14 Day First Trip Strategy

[rosieposie3]

Hi all, I've recently booked my very first Disney trip for May 2021. We're two adults. Flying from Europe. Staying 14 nights at the Hilton Bonnet Creek near Disney Springs. I'm soooooo excited but also wondering how to even begin planning too lol. I think we will have a really good amount of time to do everything but I just don't want to miss out on anything cool!

We want to do all four Disney parks, a water park (if one is open by then). I would also love to see the Harry Potter area at Universal Studios. We would probably want a couple days free too for other activities. Neither of us have ever even been to the US before.

Any tips are very appreciated!

 

[DanaLTK]

Hi all, I've recently booked my very first Disney trip for May 2021. We're two adults. Flying from Europe. Staying 14 nights at the Hilton Bonnet Creek near Disney Springs. I'm soooooo excited but also wondering how to even begin planning too lol. I think we will have a really good amount of time to do everything but I just don't want to miss out on anything cool!

We want to do all four Disney parks, a water park (if one is open by then). I would also love to see the Harry Potter area at Universal Studios. We would probably want a couple days free too for other activities. Neither of us have ever even been to the US before.

Any tips are very appreciated!

Rosie Posie, Hello and congrats! I hope you love your time here. My first thought: are you planning on renting a car? There are other ways to get around, but since you are staying a bit outside the Disney bubble AND hoping to spend a day (or two) at Universal, you might really appreciate having your own wheels. 14 days is probably enough time to see most of the four Disney parks and both Universal parks if you plan carefully. So, read. read. read. the DIS is a wealth of information, but it's a bit overwhelming. The planning really is half the fun. You can do this! Ask specific questions when you think of them.

 

[Blondie58]

We begin every Disney trip with a blank spreadsheet with date and day listed down the left side. Under each day we list the park(s) or activities we plan to go to. (We always get park-hopper so sometimes we list two parks. We do not go to Magic Kingdom on weekends because of the crowds. Hollywood is now also very crowded on weekends.) Then we make columns for planning each day titled: Column 1: Meals and dining reservations (we list the time and reservation number), Column 2: special events (such as WDW tours with time and reservation number or spa appointments), Column 3: fast passes with time windows, and the last column is miscellaneous info. We book our tours and spa days when we book our trip so we can get the days we want. (Spa days and fine dining are nice on the weekends when the parks are the most crowded.) Then once we know the park and day, we decide where we wish to eat as normally dining reservations are made six months/180 days out. Then we wait for the 60 day fastpass window that coordinates to the park and meals we have chosen. This planning works well for us (2 adults) but others may not wish to be as detailed. We personally like having everything listed out and then we can make adjustments if we wish. We usually do two tours or special activities per trip, I usually go to the spa at least once, and the balance is Disney Springs or the parks. (Water parks are not our thing so no water parks are scheduled.) We usually stay in the Disney bubble but on occasion have rented a car to go elsewhere IE: Universal, Mt. Dora, grocery, or International Drive.) Due to the expense and the car sitting for much of the day we do anything we need a car for on consecutive days and do not have a car the whole trip. We like Disney transportation and not driving in all the traffic ourselves. We have all reservation numbers etc. (even our room) on this spreadsheet. We have the number for Disney Dining and DVC etc. all listed. Also: We even throw in a couple times to do laundry when we are staying two weeks. Saves on heavy packing. Planning is half our fun and we love not having to make the decisions on the fly and being disappointed for not getting a reservation. We also do not always do the exact same things: Example: He goes to Rockin'\Roller Coaster, I go to Beauty and the Beast. I love the parades, he does not. I shop at Disney Springs, he goes to Splitsville or the Airplane Hanger for cocktails. We are together 95% of the time. Note: If you are going for two weeks you may wish to get an Annual Pass (AP). It will be less expensive to buy an AP depending on the number of park days you decide on. An AP will also get you discounts on dining, souvenirs, and free parking. if you rent a car.

 

[rosieposie3]

We begin every Disney trip with a blank spreadsheet with date and day listed down the left side. Under each day we list the park(s) or activities we plan to go to. (We always get park-hopper so sometimes we list two parks. We do not go to Magic Kingdom on weekends because of the crowds. Hollywood is now also very crowded on weekends.) Then we make columns for planning each day titled: Column 1: Meals and dining reservations (we list the time and reservation number), Column 2: special events (such as WDW tours with time and reservation number or spa appointments), Column 3: fast passes with time windows, and the last column is miscellaneous info. We book our tours and spa days when we book our trip so we can get the days we want. (Spa days and fine dining are nice on the weekends when the parks are the most crowded.) Then once we know the park and day, we decide where we wish to eat as normally dining reservations are made six months/180 days out. Then we wait for the 60 day fastpass window that coordinates to the park and meals we have chosen. This planning works well for us (2 adults) but others may not wish to be as detailed. We personally like having everything listed out and then we can make adjustments if we wish. We usually do two tours or special activities per trip, I usually go to the spa at least once, and the balance is Disney Springs or the parks. (Water parks are not our thing so no water parks are scheduled.) We usually stay in the Disney bubble but on occasion have rented a car to go elsewhere IE: Universal, Mt. Dora, grocery, or International Drive.) Due to the expense and the car sitting for much of the day we do anything we need a car for on consecutive days and do not have a car the whole trip. We like Disney transportation and not driving in all the traffic ourselves. We have all reservation numbers etc. (even our room) on this spreadsheet. We have the number for Disney Dining and DVC etc. all listed. Also: We even throw in a couple times to do laundry when we are staying two weeks. Saves on heavy packing. Planning is half our fun and we love not having to make the decisions on the fly and being disappointed for not getting a reservation. We also do not always do the exact same things: Example: He goes to Rockin'\Roller Coaster, I go to Beauty and the Beast. I love the parades, he does not. I shop at Disney Springs, he goes to Splitsville or the Airplane Hanger for cocktails. We are together 95% of the time. Note: If you are going for two weeks you may wish to get an Annual Pass (AP). It will be less expensive to buy an AP depending on the number of park days you decide on. An AP will also get you discounts on dining, souvenirs, and free parking. if you rent a car.

Wow thank you for being so detailed. I appreciate all the helpful tips. I'll definitely make some kind of spreadsheet plan to help me organise.

 

[rosieposie3]

Rosie Posie, Hello and congrats! I hope you love your time here. My first thought: are you planning on renting a car? There are other ways to get around, but since you are staying a bit outside the Disney bubble AND hoping to spend a day (or two) at Universal, you might really appreciate having your own wheels. 14 days is probably enough time to see most of the four Disney parks and both Universal parks if you plan carefully. So, read. read. read. the DIS is a wealth of information, but it's a bit overwhelming. The planning really is half the fun. You can do this! Ask specific questions when you think of them.

Thank you! I've been reading different topics here to try organise in my head what i would like to do. Neither of us drive so renting a car is unfortunately a no go. We will have to plan around that and factor in cabs I'd say.

 

[Tom_E_D]

Rosie,

Much of Blondie58's recommendations apply only to pre-Covid conditions. While we can hope for a return to "normal" by May, I don't expect it. Perhaps we'll get to somewhere between current conditions and normal, but I doubt we'll be all the way back to normal.

Currently, annual passes are not for sale and there are no fastpasses. Dining reservations are available at 60 days, not 180, and that isn't expected to change. Disney has pretty much said they're not going back to 180 days for dining reservations.

Disney has said they'll open one of their water parks in March. They haven't announced which one yet.

Have you bought tickets yet? If so, how many days? I have heard Europeans can buy 14-day tickets. Americans are limited to 10 days (although there were annual passes available until the Covid shutdown). Once you have purchased your tickets, link them to your My Disney Experience account, if that wasn't done by Disney when you bought them, and make park reservations for the number of days on your tickets. Much of the pre-Covid advice as to what days of the week to go to which park is outdated under current conditions, although you can consider it in hopes we'll be more normal by May. It seems that lately the weekends are busiest at all parks. HS is the busiest park, as measured by wait times, on all days but has less of a time difference between midweek and the weekend. Here's a link to a recent article that has tables listing daily wait times at MK, HS and AK since reopening:

https://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/walt-disney-world-wait-times-and-news-for-9-26-20/
The Hilton Bonnet Creek does not have use of Disney transportation to get to the theme parks. I don't know if the Hilton has buses to the Disney theme and water parks or not. Even if they do, they probably don't run as often as the Disney buses run to the Disney resorts. If you have to instead taxi/Uber/Lyft to the parks, consider the cost of that as part of your hotel cost. Of course, I've seen lots of posts by people staying at Disney resorts who took Uber to the parks in the mornings to avoid the wait for Disney transportation, so I can't say staying at a Disney resort always avoids this cost.

If you had a rental car and the time, I'd suggest considering out-of-town attractions like Busch Gardens Tampa and the Kennedy Space Center, but getting to either by taxi would be very expensive. Perhaps there's a cheaper way to get to them. The concierge desk at your hotel could help, but I doubt that service is available to you while planning months ahead. Seaworld is nearby (closer than Universal) and is worth a day. I think Universal needs at least two days.

As DanaLTK suggested, ask specific questions when you think of them.

 

[Tom_E_D]

P.S. There is currently no park hopping. I don't know if the longer European tickets include park hopping or not, but I wouldn't plan on it being available (although it might become available if we return to more normal conditions by May).

There are currently no Disney tours other than VIP tours.

The FAQs page of the Hilton Bonnet Creek website says they offer bus service to the Disney theme parks, but not the water parks. However, if you click on the link for current shuttle schedule and choose any date (I tried a few), your hotel and any park, it'll say "no pickup times available." The Hilton apparently does not have a self-serve laundry room.

 

[Blondie58]

Tom_E_D is on point when he notes much of what I shared is NOT the way things are now happening at WDW due to Covid. My point was to share a methodical approach to planning to make your trip enjoyable. Having all necessary information on one sheet of 8 by 11 paper serves as an efficient practice for us. We had our two week spreadsheet almost done for January 2021 and due to Covid things have changed greatly. No dining reservations six months out, no fastpasses, and no park hopping as Tom clearly states. However, we are adjusting and may do so again and again as the whole return to "normal" is very fluid and not totally known to anyone. For sure we are living in a time of understanding and patience when planning this or any vacation. I hope you have a fabulous time when you visit the USA and WDW!!

 

[jaredjohn4]

We somewhat always stay on property which makes it easier to resort hop on days not at the parks just to relax. With the current situation who knows, but 14 days straight at parks is hard on the body.

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

Some people have spoken about renting a car, but i would tell you that just taking Uber wherever you need to go will be substantially cheaper than renting a car and paying for parking during that time.

 

[nkereina]

Some people have spoken about renting a car, but i would tell you that just taking Uber wherever you need to go will be substantially cheaper than renting a car and paying for parking during that time.

Can Europeans use Uber? I don't know how that works. I imagine renting a car could be easier and cheaper, from technology and phone plan perspective. Regardless, I wouldn't rent a car myself. I find it to be easier and less stressful relying on Disney transportation. I understand buses are slow right now, but there could be improvement by May. To get to Universal, there are many car services that can be arranged that will pick up and drop off door-to-door. Tony Hinds is often recommended here, and who I would use for that. I just know that if I were going to another country for the first time, I'd choose the path of least resistance even if it means paying a little more.

Are there any travel restrictions in place for Europeans right now? I know the Canadian border is closed and it keeps being extended. I'm hopeful things will be more "normal" by May, but would most definitely look into cancellation policies just in case.

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

Can Europeans use Uber? I don't know how that works. I imagine renting a car could be easier and cheaper, from technology and phone plan perspective. Regardless, I wouldn't rent a car myself. I find it to be easier and less stressful relying on Disney transportation. I understand buses are slow right now, but there could be improvement by May. To get to Universal, there are many car services that can be arranged that will pick up and drop off door-to-door. Tony Hinds is often recommended here, and who I would use for that. I just know that if I were going to another country for the first time, I'd choose the path of least resistance even if it means paying a little more.

Are there any travel restrictions in place for Europeans right now? I know the Canadian border is closed and it keeps being extended. I'm hopeful things will be more "normal" by May, but would most definitely look into cancellation policies just in case.

I use Uber when i travel to Amsterdam frequently for work, so i would assume Europeans can use Uber in the U.S. We have used Uber a ton in 5 trips to Orlando over the past 1.5 years. It is so easy, you generally get dropped off much closer to everything, and there are so many drivers in the general area you never have to wait more than a couple minutes.

 

[skramer100]

I know you booked 14 days at Bonnet Creek, but I would highly recommend booking a night at a Universal Resort that offers the Express Pass. You get it for both days and really allows you to bang all the rides out and have time.

 

[nkereina]

I use Uber when i travel to Amsterdam frequently for work, so i would assume Europeans can use Uber in the U.S. We have used Uber a ton in 5 trips to Orlando over the past 1.5 years. It is so easy, you generally get dropped off much closer to everything, and there are so many drivers in the general area you never have to wait more than a couple minutes.

Gotcha. I would agree that if they can use Uber here and are familiar with it, its certainly a good option. The only exception would be to MK, where they'd have to drop off at TTC.

I also agree with PP that the Universal resorts are worth staying at. Even if you don't physically spend the night there, booking one night at one of their three premier resorts will give everyone on the room two days of express pass. This is almost always cheaper than paying for each person in your party to have express pass, which is a per day charge. People will often book it as a "throwaway" room, either never setting foot in the room after checking in or just using it for a break from the parks. But, I do think Universal resorts are worth moving to for a couple days at the start or end of a 14 day trip. The resorts are gorgeous and being walking distance to the Universal parks, with early entry privileges, are also great benefits.

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

Gotcha. I would agree that if they can use Uber here and are familiar with it, its certainly a good option. The only exception would be to MK, where they'd have to drop off at TTC.

For MK you can get dropped at the Contemporary and walk over. Much quicker than getting dropped at the TTC.

 

[nkereina]

For MK you can get dropped at the Contemporary and walk over. Much quicker than getting dropped at the TTC.

From recent reports, that's not currently an option. They are checking guests at resort entrances to parking lots for a resort reservation at that property or an ADR at that property. If you have neither, they won't permit you through. This is being imposed as part of the Covid restrictions, so who knows if this will still be enforced come May.

 

[Rob Huff]

Only two nuggets:

1. Spreadsheets are you friend.

2. You'll never do it all. If you try to do it all, you'll (i) fail, and (ii) be disappointed. So figure out what is most important to you, lock in a plan to do those few things, and then enjoy the rest of the experiences as bonuses. It'll dramatically improve the quality of your experience!

 

[kwdw]

1) For a trip that long, not on property, I'd consider renting a car. Now - if you aren't comfortable with that idea - make sure you are comfortable using either Lyft or Uber - and be prepared to spend money on that. If you don't go alot of places, Uber/Lyft could be cheaper. But at least right now, you can also get great deals on rental cars.

2) I personally don't know anything about grocery delivery to that resort - but again with that long of a stay - you are going to want at least one trip to the grocery store - possibly two trips. The amount of money you could save on water and snacks is pretty huge. Uber/Lyft will drop off/pick from grocery stores - so you can still include that - but you will want learn about what is close to the resort (I recommend heading to a Publix). Personally, I also think its totally fun to visit grocery stores in other countries! These trips CAN take a surprising amount of your day.

3) You need to decide about Universal pretty quick. Universal trips are NOT cheap - and you have to go to both parks to see all of WWOHP. I just can't predict how busy those parks will be by May 2021 - but the Express Pass/or at least an hour of early admissions/staying at a Universal Resort in pre-Covid times was a big deal. Check out the Universal Threads for more info. I say this because it WILL impact your WDW planning and it might impact if you want to change hotels for a couple nights. If you really want the Universal piece - 14 days is enough to do both places. I recommend 2-3 days at Universal. You don't need more. If you can handle jam packed days - 2 is fine. If you want more time to explore, relax, 3 days is good. Note that I could spend all 14 days at WDW - so you don't need more to fill up your trip - so this is really about your desire to see WWOHP and the extra planning work.

4) I do "big picture planning" first:

• What should my arrival and departure days look like? My "minimum" amount of time to go to a park on either of those is about 4-5 hours. If I wouldn't have that long - I don't plan heading to a park that day. Sometimes on arrival or departure day - I plan a nice meal at a resort hotel or at DS - if I'm not headed to a park.
• How many days do I want in each WDW park based on length of stay. For you - I'd recommend at least 2 days each park. But price out ticket options - once you hit so many days - the cost of adding a day REALLY decreases. If I was going to WDW for 14 days - I'd be planning 10-12 park days - knowing that SOME of those days might not really be full days.
• How much do I want to pack and when/how am I going to do laundry? Does that resort have self-service laundry? For a long trip like that - we'd have a day between day 6-8 of the trip as a "clean-up/be lazy" day where we would do laundry - organize our stuff at the resort, probably a second trip to the grocery store, take a moment to clean out the junk out of my work email account.
• THEN I start to lay out my "ideal" days in the big picture - which is basically "where" am I going that day. Now - this is a tad harder with the Park Pass System right now because you can't 100% guarantee you can get exactly what you plan - but folks aren't complaining about that too much right now - so hope for the best.

5) Start reading the menus/reviews of the table service restaurants are WDW. As two adults - you will likely want some TS meals. Talk about if you want a TS meal each day - or only some days. As a couple - we like a TS meal nearly every park day because it gives us a respite from the park. But - right now - we (my partner and I) aren't dining indoors at restaurants - so that would play a huge factor into our planning. So - make your own judgment call on that. And realize - you can't predict May 2021 and US pandemic rules then. Other folks just like to wing their dining, maybe visit the lounges/bar hop, only want quick service. I would still say plan at least one nicer meal for yourselves. We tend to over plan the number of TS meals we will want early on - and then cancel some as the trip gets closer - or even after its begun.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

Hello & welcome.
Congratulations on booking your first trip, you must be very excited.
I have a few points for you to consider.

The first one which you obviously know, is that things are not normal anywhere at the moment & especially not in WDW so a lot of the planning resources that are available may well be different to what is actually happening now & when you get out there so it’s worth thinking about that.
I am sure that you already do this but check out a few vloggers who visit the parks regularly so that you have an idea of what is happening & what the procedures are.
The DIS boys & girls are obviously a good place to start but you might want to check out some of the other ones as well, Super Enthused, Tim Tracker, Resort TV1 & Disney Food Blog are a few worth looking at if you've not seem them before.

You’ve said that neither of you drive so you’ll be relying on cabs & or Uber & Lyft.
Download both the Uber & Lyft apps to your phones before you arrive & register credit cards to both of them.
We usually drive when we are over there but still use Uber & Lyft from time to time, they are quick & relatively cheap.
I assume that you will require transport from the airport to your hotel when you arrive so it’s worth considering opting for a larger vehicle if you use Uber as the regular vehicles can sometimes be on the smaller side especially if you have more than two suitcases.
The Hilton Bonnet Creek is a lovely resort, we’ve not stayed there but have picked hire car's up from there a few times.
You will not be able to walk to Disney Springs or any of the parks from there so you will be relying on either their bus transport & or cabs.
Uber & Lyft drivers will be able to drop you close to the all of the park entrances apart from the Magic Kingdom where they will drop you at the TTC, so you might want to be dropped off at The Contemporary from where you can walk to the MK.
Transport back from the parks to offsite hotels can be hit or miss especially at the end of the day so again, it’s worth thinking about that when you are planning.
You might want to think about using Disney transport or walking back to one of the onsite hotels then getting a bus from there to Disney Springs which will reduce the cost of cabs back to the Hilton.

As other people have said, spreadsheets & planning are your friends, as of now, park hopping is not a thing hopefully by the time you go it will be but be ready for that not to be available.

As far as Universal is concerned, you will probably need at least two days to get everything done, we went for the first time in years on our visit last November having avoided it for several trips.
I would recommend looking at staying at one of the three hotels onsite at Universal that grant you Unlimited Express Passes (Royal Pacific Resort, Hard Rock & Portofino Bay).
We booked one night at the RPR last year even though we had already booked 14 nights at a Disney hotel, because it worked out cheaper than buying two days of express passes, we just packed an overnight bag for Universal.
It’s also worth buying your Universal tickets from the American site as the UK site will try & sell you 14 day tickets.
We checked in at 8am picked up our express passes, dropped our luggage at bell services & were on our way to the parks by 8:30.
We got everything done that we wanted in both parks in two days with the express passes.

That’s all I can think of for now, if you have any specific questions, feel free to reach out to me & I’ll be glad to help.

 

[rosieposie3]

Wow thank you for all the info. I like the idea of using Uber or Lyft if possible. I will l try to get that all set up on my phone before we go. I think we will be for sure going to a grocery store for snacks/breakfast stuff/water to save some money. I've been pricing Universal and it seems like such an expensive and time-consuming add-on I've been second-guessing whether I'd be better focusing just on WDW? On the other hand I'm not sure when we will be back so I don't want to miss out either!
We found 14 day WDW tickets for a really good price direct with Disney. I think they're exclusive tickets to the UK and Ireland. The size of the four parks is soooo daunting but I think with some good planning (following the tips here) we'll manage.

One question that has come to mind is if it would be a good idea to get MagicBands even though we're staying off-site? Has anyone done that before and found it valuable? I think having to try to deal with card tickets or our phones might be a bit of a hassle.

Definitely time to start drawing up a spreadsheet. I'm sure I'll be back with more specific questions.