WDW Newbie family needs advice

[brywisco]

Hi, My wife and I are surprising our kids with a trip to WDW and we need some expert advice.

We have not told the kids...they have no clue. Our kids are: son, 7yo and daughter 6 yo. We are an active and fit family and usually go skiing, hiking, or biking but decided to WDW as a treat/surprise for the kids since they have been doing really well in school this year.
We will be leaving for the airport on friday May 28th and spending the night in a hotel prior to an early am departure on saturday May 29th. We arrive in Orlando at 11:15 am and will rent a car and then check in to our friend's timeshare at Star Island Resort. We have basic 5-day passes to WDW. We fly out on wed June 2 at 4:30 pm.
My questions:
Any ideas on how/when to tell the kids?
We plan on spending 2 days at MK. What days should we go there?
What park would be best for the first afternoon/evening when we arrive?
What park to end the trip before flying home?

THANK YOU!!!!

 

[floydfamily4]

How great for your family! I am not an expert (although I play one on TV). Some may encourage you to try to fit in a park on that first day but honestly I wouldn't. I would get to the timeshare, make your list, go to Walmart, unpack and enjoy the pool, resort amenities. I would be up early for rope drop at whatever park you decide to go to. I've stayed at a townhouse and it was great to get everyone a filling breakfast and be ready to go early. The "experts" on Dis talk about rope drop and after our Nov. trip I am a believer. Since you have non-hoppers (which I think is fine), take a look at the park schedules and the shows/fireworks/parades that might not be daily and you can schedule your days based on that. If everything (fantasmic, wishes, parades) are happening daily then I think you check out tourguidemike for the crowd level predictor and go with that. For your 2 days at MK I would have a plan for which "lands" you want to hit and what characters are must sees. If the fairies are a must, do that first because those lines can get crazy. If you are doing a character meal, do one at a park, early before opening so you can get in early, take great pics and knock out some characters. OK, I've gone on long...I just love WDW and want everyone to have as awesome of a time we did

 

[mjkacmom]

Since you are not staying onsite, stay away from parks with EMH's, since they'll be more crowded. Are you planning on eating at any table service restaurants? If so, call ASAP and see if anything is available.

 

[brywisco]

Thanks floydfamily4,

The whole hitting a park the first afternoon thing kinda scares me. I went ahead and bought tickets to cover the whole time we are there because the cost was only a few dollars more. The fact that we have the tix prompts my wife to want to hit a park right after we check in and get unpacked. Maybe we play it by ear when we get there.

We are planning on leaving the park for a few hours to rest at the condo on the 3 full days we tour. Any advice on this since we will be in a rental car?

 

[big_ol_lineman]

Any ideas on how/when to tell the kids?

ok first off i would let the kids guessin on what is goin on. i wouldn't tell them and when u reach the entrance and they see that WALT DISNEY WORLD sign with mickey,minnie,goofy and donald then they are gonna be floored.

We plan on spending 2 days at MK. What days should we go there?

Seein that your goin literally at the start of summer vacation there isnt really a "down time" in the parks. they are gonna be packed but dont let that scare ya. There are 2 things that i look at when deciding what park to go to. one what is the weather gonna be like... if it is gonna be hot then there are gonna be a good chunk of ppl at epcot and MK. if it is cloudy or breezy more times then not AK is gonna be on the a lil buisy. HWS is normally rather tamed but rides like T.O.T or Rockin Rollercoaster are gonna be long. BUT do NOT go to MK on tuesday.. AGAIN TUESDAY. dont ask why but tuesdays are packed at MK (i have annual passes and live in Tampa florida about an hour from Disney.) So go to MK on Monday and Thurday i would say.

What park would be best for the first afternoon/evening when we arrive?

u are coming in on a weekend BUT not just any weekend but Star Wars Weekend. This is the single biggest cackle of geeks at disney thorugh out the year. both disney and star wars geeks (im both ) so for your first night i would avoid HWS and go to like Epcot. But dont miss out on Star Wars Weekend bc it is fun and Star Tours is closing Sept 9 for refurb so it is gonna be one of the last times to see it as is. so go to Epcot on Friday and HWS on either Saturday or Sunday.

What park to end the trip before flying home?

honestly that depends and u. i would go back to the park that u liked the most. we as a fam always end at epcot bc that is our fav (even though i love HWS not everyone loves it like i do). but i find that no matter where u pick ur gonna have a good time

 

[FlightlessDuck]

First of all, welcome! I hop you have a great trip.

Any ideas on how/when to tell the kids?

It's not easy to keep something like Disney under wraps. We were able to do it for my son's Kindergarten graduation in 2006. My wife created some digital scrapbook pages which she had made into a book (I think from Wal-Mart or Snapfish). On the last day of school, we had our son read the book, which talked about how he did such a great job in Kindergarten and that we were all going to Disney World. After he finished the book, we hopped in the car and started on our way.

There have been a lot of other ideas on the forums as well. Try searching for "surprise".

We plan on spending 2 days at MK. What days should we go there?

TouringPlans.com has a crowd calendar for the next thirty days with suggestions of which parks to go on which days. You can find it here: http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=14.

But we usually ignore it and go where we want when we want.

What park would be best for the first afternoon/evening when we arrive?

That's up to you. Parks are usually the busiest in the early afternoon. Maybe you could take that afternoon to get adjusted to your resort and swim in the pool. Or go to Downtown Disney for some shopping. Or, if your kids like Star Wars, I would suggest going to Disney Hollywood Studios, since 5/29 and 5/30 are the last weekend for Star Wars Weekends. But that will likely be the most crowded park that day.

What park to end the trip before flying home?

Again, that's up to you. Traditionally, we end our vacation with the Magic Kingdom, although last year we ended with Disney Hollywood Studios.

 

[brywisco]

WOW....you guys are incredible.
I find this whole thing amazing and a bit overwhelming. My wife and I are both engineers and are always trying figure out the best and most scientific way to do things. We have the unofficial guide book and subscribed to touringplans.com. These seem to be great resources but I am still feeling a bit overwhelmed at all the options. We have decided to not even try to do any sit-down meals in the parks because it just seemed like too much to plan and we will probably be happy just eating at the condo or doing counter service in the parks when necessary.
Does anyone else have data on tuesdays being crowded at MK? This seems weird but what do I know.

My overall philosophy for this trip is to make a realistic plan using the touring plans website and then stick with it and not stress over what we might miss. I also feel it will be important to rest each day even though we are all physically fit.

 

[trennr]

duplicat post

 

[trennr]

We will be leaving for the airport on friday May 28th and spending the night in a hotel prior to an early am departure on saturday May 29th. We arrive in Orlando at 11:15 am and will rent a car and then check in to our friend's timeshare at Star Island Resort. We have basic 5-day passes to WDW. We fly out on wed June 2 at 4:30 pm.

My questions:

Any ideas on how/when to tell the kids?
I'd hold out as long as you can.

We plan on spending 2 days at MK. What days should we go there?
Well the First night you get there they are open until Midnight With 2 Showings of Spectromagic Parade. You can really "DO" allot while that parade is going on. Adventureland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are pretty empty...we stick with Fantasy and Tomorrow as they are linked together and the parade route does not come near them. The second night is open until Midnight...but this is an Extra Magic Hours night...so it might be crowded.
So this would be my choice for one night. The other night depends. on what you do the rest of the time...but I'd lean toward the day you leave...start with it Magic...end with it Magic.

What park would be best for the first afternoon/evening when we arrive?
Answered Above

What park to end the trip before flying home?
Answered Above

PS...If your Kids like Star Wars...then I'd goto HS on your 2nd Night as it is part of the Star Wars Weekends...if not goto Epcot or AK.

 

[annacali]

Does anyone else have data on tuesdays being crowded at MK? This seems weird but what do I know.

AM EMH...makes the whole day more crowded and if you are staying off site you will want to avoid it if at all possible.

We will be there the same time as you (5/29-6/5) and also staying off site and renting a car. We arrive at almost the same time and don't plan on a park the first day...we will hit the pool, rest and then do dinner at 1900 Park Fare so my girls can get a Princess fix before we ever hit the parks. Then early to bed to be ready for rope drop the next morning! We will do MK on Sunday, and EP on Monday (with an early ADR at Akershus). Tuesday is our sleep in day with a late breakfast at Boma and then AK. Weds is another good MK day---no EMH conflicts and last I checked no Spectro.

We also do the midday break most days. We do much better taking a rest break, avoiding the heat and crowds in the afternoons, taking a swim and then heading back in the evenings. We can be out of the park and in our time share in less than 20 minutes most of the time so it is easy to do.

 

[Nath&Bellasparents]

Try and not tell the kids until you arrive at the Magig Kingdom itself

 

[brywisco]

I really appreciate all the wonderful and expert advice.
I see now what you are saying about the EMH's. I will try to avoid those the best I can though that may prove to be a bit difficult.

trennr: I like your idea to do MK the first night and hit some attractions while the spectromagic parade absorbs alot of crowd. That is definitley worth considering.

I think my son might like the star wars weekend stuff but I am not really clear on what all that entails. He is probably not really interested in autographs etc., but would love just seeing 'cool' stuff.

My daughter (do you guys call them DD's??...I am learning) loves animals and we want to take her to AK for sure.

anancali: Thanks for the info on the logistics involved in getting back to rest mid-day using a rental car. I was concerned this would be more of a hassle.