Advice for Newbies

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I took my mom and dad for all most 2 weeks this past august for my 40th birthday and I researched and planned and made ADR's all over the place and we were going here on a certain day and there on another.

When we got there we ended up just doing whatever we felt like and kept are ADR's that I really wanted to go to and we just went with the flow.

It was so much fun and I didn't barely see all I wanted to ;-) of course so I am going back this December for 2 more weeks lol.

Thanks for helping others to remember to see the fun in whatever they decide to do on "their" dream vacation.

Dani
 
Here Here !!!! I agree with everyone !!!! Put down the books and just come out for a Visit! Once you've been here you'll be able to make your own assumptions. There is only so much you can read on the web on in the books.
 
Great advice!!! This trip I'm going to have to continue to remind myself of some of the things discussed on this thread. It will be the first time that my DS will not be using a stroller. DF and I are fast walkers (we know where we want to go, so get out of our way) and DS is always lagging behind. This trip we are going to try to slow it down a bit and "smell the roses".

Danielle
 
We have spent many days at WDW....actually my husband was a seasonal part-time cast member working about six months in the winter. My favorite park is DAK with The Lion King Show, Safari, and Tough to Be a Bug being favorites. Next favorite park is EPCOT with Soarin' being a must. The fire works at EPCOT are actually fire, water and fireworks....an awesome display that is well worth planning on staying for one evening. MK fireworks, also excellent, include Tinker Bell's flight from the castle. A couple of pieces of possibly useful information. Christmas is not a good time to visit WDW as all parks are very crowded and when filled to capacity will be closed for a period of time during a very busy day. The week after Thanksgiving to mid-December is a slow time. Park hopping doesn't work well as you spend too much time traveling between parks even when using Disney transportation. To see as much as possible at MK you really need three days, AK is a 1 1/2 to 2 day venture, as is DHS. EPCOT is a full two days. It is best to get some of the park maps and study them so that you can decide what the family feels are must things to see and do. So that you have a great, memorable, "can't wait to get back to WDW" vacation, pace yourselves. Take advantage of the "fast pass" and remember that when you get a pass (one must be had for each person going on the ride) there will be a time on the pass when you can pick up your next "fast pass". Not every ride offers a "fast pass", just the very popular ones.
Have a fantastic WDW vacation.
 


Very good points been going to disney every year since 1996 for 2 to 3week vacations we see parents pushing there kids to major melt downs flying from ride to ride. We flew are 10 month old grand daughter for 5 days this year took her in the park for a few hours then took her back to the camper for a nap then we would go to the pool for a hour she had a blast with no melt downs at all for five days oh she did cry once when she got a belly ache from eating to much at the trails inn at dinner...
 
I am a mom of 2 boys, they were 2 1/2 and 5 1/2 the 1st time we took them back in 2006. Everyone told me i was crazy for taking them when they were so young. However I will tell u that they still ask questions like" mommy remember when we ate breaakfast with mickey and goofy". Or my favorite was are we goona try to catch the ghosts again on the scary mansion ride." This goes to show they do remember, and I have scrapbooksthat we look atall the time. We are going back next month and they are more than excited! so go with your instinct, if you know your kids, you know what's best!
 
I have been to Disney world 33 times in 16 years and if there is one thing I have learnt is best to go to the parks early, when you first enter go to get a fast pass for the long wait lines then get in one of the more popular attraction lines. Make sure you take breaks every now and then to gather thoughts and make sure you haven't lost anyone or anything. I wish you luck on your first trip.

Jaleatonbro
 


We are planning to go in June with a 3yo and 2yo so we're going to be going with the flow..definately taking breaks throughout the day and hopefully not get too stressed about what ride we're missing..lol. Also my sister and brother and their kids will be going at all different ages so our intrests might be different then theirs. Have fun everyone!:yay:
 
Your advice is excellent. I've been to DW 2 times (once as a kid and once with just DH) and unforunately due to NO planning and being overwhelmed I feel like our trips were wasted. This time 4-2010 I am planning what we Must see, would like to see and can skip. And hopefully making some order, realizing it needs to be flexible. I keep asking my DH to remind me if I get anxious about missing something that our kids (5,3,2) have absolutely no clue if we miss something, only I do, so not to make a big deal about it, the kids literally don't know what they are missing! (Just my two-sense)(or is it 2 cents?)
 
100% agree with all the great advice. Getting ready for our 3rd trip. Try to plan a little but go with the flow as much as possible. Sometimes there is an attraction you considered skipping but there is no wait, you go and that ends up being a favorite. My favorite tips are taking full advantage of the FastPass and the Child Swap opportunity when riding most popular rides. When you just read about it, seems confusing. But once we had accomplished it a couple times, we became masters and got to do everything we really wanted several times!!

Remember not everyone's tips are going to work for you. You could make a full time job out of finding tips and discounts! Plan like you would for any other vacation, but then get ready for lots of great fun and surprises!
 
Don't worry about the weather. I have done Disney World in a Tropical Storm (and yes we were at the parks it didn't slow us down - okay we are from Louisiana and used to it!). My advice though is if you are going to Disney World keep in mind to pack a range of clothes - you could have temperatures in the 30's one day and the 70's the next in November. For example in Louisiana Thursday it was 70 - tonight it is 40. Have fun and relax - it really is the best - my DD is 8 and has lost count how many times she has been - we gave up on schedules after the first trip!
 
Great advice! We are going on our 8th trip to the world on Feb. 10th! We do plan our park days in advance (sometimes for the early openings, sometimes to avoid them, if we wanna sleep in a bit), but we really give ourselves alot of freedom to go with the flow...

We like to make only two or three ADR's prior to arriving on vacation. This year we made one for LeCellier, because we've been shut out the last two times down there (Teppan Edo is a pretty nice 2nd choice though).

I'm getting excited just typing on here....:cool1:
 
Have a great time - I will be right behind you in March-April for Easter. I have been at this time of year before and the weather was great! Only going with two ADR's this time - one for Hollywood and Vine - simply to get the easy seat in Fantasmic and the other for a birthday at Chef Mickey's. We did the dining plan the past few trips, so we ate at most of the big restaurants - Liked it, but we are staying off property this time.

We went mid-march last year and the weather was terrific!

We just made another ADR today. My son wants to go to Ohana for dinner. Didn't have to ask twice!

I skipped the dining plan this time. There are savings, if you eat large expensive deserts with every meal (which we don't), plus, my son (9) got really bored with the basically same selection choice at every restaurant. Hey, it works for alot of folks...
 
Spot on advise...Let the Good Times roll and Don't have unrealistic expectations of your or your childs behavior. It's Disney, Your kids are gonna be freaked out already without you micro-managing every moment. Take the pleasures as they come..They will come! Kindest regards. TS
 
This may seem obvious, but we brought my parents with us on our trip with my husband and I and 3 kids (DS 8, DS 6, DD 3). We thought it would be 'helpful' having the extra hands with the kids. While I love my parents and loved being with them it was like dragging a boat anchor around the parks. My daughter wouldn't be with anyone but me so the idea of having them help while we rode rides with the boys backfired.

However, all the research I did on the boards and in books that I read taught me about things like child swap, height requirements for rides, and what rides might be too frightening for some little ones.

In the end, relax and go with the flow, but in planning mode, absorb as much as you can. We had the 8yr old read the birnbaums book before so he could identify what was important for him and show some patience when it wasn't about him. He made suggestions for the younger ones when it wasn't about him (not in his usual character, but he liked being knowledgeable.)

We have multiple food allergies in multiple people in our group and the information I got ahead of time directly from Disney and from the boards was invaluable. Knowing we were all safe was how I enjoyed my vacation. It's one of the reasons I am so passionate about returning.

You can do something without planning and you can do something with planning. I couldn't have had a good time without all the reasearch I did. Don't get me wrong I had to throw the plan out the window the day we arrived and the day after that, but I was so fueled with back up info that I didn't feel lost or wandering.

:yay:
 
Plan one morning to NOT rush the kids (or you) out the door. Muffins and juice in the room. Let them take their time watching the Disney cartoons so they can mentally recharge after some long days. When they are ready, PJ's to bathing suits for the day.
 
If your budget permits: stay at a hotel with "Disney" in its name :thumbsup2

Our October 2008 vacation was split between the Disney's Swan and Dolphin and Buena Vista Palace. We stayed 4 nights at the Swan, went to Washington DC for a few days and returned to the Palace. The Palace was a hotel affiliated with a convention my wife attended.

This let us experience 2 types of bus service to WDW.

The bus service to the Swan was excellent. The bus stop at the hotel and each park is covered. Wait times were generally short. The bus stops at the parks are very clearly marked. There are thousands of guests leaving the Magic Kingdom at closing time, but the lines move quickly and are very organized. A bus dispatcher was on site, dynamically assigning buses to routes.

Contrast this to the bus serving the Buena Vista Palace. The wait times going to the parks was longer, but still acceptable. The return at closing was almost chaos. The bus stops for these "non-Disney" hotels are uncovered, and only have numbers not the hotel names marking them. The worst experience was Epcot at closing time. Standing in the rain waiting with a crowd, in what we thought was the right spot. The bus pulled up to a different spot, creating a mad rush to the bus. The bus was then filled (really overfilled), but the driver continued on to the next park.
 
Plan one morning to NOT rush the kids (or you) out the door. Muffins and juice in the room. Let them take their time watching the Disney cartoons so they can mentally recharge after some long days. When they are ready, PJ's to bathing suits for the day.

ABSOLUTELY! :thumbsup2 And I usually plan for this after a night we have stayed out late for evening EMH or Spectro and the Fireworks at MK. I really try to alternate our late nights out with a later morning and/or shorter day.

The kids aren't the only ones that need to have the time to mentally recharge! If momma ain't rested then momma ain't happy. And we all know what that means!;)
 
IF EVERYONE WOULD LISTEN TO 50% OF WHAT YOU ARE SAYING THEY WILL LOVE THE EXPERIENCE. GO FOR THE ADVENTURE AND NOT THE ENDURANCE RACE. tHE BEST PLACE ON EARTH TAKES YEARS TO TOTALY EXPLORE.
 
Since most posts to this thread have become off topic I am going to lock this. If you have some advice that you would like to have included here you can post it on the board and I can move it here, or you can send me a PM.
 
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