So Confusing-1st Trip To Wdw

[AMD3]

Wow, I have so many questions but I will limit them for this post. I will start by saying I have the Unofficial Guide and it helps. I just need to read it again since it has been awhile. We are going to WDW 5/3-5/10.
1. What do you take with you in the theme parks. I am wondering if I will look like I am moving in with all the stuff I feel I need to take-snacks, water, extra clothes, etc. and what do you carry your things in.
2. Should we plan a no park day. Plan to relax on day we arrive, see each park for a full day and take breaks at room. Thought about Typhoon Lagoon but wonder if we need to stick around the resort and DD for a day to recover. I am worried we will not be ready for the long days and think we may need to take a day to recover by day 3.
3. Staying off site and not sure about meals. Would like to do at least one character meal. Which one for my kids' ages that we will like the food and the kids will enjoy the characters?
Thanks any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[PrincessEeyore]

Oh goody!!!! A first-timer, you're going to have a blasttttttttt!!!!!
so to answer your questions:
1) When I visit the parks I bring a drawstring bag. Inside I usually keep my wallet, my cell phone, my camera, sun glasses, water, a hat, whatever type of Disney travel book I've brought along, and my reservations list. And of course the small things like room card key, photopass cards, etc. But then again, I'm only 15, my aunt on the other hand brings her purse with the things mentioned above in it. Then she also brings a larger red bag that contains suntan lotion, ponchos, snacks, water, a towel, and she brings her crocs because she changes her sneakers when we ride the wet rides like Splash Mountain.
2) From my many past expieriences I would plan a relaxation day. Depending on when your vacation dates are, Typhoon Lagoon may or may not be a good idea. When we go in November, typhoon lagoon is great as a relaxation day option. But when we go in July, going there is just like going to a park. Spending a day to relax at your hotel is great too. Enjoy the pool and maybe visit DD for some shopping and dining. Just make it a day with no plans or time schedules. Just kinda go with the flow.
3) I don't really remember that many character dinings I did when I was little but I do remember Cinderella's character breakfast. It was a blast bc to this day the princesses are my favorite and my aunt always tells me that I fit in perfectly when we went when I was younger. It also depends on your children though. Of course, princesses don't appeal to everyone .
Hope this helps with anything. I'm sure by 8 tomorrow night you'll have about 30 respsonses. Have fun at Disney World!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[GrammyJudy]

Definitely have everyone use a fanny pack. Take small water bottle each and refill as needed. One person carry the park passes so it easier to get fast passes. Park hopping eats up alot of time, 1-2 hours to go betwwen. Do a day off at the hotel pool and maybe do a diinner that night. I definetely recommend the Hoop-de-doo dinner show. Breakfast at Crystal palace is good if they like Pooh but dinner is very noisy. The character buffet at Chef Mickey is wonderful and you can drive to the contemporary for it. Have fun!!!!!!!

 

[solfan68]

1. What do you take with you in the theme parks. I am wondering if I will look like I am moving in with all the stuff I feel I need to take-snacks, water, extra clothes, etc. and what do you carry your things in.
2. Should we plan a no park day. Plan to relax on day we arrive, see each park for a full day and take breaks at room. Thought about Typhoon Lagoon but wonder if we need to stick around the resort and DD for a day to recover. I am worried we will not be ready for the long days and think we may need to take a day to recover by day 3.
3. Staying off site and not sure about meals. Would like to do at least one character meal. Which one for my kids' ages that we will like the food and the kids will enjoy the characters?

First off... congrats on your maiden voyage to the world. You're going to have a great time.

1. A backpack(or smaller) should suffice. Here you can toss things like a camera, ponchos, snacks, and such. Some people may take extra clothes. In our handful of visits, we've never felt the need. One perspective.
2. A no park day can certainly be a good thing. Half a day lounging where you are could be a good thing. Half a day at one of the water parks could be fun. There's even a few mini golf courses scattered about the world. Not to mention, extras like The Boardwalk, and Downtown Disney. Not everyone feels the need to go commando when they head to Orlando. Having a plan is certainly a good idea, but ready to deviate when the spirit moves.
3. There's certainly a wide variety of character interactions available via Disney Dining. Chef Mickey and Crystal Palace are probably the most high profile options. But there's also the Garden Grill(low key) or Askerhaus(the Princesses) in Epcot. Hollywood & Vine, Ohana, Liberty Tree... Lots of choices, to be certain. Do a little reading(online or in guide books), you'll find the right match for you and your family.

Most important, just enjoy your time with your family. Disney is a great place to get away from it all !

 

[FLA NUT]

Congratulations on your first trip. You are picking a wonderful time to go. The parks will not be too crowded the first week of May.

We always carry a backpack that we fill with snacks, camera, ponchos, extra clothes, (underwear for the little one) etc. We also carry a soft sided 6pack cooler with sandwiches too. We freeze water bottles and slip them into the bottle cooler "thingies" with a shoulder strap. I clip a small travel size bottle of suntan lotion to the backpack and we are ready to go. We put all this under our stroller (which I highly recommend for your 4 year old, he will get tired of walking, trust me!!!)

We usually make Animal Kingdom day our short day. We arrive early, finish early and relax the rest of the day. We also stay off property in a condo. Going back mid-day for a break has never been a problem. We leave mid-day, rest, eat and return later in the evening.

Have fun and enjoy your first trip.

 

[logansmummy]

Wow, I have so many questions but I will limit them for this post. I will start by saying I have the Unofficial Guide and it helps. I just need to read it again since it has been awhile. We are going to WDW 5/3-5/10.
1. What do you take with you in the theme parks. I am wondering if I will look like I am moving in with all the stuff I feel I need to take-snacks, water, extra clothes, etc. and what do you carry your things in.
2. Should we plan a no park day. Plan to relax on day we arrive, see each park for a full day and take breaks at room. Thought about Typhoon Lagoon but wonder if we need to stick around the resort and DD for a day to recover. I am worried we will not be ready for the long days and think we may need to take a day to recover by day 3.
3. Staying off site and not sure about meals. Would like to do at least one character meal. Which one for my kids' ages that we will like the food and the kids will enjoy the characters?
Thanks any input would be greatly appreciated!

Welcome aboard first of all!!! We are all so excited for you!!! We will be there from May 1-10 YEA!!!!!
1. Ok this is a list of what we take--- my hubby & I carry a Bagallini Messenger bag, go to www.ebags.com they have a variety of awesome bags, we chose that one, because it fits us both wonderfully. We of course make copies of our tickets, we take our wallets, w/ id, money, travelers checks(we don't carry them all with us), camera, extra set of chargeable batteries, change, walkie talkie(1 on each adult) ponchos( a must in May), bottles of water, 2 sets for each of us, easy eat simple snacks such as granolla, fruit snacks, apple, crystal light or ice tea singles, a must too, extra set of clothes for my DS(4), wipes, purell, chapstick, suncreen spray, sunglasses, and a visor or the child, autograph book and pens. All of our food and drinks, xtra child outfit goes in a seperate insulated bag. It is easy to carry, we take turns or lay it ontop of rented stroller. It may seem llike a long list, but in reality it is not, its all small stuff.......(We take our light up souveniors to all the parks so we don't have to keep buying them at each park, makes sense and saves money) Good Luck, if you need any more tips we all on the Dis can help you..... WELCOME ABOARD!!!

 

[AMD3]

Thanks for all the tips- to the pp I have a Logan too!

 

[Fairyntraining]

Congrats on your upcoming trip

I like to carry a small bag with the essentials such as sunscreen, handiwipes, snack baggies with snacks or empty for leftovers, water bottles, camera etc...

Great character meals include Chef Mickey's and that is a great trip starter because it is in the Contemporary and you don't have to use a park ticket to get to it. Crystal Palace Breakfast or Lunch for Pooh and friends.

You have a picked a great time to go and rest days are essential bc every park hits on all senses at full speed. There is so much to do and to see that you need to have a plan just so that you are not overwhelmed. There are shows throughout each park that are good source of relief from heat and allow you to sit.

Have a great trip!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

If the idea of an entire day of rest seems too much for you than why not book yourself two rest afternoons or two rest mornings. You really do need your rest unless you plan to rest upon returning home. My 8 year old did great but I found my five year old (who gave up napping when he was two) needed an afternoon rest everyday just to cope. He didn't always nap but he always laid down and rested. His Dad was very eager to help him have his rests too. I would head down to the pool with my older kids while they rested.
If I may add-I had the plans laid out in detail and my family felt they wanted some ownership in the plans for the day. I had talked to them about stuff and asked their opinions before we got there but once we were there they wanted the opportunity to make some decisions. I had built in a "We'll decide when the day comes" day to our schedule. Am I ever glad I did. As my parents came with us-the three kids were able to split up and do what they wanted to do with another adult that day.

 

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

We had our first trip May of 2007 during the first week as well. It is a great time to go.

This board is a wealth of information and while my husband wasn't very happy to see me buried in my laptop all the time, even he said I planned a wonderful trip.

Being informed really made it easiser on us.

What I took into the parks was my Donner Bag. In it I had two water bottles, my camera, my video camera, moleskin because my hubby was wearing his new Keen's (he said another wonderful buy - tipped off here on that one) and some other odds and ends that I guess weren't that important. Oh some hand sanitizer too. We were on the Dining Plan so we didn't carry any additional food items.
Yikes - I can't forget my beloved Passporter. This is the best guide book.

My husband took a backpack and I packed him sunscreen, ponchos and an extra set of clothes for my son.

Some suggestions:

Make very early reservations at Crystal Palace in the MK. It is very nice to get in the park early and take pictures without all of the picture intruders

Just getting into the parks early really made a difference. We would go early and then go back to the resort to rest or swim around noon and then go back. At least we did this for MK since we were at the WL.

We loved the waterparks so I would suggest trying them. I think the kids would love them. They are both different and we liked Blizzard Beach the best.

Go to Animal Kingdom during the evening EMH. I think that is Wednesday. It is very cool to do the rapids ride at night! The park is kind of spooky at night but in a good way. It was so empty at 8pm that we were allowed to just stay on the rapids ride and we rode it 4 times!

We will be returning again in May so maybe we'll cross paths! This time we may try the Villas at the WL.

I am very excited for you. You will have so much fun.

 

[imprimouse]

I'll add one thing to all of the above.

remember that cell phone in your bag? TURN IT OFF
who wants a business call to interrupt the magic?

relax and enjoy!

 

[Liljam]

One thing that helps me is to make a tentative list of the must see attractions at each park. That way if you miss something, you don't feel disappointed because it isn't on your list. You can go to waltdisneyworld.com and view attractions at each park. Since you're staying off site, you won't be able to use the EMH as suggested above. I would however take advantage of the park hopper option though especially if you want a rest day. For example, you could go to DAK until close around 5pm then bus over to one of the other parks for the night time things. The fireworks and other shows are awesome and are a must see if you ask me! It took us less than an hour to park hop when we went last year at the beginning of May. If you do two parks in one day, you won't get through both of them entirely, but I think it still helps to hop because it breaks things up a bit. Let your kids get involved and show them previews of some of the attractions and shows on sites like youtube.com - let them pick out what they really like too! For dining - Hoop Dee Doo Review is awesome but books fast so call now for ressies if you think you'll do it. It's been ages since I;ve done the character dining, but i'd pick Chef Mickey's! Since you have boys and girls in the family, I think it would be fun for all! Also, go to guest services at any park and ask for the 1st time visit buttons you all can wear so that maybe you can get some special treatment from CMs and such.

As for packing - we take a back pack (and this year much more for our 3 month old lol) that contains park passes, wallet and ids, photopass (nice option - look for CM's with cameras around the park and they'll give you a card and snap photos of your trip then when you get home you can order them all for around $100) your own camera with extra batteries if needed, ponchos, sunscreen and chapstick then whatever else you need. I don't take extra clothes for us, but I will for my son. I try not to overload the bag so that it's not heavy and there's room for little things we might buy throughout the day! If you take a day off from the parks, check out Medieval Times Dinner Theatre if you've never been there before. It's cool for all ages and the dinner is good too! It's located in Kissmmee and not too far from WDW! Good luck on you're trip. We're going the exact same dates and staying at Saratoga Springs with my parents, siblings and a 3 month old baby boy!!!

 

[WillCAD]

Wow, I have so many questions but I will limit them for this post. I will start by saying I have the Unofficial Guide and it helps. I just need to read it again since it has been awhile. We are going to WDW 5/3-5/10.
1. What do you take with you in the theme parks. I am wondering if I will look like I am moving in with all the stuff I feel I need to take-snacks, water, extra clothes, etc. and what do you carry your things in.
2. Should we plan a no park day. Plan to relax on day we arrive, see each park for a full day and take breaks at room. Thought about Typhoon Lagoon but wonder if we need to stick around the resort and DD for a day to recover. I am worried we will not be ready for the long days and think we may need to take a day to recover by day 3.
3. Staying off site and not sure about meals. Would like to do at least one character meal. Which one for my kids' ages that we will like the food and the kids will enjoy the characters?
Thanks any input would be greatly appreciated!

1) Don't take all that junk into the parks with you. Pare it down to the absolute essentials. Forget what you will "look like" and focus instead on what you will feel like when weighed down by 50lbs of stuff in the Florida heat - heat exhaustion does not feel good.

No snacks except maybe a few granola bars unless you are on a tight budget and don't expect to buy any snacks in the parks. There's plenty to eat in the parks and some of it is even reasonably priced.

Water is a must, but don't bother carrying 10 gallons of it; carry a refillable bottle and refill it at drinking fountains and counter service eateries (they will give you free ice water, just ask). If you can find some of the Brita Fill and Go bottles with built-in filters, use them; they filter out the taste of the FL water that many people find unpleasant.

Extra clothes? Nope. If you get wet, the FL heat will dry you quickly. If your clothes get funky from sweat, take a mid-day break back in your hotel room to change, and refresh yourself as well as your clothes. How far off-site are you? Many off-site places are close enough to take a mid-day break without losing too much time.

2) A no-park day in the middle of your trip is an excellent idea. Hang around your resort, do some off-site shopping and dining, and maybe even spend half a day at one of teh WDW water parks. A WDW vacation becomes exhausting not because of WDW's size, but because of improper pacing; do too much in too short a time, and you will wear yourself out.

Mid-day breaks are also quite useful in avoiding exhaustion, particularly if you have young kids. Nap, swim, shower, have some cool drinks, refresh your selves and relax before going back to the parks. It also provides a nice opportunity to split your days - do one park in the morning, take a mid-day break at about 2-4pm, and do another park for the evening.

3) You didn't mention your kids' ages, but the most popular character meals are Chef Mickeys in the Contemporary, Crystal Palace and Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom, 'Ohana breakfast in the Polynesian, and the Princess meals at Cinderellas Royal Table (charactersa at breakfast only) in MK and Restaurant Akershus (characters all day) in Epcot's Norway. Donald's Breakfast-O-Saurus in Animal Kingdom is also popular.

My personal fave among character meals is Chef Mickeys; the food is excellent, the character interaction is great, and the location is convenient to MK.

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My most important suggestions for a good trip: travel light, drink lots of water (if you wait till you're thirsty, it's too late, you're already dehydrated), take it easy, and rest a lot. Also don't forget sunscreen - re-apply at least once a day, and don't forget the backs of your legs, the tips of your ears, and especially the tops of your feet if you wear open-toed shoes. Sunburn hurts, and will ruina trip.

Don't worry about seeing everything; you can't, and you'll ruin your trip if you try. Instead, focus on enjoying wahatever you do see, and pace yourself so that you never feel rushed or worried.

It's a vacation - relax! If you miss something, you can come back next year, or in a few years, and it will still be there.
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