So overwhelmed. Please help!

[Skiton]

We are staying at the Grand California. Getting from the airport, LAX to DLR and we want to drive to San Diego for a few days and/or spend a day at the beach.

Grand Californian is really neat. We stayed there year before last. Are you planning to rent a car the whole time you're there, or not at all? We don't fly into LAX, we prefer John Wayne. From there we get a private shuttle that provides car seats/boosters and that's how we get to and from the airport. If my kids were out of boosters, we'd just take a cab or uber.

 

[pmaurer74]

Grand Californian is really neat. We stayed there year before last. Are you planning to rent a car the whole time you're there, or not at all? We don't fly into LAX, we prefer John Wayne. From there we get a private shuttle that provides car seats/boosters and that's how we get to and from the airport. If my kids were out of boosters, we'd just take a cab or uber.

right now we can get a direct flight that is cheaper into LAX. We are planning to rent a car part way through our trip at DTD.

 

[Skiton]

We are WDW vets that also love DL. With all the changes in the past few years, WDW can be overwhelming for DLR people and for newbies, and for people dealing with the changes for the first time. First, where are you staying? That could influence some restaurant recommendations. For example, the Yachtsman Steakhouse at Yacht Club resort is terrific, but it would take park time to go there, but if you are staying at one of the resorts in walking distance and will be back at the resort some any way- it is a great choice. The first thing to realize is that unlike DLR where you can get anywhere in a short amount of time, WDW is huge and if you are park hopping or going to Disney Springs (DTD) or a resort for a meal, the transportation alone can take you an hour or more to get from point A to point B. You definitely want to think about distances when planning meals or hopping.

Next, you have stated that your must-dos include Victoria and Alberts and Be Our Guest. Unlike at DLR where dining reservations are generally easy to get, these are hard to get items. You want to be online when your dining opens up at 180 days, to try to get these 2 places. If it were me, if these 2 places are must dos, I would do that even though it means setting an alarm, getting up and booking them, and going back to bed. Our last trip, I booked right when the window opened up at 180 days and still could only get BOG dinner late in our trip (and unfortunately thanks to Hurricane Matthew, the park was closed that day so we didn't get our BOG dinner this trip). BOG dinner can be really hard to get. We enjoy it though and it is fun to meet the Beast. I think V&A is very hard to get too-- we have not done that one.

Character Breakfast--- with your time change, have you thought about a character lunch instead? WDW, the best times of day for shorter lines are around rope drop and late at night. For us, with just a one hour time change, pre park opening breakfasts have never worked for my morning adverse DD. If you do breakfast when the park opens, you lose a lot of time. We really enjoy doing lunch. That way we get some time in the park in the morning, and then take a nice TS break for lunch to recharge and gear up for more. We enjoy lunch at Tusker House at AK (Mickey, Daisy, Donald, Goofy) or at Crystal Palace (Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore). At Tusker house, we have booked at 10:45 and then we get some of the breakfast buffet and often items start changing over to lunch. If you are going to do breakfast during park time, I would recommend Tusker House, because AK is typically pretty easy to do things even if you don't get an early start. MK that morning time means more. I will say though, that I think generally WDW is more crowded in the early hours than DL. We love how empty DL is the first couple of hours in the mornings-- I think it has to do with that local crowd. We don't get that feel at rope drop at WDW. The lines are shorter than they will be in the afternoon, but nothing like that early morning empty feel at DL.

As far as structuring your days, because of the ADR situation at WDW, the best thing to do is decide which parks you want to do which days before your ADR deadline. Then you plan your ADRs based on the park you are going to attend that day. On your water park day, you could plan a nice dinner at a resort or DS, since that won't interfere with theme park time. Allears.net has all the menus for all the restaurants. You definitely should plan a meal at World Showcase in EPCOT. When we go to DLR, EPCOT is the one thing we really miss. My family loves Biergarten. It is a German buffet in a restaurant with a great atmosphere and a German band that puts on shows throughout the day. It is a lot of fun. If you like Blue Bayou atmosphere- then the San Angel has that same type of atmosphere only with a Mexico flair (not at all the same type of food as Blue Bayou). Teppan Edo is fun if you like the Hibachi Grill experience (but it is pretty similar to the ones we have at home). There are other good restaurants throughout WS as well. You want to book dining reservations at that 180 day mark. You can always change things around later based on availability, but you want some ADRs in place at the outset. Assuming you are staying on property, then at 60 days out you want to book FPs. FP+ can be annoying and intimidating, but it is just something you have to deal with at WDW. Again, you want to book something, but you can always change it around later based on availability.

Have fun!!!

We are thinking we'll stay in the Epcot area, either at the Beach Club or Boardwalk, but also considering Poly. Honestly my first choice just in terms of the resort would be AKL, but I don't want to be that far away from everything, especially with what you all have said about transportation times.

I guess Be Our Guest wouldn't kill us not to do, but I think of it sort of like Blue Bayou at DL. It sounds like a really cool thing that we should experience once when we're there. (I actually think BB's food is terrible but it was worth it to sit waterside and watch the boats go by.) V&A's IS a must-do, though. DH and I do chef's counter at Napa Rose one night whenever we're in DL, and it's great. The kids love the activity center for a night and we get a little bit of a break.

I like the idea of a character lunch. I forget that they're offered, DL is primarily breakfasts. We aren't on the west coast, we're in CO so we only have a 2 hour time change. None of us are late sleepers but I'm sure we won't be out the door before 9:00 if we're closing down the parks.

My loose plan with hopping is to get to the park #1 as early as we can without compromising sleep, stay until maybe early afternoon (grabbing lunch while we're there, we usually just do something fast and light for lunch) then head back to the resort and swim or even nap for a while. Then everyone can clean up for dinner, go to park #2 (or resort dinner closest to park #2) and then we close down that park. Water park day we'd probably hit DS for dinner and a little shopping and turn in early that night.

 

[Tasmen]

We are thinking we'll stay in the Epcot area, either at the Beach Club or Boardwalk, but also considering Poly. Honestly my first choice just in terms of the resort would be AKL, but I don't want to be that far away from everything, especially with what you all have said about transportation times.

We've stayed at both the Poly and AKL. I loved my stay at AKL and do not regret it. We had a wonderful savannah room and just loved the ambiance of the resort. That said, it is really far away and I did not enjoy all the bus time. It might be different now with uber being all over the place.

I guess Be Our Guest wouldn't kill us not to do, but I think of it sort of like Blue Bayou at DL. It sounds like a really cool thing that we should experience once when we're there. (I actually think BB's food is terrible but it was worth it to sit waterside and watch the boats go by.) V&A's IS a must-do, though. DH and I do chef's counter at Napa Rose one night whenever we're in DL, and it's great. The kids love the activity center for a night and we get a little bit of a break.

So long as you are flexible with the night you want to do BoG, I think you can manage a reservation. There is also breakfast and lunch that can be done there if all you are aiming for is the experience like with BB which I completely agree, mediocre food but A+ for ambiance. V&A should also be possible if you do your ADRs 180 days ahead of time and are flexible with the night. Something to keep in mind is that when your 180 day mark opens, it opens for the entirety of your stay. This is also true for everyone else. This means it's sometimes easier to get those hard to get reservations on dates near the end of your trip rather than at the start.

 

[Isabel]

If you haven't done so already, get a guide book. I like the Unofficial Guide to WDW. Even though we've been to WDW a number of times, I've also found planning for our upcoming trip overwhelming. The need to book so much ahead of time has really changed the way I usually plan our days - and not for the better.

 

[Aravan24]

We are thinking we'll stay in the Epcot area, either at the Beach Club or Boardwalk, but also considering Poly. Honestly my first choice just in terms of the resort would be AKL, but I don't want to be that far away from everything, especially with what you all have said about transportation times.

I guess Be Our Guest wouldn't kill us not to do, but I think of it sort of like Blue Bayou at DL. It sounds like a really cool thing that we should experience once when we're there. (I actually think BB's food is terrible but it was worth it to sit waterside and watch the boats go by.) V&A's IS a must-do, though. DH and I do chef's counter at Napa Rose one night whenever we're in DL, and it's great. The kids love the activity center for a night and we get a little bit of a break.

I like the idea of a character lunch. I forget that they're offered, DL is primarily breakfasts. We aren't on the west coast, we're in CO so we only have a 2 hour time change. None of us are late sleepers but I'm sure we won't be out the door before 9:00 if we're closing down the parks.

My loose plan with hopping is to get to the park #1 as early as we can without compromising sleep, stay until maybe early afternoon (grabbing lunch while we're there, we usually just do something fast and light for lunch) then head back to the resort and swim or even nap for a while. Then everyone can clean up for dinner, go to park #2 (or resort dinner closest to park #2) and then we close down that park. Water park day we'd probably hit DS for dinner and a little shopping and turn in early that night.

If you end up in the Epcot area resorts you will love them! You will be walking distance from Epcot, Hollywood Studios as well as a TON of good dining and entertainment options. Your plan for how you want to approach the days is also spot on. Taking that afternoon break and being able to hit your evenings rested is always a key for my family on our vacations. I'd say you're definitely on the right track with your plans. Given that you're talking about staying in that Beach Club and Boardwalk area I'd definitely say that the Cape May Cafe character breakfast would be a great option for you.

In regards to Be Our Guest...you can definitely plan on that for a time you'll be at Magic Kingdom and it's certainly an experience worth having. We did dinner there and the food was very good (I'd say it fell short of excellent for us) but the experience of being in that space more than made up for it.

 

[Mama Lo]

How long are you planning on staying? You said 6-7 park days, right? Maybe you should consider a split stay?

I'd start at AKL, work off the jet lag a bit while enjoying that beautiful resort. It's really not that much further from everything and it's like no other resort that I have every been to anywhere. Check out the activities that they have there for both kids and adults, there is some really great stuff. While here eat at Boma and Sanaa (get the yummy bread service) if you can squeeze them both in.

Then move on to the Beach or Yacht Club, the location can't be beat and your boys will LOVE the pool there.

Disney will move all of your luggage for you while you are out having fun.

I would hold off on buying the hoppers until you were there and actually need them. There is no advantage to getting them in advance and could end up saving you money if you never need them.

If your boys aren't big walkers now you might want to do a little pre trip training. We took my nephews and they were complaining about all the walking before we got through security. It's really really really big especially compared to DL.

It terms of the rest of the planning, at least you are thinking about it and coming up with a plan. Once you arrive, do what you can, ignore what you miss and enjoy every second.

 

[ktlm]

Beach Club/Yacht Club has the best pool area on property. They are attached, so they are basically one big resort. If you stay there and can find time for Yachtsman Steakhouse, I would definitely recommend it. We haven't done Napa Rose, but we would compare Yachtsman with non-Disney upscale fine dining steakhouses. I agree with you on the Blue Bayou food-- ours has always been mediocre at best- way overpriced for the food quality.

We've stayed at AKL once pre-DD and if you have a Savannah view it is great, but you do have to deal with it taking longer to get anywhere because you have to take bus service to anywhere. We enjoyed it and would like to stay there again sometime now that DD is older and there is no stroller to drag on the bus- but as the prices are usually close, we always wind up going back to an EPCOT area walking resort or an MK area resort just for the better transportation options and closeness to the parks. YC/BC is great because you can walk to both EPCOT and DHS and don't have to rely on Disney transport. Also, when we were there a couple of weeks ago and wanted to jump to MK when DHS closed, the bus lines at DHS were insane, so we just walked over to the Boardwalk and grabbed a bus from there (it is probably a 10 minute walk, but it looked like an hour or more bus line). It is nice to have those options, especially when you are used to being able to walk anywhere at DL. Hoppers are not as important at WDW as they are at DLR because of the time involved in park hopping, but we do like them especially if we are staying at YC/BC where we can walk from DHS to EPCOT pretty easily. Our trip 2 weeks ago, because the hurricane was coming, we found ourselves going to 3 parks a day to try to get things done in case we lost park time (which we did)- and also used the hoppers when we had weather issues. For example, we did the Star Wars Fireworks dessert party package at DHS, but unfortunately a storm came through during the dessert party and the fireworks were cancelled. We were able to get a raincheck to see the fireworks a different day, so we were at EPCOT from just after rope drop to around 5:30, I had booked a RNRC 4th FP from the app (excited we got a Tier 1) so we walked to DHS and rode Star Tours and RNRC and then saw the fireworks, and DHS closed at 8, but MK was open until midnight- so we walked to BW, grabbed a bus and went to MK. Another day, we were at AK most of the day, went to GF and had dinner at 1900 Park Fare, but then EPCOT had extra evening hours until 11:00 p.m., so we took the monorail over there and spent some time there before walking back to the resort (if Joy and Sadness are important to meet- their lines are shorter during nighttime EMH, if you wait until 30 or 40 minutes after EMH starts to clear out the regular line). If you were staying somewhere like AKL, where it is buses everywhere, you might not get as much use from hoppers- or any use.

We have stayed at the Poly a couple of times and we love it. The great thing about the Poly, is not only do you have the boat to MK and the resort monorail line, but you can walk to the TTC and take the express monorail to either MK or EPCOT. We always did that for EPCOT, and if our room was more that direction, we would do it for MK as well instead of walking to the Grand Ceremonial House and getting the resort monorail line or taking the boat. You can't go wrong with the Poly, YC or BC. We haven't stayed at Boardwalk- it looks nice -but DD loves the YC/BC pool area.

You could do a BOG breakfast or lunch (although I've heard the price is way too high for the food you get at breakfast), but the difference is that at Breakfast and Lunch it is reserved CS and there is no Beast. We have done lunch and dinner and the atmosphere is very different. At lunch, people are going through lines, walking around looking for tables, it is loud, and there is a ton of movement around you-- dinner is calmer since it is sit down, and of course there is the Beast. It is a beautiful place to see. We have had dinner there 3 times since it opened, and the first and last times our food and experience were great. (The second time was another story- but it was a fluke and they wound up even comping my meal - so I wouldn't base anything on it). I will say that if they try to seat you in the rose gallery, instead of the ballroom or West Wing, I would politely ask to wait for a different table in one of the other rooms. At dinner, the Rose Gallery is like an overflow room- it typically is not full, feels like a cafeteria, and they were storing things not in use in the dinner service against the walls in there the time we were seated there. We did chose a table in the Rose Gallery at lunch one time and it was fine at lunch (I would say it was calmer than the other 2 rooms which was nice)- it just doesn't give you the full dinner experience.

 

[Johndubbya]

So my wife and I are going to WDW at the end of February and I am also making myself crazy with the planning. We are staying at French Quarter and are planning on going to MK and Epcot the two days we go to the parks. Our plan sounds crazy but we are hitting the Daytona 500 on Sunday driving to Sarasota to go to this Pinecraft (monday) which is some Amish snow bird community dropping our rental car off on Monday at the airport and then taking the disney bus to our resort. We arent hitting the parks until Tuesday and Wednesday. So my question is this. One of the places that I want to go is Toothsome at Universal on Monday night before we drop off our rental car. Is there something comparable at Disney Springs. How important are reservations at Disney world.

 

[Skiton]

Beach Club/Yacht Club has the best pool area on property. They are attached, so they are basically one big resort. If you stay there and can find Yachtsman Steakhouse, I would definitely recommend it. We haven't done Napa Rose, but we would compare Yachtsman with non-Disney upscale fine dining steakhouses. I agree with you on the Blue Bayou food-- ours has always been mediocre at best- way overpriced for the food quality.

We've stayed at AKL once pre-DD and if you have a Savannah view it is great, but you do have to deal with it taking longer to get anywhere because you have to take a bus service to anywhere. We enjoyed it and would like to stay there again sometime now that DD is older and there is no stroller to drag on the bus- but as the prices are usually close, we always wind up going back to an EPCOT area walking resort or an MK area resort just for the better transportation options and closeness to the parks. YC/BC is great because you can walk to both EPCOT and DHS and don't have to rely on Disney transport. Also, when we were there a couple of weeks ago and wanted to jump to MK when DHS closed, the bus lines at DHS were insane, so we just walked over to the Boardwalk and grabbed a bus from there (it is probably a 10 minute walk, but it looked like an hour or more bus line). It is nice to have those options, especially when you are used to being able to walk anywhere at DL. Hoppers are not as important at WDW as they are at DLR because of the time involved in park hopping, but we do like them especially if we are staying at YC/BC where we can walk from DHS to EPCOT pretty easily. Our trip 2 weeks ago, because the hurricane was coming, we found ourselves going to 3 parks a day to try to get things done in case we lost park time (which we did)- and also used it when we had weather issues. For example, we did the Star Wars Fireworks dessert party package at DHS, but unfortunately a storm came through during the dessert party and the fireworks were cancelled. We were able to get a raincheck to see the fireworks, so we were at EPCOT from just after rope drop to around 5:30, I had booked a RNRC 4th FP from the app (excited we got a Tier 1) so we walked to DHS and rode Star Tours and RNRC and then saw the fireworks, and DHS closed at 8, but MK was open until midnight- so we walked to BW, grabbed a bus and went to MK. Another day, we were at AK most of the day, went to GF and had dinner at 1900 Park Fare, but them EPCOT had extra evening hours until 11:00 p.m., so we took the monorail over there spent some time there before walking back to the resort (if Joy and Sadness are important to meet- their lines are shorter during nighttime EMH, if you wait until 30 or 40 minutes after EMH starts to clear out the regular line). If you were staying somewhere like AKL where it is buses everywhere, you might not get as much use from hoppers- or any use.

We have stayed at the Poly a couple of times and we love it. The great thing about the Poly, is not only do you have the boat to MK and the resort monorail line, but you can walk to the TTC and take the express monorail to either MK or EPCOT. We always did that for EPCOT, and if our room was more that direction, we would do it for MK as well instead of walking to the Grand Ceremonial House and getting the resort line. You cant' go wrong with the Poly, YC or BC. We haven't stayed at Boardwalk- it looks nice -but DD loves the YC/BC pool area.

You could do a BOG breakfast or lunch (although I've heard the price is way too high for the food you get at breakfast), but the difference is that at Breakfast and Lunch it is reserved CS and there is no beast. We have done lunch and dinner and the atmosphere is very different. Lunch people are going through lines, walking around looking for tables, it is loud and their is a ton of movement around you-- dinner is calmer since it is sit down, and of course there is the beast. It is a beautiful place to see. We have had dinner there 3 times since it opened, and the first and last times our food and experience was great. (The second time was another story- but it was a fluke and they wound up even comping my meal - so I wouldn't base anything on it). I will say that if they try to seat you in the rose gallery, instead of the ballroom or West Wing, I would politely ask to wait for a different table in one of the other rooms. At dinner the Rose Gallery is like an overflow room- it typically is not full, feels like a cafeteria, and they were storing things not in use in the dinner service against the walls in there the time we were seated there. We did chose a table in the Rose Gallery at lunch one time at it was fine at lunch- it just doesn't give you the full dinner experience.

Thank you so much, these are fantastic details!

 

[JJZMgailey]

Hi, we are DL vets trying to plan a 6 or 7 day (park ticket-wise) trip to WDW for mid-May of next year. It is DH, me, and our 8 and 10 year old boys. Compared to DL, WDW is a beast! I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how we should structure our days/week.

Things that are must-do's for us-
:Midweek visit to one of the water parks.
ate night for DH and I at Victoria and Alberts w/out kids.
:Be Our Guest for dinner one night at MK.
:Charcter breakfast (preferably not princesses) one morning.
: At least two or three other nice dinners like Flying Fish or Boma or something along those lines. We do love
good food and love exposing our kids to it.

In addition to all this, I should mention that at DL we ALWAYS take advantage of the early hours but don't stay out late, but with the time change we'll probably do the opposite at WDW. Actually see the fireworks for a change but sleep a little later the next day.

Any thoughts?

We're so glad that you posed your question here and are hoping that everyone's tips are helping you plan your trip to Walt Disney World! Your thread was featured in our DIS Daily Fix too!

 

[JJZMgailey]

So my wife and I are going to WDW at the end of February and I am also making myself crazy with the planning. We are staying at French Quarter and are planning on going to MK and Epcot the two days we go to the parks. Our plan sounds crazy but we are hitting the Daytona 500 on Sunday driving to Sarasota to go to this Pinecraft (monday) which is some Amish snow bird community dropping our rental car off on Monday at the airport and then taking the disney bus to our resort. We arent hitting the parks until Tuesday and Wednesday. So my question is this. One of the places that I want to go is Toothsome at Universal on Monday night before we drop off our rental car. Is there something comparable at Disney Springs. How important are reservations at Disney world.

Hey, John! Welcome to DISboards.com!

I'd like to suggest that you start a new thread with your question so that our other posters will see it and give you advice on your upcoming vacation. People may not see your question buried here in this thread. When you're looking at the Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies forum, you'll see a button on the top-right of your screen to start a new thread. Thanks!