9 days at Disneyworld!

[Nunavut family]

My family and I are soon heading to Disneyworld from the Canadian high Arctic! It will be nice to leave -40 Celsius weather to the Florida sun. We will be staying at the Dolphin.

How would you all handle 9 days at Disneyworld? We have a 13 DD, 6 DS and 4 DD. Any tips?

We have been to Disneyland numerous times but our first trip to Disneyworld!

[Awesome_guy]

Hello from Calgary and welcome to Intercot!

You will have a blast! Having been to Disneyland you will get how the attractions go, but will find WDW very expansive. 9 Days will be great to explore, take breaks, and revisit favourite attractions (while taking in shows, I especially like the evening shows and fireworks).

We loved the Dolphin our last stay last March. Great pool area and so close to so much: Epcot, Boardwalk, and even Beaches and Cream for an ice cream break at Yacht & Beach.

Not sure if you're doing a water park to get some sun and outdoors in; both are great and have their perks.

Check out "Canada" in Epcot and enjoy the trip! =)

[indytraveler]

to Intercot

9 days is alot of magic to take in. I would reserve a day to visit all the parks, with Magic Kingdom, and Epcot being good for 2 days. That leaves 3 days to do what you want and re-visit other rides if have the Park Hopper Pass. My family is not big on the water parks so we haven't done them but they are a nice change of pace, or hang out at your hotel/Downtown Disney for a day. this helps if you spend the previous night at a park until 1 am.

Not sure if you have made any Advance Dining Reservations (ADR) yet but you would want to look into that. These are for the sit down restaurants in the parks. You're on the right path by asking questions here, but do look at the different tabs to find out what days each park has its Extra Magic Hours (EMH) so you can plan to use them in the morning or evening.

Once you figure out what days you're visiting each park you can ask back for help on which attractions etc you want to see.

Good Luck with your planning

[TinkerbellT421]

Welcome to Intercot!

I second what the others have said. Also, with 9 days, it is great to have relaxation days. Last time we went for 10 days we had several days of just lounging in our room and the pool, took time for ourselves, relaxed our aching feet. Enjoy!

[Janmac]

Disney World is huge - lots more to do than Disneyland, which you already know. One thing to be aware of is how draining the stimulation of all the crowds and park size and heat, etc., can be.

The touring plan we have used in the past included being at a park about 30 minutes before scheduled opening, touring either favorite attractions or specific park areas (like Adventureland and Frontierland only at Magic Kingdom) and then leaving the park for some afternoon down time. We would then do Epcot from about 4 pm to closing.

We would typically do at least two mornings each at Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Disney Hollywood Studios, with at least 6 evenings at Epcot, doing a pavilion or two at Future World before moving on to a couple or three countries at World Showcase, depending on how many days we were at the World. We usually plan between 7 and 9 days.

We pretty much skip the early entry parks. Generally also do not do MK on a weekend.

We were fairly disciplined about leaving the parks at 11:30, so the kids could swim and decompress away from all the park hustle and bustle.

On our recent February visit we did not stop for lunch at 11:30, but just after noon instead. Cosmic Ray's had huge lines. We left and went to the counter service at the Contemporary where there was no wait at all.

Our youngest grandson still feels, at 23, that a visit to Disney World must include pool or arcade time as much as park time. He says that's why it's called Disney World.

Jan

[Nunavut family]

Thanks for the replies!

We got a park hopper with the added water park options to our tickets.

Our family loves wildlife and therefore are looking forward to DAK. Each park has different attractions that are must do's so I see a lot of back and forth between the parks.

Our little daughter is scheduled at BBBoutique for the total Princess package. We also made reservations for the whole family to be transformed into pirates. We made one reservation for a character meal (can't remember the restaurant?). We wanted to keep our schedule free of many reservations so we could explore without timed obligations.

We are so excited, we have been one hundred percent isolated in an extremely small community accessible only by air for the past year. This vacation is going to be epic!!

[LVT]

Hello and we will love the planning along with you.
1. break and nap at noon -3pm will do wonders for your stamina. The grown-ups may think no way, but try it. It refreshes and makes the 2nd part of the day a whole new adventure instead of a very long chore.

[cer]

We are so excited, we have been one hundred percent isolated in an extremely small community accessible only by air for the past year. This vacation is going to be epic!!

Wow. I am so excited for you. I cannot even imagine living so remotely. You are going to have a great time and yes, it will be "epic"!

Hello and we will love the planning along with you.
1. break and nap at noon -3pm will do wonders for your stamina. The grown-ups may think no way, but try it. It refreshes and makes the 2nd part of the day a whole new adventure instead of a very long chore.

This. Just recently realizing the magic of the mid-day breaks!

When are you going?

[Nunavut family]

We leave Nunavut on the 5th of April, go to Vancouver Island for a few days then drive to Seattle on the 11th to fly to Florida on the 12th.

Sunday the 13th of April will be our first day in the parks. Our little girl has an appointment at six in the evening for the Boutique. We wanted earlier but are now happy that it is in the evening. The Florida heat will be something to get accustomed to so it will be better if she wears a dress for the evening when it is cooler.

Our character breakfast is at the Cape May Cafe the following Saturday. We didn't realize that reservations book up so far in advance.

We are getting super excited and have taken to measuring our little girl daily as she is a sixteenth of an inch shy of 40 inches (maybe needs some magical shoes for the added lift).

[indytraveler]

I know I'll probably get blasted a little but 1/16" can be overcome a few different ways. Have your daughter wear her hair up with a high pony tail and hat. Put cushions in her shoes, this will help with the walking too. Or go low tech and have her hover stand straight up and hover her heels off the ground.

Sounds like your vacation is coming together nicely. The biggest difference with WDW is the size. Have fun

[Nunavut family]

I remember a trip to Disneyland when our daughter was about a half inch too short for Indiana Jones. We bought a nice pair of sandals that just put her a smidgen over the height. She Loved it!!

We booked a Fantasmic meal at Hollywood and Vine. I have read the reviews but decided to take a chance. Living where we live, a decent meal is half rotten tomatoes, wilted lettuce and brown bananas. A meal at our only diner is $36 a person and consist of Frozen fries and prefabricated frozen burgers on stale buns. Any meal at Disneyworld will far surpass our Arctic standards!!

[PlutoPlanet]

It will be nice to leave -40 Celsius weather to the Florida sun.

Aren't -40 degrees C and -40 degrees F the same? Anyway, it's certainly better in FL.

[PlutoPlanet]

You can walk from the Dolphin the the Cape May for the character breakfast. It is hard to get to another resort for breakfast, but the walk will work for you. DAK is great. Do the Safari first, but there is lots to do there. We like the Lion King show. We can do without the Nemo show. The Birds show is nice too.

From the Dolphin you can walk around the Boardwalk to Beaches and Cream to see if anyone is getting the "Kitchen Sink" ice cream dessert. The Boardwalk has some entertainment in the evening, it is fun for kids.

[PlutoPlanet]

And the best tip of all, get a Dole Whip in the Magic Kingdom at Adventureland. It is the most popular dessert at Disney. It's pineapple soft serve. Very refreshing.

[Nunavut family]

Yes! The Dole Whip is our absolute favourite treat! At Disneyland they have a stand right outside the Tiki Hut, we also like the Banyan skewers by Indiana Jones. Part of the adventure will be discovering new foods and treats not available at Disneyland!

Getting excited; not long now, three weeks today until arrival...

[AmandaChan]

So jealous! Here in the midwest I feel like the spring may never come. 9 days is quite a trip! and to be honest the only bit of advice I would offer is go back to the resort and take a nap/swim, get showered again and head out for a cooled down evening in the parks! My favorite part of our trips. Also you could take a day or two and avoid the parks and just go swim and relax, visit other resorts, go to DD, etc.

[PlutoPlanet]

Our youngest grandson still feels, at 23, that a visit to Disney World must include pool or arcade time as much as park time. He says that's why it's called Disney World.

Jan

Good point about the arcades. Our DD17 enjoyed some arcade time every year. I didn't get it at first, but I just go with it now. The Boardwalk Inn has an arcade. Not sure if Swan/Dolphin does.

[Nunavut family]

We will probably utilize one of our extras to visit Disney Quest in Downtown Disney to satisfy our children's love of video games...

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

to Intercot from Toronto!

9 days is our "usual" trip ... we figure once we get down there we might as well make it worth it.

Everyone has given super tips, so there isn't much to add, but there are a few things we've found that help.

1. Again, make ADR's. I know you're close to your trip, but you'll do better now than trying to sort it out when you're there. If there is somewhere you don't book ahead, you can try while you're there, there are lots of people who can "squeak" in!

2. Plan some down time. If you're like us, you'll want to spend all of the time in the parks, but the resorts are super, the mini-golf is fun, and you'll need a bit of a break (at least we do). Just being in Florida is a vacation!

3. If you have a car, there is lots else to do in Florida - are you planning on leaving Disney at all?

Have a great trip!

[Nunavut family]

We aren't planning on leaving the resort. Truth is, I haven't driven a vehicle on pavement in over a year and Florida traffic would be overwhelming. If the road isn't ice, I don't drive (not true, will be driving to Seattle).

We just want a simple stress free vacation without having to drive around or have too many super plans...