First Time Disney Vacation --- Questions Questions Questions :)

switts · Aug 5, 2011

doing a park a day is totally doable, just depends on how much you want to run the kids down. When i go I usually have the park hoppers so i will head out first thing in the morning then head back for a nap after lunch and then head to another park at night and go til close.

WDW_Princess24 · Aug 5, 2011

I also use the park hoppers, it gives you the freedom to move around to accommodate your needs. Also, during Christmas time the parks tend to be more crowded so you can have the freedom of moving about if you find one park is too crowded for you at any specific time. It sounds like you have a great trip planned by land and by sea!

Steve-B · Aug 5, 2011

Count me in favor of park hoppers. We always get them and are usually at WDW for 5 days (during the summer) and don't miss out on too much. So you should be able to do and see pretty much anything you want to in 7, depending on the crowds.

Have fun for me too, will ya?

:sohappy: Looking forward to reading your trip report! :sohappy:

mickeysshoes · Aug 5, 2011

Welcome to the boards. Sounds like your kids are going to have Christmas they will never forget. Not knowing the exact dates you will be in the park is hard to say...but you should plan on them being pack. So the best advise I can give you is go in with an open mind knowing you will not be able to see it all. Take the time before you go to review what the parks have to offer and have the kids make list of what would be the most important for them to see...or you. Do the important stuff and anything else you can do will be a bonus. Going on the Dream after the parks will give you a chance to rest and regroup from a busy park tour.

brifraz · Aug 7, 2011

Hello!

We did the Christmas week visit just a couple years ago. If you are staying on site, I would highly recommend getting to the park with Extra Magic Hours in the morning a half hour before that opening. If you are not staying on site, pick a park without EMH and get there early, also. During that week, the first hour or two in the park is about the only time you can do any attractions before the lines become 30 minutes or more for each.

Get each of your kids a guidebook (Birnbaum for Kids for the 5yr old and regular Birnbaum for the 15yr old) and let them each pick the priorities for each park. Then put their lists together and come up with a top 10 for each park. I'd recommend getting in early to do maybe 6 of those attractions. Then before you leave the park, get Fastpasses for later that night and go back to your room for some R & R before going back to the park in the evening to use the FPs. We also would often get FPs at park opening, get more a couple hours later, then get more right before we left. That gives you three attractions to do when you go back to the park at night.

I have at least a thousand more thoughts for you if you want, but they would be better for Private Messages than a forum. Let me know if you want more ideas!!!

alj11980 · Aug 8, 2011

Hello! Great choice in vacation destinations! Disney won't let you down - I promise! We always do the park hopper as well. Especially if you are staying on Disney property. We usually take advantage of the magic hours at whichever park has them for the day. If they are evening magic hours at MK we will go to Epcot during the day, back to the resort to rest and then to MK for the evening. Works our great for us! Seems to me you really make the most of your time that way - getting to see and do everything you want at each park! Have a GREAT time!

mwlillie · Aug 8, 2011

Park in a day

I would highly recommend www.touringplans.com. Now only will they allow you to plan which park to visit each day, but allow you to download touring plans which will give you the best way to see each park.

There is a subscription fee, but it is rather small.

In addition, once I've decided what park I'm going to be at on a particular day, I try to make Advance Dining Reservations (ADR's) for where I want to eat at in that park. Saves a large amount of time. Just because you make ADR's does not mean you have to use them. For example, I enjoy Primetime Cafe (at Disney Hollywood Studio) so I make an ADR for the day I plan to be at that park.

Tip 2: Look up on different sites for best locations and how long to line up ahead of time for the different parades/shows (Fantasmics, fireworks, etc). If it is recommended to be in-place 60 minutes before the show starts, make sure that you will finish your meal at an ADR'd restaurant (I usually schedule plan on 90 to 120 minutes for a table service meal) in plenty of time to get where you need to be.

Hope this helps.

timelrod · Aug 9, 2011

Wow! What a first trip! You guys are going to have an amazing time. Disney at Christmas time is an amazing place to be. My wife runs a Disney Blog, and has several posts on Christmas at Disney, and tips for traveling to WDW at that time of the year. Feel free to check it out! The address is www.elrodsgodisney.com! Hope you have a fantastic trip!!!

Tim

jlevis · Aug 9, 2011

Get a good tour book and familiarize yourself with the parks and prioritize which attractions you would like to do. I agree that touringplans.com is a valuable resource. It can help you plan your day and get the most out of your time in the park. Your children are pretty far apart age wise and their interests might be very different and at opposite ends of the park. Christmas is a very busy time at the parks and the crowds can make getting around difficult and the lines can get very long. So grouping rides by area of the park so your not running back and forth might be a good idea. I'm not a fan of park hopping, especially when the parks are really crowded. It takes time to get from park to park and the time you'll spend lined-up at the monorail, or ferry, or bus, or parking-lot could be spent on a couple of rides. But, I might be in the minority on that.

disney fan 13 · Aug 9, 2011

i would say do a park a day so that you can take a lot of the park in and because you have 7 days and will be able to expiriance a lot and revisit parks . and then when you finish go to some of disney's other amenedies like downtown disney which has many things such as shopes resteraunts movies bowling and disney quest which is pretty much a massive gameing complex ( i would also say a water park but it is in december). or just enjoy your resort. i would highly recomend birbaum guides. if they are not out with the 2012 edition thr 2011 version works to. and also familiraze yourself with the maps of the park so you don't get lost or so you don't go looking for space mountain at epcot.

also i recomend to go to the park holywood studios at night so that you can see the osborne lights and the get a diner rreservation at one of the world showcase resteraunts ( not japan)

if you need help planning were here to help

also what resort are you staying at?

hope you have fun:xmas:

olinecoach61 · Aug 9, 2011

I would get a copy of the unofficial guidebook, it cuts slot of the bs out and gives you real reviews of attractions and restaurants. Schedule some ADRs, read through this site, there is a lot of good info and have a blast, it will be trip your family will never forget!

njDizFan · Aug 9, 2011

I don't recommend hoppers so much for first timers but since you have 7 days it might be okay. In my opinion I would do 1 park each of the first 4 days. there is so much to do your head will be spinning. On your day at Animal Kingdom, since it closes early stop by DTD or tour the other resorts and have a nice dinner. And for the last 3 days go to the parks you liked the most. Or if you opt for the hopper split the days so you can see everything again.

I know when I first started going I was in such a rush to do everything, that I forgot to really relax and enjoy myself(but that is my personality).

Christmas is such a special time there, so like others have said take time to see the Osborn lights at DHS and see a least a few resorts to see their holiday decorations. The last time I went for Christmas(2008-2009) the weather was awesome(I wore shorts and a t-shirt every day) but I know that was unusual so plan on some chilly days.

Most of all do some research, get familiar with the parks, order your free personalized park maps and enjoy.

Don't forget to make some advanced dinner reservations.

stlbobby · Aug 9, 2011

Check out this recent thread: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=711748

It will help you get the most out of your trip.

Good luck and have fun.

disney fan 13 · Aug 9, 2011

hey to say you some money here are some links to things that the guide gives you but now you get them for free.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/maps/

this were you can familialiareize ( i can't spell today lol) yourself with teh parks and the area around it

http://www.wdwinfo.com/

here is where you can get attraction overviews/ reviews/ weather/ menus and a bunch of other great planning help

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/fast-pass/

and here is where you can find the information about Fastpass which is difficult to understand on your first trip without help

and now just three peices of advice

1. don't plan every single detail, plan what parks you will do on what days and make reservations to resteraunts but beside's that just go with it

2. have fun. and since you have seven days you don't have to be running to things or spending all day from 8 am to 12am at the parks.

3. be ready for kids to be complaining about legs since well... disney is a LOT of walking.

hoped this helped

First Time Disney Vacation --- Questions Questions Questions :)

switts

Member

WDW_Princess24

Active Member

Steve-B

Active Member

mickeysshoes

Well-Known Member

brifraz

Marching along...

alj11980

New Member

mwlillie

Member

timelrod

Member

jlevis

Well-Known Member

disney fan 13

Well-Known Member

olinecoach61

Well-Known Member

njDizFan

Well-Known Member

stlbobby

Well-Known Member

disney fan 13

Well-Known Member