Help, so overwhelmed

[Lindanuf]

My husband and I are taking our 7 year old daughter to Disney World for the first time the week before Thanksgiving. We’re staying at Disney Beach Resort. I’ve never been to Disneyworld myself, only Disney land. How do I figure out or get signed up for character breakfasts and extra magic hours?

We’re only going to be there 3 full days because it’s before a cruise. I saw we’re going to be there when Frozen 2 comes out. Is there anything special going on for frozen 2? I got tickets in the Disney app for 2 parks but I’m thinking now I should upgrade to three. I did 2 so we would have day to recover after our flight or before the cruise. The whole thought of fast passes and planning this is so overwhelming that I wish I had never booked this trip. Are there specific YouTube channels or videos that give tips on this stuff? I don’t want to see someone’s family walking through the park, I want like how to planning strategies.

 

[TwinkleKS]

There will be others chiming in with a lot more detailed info than me

But first, relax ... you are in the right place to get your questions answered.

Second, download the Disneyworld app ... you can also do a lot of this on My Disney Experience (the web page).

You automatically get the extra magic hours for staying onsite. So you just need to go to one of the calendars on the app, or MDE to see what park is having them for what day of your stay.

With your onsite reservation you are within the time limit to go ahead and book dining. Again, this can be done on the app or online. There are filters you can set up to search for what is available at what parks for what meals, which ones are character meals, etc. Don't stress if you feel there is a must eat at place that isn't currently available ... we can teach you how to use the Touring Plans reservation finder.

60 days before you trip you are able to login and get Fast Passes for rides. You start out with three per day and can get more after the first three are done. There are some in depth threads on here on how that all works.

There is definitely enough to have three days of park tickets. You might also think about the Park Hopper option, where you can do more than one park in a day. I like this option especially when staying at BC, then you can pop over to Epcot for dinner at one of the many restaurants there.

 

[mesaboy2]

My husband and I are taking our 7 year old daughter to Disney World for the first time the week before Thanksgiving. We’re staying at Disney Beach Resort. I’ve never been to Disneyworld myself, only Disney land. How do I figure out or get signed up for character breakfasts and extra magic hours?

We’re only going to be there 3 full days because it’s before a cruise. I saw we’re going to be there when Frozen 2 comes out. Is there anything special going on for frozen 2? I got tickets in the Disney app for 2 parks but I’m thinking now I should upgrade to three. I did 2 so we would have day to recover after our flight or before the cruise. The whole thought of fast passes and planning this is so overwhelming that I wish I had never booked this trip. Are there specific YouTube channels or videos that give tips on this stuff? I don’t want to see someone’s family walking through the park, I want like how to planning strategies.

No need to sign up for Extra Magic Hours, they are included with your onsite stay. Look through WDW’s site for restaurants with character meals and see what’s available. Your tickets are for days, not parks—Disney tickets don’t work that way. WDW is far larger and in my opinion more complicated than DLR. The first posts in the FP FAQ in my signature details most aspects of FastPass at WDW, but be warned: you may find it overwhelming.

Good luck.

 

[kylenne]

My husband and I are taking our 7 year old daughter to Disney World for the first time the week before Thanksgiving. We’re staying at Disney Beach Resort. I’ve never been to Disneyworld myself, only Disney land. How do I figure out or get signed up for character breakfasts and extra magic hours?

We’re only going to be there 3 full days because it’s before a cruise. I saw we’re going to be there when Frozen 2 comes out. Is there anything special going on for frozen 2? I got tickets in the Disney app for 2 parks but I’m thinking now I should upgrade to three. I did 2 so we would have day to recover after our flight or before the cruise. The whole thought of fast passes and planning this is so overwhelming that I wish I had never booked this trip. Are there specific YouTube channels or videos that give tips on this stuff? I don’t want to see someone’s family walking through the park, I want like how to planning strategies.

I’ll offer a couple of great YouTube channels that aren’t the usual “celebrity” vlogger content and are no nonsense tips/planning: Disney Food Blog on YouTube is a fantastic resource for a first timer. Despite the name, AJ offers some fantastic information on everything related to Disney World vacations, not just food. But food is a focus. I would start there.

There is another great channel called Beyond the Kingdoms, it’s a smaller channel but he has a lot of great videos, you may especially enjoy the ones he has on Fastpass strategy since he breaks them up based on the party makeup. You’ll want to check out the ones he has for families with littles.

 

[StarSpeckledSky]

I would read DisneyTouristBlog and MouseHacking - two great Disney blogs! If you’re willing to spend the money, maybe get the Unofficial Guide.

 

[PrincessP]

It can be overwhelming, but you can have a great trip whether you strategize or not. How much you do is up to you.

First: set up a My Disney Experience account and download the app if you haven’t already. Make sure your resort stay and tickets are linked. These open up the door to making fast passes earlier than the general population.

Fastpasses
I do highly recommend making fastpasses. If staying on property, you can make these online 60 days before your check in date at 7am ET. You log into your My Disney Experience account to do this.

YouTube tutorial here. https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/making-fastpass-reservations

FAQ from this site here:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/fastpass-frequently-asked-questions.3491680/
Character Meals
These can be made for length of your Disney onsite resort stay (up to 11 total days) if staying on property. You can make them online here.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en-eu/dining/#/reservations-accepted,character-dining/
Here is what a I assume is a current list of options from this site:
https://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-world/character-dining.cfm
You are well past the 180 day mark so some character meals may not be available. You can still meet characters in the parks. Or if you subscribe (costs money) to touring plans, they have a reservation finder and can sometimes (often) find the reservation you are hoping for. https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/reservation-finder

Extra magic hours are offered on certain days at certain parks for onsite guests. You have these benefits automatically when you make a Disney resort reservation. You have to look at the Disney calendar to find whether they are offered for your dates.

If you have two day tickets (without park hopper), you select one park to visit for 2 different days or 2 parks to visit (1 park per day). You would need to research to select which parks most appeal to you. However, with a 7 year old and based on your feeling overwhelmed, I personally recommend doing Magic Kingdom for both of your days. It is the “original” park, has the most attractions, and would mean less researching to figure out which attractions appeal to your family most because you could focus on that single park. You could focus on that ONE park instead of all of Walt Disney World.

https://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-world/magic-kingdom/
An alternative plan I might recommend based solely on where your resort reservation has been made (if you are staying at Disney’s Beach Club resort)...visit Hollywood Studios one day and Epcot the other since that resort has very easy access to both of those particular parks.

https://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-world/hollywood-studios/
https://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/epcot/ep-overview.htm

But if it were me, I would do 2 Magic Kingdom days with a 7 year old.

 

[Master Fastpasser]

You're overthinking.
Explore the website and download the My Disney Experience app.
There is no booking extra magic hours. You just go.
You can book a character breakfast by going to the dining reservations page on the website or app.
You've been to Disneyland so you should be at least familiar with the concept of Fastpass.
At Disney World its just that you can prebook up to 3 per day in one park and then after you use those you can easily use the app to book one more at a time and that can be in the same park or a different park.
All of this was new to all of us at one point or another.
Take a breath and have fun.

 

[shellyj]

You're going to have a blast!!
If the 3rd day of tickets fits comfortably into your budget, and if you don't think you need a rest day, go for it.
If your cruise itinerary is go-go-go and you think it's too much stress, maybe look into a special character meal or other activity at a resort for the 3rd day!

I think your questions are already answered so I'm just going to chime in with some unsolicited advice

1. the FAQ threads here are awesome resources but they are also incredibly overwhelming!! Read through them, for sure, but don't try to figure it all out in one sitting. I'm a DW veteran and I've been on this site sine 2007 (originally under a different name and changed for security reasons). I still get overwhelmed in the FAQ sections.

2. If a character meal is important to you, I would start with that. Many of them fill up right at the 180 day mark. But some don't! Are there are lots of great meals at resorts so you can do those without needing a park ticket

3. Don't shy away from you tube videos of families in the parks. They might help you decide which 2 or 3 parks you want to visit or help you prioritize attractions.

4. You cannot possibly do and see everything in one day - not even in one week - so don't stress yourself out more by trying to squeeze in too much. The value isn't in doing more, it's in having a good time. Learn the FP system and use it strategically! But don't forget to stop and watch the parade, if that's what sounds good to you. We are NOT parade people and we avoid them like the plague!

5. Download the app and play around with it so you know how to use it in the park. Setting up fps is easy, mobile ordering food from the quick service locations is usually pretty good.

6. If you take a rest day, make sure you look at your resort's activity schedule. My kids LOVE the pool parties.

7. If you want a really unique, super delicious meal, check out Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's the only buffet we've ever wanted to return to for the food. We go at least once every trip. There are plenty of choices for less adventurous eaters. And the AKL is worth a visit no matter what. Gorgeous resort, lots of animal lookouts so you can watch the giraffes and other savanna animals.

 

[kathy884]

Are you a reader? I love the unofficial guide to Walt Disney World. It explains everything you need to know and how to do all the things you want to do in a very easy comprehensive fashion. I have given many first timers this book and they loved it.

 

[sharonabe]

Having done WDW right before a cruise, here's my two cents' worth:

Choose only ONE character meal for your park days. You'll have much better and more character interaction on the ship for free.
I wouldn't do a rest day. The cruise is so restful and a great way to relax after 3 fun-filled days at the parks.
As for any other restaurants, again, you'll have GREAT food on the ship, so I'd save my money and just eat QS while at the parks. WDW has some pretty good QS restaurants with tons of variety. Check out the menus on wdwinfo.com or allearsnet.com

 

[kymom99]

Actually, taking a short trip for your first trip can be ideal. Our first trip was 4 days. As soon as we got home I started planning our second trip. Once I got my feet wet I knew better how to plan. We still had a great time that first trip, but the second was even better because we knew how things worked. So just go in there this time to learn the ropes. We haven't been in 9 years. We are going for one day in October and I figure it will be my chance to get caught up on the updates. Then I will be ready to plan a longer trip.