First Trip Tips

[DisneyHolly]

Hi everyone, hope this is the right place to post this! I have booked my first ever Disney holiday for me and my OH in May 2018. We are a young couple (will both have turned 21) and are looking for any advice/tips for planning our holiday and making it magical!

We are travelling from the UK, staying at Coronado Springs for 14 nights and have the Disney Dining plan.

Thanks everyone <3

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Here's the biggest tip I can give you:

Don't try to do it all ... on the first (second, or third) day. Pace yourselves. There are many, many things you may overlook. Enjoy your time...don't rush through it... Pick out the many things that may interest you and find some time for them. Don't stress over time. 14 days is enough time to see a lot. Also, remember that Disney is a state of mind...there is much more to the "World" than just the parks. The resorts (and other areas) have many things to offer.

 

[RMichael21]

For Fastpasses, here's what I recommend.

Pick 3 attractions at each park that you want to see! Then, do the following. For the following example, let's say you're visiting Magic Kingdom and the park opens at 8:00am. Let say you go on a day without EMH.

If I decided I wanted to experience Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain with Fastpass, then book the following:
Space Mountain: 8am-9am
Big Thunder Mountain: 9am-10am
Splash Mountain: 10am-11am.

What I did last summer is we rope dropped Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and a few other Fantasyland/Tomorrowland attractions and caught Space Mountain near the end of the first window. (If you're running behind, don't worry. There's a 15 grace period). Then, we did more attractions and caught Big Thunder Mountain at around 10am and did Splash Mountain right afterwards and were finished with our reservations by 10:20am. Then, you can go ahead and book extra fast passes!

Your reservations can't overlap whatsoever, so 2 hours (and some change!) is the earliest anyone in the park will be finished with all three of their fast passes. So, at around 10, there will be a ridiculous amount of Fastpasses left for the rest of the day. Especially with 2 people, you'll be able to find plenty of reservations. In July (it was packed that day as well), we were able to get an extra 8-10 fastpasses after our initial three. We were a party of two also.

And then, if you choose to go on a day with EMH, use that time and then pick up with this plan once the park opens to all guests for the day.

But don't feel too pressured to go through everything at light speed! You have two weeks, so take it slow and enjoy yourself.

 

[Mark Dymek]

Hi everyone, hope this is the right place to post this! I have booked my first ever Disney holiday for me and my OH in May 2018. We are a young couple (will both have turned 21) and are looking for any advice/tips for planning our holiday and making it magical!

We are travelling from the UK, staying at Coronado Springs for 14 nights and have the Disney Dining plan.

Thanks everyone <3

We have never bought the dining plan and i have never really thought a need to do it. make sure you plan your day as in what parks your going to that day and rides etc. thats how we do it and we find it a lot more organized if you have a plan.

can't really think of anything else to suggest just have a wonderful time.

 

[Mark Dymek]

Awesome! Thank you so much for your tips! I've made a little spreadsheet of the itinerary and meal locations and stuff and will add chef mickeys in for sure!

the land is my favorite restaurant for breakfast. im not sure if they still do character breakfast i know the rotating restaurant is gone. the land is located in epcot. they have a ride and you can also go on tour of their aeroponics garden to see where they grow the fruits and vegetables that you eat all over disney.

 

[Mark Dymek]

I'll echo other people's advice- don't try to "do it all"

ive been 8 times and i doubt ive seen everything.

 

[JillC LI]

Thank you all so much for your replies! Do you guys recommend doing rope drop every morning? I was thinking on the days we do water parks we could have a bit of a lay in to catch up on sleep, is this a good idea? As anyone got any other recommendations for places to eat? I must say I'm a VERY picky eater so I'd like to go for places with lots of choice!

Do you think there are any things we must do as first-timers?!

I personally have never had the luxury of a 14 day trip, and if you try to do rope drop every one of those days, I really think you will burn out. So yes, I do think a couple of sleep in days are important to rejuvenate.
As for places to eat, there are tons of great places. Buffets of course offer the most selection, but I am a picky eater too, and I have found that I can find something wonderful on the menu at all restaurants we've been to, even if sometimes I have to ask for a certain sauce on the side or something like that. Check out the menus in advance so you can pick some great ones when it is time to make your ADRs.

 

[Minnie1986]

Thank you so much for your reply!! We are both very excited, it is his first holiday abroad and my first to Disney! We are huge Disney fanatics so this is huge for us! Are the parks relatively flat? We live in a small town that has absolutely no hills so we aren't used to inclines! What time are American meal times, are they similar to British? (I.e. 12pm for lunch, 6pm for dinner) also what would you recommend doing for breakfast? We were thinking of going to wal-mart at the start of the trip to get some things for breakfast and having it in the parks some days?

As an American that has spent much time in the UK, I can assure you that meal times are pretty much the same in both places.

 

[ItsJustMeAgain]

As a family from the UK who also do the 14 day holiday everytime I thought I would add in my experience as it varies a little from the advice already given (not that I think it is bad advice, its all good, but just to throw in a different option.)

With 14 days you have more than enough time to cover a lot of Disney and take a few days to explore elsewhere or just relax. An alternative way to approaching it which we have always done is to go in at just after lunch most days, about 1-2pm, and stay in until late. Of course as its you're first time you will probably be too excited to wait until that late but I hope it gives you some reassurance that while being there at rope drop does have its advantages, it is by no means necessary to enjoy your Disney holiday.

Personally we have always got the fastpasses we've wanted the night before so if you don't get them planning in advance then don't stress over it, in fact try not to stress over any of it because no matter what you do or dont get to do just being in the parks is an incredible experience and taking time to stop and do nothing will often bring the happiest moments. As far as must do's I would say make sure you are in every park during the day and evening at least once because they all take on a different character at night and the shows/fireworks in every park are amazing.