WDW Newbie-So many ?'s, so little time

[hanlin]

Hi! I just joined due to DH finally giving me the go ahead. Thank God I'm a stay at home mom because I don't know how I would plan this... my brain is exploding!! Anyhow, one of many questions: We are planning to go 5/2006. It'll take me that long to get organized! I have twin girls who will be 6 by then. I'm thinking of staying at POP. Someone please give me an over view of the park tickets, hopper, AP??? What should I get. I don't plan on going to all the parks, too much to soon. Def MK, and maybe one or two more (suggestions for 6 yo's) Where do I buy them? Another question, can we do character meals? Where are the held? You can tell I'm very green when it come to this. I would appreciate any help! Thanks!

 

[Bellefan66]

Hi and welcome!
The two places on the net that I found the most informative,were right here, and Debs place.
http://allearsnet.com


Her website will answer just about anything you can think of AND has prices AND pictures. Good luck and happy planning!

 

[EthansMom]

First decide how many days you will be at WDW.

Staying on-site is a good choice with kids. POP is reportedly a nice choice in the Value selection of Disney resorts. You can probably get the best deal by booking a la carte, meaning doing everything yourself as opposed to a package. I recommend asking about the AAA discount. Depending upon the length of your stay, you may be able to save enough money to more than pay for the AAA card. (You don't have to have a AAA discount to reserve a room, just have to show it at check-in.) Call Disney at 407-wdisney for reservations. Also, you can purchase tickets and packages through this number.

Park Hopper passes let you go to as many different parks as you want on each day. I highly recommend the Park Hopper. If price is a concern, the best way to save $$ on tickets is to buy only the number of days you need for this visit and purchase the tickets that expire. Do you plan on going to any WDW water parks or Pleasure Island. If so, then you may want Park Hopper tickets with Plusses. My guess, though, is that you won't be taking the girls out to the clubs at night and that at 6, a hotel pool may be good enough for water entertainment.

If you're planning on going to WDW more in the next year, then Annual Passes may make sense. There are often hotel discounts offered to holders of Annual Passes that help make an Annual Pass worthwhile. (Many people on this site are currently waiting to see what, if any, discounts are going to be offered for summer.)

Call 407-wdwdine for Priority Seating reservations. For characters, breakfast at Cinderella's Castle is good for girls -- this books up really fast, call 90 days (EXACTLY) in advance for this one. Also, meals at Crystal Palace (Pooh and Friends) are supposed to be fun. If it's possible for your finances, I recommend getting a Priority Seating for lunch each day. Check out menus at http://www.allearsnet.com.

There isn't any reason you can't do all four of the major parks in one visit, if you want to. Just take your time and make sure to get the girls a break each afternoon.

I hope this helps!

EthansMom

 

[becky7953]

How many days are you planning on staying? I was pricing out tickets for 4 days with no expiration and hopping feature. We are planning on staying 7 nights. I found that for an additional 12.00 total (not per person) we could get 7 day tickets. This gives us more options for meals (eating in the parks).

My kids were 2 and 4 when we went last. They enjoyed MK, MGM, and AK the most.

Relax, you have plenty of time to plan. I am also planning for 2006. To me planning is just as much fun as going - so enjoy it-

 

[Princess Wannabe]

Congratulations! A trip to WDW!

Don't be overwhelmed by all of the planning...you're VERY lucky in that you have a year to do it, so relax...half of the fun is in the planning!

If you're NOT an organized person, now is the time to start learning! Either set up a folder system at home, or set up spreadsheets/etc online, and start storing your notes, plans, etc. I use Excel spreadsheets; I have one for each component of the trip - AirFare/Transportation; Resort Info; Dining; Intineraries for Each Day; Itinineraries for Each Park; a "To-Do" list; a Packing list; a Reservations Still to Make List; and a Shopping List. And - oh yeah - that favorite sheet - the BUDGET!

I do mine online so that way, while I'm reading one of the wonderful web sites, such as this one or AllEarsNet.com, I can 'copy and paste' with my mouse right into a Word Document when I find an interesting tip or suggestion that I want to remember.

Start working on a generalized itinerary, so you can begin thinking about where you're going to eat each day. Most restaurants don't take P.S.'s until 90 days before your trip, but some of the dinner shows are 2 YEARS out!

Go to your local library and check out any books they have on Disney. Even if they're a little dated, they can help you determine which one you like the best, and then you can always purchase the most recent version of your particular favorite.

But, the most important tip - have fun!!! Relax!!! Enjoy!!!

You're going to WDW!!! Woo Hoo!!!

 

[blanq]

How excited to be planning your first trip! Congratulations! My DS was 6 when he had his first WDW trip, and I think that is a perfect age. Your girls will love it!

My favorite Boards on the DIS, for trip planning, are: Resorts Board, Theme Parks Board, Budget Board, Restaurants Board and Transportation Board. You will learn a ton if you are patient, and poke around those forums. www.mousesavers.com and www.allearsnet.com have a great synopsis of the new ticket structure.

Finally, I would encourage you to rethink your decision not to go to all the parks, unless you are only going for a few days (which I would not recommend for a first trip, BTW). Hopefully you will have at least a week in WDW. Certainly, I would encourage you to visit MK, MGM, AK and Epcot. The water parks your could skip. A park hopper option is probably your best bet, as you can start at one park in the morning, go back to your resort for a swim/break early afternoon, and then head to another park later in the day. This would allow to use EMH (on the front end, or back end of your days) efficiently.

As far as charachter meals go, there are plenty, including: Crystal Palace (Winnie the Pooh and friends) in the MK, Chef Mickey's at the CR, Liberty Tree Tavern in the MK for dinner only, and the Garden Grill in Epcot. For breakfast with Princesses, there is Cinderella's Royal Table in the MK, and Restaurant Askerush in Epcot. These a just a few of many. Again, check out allearsnet, as they have a list of all of the character meals, and even have the prices and menus for all of the WDW restaurants.

Happy planning!

 

[hanlin]

Thank you all for all your info. I am sure I'll be asking tons more questions in the future. Here's one I forgot if anyone reads this or maybe I 'll post a new thread at some point. Since it is so early for me when can I really begin to make flight arrangements, hotel bookings etc.? I see on the airline sites they don't take ressies after june dates right now and thru the end of year for hotels. I don' t want to miss an opportunity. I guess I'm an instant gratification kind of gal. I want to make my plans NOW!!!! (okay I'm a little excited, can you tell?) Thanks for all your help!

Sandy

 

[SamanthaL]

You CAN make hotel ressies now. I usually do that early then watch for discounts and call back to adjust the ressie. If you sign up at www.mousesavers.com and ask to be emailed when the site is updated you will notified the moment that discounts are released. Call immediately to see if your hotel has discounts available.

If you are going for a week or so there is no reason why you can't see all four parks. I would give it a try. You have plenty of time to read about the parks and look at pictures and get a feel for things. I think once you are not so overwhelmed you will see you can and will want to see more. Every park has it's highlights and having 6 Y.O.s you will have no problem finding lots to do in all parks.

If you have any other questions just ask. You can also PM me anytime!

 

[hanlin]

Thanks Samantha,
I am already starting to feel more at ease about the planning. I guess it was the initial shock of all the info out there. I think I will def try to see all parks. I will keep an eye out for the discounts and I did join mousesavers! I'm sure I'll be bugging you all in the months to come! Thanks again!
Sandy

 

[SamanthaL]

Any time!

 

[Schmeck]

Where can you still purchase Park Hopper passes? I thought it was all "Magic Your Way" passes now...

 

[SamanthaL]

You can no longer purchase the Park Hopper pass. They are all MYW now.

 

[Schmeck]

I meant to quote the part EthansMom had about buying park hoppers, oops!

 

[jenndisney]

There are some great books out there. Try your library and see if they have any. Also see if any neighbors have gone and they may have a planning book that is from last year that they would loan to you.

Have a fun time planning! That is the best part for me. Also, keep some of the treasures you find to yourself and then surprise your family when you get there. Show them a hidden mickey, or a short cut you discovered. That is something I do to my husband and he just looks at me and smiles .

After reading about all the parks, you will know which ones your children will enjoy the most. Remember, you can't do it all, so just determine what is the most important to you and your family. Also, remember you are on vacation and that you need to relax and enjoy.

Have fun.

 

[EthansMom]

I'm sorry, I meant that I think it's worth paying extra to get the "park hopping" priviledge on the tickets rather than the "one-day, one-park" variety of ticket. (I wish those Disney folks would stop changing the names on things that are essentially the same as they were before, except packaged in a way to help the Dis. Corp. make more profit.)

The OP mentioned thinking that going to all the parks in this visit might be too much. I think that, depending upon the length of your stay, you can easily see much of the four major parks in 5-6 days and that "hopping" helps you in that you can go on rides at one park during the day and then hop to a different park for the WISH fireworks, Fantasmic, firework/light show at Epcot, etc...

I especially find park hopping to be essential with young children. We "hop" back to our hotel for an afternoon nap/pool break and then "hop" on to a different park afterwards.

EthansMom

 

[hanlin]

I totally agree with the changing of the names of things. It's very confusing for someone like me, a non-WDW vet. The more I think about it, I will get the park "hopping" feature for our park tickets. We will try to get to them all. I'm so excited! Thanks for all you help!
Sandy

 

[siennacrew]

I would make a notebook or spreadsheet. I made a notebook and divided it into sections (MK, AK, MGM, Epcot, Restraunt Menus, Reservations, Tips, Packing list, etc). I wish I would have done this earlier in the process. I put a blank sheet in the front of each park section and added notes as I read them from books or interenet about facts I wanted to remember. I put the reservation in the order I needed them....flight, rental car, hotel,etc.

I wouldn't worry about going to two different parks in one day. We did that and the time it takes to travel back & forth is not always worth it.

These are some of the things my DD6 absolutely loved:

MGM
The Little Mermaid Show (sit in the middle to the back of the auditorium)
Beauty & The Beast
Playhouse Disney Live (sit in the middle to the back of the auditorium)
Fantasmic
Parade
Pizza Planet

MK
Peter Pan Ride
Winnie The Pooh Ride
Buzz Lightyear Ride
All of the Parades
Mickey Philharmagic (A family favorite...we went several times)
Wishes (be sure to catch Tinkerbell flying from the castle at least once)
Ariel in her grotto (she played w/ my daughters stuffed Dolphin!)
Cinderella's Royal Table breakfast (ok food...great atmosphere...the castle!)
Crystal Palace lunch w/ Pooh (Great food)

AK
Lion King Show
Pocahantas show
Yummy food at Flame Tree BBQ

Epcot
Living seas
Crush show is the best!

My daughter loved swimming in the pool at our hotel too!

A cheap souvenier is pressing pennies. My daughter loved to do that! You can get quite a few princess ones at the gift shop near the Little Mermaid show and in the Tinkerbell shop in MK. She also got a really cute set of postcards of the real princesses in MK.

If you don't mind missing a parade or the fireworks one time you can go straight on a lot of things. I wouldn't plan any PS's on days after the extended hours.

We just got back from our first trip & we had a blast! I would make sure you get strollers for your DD's. My daughter got tired quick.

If you have any other questions...please ask! Have fun! Don't forget to just slow down & enjoy it!

 

[PaulaSue]

Thanks OP for asking this! We are planning our first trip with the kids (I had been before a long time ago) for early next year and I tryign to get my bearings too.