First timer with a lot of questions

[Countrymomof1]

First time poster, first time Disney trip, first time on a vacation for a week with DD (8 in Dec). Going for her birthday! Been saving up for a LONG time for this trip.

I have a few questions so please bear with me. HAHA

Are there any special perks or secrets anywhere I should ask about on her birthday? Like maybe a free meal or ice cream or something? We will be staying at the Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Has anyone stayed there before?
We will be driving from Michigan so I have never driven this far/long with her before and was wondering what I should bring along in the car to keep her occupied. Its about a 17 hour drive so we will be stopping on the way in Tennessee.
I want to enjoy some of the rides as well. Is Space Mountain safe for kids? I know we will be hitting Volcano Bay as well. We both love putt putt and go-carting so we will be looking for those spots too.
I am afraid to ask but, are the souvenirs and gift shops expensive? I am assuming buying stuff in the actual parks are going to cost more that at lets say Walmart.
For an 8 year old, how long it too long of a day. I am thinking half day then back to the hotel for a nap and snacks then back out after. She doesn’t nap anymore but she will probably need one while there.

This is a touchy subject but, I was hoping she would be past this by now but, she still wets the bed. And when I mean she wets the bed, she soaks it! We currently use pull ups (at her request because she absolutely HATES waking up in a wet bed) but, I still end up washing because they just don’t last all night. I get her the overnight pull ups because she still fits in them. Tried the goodnite brand ones and they do fit barely, those don’t work either. She can’t wait to go but also says she doesn’t want to because she knows she will wake up in wet bed. I have a mattress cover that I am going to bring and I have told her time and time again that NO ONE will know. Not sure what my options are if any so if anyone has any been there done that tips, I am all ears!

I guess my final question for now is for those who have done both. Which is better in your opinion a cruise or Disney World. I want to try a cruise my next trip. Never been on a cruise before either.
Thank you in advance for the tips and suggestions!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Here is the CR thread, hundreds of DISers have stayed there, you can find out everything about it from them!

There are no special bday perks. Feel free to put it on your reservation and tell them when you check into a restaurant but be aware darn near everyone is celebrating something at WDW these days so it’s not like restaurants in your home town. You can get a happy birthday pin for free. One fun thing I did was bring some bedazzle stickers to deck my button out. If she wears the button CMs will occasionally wish her a happy bday.

Everything is expensive. Adult t-shirts are like $35 and I think even Mickey ears run like $30 these days…

Mid day break since you’re staying CR. What kid wants to nap when a pool is there?!

 

[woody5]

If is just the two of you, have looked into flying? Gas plus two hotel rooms will cover a lot of the cost of the flight.

By age 8, my kids and grandkids wanted to be in the park all day. They wanted to ride as many rides as possible!! Now they do swim a lot at home.

If you are wanting to save some money, I would suggest staying at a moderate or even value resort. Your daughter will have a blast at any resort.

 

[Miffy]

OP, Perhaps you are already getting a discount on your room at the Contemporary, but if you aren't, you might want to check out mousesavers, which lists all the discounts currently available at WDW.

And, as another poster has already suggested, perhaps you could stay at a less expensive resort since the Contemporary is one of the most expensive resorts on the WDW property, and many of the lower priced resorts are extremely nice. The money you save there could go to purchase those expensive souvenirs or some Lightning Lane passes, since you'll be going at a very busy time of year.

I can't give any insight into the bed-wetting, but for sure someone will be along who can.

As for your 8-year-old daughter, I'm pretty sure she'll love WDW no matter where you stay or what you do.

BTW, Volcano Bay is at Universal, not WDW. In case you didn't realize that.

And even though you have a lot of off-site things in your post, just know that unless you're planning on being in Orlando for 2+ weeks, there's so much to do on-site at WDW, that you could easily never leave the property and still not touch half of all there is to see and do.

I just got back from a week-long trip, I'm a WDW veteran, this was the 3rd time I've gone this year, and I didn't even come close to doing everything I wanted to do and planned to do. And yet I did a heckuva lot.

 

[RickNJane]

We did a stay at BLT at the contemporary last December with the grand kids 4 and 7 both girls. They did not slow down wanted to stay rope drop to close. Almost killed me! The 7 year old's favorite ride is Space Mountain. Contemporary is great to walk to Magic Kingdom, but as woody5 stated, the other resorts may save you a bit. The pool is not that great at the contemporary as well. Don't get me wrong, I Love bay Lake tower (BLT) but I am a DVC Member.
Be sure to have down time. We always go back to the room around lunch and have a rest and maybe a nap.

I am assuming you are going in December and if so, hit the resorts as all the Lobbies will be decorated. The Grand Floridian has a killer Gingerbread house. We made it a point to take a pic of the girls in front of as many lobby Christmas trees as possible. They really got into it.

Have never done a cruise so can't help ya there.

Enjoy!