First time Disney World

[cougfan86]

Never been to Disney World so this Dec I booked a trip for my moms 70th. Taking her (she is in a wheel chair) and all of her grandchildren 11 people total. Grandkids age 10-19

We are staying 7 nights at the contemporary with the meal plan

Was thinking something like
Sat Fly in
Sunday Epcot
Monday Animal Kingdom
Tuesday Universal Studios
Wed Hollywood Adventure
Thur Universal Studios
Friday Magic Kingdom
Sat Fly Home

With the meals trying to find best resturants maybe
Sat California Grill
Sun Coral Reef
Mon Jiko
Tue (at Universal)
Wed Downtown Disney Bongo Cuban
Thur (at Universal)
Fri Be Our Guest


Being the newbe looking for advise
Thanks

 

[wendysue]

Wow. I can't imagine going for the first time with 10 other people.... I would get some of the others involved in looking at the Disney website and other sites to see what everyone would maybe like to do and incorporate some of their ideas. What you have listed is certainly doable. When you get there, take a deep breath, look around, and just enjoy. Make note of what you would like to do for the next time, as well. And the time after that....and the time after that.....

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Which dates in December? The first two weeks and last two weeks in December are like night and day.
Since you are staying on property, you will want to take advantage of "extra magic hours" when the parks open early or stay open late.
Saturday- Arrive/Downtown Disney. Dinner @ California Grill.
Sunday- Epcot. Best park for weekends. Epcot is known for the food options. Coral Reef is good, we go there every other year, but honestly World Showcase has better options. If you don't mind paying out of pocket, I would use the DDP for lunch @ Coral Reef and maybe give dinner @ Via Napoli a try since it is inexpensive.
Monday-Islands of Adventure (Universal). Isn't very big and won't be overwhelming after a full day at a big park like Epcot.
Tuesday- Universal Studios (Universal). Beginning of the week is the best time to visit Universal parks.
Wednesday- Animal Kingdom Since AK closes early (we've never stayed past 2pm) doing this in the middle of the week can provide some time to relax. Dinner @ Jiko.
Thursday-Magic Kingdom has emh mornings this day and I find the best way to see MK is to arrive early, mid day break, then return later. This will allow you to skip mid afternoon crowd surge. I only suggest doing dinner @ Be Our Guest if you're positive the menu appeals to everyone, otherwise try lunch and save your table service credit for Hollywood Studios or another meal in Epcot.
Friday- Hollywood Studios. Doesn't make much of a difference when you visit here and this park can be done in a half to full day. I'd recommend getting there at opening, then mid-day break, and returning at night to see Fantasmic! Fantasmic Lunch @ Mama Melrose (includes appetizers & best viewing area for the show) maybe? Instead of Bongos... I've had two meals here and both were forgettable.. bad service or bland food...
Saturday-Fly Home.

 

[cougfan86]

Thanks for the help.
We fly in Dec 13th and out Dec 20
Having all of the kids skip school the week before Christmas break

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

How exciting! Just FYI, Friday at MK may be a bit busy as it's the pre-start to a pre-holiday week. Take @PrincessNelly_NJ advice. Have an awesome trip!!!

 

[dadddio]

My advice is to split your group by age/interests. each subgroup can go and have tons of fun and then meet up at certain times with the main group for sit down meals/parades, etc.

 

[zurgandfriend]

That is a great time to go, your dining choices are good. You may want to add a buffet in there or as stated something in the world showcase, Biergaten, Restaurant Marrakesh etc. Personally I would dedicate more time to the Magic Kingdom and think about Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, a sperate ticket event, but whatever you choose Enjoy!

 

[ginadee]

Wow...that is awesome. With that many days I would really try to get in 2 at MK and if at all possible at least a half day of down time. Relax poolside or something. You are going to be exhausted. Sounds like a fun trip.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

I do agree that you may wish to spend at least 1 & 1/2 days at Magic Kingdom.
Since you will be staying at the Contemporary, once you arrive you may want to go over to MK for a few hours then have dinner @ Cali Grill or vice versa (early dinner @ Cali Grill then MK.)
And move Downtown Disney to a night after Animal Kingdom or Islands of Adventure.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

Make sure and do the early hours for AK. You will be able to do most everything you want with early hours and three fastpasses. We did AK the last two hours before closing two weeks ago, and we could get on everything we wanted. The crowd was gone and it was so much cooler. My fav. time in AK, however, is early hours. We were able to see tons of animals in the early hours, but there was almost no animals out the last hour. We had an amazing driver which made the ride worth it. We were the last truck through, so he stopped for long periods for us to get clear pictures of the few animals who were out.
We always do Epcot on Tuesdays so we can do early hours and ride Soarin and Test Track at least twice. With early hours and fastpass, this is possible even when crowded.
We do MK on Thursdays for the same reason.

 

[SAV]

Just so you are aware that the Universal parks are not part of Disney World and will require you to get an alternate form of transportation to get there. That could be pretty costly with 11 people.

If your heart is set on Universal, then maybe you should look into staying at the Universal hotels for 2 of the nights and then transfer to the Disney hotel.

 

[LAKid53]

Which dates in December? The first two weeks and last two weeks in December are like night and day.
Since you are staying on property, you will want to take advantage of "extra magic hours" when the parks open early or stay open late.
Saturday- Arrive/Downtown Disney. Dinner @ California Grill.
Sunday- Epcot. Best park for weekends. Epcot is known for the food options. Coral Reef is good, we go there every other year, but honestly World Showcase has better options. If you don't mind paying out of pocket, I would use the DDP for lunch @ Coral Reef and maybe give dinner @ Via Napoli a try since it is inexpensive.
Monday-Islands of Adventure (Universal). Isn't very big and won't be overwhelming after a full day at a big park like Epcot.
Tuesday- Universal Studios (Universal). Beginning of the week is the best time to visit Universal parks.
Wednesday- Animal Kingdom Since AK closes early (we've never stayed past 2pm) doing this in the middle of the week can provide some time to relax. Dinner @ Jiko.
Thursday-Magic Kingdom has emh mornings this day and I find the best way to see MK is to arrive early, mid day break, then return later. This will allow you to skip mid afternoon crowd surge. I only suggest doing dinner @ Be Our Guest if you're positive the menu appeals to everyone, otherwise try lunch and save your table service credit for Hollywood Studios or another meal in Epcot.
Friday- Hollywood Studios. Doesn't make much of a difference when you visit here and this park can be done in a half to full day. I'd recommend getting there at opening, then mid-day break, and returning at night to see Fantasmic! Fantasmic Lunch @ Mama Melrose (includes appetizers & best viewing area for the show) maybe? Instead of Bongos... I've had two meals here and both were forgettable.. bad service or bland food...
Saturday-Fly Home.

I sure hope your visit is the first two weeks in December, not the last two. The week between Christmas and New Years is only for the hardy and experienced (or the completely insane). Agree that Uni is not crowded the beginning of the week. But will warn you, IOA closes earlier than most Disney parks - depending upon the week day, sometimes at 6:00PM. And I would schedule visits to WDW parks based upon EMH - that way you can get the more popular rides done if you missed them during regular hours. And unless you absolutely have to see the 3:00 PM parade in MK and love waiting for your resort bus FOREVER, leave the MK right as the parade starts, or even better, that is the time to do the more popular rides.

I second Mama Melrose - the chicken parm is excellent.

But most important, relax and enjoy your trip. You can always come back!

 

[RMichael21]

As @PrincessNelly_NJ said, only go to Be Our Guest if you are certain the menu appeals to everyone. Otherwise, you should go there for lunch. I would like to recommend Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian. Great Service, amazing food and a great view of the castle/bay lake.

 

[LWB]

Maybe the kids are too old ... have you thought about adding a character breakfast? Grandmother might enjoy seeing the kids meet Mickey! Plus a buffet may be an easy way to find something everyone would eat?

 

[Ttocs]

If it was me going to Disney for the first time, I would start with the Magic Kingdom. I don't think my kids or I would be able to wait till the last day of our trip. Especially if I'm staying right next door at the Contemporary.

 

[kamr211]

Are you set on Universal this trip?

 

[cougfan86]

With the Harry Potter rides at Universal yea we need to do it. The kids all grew up waiting for the books to be released and read them right away.
I did get tickets to the Christmas party so the last day we will have extra hours in magic kingdom

 

[Wikkler]

I'd say this:
Saturday - You arrive. Focus on checking in and exploring your hotel. Check out the various amenities Disney provides to liven the guest experience. I suggest California Grill due to it being right there at your hotel, plus you get to see Mickey!
Sunday - Do Magic Kingdom. It's more crowded on weekends, but doing it first lets you know "you are here".
Monday - Islands of Adventure.
Tuesday - Universal Studios.
Wednesday - Break day. Trust me. You'll need this. You might want to try going to Kennedy Space Center a few miles east, or doing the Medieval Times or Pirate dinner shows.
Thursday - Epcot
Friday - Either Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios, depending on your interests.
Saturday - Leave. Depending on what time you leave you might to be able to squeeze in park time, but I doubt it.

I haven't done the dining plan so I can't tell you about that, sorry.

 

[harryk]

A most enjoyable take is the Hoop Dee Doo Review over at Fort Wilderness. They are set-up to handle large groups such as the one you will have with you. Meal is good (fixed menu), drinks are included (limited menu), desert is Strawberry Shortcake (one selection). Show is very good and lots of fun.
If you are flying out - Magical Express picks you up rather early so as to get you to MCO well in advance of check-in time. Security lines tend to be long (unless you are flying priority service).