Freaking out: Just booked POFQ

[BlueBayou]

I have been 'planning' my WDW dream vacation for years. I pulled the trigger and booked today.

...only problem is I realize I don't have anything planned. I am really starting to freak out. The last time I was at WDW was around the Bicentenial - so things have changed just a little since then

I have no idea what days to go to which park... so I am unsure what to do about ADRs.

I am a Disneyland vet - and I know what to expect at DL and DCA. The realization I am not an expert for this trip is suddenly hitting me.

 

[winterman]

So when are you going? For how long? Who is going with you?

 

[amzking]

I obsessively looked at all the dining reviews and menus on www.allears.net and made my restaurant choices from there. Once you can look at park hours for your trip, plan which parks which day. Then plan a restaurant first choice and one or two backups for each day. If you are using WDW transportation plan your choices based on what parks you are planning to be at and what time they close. If at Epcot, stick to Epcot or BC/YC/Boardwalk dining, if at MK, stick with dining in the park or on the monorail loop. Do not depend on the bus system for getting from resort to resort easily, you have to transfer at DTD which I hear can be a nightmare (we always drive). As a planning example, if MK is closing at 7 that night (which happens) you may want to plan a late dinner, whereas if they have evening EMH you may want an early dinner to be able to get over to the parks when you're finished and enjoy them for a few hours.

Use one of the online calculators to find out your 180 day window opening, set your alarm early, and start making those ADRs, either on the phone or computer. Have fun planning!

BTW, POFQ is a great resort, enjoy!

 

[BlueBayou]

I am going in Oct. for eight nights. We will have two adults and two kids - 6 and 9.

We all are very familar with Disneyland - so we would like to check out different versions of the rides and see things that aren't at Disneyland - but we probably won't be spending as much time in the Magic Kingdom as a family with kids our ages normally would.

My oldest loves animals - so I know we will want to eat at AKL one night.

 

[Missin'Disney]

Start with the park calendar and figure out where you will be spending your morning and evening. If you got park hoppers then you will probably want to mix it up, if not you can incorporate DTD and breaks into the schedule. Your kids are old enough to do the parks all day and night, so you will have a blast. Plan on being at rope drop to maximize the least busy part of the day - early morning. You can get a lot done in that first hour or two. It is for that reason that I no longer plan big sit-down breakfasts - they eat up an hour and a half of your quality time. If you are going to do a TS breakfast try to get the earliest ADR that you think your family can make it to.

Figure out what nights you would do Spectromagic, Fantasmic and Illuminations too. I like to use Tour Guide Mike and Touring Plans to determine the best itinerary. It's worth the money if you aren't able to figure it all out yourself. I would also recommend taking some Disney guidebooks out of the library or investing in a few. I like Passporters, and many people use Birnbaum's guides too.

If you have any questions at all, feel free to PM me and you can return the favor when I plan my first trip to Disneyland!

 

[We_love_WDW]

If you want a really good character breakfast - try Donald's Safari Breakfast at AK...it is one of our favorites - the food is really good

 

[mmmears]

We also spend more time at DL than WDW, so I understand what you mean about the MK...

Let's see -- definitely get the park hours first.

Then figure out if you are willing to get up early for the EMH. If yes, then you can go to that park in the morning. If not, then go to another park.

Figure out which park(s) you want to go to on which days. If you want a good list of the rides & their description, check out the Unofficial Guide or Birnbaum's (either buy them or check them out at the library). UOG is really good at helping you decide which rides you really want to try and it tells you how long the rides last (there are some rides/shows that can take up to 45 mins, so this is really good info to have).

Once you know where you'll be for the day, you can plan your dining.

Definitely skip the rides that are offered at DL when you can (like Soarin -- which is a HUGE bottleneck at Epcot) and focus on the things you can't see in LA (like Animal Kingdom). Although, my DD says (and we agree) that Splash Mountain is MUCH better at the MK, so it's worth a bit of your time (as is Philharmagic, which is great and for some reason not at DL).

Good luck!

 

[raven69david]

If you want a really good character breakfast - try Donald's Safari Breakfast at AK...it is one of our favorites - the food is really good

I second that! The Jungle Juice is awesome.

 

[BlueBayou]

Thanks for all of your advice. I have a couple of guide books - and a friend is bringing me a passporter tomorrow.

I am taking a look at the hours the parks are open online.

I am surprised at how overwhelmed I am feeling.

 

[JPN4265]

Thanks for all of your advice. I have a couple of guide books - and a friend is bringing me a passporter tomorrow.

I am taking a look at the hours the parks are open online.

I am surprised at how overwhelmed I am feeling.

Don't forget the party at the magic kingdom. You will need to buy tickets quickly......

 

[subtchr]

One word of warning - since you are less than 90 days out from your trip (in other words, people have been able to make ADR's already), and it's a period of free dining, you will likely have some trouble making dining reservations for exactly where you want exactly when you want them, especially if you are interested in high demand restaurants. Be flexible and open to try some different places, and you should be fine.

And relax! You still have time to research and develop a good plan. For me, planning is half the fun!

 

[Broncobilly83]

I have been 'planning' my WDW dream vacation for years. I pulled the trigger and booked today.

...only problem is I realize I don't have anything planned. I am really starting to freak out. The last time I was at WDW was around the Bicentenial - so things have changed just a little since then

I have no idea what days to go to which park... so I am unsure what to do about ADRs.

I am a Disneyland vet - and I know what to expect at DL and DCA. The realization I am not an expert for this trip is suddenly hitting me.

I sympathize with you. I have not been since 2000 myself, and my SO has not been since the mid 80s, so it is flying blind time with planning the trip too, but I bit the bullet too, and actually upgraded from ASMo to PQFQ for a late December trip

 

[Kae]

POFQ is a great resort. So on that part you will be fine. You could sign up for tourguide mike there is a link on the dis for his site. There is a fee. some of our best trips were more on the fly then they are now & they were great. If you think you want a TS meal each day then That is something you should plan ahead. Check out the different boards here & www.allearsnet.com & that will help alot. Also the Passporter is a great guide book

Kae

 

[Disney Crazy Debbie]

Thanks for all of your advice. I have a couple of guide books - and a friend is bringing me a passporter tomorrow.

I am taking a look at the hours the parks are open online.

I am surprised at how overwhelmed I am feeling.

One bit of advise I received on here a few years was that the best parks to hit occurred after the EMH. So if, for example, Sunday was EMH for MK, then Monday would be a good day to go to MK, at least in the morning, less crowds. However, one word of advise, don't do MK on the week-ends because the times that I have it is very crowded.

 

[AJA]

Another vote for the Safari (Tusker House) breakfast at AK!

Make your ADR's now, you can go online and make them. Also if what you want is already booked, try back every few days, it worked for me.


We'll be at POFQ the first week of October and can't wait!

 

[BlueBayou]

Thanks everyone for all your help. Missin'Disney - I would love to help when you head to Disneyland.

My DD8 is now my planning buddy and she helped me make some ADRs. I have 4 now. Dinner at Boma, Breakfast at the Crystal Palace, dinner at 50's prime time cafe, and dinner at Les Chefs de Paris. I still have 4 more table services to book - and I don't have my counter service planned out at all. I think my remaining table services will be lunches.

 

[mmmears]

Thanks everyone for all your help. Missin'Disney - I would love to help when you head to Disneyland.

My DD8 is now my planning buddy and she helped me make some ADRs. I have 4 now. Dinner at Boma, Breakfast at the Crystal Palace, dinner at 50's prime time cafe, and dinner at Les Chefs de Paris. I still have 4 more table services to book - and I don't have my counter service planned out at all. I think my remaining table services will be lunches.

Those sound great! We especially liked breakfast at CP and we absolutely LOVE dinner at Boma (the food and atmosphere are fantastic, plus you get to see the animals at AKL!!!).

I actually prefer many of our TS meals at lunch -- it's easier to get the ADR and since we're up so early in the morning, we are really ready for a good, relaxing meal at lunchtime.

Good luck with the rest of your ADR choices. I find it so much easier to go to DL, since we just book once at CC, once at BB, and once at RFC and I'm done!

 

[anlashokna]

You'll like POFQ. Its in need of upgrading but is nicely maintained and kept clean. ITs smaller so walking to everything is very easy and enjoyable. We were actually booked there for this upcoming trip but moved to the Boardwalk since it was newly renovated and the parents would like to be able to sit on a balcony and rest for a portion of the day.

As for ADR's your not far from restaurants off site if you have issues getting restaurants. We generally will book a late lunch around 2ish at MK and make that our BIG meal for the day. When we go to epcot we just grab something. We eat our other meals offsite. Dining on property entirely depends on what you want to spend. If you have free dining...take full advantage of it. And quickly. I was so freaked because of these free dining windows that I was up at 6am booking my one little bitty reservation for our upcoming trip as soon as I got the 90 day window Character meals will likely be the hardest to get.

Biggest thing is don't overdo, you'll wear yourself out. Its a vacation Take breaks go back and enjoy the resort. That was the biggest mistake we made our first trip and stay onsite. We generally only used the resort to sleep. But now we're all older and will spend a half day at a park and go back to the resort mid afternoon. It makes for a nice, relaxing trip and we don't get involved in the opening stampedes anymore

Hope you guys have a good trip