We're going to Disney World (HELP!)
- Thread starter Chancellor M'rek
- Start date
I would second visiting disboards. I have been to Disney a bunch of times, but still learn things from the site and when I semi-recently went to Disneyland Hong Kong the people on there were very helpful .. and have been with my trip later this year to Disneyland Shanghai.
But the board really has tons of info on DisneyWorld .. more so than any of the other parks
This is also a pretty useful FAQ regarding minimizing expenses
https://www.mousesavers.com/walt-di...ntly-asked-questions-about-walt-disney-world/
But the board really has tons of info on DisneyWorld .. more so than any of the other parks
This is also a pretty useful FAQ regarding minimizing expenses
https://www.mousesavers.com/walt-di...ntly-asked-questions-about-walt-disney-world/
Good Luck, I stayed at All Star many years ago. It's nice but give yourself a little extra time for travel. The bus system at DisneyWorld is great.
Remember important dates, 180 days out you can make your dining reservations. 60 days out you can make your Fast Pass Plus reservations. Also customize your Magic Band selection. Make sure to download the My Disney Experience app. I highly recommend paying in advance for the Photo-pass. You get all your pictures from around the park downloaded into the My Disney Experience app. Also look at when Extra Magical Hours are for your stay, I would plan my visits to the parks around them.
Quick tip, if you do not stay on property, please count on at least an hour to get from the parking lot to the actual entrance of the park. If you do stay on property, then your travel time from your room to the bus, to the actual park can vary from 15 minutes to 90 minutes or more. So if you make FastPass reservations, make sure you leave at least 2-3 hours prior to your first reservation time so that you can get through the entrance process and not miss out.
Drink, drink, drink, and be ready to walk, walk, walk and wait, wait, wait.
Drink, drink, drink, and be ready to walk, walk, walk and wait, wait, wait.
I was there in late September/early October last year. The heat was brutal. Its kinda better early in the morning and at night. It also tends to rain in the afternoon. Always carry ponchos/umbrellas. The downpours can be quite intense, and I've found a poncho/umbrella combo works best. There's a Walmart that's pretty close, and you can stock up on umbrellas, ponchos and water there.
I could be wrong, but you might be there during the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot. The best time to visit is for lunch. Lines are crazy for dinner. Personally, I was extremely disappointed in the food. The smoked salmon and potato pancake from Scotland was the best.
I believe you can still do a switch off at Dumbo. One parent gets in line with the kids, and the other parent also gets in line. That way the kids get to go twice. Its been a very long time, so I don't know if you can still do this.
If you're Star Wars fans, they have meet and greets now in Hollywood Studios. I think its Vader and Chewbacca, but I might be wrong. I know they just added BB-8.
If you decide to do any of the parade/fireworks fast passes, be prepared to stake a claim to your space. Ideally, be near the fence so the kids can see. We had a horrible experience with some folks who insisted on standing in front of us for the whole show, and we missed a lot of it.
You can also get a great view of the parades & fireworks at MK at either the train station or right by the fire station. They were refurbishing the train station in January, and I don't know if its open again.
Also, you can either walk or take a boat between Hollywood Studios and Epcot. Just exit through the International Gateway from Epcot. Just keep an eye on park hours, since you don't want to get stuck. If you do get stuck, you can always go to one of the bus stations at any of the Epcot Resorts and get a bus to Disney Springs. Then from Disney Springs you can get to your resort. Be sure to keep an eye out for busses at Disney Springs, and have at least one member of your party visible to the driver. In the past, they've been a bit sloppy about pickup there.
You can also get a monorail from Epcot's main entrance to MK. You need to go through security at Epcot to do that, though. The only park that's a bit difficult to get to is Animal Kingdom. Its only accessible via bus or car.
Personally, I've had a lot of issues with the MyDisneyExperience app. Especially for making FastPass selections and dining reservations. I just use my laptop.
Be aware that you'll be in Florida during hurricane season. Keep an eye on the forecast every day and have a plan, in case things get bad. We were there right before Hurricane Matthew hit. We made the decision to get out, so I don't know what its like to weather a storm down there. I do know you'll be restricted to the resort itself. If you do find yourself in that situation, you might want to make a food run so you're prepared in case the worst happens.
I could be wrong, but you might be there during the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot. The best time to visit is for lunch. Lines are crazy for dinner. Personally, I was extremely disappointed in the food. The smoked salmon and potato pancake from Scotland was the best.
I believe you can still do a switch off at Dumbo. One parent gets in line with the kids, and the other parent also gets in line. That way the kids get to go twice. Its been a very long time, so I don't know if you can still do this.
If you're Star Wars fans, they have meet and greets now in Hollywood Studios. I think its Vader and Chewbacca, but I might be wrong. I know they just added BB-8.
If you decide to do any of the parade/fireworks fast passes, be prepared to stake a claim to your space. Ideally, be near the fence so the kids can see. We had a horrible experience with some folks who insisted on standing in front of us for the whole show, and we missed a lot of it.
You can also get a great view of the parades & fireworks at MK at either the train station or right by the fire station. They were refurbishing the train station in January, and I don't know if its open again.
Also, you can either walk or take a boat between Hollywood Studios and Epcot. Just exit through the International Gateway from Epcot. Just keep an eye on park hours, since you don't want to get stuck. If you do get stuck, you can always go to one of the bus stations at any of the Epcot Resorts and get a bus to Disney Springs. Then from Disney Springs you can get to your resort. Be sure to keep an eye out for busses at Disney Springs, and have at least one member of your party visible to the driver. In the past, they've been a bit sloppy about pickup there.
You can also get a monorail from Epcot's main entrance to MK. You need to go through security at Epcot to do that, though. The only park that's a bit difficult to get to is Animal Kingdom. Its only accessible via bus or car.
Personally, I've had a lot of issues with the MyDisneyExperience app. Especially for making FastPass selections and dining reservations. I just use my laptop.
Be aware that you'll be in Florida during hurricane season. Keep an eye on the forecast every day and have a plan, in case things get bad. We were there right before Hurricane Matthew hit. We made the decision to get out, so I don't know what its like to weather a storm down there. I do know you'll be restricted to the resort itself. If you do find yourself in that situation, you might want to make a food run so you're prepared in case the worst happens.
If you have AAA, book through them.. you get all kinds of perks and they have trained Disney experts who know all the tricks of the trade. It is worth the AAA membership fee to be able to access their agency...
Definitely book restaurants months in advance and have plenty of second choices ready. One word of caution about the meal plans.. The first time we went, we went all out and ended up not using as much as we thought.. The meals are HUGE and the plans usually come with an appetizer (each) and a dessert (each).. WAAAAAY too much food.
we stayed at one of the budget Disney resorts our first go around (Hollywood, I think) and it was fine.. The meal options were basically a food court with different "international" choices.. The second time, we stayed at the Spanish resort, which was a step up.. Really, the only difference was that they have a very nice sit down restaurant in addition to a bigger food court. The pool and bar area were very nice, but the rooms were identical to the budget resort.
There are also plenty of websites out there with insights as to how to get the most of your trip.. There are all kinds of tricks.. But definitely book through an agency. I think you can probably do really well, budgeting $4,000...
I would definitely recommend the Teppan restaurant in EPCOT!!
Definitely book restaurants months in advance and have plenty of second choices ready. One word of caution about the meal plans.. The first time we went, we went all out and ended up not using as much as we thought.. The meals are HUGE and the plans usually come with an appetizer (each) and a dessert (each).. WAAAAAY too much food.
we stayed at one of the budget Disney resorts our first go around (Hollywood, I think) and it was fine.. The meal options were basically a food court with different "international" choices.. The second time, we stayed at the Spanish resort, which was a step up.. Really, the only difference was that they have a very nice sit down restaurant in addition to a bigger food court. The pool and bar area were very nice, but the rooms were identical to the budget resort.
There are also plenty of websites out there with insights as to how to get the most of your trip.. There are all kinds of tricks.. But definitely book through an agency. I think you can probably do really well, budgeting $4,000...
I would definitely recommend the Teppan restaurant in EPCOT!!
