Planning our first family trip to Disney

[Jillybee]

I am planning our first family trip to Disney World for April 2002. My husband and I went once before we had kids. My boys (14 and 11) are excited that we are finally planning. I am trying to soak in as much info as possible and will sit down with a travel agent in June.

Any thoughts all you veteran's can give me would be VERY appreciated. I'm debating between staying at the All-Star Sports (which my boys would love) or Carribean Beach Resort. We are planning a trip for 10 days. Should we stay on-site the whole time, or half in/half out?

With two very active, completely sports-oriented boys, what do you all recommend that we absolutly MUST do or see while in Disney/Florida.

I am sure this will be the only time we go to Disney as a family. I want to make sure we plan to DO and SEE it all. I told my boys that they better be prepared to MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!!!

Thanks for your input. I very much appreciate your ideas.

 

[KimRaye]

Sorry, this is long ~ I don't have a lot of advice for you but, some opinions. ASsp & CB, room-wise, are identical. Theme-ing is the only diff. My 1st trip we stayed at CB, just wonderful for the 3 of us but, with your 4, you'll be cramped at either resort. This trip, now with us at 4, there's no way we could stay at a value or even a moderate ~ 2 double/queen beds just wouldn't cut it! We've been off-site twice and, for our 4th trip coming up in 3 weeks, we'll be off-site again, at a hotel with Suites. There are Kid-Suites, 1br & 2br suites all over the place off-site, and, Family Suites!

If you're going to split your time, on-site and off ~ do off-site 1st, then on-site.

Also, you have a lot of time to research and I'd probably avoid the agent, except for getting some brochures! I didn't use an agent but I booked a package and, after being here on the boards, I think I definitely could have gotten some better prices, what with all the time I spend on-line, anyway! Keep checking ALL the other boards, do some searches, etc. Plus, if you'd really like to do some work (reading), I've got some 1999/2000 Disney travel books (like, Birnbaum's, Complete Idiot's Guide to WDW and 3 others, I don't remember the titles) that you're welcome to have! Just email me.

Also, I don't know much about it but, the Disney Sports Complex (?I think that's what it's called?) would be something you should probably look into. There's a pro baseball team (Atlanta?) that actually has spring training there plus many other things, I understand.

I envy you, with DS's 14 & 11, you'll should not be limited in any way of having a Magical time!!

Please remember, these are only MHO, not seasoned advice! Have a great time! BTW, are you going during spring-break?

 

[disneydreamerinny]

Hello Jillybee and welcome!

I just wanted to say congratulations on planning your first trip to Disney! It doesnt seem like too long ago when I was planning our first trip of a lifetime. It was the greatest, most stressful, most satisfying, happiest, time of my life.
I hope you experience all the best planning in the world.
It will be so easy for you if you visit these boards often. They are so full of information and help and all the people are very eager to help.

I am in the process of planning our 2nd trip, not long after yours, and I am so excited to be doing this again.

Good luck in all your planning and have the greatest trip ever!!

 

[pat fan]

As far as an on-site resort goes,I would suggest the ASSports.Your boys want that one,and my two sons would rather stay at an ALLStar resort than any of the others.I know,'cause I asked them when I started planning our next trip!They said it seems more like a real "Disney" hotel to them.We've stayed at Music & Movies and never felt "sardined" by the size of the room.If you have any other Q's,feel free to e-mail me @
kgsjeep@mtdata.com

 

[Rodrigo]

This can be a major factor to stay part of your trip offsite!

 

[Jillybee]

Hi All!

Thanks for your replies. We are planning on going during spring break. I'm hoping we don't spend our entire vacation waiting in lines!!! We are shooting for 4/10 through 4/20.

We are planning on going to Universal and everything else we can possibly do. We will be renting a car while there. I don't even have a clue as to where Universal and all the other "touristy-type" things are in relation to Disney.

I am SO overwhelmed. I thought I had lots of time, but now I get the feeling that I had better book soon, because things fill up so quickly in April.

There is so much to plan... Hotels - which one(s) ... airlines ... car ... tickets (Hopper/yearly for an extended trip??) ... which parks ... do I join the Disney Club .... and so on and so on...

AAAAAHHHHH! I have so much to learn!

Thanks for the ear and all your help so far. I'm sure in time I will hammer it all out. I just want everything to be GREAT!

 

[Serena]

We went on our first trip last June and had a lot of fun.

Congratulations!
Read all the boards you can, especially the trip planning ones.
We stayed at the All Star Sports and loved it. There were four of us and my hubby was the only male. lol

What we are going to do next time is schedule a day off to just do nothing, sleep or whatever, somewhere in the middle.
It gets really tiring being on the go every day.
I'd make several lists with things you don't want to forget, prices of things like hotels etc.

One set of lists of things we wanted to do and to ride.
Each family member made a list of each. I then combined them.
We made a list of the rides we all wanted to do, then the rides that most of us wanted to do, then the rides that was special to each of us. We started with the A list, then B list and if we had time and were there, then we would do the C rides.

Do not forget a good sunscreen, lots of it.
We had a cooler with breakfast juices, fruit, etc. We ate breakfast each morning while the others were getting ready.
We had all kinds of stuff to eat for breakfast and snacks thru the day. We used ziplock bags with a little snack to eat whenever they wanted.

Have fun.

 

[sha_lyn]

my suggestion is stay 2-3 nights at universal. both parks and citywalk are within walking distance of HRH and FOTL is worth spending the money for HRH or PB.

We stayed at ASmu and loved it. ASsp was my DS's first choice but they were booked.
I would also suggest not using a travel agent. You would be suprised how much you can save booking on your own. At least don't buy packages that include things you won't use. Check with Dreams unlimited. I'm sure they can get the best deal ffor you at WDW and they will book your WDw ps's for you.

 

[Synonymous]

Seeing everything is going to be tough, especially at such a busy time of year. There is so much to see and do that it is almost impossible to see everything, even when the parks are not very crowded. You can drive yourself crazy this way if you're not careful.

You should probably stay on-site. You'll minimize your travel time to and from the parks. Also, when you stay on-site you can take advantage of early entry and E-nights. Your best chance of getting to do as much as possible is to be there right at opening on early entry days and hit the highlights first thing. Definitely do E-night- you can ride many of the best attractions without waiting much at all. If you've covered the most popular attractions by doing early entry and E-nights, then you can do some of the less-crowded things during the day when everyone else is standing in line.

Tom

 

[Olaf]

Congratulations on your upcoming trip. You're going to have a terrific time. Your boys will remember this one when they're getting gray like me.

ASSp is a value resort and CBR is a moderate. What does that mean, CBR is more expensive and the room is larger. I've never stayed at a value resort, but I've stayed at CBR and PO and found those rooms on the small side, especially PO. Sq ft at ASsp is 260 and CBR is 340. It just depends on your own personal preferences and how much time you will actually be in the room. Many people on these boards really like the value resorts, I've heard positive comments about the pools and themeing. Check out the Walt Disney World site for info on the hotels at www.waltdisneyworld.com and also look at Deb's site at http://www.wdwig.com/contents.htm.

Your boys are of an age that they would probably really like Universal--I've heard they have some pretty good deals on hotels over there.

I would say that considering the ages of your children the do not miss stuff would be the following: All of the roller coaster rides and thrill rides, the water parks , and Disney Quest. You really need a guide. I'd suggest Passporter's at http://www.passporter.com

Have fun!