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View Full Version : OVERWHELMED for first visit!



brertosh
02-23-2008, 06:18 AM
Living on the west coast my whole life I have visited Disneyland hundreds of times and know it like the back of my hand. I have always wanted to go to WDW and now my family of 4 will finally be visiting for the first time in June! I am 30 years old so its been a long time coming. The only thing is it just seems to be so huge and so much to do and see I am really not sure where to start. I have bought books and gone online so I am getting a general idea, but if anyone has any tips or advice or any secrets to help make this trip even more memorable I would truly appreciate it! Thank you fellow Disney lovers.

BronxTigger
02-23-2008, 07:13 AM
I understand. I'm doing the opposite of you right now!

Here's the basics:
Hotel. At WDW, you really need to be onsite. It's much more important than at DLR. If budget is a concern, the values usually are in the same price range as the offsite hotels when you factor in parking costs and included perks (EMH, Magic Express, etc).

Park Tickets. These are essentially the same as at DLR. I've never done WDW without a Park Hopper, but I know people who have. Try to get a Park Hopper. Hopefully you are staying for at least 5 days.

Dining. This is one of the overwhelming parts of a WDW vacation. Don't let it overwhelm you. You can only eat 3 meals a day plus some snacks. There are a TON of TS places to eat, but I try not to plan too many because 1) it's too much food, especially for June (hot and humid) when you are going and 2) I don't like to be chained to a reservation schedule. Do note: WDW Dining reservations can be made 180 days out, and they are absolutely necessary for TS places. 407-WDW-DINE. Look to the dining forums here on Intercot for dining suggestions/advice.

Parks. Another overwhelming area for newbies. While there are hundreds of places to eat, there are only 4 parks (plus 2 water parks, DTD, and some other miscellaneous recreation activities). If you have the days, plan to spend around 1 day at AK, 1 day at MGM, and 2 days each at MK and Epcot. Look through Intercot and your guidebooks and pick your MUST DOs for each park. I'm sure you have some sort of touring strategy that you use at DLR, such as arriving early and using fastpasses. Use those same strategies at WDW.

One important thing to remember: the weather in Florida in June will likely be very hot and very humid. It will also be very crowded. Plan to arrive at the parks when they open. In the hottest part of the afternoon, go back to your resort (PLEASE tell me you're on site!) and take a nap and/or a swim. This 3 hour break in your day will pay you back by allowing you to go back to the parks in the evening and stay as late as they are open. It will cool off and thin out some as the night progresses.

One more thing: ask away here on Intercot and search through older threads. I've gotten answers to questions I didn't even know I had!

Happy Planning!

BMan62
02-23-2008, 07:41 AM
All of what BronxTigger said plus...

Take full advantage of EMH, both mornings and evenings! Early in the morning EMH and late in the evening EMH are slowest times - if there can be any slow times during the summer months at WDW!

Of course, that means you are staying on-site, so park transportation is your way to go - buses, boats, monorail will get you anywhere you want to go on WDW property.

RELAX! You are not going to be able to do everything in one trip, so take it easy and just try to hit your favorite attractions, or things you have wanted to see and have no 'double' in DL. Forget scheduling everything before you go because you will probably get sidetracked along the way, either by something new/different that strikes your fancy or because crowd levels just won't let it happen.

CAS
02-23-2008, 08:29 AM
Great post BronxTigger! I am going to triple the recommendation that you stay onsite. Doing the Florida parks during the summer there is almost no other option. You'll want to leave during the afternoon to either take a nap, take a dip, eat lunch or do whatever at the hotel for a break during peak crowd and heat time each day. Truthfully when we were kids we could care less but that's when there were only 2 parks and they never reached capacity. But nowadays it's a waste of time spending your efforts coming and going, parking, walking, shuttling and what not instead of staying onsite. We'd never do it again. :thumbsup:

Aunt Terri
02-23-2008, 08:49 AM
I have only been to WDW once, and my sister planned it all.... Now it will only be DH and me.. and it is very overwhelming trying to do all this... but Wendy at Magical Journeys helped me with the tickets, resort and transportation from Orlando airport to resort... i am onsite... have the Basic Dining plan... and park hopper.... Intercot is great to get info on just about anything about WDW :thumbsup:

#1donaldfan
02-23-2008, 09:26 AM
Your getting some very good advice......just remember to take advantage of some "nap" time.....don't try to do everything at once...pace yourself and just enjoy yourself. As for the EMH.....I agree to use them, but this past year we used 'em all and it took it's toll on us near the end of the trip....for us the early EMH's seemed the best, that way we weren't trying to sleep in the next morning, thus wasting time sleeping in the room and not being in a park.....just a thought....:mickey:

Kairi_7378
02-23-2008, 09:34 AM
You've gotten some great advice here. I'm not sure what books you've read for your trip, but I'd like to suggest the Unofficial Guide to Disney World. It has some great advice for planning your trip. I found it to be useful when I planned my first adult trip in March. Getting to the parks at opening is a very good piece of advice.

texasteacher
02-23-2008, 09:54 AM
I agree with Bronx Tigger. Great post!
Don't miss Wishes fireworks display at Mk and get an early (at least 45 minutes) curbside spot to watch Spectromagic!

DNS
02-23-2008, 12:48 PM
I agree with others here that staying on Disney property is the way to go. The two perks that make it worth the extra cost to us is package delivery to your hotel and the extra magic hours. I also agree that this time of year it would be a very good idea to take advantage of morning and evening extra hours. That way you can go back to your hotel for a mid day break and take a swim, take a nap, or just relax to get your second wind. It sounds like you are gathering up plenty of information to help you. Our first trip was before the internet and we missed so much. One thing is that Info Central here on Intercot is a wealth of information. Theme parks tab tells you so much about the rides and attractions, Info Central tab gives you the - all you need to know - on dining options including many menus plus all the other recreational activities at Disney World. As many times as we have been there I still find myself checking things here at Info Central.

HairyBear
02-23-2008, 01:13 PM
One thing I would recomend is to take plenty of water with you. The first time we went I brought 1 case of water and froze most of them before we left. We did drive down so we had extra room for this but I wished I had brought more with me as I was late September and very hot. We were onsite at the Contemporary Hotel with MK view( my favorite).Since we were on Disney property I couldn't find any place to purchase more and after finding a Wal-Mart I brought them back to the Contemporary but the small room 'fridge was not up to the challenge of freezing very many of them. I packed a soft cooler with as many frozen waters as possible and believe me in the Summer heat it didn't take very long to drink them. When we were in line I could see other people looking at our frosty water bottles with ice floating in them. I also got juice bags and other snacks in small bags : teddy grams, peanuts etc. as they went on sale at our local grocery store before we left.
This may not seem like a huge savings but it's kind of like pre paying your snacks. The kids drank healthier, snacked healthier and we could drink and snack while waiting in most lines. Most days the bag would be considerably lighter by 11:00. I love staying on property but an advantage in staying off property is being able to purchase things at other places than the park. We would come back to the hotel for snacks but the contemporay snack bar usually ended up running us 35-40$ per snack.....We now stay at Westgate Lakes it's a nice place and you can stay at many of the places that sell timeshares for next to nothing The larger units have washer dryer full oven/stove full 'fridge and other things that can help save money. When we came to visit Westgate before we bought we had visited other timeshare sales presentations and they seemed to be a lot easier to say 'no' to. Other members of our party were set on not buying and probably burned 2 hrs eating breakfast walking and listening to the pitch but we all stayed 7 nights for about 300$.....you can also get deals on tickets for parks or entertainment but if time is important I wouldn't bother. Most take about 2 hrs. to go through. There are many grocery stores i the area just do some checking

CrabbyEeyore
02-23-2008, 01:53 PM
We too are planning our first trip to DW the first week of Sept. I'm glad I ran across this thread. I had been wondering about the dining plan because it does offer so much and for us we just wouldn't be eating that much especially with the heat. And for the price of the dining plan on our own we wouldn't spend near the full amount. Our kids split a lot of meals and still don't finish it all and we're taking my mom and for her and I we can split a meal and still have plenty its my husband that could out eat us all yet he's still scrawny grr lol Anyways we're going to take the bottled waters and snacks and juice boxes for the kids and whatever else we can think of. Any other tips?

BronxTigger
02-23-2008, 02:23 PM
It's true about the water. You have to drink a LOT.

The CS places in WDW all offer FREE ice water. You just need to ask for a free ice water and they give it to you. (Bottled water is $2.50 for a 20oz Dasani).

The tap water in WDW tastes a little funny, but if you bring those little individual flavor packets you can mask the taste. (Propel, Crystal Light, and Kool-Aid all make these, as well as other brands.) I also find that when I'm thirsty and the water is very cold I don't notice the funny taste so much.

You can also take the edge off the heat by planning your attractions based on which ones are inside (read: air conditioned) and which ones are not. You might do the Jungle Cruise (outside) followed by POTC (inside) followed by Big Thunder (outside) followed by Splash Mountain (inside).

They also sell little fans that mist water. At the parks they are around $17; to save money find them ahead of time somewhere else. In the mornings, put ice from the ice machine in it and use it throughout the day. You can also take the ice from your FREE ice water after you finish drinking it and add it to your mister fan.

I've been 3 times in summer and the heat/humidity is no joke, but as long as you take care of yourself you should be fine.

BelleLovesTheBeast
02-23-2008, 02:49 PM
I recommend pre-ordering the Photopass CD. It's $99 if you ordered it before you go and $125 if you order it once you're there. We did this on our last trip and had them take almost 300 pictures. Once we got home we edited them and had over 500 pictures. It is a great souvenir to come home with.

brertosh
02-23-2008, 04:03 PM
Thank you for the great advice. BronxTigger your detailed advice was outstanding along with everyone else too. We are planning to stay on site either at WL or POFQ. Only 4 months to go and i am getting more and more excited!

pamickeys
02-23-2008, 04:14 PM
get pen and paper and write down everything you would like to do,see hear,eat, and visit. then cross off half of them(not kidding) and you will be lucky if you can do half of the half thats left. too many people rush around like crazy nuts to make all of their ideas happen and they don't really enjoy what is right in front of them. skip the dinning plan it ties you down to too many time frames. we have had so many wonderful things happen to us there and would have missed most if we had to leave to make a dinner res . my best advice is walk slow and enjoy everything, you can do some more on your next trip

mouselover93
02-23-2008, 05:38 PM
hotels: gotta stay on property. you have advantages of buses so you dont have to pay to enter wdw. extra magic hours definitly have to do them.

heres some ride i can think of that definitly have to be fast passed

magic kingdom: space mountain, splash mountain, big thunder mountain railroad, buzz lightyears space ranger spin, ( i'm not sure if there's anything in fantasy land that can be fast passed but i'll name some off anyway. ) peter pans flight. snow whites scary adventure' and the many adventures of winnie the pooh, jungle cruise and i think pirates of the caribbean has fast pass. everything else is a must see

epcot: there really isnt anything to fast pass here except soaring and test track.

epcot must see's: journey into imagination with figment, honey i shrunk the audience, spaceship earth, maelstorm, and mission space

disney hollywood studios ( formerly mgm ): definetly fast pass rock' n ' roller coaster starring areosmith. the twilight zone tower of terror. and i think star tours has a fast pass i'm not sure

must see's: the great movie ride, the disney studios backlot tour, and i've heard some good things about light's motor's action extreme stunt show's.

animal kingdom fast passes: dinosaur, primevial whirl, expdition everest, and i think kilimanjaro safaris and kali river rapids has fast pass if not those are must see's

must see's: it's tough to be a bug

fireworks: i recommend trying to see all the fireworks shows. if you have triple a ask them about the fantasmic dinner package and you get reserved seating for fantasmic if not you mus arrive and hour before the show to get eating.

resturants: all the food here is good like almost any other amusement park but my favorites are: chef mickey's ( only went for breakfast )liberty tree tavern, planet hollywood, crystal palace, and rainforest cafe.

on property hotels: the only two hotels on property i can vouche for are the caribbean beach resort and fort widlerness any questions just send me a message

other tips: in the summer there is a thunder storm almost everyday if not rain so i advise you to carry a poncho or umbrella. also use the disney dining plan that saves familys aot of money if my family had not used that we would be in debt right now. and also the disney parkhopper you can go from park-to-park each day and you dont get any days taken off your ticket. if you have anymore questions send me a private message



P.S.: HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mickey::wishes:

DisneyDudet
02-23-2008, 07:31 PM
Looking at your wants, you will NEED to book a resort ASAP. You may not be able to get those resorts, as they are VERY popular, so you will need to research some others that you will be happy with. While on the phone, ask if there are ANY discounts available to you. They HAVE to answer you honestly. If you have a Disney Visa, you may be eligible for a discount, for example. Make sure you ask them.

I sure hope you have your airline booked already. Fares are high, so the sooner the better.

I, personally, would not do the Dining Plan. We plan maybe one or two TS restaurants a trip. We like having a lot of choices, with CS, and a less constraint on where we have to be, and when. Say we plan on going to Epcot for Le Cellier in Canada, and we plan on doing some attractions we didn't get to hit. We arrive, and Epcot's a ZOO! We will be eating, of course, but then we can't do anything else. If we didn't have to be at X place at X time, we could decide to go to another park. There are many trips where we decide we want to go to a different park than what we planned. We like having the ability to change things up as we go.

Now, to many, the Dining Plan is great. It really is if you want to make meals a major part of your trip. Its a great deal (it was a better deal with tips were included though!), especially if you do the math in the end! Our thing, for us, when we eat like we normally do, we actually spend less a day than the dining plan costs, so its not cost effective. Now, if we were wanting to eat at a lot of TS places, yes, it would be cost effective.

So, where should you start? I would start with booking a resort. I would have a good range of days that you would like to arrive and depart, in the hopes that you can get the resort you'd like. Try not to have a certain 7 days that you HAVE to travel. If you can't ease up on your days, be prepared to not have your first or second resort choice. After you have booked your hotel and have made sure everyone can make it, make your airline ressies (if you haven't done so already). After this, you can look into your options, like tickets and food options; if you have your hotel and airfare, you, for sure, have a trip!

As far as tickets, I would figure out what you want to do. Do you want to go to water parks? How often will you go? Do you want to change parks as you go, in case a park becomes to full for you? These are things you need to ask yourself. For us, we do the MYW with Park Hopper Option. We aren't big water park people, but we have done them in the past. They are fun, but we'd much rather spend our time at the parks, riding rides and taking in the park. We can hit our poll at the resort if we want to swim. Again, this isn't the choice for everyone, this is just us. If you are on a budget, and will be ok with doing one park a day (you can come and go from this park as much as you choose all day), then a basic Magic Your Way pass will work for.

You have FOUR parks at WDW, unlike DLR. Also, there is a lot of traveling involved from park to park and possibly from your resort. You should arrive at any destination within an hour, but you can't just walk across a plaza and be at another park.

Ok, in the attempts to not overwhelm you anymore, I'm going to leave my post at that. Get your resort, then airline tickets, then you can focus on the rest.

PM if you have any questions!

dolphinmickey9170
02-23-2008, 09:29 PM
I recommend taking your time. Unless you are going for several weeks, you will not be able to do everything. This just gives you a good reason to make another trip east. :D

I also would recommend the basic dining plan. It gives each member of your party (above the age of 3) 1 counter service meal, 1 table service meal and 1 snack per day. The counter service is a combo meal and a dessert and a non alcoholic beverage. The table service meal is an entree and a dessert and a non alcoholic beverage. The snack is mostly any item under $4. The tip is not included with the TS meal. This meal plan is $38 per person per night of stay. We find this to be very economical.

I am quoting my past dining review. (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=105076)

You will notice, however, this was last year when the tip and appetizer were included. We saved a whole heap of money. We will still save money, maybe not as much. But I feel that having the dining plan already paid for makes it so much easier than worrying, "Do we have enough money to eat?" It's already paid for. PERIOD. Hope this review helps.

Have a great time and enjoy WDW to the fullest.

My favorite - Wishes - it's a must see. Makes me cry EVERYTIME!!

Dakota Rose
02-23-2008, 10:45 PM
I suggest hitting the attractions not available at DLR first. Here are some things I would make a priority:

MK:
-Philharmagic
-Tommorowland Transit Authority
-Magic Carpets
-Hall of Presidents
-Monster's Laugh Floor
-Stitch's Great Escape
-Carousel of Progress
-Space Mountain (it's diferent at MK)
-Wishes
-Spectromagic
-Eating at Cinderella's Royal Table

Epcot:
-Test Track
-Spaceship Earth
-Living Seas w/Nemo
-Mission Space
-Tres Caballeros
-Maelstrom
-American Adventure

Studios:
-Rock 'n Roller coaster
-TOT (it's different from the one at DCA)
-Backlot Tour
-Great movie ride

And pretty much everything at AK. :)

After I hit those things, then I'd work in my favorites from DLR. The other big difference btw DLR and WDW is ADRs at restaurants. This isn't a big deal at DLR restaurants, but at WDW it's a must.

FTDW Poly 08
02-23-2008, 10:56 PM
I'll be visiting for the first time Aug 2-9. I have three kids (8 yo boy, 6 yo boy, 2 yo girl who won't be with us last two days--relatives rock!).

Please give me your thoughts for this basic plan:
Arrival day--Magic Kingdom
Sunday--Epcot
Monday--Hollywood
Tues- Water Park I morning and aft
Wed- Animal King
Thu- Magic Kingdom
Fri- Water Park II morning and aft--return to Hollywood for Fantasmic
Sat--Checkout, Magic Kingdom, drive to uncle's house in Sarasota

Any thoughts??

DisneyDudet
02-24-2008, 08:50 AM
The only problem I see with doing your first day at MK is that your kids might end up thinking every park is like MK. It is VERY kid friendly and has a lot of stuff to do. The other parks are kid friendly, but not the "envisioned" Disney World. They may get bored or fussy in the other parks, as they tend to have more options for adults.

That is the only problem I see with your plan, it looks good!

HairyBear
02-24-2008, 10:12 AM
Sounds like you have a good plan,plenty of breaks included. The one thing I think you should consider is your choice of schedule. Go to disney.com under parks and each park has a schedule of events.Check each parks main events lists for fireworks and parades. You will probably find conflicts in event schedules. Big events not to be missed:Spectromagic,wishes,illuminations,fantasmic ,magic kingdom parade,hollywood studios parade,animal kingdom parade, this is my ranking of these events. Spectromagic doesn't run on all nights so I usually try to plan around that.All the other events run most nights. I assume you have park hoppers so this shouldn't be a problem. If you have a dollar store around you should do yourself a favor and buy some glo sticks and necklaces for 1$ a pack take them with you and give them to your kids before the night events they will love it and you will save major$$$!

Good Luck!!

FTDW Poly 08
02-24-2008, 03:43 PM
Thanks for the glowstick idea! Sounds great!

I must be an idiot, but I can't find schedules for things such as Illuminations, Fantasmic, etc. Can you help me with that?

Beast_fanatic
02-24-2008, 04:28 PM
:welcome: to INTERCOT!

Here are the events schedule (http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/calendar/events.asp), park hours (http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/calendar/parkhours.asp), and extra magic hour information (http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/park/extramagic.asp) to help you plan.

HairyBear
02-24-2008, 05:03 PM
Also ounce you get to the parks consult the parks show times guide its a paper you get at the entrance of the parks. Some appearances of characters and shows not listed may be found here. A personal favorite is Story Time with Belle(Magic Kingdom), they pick some kids and a parent to act out the Beuty and the Beast story and put on costumes. If you see a sale while at home you may want to purchase some inexpensive ponchos in case it rains. If you want you can let kids decorate their ponchos with a permanent markers so when they get there if it rains you already have them. I think I paid close to 8$ for each one I bought at EPCOT they do have mickey on them. Sometimes when it rains they run out and you have to race around looking for them. :mickey: Good Luck, Happy Plannng!!:mickey:

FTDW Poly 08
02-24-2008, 08:49 PM
Thanks. Seriously, guys, this is the best, most helpful message board I've seen for ANY topic. I still am not sure what intercot is and how most of you are affiated with it, but I'm a big fan! My wife says I'm hooked!

:thumbsup:

DisneyDudet
02-25-2008, 11:15 AM
Intercot is the Internet Community of Tomorrow.

We are all members that just love Disney! I found this by googling many moons ago, and have been hooked ever since! I agree, I see other message boards for all sorts of things, and this is, by far, the best.

Hope to see you around!

brertosh
02-25-2008, 08:35 PM
Thank you all for welcoming me to Intercot, what a fantastic site this is!!! Also thanks for the great info and tips, I will definitely be putting it all to use. Just booked the flight today!

NJ Camper
02-25-2008, 09:06 PM
Agian welcome hope we can answer your ???'s where are you going and how long in june????

brertosh
02-26-2008, 01:17 PM
Just booked 10 nights at Wilderness Lodge thru Magical Journeys!

BronxTigger
02-26-2008, 10:55 PM
Just booked 10 nights at Wilderness Lodge thru Magical Journeys!

Awesome! Congratulations!

So you have the flights and the resort booked, so now you just need to decide what do do and also where and when to eat!

It typically works best if you look at the park hours for the days you will be there and plan your parks around the hours that you like. Then, plan restaurants that are in the general area.

For MK: Find places to eat in MK or in the Contemporary, Poly, or GF (MK resorts on the monorail)

For Epcot: Find places to eat in Epcot or at the Yacht/Beach Club, Boardwalk, or Swan/Dolphin.
For MGM: Eat in MGM or at the YC/BC, BW, or S/D.

For AK: Eat in AK or go to the AKL.

stitch34
02-27-2008, 11:44 AM
[QUOTE=dolphinmickey9170;1557124]I recommend taking your time. Unless you are going for several weeks, you will not be able to do everything. This just gives you a good reason to make another trip east. :D

But I feel that having the dining plan already paid for makes it so much easier than worrying, "Do we have enough money to eat?" It's already paid for. PERIOD.
QUOTE]

I agree with both of these...take your time and enjoy the atmosphere and the extra Disney Magic:cloud9::mickey:. I definitely suggest using the dining plan because you don't have to worry about bringing the extra money for food or feel like you need to stick to a budget. Also while it is a lot to eat, it is worth it to experience all of the restaurants Disney has to offer. :thumbsup:

Definitely use the park hopper option and take breaks in the afternoon. It helps keep you refreshed.

As far as early morning hours, we only use these occasionally and usually stay away from them because most people tend to use them which could make the park more crowded for the day. However we do book some breakfasts in the parks before they open. It's fun to be in the park when it's very empty and then when you are done eating it is easy to hit some of the attractions that get crowded quickly because you don't have to walk through the entrance and deal with the crowds as much since some of the restaurants are deeper into the park.

Also at MK, we found out on our last trip that if you have little ones, hit Fantasyland first thing in the morning before the lines get too long, example about an hour or longer for Dumbo turns into about 15 minutes.

jpH/keD
02-27-2008, 02:55 PM
Oh My!! You have gotten GREAT tips here! I will add a couple of things not addressed so far(Unless I skipped a few sentences! )

The last day I would say as a RESORT day. This takes the pressure off doing all you missed. Forget about it! You WILL go back eventually! Relax by the pool, if you shopped like I did go to the gift shop and have all your goodies shipped home. This way you don't have to pack it and if it gets broken the nice folks at Disney send you a new one free of charge! Enjoy all the sites your resort has that you didn't get to do! And you won't miss your flight!

Have fun and get WATER from the Garden Grocer!!!! They will deliver to your room!

brertosh
02-27-2008, 06:29 PM
We also got the dining plan, wasn't sure if it would be worth it at first. Now i belive it will work out well, especially because as mentioned all meals well be prepaid so I won't have to worry about that! Of course got the park hopper and water park options too. jpH/keD I like the idea of shipping my goodies home and Bronx thanks for the tip on where to eat for certain parks. Again thank you everyone!

Taja
02-27-2008, 07:00 PM
You're going to have so much fun! Ten nights should be an excellent introduction to WDW!

Strongly recommend purchasing one of those little battery operated fans for each person in your group, rather than a misting fan. The humidity at WDW is horrendous if you're from a drier climate. The fan moves the air without adding to the humidity!

You seriously have to plan at WDW much more than you do at D/CA, particularly for your first visit or two. You won't do everything you want to do, but without a plan you'll wander around a lot and do very little!

Begin with the park hours for each day of your visit, then add the parades and events. Be sure to include morning and evening EMH to your schedule. You'll want to verify this information about a week before your departure (you know Disney, they cover their backside in case they want to change anything!), and again after you arrive at WDW.

For each park, have everyone select attractions and assign priorities to them, limiting the highest and mid priorties to two attractions per park per person. Then combine everything to see where you are and begin mapping your strategy for each park. Keep it flexible so you can take a break when you need it, but try to do/see the highest priorities for everyone.

There are a number of live shows at the parks, in addition to the parades and evening spectaculars. Be sure to schedule some extra time for those!

Try to schedule one day at each park as you begin your WDW adventure. It will give you a taste of what you want to do on your return to each park. Then take a break one day, either on or off property, and perhaps do just a park finale (do they have the Pirate & Princess Party scheduled during your visit?)--or no park at all!

Coming from the west coast, you might have an issue with morning EMH, unless you're very early risers. If you can, begin adjusting your schedules a week or two prior to departure. I don't really have that luxury, and rarely manage park opening--much less morning EMH!--until the last two or three days of a 10 or 11 night visit! However, I can keep going until 3:00 a.m. without blinking an eye! *LOL*

And remember, sunscreen, sunscreen and more sunscreen!

Taja
02-27-2008, 07:02 PM
Oh! And if you won't be renting a car (not really necessary if you don't want to leave WDW), be sure to bring plenty of batteries for any of your portable electronics--and fans! They are horrendously expensive at WDW!

BronxTigger
02-27-2008, 07:18 PM
Strongly recommend purchasing one of those little battery operated fans for each person in your group, rather than a misting fan. The humidity at WDW is horrendous if you're from a drier climate. The fan moves the air without adding to the humidity!


Taja you gave really great information in your post. I just picked this part out because the mister fans that Disney sells can be operated with just the battery-powered fan without using the water. But to spray the ice water on your face and then have the fan on it really does cool you down nicely. (side note: the mister fans at WDW also say Disneyland on them so I think they sell the same exact ones at both parks)

Btw...good point about the early mornings and the time change. I'm going to Disneyland in April and the park doesn't open until 9am and I have no idea what I'm going to do from 3 am until 9am! LOL.

DisneyDudet
02-28-2008, 09:42 AM
Btw...good point about the early mornings and the time change. I'm going to Disneyland in April and the park doesn't open until 9am and I have no idea what I'm going to do from 3 am until 9am! LOL.

Talk to me!