Please help me, a lot of questions sorry!!! FIRST TIMERS EEK

[mikneyspackson]

My sister and I, from the UK, are going on our first trip EVER and we couldn't be more excited. This is our first and will probably be our last too for a long time. We are 21 year old twins who have never ever been and we have dreamed of going our ENTIRE lives but just never had the funds to do so. Literally since the age of 5 I'd say, we used to plan fake trips and all sorts, and have been doing so ever since haha!

We're staying at Port Orleans French Quarter with the Quick Service Dining plan and $200 Disney Spending Money from the 9th-23rd of August 2015 for 14 nights. We are staying on property the entire time, no going to Universal or anywhere else. We are literally getting off the plane at Orlando International, hopping on the magical express to Disney, Disney bound for 2 weeks and then back on the magical express and back to London!!! Just pure Disney loving! It's probably considered peak season but it's like the only time we have together due to busy uni/college/work schedules.

We just want this to be the best and most perfect trip ever so please help me answer a few questions.

-Does Disney Spending Money work everywhere within Disney property? Can you tip with it? How does tipping work in the USA, is it compulsory and how much? And can you spend this money at Table Service Restaurants?

-Is a character breakfast worth it? We're trying to be frugal but would love to do Chef Mickey as it seems like the 'classic' one most people do. What do you recommend? How much is it? I read it changes depending season. We currently have a reservation for 7am on the 12th of August, and plan to get there, and then also arrive to Magic Kingdom for the rope drop Welcome Show. Is this possible?

Also how long will it take to get to MK from Port Orleans French Quarter using the transportation busses, is there even a bus available early enough to get us there for 7? I HOPE SO!

-Could someone please help us put together a brief itinerary, just because this is our first and will be our only trip for a long time, we want to get all we can done (EVERYTHING i know thats unlikely), and we aren't 100% sure how many days to have at each park etc, including the water parks and possible rest days (but that will probably be considered in the water park days.) We also want to go and just take in all of the hotels we've dreamed of staying at for years, e.g Grand Floridian/Wilderness Lodge etc.

As mentioned, we're staying on Disney property the entire time!


Currently we have reservations for Chef Mickey as mentioned on the 12th.

on the 16th we have reservations for 50s Prime Time Cafe at Hollywood Studios for 7pm dinner.

on the 19th at 1:55pm we have lunch at Be Our Guest

and 22nd we have 7pm at Cinderella's Royal Table which I think I'll probably cry at haha!


-Do our 14 night tickets start on the first day of use or on arrival, because we're technically there for 15 days. We are planning on not going to a park on the first day (the 9th), as we'll be tired from travelling and possibly not getting there until about 7 (I can't remember our flight details, but it's evening anyway) and would probably just rather get to grips with the hotel and do some exploring, and to allow us to go into the parks on our last day. Will this work?

-Same with the Quick Service Dining Plan. Does it start once you first enter the parks or on arrival, and will it only last for 14 days or will I be able to use it for 15 days, because I'm sure we'd like to get something, a meal or snack, on arrival, but would also like to get food on our departure before we head to the airport.

-Fast Pass+, so we get 3 a day, and then is it right in saying that you also get 1 more once you've used those, if you go to a kiosk? Or have I totally made that up? Please explain that to me! I've seen a video of someone getting them sent to the app, I am very confused!

-As we have $200 Spending Money, as well as the Quick Service Dining Plan, how much money do you think we should bring for emergencies/souvenirs? We dont want to make HUGE spends on things, but would like to take a couple of sentimental things home.

-Can we use ALL transportation, so say we just wanted to go look at the grounds of Grand Floridian, we could take the boat to Magic Kingdom say? Or is that strictly use of GF guests?
Also would we be able to use pools etc at other resorts or just our own?


SO SORRY for all my questions. I've done so much research but some things remain unclear.
Feel free to recommend any MUST DO experiences. Also what do you think about 50s Prime Time Cafe?
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

 

[Elise79]

Ok let's take its a bit at a time!

The Disney spending money will come in the form of a Disney gift card - where and how you get this depends on who you booked through. It can be used pretty much anywhere on Disney property they only exclusions are some of the shops which aren't owned and run by Disney.

You can spent it on your tables service meals and tips. Tipping isn't complusorary however it is custom. Tipping for good service is between 15% and 20% of the pre-tax amount. Disney shows the values for 18% and 20% on all their TS receipts.

Chef Mickeys is the only meal that has the Fab 5 - but is also the most expensive. If you have other favourite characters you want to see a different location may suit you better. You will make rope drop after a 7am ADR at chef mickeys as long as it is a 9am opening. You can walk from the CR to MK and it takes 10-15 minutes.

For a 7am ADR you will need to check with the front desk but buses will be running that early to get people to their reservations. Otherwise a cab would only be a small amount.

Lunch at BoG is a QS credit so that will cover on your QSDP.

For itinerary help within in the parks I would sign up to Touring Plans - it costs less than £10 and you can build your own custom touring plans and it will suggest what FPs to book. With 14 nights you should be able to see and do everything you want. You could visit the other hotels close by the park you are in for lunch as the resort QS are generally better than the parks.

You can use any form of transportation but you can not use the pools at any resort other than where you are staying.

Park tickets start from the time you first enter the park - I would not attempt a park in arrival you will be too tired to enjoy it so your plan is a good one.

The QSDP starts when you check in and expires at midnight on your check out day. You will have 2 QS credits per night and 1 snack per nigh per person. So you will have 28 QS meals to eat over the time you are there. How and when you use them is up to you.

Spending money is a how long is a piece of string question - you shouldn't need to spend much more of food. I would make sure you have a CC or back up funding just in case of emergency.

You have FP+ spot on. You can book 3 FP in one park 60 days in advance. You can book more on the day if there are any available from a kiosk.

I think that answers most things!

 

[jothp]

Hi, we are planning our first trip too so I can't answer all your questions but I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will come along later.

I believe that you can use your gift card for anything at Disney including restaurants and tips. Tipping can be a contentious issue but it is generally expected to tip 18-20% at TS restaurants.

We are doing lots of character meals on our trip as the children want to meet as many characters as possible and it saves time queuing in the parks - whether or not it is worth it for you is down to how much you want to meet the characters. Having you considered getting a reservation at somewhere like Crystal Palace in MK at 8am so you can get into the park early and get some good photos?

In terms of your itinerary that will depend on which parks appeal to you the most. We are doing the most time at MK followed by Epcot and HS then AK last. We decided on which park to visit each day by doing a mixture of going to the park with EMH and going to the most recommended park (as recommended by easywdw website). I have started a pre trip report on the uk trip reports board and my planned itinerary is there if you wanted to have a look - some of our dates overlap.

For your dining plan the number of nights you stay determines the number of credits you get. As you are staying 14 nights you will each get 28cs credits which you can use whenever you would like from your check in day until the end of the day you check out.

Yes you can book 3 FP+ per day and can get another at a kiosk once you have used them. For some parks however reports suggest that there are very few FPs available for a 4th but you can try. Once you have used the 4th you can try for a 5th etc....

Yes you can use any of the disney transport to get around.

Hope this helps. Jo

 

[jothp]

Sorry Elise79 I didn't realise you had posted and I've repeated a lot of what you said

 

[clareyfairymouse]

First trip planning is so exciting!

Keep an eye on the park opening time calendars on the Disney website as they do amend as you get nearer your trip.
That way, you can time meal times in with seeing all the parades and evening shows you want to catch.

 

[bex7583]

i will just add that when we went in 2013 you had to pick your $ gift card up at the disney store in downtown disney , we had assumed we would get it at checking in to our hotel and our itinerary was very full with no visit to dtd until the 4th day

this may have changed now but if not maybe allow a gap in your plans where one or both of you can go collect the card if you are wanting to use it for tips and meals

i see disneys logic in having you pick it up in the disney store though ( our card never made it back out of the door) all spent !!

 

[rex008]

What we've done both times is use the room charge/magic bands for spending, then when you get the gift card, go to your hotel front desk with it and have them add it to your room account. Saves having to keep track of it. Of course you must register a credit card for this, but they won't charge it until checkout or if you hit a limit ($1000 at POFQ I would think).

Whatever you do, don't forget the paper voucher you'll get from Disney UK for the gift card. We got ours eventually, but it took two trips to DTD, an email to Disney UK, 4 CMs, and over 60 minutes of standing around to sort it out! My fault, but .

Don't be too tempted to ration your snack credits, just use them as you need them (in-park drinks very handy for us). Both times we've ended up with loads at the end, and it's a trip to Goofy's sweet shop on the last day to spend the rest on packs of jelly beans etc .

Above all, enjoy yourself! Try not to plan so rigidly that you can't grab some downtime when you need it.

 

[saintrob]

Transportation from POFQ to MK can vary depending on the time of day and whether the bus stops at Riverside. We've stayed at the French Quarter several times and it's a lovely resort. The bus service is usually good and often the bus will go direct to MK and can take twenty minutes. Occasionally the bus will visit the neighbouring resort of Riverside which has several stops therefore the journey can extend up to fifty minutes.

 

[scoobydooby]

How exciting for you both! POFQ is the smallest WDWbreaort and so great for a first stay.

Somewhere above it was noted you can't pool hop. Actually POFQ and POR are actually considered one resort so you can use the POR pool as well as the one at POFQ. I think it's a better pool and the fast food place at POR is great too. You can either get the boat there or walk which is only 10 minutes.

Please don't rely on $200 getting you through the two weeks. However frugal you are that's not going to be enough! You can cost your additional TS meals not covered by your quick service dining plan by looking at the menus at several places e.g www.allears.net

You should tip at least 15% for table service meals. Wait staff are taxed on the expectation they receive tips. They pay the tax even if you don't tip them. At Cinderella's Royal Table your tip is included in the price of the meal.

Build in some rest time or you will have a horrible time. WDW is the size of a city and very tiring. You can't do it all. We go pretty much every year and haven't done it all yet!!!

www.touringplans.com is your friend, especially for a first trip. Study it and make some touring plans. The linked book is The Uniffocial Guide to WDW. If you read that you will be well ahead of the beards for your first trip it's a big book but worth a few hours of your time to help you have a magical trip.

Have fun. I'm excited for you. There's nothing like that first trip! We wil be there the same time as you