A few questions for a first trip

[CantHelpKristy]

Hello, my name is Kristy and my family (husband Brian, Sami 14, Gavin 8) will be going to WDW in June. I have been reading and researching and watching videos till I am on overload. So here are a few questions that I am not clear on:

I want to mention that we will have our own car and staying at AOA for 7 days/6 nights (5 days of tickets). We will have the deluxe DP and Hopper.

Which fireworks/shows are worth watching while dining? And from which restaurant do you recommend?

We're wanting to take a day in the middle of the trip to drive off the resort to a beach. Is this possible and which beach do you recommend?

Any recommendations on which park to do on a certain day? Just starting a rough draft and I have Wed-MK, Thurs-Epcot, Fri-DHS, Sun-AK, Mon-MK & Anything we missed!

Thanks for any info!

Kristy

 

[Jae99]

When is your trip?

As for restaurants to watch the fireworks from. We dined at O'hana and watched Wishes from our window seat. We did receive some pixie dust and got the best table in the restaurant from which to view the fireworks. We also book the Fantasmic Package at Mama Melrose inside Hollywood Studios. You don't get to see the show from the restaurant, but by booking the Fantasmic Dining Package you will get preferred seating for the show. It also allows you to show up a mere 15 to 30 minutes before the show instead of lining up an hour prior. I haven't seen Illuminations from any restaurant, but I have heard that the Rose and Crown Pub offers good viewing spots.

 

[smk]

I don't have any dining choices for you.

Beaches are a long drive, Tampa is the best for finding public parking however, Port Canaveral and eastern side is probably the closer drive. We have done both, Cocoa Beach is fine but I don't remember finding all the great of parking available, unless you park in a hotel parking lot and risk having your car towed if you stay too long. Tampa is a good hour just to the city IF the traffic is good on interstate 4, and that is a big IF.

I usually stay on site, and do not get in the car until it is time to leave. I guess I would want to resort hop on a free day, or relax and get in my resort pool.

 

[Pluto15]

Hi

I would recommend seeing all three firework shows. Wishes illumination and Fantasmic. There all amazing. If you have a car I would say use Disney transportation as much less stress and no parking fee and use the car to resort hop or for the beach. If your only going to each park once try leave early and stay late to make sure yon fit everything in and see the firework show. Make sure you see festival of the lion king Indiana Jones stunt show beauty and the beast and the Main Street parade at MK and evening electric parade as there all amazing. Ride wise try not to miss exposition Everest big thunder and space mountain and Rock and rolletcoaster as all really good. The water parks might be an alternative to the beach as there amazing and tons to do there for the full day. Hope this helps. And if you have Deluxe DP that's a huge amount to eat so choose some really nice restaurants.

 

[Pluto15]

Ps fir fireworks you can get amazing views out with the restaurants so if you dine earlier you will still get an amazing view

 

[LAM378]

First, when in June are you going? Early June is a lot less crowded than late June, so that might help us help you. For which park to visit when, check crowd calendars. I like TouringPlans (costs $20 to subscribe but there are coupon codes out there, and they have a great app for wait times/rides down).

Try to take advantage of morning Extra Magic Hours at the parks, especially MK. You can get a lot done in that extra hour when crowds are low. Epcot almost always has evening EMH on Friday nights (9-11) and I like to be there for that. World Showcase is beautiful at night, especially when the crowds drop off.

I wouldn't leave WDW for a beach day but I'm from a state with beaches and you might not be. I can't recommend any beaches but you might want to spend Saturday at the least-crowded park and save the beach for another day; I'm assuming FL beaches are crowded with locals on the weekend, like ours are.

Have you made any ADRs? The deluxe DP is A WHOLE LOT of food and you'll spend a lot of time sitting in restaurants. Unless you're planning a lot of signature dining and/or your family are huge eaters, I'd re-think that. The men in my family loooove food, but do fine in WDW with one large meal a day and lighter CS meals/snacks otherwise. It's hot and you drink a lot to hydrate and your appetites might not be what they are at home.

I love AoA. Are you staying in a suite or a LM room?

 

[HollyAD]

You will love AoA! We stayed in Oct and we loved just being at the resort, forget the parks! I agree with above posts...see all the fireworks from inside the parks! I do have some dinning suggestions.

Chef Mickey's- the food is okay but after dinner you can go to the observation deck at the contemporary and watch the fireworks. This is a character dinner and is a lot of fun for the family.

Yak and Yeti- Table service inside Animal Kingdom. Asian inspired menu and it has always been very good. This has nothing to do with fireworks its just a table service in AK.

Whispering Canyon- The food again is okay but this one is fun for the family for sure! You can also hop on a boat and head to the contemporary and catch the fireworks. Whispering Canyon is in the Wilderness Lodge which is beautiful and fun to explore a little.

Spice Road table- I have never been there, it is a table service restaurant in Epcot. However, I realized on my last visit that it has good viewing for Illuminations at Epcot. It is a very open restaurant and it overlooks the area where Illuminations is. Illuminations is a very large show and you can see it from all over the world showcase but it's best to have a clear spot to watch it from. I am sure when you are seated, you can request a spot closer to the water for a better view.

As far as driving to the beach. Would it be better to hit the beach at the end of the vacation since you have your own car? As a child we always spent one night at Daytona on the way home and went to the beach one day. From what I remember it's not super easy to get back and forth to the beach from Orlando. Traffic and road construction can be a problem. I also agree with the above post that there is a public parking issues at some of the beaches. Plus the resort is really over themed and the pool area is fun at AoA and I wouldn't want to miss out on what I was paying for at WDW.

 

[Kosmo1986]

I just stayed at AOA in January and it was great! We drove as well but still used the bus system (which was better than expected)

For Beaches, I live in the Tampa bay area and from Disney you are looking at about a 2 hour ride to get to a decent beach. Cocoa Beach is about 1 hour a way from AOA so this would probably be a better choice (plus not having to drive down I-4 the whole way is great)

For Restaurants, at AK yak & yeti is great, EPCOT- via Napoli, I usually don't eat at MK (unless you get the allusive Beauty and the beast reservation), Ohana is awesome and so is Sanaa (non peak reservations=great views!). But the most fun to me is eating at Hollywood studios, Sci-fi, Mama Melrose, 50's prime time- these probably don't have the "best" food or anything but the atmosphere is great and I love it!

If any of the nights have the night time EPCOT or MK, try to take advantage of these, they are worth it. For MK I would have the first morning devoted to Fantasy land. If you get there at rope drop you can usually accomplish a few rides, and use the fast passes for the mountains. Once the lines get long you can update your Monday fast passes to get the rides you missed.

 

[Tinkerbell397]

If you want a "down day", take advantage and explore the other resorts. So the monorail loop.....The Polynesian, The Grand Floridian and The Contemporary. They all have their own style and charm. Go to Down Town Disney and explore there....another good idea for a day away from the parks. Or walk The Boardwalk and have such there. I have always taken the advise of others on this board and stayed away from the MK on a weekend or Monday...they just tend to me more crowded on those days. Have a magical Trip!

 

[JillC LI]

I highly recommend getting a late reservation at Rose & Crown Pub and watching IllumiNations from there. Great food, great show.

As for which parks on which days, I base that strictly on park hours including Extra Magic Hours, and the crowd predictor on Touring Plans web site. Once I decide which parks on which days, then I decide which restaurants I want to put on which days. Park Hopper passes give you more flexibility, but if you know you will be at EPCOT on a particular afternoon, it's better to try to book Rose & Crown, for example, on that day.

Enjoy your first trip!

 

[CantHelpKristy]

First, when in June are you going? Early June is a lot less crowded than late June, so that might help us help you. For which park to visit when, check crowd calendars. I like TouringPlans (costs $20 to subscribe but there are coupon codes out there, and they have a great app for wait times/rides down).

Try to take advantage of morning Extra Magic Hours at the parks, especially MK. You can get a lot done in that extra hour when crowds are low. Epcot almost always has evening EMH on Friday nights (9-11) and I like to be there for that. World Showcase is beautiful at night, especially when the crowds drop off.

I wouldn't leave WDW for a beach day but I'm from a state with beaches and you might not be. I can't recommend any beaches but you might want to spend Saturday at the least-crowded park and save the beach for another day; I'm assuming FL beaches are crowded with locals on the weekend, like ours are.

Have you made any ADRs? The deluxe DP is A WHOLE LOT of food and you'll spend a lot of time sitting in restaurants. Unless you're planning a lot of signature dining and/or your family are huge eaters, I'd re-think that. The men in my family loooove food, but do fine in WDW with one large meal a day and lighter CS meals/snacks otherwise. It's hot and you drink a lot to hydrate and your appetites might not be what they are at home.

I love AoA. Are you staying in a suite or a LM room?

We're going in late June because the kids may or may not still be in school the beginning of June depending on how many snow days they have to make up. We live in northern Indiana, so the beach is a MUST for us. I agree that I should move the beach day off of Saturday. Thanks for the advice!

I highly recommend getting a late reservation at Rose & Crown Pub and watching IllumiNations from there. Great food, great show.

As for which parks on which days, I base that strictly on park hours including Extra Magic Hours, and the crowd predictor on Touring Plans web site. Once I decide which parks on which days, then I decide which restaurants I want to put on which days. Park Hopper passes give you more flexibility, but if you know you will be at EPCOT on a particular afternoon, it's better to try to book Rose & Crown, for example, on that day.

Enjoy your first trip!

Thanks! I didn't think about the EMH! I need to find out which parks have them on which days then I will rearrange from there. Thanks for the reminder!