1st time to Disney World, many questions

[Violiav]

So my trip is 7/8-7/12 with the 8th - 11th being park days. Staying at Art of Animation (4 kids ages 11,11,12,15), got the quick service dining plan. I'm super amped. I'm probably more excited than the kids at this point.
We -should- get to the resort around 3 if all goes right with the flight. My quandary is what do I do with that half day? We got park hopper and water park so I was thinking of getting lunch at the hotel then hitting up typhoon lagoon, then swinging by one of the 4 parks after the water park closes.
I'd also like to check out that arcade in downtown Disney at some point. It sounds neat, if anything the kids might get a kick out of it. I know it's a few months off, but I really want to be prepared. Not over scheduled, but having an idea of what to do.
Btw, I've already picked up The Unofficial Guide to Disney World. What I'd like is a hi res bus route map. OR any high res map that I can get printed out and hang in my kitchen. Yeah, I'm odd.

 

[Violiav]

Thanks for all the Florida tips! The most I know about Florida is from Burn Notice and Flipper, in other words, no clue!

I've read up on both water parks and Typhoon Lagoon seems more interesting than Blizzard Beach. That snorkel/sea life thing is on his list. He loves to snorkel.
Epcot is also high on his list. For me, taking the kids on the classics is up there (do the teacups go as fast as I remember?). V (girl 1) has Toy Story Mania and Expedition Everest on her short list. J (girl 2) has Pirates, "the haunted house one", and "all the mountains". H (boy 1) loves the retro games, so DisneyQuest is for him, dunno what else he wants. Is there any unique Kingdom Hearts swag to be found there? S (boy 2), well I have no clue. He hasn't said.
I already know that we're going to buy mickey hats (with our names!) and take one of those cheesy family photos.
As for blow ups, well, I'm almost certain it's going to come from the two girls. Both 11 going on tween. Eesh.
As for Hollywood Studios... I want to go on Star Tours, but other than Disney Junior is that where they have stuff having to do with their TV shows? I know the girls watch Dog with a Blog and, um, the New York one.

ETA: Personally, I would be cool without hitting up Animal Kingdom, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to check it out. It's neat seeing what different people would do with the same days! Thanks for all the advice!
And by rain, do you mean sprinkle or super down pour?

 

[jlsHouston]

By rain we mean...most likely a downpour since it is Florida and summer. They get them in the afternoon usually. People bring ponchos or you can buy them in the parks, and take cover for the brief shower...which in 2011, it was a dry summer, 2012 I would say moderate and 2013 it was wet...I bet it rained every other day last summer. And what sucked about last summer, instead of cooling things off it was turning the parks into steam baths. We did some DisneyQuest or just found the inside rides if we were in the parks when it happened..

Usually the MK is open til 1 am in the summer months I think and when it is EMH it is open til 3 am. I don't think the summer hours are showing on the website yet. I would start at MK or EPCOT on day 1. I would definitely do MK your first full day at WDW. I would do HS on day 3, hit it in the morning and then do the pool at the resort, then hit it again in the evening til close unless everyone felt they were done with HS, then use that evening for DtD. I would do a water park on Friday and then that night go to MK til close. Saturday I would hit AK in the morning and then hit a water park again and end at EPCOT or MK. Not sure about your last day...usually we end at MK, but my DD32 loves AK and she sometimes does that park on last day. I think your kids with their ages will want to do the water parks a couple of times and you did pay for that on the tickets...might as well get your money's worth.

I don't really watch the touring thing for crowds in the summer. It is freaking crowded every day at every park in the summer it seems. I just do early mornings and then evening and nights at the parks because the crowds are still arriving or leaving and the heat is less debilitating.

Ah.....thinking about your trip makes me eager for my trip!

 

[Mouse_Trap]

Don't bother planning at all, have a schedule of the park hours and the predicted crows levels then decide just the night before where you want to go. Planning is for projects, Disney (especially for short breaks) is meant to be a holiday.

Is the Bus Map just to hang on your wall, travel-wise your not going to need it as you just go to the stop for the hotel/park you want.

It maybe worth checking, in previous years I remember you had to activate your pass by visiting a park before the water parks and more become available - not sure if this is still the case.

 

[Tinkerbell397]

The only issue with not planning is that you have 4 teens and the more people, the more ideas of where and when to go and you spend precious time deciding or not deciding as the case may be. I would have at least an outline and knowledge of EMH's. I would also decide definitely which day to hit Typhoon Lagoon as you want to get there when the park opens. Are you making an ADR's.....that will also determine when and which park you need to be in. You have plenty of time to work this all out...grab a good old pencil and paper and make a plan for each day beginning with park opening and closing times. Fill in any ADR's and go from there. And don't forget.....you can always split up for part of the day. You might want to bring some one the kids to one park and dad and the others to another park depending on likes and dislikes. That's the beauty of Disney World.....excellent transportation and no one can possibly get lost.

 

[Violiav]

We have for sure been talking about splitting the party. Usually the girls are with me and theAs for the boys are with dad.

ADRs, I'm not too sure about. I was thinking of waiting until the FP+times open up to decide on that. We were possibly going to do a meal at a sit down place at some point during the week.
I think lunch at Be Our Guest would be neat (the pics of the place look amazing!), but it seems to be pretty popular, so I'm not holding my breath. I would have picked T-Rex, but I can't find an open time for when I -think-we'll be in DtD and I'm nervous about making reservation for Tuesday in case there are any delays.

There are some rides I can strike off right away, Dumbo and similar. Barntormer doesn't interest me. I've had enough of it's a small world for a lifetime.
The two longest/worst lines I ever stood in were for the Who Framed Roger Rabbit ride ToonTown opened and then for Rocket Rods. Same trip Christmas 1999. Awful, awful rides (not worth the super long lines at any rate). IIRC the Roger Rabbit one extended all the way past it's a small world. I have now learned my lesson. I will NOT be riding the new Snow White ride (unless I hear it's super cool, and then I'll only do it with a FP).

As for the maps. Eh, I like maps.

 

[Tinkerbell397]

We spend little to no time in Fantasy Land but in November we will be going with my granddaughter who will be 20 months at the time of the trip.
Your longest lines will be Soarin, Rock'n Rollercoaster, Toy Story Mania, Everest, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The waits for those rides in the summer can be 90 minutes for standby....FP is absolutely a must. I still love Peter Pans Flight but that is also a FP must due to long lines.
As for maps....send away for your customized maps. Go to www.disneyworld.com and scroll to the bottom of the page. Under My Disney Experience, click on Order Customized Maps. Just follow the directions...they are free and sent to your house. Also....send away for a free planning DVD. The new 2014 version is out. On the same website, just type disney planning dvd into the search tap at the top. It should bring you to a link to the page. Happy Planning......

 

[Mouse_Trap]

We have for sure been talking about splitting the party. Usually the girls are with me and theAs for the boys are with dad.

ADRs, I'm not too sure about. I was thinking of waiting until the FP+times open up to decide on that. We were possibly going to do a meal at a sit down place at some point during the week.
I think lunch at Be Our Guest would be neat (the pics of the place look amazing!), but it seems to be pretty popular, so I'm not holding my breath. I would have picked T-Rex, but I can't find an open time for when I -think-we'll be in DtD and I'm nervous about making reservation for Tuesday in case there are any delays.

There are some rides I can strike off right away, Dumbo and similar. Barntormer doesn't interest me. I've had enough of it's a small world for a lifetime.
The two longest/worst lines I ever stood in were for the Who Framed Roger Rabbit ride ToonTown opened and then for Rocket Rods. Same trip Christmas 1999. Awful, awful rides (not worth the super long lines at any rate). IIRC the Roger Rabbit one extended all the way past it's a small world. I have now learned my lesson. I will NOT be riding the new Snow White ride (unless I hear it's super cool, and then I'll only do it with a FP).

As for the maps. Eh, I like maps.

At DtD, I would choose Raglan Road...you should be fine for a walkin' as long as you don't mind a bit of a wait. Go to the reservation desks sometime before you want to eat and put your name down. You get a pager but I wouldn't worry about waiting in the area, just come back around the time they estimated. I've found that they are pretty accommodating even if you turn up way after you have been paged.