[britfish]

I think next year we will finally go to Disney. DD will be 4so I hope that will be a good age for our first trip. We will most likely combine it w/ a visit to the inlaws in Tampa area so the time frame of March is set. That being said, we know nothing about Disney at all except what I read online this morning (which is very overwhelming). Any advice for a first timer to Disney?

Should we stay on or off site?
If on site, is it worth the extra $ to stay in a moderate priced hotel over a budget one?
Any hotel suggestions?
How do you book your trip (expedia, AAA, etc.)
How many days would you stay w/ a 4 year old?
Any must do's??
Do you do a meal plan if you stay on site?

We have a lot to learn but thats why we are starting early! Please, we need lots of suggestions, tips and advice!!

[GCS]

We save money by flying in and out of Tampa not Orlando.

Should we stay on or off site? We would only stay onsite if we could stay at one of the hotels on the monorail. Otherwise for us we stay at the Hyatt which is right next door to downtown Disney and we have status there so it includes breakfast. It also allows us to eat offsite more often which is a huge time and money saver.
How do you book your trip (expedia, AAA, etc.) I found it cheaper to do everything directly either with Disney by calling their number or with the Hyatt when we stayed there.
How many days would you stay w/ a 4 year old? I think a 4 day park hopper is more than enough with a child this age.
Any must do's?? Character meals are great for this age.
Do you do a meal plan if you stay on site? We have never done the meal plan because we do like to eat off site often.

[beckyww]

I devoured "The Unofficial Guide" on the advice of a friend. Highlighted and tabbed some sections. We saved for years to go - I wanted to do as much as possible. And we did. The book is worth every penny, outlining strategies for various rides and attractions (depending on what is important to you.)

Good luck!

Becky
The Woodworth Family in Beautiful San Antonio TX

[DPline]

I too recommend the "Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World." We are planning a trip in late summer and I have found it to be a huge help with planning.

[kretzklan]

We are first timers as well...the book "Disney with kids 2008" (I can get you more info if you need it) has been INCREDIBLY helpful. So much info - especially for kids your DD's age. We are staying onsite - since this could possible be our only trip - it seemed worth it. We worked with a travel agent that specializes in Disney and she said the price difference from budget to moderate is well worth it. Her big issue with the budget hotels is the pool areas - if you plan to use them the moderate is MUCH better. We are staying for a long time (10 days)...but our kids are much older. We are doing the meal plan (just the first level up) and from our planning, I think we will save a bunch. We'll be eating in the parks (or hotels) for all our meals. Especially with a young one, her meal plan is only like 9.99 a day. You can't feed a child for that amount in the park. It also includes snacks. We are going in October...so maybe I can give you more info after we are there. But, we were really impressed with how many restaurants it covers (all the ones we wanted) including places with character dining!

[pwnort64]

I am planning a trip to disney next year. I haven't started into the details yet, but here are some of my ideas for when I do start booking things.

1. Check out a website called mouse savers. It has TONS of info on deals and tips for doing anything Disney related.
2. Staying on property is ideal so that you don't need to rent a car. Disney has an extensive transportation system that will get you where you need to go. You may be a little more limited on your mobility, but you will save on a rental car, parking at the parks, gas, etc. Also, most of the parks will send your purchases straight to your room (if on property) so you don't need to lug it around all day.
3. I am definitely getting the meal deal and actually trying to schedule around when Disney offers it for free in the fall. My sister has done it this way several times and it just seems the way to go. You can map out your meals and make reservations up to 90 days ahead of time.
4. My DS will be 6 according to my plan, and I am thinking that I will go for a week, but actually only visit the parks 4-5 days. I am also thinking that I will get the passes that only allow entry into a single park per day versus the hopper. I can't imagine that we need to spend part of the day in one park and then go somewhere else later in the day. The hoppers are more expensive so that is another way to "save".
5. Based on my plan to stay on property with no car, I want to make sure that where ever we stay has a nice pool area. If that means we need to bump from budget to moderate, it would be well worth it.

[AngFL]

We went for our first trip to Disney a few weeks ago (even though we live in FL, not too far from there, we had never gone...the kids were not old enough until now and it is too much $$ to spend when they are too young, IMHO). My boys are 6.5 and just turned 4 (he actually turned 4 a few days after we returned from Disney). They were perfect ages to go....6.5 could ride almost EVERYTHING and he is small for his age...4 could ride everything except roller coasters.
We stayed on site at Port Orleans/French Quarter. I liked that we did not have to drive our car the entire time we were there. We did 3 days and the third day was almost too much...but we trudged along anyway. 2 days at Magic Kingdom and one day at Hollywood Studios. We have one more day on our ticket but b/c we live in FL, we have a FL ticket where the days don't expire until 6 months after the first day is used.
Our biggest problem is we did not pre-book dinner reservations and that was a huge problem!!! Everything is so crowded and booked up.....at downtown Disney, the restuarants were on a 2-2.5 hour wait and in the parks, they would just tell you they were booked up. Now, we like to sit down to table service for dinner...so if you just want a cafeteria style dinner every night, this may not be as much of a problem. But we ate breakfast in our room (I brought food with us and we had a fridge) everyday and we bought lunch cafeteria style and would split meals to save $$.....so dinner was where we wanted to splurge....but couldn't! We actually were forced to eat McD's one night because we could not get in anywhere to eat at Downtown Disney.
I learned my lesson....with 2 kids in tow.....I want reliable table service dinner by reservation (WAY in advance), not to mention we were tired and just wanted to sit down and have a nice dinner by the end of the day.
On our last morning (check out) we did the Chef Mickey's Character breakfast. It is WAY overpriced, but one of those experiences you just HAVE to do!
DH and I actually enjoyed Disney way more than we expected too and are excited to go back again in the future. We can't wait to take our future DD (in adoption process now) to all the princess stuff one day!

Good Luck!

[kretzklan]

FYI - you can make dinner reservations 180 days in advance of your trip as long as you have a confirmation number from Disney (for booking tickets or hotel rooms).

[MominPA]

Yes, make ADR.'s at your 180 mark. The popular restuarants get filled very quickly. LeCellier is a very hard one to get along with eating with the characters. I always tell my clients to book ADR's especially if they are on the dining plan or they have specific restaurants they want to eat at.

In my opinion staying at Disney is worth it. You get the extra perks of extended park hours, free transportation to the parks, you can utilize Magical Express for transportation to and from the airport and have purchases delivered to your room and not have to carry them around the parks.

If you stay offsite you will have to pay for parking, but if you rent a car you won't have to pay for parking if you are staying at a Disney resort.

I have stayed at All Star Movies, Port Orleans Riverside, Coronado Springs and the Contemporary. I can't wait until I go in June to Disney for business and we are staying at the Grand Floridian.

Moderate resorts have more amenities then value resorts. They have a sit down restaurant and a counter service restuarant. The values don't, they just have a counter service restuarant. Also the main pool at the moderates have a slide and the value resorts don't. The moderates have a refrigerator in the room and the value resort you can get one but only at an additional charge. The Coronado Spring resort has more amenities then the other moderate resorts too.

Also, check out the Passporter sight. They have great information.

[mschweber]

Originally Posted by britfish

Should we stay on or off site?
If on site, is it worth the extra $ to stay in a moderate priced hotel over a budget one?
Any hotel suggestions?
How do you book your trip (expedia, AAA, etc.)
How many days would you stay w/ a 4 year old?
Any must do's??
Do you do a meal plan if you stay on site?

We have a lot to learn but thats why we are starting early! Please, we need lots of suggestions, tips and advice!!

My daughter has been there 3 times (at almost 3, almost 4 and almost 5 and loved it each time.

If she likes meeting the characters I highly recommend a character meal. The Cinderella/princess one is pricey (though a lot of fun) but the others are not bad as to cost. However, you can waste a lot of time waiting on lines to meet the characters (and have a lot of aggravation) and here they come to your table. In addition to the Cinderella one (which is at the castle in the Magic Kingdom there is a Donald Duck and friends one at Animal Kingdom and a Pooh and friends one at Magic Kingdom. The Cinderella one needs to be reserved and prepaid way in advance (though people we met had luck getting in on walkups - you just can not be sure).

We stayed at the Swan each time because we could use points and stay without additional charge, but we liked it there. Disneyworld is huge and depending on the property and which park you are going to it can be a long bus trip (though you are let off and the park entrance rather than needing to take another shuttle for the parking lot). For instance it is a short bus ride from the Swan to Disney Studios and Epcot (you can even do it as a longish walk) but a fairly long ride on the bus to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom or Downtown Disney. As the cheaper properties tend to be farther away from the parks, off park options should be considered as well if you are considering the more distant on property lodging.

If you have the time more days are better. The price of tickets really do not go up much after 3 day and Disney is tiring for adults and children alike. So it is better not to have to try to pack in 12 hour days but rather be able to spend part fo the day relaxing.

For a 4 year old Magic Kingdom will very likely be the best place, though Animal Kingdom also has a lot to offer. Disney Studios has less to offer for a 4 year old and Epcot not much at all (Epcot at night was also the only place where I experience drunk people as they have corporate events there at night).

Both parades at Magic Kingdom are great for kids as are the fireworks. Parts of the closing time show at Disney Studios scared my daughter this past visit (the first time we had gone to that show) and she found the Epcot one somewhat boring.

For some reason everyone waits on line at Dumbo but it seems crazy to me. You can kill alot of time and there are lots of similar rides that do the same thing. For some reason the Aladdin ride, which is basically Dumbo with magic carpets rather than elephants sees to have shorter lines.

Use FastPass when you can.

Bring a change of clothes. There are spray areas and more often than not the parks are hot and you will need to cool off.

Other than that it depends on the child, everyone will like different things. Have fun, relax and do not get crazy over trying to do everything.

[kretzklan]

I just made reservations the full 6 months in advance (I was one week short) and some of the places we wanted were fairly booked...we had to take weird dining times (like 9pm or 5pm)...since our kids are older, we can work around this - but I was shocked! Also, most character meals on the dining plan cost 2 credits...but we lucked into a character meal at the Liberty Tree Tavern. I had no idea they had characters (and my kids are not into this at all), but it was only 1 credit and they guarantee that there will be 3 characters there at all times. I will force pictures upon my children at that time!

[mom2behappy]

took my son fo his 3rd birthday stayed in a villa not far that offered free shuttle to the parks stayed only 6 days which was enough... loved every park except epcot (took 10 yr old nephew) he was really bored. i dont think getting a hopper is worth it, basic park ticket works just fine. also took the city bus back to resort on days where the children tired before the shuttle was scheduled to pick us up. City bus was only 1.75 per adult. staying at a resort with full kitchen was cheaper, cooked breakfast at the villa only ate lunch at the parks and most nights ate dinner at the ponderossa which was rather cheap for an entree i think the most we payed for entree was 10 bucks and it came wif free buffet which included desserts and drinks were free refills. pm me if youd like the name of the resort and the price we paid to stay we had a 2 bdrm 2 bathroom villa ful kitchen, laundry room

[amanda_p]

We went a couple of months ago and definitely agree that a character meal is so great. We would have never seen the main characters otherwise. We went for Chef Mickey's for breakfast. The food was good and Mickey, Minney, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto all came by our table and signed our book and took pictures. We heard the wait in line for Mickey and Minnie was insane. This way while you are eating they come to you! The only problem is that Drew could hardly stand it! We set up the reservation 180 days before exactly! We didnt stay onsite but next time I think we will. We will just have to save a little more. We only went to Disney 2 days out of the 7 we were there. Both days we went to Magic Kingdom. The other days we hung out at the pool, we also went to Sea World and I wish we wouldnt have. We should have just went to Disney another day. Believe me you will have the best time ever. I know I did. Drew hated Its a small world, but that was such a great relaxing ride. To me that just symbolizes Disney World! Since you have some time I would get the books suggested and try to read as much as possible. I attached a picture from our breakfast.

[britfish]

Thank you for all your suggestions!! I ordered a few books to get me started and can't wait to get them.
I love the picture Amanda, Grace would be so excited to be that close to Mickey!!!

[Movingon]

It look likes a lot of us are oging for the fist time this year. When is everyone going? We are going in October. Grace will almost be 4. I booked erverything through Disney. I also have the WDW with kids book, it has great tips covering everything you can think of.
Hope everyone going has a great time.

C