Overwhelmed and would love any help :)

[megtrib]

Hello Everyone . I'm new to this forum and signed up in hopes of better planning for our FIRST family Disney World trip! My husband and I are really excited to bring our 2.5 year old son ad 5 year old daughter sometime shortly after we get our taxes . I really don't know where to start, but I want this to be a magical and special experience on a budget.

We will be driving from Indiana to Florida, so we will have a car. I would like to stay at a resort for a more "magical" experience .... do you agree that Disney resorts are better? Which ones are less expensive? I do like that we would have free transportation, but since we have a car does it make more sense money wise to stay at another hotel?

How many days? I know we will need breaks with having a then just turned 2.5 and just turned 5 year old. I don't want to jam pack everything and I don't want to come home thinking "Gosh, we should have done that", but my husband does not get paid vacation days, so whatever we spend for the trip, we have to account for that weeks income as well :\ .

What parks are appropriate for our age group? My daughter (5) will love the animals more than the princesses, lol ahh.

What do I not want to miss out on? I have gone twice as a teenager and I remember this ice show at the magic kingdom at night ... it was amazing!

Food?

Fast pass??

Thank you so so much in advance

 

[BDL]

Welcome aboard!

And don't worry about advice. I was in the same predicamenet about 20 mos ago. There is no shortage of advice, opinions and experiences. As for my 2 cents...

I am a firm believer in the convenience of staying on resort. Just the fact transportation is provided and that you can have your purchases throughout the day forwarded to your resort's gift shop is a HUGE help.

I also booked my trip through AAA. You get a couple of perks, discounts and (last year) a free PhotoPass CD (the photograghy service provided by Disney).

The All-Star resorts are the least expensive of the resorts. There's -Sports, -Movies, -Music and slightly more expensive is Pop Century and the suites at the new Art of Animation. There are also Disney Camp Grounds, if you are into camping.

1 final tidbit... It's true, that there can never be too much planning when it comes to Disney, but don't forget to have fun along the way too.

I've included the link to the Walt Disney World acronym site. You'll find this INVALUABLE as you click around Disboards.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/abbreviations.htm

 

[Soarin' Mama]

Hi, there!

I don't have any real advice to offer. I'm currently planning our second trip and I feel like I still have so much to learn!

I would second that staying onsite is really magical and wonderful. That's what we did last time, and we wouldn't even consider not doing it this time around. One thing I would say is that planning in advance is so helpful! For our first trip, I started planning in October for our May trip and by the time the 180 day mark came and I could make dining reservations, I felt like I had a perfect handle on the food part of things. After making the food ressies, I could then focus on tips for touring each park, including down times. It worked out so well to do it that way last time, that I'm planning similarly this time.

My ds was five when we went the first time and five years later, he still has strong memories of that trip. It really was an amazing time for our whole family. His favorite park was Magic Kingdom--there was just so much to see and do there! But Animal Kingdom was pretty darned awesome!

Have a wonderful, magical trip!

 

[Swissdog2010]

I should really have my wife answer this question since she has the planning of disney trip down to a science. She has computer files on resturants, park times, the whole magilla. If you had airline or credit card miles that could be applied to an outside hotel I'd say go that way, but if not, a value resort would be the way to go. With two younguns, the close by resort with buses allows you to come back around 2 in the afternoon, rest, maybe swim then head back to the parks for the night activities fully rested. For a child interested in Animails, Animal Kingdom is the place to start, or perhaps finish, since that would be the last indelible memories made. Think carefully about the meal plans. There's a lot of eating there and folks feel obliged to eat it all or they feel they've not got their money's worth. If your budget would allow at least one character breakfast would be fun for the kids, all four of you. I can't recommend 'can't miss' attraction since i don't know your druthers, but for us, we love all the rides, at whichever park. We also love Soarin' at Epcot and the Toy Story Midway at Hollywood Studios. These are heavily visited however so getting fast paces first thing in teh morning is essential. Depending on when you go and the crowds Fast Paces go from convenient to absolutely necessary. As to the parks, for your kids, based on your statement, i'd say Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot, with a a water park in the middle for a relaxing day. Some kids couldn't care less about Epcot, then again others love it so it's a bit of a toss up, but there is a lot to see, but also a LOT of walking. If you're interested in any of the DWs planning materials, shoot me a private message and we can provide it.

 

[Kae]

Hi fellow Hoosier. I would start with a budget. Sounds simple but it helps. I think on-site make things very magical. Price out all levels of resorts. We have stayed all levels. Value we like Pop, Mod have not stayed at CBR but I think my kids would love that one. Deluxe look into AKL sounds like your DD would love that resort. You have found a great place to get info. I also like the PassPorter book.

Kae

 

[lcj19]

I like to stay on property (Pop Century ) and use the Disney transportation (always had my car with me).

You were asking about things no to miss and what would be good for you children...all kids are different and what one loves others will hate, some are afraid of characters (my DD) and some are fearless...only you know your child. In my opinion you have the best planning tool available...your oldest child!!!

Show you child a planning video then the park maps and see what your little one thinks, then you just fill in the blanks.

Good luck!!!

 

[nvsnot]

Welcome!

I too was like you a few short months ago, planning my first ever Disneyworld vacation. If you hang around the Dis you'll gain a wealth of information to make your trip magical!

As for Disney resorts being better, you could probably find a "nicer" resort for less money by staying off property, but there's something about staying on property, to me, that enhances the magic. I don't think i'll ever stay off property because of the many perks, such as: Extra Magic Hours at theme parks, package delivery to your resort gift shop, Disney transporation which many feel is slower than driving your own car, but you'll save on gas and parking fees plus you'll be able to relax and not have to worry about driving...it's a vacation for Pete's sake so let Disney take care of everything for you!!!

With a 2.5 and 5 yr. old, the Magic Kingdom will probably be the park that the kids enjoy more, but don't skip the other three parks they are just as wonderful! I took my daughter for her first and only trip at 2.5 and although she may not have been able to ride as many rides as she did at MK, she was able to meet characters and see shows at every park...there's something for everyone!

Personally, I think the perfect vacation is 7 days/7 nights or anything over 5 days. With, at least, 5 days you'll be able to dedicate a day to each of the 4 theme parks and have an extra day to repeat whichever theme park that impressed you all the most. More than 5 days you'll be able to take a day to enjoy the resort pool and maybe even tour other resorts, as well.

You don't want to miss The Festival of the Lion King or Kilamanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom, Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios, the nightime parade and fireworks at Magic Kingdom, or Illuminations and Soarin' at Epcot!!!

There will be a lot to see and do so don't forget to plan, plan, plan and then when you get there, slow down and smell the roses!!!!

 

[Metro West]

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Hello Everyone . I'm new to this forum and signed up in hopes of better planning for our FIRST family Disney World trip! My husband and I are really excited to bring our 2.5 year old son ad 5 year old daughter sometime shortly after we get our taxes . I really don't know where to start, but I want this to be a magical and special experience on a budget.

We will be driving from Indiana to Florida, so we will have a car. I would like to stay at a resort for a more "magical" experience .... do you agree that Disney resorts are better? Which ones are less expensive? I do like that we would have free transportation, but since we have a car does it make more sense money wise to stay at another hotel?

How many days? I know we will need breaks with having a then just turned 2.5 and just turned 5 year old. I don't want to jam pack everything and I don't want to come home thinking "Gosh, we should have done that", but my husband does not get paid vacation days, so whatever we spend for the trip, we have to account for that weeks income as well :\ .

What parks are appropriate for our age group? My daughter (5) will love the animals more than the princesses, lol ahh.

What do I not want to miss out on? I have gone twice as a teenager and I remember this ice show at the magic kingdom at night ... it was amazing!

Food?

Fast pass??

Thank you so so much in advance

On property. Always on WDW property. We always drive and never use our car the entire time we are there. We like the Disney transportation system.

You didn't say when you are wanting to go, but we now rotate all of our yearly trips around the Free Dining Promos. With a free dining discount your family can do 7 nights at a Disney value resort, with 6 day tickets and the basic Disney Dining Plan for around $1,800.00. Here's a link to everything about Free Dining discounts and promos:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2771101

With kids, I highly recommend the All-Star Movies Resort. It is by far my kids favorite resort.

We love, love, love the Disney Dining Plan, the basic plan with 1 Table Service/Character Meal, 1 Counter Service/Fast Food Meal and 1 Snack per person per day. I find the Quick Service Plan a wash and the one time we did the Deluxe Plan my kids and husband hated it - big waste of time and money and certainly would recommend it for someone new to Disney. It's hard enough to navigate everything in WDW the first time you go without spending 6 or more hours per day getting to an from restaurants and eating. We have been touring Disney annually sincer our kids were 2, 3, 4 and 7 and we now try to rotate all of our trips around the Free Dining Promo dates. There's usually a free dining discount in mid/late August - September and select slow weeks in October, November, December, January, February and March.

I never recommend the hopper ticket option to people who are new to touring Disney, you don't need it. I would recommend 5 to 6 park days for a first visit - 2 days MK, 2 days Epcot, 1 day Ak and 1 day DHS. If you are staying on-site, you don't really need your car, the Disney transporation is good, especially with it being your first time and not being familiar with Disney property.

Pick up a copy of The Unoffical Guide to Walt Disney World and check out their companion website, www.touringplans.com. I use their crowd/best days calendar to plan all our park days and then once I know which park we will be in on which days I can make my Advance Dining Reservations around those parks or in resorts close to those parks. I highly recommend the Basic Disney Dining Plan if your party is going to eat at least one sit down/table service/character meal per day.

There are tips I give to anyone new to touring WDW:

1. Make sure you have Advance Dining Reservations as a lot of table service restaurants and character meals do not take walk-ups.

2. Get to the parks at opening. You really can get a lot done in the morning because so many other people sleep in.

3. Eat lunch around 11:00 or 11:30 a.m. before the fast food places get busy. Then when while everyone else is eating lunch, you will have lower crowds.

4. I buy a ton of the two for a dollar ponchos at the dollar store and keep them in the backpack. That way you can throw them a way after use and not worry about keeping up with a wet bulky poncho the rest of the day. Bring throw away ponchos to wear on Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom, if not you WILL get soaked.

5. Other things I put in the backpack each morning are Tylenol/Motrin, small first aid kit, camera with extra batteries, small hand towel, hand sanitizer, wipes and a bottle of water.

6. Most single service items under $4.00 are considered a snack credit on the dining plan. A Turkey Leg is NOT a snack credit.

7. At Magic Kingdom always head to Fantasyland first, if you are not doing Fantasyland on a particular day then head to Splash Mountain first, then Big Thunder Mountain; at Epcot always ride Soarin' first and get a Fastpass for later after you get off of the ride; at Disney Hollywood Studios always ride Toy Story Mania first, then head over to Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror; and at Animal Kingdom ride Expedition Everest First then head to the Safari.

8. Favorite fast food restaurants at MK are Pecos Bills and Cosmic Rays; favorite fast food at Animal Kingdom is Flame Tree Grill and Pizzafari. If you are there while it very hot, go to Pizzafari.

9. If there are two lines going into an attraction, always take the line that goes to the left.

10. My best tip would have to be USE THE FASTPASS SYSTEM. Our rule of thumb is if the wait is 25 minutes or less, we wait in line. If the wait is 30 minutes or more, use a Fastpass. It is not highly publicized, but your Fastpass does not expire until the end of the day. You can never use it before the return time stamp on the pass, but you can always use it after. We try to collect Fastpasses during the early part of the day and then use them later in the afternoon when the parks become more crowded.

Click on this link and it will give you an excellent overview of Fastpass. It is from Doconeil here on the Disboards and super helpful:

http://www.oinc.net/disney/fastpass.php

If you still don't understand, just let me know your specific questions.

11. I like the Photopass. You can pre-buy it before your trip for $99.00. When you enter the parks you will see the staff photographers, they will take your pictures and give you a Photopass and you can use that for the rest of your trip. Each time you see a photographer have them take your picture and they will scan your picture. Then when you get home you can pull up the pictures, with the code they email you after purchase, and pick the photos you want on a CD. They will then mail you the CD and the copyrights to the CD and you can take them to Walmart or Walgreens or wherever and get them developed. They also have a lot of cool software that you can use to edit your photos before you have them put on the CD.

My favorite Disney planning sites are:

www.disboards.com
www.allearsnet.com
www.wdwinfo.com
www.intercot.com

 

[pepe of ohio]

You'll get tons of advice on everything to more than likely confuse you more....

This is from all our trips: Best is to figure out your budget.....it will tell you what resorts are in your priceline.....there's values (motel set up) moderates (again motel set up) and deluxe (hotel set up.......

Length of stay: We feel at least 5 nights to get most done....more the better....but again it's the budget.....there's lots to see and it is overwhelming......

Tickets: recommend a length of stay pass.....no hoppers are needed for that first trip.....

Food: We do not like the dining plan...too much planning, time waiting for ADR's and running a vacation by the clock doesn't work for us...no real money saver....we prefer the room only discount over the dining plan...

Plus we share alot of meals (meals are huge) we've seen many a guest order a meal for each child and they picked at it and left most.....TS restaurants take up alot of time and my opinion are just medicore.....we do a grocery stop before getting to WDW and load the fridge (mods and deluxes have a small fridge) with cold cuts etc....sandwich makings and break everyday from the parks around noon and have a pool picnic....

Transportation: on property transportation is free, boats, buses, monorail....really no car is ever needed...

Finally for us is location...where we want our resort to be close to the park where we'll spend the most time......but for that privilege, you pay more for the up scale resorts.....

We find the little things in a stay a trade off, downgrade alittle in resort to eat more TS, or stay deluxe and down scale dining, no rental car, groceries in the room to save on dining, no hopper tickets.....see what I mean....throw all the numbers around and come up with your choice vacation....

Also, there's value, holiday and peak seasons, they rule resort rates for different times of the year...check out allears.net...alot of prices and menus and suggestions.....good luck..

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I would start with a budget. Sounds simple but it helps. I think on-site make things very magical. Price out all levels of resorts. We have stayed all levels. Value we like Pop, Mod have not stayed at CBR but I think my kids would love that one. Deluxe look into AKL sounds like your DD would love that resort. You have found a great place to get info. I also like the PassPorter book.

Kae

Best advice ever. Before you start looking at resorts, number of days, dining plan or photopass, figure out how much you can/are willing to spend before you start planning. Disney is not a cheap trip. If you go before your 2.5 year old turns three, he will not need a ticket and he will eat free at all buffets and character meals. You may find it better to go after he turns three (cooler weather, lower crowds, better schedule) - that's ok, too.

I do recommend on-site even if you have a car - you will be surrounded by Disney magic all the time.

Ticket prices will remain the same no matter when you go (basically - they typically increase in August each year, but there are generally no seasonal discounts). Buffets and character meals are about $4 per person higher in summer and around the holidays. What varies a lot in cost are the hotel rates. Mousesavers.com is a great resource for checking room rates at different times of the year.

Crowds follow trends you might expect - it is more crowded in the summer, at Christmas, at Easter and whenever anyone has a spring break. If you can go in the off season, you will pay less and have fewer crowds.

Discounts are generally available. Check the Codes and Rates section of the Resorts board, or check Mousesavers.com for current discounts. Mousesavers also has a section showing historical discounts over the past several years so you can get an idea of what to expect.

Read, read, read the DISBoards! You will learn so much by reading other people's questions and the answers they are given.

The resorts board has info and photos on each resort - see what appeals to you and what is in your budget. I agree that AKL sounds great for your DD, and you can get bunk beds for the kids if you want.

All four parks will have something for your kids, so I'd try to go to each one, but you will not see everything in one trip. Don't even try - you'll get frustrated. There will likely be more Disney trips in your future if you hang out here any length of time. I'd try to spend at least one day at each park, but you will not see everything in one day. We usually spend multiple days at Magic Kingdom and Epcot and still don't see everything. There is always next time.

to the DIS, and enjoy planning your first trip!

 

[Kitchensink]

The Disney planning CD is nice for young children to watch and learn what things might look like when you go to WDW. I highly reccomend the book: The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, by Bob Schlinger, it can be purchased at a book store or you can pick up a copy to read from the local library.

Someone will probably link you to the All Ears menu pages to help check which restaurants might suit your family's tastes. Definetly one character meal for kids the ages you have. Crystal Palace is probably the best of the bunch.

 

[kuhltiffany]

Lots of great advice here! I'd bring your own stroller if you have one that folds fairly small, they are expensive to rent and not that comfortable. Also, if you have one with a ride-on board for your 5 year old, there's a lot of walking so it might make things a bit easier. Just bring a rain cover or large poncho and throw it over the stroller when you're in an attraction, quite often there's a surprise rain shower in FL! Sometimes strollers get moved by staff, so make sure you have a way to identify that it's yours in case you have to go looking for it...

 

[megtrib]

Thank you SO much everyone !!! Sorry I haven't gotten back to thank you all.... my husband and I have been looking over things and trying to go through this thread together as well and become a little more knowledgeable. I still have questions, of course!

After just running a vacation package plan on the wdw site, it looks like it would be $2,798 to stay at the All-Star Movies Resort for 7 night, 7 days at the parks (Sat to Fri), and the dining package (one quick service, one snack, one table service). If I take off the dining it's $1,936.

Is there something I can do to keep dining on and lower the price? The dates we are looking to go would be April 14th to April 21st. I would love to go March 24th to March 31st for crowd reasons and heat reasons, however, I'm not sure our taxes will be here in time to pay 45 days before

 

[pepe of ohio]

Thank you SO much everyone !!! Sorry I haven't gotten back to thank you all.... my husband and I have been looking over things and trying to go through this thread together as well and become a little more knowledgeable. I still have questions, of course!

After just running a vacation package plan on the wdw site, it looks like it would be $2,798 to stay at the All-Star Movies Resort for 7 night, 7 days at the parks (Sat to Fri), and the dining package (one quick service, one snack, one table service). If I take off the dining it's $1,936.

Is there something I can do to keep dining on and lower the price? The dates we are looking to go would be April 14th to April 21st. I would love to go March 24th to March 31st for crowd reasons and heat reasons, however, I'm not sure our taxes will be here in time to pay 45 days before

We've found the room only discount serves us better....free dining to us is too much time, scheduling and money.....we eat where we want...share alot of meals, don't eat 3 meals a day in the Florida heat so we never use it..

Tickets are tickets, no advantage getting them in a package and as for the "and more add on".....how much can you actually do on a vacation? We never add that but if we decide to hit a water park, cheaper to just buy OOP for the one time....

Also, booking room only, you pay off the trip when you leave, only costs one nights deposit to secure room for the time.....can cancel 5 days before arrival....

Your package price seem alittle high to me but I never inquire on packages...we always go deluxe and the 35-45% off the room to us is a great deal....it's less for values but worth checking into..

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Thank you SO much everyone !!! Sorry I haven't gotten back to thank you all.... my husband and I have been looking over things and trying to go through this thread together as well and become a little more knowledgeable. I still have questions, of course!

After just running a vacation package plan on the wdw site, it looks like it would be $2,798 to stay at the All-Star Movies Resort for 7 night, 7 days at the parks (Sat to Fri), and the dining package (one quick service, one snack, one table service). If I take off the dining it's $1,936.

Is there something I can do to keep dining on and lower the price? The dates we are looking to go would be April 14th to April 21st. I would love to go March 24th to March 31st for crowd reasons and heat reasons, however, I'm not sure our taxes will be here in time to pay 45 days before

Actually, April 14 - 21 will have much lower crowds, and lower resort rates, than March 24 - 31. Those March dates are HIGH crowd/spring break season and the crowd levels will be huge. The April dates will have moderate to medium-high crowds.

As far as discount, free dining is a better discount than a room discount if you are staying at a value resort or a moderate resort. Pepe's senario works for them because they are 2 senior adults who go to Disney all of the time, stay deluxe and don't like the DDP and don't really do character meals, so their family's need may not parallel your needs.

Unfortunatlely there is not a free dining discount out for your dates, and there usually isn't for April dates, but there is a 20% off room discount for your dates at All-Star Movies. Just go to the WDW site and go under Special Offers, at the bottom of the homepage, and price out your trip through there. I looked up a quote for your family through that link and it came up to $2,584.00 - 7 nights, 7 day base tickets, basic/plus DDP at All-Star Movies. Not a huge discount, but better than nothing.

We have been traveling to Disney annually with our 4 kids since they were 2, 3, 4 and 7 and, personally, we think the dining plan is the best thing they have come up with in years. I highly recommend that if you are booking those dates and are doing the dining plan, you go to the WDW site and book your Advance Dining Reservations A.S.A.P. Some of the character meals and popular restaurants may already be booked up or have limited seating. I think you can still get some good ADRS at this point, because of it being a moderate crowd week, I would book as soon as possible.

 

[sarahkate60120]

We got back from Disney about three weeks ago. It was the first trip for my six year old and my fourth trip, but first since high school.

We did not do the meal plan. My daughter does not eat much when she is out and about so it would have been a waste of money for us. We instead packed lots of snacks and had one big meal a day. It worked out to be much cheaper for us to do it this way rather than the food plan.

We did get the park hopper option. Early on in the trip my daughter fell in love with the tea cups and Dumbo ride. She really loved everything about the Magic Kingdom. To her the Magic Kingdom was Disney. We went to Epcot and Animal Kingdon, but ended up only spending half a day there since she wanted to get back to her favorite rides.

Before we even left the park our last day there, my Anna was asking when we were coming back. It's such a magical place, hope you enjoy your stay as much as we did.