Planning our first visit- January 2014!

[MikeysMamma]

I apologize if this is not the right spot to post my questions

I'm planning a family trip to Disney (our first!) in January 2014! It'll be me, my husband and our 2 year old who will be 1 month shy of 3 at the time of travel. We're looking at January 4-11.

I was going to go through Liberty Travel, but after a week of no response I've been thinking of doing it myself! We wanted to stay at the AOA resort, cars themed room. I was curious if I'd be going about this in the right way...
I was going to call Disney and book the hotel room, and I can also purchase our tickets to Orlando via Southwest. Since air tickets only go up to January 5, I'd have to purchase our return home tickets at a later date. I was also going to purchase all park tickets at a later date as well (unless I can book with hotel).

Does this sound like a good plan? I've never planned a trip before, and with this being Disney it's a little overwhelming! I was also going to get 5 day park tickets with park hopper, and one day at Sea World if possible.

Any advice and tips are appreciated! Thank you in advance

 

[jcb]

You might consider using dreams unlimited travel to help you. You'll be assigned an agent who can answer your questions. Dreams is owned by one of the owners of the DIS and it doesn't cost you anything. If a discount comes out even after you have booked, the agent will check to see whether you qualify for it. (I'm not a Dreams Agent, by the way, but I do know the owners.)

Whatever you do, do it soon. AOA is very popular right now. You will probably want to book a package deal as that includes room and tickets. You don't have to book them both, I rarely do, but it might make things simpler for you with this being your first time.

Good luck in planning your trip.

 

[HeatherLassell]

I apologize if this is not the right spot to post my questions

I'm planning a family trip to Disney (our first!) in January 2014! It'll be me, my husband and our 2 year old who will be 1 month shy of 3 at the time of travel. We're looking at January 4-11.

I was going to go through Liberty Travel, but after a week of no response I've been thinking of doing it myself! We wanted to stay at the AOA resort, cars themed room. I was curious if I'd be going about this in the right way...
I was going to call Disney and book the hotel room, and I can also purchase our tickets to Orlando via Southwest. Since air tickets only go up to January 5, I'd have to purchase our return home tickets at a later date. I was also going to purchase all park tickets at a later date as well (unless I can book with hotel).

Does this sound like a good plan? I've never planned a trip before, and with this being Disney it's a little overwhelming! I was also going to get 5 day park tickets with park hopper, and one day at Sea World if possible.

Any advice and tips are appreciated! Thank you in advance

Come join us on the official January 2014 thread!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3008637

I planned my very first trip last year and I did it all myself. I had a blast. Come over to the thread and ask all the questions you have while planning and we'll help you out.

eta: lol and you're there already so yay

 

[hops&dreams]

I did all the planning for our 2 trips myself. The first thing that helped me out was the "first timer primer" from allears.net. Next, it was reading, reading, reading the DIS. The posts that helped me most were the "what was one tip you wish you'd listened to" and the "not normal item to pack" post - Take a look around and ask questions - you'll get great advice from DISers.

If there's a meet in your area, check it out - you'll get great advice from people in person!

For my second trip, I bought the Unofficial guide and loosely thumbed through it. It had good info, but in all honesty, I knew most of what it told me from reading through the DIS.

One last piece of advice... As I got closer ot my trips, I read obsessively on The DIS. Next time, I"ll wean off as I get closer to the trips, to help preserve some of the magic.

Have a great time and PM me if you want any help. I can direct you to the websites I used to look things up - I have all of them written down in my planning folder somewhere!

That first trip... there's nothing like it!

 

[theholmesbunch]

Booking with a travel agent who specializes in Disney vacations can be a great help. Not only can they give you advice, but many times there agencies offer perks for people who book their vacations through them. If you send me a pm I can give you the name of an agent that I have used that was very helpful.

 

[MikeysMamma]

I apologize for being unresponsive... I'm still getting use to the site and am forgetting I don't get notifications of replies!

Thank you all for your help!!! Unfortunately the travel agent never responses, but this morning I called Disney and booked our trip myself! Now I just need to get everything organized, but I have plenty of time

Thanks so much for all your help and suggestions!

 

[Lorelei528]

Congrats on booking! If you did not purchase your park tickets yet, I suggest Undercover Tourist where you can buy your park tickets to WDW and SeaWorld too at a slight discount.

This is where I always buy from if we're not getting AP's (Annual Passes).

UT are GREAT! Check out their reviews on-line, I think they're all good!

I would suggest buying the Passporter Guide as for a first timer I think the Unofficial Guide would be too overwhelming. Or, the Birnbaum's Guide is good too for newbies.

Check menus on allears.net. And read, read, read. Here on the DIS, and Allears. I also use another board, but am probably not allowed to post the name here (IDK all the rules)...

Don't be afraid to ask questions! Enjoy your planning!

 

[darthbrazen]

Don't forget to book your food reservations, and make plans to visit the right park on its least busiest days. I like Tour Guide Mike for the Busiest Days, and I hear Touring plans is good too.

Restaurants fill up quickly, so you want to book at least 90 days or more in advance where they will let you.