First Time for everything! ....HELP!

[UnderwaterPrincess]

Here is a quick run down, My little sister and I are planning a trip to Disney for March of 2015. We were hoping to do at least 2 parks at WDW, 1 park at Universal, and Lego Land.
However, other members of our party would like to do more at Disney. Lego Land is an absolute must for this trip as all of the kids in the trip are boys under then age of 15.....I am really excited about this for them.
We are working right now on a couple of details such as what day to visit which park, does booking early for rooms really matter for price or are there great last minute deals. Should we do a dining plan?
Theoretically I was thinking we could pull off what we do for other theme parks iwth Disney (pack our food and head outside the park for lunch, or leave for a couple of hours and come back) but I'm very tempted to say NO and go with park food.
I know we'll be traveling the week before undercover tourist says crowds will be moderate...what are moderate crowds in Disney with respect to wait times in line? we will not be doing fast pass.

Also any tips with this party would be great.
We'll have 8 people, 4 adults, 4 kids under 15. We plan on sticking together most of time.

Denise

 

[sshindel]

Here is a quick run down, My little sister and I are planning a trip to Disney for March of 2015. We were hoping to do at least 2 parks at WDW, 1 park at Universal, and Lego Land.
However, other members of our party would like to do more at Disney. Lego Land is an absolute must for this trip as all of the kids in the trip are boys under then age of 15.....I am really excited about this for them.
We are working right now on a couple of details such as what day to visit which park, does booking early for rooms really matter for price or are there great last minute deals. Should we do a dining plan?
Theoretically I was thinking we could pull off what we do for other theme parks iwth Disney (pack our food and head outside the park for lunch, or leave for a couple of hours and come back) but I'm very tempted to say NO and go with park food.
I know we'll be traveling the week before undercover tourist says crowds will be moderate...what are moderate crowds in Disney with respect to wait times in line? we will not be doing fast pass.

Also any tips with this party would be great.
We'll have 8 people, 4 adults, 4 kids under 15. We plan on sticking together most of time.

Denise

A lot of people will be able to give you some really great advice on some of your questions, but I wanted to hit on one quick thing.
There is no reason you would have to leave the park to eat food you pack. They don't care if you bring your own food in. Feel free to pack a lunch any day you are at a Disney park and eat it wherever you like. I know I'm making some sandwiches to bring in for lunch on my next trip.

For the others questions, with only 2 days at WDW parks, I'd skip the dining plan. Booking rooms ultra early doesn't matter as much as keeping an eye out for any deals they put out. If you book a room now, and they put out a discount at a later time, you can always call and they can adjust your reservation to include the new discount. I always check out MouseSavers historical discounts page, so you can get a feel what kinds of deals and packages have been available during that time of year in the past, and when they were released to the public. That way you'll have an idea of the kids of discounts you might be able to take advantage of.

Also, a lot of folks swear that staying on-property is the best way to get you really into the "magic" of Disney, and certainly there are many advantages to it which I love, but don't be afraid to look at some of the off-site hotels, time-share rentals, vacation rentals, etc. They can be a fraction of the cost of a Disney resort, and with your trip only spending about 1/2 of your time at Disney parks, it might make sense to not pay Disney Resort prices.

Have fun. There is a wealth of information on this site.

 

[Nemo14]

I'll second this advice. For a group that size, I would definitely recommend an off-site rental - you'll save a lot of $$ and have a lot more space.

 

[Richards070712]

what are moderate crowds in Disney with respect to wait times in line? we will not be doing fast pass.


Denise

Everyone will start with 3 Fast Passes each day at Disney at no additional charge. Then once you use all 3 you can get one additional fast pass at a FastPass+ kiosk...and repeat.

Note: If you stay on site you can reserve the fast passes 60 days out on My Disney Experience.
If you stay off site, you can reserve them 30 days out.

 

[Britt]

Why would you not use fast pass? It's free and can cut down MAJORLY on wait times, especially if you're going during a busy time, with only 2 days, every bit counts.

No need to leave the parks to eat! No plastic hard coolers and no glass, but you're fine to eat your packed meal right there!

Do not stay on sight and do not get the dining plan. You can rent bigger and better places for way cheaper than staying on site. And eat a lot cheaper too.

 

[PUSH]

Unless you're set on staying on Disney property for your vacation, it's probably more cost-effective to stay off property. With your size of group, it would be a pretty hefty expense for hotel alone. The prices are dramatically lower, and you can find just as good or better quality staying off-site. Since you're only planning on two days at Disney parks, the benefits of staying on site (transportation, free parking, Extra Magic Hours, etc) aren't really worth it.

As others have said, there's no need to leave the park to eat a packed meal. Disney doesn't care if you bring food in and eat it there. There are plenty of benches and tables that you can sit at around the parks and eat.

As for the Fast Pass thing, there's no extra charge for that, and depending on what rides you book them for, it can save you a LOT of time.

 

[englanddg]

Unless you're set on staying on Disney property for your vacation, it's probably more cost-effective to stay off property. With your size of group, it would be a pretty hefty expense for hotel alone. The prices are dramatically lower, and you can find just as good or better quality staying off-site. Since you're only planning on two days at Disney parks, the benefits of staying on site (transportation, free parking, Extra Magic Hours, etc) aren't really worth it.

As others have said, there's no need to leave the park to eat a packed meal. Disney doesn't care if you bring food in and eat it there. There are plenty of benches and tables that you can sit at around the parks and eat.

As for the Fast Pass thing, there's no extra charge for that, and depending on what rides you book them for, it can save you a LOT of time.

Well, actually, you would need to factor in at least 2 rental cars or 1 very large one.

However, they'll still need this if they don't plan to stay on Disney property. However, they could get away without renting by paying for a shuttle bus to take them to Uni and taking the Legoland Express (they'll need a taxi to take them to and from where it departs from, just off of the WDW property)...but, the Legoland Express only costs $5 per person.

Anyhow, point is, savings on hotel rooms ONCE daily car rentals are added (again, probably two cars or at least a large van...certainly not an economy compact) will add quite a bit to the daily cost.

They could easily get away with 3 rooms at Pop or one of the Values and be quite comfortable.

 

[brokedad]

Search all of the topics on the main forum page and you will find most of your answers, check hotel section and off site section.

 

[RMichael21]

Honestly, Legoland is geared for kids aged 8 and below. Maybe even less then that. Everyone older then that will be EXTREMELY bored for most of the day. However, if it is a must, then I would visit MK for 1 day and split the other day between DHS and Epcot. With DHS in the morning and Epcot in the afternoon. Depending if you want to see illuminations or Fantasmic, you can either go back to DHS for Fantasmic or stay at Epcot for Illuminations. Both are really great shows. If the boys like fireworks, stay at Epcot, but if you want a show with a great story and amazing characters and effects go back to DHS. Moderate crowd usually consist of a low of 30 minute wait in the afternoon to a high of 60 minute waits in the afternoon. Can anyone correct me? If everyone else wants to go to Disney more,mi would just forgot Universal and spend an extra day at Disney. Then you could do full days at MK and DHS. Then, split the final day at AK and Epcot. The reason why I would split a day between AK and DHS is because they both have attractions that can get crowded early in the morning.

Depending on the ages of the kids, the attractions everyone will visit will vary. Also, for the first day or so, I'm guessing the older ones will refrain from doing anything "babyish", somI would get them out of their fun-refraining shell before the trip starts. If you only visit the WDW parks for 2-3 days, then. I wouldn't do the dining plan. It would end up being a huge waste of money.

If I were you, I would utilize fast pass+. It's free and you could easily get to the front of the line of the most popular attractions.

Whichever way you decide to book your vacation, I hope you have a magical time with your family and that it will be a vacation that makes life-lasting memories for you and your loved ones. When I was little, we went on a vacation with all of my family. Cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, it was great! I know you'll have a great time on your trip!

-RMicheal21