First Trip to WDW! Single parent with 5 year old.

[Kita79]

Hello. My name is Kita and I'm a single parent. I'm all booked for our first Disney World vacation neither of us has ever been to Disney. I'm taking my daughter to celebrate her 5th birthday. We are visiting from October 29-November 4, 2012 staying at Port Orleans Riverside with a 6 day park hopper. I'm completely freaking out because the planning for this trip is overwhelming. We are planning to go to BBB for her birthday which is November 2 and I want to take her to CRT but the reservations seems like it is so hard to get and she really wants to eat with Cinderella on her birthday. We arrive by noon on the 29th and I'm not sure what we should do that first day. Any suggestions, activities, restaurants, or tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Cornballman]

Hello. My name is Kita and I'm a single parent. I'm all booked for our first Disney World vacation neither of us has ever been to Disney. I'm taking my daughter to celebrate her 5th birthday. We are visiting from October 29-November 4, 2012 staying at Port Orleans Riverside with a 6 day park hopper. I'm completely freaking out because the planning for this trip is overwhelming. We are planning to go to BBB for her birthday which is November 2 and I want to take her to CRT but the reservations seems like it is so hard to get and she really wants to eat with Cinderella on her birthday. We arrive by noon on the 29th and I'm not sure what we should do that first day. Any suggestions, activities, restaurants, or tips would be greatly appreciated.

My advice is to not sit around! Don't get all checked in to your room and go and sit down and relax. If you are both going for the first time, and have a 6 day pass, I would recommend getting checked in and then heading to MK right away to get all of the shock and awe out of the way! Then you can do a few of the rides that first day to get used to the Disney experience.

As far as restaraunts, it's up to your tastes. Do you have a dining plan or are you all on your own for that? I recommend the Sci-Fi drive in theatre just for the cool experience. I also really like the Tortuga Tavern in MK where you can build your own Burrito.

 

[nc_disneyfreak]

!

so excited for your first trip! welcome the the family lol...our first trip was a couple years ago and were heading down in 12 days! april 28th may 5th at all star sports....i am excited for you because the wdw magic is waiting for you you have plenty of time to get your day to day plan together, i wouldnt sweat it at all. stay diligent!! we usually plan our days around the extra magic hours and go from there. sometimes the planning is the most fun lol...stay on this site and by july, you will be ready lol...everyone on here is awesome and they will be eager to help! congrats on your first trip!!!

 

[nngrendel]

Consider Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
Dates for 2012 haven't been released yet I don't think. However I would catch this while you are there.

 

[GoochDSA]

First, Welcome and Congrats on booking your first trip! Second, relax. You have a lot of time between now and your trip. Try not to get too overwhelmed. The planning process should be a fun and exciting time, not a stressful time. The more you let it get to you now, the harder it will be for Disney to live up to your expectations, which could leave to you feeling like the trip was a waste of time.

My first tip would be to get "1st Visit" buttons when you check-in at POR or at guest relations when you get to your first park. Many CMs and characters really help add to the magic when they see those buttons.

My next tip is to check out the menus on a site like allears.net. While many of the menus are constantly changing, the menus there will give you a really good idea at what is offered at all table service, counter service and many snack locations. When it comes time to make your ADR's and there is a specific day, time and restaurant that you want to eat at (like for your DD's birthday) and for whatever reason you can't get an ADR... don't give up. ADR's are cancelled and changed constantly, so you never know when you might stumble on your dream ADR.

Another tip would be to understand and remind yourself that you will not and cannot do everything in one trip. There are people who take multiple trips a year for weeks at a time who have still never seen, tasted, ridden, watched, etc. everything that Disney has to offer. If there is something specific you or your DD would like to see, make it a point to see it. Otherwise, don't let it get to you too much if you are on your way home and realize you missed something (which happens to all of us).

Do you plan on going to MNSSHP at all?

Remember, you can always come here to ask questions. Most of us here love WDW and are more than happy to help people out. We were all once in your shoes. Don't be affraid to ask anything no matter how silly it may seem.

 

[Kita79]

Thanks for the tips

I forgot to say that we have the Dining plan that gives one quick service, one table service, and one snack each everyday and we booked through AAA. I have been considering MNSSHP but still undecided. :veryconfu. I know Port Orleans Riverside has trick or treating. I know she would be able to stay up til midnight but I would hate for her to get tired at 9pm and we have to leave that would be a waste. She is huge princess fan too and loves Cinderella to death. I wish the November park hours were out so I could now how to plan our ADRs. :brick:

 

[pixiesteno]

You may want to consider having dinner or breakfast for her b-day at 1900 Park Fare where she can meet Cinderella, Prince Charming and the rest of the family. It might be a lot easier to get a reservation. It is located that the Grand Floridian Resort and you can get the monorail or a boat right from the Magic Kingdom.
Hope this helps. Also, schedule time for rest and relaxation as WDW can be very overwhelming! for all ages

 

[GoochDSA]

You may want to consider having dinner or breakfast for her b-day at 1900 Park Fare where she can meet Cinderella, Prince Charming and the rest of the family. It might be a lot easier to get a reservation. It is located that the Grand Floridian Resort and you can get the monorail or a boat right from the Magic Kingdom.
Hope this helps. Also, schedule time for rest and relaxation as WDW can be very overwhelming! for all ages

Breakfast at 1900 PF does NOT have Cinderella, PC, LT and the sisters. Breakfast at 1900 PF has Mary Poppins, Alice, the Mad Hatter, Pooh and Tigger (characters are subject to change, but that is the usual line up). Only dinner at 1900 PF has Cinderella, PC, LT and the sisters. I think 1900 PF would be a safety choice for you and your DD for her birthday. There is nothing quite as magical as eating in Cinderella's castle so CRT would be my top suggestion. My second suggestion would be Akershus in Norway in the World Showcase in EPCOT. Here, there are the same number of princesses to see as CRT and the meal includes the photopackage with Belle (at CRT the photopackage is also included and the picture is with Cinderella). Akershus is also only 1 TS credit where as CRT is 2 TS credits (if you were looking to use dining credits on that).

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

Hello. My name is Kita and I'm a single parent. I'm all booked for our first Disney World vacation neither of us has ever been to Disney. I'm taking my daughter to celebrate her 5th birthday. We are visiting from October 29-November 4, 2012 staying at Port Orleans Riverside with a 6 day park hopper. I'm completely freaking out because the planning for this trip is overwhelming. We are planning to go to BBB for her birthday which is November 2 and I want to take her to CRT but the reservations seems like it is so hard to get and she really wants to eat with Cinderella on her birthday. We arrive by noon on the 29th and I'm not sure what we should do that first day. Any suggestions, activities, restaurants, or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Kita. For our first trip, quite a few years ago, I went to Barnes & Noble and bought a book called Disney's Passporter. It is a life saver. It will help you so much in your planning. By using that book, I was very familiar with the rides, restaurants, parks, transportation, what to pack, and tons of tips.
My daughter and I spent several months reading and planning daily. We loved getting the book out and learning new things each day. By this point, we could write a guide, but in those days, this took away the stress of that first visit (nine days) and let us enjoy every minute we were there. I am so happy for you and your daughter.

 

[chipndale09]

congrats on your first trip

If she loves princess alot, you have to do supper at the aukerhaus in the norway pavillion. They usually have four princesses (Ariel, Belle, Cinderella and snow white) walking ,chatting and visting you at the table. They actually spend the time to be with the kids. The food is quite good too. Book this one as soon as you can. Once you do book your ADR's, always mention that you are celebrating your daughters birthday, Disney tends to bend over backwards with the special requests, they will make her feel special

And like someone else said, don't try to see everything, you can't (unless you got the discipline of an army drill sargent or feel like being on the amazing race). Rushing around will only ruin your vacation. Disney in mean't to be enjoyed ..that is my two cents :wave:

Also, on our first trip we bought this book..."the Unofficial Guide to Disney World (year). This book is amazing and will be your bible for planning (and it makes for a good seat when your watching parades)

Have fun :sohappy:

 

[pcarathers]

Congratulations to you and your daughter on your VERY FIRST TRIP to WDW!

Everyone on here is very good at helping with advice and answering any questions you may have......do not hesitate to ask! someone somewhere will know the answer!

We took my neice this January and she too is 5..she LOVED it! She didnt get to meet her favorite, Cinderella either, but Cindy did wave directly to her in one of the parades and she was thrilled! We could never get reservations to eat with her, but will surely be trying again in Sept. She did get to meet Aurora and she was very happy to meet her!

DO NOT GET STRESSED OUT! I know it is hard not to, but this should be a fun and happy time for both of you! Just knowing you are going to WDW!!

Also, do not be adamant about sticking to a certain schedule. Things will pop up and you may not be able to do what you had planned. Allow some downtime for you BOTH! Don't try to see everythiing in 1 day as it is IMPOSSIBLE! Slow down and take in what you can, and what you can't...just plan for a return trip!

The Passporter that was mentioned earlier in another post, is a MUST! There is so much to know BEFORE you go and they cover any and everything!

Best of luck in your planning and wish your daughter a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY (albeit early!)

 

[ml123_9]

Welcome to the boards and Congrats on your first trip!:wave: I bet your daughter is super excited. You have definately come to the right place for WDW planning. Evreryone on here is super helpful so feel free to ask anything. You will love POR. That is our favorite resort. The dining hall is excellent and the main pool is a lot of fun. Boatwright's, the TS at POR is also an excellent restaurant. As far as planning goes, don't try to see and do everything because you won't be able too. I would reccommend you two planning it together. After all, planning a WDW trip is half the fun. I would sit down and watch some Youtube videos just to kind of get a feel for everything. You definately don't want to misses Wishes at the MK. I would also recommend Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. It's a good buffett and has Mickey and Minnie and all the gang there. Our two kids, 5 & 1, loved it. Just take your time while you are there and enjoy every little bit. Once again, welcome.

 

[dsdmbU2]

Hello. My name is Kita and I'm a single parent. I'm all booked for our first Disney World vacation neither of us has ever been to Disney. I'm taking my daughter to celebrate her 5th birthday. We are visiting from October 29-November 4, 2012 staying at Port Orleans Riverside with a 6 day park hopper. I'm completely freaking out because the planning for this trip is overwhelming. We are planning to go to BBB for her birthday which is November 2 and I want to take her to CRT but the reservations seems like it is so hard to get and she really wants to eat with Cinderella on her birthday. We arrive by noon on the 29th and I'm not sure what we should do that first day. Any suggestions, activities, restaurants, or tips would be greatly appreciated.

We stayed at POR (Alligator Bayou) a couple years back. Great resort with beautiful grounds and a fantastic pool!! Riverside Mill will meet all your QS meal needs. We actually had breakfast at CRT that trip and didn't have any probs getting reservations when we were eligible. The kids loved it!! 4-5 princesses came by the table. We found it was easier to get your buses (to the parks) at the main stop as they were already close to full by the time they reached the "satellite' stations/stops. Do yourself a favor if you have the time and take the boat from POR to DD. Nice little trip and you can do the BBB there. We also rented a boat and did the Sassagoula trip ourselves. Our favorite character dining is Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House at AK. Good fun and a great atmosphere. Have a great time!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Welcome to the boards and very exciting about you guys having your first trip!!! :sohappy:

First off- don't stop trying to get CRT. Things open up all the time...and while it's not always easy and may take weeks or months to find a spot... persistence pays off. It sounds a bit obsessive, but I have been known to check the Disney dining website 100+ times per day if it's an ADR I really want...especially if it's for my girls. If possible, try and be flexible with the time/meal as that will afford you a much better chance of getting an opening. In the meantime, I'd suggest booking Akershus or dinner at 1900 PF if nothing at CRT is open right now and there are slots open at those other locations. We timed BBB w/CRT on our first trip, but I also have friends who did BBB and then hopped over to Akershus for dinner. All in all - it's one of the really sweet experiences a little girl can have at WDW. Assuming nothing falls through for our Nov trip- I think both of my girls wil do it this time (my younger one was too young on her first trip).

Secondly, have you considered getting a bday cake? If you can get into CRT, they even have a special pkg that comes with a princess topper on the cake... otherwise you can come up with a custom cake idea. The cake in my avatar was made by the Contemporary bakery and delivered to Chef Mickey's on my DD5's fifth birthday. Feel free to PM me if you need more info on ordering custom cakes.

I also agree with getting out and about on that first day. On our girls' first trip, we arrived at our resort around 1pm and we were on the first boat over to MK as soon as we were done getting into our room.

While we've only done MVMCP, MNSSHP is on my list of things I want to do with my kids...and it sounds like a BLAST...so I'd probably do it if I were there. It will probably be a sell out for at least some of your trip dates, so you'll probably want to decide early and figure out which of your dates would present the lowest crowds (once the dates for the party are released).

Most of all- don't stress too much...the planning is part of the fun!

 

[ml123_9]

Also, when you get your "1st Visit" buttons, be sure to get your daughter a "Birthday" button. When you make your ADR's, you can also add her birthday where it asks what you are celebrating. They will normally bring her out a special birthday cupcake or something. They might come to your table and sing too. Character meal birthdays are fun, one or more of the characters will join in.

 

[wdwcandice]

I was going to mention the birthday button as well.

As the others have mentioned, just keep reading these boards and other sites for menus and etc...planning will be so fun. Did you order the Disney free planning dvd? That is a tool I used to get my kids and grandkids psyched for the trip...so they could see the actual resorts/rides, etc. Also, you can check out youtube for the attraction vid clips so your daughter can get familiar with them.

I am just so excited for you. What memories you will make!

 

[ShelbyGrace]

welcome!

Hi Kita! We are going on our second trip ever this year, so I know how you feel. The first time we just got very overwhelmed, even with all the info on the web. I didn't want to know all that info, we just wanted a nice trip. We ended up using a disney vacation planner because it was stressing me out! lol She was free, just have to look her up on facebook Karen Sipps Wish Upon A Star With Karen, and she took care of everything, even a stroller rental that was delivered to our resort. She is doing our second trip too, but I am just dabbling a little bit in the forums, a little here and there. But the folks here are mostly nice, and almost harmless. haha! Congrats and hope you have a great time!

 

[Kita79]

Thank You!!!

:wave::wave: Oh my goodness! Thank you everyone for the great tips and suggestions for this trip. The stress level is declining thanks to you all. I have the Unofficial Guide to Disney World with Kids and I'm going to pick up the Disney Passporter. I do have the free planning video that my daughter watches almost everyday. She is super excited for the trip and so am I. 15 days until I make my ADRs. Parentsof4 thanks for the sample itinerary. Super helpful. My daughter is 44 inches tall and she freaks out about the disney villians especially Ursula which is why I'm kinda of on the fence about MNSSHP.

 

[coltow]

:wave::wave: Oh my goodness! Thank you everyone for the great tips and suggestions for this trip. The stress level is declining thanks to you all. I have the Unofficial Guide to Disney World with Kids and I'm going to pick up the Disney Passporter. I do have the free planning video that my daughter watches almost everyday. She is super excited for the trip and so am I. 15 days until I make my ADRs. Parentsof4 thanks for the sample itinerary. Super helpful.

Just FYI we have found that dinner reservations are easier to get at CRT then breakfast. Good luck with getting all your ADRs, let us know how you make out.

I also agree with splitting up your days with morning/night and taking break in afternoons. My boys are 8 & 5 and that is how we've done it for years. It works good to schedule some down time to recharge everyone's batteries.

 

[JillC LI]

Hello. My name is Kita and I'm a single parent. I'm all booked for our first Disney World vacation neither of us has ever been to Disney. I'm taking my daughter to celebrate her 5th birthday. We are visiting from October 29-November 4, 2012 staying at Port Orleans Riverside with a 6 day park hopper. I'm completely freaking out because the planning for this trip is overwhelming. We are planning to go to BBB for her birthday which is November 2 and I want to take her to CRT but the reservations seems like it is so hard to get and she really wants to eat with Cinderella on her birthday. We arrive by noon on the 29th and I'm not sure what we should do that first day. Any suggestions, activities, restaurants, or tips would be greatly appreciated.

What a wonderful time of year to go! Oh, you're going to have such fun. My DD was 5 for her first trip, and it was great because she was old enough to remember everything but young enough to believe all the magic (not that you ever really stop believing, right?!). I recommend that you call up at 6:59am Eastern time on the 180 day mark of your trip to try to get that coveted CRT reservation on your daughter's birthday. If, however, you should not be able to get it, I suggest that you book breakfast at Akershus in the Norway Pavillion at EPCOT. They have a WONDERFUL multi-princess experience that she will love. You might want to also book that anyway for another day. Also book any other restaurants you want at the 180 day mark. Even if park hours are unavailable, you have the flexibility of park hopper passes.

You said that you have 6 days of park passes. If you use one of those passes on the day you arrive, you will not be able to go to the parks on 1 other day of your trip. That may not be an issue if you are leaving early on November 4th. Just keep it in mind. I would not run to the MK that first day though (although others have suggested it). If it were not your first time at Disney, I'd say go for it, but since it is, there is really something to be said for arriving early at the MK and seeing the Opening Ceremony on your first visit, entering and walking down Main Street when it is fairly empty, and enjoying the park with low crowds early in the morning. I'd save that for your second day, and perhaps visit AK or EPCOT on your first day.

Other first time tips include: make wise use of the Fastpass system; have a general touring plan for each park including those attractions you don't want to miss, but be prepared to be flexible; and get a Dole Whip Float in Adventureland!

The Food & Wine Festival is going on at EPCOT during your dates - be sure to check that out - YUM! And I do also recommend MNSSHP. Even if your DD can't stay awake til midnight, you can take a mid-day nap, get there early and do some trick or treating in costumes, stay for the early parade at 8pm and the fireworks at 9:30pm then call it a night. Feel free to ask more questions as your trip gets closer. Planning is half the fun!