Tips, tricks, suggestions for a Disney Newbie!?

[dawn25]

We are planning a trip the 2nd week of September and plan to on stay at the All Sports Resort. I was delighted to hear for the free dining plan released today so we will definitely be taking advantage of that! We plan to stay Sat to Sat, but only doing three days in the park and spending the other four at Cocoa Beach and lounging by the pool. We plan to do Animal Kindom, Epcot and Magic Kingdom Any suggestions or tips that I should know? Things we must do or things that are a waste? I see someone mentioned not wanting to go in Sept whether there was free dining or now...is September good/bad?

 

[2ndStarr]

IMO Sept is second only to May. The kids are back in school and there is no waiting for attractions. You may experience closures/rehabs/limited hours, but to me its worth it because you can complete your touring in a shorter time. I prefer May only because of the weather.

My greatest recommendation would be to devote more days to the parks, but that's based on my family's disney prefs, and yours may be wholly different.

Other than that I personally like the AllEars and TouringPlans websites for info, in addition to the DIS of course

 

[dawn25]

Yeah, we talked about maybe doing four days...We'll see...we haven't purchased anything yet. Thanks!

 

[Eureka]

Are you going with kids? If so, you'll probably want/need to devote at least two days to MK if you have never been there before. I also would consider Hollywood Studios. Our whole family loves it, especially the Beauty and the Beast show. My boys are now 10 and 12 and even now are not as much into Epcot as the other parks.

 

[JessM]

Once you hit 3 days it's fairly inexpensive to add extra days to your tickets (10 bucks a day I think) I'd add in a couple more park days and spend less time traveling to the beach.

 

[damiel]

First of all if you are going during free dining plan on making all of your ADR (advance dining reservations) on the very first day you can. Things fill up fast and you will not be able to walk into any sit down restaurant without a reservation.
You may want to consider adding the water parks and more feature to your tickets. The water parks are great fun and the weather will still be hot and humid in september. Also, you will get to go to Disney Quest. Depending on the age of the children it can be a fun way to blow a few hours.
My family can easily spend 6 days in the parks, so I would suggest adding park days to your plan. Maybe you could consider doing Cocoa Beach to the begining or end of your trip and staying at a hotel on the beach.
If your budget allows for it look into the Hoop De Doo Review, it is a great dinner show.

 

[pooh4evr]

Are you staying at WDW for the week, and driving to the beach? How old are your kids if you have any? All of those things make a huge difference. The more info you give the more we can help.
I haven't been to Coco Beach but I think it is about an hour drive to get there.
I would suggest getting at least 4 day tickets, you do know there are 4 separate parks, 2 water parks, Downtown Disney and many other things to do on property too. Mk- is 2 days Epcot 2+, HS one and AK one (for us at least) but we love it there! If you want any table service (sit down waiter comes to the table type places) you need to book those ASAP, especially now that free dining is out the spots remaining will go fast.

 

[damiel]

Dis you know that the difference between a three day pass and a six day pass is about $30.00.
I would not recomend getting park hopper passes. The parks are pretty far apart and you will spend a big part of your day riding on a bus.

 

[Random Ninja]

Are you driving from Disnsy to Cocoa Beach more then one day during the trip? Cocoa Beach is over an hour away and that's if you don't have to stop at the toll booths. If you are a family of swimmers, get the WPF&M add-on. Both WPs should still be open and the weather should still be great for water activities.

 

[dawn25]

Thanks everyone! Yes, we have one child who will be almost 13 when we go. We are going with friends who have 7 and 11 year old. This will the first time for our son and myself (I have been to DL however), but my dh's 2nd time at DW. I have never been to FL nor to the Atlantic Ocean, and our son has never been to the ocean period. So I think it's really important we do a day or two at the beach rather than a waterpark. Plus I think we'll need some time to wind down...maybe doing a beach day in between our Disney days. We'd really like to take the kids snorkeling or something like that.

We'd only be doing the quick service dining plan so I'm assuming that I won't need to make any reservations for that, correct?

 

[cefcdana]

We feel the need for a relaxing time after Disney parks as well. We are doing 5 nights at Disney (4 1/2 days of parks with one day off in the middle) then heading to the beach and staying on the beach for 3 nights so we can relax after all the Disney fun.

You do not need reservations for quick service.

The beach is not to be missed IMO!!!! Love it!!!

 

[Marionnette]

Thanks everyone! Yes, we have one child who will be almost 13 when we go. We are going with friends who have 7 and 11 year old. This will the first time for our son and myself (I have been to DL however), but my dh's 2nd time at DW. I have never been to FL nor to the Atlantic Ocean, and our son has never been to the ocean period. So I think it's really important we do a day or two at the beach rather than a waterpark. Plus I think we'll need some time to wind down...maybe doing a beach day in between our Disney days. We'd really like to take the kids snorkeling or something like that.

We'd only be doing the quick service dining plan so I'm assuming that I won't need to make any reservations for that, correct?

If you really feel the need to spend a couple of days at the beach, then you might want to consider traveling there after your Disney vacation ends. It doesn't make sense to "commute" back and forth twice during a week-long stay while paying rack rates for your Disney resort room. If you feel the need to wind down in between your park days, then take the time to enjoy your resort pool.

I know that you've been to DL before, but Disney World is nothing like DL. It is HUGE in comparison and very spread out. I really don't think that 3 days in the parks are enough for a first-timer. I think that you'll find that you will want more time to enjoy them.

I also suggest that you reconsider snorkeling in the Atlantic. The water in Cocoa Beach is not very clear and somewhat choppy. The conditions are not ideal for snorkeling.

 

[wiigirl]

Once you hit 3 days it's fairly inexpensive to add extra days to your tickets (10 bucks a day I think) I'd add in a couple more park days and spend less time traveling to the beach.

Agree...if you hit 3 days turning it to 5 isn't that much more expensive.

 

[dawn25]

If you really feel the need to spend a couple of days at the beach, then you might want to consider traveling there after your Disney vacation ends. It doesn't make sense to "commute" back and forth twice during a week-long stay while paying rack rates for your Disney resort room. If you feel the need to wind down in between your park days, then take the time to enjoy your resort pool.

I know that you've been to DL before, but Disney World is nothing like DL. It is HUGE in comparison and very spread out. I really don't think that 3 days in the parks are enough for a first-timer. I think that you'll find that you will want more time to enjoy them.

I also suggest that you reconsider snorkeling in the Atlantic. The water in Cocoa Beach is not very clear and somewhat choppy. The conditions are not ideal for snorkeling.

Yeah, we did talk about maybe staying somewhere else for a couple nights closer to the beach...but if we end up doing only one beach day then it probably wouldn't pay to pack up everything for only one night. It's so hard when you only have seven days!

Thanks for the tip on the Atlantic..I did read that the gulf side is much nicer...but it's also a much further drive so we'll probably stick with Coco Beach..

 

[Bell30012]

Make your ADR's (Advance Dining Reservations) early. Real early. Buffets are a great use of Table Service credits.

 

[pooh4evr]

Clearwater beach areas are an easy straight shot about 90 minutes from wdw. Go to whichever beach you choose at either the end or beginning of your trip. Once you are exposed to WDW you may not want to leave so quickly for the beach.

 

[coachb]

buy the Unauthorized Guide to Disney. Worth its weight in gold!

 

[ceecee]

We do ours seperately. We are going to Clearwater first (flying into Tampa and renting a car) and then will drive to Disney, drop off the rental and fly out of MCO with Magical Express. IMO 3 days is not enough park time plus with the free dining most of the good resturants are in the parks. I would do half and half at least. Hollywood Studios ranks 4 on our list, but we wouldn't want to miss it (Tower of Terror and Rock 'n Roller Coaster are DD's favs).
We LOVE September, great weather and low lines!!!

 

[buzz2400]

I would definitely do four days at the park (one day for each park). Don't bother with the park hopping. I found that you spent more time going from one park to another in the same day. Don't waste your time at disneyquest. So outdated now. If you are arriving in afternoon, I recommend getting another day ticket and go to mk that night. My opinion, MK is definitely the first park a newbie should go to. Just sets the magic for the trip.

Use fast passes!!!! I am so surprised at how many people never know they exist and that they are free.

Also with kids, don't waste time with the presidents at MK and the other one at usa pavilion in epcot. And also the carousel of progress at MK. My son was utterly bored and we ended up walking out of each.

If you are staying at a value resort (which you are), the free dining is quick service only so you do not need to make reservations at all.

 

[ShelliRenee]

We always skip DHS all together, however we always spend two days in Epcot. If they still have the Kim Possible, make sure you pick it up and do it. Your kids will love it! Also, make sure you do the KidCot stations. It is a nice souvenir for your kids.