Hi!
Your first trip to WDW How exciting!
You are gonna have a wonderful week! Here's a couple tips... as I see it.
If you can swing getting park hoppers it would give you a lot more flexibility! We like to have the park hopper option at the holidays because if a park gets to busy you can just go to a different park and not feel like you have to stick it out because "it's your MK day".
I would consider doing 2 MK days, and the other 3 days do one park per day... with these additions. AK closes early... usually around 5 in the winter so that day you could go from there over to Epcot to spend the evening. You'll want to see the Epcot fireworks show, Illuminations... it's at 9 every night and it's so awesome you might want to see it more than once, this way you'll have that option.
A day at MGM could be a half day... but if you do make it the second half of the day so you can catch Fantasmic and the Osborne lights. So you could either do it mid week and just sleep in a little, or spend the morning at AK or Epcot.
In my opinion Tour guide mike has quite a learning curve... for first timers it's a huge learning curve because he talks about some many things that you haven't experienced. If you have several months to figure it out then great -- but since your trip is a month away...
, I wouldn't try it. He is also very big on touring itineraries, which are very "do this now, then do that"... I think this type of vacation is better enjoyed by veterans who want to do everything again.
Trust me there is no way you could possibly see it all or do it all, so don't try. You don't want to have the constant feeling that you're missing something because you didn't stay on schedule.
On your first trip you'll want to just enjoy the ambiance of Disneyworld. Taking in the visual feast that is everywhere you look. So plan before you go, have a basic idea of what you want to see maybe 3 must do's at each park, then once you're there RELAX! You want every one of your 5 days to be filled with happy memories of spending time with your family, not of rushing around.
Now on to practicalities, here's a hotel that is off-site but not far away, (less than 5 minutes) inexpensive, clean, and serves free breakfast. They have two room mini suites that sleep six. I have stayed there and my friends just stayed there in June with their 4 kids and it worked great. There's a small kitchenette for snacks, 2 queen beds, and pull out sofa. Here's the link
http://www.palominosuites.com/
If I can help you in any way just ask!
Or ask on DIS people here are glad to help!
Enjoy your planning, it's half the fun!
