Need vacation planning help?

[Uncle-Remus]

Hello everyone this is my first post. I am starting the the planning stage of our adventure and what better place to get information that experts like yourselfs. We are planning for early to mid May in 2007. My son and daughter will be 5 1\2 and I cannot wait to see thier faces. I have not been there in 15 years and my wife has not been there in 10 years(neither with children). I plan on staying on the Disney property. I have a few questions and hopefully you have not heard them so many times you can't answer another one. LOL
1.) What is the opinion of that time of year? Busy, weather stinks ect...
2.) Everything I have read makes the dinner plan sound worth it for a family of 4 but are they?
3.) Is it worth staying on the property?
4.) What are your opinions of the Port Orleans resorts?
5.) Any suggestions on the best charactor meals.
6.) Childrens activity suggestions? Some of the resorts have these centers for the kids to do stuff like bake cookies at the Grand Floridian. Are these worth it or not?

Any suggestions will help. I have a long tiome to plan but we all know how the time flies.
Thank you for the help!

 

[justducky78]

Hi! Welcome to the boards!

You are going to have a blast and your kids are just the right age. Sounds like you have twins!

1. I think May is a great time to visit! We're stayed in May before and will be again, this upcoming trip. It's warm but not quite as sweltering or rainy as the summer. Also the crowds aren't too bad because the kids are still in school. You'll also enjoy longer park hours and the international flower show at Epcot.

2. Never used the dining plan so can't help you much. For us (two adults) it's just not worth it and way too much food. From what I understand you need to choose the restaurants in advance, which, in our case, it's just too structured. It may work for you, though -- and with kids I'm sure the pricing is adjusted?

3. It is definitely worth staying on property. Anytime someone asks me that question -- I urge them to stay at a Disney Resort. In fact, a friend of ours asked if we would consider renting a house/condo in the future and we just laughed at him like "you're kidding!" Anyone who knows us, knows better than to ask that! Personally, for us, it's just not the same. Staying OFF you just spend more time driving and lose precious time. You just feel so much more 'in the mix' and especially with kids, it's nice to spend the morning in the park and in the afternoons - take a nap/swim/relax and head back out at night. We do this ourselves and we don't even have children!

4. I've heard lots of good things about Port Orleans/Riverside - it's one of the more popular moderates. We've toured the resort and grounds and it has great theming. It's a boat ride away from Downtown Disney and a bus-ride to all the parks. Our friends stayed there and loved it.

5. We haven't done a lot of character meals but we do love the breakfast buffet at Cape May at the Beach Club. Pretty laid back and the characters come to each and every table to spend a little time with the kids (or adults)! Everyone loves the meals at Cinderella's castle with the princesses, characters, but you have to book VERY early to reserve a table.

6. I would think any children's center would be worth it, if only to give you a few hours alone. Especially if it's a group of children - it just depends on how your children do on their own. I would think a cookie baking class would be fun for them! If you don't want to stray too far, I would suggest having dinner or a massage at the Grand Floridian (or both)! I'm assuming Disney gives parents pagers to keep in contact, like on the cruises??

Hope this helps! Have fun :wave:

EDIT -- Sorry! Had to correct some minor grammar errors!

 

[Heatherbell]

Hello and welcome to the boards. My first advice o you is to do a search on any questions you may have in case you don't get a lot of responses to your posts. There are hundreds of posts in various forums that can answer a lot of your questions. Plus it is also good becaus everyone has an opinion and it is nice to get a variety of different opinions. Here is my two cents:

1) May is a nice time to go. Like another poster mentioned, it is warm but not stifeling. The only thing I will say is you are going to encounter a lot of school field trips and softball tournaments and cheerleaders and soccer teams etc. There are going to be a lot of young adolescents.

2) The dinig plan is worth it but there are a few questions you need to ask yourself first. Are you interested in attending a sit down meal every day? And if you are, will EACH of you eat an appetizer, a meal AND a desert? Same for counter service, can you all eat a meal and a desert? If your answer is no then the dining plan may not be for you. My husband and I did the dining plan in September 2005 and loved it. At the time it was free so it was a REALLY good deal for us, LOL. But we have gone back since then and have not gotten the dining plan and I don't think I would PAY for it. It is wonderful but we simply do not eat that much food in a day especially at WDW. It gives you one counter service, one snack and one table service per NIGHT of stay. That is a lot of food. What I recommend doing is going to Allearsnet.com and checking out the menus. Add up the prices and see if it is cheaper to do the meal plan or to just pay out of pocket. I did this for me and my husband and figured out that money wise it was just better to shell out the money if we wanted to do a sit down. On the other hand of that you get to eat at some amazing places that you may not normally eat at because they are so expensive. Example, Le Cellier in Canada in Epcot, we ate there when we had the dining plan, we looked at the prices and we were stunned. It was amazing food however I would not have paid that for a steak dinner. Plus you can use your table services on Character breakfasts which is great if you are interested in doing so.

3) YES, YES, YES. It is absolutely worth staying on property. You have so many perks and conveniences from staying on property. You can use the transportation to get to and from the parks and you can take advantage of Extra Magic hour. (in case you are not familiar with extra magic hours that is when you can stay at the park a few hours later or go an hour early depending on which park is doing it for that day, only available to people staying on WDW property). Plus you have that Disney feel...
I would recommend Polynesian for Deluxe accomodations, Caribbean Beach for moderate and normally I would say All Star Sports for Value because that is so cheap and my absolute favorite however that is where all the adolescents on the sports teams stay whe they come. So for a value I would say either All Star Movies or Music. (I have never stayed at POP Century).

4) Never stayed at Port Orleans but have heard some very good things. Again, do a search and you will find alot of opinions on these various topics.

5) The absolute BEST character meal (in my opinion) is Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort. They have the classic characters, Mickey Minnie, Goofy etc, the atmosphere is fun, they sing and dance and are constantly at your table, and the food is amazing and very kid friendly. And if your kids like putting M & M in their cereal they will be in heaven!! My second favorite is 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridiean, excellent breakfast, made to order omelletes, characters like Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, Tigger and Winnie the Pooh. The Grand Floridian is gorgeous too! And the third runner up is Donalds Restaurantasaurus (spelling?) over at the animal Kingdom. Again, classic characters, great food. Allearsnet.com will tell you each character breakfast and what they serve.

6) No idea on this one. We usually stay at Value's nowadays and when we do bring the kids we are at the parks all day long.

Have a great time!!!! :wave:

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

POFQ is half the size of Eiverside and in my opinion is better. The two resorts are serviced by a boat to DownTown Disney (as well as buses !) and the trip is very relaxed. Buses to the parks are convenient to both resorts - although they always pick up at POFQ first. At busy times this CAN mean either standing or the buses passing you by

 

[Epcot82Guy]

1.) I agree that May is a nice time. I would push it as early in the month as you can. That way you avoid some of the summer crowd rush that starts mid month. Also, the Flower and Garden Festival is wonderful.

2.) I second everyone's info. The one thing I would highlight is that this will feel like a first trip for everyone. Therefore, taking a longer time for a sit-down meal every day may feel like they are missing out seeing things. However, if you are going for a fair amount of time (7+ days), then by ALL MEANS get the plan.

3.) I have not stayed on property yet (summer will be first time). Having said that, I CAN'T WAIT AND HIGHLY SUGGEST IT! It really adds that true vacation quality.

4.) Having wandered them many a time, I would say they are the nicests of the Moderates. POR is simply beautiful to me, and it is very relaxing. It is spread out enough to feel like you are separated, and the grounds are quite lush.

5.) Kind of repeating... Chef Mickey's and CRT are the staples, but I think some might be overlooked. Crystal Palace at MK is great. Liberty Tree Tavern can also be fun. If you are looking for something a bit more low key, check out 1900 Park Fare. I have also heard that 'Ohana's breakfast is a lot of fun (haven't been there myself, though).

6.) Many families love it (don't have kids, so can't comment directly). Some interesting things... Cookie baking at The Land at Epcot. Kidcot stations around Epcot. I also suggest getting a "passport book" or any autograph book and have the kids talk to people from around the world about their home countries (if the kids aren't shy). My parents did this every year with us when we were kids, and it was great to compare stories. The centers also seem to have gotten very good reviews. Talk to the front desk at wherever you are staying and they shoul dhave good advice!

Best of luck, and have a magical time! :wave:

 

[steviej]

first, welcome to the boards :wave:

1) May is the time of year I usually go, I love it, its swimming weather, but it's not scorching hot.
2) Never used the dining plan
3) Absolutely! We stayed off property once and said never again
4) Never stayed in port orleans, sorry
5) It depends on who the kids like, for example, crystal palace has all the characters from Winnie The Pooh, where most other places have the big honchos (mickey, minnie, donald, goofy, pluto)
6) Never really taken part in these

 

[nibblesandbits]

Hello everyone this is my first post. I am starting the the planning stage of our adventure and what better place to get information that experts like yourselfs. We are planning for early to mid May in 2007. My son and daughter will be 5 1\2 and I cannot wait to see thier faces. I have not been there in 15 years and my wife has not been there in 10 years(neither with children). I plan on staying on the Disney property. I have a few questions and hopefully you have not heard them so many times you can't answer another one. LOL
1.) What is the opinion of that time of year? Busy, weather stinks ect...
2.) Everything I have read makes the dinner plan sound worth it for a family of 4 but are they?
3.) Is it worth staying on the property?
4.) What are your opinions of the Port Orleans resorts?
5.) Any suggestions on the best charactor meals.
6.) Childrens activity suggestions? Some of the resorts have these centers for the kids to do stuff like bake cookies at the Grand Floridian. Are these worth it or not?

Any suggestions will help. I have a long tiome to plan but we all know how the time flies.
Thank you for the help!

Hello! And welcome! :wave:

I can answer a lot of these for you...not all though.

1. I have been that time of year (May) in 2004 and 2005. It was a great time to go. There are crowds, but they aren't monsterous. I don't think there was a wait time that was over an hour when I was there. (This was before Soarin really started becoming busy and obviously E:E hadn't been built yet. ) It does get a little warm during that time of year, so you will want to make sure to bring in plenty of bottled water.

3. It is definitely worth staying on property. I recently found out the joys of staying there and it will be hard to never do it again. One of the great things is that you don't have to rent a car when you're down there. Disney transportation takes you everywhere you need to go. (Although, I don't have kids so I don't know what it's like to wait for a bus with little ones...that could be a bit problematic.) Also, it's great because if you need to go back to the hotel for a nap, you don't have to leave property to do so. (Trust me, naps are your friend at Disney!) If you love Disney magic, I would definitely stay on property. I would totally do it again.

5. I have been to both Chef Mickey's (for dinner) and 'Ohana's (for breakfast). Both are wonderful character meals. I got plenty of character interaction and the food was pretty good too.

I hope I helped a little. As I stated, I don't have kids (I'm only 22) so I don't know what it's like to cart little ones around. However, I do hope that you have a wonderful time!

 

[Uncle-Remus]

Thank you all very much for replying.
I am glad to hear about May being so nice. That was one of my biggest concerns. We plan on staying seven days. Believe it or not this will end up being our kids 1st vacation. So the exitement for them will be unbelievable. My wife thinks I will be more of a kid there than them. LOL I can't book any packages until june or july for 2007 so I have some time to bug all of you. :lol:
Thank you again for taking the time to replies.