taking new disney people! help!

[bveater]

I'm planning on taking three of my friends & myself to disneyworld the first couple weeks of august. so it'll be three 18 year olds & one 15 year old (acts like shes 18 though) and we're gonna stay in two rooms at pop century. two of them (brother-18 and sister-15) have never been to anything disney and the other (18) she went to disneyworld in like 5th grade so she doesn't know much.

so we obviously can't rent a car, so we're gonna use the magical express to get from the airport to disney and from disney back to the airport. i've told them all the best way to avoid the lines (and the heat-we're from ALASKA) is to go early in the morning, eat lunch, head to the resort for sleep/swimming/relaxing and then late afternoon head back to the parks for late nights = ). they're pretty excited...so am i! theres so much to teach them!

but i was wondering...

do you have any advice on issues we might run in to? i'm like, trying to teach them stuff, but theres so much i just get overwhelmed. they're REALLY excited about refillable mugs @ the hotel.

any advice would be appreciated !!

140 days!!!! im so excited

bethany

 

[PrincessJen09]

Tell them about the early mornings and late nights. Tell them about Fastpass and the parade times to avoid lines. Hmmm.....also, maybe point out the best attractions so that you guys can hit them first. And tell them to go online and read up on stuff if they can. Hope you have a lot of fun!!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Just remember that because they are new to the park, certain things that have since become boring to you are new to them.

Also, if you find yourselfs time incompatible (IE they don't want to get up and get to the parks early,) just agree that they can sleep in if they wish and you'll meet em somewhere at 10:00. If they're not there by 10:05, then you'll meet em somewhere at 11:00. That way, you're not sitting too long somewhere waiting on them when they haven't even woke up yet.

Oh and you all look out for the 15 year old. She's your responsibility even though she acts grown up.

 

[Wendy1953]

Have them go to Allears.net, and look at the different parks, restaurants, etc. to get an idea of what they would like to see and eat! have them jot down their have to do's, want to do's, and will do if there's time. Compare all answers and plan your trip to include all the have to's, then want to's, and then if there's time left do the will do's! Definitely take them to Fantasmic, Mickey's Philharmagic, and firework shows at night! There's a guide called the Passporter...it breaks down each park, each restaurant, and tours...gives you times of travel between the Pop and the parks, and the parks and the other hotels (if you want to take them to see the other resorts, and / or eat dinner at one of the restaurants in those hotels)...definitely get them the a Monorail. You didn't specifiy if you were taking advantage of the Dining Plan.....it would be a great savings to all of you...those table service and counter service meals can get quite expensive when paying out of pocket!
Have a magical vacation!
Also, you might want to look into renting a refrigerator from Disney...at least you can have milk, soda, and stuff in the fridge to cut down on some food costs!

 

[disnut8]

You are staying at Pop Century. I would highly advise you take an afternoon or evening and just walk around the grounds. There's a nice area near the lake that has signs for every year from 1950-1990+. You guys are young and will learn a ton of things. I had no idea when Wal Mart first opened up. Also check out the display areas in the lobby. Take some pictures and you'll have lots to talk to your parents about when you get back.

Do not hesitate to ask people to take pictures of all of you together. Especially Cast Members. Use your own cameras. Cost is nothing.

Most of all - HAVE FUN! You are 18 years old once in your life. Live it.

 

[Kristina]

Hi bethany,

I love that your friends are excited about the refillable mugs because I was like that too, haha! One thing we always do is make sure to drink a lot so we won't get dehydrated and end up feeling sick. At the parks water and cokes are expensive so we always put put a few bottles of water we pick up offsite and chill in ice overnight before bringing them with us to the parks the next day.On our first trip we ran out of water and ended up walking from DTD to the Crossroads strip mall where they have a lot of resturants but also a Goodings Supermarket to buy more !

Have fun!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

How about a guide book? There are so many out there. You can even borrow one from the library. That way they can have an idea of what interests them. Good luck.

 

[ImagineEar]

How about a Hidden Mickey Scavenger Hunt? You can purchase a book that that gives you the locations of all the Hidden Mickey's on Property at
www.amazon.com

 

[bveater]

thanks guys for all the advice!

i'll definately do the whole list of must dos wanna dos and could dos. and yeah...must keep them hydrated...yay for refillable mugs.

question-that strip mall you walked to from downtown disney w/ a grocery store- how far is it??? is it like normal grocery store prices or like disneyfood prices? thanks!

the other question is, should we expect some standoffishnish when we check in and all cuz we're all teens and people expect teens to mean trouble sometimes?

thanks!

 

[disnut8]

The walk to Crossroads is a bit far. One suggestion from this board is to utilize the Hess gas stations. They have basic supplies and there are two of them. One across from the Boardwalk and one across from Downtown Disney. With Goodings prices, the Hess stations might be a cheaper alternative.

I don't think you will encounter any "standoffishness" from the Cast Member checking you in. As long as you act in a mature manner. Yes, be wowed by everything (you won't be the only ones doing that) but if you don't get all silly stupid, no one is going to look at you twice.