What do I need to know before my Disney World vacation?

Question

I need a Disney expert to give me some advice. Our family is going on vacation to Disney and I'm wondering what we need to know before we get there. We're going with 3 kids, 6,5, and 9 months, and also my parents, ages 65 and 53. None of us have ever been before. We'll be there for 7 full days (plus 1 day each for arrival and departure). We have 6 days allotted to visit 4 Disney parks, and one day for Sea World. We did not get the park hopper option, so I was thinking the trip would go something like this: 2 days MK, 2 days MGM, 1 day Animal Kingdom, 1 day Epcot, 1 day Sea World.

My specific questions are:
1. Will my children enjoy Epcot enough at this age to spend an entire day there?
2. Is 2 days enough to see the Magic Kingdom?
3. What kind of crowds will we find near the end of September?
4. How much money should we expect to spend on food, etc...each day?
5. Is there any other advice you have for a family of first-timers?

Everything is already booked, we are going in just over two weeks. We are staying in a condo, off-site.

Answer 1

I am assuming that you are renting a car, but if you are not use Mears Transportation services. You call them 24 hours before you need the service and they will provide roundtrip service. 407-423-5566. They are one of the only legit shuttle companies in Orlando. Even Disney uses them for their shuttles.

If you get the dining plan you will save tons of money on food because the dining plan basically pays fro lunch & dinner. If you are not getting the dining plan, do a few things: 1) bring snacks into the park, especially with the little ones, this will prevent them from getting hungry and from whining about all the yummy snacks around them; 2) Schedule at least 1 (during the whole trip) if not more character meals, they will be worth the price. Check www.allears.net to see information about them all; 3) Try and schedule 1-2 non-character meals. 4) Since you have a condo, try making some dinners or lunches to bring with you.

If you get the plan here are some tips: To utilize your plan properly and get the most out of it: Use the counter service meal for lunch, the table for dinner (try and go with the more expensive restaurants) and if you can use the snacks to buy cereal and milk in the morning or a snack during the day.

Depending on if you eat sit-down meals or counter meals will depend on how much you spend. www.allears.net has menus and prices for all restaurants. This will help you plan about how much to bring based on where you eat. Don’t forget to book your sit-down and character meals before you go. 407-WDW-DINE is the phone number to call to make reservations.

In your luggage, pack bottles of water and bring 1 bottle per person to the park. Water in Disney costs a lot, so if you bring a bottle per person you can fill it up at water fountains. Plus you can use the empty suitcase at the end of the trip to bring home souvenirs. If you can’t lose all that luggage space, by a case or two of water when you get down there.

With the ages of the people you re going with don’t be afraid to sit down and take a break. There are benches and loads of other cooling stations. Remember, the temperature in September is usually around 95 degrees. Also it tends to shower many days. Go to Target and go to the camping section. They have emergency ponchos that are $0.89 each. Buy a bunch and you can use and reuse or throw out.

Start saving your change. Use this as the souvenir fund or another fund that you will need money for. You will be surprised how fast your change adds up. We have been saving since March and we have $80 and we almost never use cash!

One great way to keep the kids from whining is to set a limit. Tell them they can get a certain amount of souvenirs for the trip, or that they have a certain amount of money. Each time they buy something, give them a little homemade receipt that tells them how much money/items they have left. Not only will this cut down on the “mommy, I want’s” but it will teach them (even though they are young) about managing things. If you keep track of how much they spend and just tell them how much they have it will be easier on them.

Epcot can be fun for kids if you make it! Get an Epcot Kidco Funstop. It is a passport and they get stamps from each country! Epcot is a great place to teach them about things such as space, under the sea, respecting the environment and respecting and embracing other cultures. Check out these two articles as well.

http://www.allears.net/tp/ep/issue330.htm

http://www.allears.net/tp/ep/issue333.htm

With all that time allotted, you should be able to get stuff done. Use allears.net and Disney.com to make a generalized itinerary. You can create custom maps for you and your family. Sit down with your kids and go over the rides that they have at each park (maybe break this up into 1 park/night). Have them pick out there 5 favorite rides. Make these your MUST do’s. Meaning you have to get those rides done and if you have time after the Must-do rides, then go on others. This way you know what your kids really want to ride so they won’t be disappointed when the time comes. It will also get them excited.

I have lots of tips and tricks on ways to get them excited and little things to do. So e-mail me if you have any questions!

Also, the end of September isn't too crazy as most people still do not want to take the kids out of school. Disney has 5 different seasons for 2007. They are Value Season (when there are the least crowds), regular season, summer season, peak season, and holiday season. based on these seasons you can tell when the crowds are heaviest.

Value season: Jan 1-Feb14, Aug 5-Oct 3, Nov 25-Dec 19
Regular season: April 15-May 23, Oct 4-Nov 24
Summer Season: May 24-Aug 4
Peak Season: Feb 15-April 14
Holiday Season: Dec 20-Dec 31

You are goign durng value season (as are we) so the crowds will be lighter than usual.

Answer 2

My specific questions are:
1. Will my children enjoy Epcot enough at this age to spend an entire day there?

No - Epoct is more for adults - there are no rides attractions or such for kids except for the living seas - aqaurium

2. Is 2 days enough to see the Magic Kingdom?

Yes - that would be perfect - you probably could see about 3/4 of the park in a day to to the large party - 2 days is perfect

3. What kind of crowds will we find near the end of September?

You will find very small crowds - we live in florida - i have been to the disney parks around 20 times - you will walk
on or 5 minute wait on about 90 percent of the rides.
the most popular - space mountain, Aerosmith rockin rollercoaster and disney Test track at epcot will run about 30 minutes - these rides are never slow ( i have seen 3 hr waits)

if you really want to go - they have wait is called a fast pass

it is a little atm like machine you just insert your park admission ticket and it will print out a ticket stub with a return time. ussally around an hour or two and you can skip the line and walk right in


Actually you picked the best time to go, the snowbirds are not here yet, the kids are back at school and it is not as hot as July and August.

4. How much money should we expect to spend on food, etc...each day?

did you take a 2nd mortgage on the house?
food runs about 5 dollars for a hamburger
fancy dinner around 15 dolllars - drinks thru the park
is where the money will go - it is hot and you will get thirsty
thru out the day - around 2 dollars for a drink per person

5. Is there any other advice you have for a family of first-timers?

Go to Disney.com and it will show you a layout of the parks
and give you alot more information on park hours, shows and such.

if you are staying at a local hotel, i would go to the lobby and get the brochure on all the parks, it will have a park map and map up what you want to see.

my best advice - go to the back of the park first and work your way up front.

Enjoy and have a safe trip.

Answer 3

Check the Disney website for park opening times - get to your desired park early. We have young children also, what we do is get there early, stay for 4 or 5 hours then go back to the hotel for lunch, a swim, etc. Then we go back for the evening. That is where the park hopper is helpful, you can go to an early opening park, take a midday break, then go back to the later closing park. 2 days is good for MK, it will not be too crowded at the time you are going. Lunch and dinner can be expensive, budget at least $25 per person, per day. For you first visit, explore and enjoy. You will probably plan on going back in the future.

Answer 4

First of all - you will have a blast!!! Disney is great.

1. Will my children enjoy Epcot enough at this age to spend an entire day there?

An entire day at Epcot is too much for kids. There is some cool stuff in Future World and if you do venture over to World Showcase (the countries) have them get a passport to get "stamped" at each country. There is also a kid station with carfts and stuff at each county. But my advice is to head over to the countries yourself one night while the parents watch the kids. The Food and Wine Festival starts on Sept 28th and I HIGHLY recommend it if you are there for it. Its a great adult evening - and don't even bother eating dinner that night. Check out the link below.


2. Is 2 days enough to see the Magic Kingdom?

That time of year - yes. The crowds won't be bad and you shouldn't have to wait in hour-long lines, which means you'll get from ride to ride quicker. What I would recommend is only one day at MGM. Its a smaller park and doesn't take a whole lot of time to cover. Again there's not as much there for younger kids. Take two days in Animal Kingdom instead - its more popular with kids and its a much bigger park - lots of walking!

3. What kind of crowds will we find near the end of September?

Probably one of the slower times of the year. You'll see crowds on the weekend, but it should be comparitively quiet during the week.

4. How much money should we expect to spend on food, etc...each day?

Here's my advise on food. First look at Disney's Meal Plan. Its worth it if you want the convenience of eating in the park. If its more than you wanted to spend, then eat a really big breakfast before you hit the park. I don't think you're supposed bring outside food in the park, but everyone does - bring some cereal bars or other snacks and stop only for a small light lunch. You'll save money and time. Stop for dinner early, around 4:30 or 5. You'll beat the crowds to the table and be back out in the park when everyone else is stopping for dinner. Food is expensive in the parks, but its not crazy. You can scope out restaurants and prices online.

5. Is there any other advice you have for a family of first-timers?

Pack a small suitcase of food and snacks. Sounds silly - but you'll need that suitcase room for all the souviners you'll be bringing home.

Bring water bottles to the park everyday. Continuously fill them at the water fountains. Staying hydrated will give you so much more energy, trust me!

Bring a rain ponchos. You can get them at most Wal-Marts or even at Disney once you get there. You can usually get ones that fold small enough to fit in a fanny pack. If it starts to rain, throw it on and keep on enjoying the park. In Florida, the rain typically stops very quickly.

Have very comfortable walking shoes.

Be flexible. Decide on a couple of must dos and leave the rest of the day open. You can get yourself and everyone else really stressed and exhausted if your must do list has 27 things on it each day.

Check out the Park Hopper Option, it really gives you so much more flexibility.

Have a lot of fun!!!!!

Answer 5

Since you aren't flying, you won't have to have an ID to get yourself to Disney. To check-in the only person that will have to show ID is the person that the hotel reservation is under. So if it is not in your name, you will be ok on that front as well. The only other thing I can think of is possibly needing to show ID if your resort ID does not work when you are entering the park. Other than that, only if you were going to try and buy drinks. Or, sometimes if you are using a credit card they will ask for a photo ID. Good luck to you! Have fun!

Answer 6

We are also going on a trip to Disney World with family members age 60 down to 5. This is what I've learned, you get the best, and sometimes the only discounts from AAA.
Get the park hopper option, get the meal plan. Otherwise food is expensive and you might not get to eat at the better restaurants. Wear good shoes for walking, there is lots of it.
The weather will be warm and sticky. If your parents have trouble standing or walking for long periods of time, rent a scooter for them. You will need reservations for the nicer restaurants, we are going in Dec, and some of them are already booked, so don't put it off. Its easy to spend a day at Epcot even for little ones.
Disney's website, is confusing, thats why the travel agents at AAA make it easy for you, you just tell them what you want to do and they arrange it. Much simpler.

Answer 7

Advise: I went to Disney as a child, although it's fun kids tend to ware out at the end of the day and start wining and bickering. I would have recommend that you take them when they are older to really enjoy it. At their ages their attention span is no more than 2 minutes. But since your going enjoy it, keep cool. I think two days are enough for MK. My family spend a week at Disney, and I think we spend a little over $6,000. You should have some snacks in hand for the kids. Have fun!!

Answer 8

look. the most i recommend you are to read the official guide. this are the link. it will be most useful than someone here bring you ideas. some here dont write you 250 pages of useful information. the link for the guide are: ( you have to buy it) http://www.amazon.com/Birnbaums-Walt-Disney-World-2007/dp/1423100514/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4778553-2431054?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189008293&sr=1-1