Where to start?

[KTMEMOMMY]

Hi all,

My family and I want to plan a trip to WDW sometime in 2008. It will be my parents, my husband and kids, and my brothers family- 11 all together, 5 kids 6 years and under.

We think we want to stay at a value resort, though we may consider a moderate. We're thinking 6 days, 7 nights.

Where do I begin with the planning? We haven't pinpointed even the time of year we would go yet- some months are out, some are a possibilty, but we want to be flexible depending on when we would have the best experience- i.e. I hate waiting in the long lines, my mom hates the heat, we may have to take the kids out of school to accommodate but that may be ok. Cheaper times of year are better than pricier, too.

Is there a forum that addresses times of year? There are so many forums I don't really know where to start. We used the disboards when we went on DCL last year and know how valuable a source of info you all are, and I want to take advantage, but I am a little overwhelmed by the scope of trip planning for WDW as opposed to DCL...ie. the advance meal planning, etc. I want to do all my research and make sure I have all my ducks in a row, so to speak...my husband, kids and I are the only ones in our group who have been to WDW before, and we've never stayed more than 3 days. So I have some sense of what we want to see and do, but alot more planning than usual ahead o fme for this trip.

Anyone who could help point me in the right direction would be appreciated! Thanks.

Lisa

 

[rockstargeisha]

The WDW official site is actually a great place to start. You can check peak times, get virtual tours of all the resorts and check out when special events are happening within the resort.

First thing I'd decide on is of course when to go and from there decide on a resort. I've heard the first weeks of December are good for avoiding crowds and keeping cool. Right after Thanksgiving and right before the Christmas crowds.

Here's the listing of the WDW resorts and they're threads. You'll find all the information you could possibly need and get a good idea of what the resorts look like and if they fit your tastes.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=236234

Here's the dining plan F.A.Q.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1305783

 

[eliza61]

Hey Lisa,

First, welcome to the Dis . As you start planning use these forums, you will find tons of info. As the above poster said, check out www.wdwig.com. It will give you some sort of guide about crowd levels. Of course the summer months and holidays are packed to the gills so you might want to stear clear of them. since the kids are not in school yet you have a lot of flexibility. Also check out the resort pictures on this site. Deb has comprised a great slide show on all the resorts. Are you doing all the planning/information gathering? You may want to make a chart listing the pros and cons of the values and the moderates, then see which you may like better.

 

[Jill72]

I recommend you get the Unofficial Guide ASAP - which is a great starting point for planning any trip...then as questions come up, post them here and you will get TONS of advice to help you along.

Also check into Disney's Grand Gatherings....I have not used it, but many families traveling as a large group use it to help them plan. There should be info on it through the main Disney web site.

I would say #1 is to narrow down the dates of your trip and your budget. Then you can look online to see the prices of each hotel during those dates. After you book the hotel, you need to make your meal reservations (ADR's).

Hope this helps!

 

[Jill72]

And just to let you know - we just got back from Disney last week and the crowd levels were great and the weather was in the 70's - with one day in the low 80's.

I hear the last week in April through the second week in May is great as well.

 

[Jemma28]

There are 11 in our party (4 kids, 6 adults). We are using the Grand Gatherings to help us out on many things. They helped us with bookig our ADR's, Character breakfast, Luau and many other fun things as well. They also helped with our Magical Express Reservations.

Also if you are all leaving from the same city, we got a special rate on our airlines tickets from Continental because we had such a large group. Check into that.

 

[bscs]

Welcome!
Just a little note. You may want to concider renting a house off site with such a big group. It would be much much cheaper and you would all have a little more privacy with each your own rooms. There are some not far from WDW and it is very easy to get around. Of course there are those whose will argue and say on site only but as much as I love my kids I can't imagine a whole week in the same room. Knowing there are nice houses, condos, & townhouses near by.Just my opinion. Look through these boards you'll find lots of info and ask anything, everyone is very helpful.

 

[Msslaydbug]

We have found the DIS, book The Passporter, and AllEarsNet to be great resources for us !!

 

[KTMEMOMMY]

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions. I have checked out All Ears and WDW official site and it's helped out with a lot of my preliminary questions. I'm going to order the Unofficial Guide, too.

Eliza61: Yes, I am doing the planning/ info gathering. DH and I (and dd's 2 and 4) are the only ones who've been before, but we've always done much shorter stays. The rest of the family has never been, and I am very enthusiastic about the trip because I just have a soft spot for the Disney experience and love any chance to take to take my kids...so they are kind of looking to me to get this experience underway and get the most out of it. For me, it's a great opportunity to see and do everything we've always wanted to there, and my kids will be great ages (3 and 5, and they love princesses!) so I want to find out everything I can ahead of time.

Also, we did DCL last year with my parents, and had researched soooo much thanks to the disboards that they figure we have "our ways" of learning all the ins and outs of planning such a trip!! My parents were just kind of along for the ride but dh and I knew where to go, what to do, all the best strategies, so they are counting on us to provide that again...but I'm a little daunted b/c planning for WDW is on a much larger scale than DCL. Just coordinating out the dining plan for everyone for a week overwhelms me!

We'll figure it out, though...we're starting early and I have good resources and the planning will be half the fun!

Thanks...Lisa