Advice for Newbies

[Minnie321]

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!

[cjsm&d]

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....

[cjsm&d]

Originally Posted by Minnie321

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...

[timbirch9]

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

[jfegan]

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.

[Sheribo]

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.

[Nonsuch]

If your budget permits: stay at a hotel with "Disney" in its name

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.

[lovetoscrap]

Originally Posted by Sheribo

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! 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!

[barney-dodgecharger]

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.

[lovetoscrap]

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.