Your first experience at WDW

[Amyg]

I've been doing WDW research for the past 5 months and I feel like I've become pretty familiar with the parks. Sooo...I was just wondering for those of you who did a lot of research and planning for your very first trip to WDW, did what you imagined fit what you actually experience? Such as how large the parks are, the crowds, the getting around the parks, etc.?

I just keep thinking I'll be pretty familiar but when I get there it'll be a LOT more than what I'm imagining.

Were you overwhelmed? How did you feel?

 

[cleo]

I'd just about bet it will be much bigger than you think and take a lot more time to get around than you might imagine, especially traveling from park to park. And you're going to be more tired out than you might think.

Also, there's just 'something' about it that you don't quite get until you've been there. It's like having a child in some ways. You know your life is going to change, but you don't really get that it's going to CHANGE. You know you will love your child but you don't really get that you're going to LOVE your child.

You know Disney's going to be fabulous, but you don't quite understand how fabulous until you've been there.

 

[momrek06]

It is absolutely so good that you are doing all this planning and reading as there are changes almost yearly to all the WDW Parks. You will never ever be able to know it all no matter how much reading you do. BUT the best measure is to try to read and research daily. I am not kidding when I say daily until you leave. That is why there are so many books out there on Disney alone. There is so much to consider to a WDW vacation. The BIGGEST thing to remember is to HAVE FUN!!! I always start packing one week before I leave and make allot of notes as to what to bring. I make all my ADR's well before we leave, hence a schedule of Parks visits is always good. But even if you have to change things up a bit when you get there, that is to be expected. Even at the Parks, for instance at MGM, that Extreme Stunt Show is a MUST SEE, but only shown 3x a day (10, 1 & 4) (as I recall). Well if your fam gets too busy at MGM between rides and meeting characters you may need to go back the next day to MGM to JUST see the Stunt SHow and that may change your pending schedule for the next day. A Disney vacation requires allot of flexibility. And remember if for some reason you just did not get around to doing and seeing everything, there is always NEXT YEAR!!! My family loves WDW and now the cruises. WE CANNOT GET ENOUGH OF IT!!!
Good luck in all your planning and have a MAGICAL TRIP

 

[runwad]

I too did a lot of research before our first family trip last year, and I felt that I was well prepared and almost as if I had been there before. It definetely makes for a more smooth trip to know the lay of the land and the in's and out's of things.

 

[Amyg]

Also, there's just 'something' about it that you don't quite get until you've been there. It's like having a child in some ways. You know you're life is going to change, but you don't really get that it's going to CHANGE. You know you will love your child but you don't really get that you're going to LOVE your child.

That's the analogy that I was thinking when I first posted this!

 

[MouseWorshipin]

I was surprised that it took us longer to do everything than I'd expected.

I found it very confusing to get around the parks, but the kids got it right away.

I didn't know we'd get lost so much. Took me a while to get the hang of driving at WDW.

And the heat, GOOD GOD!, the damp, overwhelming, oppressive, unforgiving, unrelenting heat!

But the thing that surprised me most was how much we loved it, how pretty things were, and how much was going on. They cut out a lot of the goings-on, but it is still pretty and I still love it!

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

Research is an absolute necessity. We've been going to Disneyland since '78, but May will be our second trip to WDW(first in '94). As much as we know about how to get the best bang for your buck at Disney, WDW was an entirely new experience. We planned it out well and relied heavily on the unofficial guide. I thought mom was crazy for insisting that we take daily breaks at the resort or a water park, but she was right on the money. You can Disneyland even with DCA in two days. WDW is another story. Planning and research will help you avoid pratfalls and make the most out of the experience.

 

[polly p]

I did a lot of research our first trip. I had everything planned out. Maybe a little too planned. By day two, dh and I got in a fight and we threw all the plans out and just had fun. Our first trip, I planned as if we were never going to be there again. once I relaxed, and we saw what we could see and didn't sweat the stuff we didn't see, we really enjoyed ourselves more

 

[zookeeper]

We went for the first time last September. I read (and read and read and then read again!) everything on these boards and on other Disney info sites. My DH and my mom and dad (who came with us) thought I was crazy and were worried that I was overthinking everything. Afterwards, they all agreed that it was necessary to at least have a general game plan before you go. I have to admit that we did need to be flexible as far as planning on how to do the parks each day because once we got there we realised what would work with the kids and what wouldn't. The ways that all the planning really paid off was in the tips of things to bring, things to avoid and just general info about how everything runs. It's such a big place and without any pre-planning I would imagine it would be VERY overwhelming. Besides, I had SO much fun planning that I couldn't imagine not doing it! GOOD LUCK!!

 

[Carrie772]

All the planning was totally worth it. Esp. reading up on where everything is, what has a fast-pass and such. I think I was caught off-guard in Fantasy Land because the attractions are so brief. When I got off a ride, I really needed to know exactly where I was going next so I didn't stand there dumbfounded in the walkway.

Plus, planning saves you from asking everybody, "Well...where do you want to go now?" I hate that question!!

 

[C.Ann]

On our very first trip (DH, DD & I) we did absolutely NO planning at all.. It was an absolutely amazing trip (and yes - something magical happens where you suddenly feel like a child as soon as you walk through those gates ).. We had SUCH a good time - got to see and do everything we wanted with probably no more than a 10 minute wait for anything..

I was there again in 2001 - and again, made no plans to speak of.. There was quite a group of us and we had a wonderful time (well - until 9/11).. Again, the wait times were minimal, but I suppose it has a lot to do with what time of year you're going..

The thing that impressed me the most the first time was the extreme cleanliness and pristine condition of everything associated with WDW.. Sadly that is no longer the case - it seems they feel the money is better spent elsewhere - and that puts a damper on the "magic" for me now.. However, if you have never been before, it may not be as noticeable to you, so don't worry about it..

Plan - don't plan - wing it - whatever.. It's a fun place to be and your vacation will be whatever you make up your mind that you want it to be.. "People are as happy as they choose to be.."

Have a great time!

 

[Kath2003]

I was twelve. My parents had bought me the Unofficial Guide to WDW. Boy, did I read that thing. Over and over, from cover to cover. I knew what to see, when to see it, could navigate my way around the parks without a map - we got a LOT done because of my geekdom!

It was amazing to go and see all the characters and was the best fortnight of my life up to that point. We loved ALL the parks, Disney, Universal, Sea World etc. My and my two sisters cried every time we mentioned Orlando for the first couple of days we were back because we were just so heartbroken to have left it all! It was our first trip outside of the UK, too.

 

[LoriMistress]

When DH and I went to WDW for our honeymoon in 2003, I did a LOT of planning. I went to message boards religiously to find way to save money for our trip. We would watch promotional WDW DVD's, and look at pictures online. We talked about our trip to death. When it finally happened it was more than expected. We had a wonderful time. And we still talk about our trip every day and how much we want to go back. Right now we are going to be planning our December 2007 vacation back to WDW. At first, when I was planning our trip he thought I was going to go totally pyscho on our planning (ex: Danny Tanner's Clipbook of Fun), but it was the complete opposite.

 

[Wendy1953]

My first trip to WDW was in 1976, on my honeymoon.....we booked it way in advance, but did not do any planning then....it was only one park at that time (which is now known as the Magic Kingdom)! When we took our daughter in 1987...she was 5 years old.....and there were two parks....MK and EPCOT...pronounced by my DD as Ep-E-cot...did plan for that trip...it was Mickey's Birthday party.....blew the plans the first day, first few minutes of walking into the park.....we were supposed to start at the back of MK and work our way up front....got into thegates and Mickey's Birthday Land Express..now known as the Walt Disney World Railroad...pulled into Main Street..loud speaker announcement...come onboard the Mickey's Birthday Express to Mickey's Birthday Party.....and so, DD said I want to go to Mickey's Party, DH who had done all the research and planning said "No, that will ruin all our plans....have to start at the back of the park, that's what Birnbaum says to do", DD and I looked at him and said ...okay, we're getting on the train, you can come with us, or we'll meet you when we're done with Mickey's party....needless to say he joined us on the train, and the rest of the day was do what you want, when you want....we all had a great time! Now with 4 parks to visit......we definitely plan way ahead, make ADR's, timeschedules....sometimes we stick to the plan and sometimes we don't....some ADR's get cancelled and new on the spot ressie's are made..

 

[hematite153]

In response to the original question...

For my first visit, on our honeymoon, we'd researched everything pretty thoroughly and had a plan our day at MK. However, we arrived only hours before hurricane Charlie. Everything closed at 1 and then we went back to the hotel where our car got smashed by the wind. On the plus side, the day was free, we rode everything we wanted to in only 4 hours, and my DW convinced me that it was worth going back to, (her parents had taken her when she was 5, and it was so magical that she'd spent 30 years wanting to return) and now we've bought into DVC.

 

[WaltD4Me]

Well, I did trips before finding the DIS and there was almost NO research involved in those, the extent of my "research" was buying a Birnbaum's book!

After finding the DIS I've done two trips. One big one with the whole family (there were 10 of us) and one this past May with my niece. Both trips were researched to death and I found it helped ALOT.

One thing that always gets me is the size of Disney...it's BIG, so I always plan a little more time than I think we'll need. I also always plan plenty of time for getting from place to place, especially if you have a dining reservation. A couple times I cut those a little close. So now I give at least an hour for getting there...and if we get there early, we people watch.

My reseach did WONDERS for my big family trip...even though everyone thought I was completely crazy before we went, they were VERY glad I knew what I was doing once we got there...

It was a little overwhelming at first...but I found if you mix the research and planning with a little "go with the flow" everything works out fine.

 

[bubba73]

During my first trip, they only had the MK and they were still using ticket books. I honestly can't remember a whole lot from that trip as it was over 25 years ago and I wasn't but about 6 years old. Some of my earliest memories though were mind-boggling. I have been there numerous times since then and I can only say it is getting better.

 

[Luv2Roam]

I was surprised at how large WDW was.
I read and studied for months, and it all left my head once I was there.
But it was pure magic and we fell in love with Disney.