Planning first trip

[CABBYJ1118]

It's official Disney 09 is a go! We are taking on a lot right now, building a home, starting to plan this trip & I will probably need a new van in the next few months. Anyway. I'm tring to start planning this trip & really do not know where to begin. Hotel & transportation won't be the problem. My issue will be mapping out the actually day to day vacation. This is our first time going to Disney, let alone a vacation of this magnitude. Where do I begin to gather info on planning this trip, learning the in's & outs of Disney. Pretty much I want to know as much as you guys do.

 

[nena]

The Dis is a great place to gather information. There are many Disers who have alot of knowledge to share. I am a newbie, I started reading the Dis back in August. I purchased my package in November and made my dining reservations in December. I did all of this with the help of the wonderful Dissers on this board. they gave me suggestions, made recommendations assured me of my choices and inspired me to check back daily to see what is new.
I would highly recommend www.tourguidemike.com for the day to day planning. Once you have your trip dates, the site makes all the recommendations you could possibly think of and more. There is also a board on their, but I prefer the DIS.
Good luck. If you have any questions...just ask.

 

[Aliceacc]

I started this thread for others in the same position; it may help you get started: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1715551

 

[dzneelvr]

First thing I'd do is purchase the "09 Birnbaum's Guide . It's a wonderful source of all things Disney and everything is in one place (telephone numbers, maps, etc.) so can be referenced a thousand times. Then look at park hours during the time you are going and schedule each day with a park that has the longest hours and/or scheduled events you want to see. Say for example that you are going in a busy season, look for the Extended magic hours (EMH); if you are going off-season, look for parade/fireworks/show schedules because they may not have them every night. Then you can move on to your dining at that park and concentrating on your park strategy (that will be based on your likes, ages, walking preferences, etc.)Plan to spend some time at your resort--we end up eating at least 2 main meals there because we like the food!--swimming, relaxing, maybe laundry, etc. Once you've got the plans in place, sit back and enjoy! Don't second-guess yourself or try to mirror your vacation plans to others' ideas. I think the one thing most of us do wrong on that first trip is we try to do EVERYTHING and there's just no way. That's what subsequent trips are for. Back to ASMo in June!

 

[WDW4TheGirls]

"The Unofficial Guide to DisneyWorld" I found to be great. They had a lot of information, and I thought their restaurant reviews were right on target.

 

[catgirl]

I just got back 2 weeks ago. I hadn't been to WDW in over 14 years so it felt like my first time. Also 1st time with kids. I would definately plan my days based on EMH-evening. Morning hours are too early and you only gain 1 hour, also parks seem to fill quickly. Then check out the times for parades & fireworks before you make your dinner reservations and yes you must make reservations or it is very hard to get in to any restaurant. I had to do alot of cancelling of reservations, because most were book between 6-7pm which is prime time for alot of parades and shows or doesn't give you enough time to get there. I would highly recommend the dining plan we had more than enough to eat and felt it was a great savings!!! I would highly recommend 1900 Park Fare for breakfast (charachter) food was awesome. It was a buffet and we saw Mad Hatter, Alice in Wonderland, Pooh, Tigger, and Mary Poppins. I also loved Captain Jacks in Downtown Disney ate there twice! I used index cards for each day of the trip which included my ADR confirm #'s & times and which park I planned to visit for the day. I included showtimes, fireworks & parades. On the back noted a few tips I received from this DIS for best viewing, what not to miss, etc. But remember to be flexible. I used these as guidelines, but did make changes after I got there depending on weather and feel for the day. Its a takes some planning, but it is worth the effort. If you are taking a cell phone, I found it was very helpful to have Dining # programmed into it, I used it alot! Good Luck!!!!

 

[wheelcap]

Welcome to the Loony Bin!!


It's great to have you here. Let us know if you ever find sanity after the trip.

 

[sarahlovesmickey]

welcome to the DIS!! There is a great group of people here. Also very helpful tips!! =)

 

[tinan]

I think everyone else has already given you some excellent ideas. I can tell you that DIS had definitely helped me by reading a lot of the comments on the resorts and parks boards.

The most important thing to realize is that you will not be able to see everything there on your first trip so prioritize what is important to you and make sure to follow through with those plans. Everyone is different so you don't have to follow others plans. For example, our family is good with 1/2 day in Animal Kingdom and 1/2 to 1 day in MGM. We prefer to spend our time in MK and Epcot. Seeing the electric lights parade was important to me and with going in the off season there was only certain nights that we were able to do that so I scheduled one of our MK days to coincide with the parade. Our first trip, we didn't park hop at all even though we had park hoppers so I would have changed to regular tickets had I known that.

Last but not least, take time to enjoy everything and don't be in a hurry to make sure to keep your schedule. Our most enjoyable day on that vacation was the one where we went to Epcot with no "real plans" other than an ADR, and just went wherever we felt like without being felt rushed.

 

[n3rf]

wow glad i found this post, i posted a few weeks back stating i was also taking my first trip to WDW ever!!

Anyways glad i found some additional info on this post, since I just made the deposit for my trip in April... cant wait for this great vacation with DW and DD