Planning 1st time trip in 4 weeks? Are we crazy!

[MercerMom]

Hey everyone, We were planning our first trip with our six and two year old to WDW for July. After research about heat and crowds we thought about maybe going during the Presidents day holidays this February in less than three weeks, arriving late WEd and staying through Tues. We've never been and I was planning to research and be prepared. Are we Crazy? Are the crowds and heat worth feeling more relaxed and prepared. HELP!!!

 

[MercerMom]

Hello


Anyone out there willing to give an opinion?

 

[JohnsonsRUs]

No, you are not crazy! You will have a great time, just take a deep breath and remember, it's a vacation and the memories you will have from it will be priceless!

You will be there for a week, so that's plenty of time to do everything you want to do and by the time you get there the crowds will be thinning out from President's Day weekend. I would recommend focus what you need to plan 1 thing at a time, for example:

-Where are you staying?
-Are you going to park hop or not?
-Are you doing the dining plan (DDP) or not?
-What character meals do you want to do? If you are doing the DDP, I would maximize the character meals, because then you don't need to spend time in line at the parks for those character's autographs. I am all about getting the most bang for your buck, so Chef Mickey's is a must, probably Chrystal Palace too. If you have a girl, I would also check out the Princess meals at Epcot.
-Once you know where you want to eat, you may want to try and get the reservations (you will see them as ADR on the DisBoards), then you can plan which park to go to each day, if the character meal is in a park (Chef Mickey is not).
-There are tons of great tips and suggestions on DisBoards, so look around, ask questions and have fun, it's a great time of year to go and if you are coming from anywhere in the north part of the country, you will love getting away from the snow and cold.

 

[MercerMom]

Thank you so much for your response. The Wed through Tues is actually during the Presidents holiday 12 through 17. Is that weekend going to be super crowded?

 

[arielmomma]

You are not crazy. You will have a good time no matter when you go. It is likely that President's Day weekend will be somewhat crowded (I personally have not gone that weekend, but schools will be out), but it is still a value season and will not be as crowded as July or the Christmas or Easter Holidays. Just relax. Take the advice given above. Decide on what you really want. You may not be able to get a bunch of Character Dining Experiences, but there is so much to do you are bound to have fun. The first time that my husband and I went, I hadn't done any real planning - we just went - during July 4th week of all times and we had an incredibly magical time. I hope that you have a great trip!

 

[MercerMom]

Do You guys think I should use a travel agent to make it easier? I get stressed really easy. the only character dining I really to do was one of the princess dinners or breakfast. My kids aren't really into mickey and pals but my dd is a princess person. And my 2 won't care.

 

[Faldred]

Yes, you're crazy. But it's the good kind of crazy.

Last-minute planning generally isn't the best way to do Disney, but it can be done -- the biggest problem you'd have is making dining reservations if you are planning on sit-down meals, since these tend to fill up early. Other than that, there's little standing in your way of having the best time of your life.

 

[Fabinva]

My kids can't stand the heat so we usually go during winter or spring. I think you have enough time for planning except for maybe not getting most popular character ADR, if your DD loves princesses then CRT or Akershus is a must! my DD's favorite princess is Cinderella and she prefers CRT just because she gets to be inside the castle.
Have fun planning!

 

[MercerMom]

Would you guys do this...plan a 1st trip in three weeks....fly with children who have never been on a plane....or should I just wait until JULY....I am so torn. I am going to contact a TA in a few just to check, and after looking around these board I am sure we wouldn't get into either a princess breakfast or dinner this late which were the only ones I was planning on doing. I just don't know

 

[Rylee]

Do You guys think I should use a travel agent to make it easier? I get stressed really easy. the only character dining I really to do was one of the princess dinners or breakfast. My kids aren't really into mickey and pals but my dd is a princess person. And my 2 won't care.

So, you haven't booked yet?

If you call now, you can save some money by booking the 4 + 3 special. Buy 4 nights and tickets for 4 days, and get 3 nights and tickets for 3 days for FREE.

You must book by Jan. 24 to get this special.

Do you know where you want to stay?

Do you want to buy the Dining Plan (DP)?

If you are buying the DP, you need to call and schedule Advance Dining Reservations (ADR'S) or you run the risk of not getting into the more popular restaurants.

This can be done, in fact, sometimes quick planning is less stressful, since you won't have time to change your mind a hundred times, about which resort or your ADR's.

I would call soon and reserve your room.
Decide if you want the DP.
If so, make a list of restaurants you want to try, then call for ADR's.

After that's taken care, read! Read about the attractions, etc., and have an idea or list of must-see-and-do's for your family, but once you actually arrive... be flexible and take time to discover the magic at your own pace.

We've been in Feb and July, my family prefers Feb.

Any questions, just ask.

 

[MercerMom]

Thank you, I am going to try to calm down and do this. I know time is running out on my ADRs if I use a travel agent they can do all of that ...right?

 

[solfan68]

Can't give you feedback on a Spring trip, as we've always done summertime(DW is a teacher). We have done various stages of June and once in July. There are longer hours(earlier and later), even if it is a bit more crowded. But really - especially with the little guys - its all about pacing yourself. We often do a morning, head back to the resort for a rest/swim, then head back out into the fray !

As a PP said, one of your challenges at this point may be getting table service reservations. THEN AGAIN, that may not be a priority for your family - at which point it becomes a non-issue. I also don't know if this is still on... but there was that $200 gift card for folks travelling through March. Can't recall if the booking window was the end of January ? And if you do President's Day, can you still get in on the Buy 4 get 3 deal ? Could swing things back to the crash course. Perhaps a trip to your local travel agent might be in order ? Either way, have fun. Disney is my favorite kind of vacay !!!

 

[Rylee]

Thank you, I am going to try to calm down and do this. I know time is running out on my ADRs if I use a travel agent they can do all of that ...right?

Yes, but make sure you are using a TA that specializes in Disney.

Do you know where you want to stay?
Do you want the DP?

 

[tzolkin]

How old are the kids?

If they are young and you're not too concerned with the dining, you may not want to buy the dining plan. You can make one or two reservations and then eat CS the rest. We did not want to do reservations on our trip because we didn't want to be tied to a schedule. If MK was too crowded, we liked the option of going to another park or back to our room and not being stuck there to wait until our dinner reservation rolled around.

Do you have AAA? I used them to book our last trip, but called Disney directly this time. It was very easy to do and the person was very friendly and willing to talk as long as you want to answer all your questions. The 4/3 deal must be booked by Jan 24th, so you'll have to decide soon. If you want to take advantage of this deal, you may need to be flexible on where you want to stay if your first choice is already booked.

 

[TinkerBelle920]

I think you will be ok with your dining reservations. It may be easier just to go ahead and call them now rather than working through a travel agent but that's up to you. My family is going that same week and we ahve not really had any problems getting reservations. If you need help with restaurant suggestions or where to stay feel free to PM me. I also have the crowd calendar from the UG website if you want to create a touring plan. Good luck!

 

[JohnsonsRUs]

I am not heat tolerant either, which is another reason we love going in Feb. You may get lucky with the ADRs because you will be there before President's Day weekend and that is usually slower. I would definitely invest in Tour Guide Mike or UG to at least help with the crowd calendars, this will help you decide which park to hit each day, if you are not tied to meal reservations.

If you are doing the princess meal, Akerhaus in Norway has breakfast, lunch and dinner, so you have more options. They don't guarantee which princesses will be there, but the last 2 years when we have gone, we have seen 5, including Cinderella, plus the lines in ToonTown to see the Princesses are very long usually.

 

[MercerMom]

YEAH IT'S DONE!!!!

WE BOOKED DISNEY!!!!

WE will be arriving late wed. and so my first day will be Thursday and we fly out on Tuesday. That gives us five days for the parks. I am so excited but still very overwelmed.

We are staying at CSR. All the values were full, and so was CBR.

So i have been reading like crazy. I actually called to book some ADRs we did get dining. The lady said that it wouldn't be a problem if I waited through the weekend. she said most things weren't close to full.

So here I am. I am giddy and overwelmed at the same time.

Do you guys think I need the tour guide mike thing.

 

[TeacupDemon]

Congratulations!!!

I am a huge fan of Tourguide Mike, but because you're so close to your departure, you may find it more overwhelming than helpful. It took me a little while to get the "hang" of his site.

I will say that his forums are great, very helpful. It may be worth it to join and chat with others who are travelling at the same time you are.

Have fun planning!

 

[JohnsonsRUs]

Congrats-You will have an awesome time, I just hope you don't become a WDW addict like me!

I am also a huge fan of TGM. I would recommend TGM for is the crowd calendar at this point, especially since you are going over a very busy weekend, but lie the other poster mentioned, you can get the info from the Boards if you have time to poke around.

Let us know if you need more help!!