Another Disney post... Who wants to Dumb Down Disney for me?

Both DH & I are not big Disney goers. We went once in our lives as adults because my SIL paid for us to go for the weekend.

We now have a DS who is 5 and would like to take him.

We've discussed going this August - yes, we know it'll be crowded & hot, it's just the only time we can go.

We will be driving down & staying off site.

I always remember NervousNell saying how intimidating booking a Disney trip seems to be and that you need a 4 year degree... I've always felt the same.

So I guess my questions are to you is...

Where should we take DS?

Anything specific we should take him to?

Where is the best place to get tickets, etc....what kind of tickets do we need.

Has anyone done the drive? If so any tips?

Is there anything I'm missing?

I'm seriously overwhelmed and just hope this vacation will be worth it.

Another Disney post... Who wants to Dumb Down Disney for me?

ok.... so the first thing is the layout of disney. if you've been before, you know there are 4 disney parks, and 2 water parks.
for a 5 year old, i would definitely do magic kingdom. i would also do hollywood studios- he can get his picture with Lightning mcqueen and Mater, theres a car stunt show that my son loved watching when he was 3, there is the Toy Story ride, star wars ride....
Animal kingdom- if he likes animals. theres the safari ride, a whole dinosaur section
EPCOT has Soarin, Test Track, the different countries in World Showcase...

I would start looking at restaurants as soon as you decide when you're going. you can book those 6 months ahead (180 days), so many of the more popular ones go fast ( Chef Mickey's dinner with Mickey, Be Our Guest restaurant, other characters meals) then i think 30 days before ( or 60 if you're staying at a disney hotel) you can do your Fast Passes ( pick 3 rides a day where you can skip the lines)... so you can start thinking about which ones you want to do that for....

For Tickets: there are regular tickets where you can get into one park per day (you can leave and go back to the same park that day) OR there are park hoppers where you can go to say EPCOT in the AM, then Magic kingdom in the afternoon. If this is your first time going with DS, i don't think you need to pay extra for the park hoppers. you'll want to stay at one park and see whatever you can there. park hoppers are good if you've been a few times and just have a couple things you want to see at each park.

I would maybe try to find a Disney travel agent- they don't charge you a fee (they get commision $ from Disney) and they will help you as much as you want.... mine got up at 5:45 one morning to do my dining reservations for me HAHA

Re: Another Disney post... Who wants to Dumb Down Disney for me?

Re: Another Disney post... Who wants to Dumb Down Disney for me?

Re: Another Disney post... Who wants to Dumb Down Disney for me?

I would recommend doing all 4 parks all if you got a week. Disney tickets get less expensive the more days worth you purchase...

And if you got extra time and your DC loves water, pick one of the water parks too. And since you can't avoid going during peak time in August, then definitely book Fastpasses before you arrive! We went during spring break and didn't book fastpasses for the first park so ended up missing one of our fav rides (line was 2 hours long!) and staying way later than we liked so we can get the other rides in...

Get tickets from undercovertourist.com, workingadvantage, plumbenefits, etc.

As for the drive, stop off at Smithfield or Fayetteville, NC at the halfway point if you need to sleep. Book at a hotel with free breakfast, many offer it.

If you want to save on accommodations, stay at a property near Disney (like one of the resorts at Bonnet Creek) with shuttle service. You will get a suite with kitchen for alot less than what you're paying at Disney resort for just a room. If you really want to stay at Disney and will also get tickets from them, then consider the meal plan. It may be worth it....

Another Disney post... Who wants to Dumb Down Disney for me?

Go to www.disboards.com it is a forum for all things Disney! It is where I researched everything and planned accordingly. You will find tips no travel agent can give you, we have gone 5 times in less than 5 years and we still haven't seen everything! We always do at least 2 days magic kingdom, 2 days epcot bc we love to eat there and one day in Hollywood one day in animal kingdom. Check staying on site at maybe Pop century, sometimes it is cheaper to do so and you will have the perks of extra magic hours, free parking at the parks, being able to book everything in advance and having a magic band

Another Disney post... Who wants to Dumb Down Disney for me?

My version of going to Disney. Park the car, buy tickets, pick fast passes (that we thought about the night before) and off you go. I don't plan. IMO you see what you see and there is always next time.

I have never spent more than a day in a park because we just don't care if we don't see it all. And my Disney trips aren't just about Disney. We don't stay on site and tend to do other things. Disney only can get very expensive and we would rather spend less and go on vacation more often.

DS is 3 and has been there 2x. He doesn't even know he missed things.

Re: Another Disney post... Who wants to Dumb Down Disney for me?

Re: Another Disney post... Who wants to Dumb Down Disney for me?

Everyone vacations at Disney differently. What works for one family, might not work for another.

For people who are doing a "once in a lifetime" never going back to Disney trip, the planning will be very different from people who plan to go more often.

We own DVC - we vacation at Disney very differently at Disney because we know there's always next time.

We do plan fastpasses a couple of days in advance for some days (we don't do it 60 days in advance). Some days, we just wing it.

It's just DH and I and we are foodies, so we do make dinner reservations in advance. Again, not 180 days in advance though. We do mostly signature dining though and with the exception of California Grill at fireworks time, we don't seem to have a problem getting a table.

If this trip is only for Disney and you're not planning on coming back, then I would say you should stay onsite. If you need more room than a standard room, book a DVC room (either through Disney or through a private owner).

Re: Another Disney post... Who wants to Dumb Down Disney for me?

Thank you all for the tips! Please keep them coming.


Some things "planned" so far...

We're driving down and staying at one of my SIL's places in Kissimmee. So thankfully accommodations isn't something we need to worry about.

We were only planning to do 3 days at the parks, but all the deals we see are get 5 for the price of 4, so we are probably going to go that route. (basic non-park hopper tickets thanks to the tip above!)

We changed the week we had planned to a week later after the FL kids go back to school so it'll much less crowded.

I think our big thing now is just to push the button and get our tickets. Then start planning our reservations. Taking DS to the T-Rex cafe is a must, same with the character breakfast with the Disney Jr. characters at HS. Other than that we think we're going to play it by ear unless you think there is anything else worth booking?

Re: Another Disney post... Who wants to Dumb Down Disney for me?

Posted by ml110

Posted by lorich

Posted by ml110

ok.... so the first thing is the layout of disney......

Thank you ml110 - this is exactly the kind of info I was looking for! BIG help!

you're welcome! have fun planning! feel free to FM me to talk Disney some more we're going in september, and my husband is sick of hearing about it! HAHAHA

Re: Another Disney post... Who wants to Dumb Down Disney for me?