first time to disney world - how to plan daily itinerary?

Question

my family is planning a WDW trip in May for a week. it will be me (22), my mom, my sister (18) and brothers (17 and 14).

there looks like SO MUCH TO DO. how do you plan on a day-to-day basis, as in where to go each day? when to eat? when to go to the water parks? ive read the past questions on Disneyworld but no help. i want to know how you decide what to do on Day 1, day 2, etc. we would be overwhelmed if we just plopped down when we got there and just winged it.

i should add, we are planning to go in may - that seems to be the time we can get cheapest flights down (from nyc). also we will be staying on site.

also, we are going to get the DiningPlan. a couple questions:
1. do you have to make reservations for ALL meals or just dinner?
2. should we plan our itinerary around dinner then?

Answer 1

First thing is get up early. Don't worry after you do the parks all day you will be tired !

Also most people go in order -magic kingdom on monday, epcot tues, mgm weds and animal kingdom thurs so don't go to those parks on those days!

It takes a good 30 minutes from the car to the entrance. Get to the entrance before it opens.

If you are staying at a disney property then you get to go into one park a day an hour before it opens to the general public.

AS for restaurants -call orlando area code(417?) then wdw-dine and you can do priority seating 90 days ahead for the restaurants.

Our favorite was the sea restaurant at epcot. where you sit infront of the shark tank. We also liked cinderallas castle restaurant.(can't remember the name). Also don't do the character meals inside the parks -waste of time and money.
Do the character breakfast at the grand floridian hotel on a day you are not going to the park

Get tickets from AAA, if not a member join as you will save the membership just with the discount on the disney tickets.

I bought 'Birnbaum's guide to disneyworld' at amazon.com. I read it cover to cover and did the parks the way he said and it was great.

We love Discovery Cove and SeaWorld as a little less crazy.
I would recommend Discovery Cove for your family group.

Answer 2

I have been to DW several times in the last few years. First I buy the Unofficial Guide to Disney World and The Birnbaums Disney World books. They are great help. The unofficial guide has everything in it from the resorts, to rides and restrictions, restaurants and even and itiinarary of what to do and on what days. You have to get up and start your day early. We usually get up by 6am and get out the door by 7am. Just get some rest sometime during the day or you will be exhausted. You can take food into the parks although Disney frowns upon it. But if you have chips, or sandwichs, bottled water in a back pack they don't question it. I do it everytime I go it does save some money. Have a great time. I leave in 7 months and 10 days.

Answer 3

Usually starting in May the Disney theme parks have something called "Extra Magic Hours." During these times the parks stay open later or open earlier. Get up early and go to the one that has "Extra Magic Hours." You can probably do everything you want to do. Go to http://www.waltdisneyworld.com and when the home page pulls up there is a little bar that says Vacation Planning Kit, Dining Finder, Calender, and Maps. Click on Calender. When the page comes up change the month to May and change the little bar with all the park names in it to what park you would like to view. Some days will be marked "Extra Magic Hours" and will have how long the park is open for. I hope I could help. Good luck and have fun!

Answer 4

Don't plan. Just have fun. That's what a vacation is suppose to be. Don't stick to a shedule and try to make deadlines for different things. That's like work. I would suggest one day for each park. Some parks don't take an entire day to do so if you finish a park early then visit another one or go to Downtown Disney. If you plan doing a dinner show or a theme restaurant then book it early. I'd say atleast a week before you arrive.

Answer 5

All of these answers are really good, but if you go towards the end of may then definitly arrive to MGM atleast an hour early because of Star Wars Weekends starts in the end of May. I don't know who is there for 2007 but last year the original Chewbacca was there along with the Original Boba Fett ( or modern Jango Fett). In order to get their autographs you need a fast pass which requires you to get there atleast 2 to 3 hours earlier ( about 6 am ). If you don't really care about it then just be warned that the line for Star Wars will be longer that usual. The Rockin Rollercoaster should be the same at about 45 minutes. Have fun on your trip.

Answer 6

When you book your trip, through a Disney agent, they can send you tons of helpful information on DVD and paperwork. Plus, if you stay in a Disney Resort Hotel, they have shuttles, so you can plan around those, and the hotel TVs always show daily lists of what events are going on, etc. So, I would say try to devote at least one day per park, in advance. Then at arrival, map out any specific times/events, and base around that. Also, make a list of places you "must" see, eat, etc and work those in on a daily basis. Make sure you get the Park Hopper pass so you can go from park to park, easily on the shuttles, and for free in and out! That can make the entire difference on the trip. It won't really seem overwhelming, because you'll be having so much fun, at least in my opinion!

Answer 7

Buy the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World .... It's fun planning your own trip and you will find unbiased views on everything at Disney World. Included in the book is detailed touring plans for every park and Judging by your ages the Do or Die touring plan would be perfect for you group.

Try joining the Disboards.com, it's a fun group and you can find out anything you need to know about Disney .

Answer 8

there is a wdw tour book you can pick up for i think $10 at any disney store that will give you all the info as which days are best for which parks and it will have all the disney restaurants, this book helped me sooo much my first trip i had to buy the updated one the second time i went...it will even tell you which rides get hit hardest right at opening so yu know to go to the least crowded ones first and it tells the time of day most people are eating and which rides to grab while they eat it really is very informative...have fun of and dont bother with animal kingdom it isnt worth it especially since you arent taking any smaller children

Answer 9

The best thing to do is look at the days that will be offerring extra magic hours. This will give you extra time in the parks, if you are staying onsite.

You should try to stick to one park per day. It is OK to do one in the morning and one in the evening, but if you plan to eat at different places, parks, hotels, etc. you will spend most of your time traveling from one place to the next and never get much done. So try to eat in the park you plan to spend the day in. If there is another place you want to eat in another park, then I would stay there afterwards.

Also, if you haven't already reserved your dining, you may have a hard time finding places with openings, especially since you have a party of five. Dining books 6 months out, with the new dining plan people take advantage of it, so the restaurants fill pretty fast. Some restaurants are more popular or have a smaller dining room, so it is a little harder to get in. If you really want to eat there, then you may have to see what dates are available and then plan around that. so lets say you want to eat at Le Celliers but it is only available on Monday, so plan your day to spend Monday at EPCOT and then so on for the other restaurants.

As for each park. Look at a list/description, of each ride, show parade, fireworks, etc. to see what interests you the most. Even with fast passes, you will be spending a good amount of time in line, so you may not get to see everything you want, don't expect to see everything in one week, it takes most people a lot longer. So plan out the things that you want to see the most and hit those rides first. If you are walking through the park and are doing good on time, or you see a short wait, or a show is getting ready to start and you can get right in before hand, then you can squeeze it in. But you will have to do a little planning to make sure you get everything in.

You may find that the dining is available at limited times as well, so that may help you decide when to dine. But to start you will want to have an idea of when you want to eat. If you plan to eat at only counter service restaurants, you don't need to reserve them, only table service at Disney. If you don't do table service you can eat whenever you choose or have time, maybe while waiting on a show, etc.

So I would first try to reserve your dinings, then go from there. Plan your days around your dining, that is usually what works the best. So when you plan your day, work your way back to the restaurant you will be dining at, unless you want to do a lot of extra walking. Water-parks, shopping, Downtown Disney, etc. can all be added in on the days that you have an opening or want to have a little slower pace then the regular parks.

I hope this helps you somewhat and isn't too confusing. Feel free to e-mail if you need anymore help!

Have a great time!

Answer 10

plan on 2 days for the magic kingdom and you can see everything. just work your way from one side to the other works fine.

the other parks only require a day. go to animal kingdom very early (when it opens) for the safari -- the animals are most active then.

Winging it is fine -- you are on vacation. Depending on who wants to do what you could even break up in groups and meet back -- kids to the coasters mom and dad to a show, etc.