Newbie to DisneyWorld!

[Tybeerius]

Greetings all! It may be a shock to many here but this will be our families first trip to DW. In fact none of us have ever been to DW at all. We were waiting until our three boys were all old enough to enjoy the experience and this May the time has come.

We will be staying at Port Orleans for 7 nights and included the dinning option on our plan as well. This site is loaded with great information and I was happy to see that our kids will be tall enough to ride just about anything.

My point of this is that if anyone has any special advice or tips they would be greatly appreciated. Anyhting to add or look at prior to going¿ What are the MUST SEE attractions¿ Anything that would make our trip better! We are driving from NC and everyone cannot wait!

Thanks in advance for the help

 

[shakes20]

Have fun on your trip! That's my advice.
O.k., maybe I can do better than that. We made the mistake of winging it too much on our first trip. You know, just going wherever the wind blew us, and I think that we missed out on a lot of stuff because of it. I think that you've already taken the right step by coming to a website like this; there is so much great information here. If you haven't picked up a guidebook yet, I'd recommend the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, it has great advice.

 

[Nemo14]

There are lots of threads on this forum about this, but I'll offer a few bits of advise again anyway.
First of all, you're staying at my favorite resort, you won't be disappointed. Be sure to have breakfast at Boatwright's!
Spend the $$ on the resort mugs - they're well worth it if you're there for a week.
Plan the "must-sees", but leave room for flexibility too.
Take advantage of FastPasses.
Go to the parks early, then take a mid-day break.
Don't try to do everything - there's just so much to see and do!
Relax!
Have fun!

 

[Monty]

Make reservations for as many of your table service as possible as far in advance as possible! They fill up quickly and if you don't have Priority Seating, quite often you can't get seated. It would waste Dining Plan meals if you can't use them.

We managed to use everything we were entitled to on our Dining Plan during our stay only because we planned that part meticulously. We did pay for CRT in addition, but because it counts as two Dining Plan meals, I figured it was the one to pay for. There are a lot of really top-quality restaurants to choose from, make the best of them! I had Filet Mignon at the Japanese restaurant and again at Wolfgang Puck's, both were exquisite! :slurp:

You can find menus on this site and also at AllEars.net. Have a look and plan your parks around your reservations. It isn't that difficult to eat very well on the plan.

 

[Robby]

Plan, plan, plan, plan, plan. Though people will no doubt argue that too much planning risks losing the whole spur of the moment thing with Disney, it's not fun having kids with heat exhaustion having rapidly walked the best part of a mile to see an attraction that's queue (line, whatever) is over an hour. Shakes20's advice is great - buy the Unofficial Guide. We've used it every occasion we've visited WDW (8 times), it's saved us hours waiting in queues (lines, sorry I'm speaking English English:lol: ) and we've had loads of surprises which havent resulted in a trip to casualty (emergency room?).

Try to build your tour around the suggested days for each park given in the Unofficial Guide - you'll find crowds are lighter. Also don't be tempted to buy last years edition, some friends of our's made the mistake and the plan didn;t work as good.

Most of all, enjoy each other's company in the happiest place on earth. You will be back again and again and again and again and again ...

Have a great holiday (vacation)

PS I'm not related to the author, but if he reads this and wants to thank me for the plug I'll take a latest edition.

 

[Valawen9]

Definitely use FastPasses...it saves time.

Have fun!:wave:

 

[steviej]

when you're tired, go for a swim or relax. if you're into thrill rides, tot, rnrc are a must. welcome to the boards btw :wave:
oh yeah and have fun!!!!

 

[littlered]

These are all great tips, I would recommend since your driving to take a case of water or sodas, you can get water or sodas with the dining plan snack options but I like to save those for icecream or popcorn not just water and soda.
I am sure there are other great tips but I am drawing a blank right now.

We will be there in May too. Have fun!!:wave:

 

[Epcot82Guy]

I second bringing food and snacks from home.

Some other tips:

1. You are going for a good period of time. I agree the planning/spontaneous happening balance is delicate. So, my suggestion is to plan one day at each park and a late morning (i.e. sleep in in the middle of the parks) for DTD/Water Parks (if it is warm when you are going). If you plan a full day at each park, you should be able to do the "rush around the parks and see as much as you can" in (which is half the fun of the first trip). Then, use the remaining two and a half days to go back and see what you missed or want to see again or anything else spur of the moment.

2. The resorts are great, but I would concentrate on the parks. I would suggest taking a trip to one of the deluxe resorts for dinner one night (would personally suggest Boma, 'Ohana, or California Grill/Chef Mickeys). You have alot to see in the parks.

3. Have a default plan for making decisions. Inevitably, you will come to times when people can't decide what to do next. If you follow the unofficial guide park plans, great. If not, then come up with some way (a map drop, drawing a name, picking a person that makes the decision then rotating, etc.) to keep things moving and relieve frustration.

Have a magical trip, and please post how it went when y'all get back! :wave:

 

[littlered]

At the end of the day don't rush out at closing with everyone else, it's a mad rush to the buses and your going to have to wait in line anyway. We hang back a bit, either sit on a bench and watch all the crazy people running over each other or visit the shops. I love it night when the parks are all lit up and most people have left. It's beautiful.

 

[dandaman]

PS I'm not related to the author, but if he reads this and wants to thank me for the plug I'll take a latest edition.

I'd like one as well. :lookaroun

 

[Tybeerius]

Woot!! tTanks everyone for the help. My wife and I are gonna sit down this weekend and plan out where we want to eat and when. I wish we were leaving next week. I know we will have a good time. I just have to find a way to convince my wife that trying out the different beers of the world is a worthy attraction :slurp:

 

[DukeEarthwalker]

My best advice for a first timer is to pick up the Brinbaum's Guide to Disney World and look though it with everybody gong on the trip to determine which attractions the family members must see. WDW is so big that it is not fesible to see everything in one trip so don't even try, it will only add aggrevation to your vacation. But at least know which attractions you and the family want to do so you don't have somebody upset that they did not get to do something they really wanted to do.

Other than that, take your time and take some time to RELAX. This is a vacation after all. Enjoy your trip and keep posting here!

 

[mayrag]

Well, you will definitely have a great time...
Use fastpasses, buy a guide. This will help you in planning ahead the rides you won't want to miss. ALso, you can check out other disney sites on which you could see a preview of some rides so you have an idea beforehand.

Try to relax there, enjoy your time. And get in your head, that there is no way that you will see it all in this trip. Enjoy what you can see and ride.
You won't regret it.