and are on your must-do list, and you can organise your meals around it but it doesn't have to be all planned out in advance.

Which resort are you in on-site?

 

[trashcanman]

Thanks Shirley and everyone - we are staying at Port Orleans Riverside and have a car also. I have my family with me including our kids who are 13 and 16 - both girls - and I do fancy the Sci-Fi diner but think I may have a job convincing 3 ladies to go with me!!

Anyone have any other tips they would be most welcome!

 

[vernon]

The restaurant in PO is pretty good. When it was two hotels ( and Dixie Landings) there were two decent full service restaurants ( Bonfamilles and BoatWright dining Halls) I think Bonfamilles closed, I believe refurbishment was the reason given at the times. BoatWright has a very tasty looking breakfast menu ). You're pretty close to DTD and there is a "rivertaxi" service from the resort to DTD which is a nice option. If the girls like video games they may enjoy Disney Quest for a day out. With their age you could also possibly allow them to spend some time either at DQ or shopping at DTD on their own as they can easily get back to the resort if you were spending time at the pool. It's worth checking the House of Blues "events schedule" as they often have a "teens disco". This could be a possible, depending on how much freedom you allow the kids, while you and your DW go to PI for the evening , visit Cirque or just have a quiet meal and a couple of drinks in DTD.