First time planning a WDW trip, Help!

[MissBees]

I am a huge Disney fan, even though I've only been twice, once as a toddler, and then once as a 12 year old, but I've been itching to go back.

I decided that I'd rather go to Disney World than anywhere else for vacation.

I am trying to plan for a 2012 trip, later in the year, like October-December.

Here are the details, 2 adults, 2 kids (both under 5 right now, one boy and one girl), we will be driving from Arizona to WDW, and fairly open to what time of year, but I was hoping to do sometime when all the Christmas decorations are up. This will be the kids first trip to Disney along with their Dads as far as I know, he is very good friend of mine and I thought why not share the Disney magic with others!

I'm also putting together Disney tubs for the two kids which will include things like sunglasses, a mickey or minnie plush, a few character shirts, crayon caddies, coloring books, autograph books made from old disney golden book books, some little toys, hidden mickey books, portable battery powered fans, new water bottles, and some Disney DVDs for the drive. Suggestions for additions to the tubs is welcome as well. I am not going to include things like sunscreen because that will have already been purchased, and won't be as much fun to get!


So to those of you who have done this before, HELP!

 

[Tinkerbell 8]

Well first off, do you have budget? Do you have an idea which resort, or atleast category you would want to stay in? Also, how long do you want to go for? You said you wanted to see the Christmas decorations so October would not work seeing as they start putting up Halloween decorations in the end of August and stay up all through October. However, they have the Not So Scary Halloween Party that might interest the children. Also, do you plan on getting the dining plan or pay for meals out of pocket? Are there any characters that the kids absolutely love (princesses, fab 5, winnie the pooh)? I just started planning our next trip for October of next year so I'm in full planning mode if you need help.

 

[disneygirl76]

I am a huge Disney fan, even though I've only been twice, once as a toddler, and then once as a 12 year old, but I've been itching to go back.

I decided that I'd rather go to Disney World than anywhere else for vacation.

I am trying to plan for a 2012 trip, later in the year, like October-December.

Here are the details, 2 adults, 2 kids (both under 5 right now, one boy and one girl), we will be driving from Arizona to WDW, and fairly open to what time of year, but I was hoping to do sometime when all the Christmas decorations are up. This will be the kids first trip to Disney along with their Dads as far as I know, he is very good friend of mine and I thought why not share the Disney magic with others!

I'm also putting together Disney tubs for the two kids which will include things like sunglasses, a mickey or minnie plush, a few character shirts, crayon caddies, coloring books, some little toys, hidden mickey books, portable battery powered fans, new water bottles, and some Disney DVDs for the drive. Suggestions for additions to the tubs is welcome as well. I am not going to include things like sunscreen because that will have already been purchased, and won't be as much fun to get!


So to those of you who have done this before, HELP!

Hey there,

Have fun planning - it's half the fun!! :sohappy: In the tubs, I would suggest a disposable camera, an autograph book and a disney pen. Maybe a mickey/disney/princess hat as well.

The best time to go to see the Christmas decor but miss the crowds is to go the week before Thanksgiving - leaving before the Thanksgiving crowd gets there and then the beginning of December, the first two weeks. All the decorations are up but the crowds are lighter.

Also, if you plan on going around the holidays, you can surprise the kids with tickets to the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. It's a really good time!!

 

[MissBees]

Well first off, do you have budget? Do you have an idea which resort, or atleast category you would want to stay in? Also, how long do you want to go for? You said you wanted to see the Christmas decorations so October would not work seeing as they start putting up Halloween decorations in the end of August and stay up all through October. However, they have the Not So Scary Halloween Party that might interest the children. Also, do you plan on getting the dining plan or pay for meals out of pocket? Are there any characters that the kids absolutely love (princesses, fab 5, winnie the pooh)? I just started planning our next trip for October of next year so I'm in full planning mode if you need help.

Budget, not really but I'm pretty sure I'll be forming one quickly. I was thinking about maybe the cabins at Wilderness Lodge, that way I can make some food for them, and save on dining. I don't know what characters that the kids like, I'm not sure if they've been exposed to Disney as much as I want them to be!

 

[Tinkerbell 8]

Well I looked at prices for the fall weekdays at the cabins at ft wilderness for this year and it is $305 a night. If you stayed for 6 nights the room alone would cost $1830. I looked at a package that includes 7 day MYW tickets with park hopper and it came to $3,319.12. That does not include any meals. If you added the regular dining plan it would bring the total to $4,014.88. I'm not sure if you plan on cooking every dinner, or just some, however from experience I can tell you that the meal plan was worth it for us. We are two adults and we would go to a regular sit down meal every night (no signatures) and the bill would be over $100, and we did not get an app. The cost of a burger and fries for the two of us was over $25. So thats just something to consider when thinking about meals. I would check out menus at places you would like to go and add up what you would think you would get to see if the meal plan would work for you or not.

 

[Mukta]

These are the things that really helped me plan my first trip.

1. Picked a budget
2. Read about the different hotels on allearsnet.com
3. Read the Unofficial Guide To WDW
4. Picked dates (and how many days I could afford with my budget)
5. Picked what rides I wanted to see the most
6. Joined touringplans.com to see which days of the year are the least crowded and to create a touring plan.
7. Read menus on allearsnet.com to pick restaurants
8. Looked at flights

We will be happy to answer any and all questions along the way. Enjoy planning!

 

[wendysue]

Last year we went the second week of November and it was GREAT! The decorations were up, and beautiful and the crowds were not bad. :xmas:

 

[bmarkelon]

October remains my all time favorite time to visit WDW. But, you would not see the holiday decorations there yet. I love the Halloween festivities at Magic Kingdom and the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot.
With that being said, when planning our trips we still always read Birnbaum's Official Guide to Disney and the Unofficial Guide to Disney. Even though I pretty much have them memorized, it's part of our planning tradition and they are super helpful. Another thing we do, almost every weekend really since we are always in some stage of trip planning, is sit down together and talk about what we really want to get out of each trip, attractions, restaurants, spa, kid's makeovers, etc. Planning can be almost as fun as the actual trip!! Have a blast with it and don't hesitate to throw your questions for help up here, it's my other favorite resource!

 

[magicalmemories]

I have a suggestion for the autographs, that is not your typical books ..... when my son was younger (like 4 or 5), he had a white hat (Disney of course) that he had all his autographs signed on. He was able to wear the hat and look at the signatures all the time. We carried a sharpie marker with us for them to use. He got a lot of compliments on it and it kept the sun out of his eyes. He still has it as a souvenir. We have also done this with the white Disney World canvas bags that they offer often with your shop purchases of a certain dollar amount, but any canvas bag would work. I had it with me on our last trip down there and and several compliments on it as well.

Just something a little different than the books, something they can use everyday, and not get stuffed in a drawer somewhere after you return home.

The disposable cameras are a great idea. On that same trip, we had a couple for our son to use and he actually took some really good pictures. They get a whole different view from down there at their level. He wore his own pack and had his camera and sharpie marker in it.

Now matter where you stay or when you go, you will have a GREAT time, Enjoy their first trip, I am sure it won't be hard to turn them into Disney fans!!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Have fun on your trip! Family trips are the best

Like most have said, definitely take a look at your budget before anything else. Your budget will be gone by the time you've left so it's best to know it. After that, you should begin planning. First is park tickets (I recommend for first timers, Magic Your Way since you will be much more acquainted with parks that way), than your Resort, after that you can make ADRS, and plan out where to go what day, rides to try and all that stuff. You usually need a few months to plan all this out. There is so much information online to help you with this. I personally think AllEars is the best. Check out that site. Then, after you've decided on those things, pick when you want to go and start making reservations. Itinerary should be on hand at this point. If you do all this leaving not a lot of time to discuss than its going to be a lot of cramming so leave a good time span to make these plans.

Hope this helps!