What are the must-dos for a 1st timer?

[dachsie]

My friend is going to Disney with me in may. Its her first trip to the World. We are going to AK,MK and EP. We have The BOG ADR I luckily snagged, going to HDDR, plan to see the parades and Wishes, ROL hopefully and Illuminations. We also plan to walk F&G festival booths. What are the must see/do things you recommend for her?

 

[minnie mum]

My #1 must do is slow down and enjoy what you see around you. Cramming in too much on a first visit can spoil everything. WDW is magical all by itself, without adding in too many bells and whistles. Get a sensible touring plan. That's all you need.

 

[siskaren]

Or like a certain podcaster I listen to likes to say, "Do less, enjoy more."

 

[Jadyreen1282]

SOA for sure.

 

[Mamanemo]

Your plans sound great and your friend will love it. Take some time to enjoy some pool time in the afternoon or just time to relax a bit. Even makes the evening more enjoyable.

 

[cassie58]

At MK I would say try to get there early so your friend can take in Main St. and seeing the castle for the 1st time before it is crowded(hopefully), one of the most magical things of our 1st trip and still now after 5 times! Seeing the trolley performers and old time vehicles that are out early is cool as well. Also the projection show on the castle at night is one of our faves. We love Philharmagic and at treat at Sleepy Hollow or a Dole Whip. At AK I'm sure you will do the Safari, we love the LK show, and the Discovery Trails that go up close to Tree of Life to see the animal carvings are awesome. We also enjoy the Panagni Trail for the underwater hippo and meerkats(I think they are on that trail!) At Epcot we love Soarin(may still be refurbishing when you go) for the feeling of flying, something about the Meixcan boat ride, and of course whatever special food items you are into in WS. You could also stop in Club Cool to sample the sodas.

cassie58

 

[GADisneyDad14]

My #1 must do is slow down and enjoy what you see around you. Cramming in too much on a first visit can spoil everything. WDW is magical all by itself, without adding in too many bells and whistles. Get a sensible touring plan. That's all you need.

 

[Mikie]

Looks like you already have my favorites in mind: for anyone but especially a first-timer:
go to at least one parade and at least 1 nighttime light/fireworks show.
Pick at least one meal you're really looking forward to (if, like me, dining is a big part of your vacations I'd say one great meal per day - that doesn't have to mean table service)
Pick at least one ride or one show per park for each traveler's must-do.
Do rope drop at least once and close a park at least once.
Do at least one character meet
get your picture taken together at least once per park.
Do at least one thing every day that you think is "just for kids"
Ride the monorail.

After you've got all of that generally planned - try not to add in TOO many more plans! Like others have said, leave time to take it all in and let yourselves do what interests you at the time.

 

[dachsie]

We will spend one day at AK and 2 each and MK and Epcot. Plan to do the Visa Meet and greet both days so we can both get pics. I am debating about MM. I will bring it up to her - she may be game to split the cost. Have ADRS at Sanaa on Sun when we get there then Y&Y and TH at AK, BOG for lunch, Kona and HDDR, Akershus breakfast and Via Napoli for dinner. The last day we plan to eat at the F&G food booths we don't try the previous day

 

[mommycrawford]

Walk through Cinderella castle,
See turtle talk with Crush,
Do the AK safari early in the morning, when animals are active,
Meet Aladdin in Morrocco in Epcot(or other face characters,)
See Philharmagic,
Do the Haunted Mansion at night,
Watch MK fireworks,
Get ice cream sundaes at the Plaza ice cream shop and find a table near Casey's or sit on the walkways to Tommorrowland,
Eat a chicken waffle sandwich from Sleepy Hollow,
Eat Kaki Gori in the garden in Japan Epcot,
Take a nap in Ellen's Energy Adventure and recharge,
Carousel of Progress (same idea as above...and you learn a new song!)
Take the frienship boats from MK to the Poly and get a cocktail and sit on the beach....that is all I can think of for really magical in these days of micro managing vacation at Disney.

 

[Parker Clan]

I have to second walk through the Castle! It's magical
Watch Illuminations at Epcot and Wishes at MK!
You already have our other must do every trip- HDDR!
Explore the World at Epcot
Saunter down Main Street
Check out all the shops
For must do rides for us Tower of Terror, TSMM, BTMR, Splash, Haunted, Test Track and Soarin, 7 Dwarves, Expedition Everest

 

[tstidm1]

If you do nothing else besides Wishes and Illuminations, Do It's a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, Great Movie ride and Spaceship Earth. How many theme parks have so many Dark rides? You can do an entire trip without going on a Coaster at all. No Six Flags or Cedar Fair park can offer that.

 

[Disneymom1126]

Meet Mickey and Minnie! My fav place is at AK since they meet together!

 

[nooneshome]

All the headliners and don't forget Beverly. Do they still have Beverly???

 

[dachsie]

Who or what is Beverly?

 

[mommycrawford]

Who or what is Beverly?

Beverly is an Italian soda in the "cool spot" Coke kiosk in Epcot... Cokes from around the world.

 

[dreiwhit]

The best must do is to relax and not stress about anything. See what you want to see, and if you miss something, there's always next time.

 

[Mom2darlingboys]

"Club Cool" right behind the Starbucks and beside the fountain in Epcot. You can sample sodas from around the world and Beverly is a must for first timers!

 

[kiford]

I don't think that there are any "must-do"s that anyone can tell you. That's something that's personal to each individual. We have our little rituals but we keep changing everything up because we typically go with the flow. We have a basic plan, which often gets shot within the first few hours (partly because DH, who has not participated in any of the planning gets a brain flash when we're there and wants to do something different all of a sudden). Sometimes, it's good to just live in the moment and enjoy what you're doing rather than trying to ensure that you get to X or Y because you just have to do them. Don't judge your trip by whether you did and saw everything and that you hit what others tell you are must-dos or that you felt you absolutely had to do yourself - rather, judge it by whether you had a good time. On our last trip, we were passing by the Liberty Belle which was just about to leave and there was hardly anyone on board. I've always thought it was kind of lame and a waste of time and I haven't done it since DL in 1976. We actually thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was quiet (very few people), relaxing, fun and just time for the two of us to spend time together, looking and talking. Definitely not something I would have ever planned.

 

[Lori Fuhrmann]

Beverly is an Italian soda in the "cool spot" Coke kiosk in Epcot... Cokes from around the world.

My kids still make fun of me for my love of Beverly.
I stand by my decision lol