# 1st time to Disneyworld



## slomac (Dec 11, 2012)

So we are taking out 3 kids ages 10, 7, 5 to disneyworld for the first time in June for one week. This will probably be our only trip here since we aren't big Florida fans.  We have done Disneyland several times but never Disneyworld.  We are staying at OKW.  Questions:
-Should we rent a car?
-Do we get passes for the week?  Best place to buy?
-What parks should we do and how many days at each?
-meal plan? 
-Any other advice?  

Thanks!


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## Culli (Dec 11, 2012)

I suggest heading to the "Disboards" site you will get tons of great advice.


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## Passepartout (Dec 11, 2012)

Your Disneyland experience will make D'World familiar, but much larger. Epcot is something not at D'Land. I like it a lot, but maybe the smaller kids will be bored with the experience.

Check tix prices at mousesavers.com. I second disboards.com for advice/planning.

Have fun. Enjoy the crowds and the humidity.

Jim


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## Gophesjo (Dec 11, 2012)

Animal Kingdom!!!  Make sure the tix you get are Park Hoppers, so that you can do multiple parks.  Also, the water parks are great as well in the right season.  And, Downtown Disney is always fun, too.  

I am not a meal plan fan - though Disney is better at that than Universal.  Also, don't rule out doing Universal Islands of Adventure if the kids are at all Harry Potter fans.  

If you want to do any of the other stuff you can do in Orlando - and there is truly lots to do - you will want to rent a car.  Think also about a one day trip to Cocoa Beach, for example.  By June the Atlantic water temperature should be almost 12-15 degrees warmer than the Pacific ever gets in So Cal, so the kids would probably enjoy that as well.


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## Culli (Dec 11, 2012)

Passepartout said:


> Your Disneyland experience will make D'World familiar, but much larger. Epcot is something not at D'Land. I like it a lot, but maybe the smaller kids will be bored with the experience.
> 
> Check tix prices at mousesavers.com. I second disboards.com for advice/planning.
> 
> ...



Goes to show "it all depends", our favorite park is EPCOT and the kids love it.  We have a 10, 7, 6 and 2 year old and it has been there favorite park since they have been going on a regular basis which is when my oldest was 4.  Plus EPCOT has lots of places with A/C!

Just don't try to see everything and remember go at the kids pace and enjoy what you can get too.  I see too many of our friends try to do everything and burn themselves out after a few days.  No way you will see/experience everything so take it slow and enjoy....I know easier said then done.


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## chalee94 (Dec 11, 2012)

slomac said:


> So we are taking out 3 kids ages 10, 7, 5 to disneyworld for the first time in June for one week. This will probably be our only trip here since we aren't big Florida fans.  We have done Disneyland several times but never Disneyworld.



start here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=16541636



> We are staying at OKW.  Questions:
> -Should we rent a car?



if you are only going to wdw (not universal/sea world/etc), then no rental car is needed IMO.  the buses are pretty reliable (although if you are naturally impatient, you might be happier with a car).

i'd also add that universal's islands of adventure is more appealing to teens (rollercoasters/thrill rides) and your kids probably aren't old enough to really enjoy some of that...



> -Do we get passes for the week?  Best place to buy?



undercovertourist and mapleleaftickets have the best prices IMO.



> -What parks should we do and how many days at each?



expect to spend 2-3 days at the magic kingdom with younger kids.  but maybe try one park a day early on and go back based on what you liked...



> -meal plan?



i don't like the meal plan personally.  not a great deal.



> -Any other advice?



try book your table service meals several months in advance - walkups can be tough to get.  (i think this advice is in the linked thread above.)

find some excuse (a meal, with or without characters) to visit the grand floridian hotel.  i'm also a big fan of the theming at the animal kingdom lodge - maybe try the boma buffet if your kids are adventurous eaters and also check out the giraffes and zebras on the savanna.  try to swing by the boardwalk (outside the world showcase exit of epcot) one evening to see the performers and grab a meal or at least a funnel cake.

june will be hot so maybe take a day off from the parks and consider adding a waterpark option to your multiday wdw pass.


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## elaine (Dec 11, 2012)

fyi--your 10 yr old counts as an adult on the meal plan and at all character meals, dinner shows and buffets. But, you should be able to order a kids meal at a la carte restaurants--thus the dining plan might not work for you. Also, during the summer, there are frequenet afternoon rains. Last summer, we went to parks thru lunch or early afternoon, then back to OKW for a swim and had dinner in the room (and thru the rains) and then went back to the parks at 7 or so--parks will be open late. You can get grocery delievery for minimal charge. For a week in a villa, I would get groceries and do some light dinner cooking.
OTOH, even if you want all meals out--since your 10 yr old is an adult, I would still try to eat at a la carte dinners and get kids meal for your 10 yr old. You can look on allears.net to find menus.
I agree that you should look over on disboards.com. All the info you could ever want. have fun! Elaine


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## SOS8260456 (Dec 11, 2012)

Culli said:


> Just don't try to see everything and remember go at the kids pace and enjoy what you can get too.  I see too many of our friends try to do everything and burn themselves out after a few days.  No way you will see/experience everything so take it slow and enjoy....I know easier said then done.



I second this.  All of my friends who don't understand our love for it have been there and tried to fit everything in a week, and they return home exhausted.

We personally love to park hop.  However, they are not necessary to see all of the parks.  You only need them if you plan on going to more than one park on the same day.  With some planning, you don't need to park hop and you can save yourself some money that way.  Our personal Disney routine is we do one park earlier in the day, head back to resort and relax, then we head to another at night.  So we need parkhoppers or annual passes.  Other people devote one day to each park and then if they have more time, they return to the park they liked the most.

There is so much to do in Orlando.  The 7 days will go by so fast.  You are staying at a beautiful resort.  I hope you get the time to enjoy the resort.


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## jbug423 (Dec 13, 2012)

i would say forget the meal plan, have breakfast in your room to save time, you can order groceries in advance either through disney or there is another online place that will deliver (not sure of the name) also there is a store in the resort where you can also get groceries, then have lunch and dinner where you want. But make reservations online early for table service meals.


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## clsmit (Dec 13, 2012)

Whether or not to get a car depends on your level of patience. Getting from the airport to the resort on the Magic Express bus may take a few hours if you have to wait for the bus to fill. If you'd rather spend that time enjoying yourself, get a car.  If you like being able to go off property for dinner/shopping or the grocery store (Publix is nearby, and Walmart isn't far), get a car. I believe that since you're on property parking at the parks is free, so that helps a lot.

I can't emphasize the take it slow part nearly enough. We usually spend every other day at a park to recover in between --  especially when our kids were the ages of yours. The "off" days are at the pool, Downtown Disney, or other kinds of relaxing activities. Disney Studios and Animal Kingdom can be done in a shorter day each. EPCOT is a long day, especially if you take the time to play at each attraction. Magic Kingdom is a very long day or 2 days.

Magic Kingdom has a lot of the same stuff as Disneyland. EPCOT has some of the same stuff as California Adventure (like Soarin'). So it will be fun to compare the two.

Get FastPasses and use them to manage the time at the parks. 

Have a great time!!


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## mecllap (Dec 13, 2012)

For a one-time trip for just a week, I recommend you do lots of research and planning.  WDW is a lot different than DL -- WDW is enormous and consists of several parks that are not within walking distance of each other (well, some people can make it between Epcot and Studios, but not with 3 youngsters).  Expect hot weather, and rain showers (always good to have tossable ponchos from the discount store).  Surf the family area and Vacation Club section of the disboards dot com, and other forums (mouseowners dot com), etc.  Buy at least one comprehensive guidebook.

I always prefer to rent a car -- seems like there's always something to go off-property for (cheaper beer, medicine, better food, bottled water, etc.).  The only Park I prefer to take the bus to is Magic Kingdom (it can be a nightmare to get back to you car when you leave, esp. with 3 tired youngsters. If you stay for fireworks, you are likely to have a long wait standing up for a bus.

Yes to getting week-long passes.  If your kids are water babies, consider the "Parkhopper and More" to be able to go to one or both water parks.  OKW does have a pretty good pool with a water slide and other "quiet" pools.  You can take a boat from there to Downtown Disney (which is also larger than in CA).

A park day can involve several miles of walking.  You might want at least one umbrella stroller, or plan to rent a park stroller some or most days.  

A mid-day break is always a good idea.

Even two weeks is not enough to see and do "everything" but you can get a good overview in a week -- just plan and "highgrade" what you most want to do.   (But then, this is a person whose first Disney visit was in 1957, and when I got to go back after many years recently, I happily used every day on my 6-day pass at DL/CA, and I don't do "thrill"/bumpy rides).   If any of those 3 are girls, you might eat up a lot of time doing princess visits.

Spray bottles and wet kerchiefs can be helpful in the heat (my grandson sprays water into his mouth which helps keep him hydrated -- and he's been taught to be very careful when and where he sprays it).  

Have a great time; OKW is lovely.


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## Twinkstarr (Dec 14, 2012)

easywdw.com for crowd callendars. As there are better days to go to certain parks. As we spent 6 yrs going at Thanksgiving, picking your park during busy times is critical to being able to get on rides. 


For the dining plan, we've never used it in all the years we've been DVC members. 


We did a Bonnet Creek stay and got a car back in January 2010, wow what a revelation. We were in Animal Kingdom eating lunch within an hour of landing(we don't check bags, and use Alamo, so we can pick a car and go). Needless to say we have taken to getting a car now even for our DVC stays. No more getting picked up by DME 3 hours before your flight.


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## Culli (Dec 15, 2012)

Twinkstarr said:


> easywdw.com for crowd callendars. As there are better days to go to certain parks. As we spent 6 yrs going at Thanksgiving, picking your park during busy times is critical to being able to get on rides.
> 
> 
> For the dining plan, we've never used it in all the years we've been DVC members.
> ...



You know we get a car now too for a few reasons.  Most expensive part of our trip is airfare so we try to do at least 10 days.  It is cheaper to go get food at grocery store than having delivered and you don't have to get everything at once or use two delivery trips.  We have a family of 6 and 7 when my Mom goes so it does pay off.  Plus the last two times we had to go to the health clinic for a respetory infection and an ear infection...just makes it easier.  Made a stressful situation very manageable and the we didn't have to ruin the whole day for the entire family.  I still like DME so we have done the airport rental and also used National at Swan/Dolphin.


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## itradehilton (Dec 16, 2012)

Like others have said planning is the key. 

plan how many park days you will be doing and don't overbuy your tickets
Make dinning reservations at any table service restaurant you want to eat in.
go to disboards for good information
pick out must do activities and learn how to use fast-passes (they are free)
know your kids limits and plan for breaks from the heat of the day.
I love the the book Passporters Walt Disney world guide  it is full of really good information.


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## MichaelColey (Dec 17, 2012)

WDW is similar to DL in many ways, but WAY DIFFERENT in other ways.

Disneyland is two fairly compact parks that you can walk between.  WDW is the size of SAN FRANCISCO, including four theme parks, two water parks, dozens of hotels, hundreds of restaurants, a huge downtown area, over 150 lane miles of roads, etc.  A week will barely scratch the surface.

I would suggest NOT doing park hoppers, water parks, other theme parks, or the dining plan.  Those things just add to the budget, and there's MORE than enough to do with just the base tickets.  If you're on a multi-week trip, they're worth considering, but you'll stretch yourself too thin on a one week (or less) trip.

I would suggest one day in each park, and the extra days in the larger parks (or your favorites).  Animal Kingdom is really the only one you can truly do justice to in one day, so on a 7 day trip I would do all of the others twice and AK once.

DISboards.com is great, but it's huge and can be intimidating (both on size and hostility).  I would recommend easyWDW.com, which has a much more intimate forum (including many familiar faces from here) and some VERY useful, free, crowd forecasts.

Learn which attractions get the longest lines.  Get to the parks at least half an hour before "rope drop", and focus on those headliner attractions for the first hour or two.  Utilize FastPasses (which work pretty similar to the ones at DL).

There is an awesome thread from HydroGuy on DISboards.com about DL for WDW Vets (explaning the differences from a WDW focus), and I'm pretty sure he also has a thread that does just the opposite (explaining WDW for people familiar with DL).  It's WELL WORTH READING.

Learn about the things that are at WDW that aren't at DL (or that are different), and make sure you see them all.  We frequent WDW, DL and DLP (Disneyland Paris), and the unique things are always a highlight.  (I don't think I could pick a favorite -- we love them all!)

I bet you'll be wrong about this being your only trip to WDW.


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## chunkygal (Dec 19, 2012)

We personally never do the meal plan as we eat "in the room" a lot.
When my kids were those ages, they never finished the expensive meals so cereal and my crockpot and groceries were the way to go. We drive, so it makes a difference that we can pack and take a lot from home.

I also recommend doing just the one park a day tickets. Park hopping is nice, but one park a day is a lot, especially with kids. Somedays we hang at the pools. I used to  buy nonexpiring tickets (they were all that way) but
 now you either use it or lose it and overbuying will make you feel like you have to. 

The disboards are great for planning as you can see hours and parades...

I would not rent a car, the bus systme from OKW is great. You can use a grocery delivery service and still come out ahead.


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## chunkygal (Dec 19, 2012)

changed my mind about renting the car based on above posts from other, makes sense for groceries, pharmacies and the parks that are more of a hassle "animal kingdom", than bus ride to magic kingdom. 

Also, for tickets, if you have any military connection check with the local base before going.


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## MichaelColey (Dec 19, 2012)

The dining plan used to be a good deal (if you worked it right), but now you have to work it pretty hard just to break even.

We definitely like having a car at WDW.


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