Planning Advice

[Scott_in_t-town]

Okay, I've never been to WDW and this is my my first vacation (family of 4) without a CAR.....I need some advice and help from the experts (on this board).
My arrival is late on July 13, 06 (Thursday) for 8 nights (Split 3@Port Orleans then 5 at VDW), I plan to purchase a 5-7 day pass with PH & Water Park Option and assuming 5 days in the parks and 2 days at the water parks and a few half days at the interactive park and other options my tickets offer and then also some time to spare (not sure how the kids - girls 6 & 9) will hold up.
I have the ultimate guide to WDW book, but am still somewhat confused on how to split my days (considering locals coming on the weekends) and I have not finished the section on meals/character dinings and such.

1) Which days should I go to the parks, which to the water parks?

2) I read to go to Epcot before MK so the kids (girls age 6, 9) are not totally bored at Epcot (assumption is that once they see MK, Epcot will be really boring so go to Epcot first).

3) Will I be able to get transported to wherever I need to go easily?

4) I dont understand all this business of reserving spots for breakfast, lunch and dinner and character meals.....but I assume I should make a few reservations at the least for my kids sake! I can't go to high priced meals every day, but what are some of the meals / character sittings I should consider?

5) Will dining reservations totally screw up my day having to switch gears to make it to a certain sitting, or can much of this be done in the parks?

Any input would be great!

S

 

[traviesojmt]

Well, I for one am very excited for you. I love Disney. Don't let all the planning overwhelm you. The easiest thing for me is the let you know what we do. We are going in Aug. this year but were there 10 days in July last summer. We are also a family of 4, 2 kids ages 3 and 8. We LOVE the early morning entry hours. That is truly how I decide where I am going every morning. To be honest, my kids have fun at every park so I don't worry about which one to go to first. Get to the park as soon as the park opens for early entry. For example at MK, we head straight to Fantasyland. We usually walk-on Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan. It doesn't take long before the wait for Dumbo is ridiculous. If your kids want to ride this, do it first. Then we move on the other early entry rides. By lunch, we have rode tons of rides. We always take a break from the parks after lunch. We usually go back to the hotel for a swim or just a rest. Then we hit a different park in the afternoon/evening. The water parks also have early entry now. We also get to the water parks at opening and my kids are done by lunch. The crowds are usually pretty rough by then anyway. Sometimes we play the afternoon park by ear and other times it depends on where we have planned to eat that night. This year Animal Kingdom has early entry on our first day, so that is the park we hit first.

It is very important to go ahead and make reservations for any TS meals that you are going to eat. July is very crowded and sometimes there are not any openings available for the TS meal that you would like without the reservation. Are there particular characters that your daughters are wanting to meet? There are several princess character meals and , of course, Mickey Mouse. Have you visited the allearsnet.com website? You can see the menus for all the restaurants at Disney. We like the Liberty Tree Tavern, Chef Mickeys, Whispering Canyon Cafe and Ohanas. You will get tons of answers on which restaurant to choose.

Transportation is fairly easy from the resort. You will have buses that can take you to each park. If you are going to a particular resort for dinner, just ask a CM and they will gladly tell you the easiest way to take to get there.

I did just notice that you said that you are arriving late the first day. The parks will be crowded. Were you planning on going to a park that night? You may want to consider scheduling a character meal at one the resorts instead of tackling the park late in the afternoon or night. It is a great wait to see characters and start to experience Disney without the crowds and heat for the first day.

Again, we have gone several summers and I am a big fan of afternoon breaks. It is very hot and crowded in the afternoon. We always feel refreshed and more relaxed with the break.

Hope that your family has a great vacation.

 

[mommystieg]

Welcome to the DIS I have not been to WDW during July so I don't have any advice about which parks/which days. We go in early June and we usually avoid MK on the weekends--we have found that Saturday and Sunday are usually pretty good days to visit Epcot. On our first visit ever, we made Epcot are first park just like the guidebooks say. Our two older DD's LOVE Epcot--if your girls are into Princesses you might try the Princess Storybook Breakfast in Norway. Look here for a link to all the dining information, including menus, that you might need: http://allearsnet.com/din/dining.htm
If you are relying on Disney transportation to get you around, just be sure to allow yourself plenty of travel time--it can sometimes take an hour to travel from place to place. Don't get me wrong, the Disney transportation system is awesome, it just that the place is HUGE.
We usually like to schedule one sit down meal per day -- since your are going to be there during the hotter part of the summer a sit down meal is a great way to get out of the sun and into the air-conditioning. You should allow about an hour for any sit down meal. Some of our favorite character meals are Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey's and the Princess Storybook Breakfast.
Keep reading your guidebook (you also might want to consider purchasing the PassPorter http://passporter.com/), hang around here and feel free to ask lots of questions. Happy planning

 

[AJKMOM]

In July, it will be hot and crowded. The busses will be there, just allow yourself time to get to your destinations. Unfortunately for you, a trip to DisneyWorld must be researched if you want to take it all in and not go crazy. You should decide what kind of food you would like to try, and if any are "sit-down" restaurants, you will have to call and make reservations.

I think the best advice I can give for a summer visit is: plan to get up early, get to the park you want, and take a break when it gets really crowded. Most families on vacation arrive at the parks around 11am because they want to sleep in. By that time, you can be half done with the rides you want to try, and even ready for a quick lunch or head back to your resort for a break and pool time. Not sure which Port Orleans (Riverside or French Quarter) you are at, but both have nice pools. Not sure about the other abbreviation, VDW, either. If you go unprepared to DisneyWorld, you will definitely hate it, never want to go back, and regret your decision to ever go in the first place.

With some planning, it will be a magical place, even in 90 degrees with 95% humidity.

 

[Scott_in_t-town]

Oops....VWL - Wilderness Lodge (not VDW).

I am starting to feel prepared, but was a little overwhelemed with the idea of scheduling dining times which might interrupt the flow of our visit (in a bad way). A badly scheduled eating time could mess things up.

 

[mommystieg]

Oops....VWL - Wilderness Lodge (not VDW).

I am starting to feel prepared, but was a little overwhelemed with the idea of scheduling dining times which might interrupt the flow of our visit (in a bad way). A badly scheduled eating time could mess things up.

We usually try for the earliest or latest meal times. The meals at WDW are HUGE so one big meal is usually enough. Lots of times we will have breakfast in the room, a snack and then try for lunch around 1:30. The restaurants are typically less busy (and the prices are lower ) and it is late enough that you won't really need to eat a big dinner--you can just grab something quick and get back to the action At least that is how I go about planning-I decide which park/which day and then decide where to eat. Once I know all of that then I can figure out how we are going to tour that day.

 

[traviesojmt]

Oops....VWL - Wilderness Lodge (not VDW).

I am starting to feel prepared, but was a little overwhelemed with the idea of scheduling dining times which might interrupt the flow of our visit (in a bad way). A badly scheduled eating time could mess things up.

We consider the TS meals to be a big part of our visit. Some are really FUN too. Because you are going for 8 days, you shouldn't feel the need to rush through to get everything done. We also like to take longer vacations. Seems to slow the pace a bit. If you were going off-season, I might suggest that you not schedule all of your TS meals, but you really don't have that luxury during the summer. Start looking at the TS meals as an extension of the fun. Ohanas serves meals family style. They have hula hoop contests, coconut races and other events for the kids. Character meals give you one-on-one time with the characters. I really think come dinner time you are going to actually be grateful for the air conditioned break rather than see it as an interuption.

 

[clonetothebone]

Get There Early! The advice every book and expert will give you is to get there early before it gets too hot and the lines get long. Riding 4 or 5 rides in the first hour of opening is a lot better than getting an extra hour of sleep and then spending all day waiting in line.

We plan to be at the parks 40 minutes before official opening time because during busy times(we will be going in June)we are told they open the gates early, then get the "must do" attractions out of the way and take a break in the afternoon. Then early dinner at a Table Service and either relax or tour in the evening.

Buses are good to get to the major parks but sometimes sporatic to Downtown Disney and the waterparks. If you want to dine at one of the other resorts catch the bus to the nearest park and then catch the resort bus from there.

As for the best days to go, check out touringplans.com. This is the website from the Unofficial Guide and they have a chart that recommends which day at which park and the ones to avoid.