Need advice - lots of it!

[mama2six]

My husband and I are taking our six kids (17, 14, 12, 10, 9, & 2) to Disney in late July.

We booked the military rate at the French Quarter and decided on the deluxe dining plan (even after I read the pros/cons - I am hoping it will be less stressful that way and with 8 of us and only 7 paying, it averages out to about $55 a day per person).

We are doing the 4 day Military tickets and going to the Magic Kingdom twice (both late nights) and Epcot once (late night). We will have one 'down day' and the kids want to go to the water park and we eat at Chef Mickeys for our daughter's birthday. The 4th ticket day, we are trying to decide between Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios.

So, as first timers, what do we need to know? What do we not miss and what can we pass? We did get several advance dining reservations - Chef Mickey, Cinderella, Norway Princess, Teppan Edo and Raglan Road. Do I need more?

Thanks for any and all advice. I am an over planner and the next 70 days are going to drive me crazy (and the rest of my family too!).

[wdwnomad]

Boy this is a tough one. There is such a wide range of ages for the kids. Plus you have the DxDP and a short time. I think maybe to start out ask the kids what are their top 3 rides/attractions/shows/restaurants they want to do. See what is on their lists and go from there.

[buzznwoodysmom]

You didn't say how many nights you will be in WDW. If you are planning to go to a water park it may be cheaper to add the "water parks and more" option to all of your tickets. In Nov. we had the military tickets and my hubby took my oldest son to Disney Quest. It was cheaper to add the "more" option to the ticket than to purchase one day admission to Disney Quest. When we added the "more" option that ticket then had 4 entries into the following places; Disney Quest, both water parks, and I think Wide World of Sports. So if you'll be in WDW for more days than you have tickets you could go to two water parks, take the older kids to Disney Quest, and even check out WWof Sports with the added option. You get 4 entries per ticket, not per place. I'm not sure if the add on options are the same price this year, but if I'm remembering correctly it was $25 to add that option, and it would have been more to pay for Disney Quest seperately. Just a thought to give you guys more bang for your buck. You could even go to one water park in the morning and then the other in the afternoon.

[zcrsdad]

Please be aware that eating at restaurants that are in a park require admission to the park. With the deluxe dining you can eat any of your 3 meals at a table service restaurant. We like Ohana and whispering canyon cafe. Try to look for places at resorts since you only have 4 days in parks.

[magicalmom]

Since you have little ones, you may find that you can do some sharing, especially at dinner, when you get appetizer, entree and dessert. When we had the deluxe plan, we were able to share enough that we stretched it to two extra table service meals, which let us try several places we didn't anticipate. You can't share at buffets, of course, but all the places we ate were very nice about plated meals, and we didn't end up wasting food.

[5MemphisTiggers]

zcrsdad makes a good point. Unless your park tickets are park hoppers (and I have no idea if that is an option on Military tickets), then make sure your dining reservations in the MK and Epcot line up with the days you will be visiting.

My "don't miss" list (YMMV) in MK includes Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Mickey's Philharmagic, Peter Pan's Flight, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain RR, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Also, don't miss the fireworks at the end of the night. I believe the show is "Summer Nightastic" when you will be there.

You will walk a lot in Epcot if you send much time in the World Showcase. I love it -- especially Germany, France and the UK. Several movies to see -- O Canada is great. Try to ride Test Track (for the older kids) and Soarin', but the lines will be long. The younger ones should enjoy Turtle Talk with Crush and T Seas with Nemo and Friends. "Don't miss" in Epcot is, for me, Illuminations.

Your older kids may want to go through the single rider line for some of the rides with longer waits, particularly is you and your spouse will be watching the younger ones.

Most importantly, don't get so caught up in scheduling that you forget to have fun. (Happened to me on one of my trips).

[Genie1953]

Whispering Canyon Cafe is a must do wth kids. We were there for dinner last month and all the kids in the restaurant LOVED it every time someone asked for ketchup or crayons. It is a very fun place to eat and more importantly the food is excellent!

[gerald72]

You say you have the four "park days" and the one "down day." Does that mean you will be at WDW for just those five days?

As for dining, I would look at what parks you are going to be at each day, and make three dining reservations in those parks, or nearby resort hotels.

For days you aren't going to be in a park, I'd make reservations at restaurants at other resort hotels.

You'll get the greatest value for your dollar by eating at table service instead of counter service. I'd make reservations for all the meals. You'd hate to walk up and there isn't a table available.

Just as an example I'd do something like this on a MK day:
Breakfast at Crystal Palace an hour before park opening, lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern and dinner at Chef Mickey's.

Have fun.

[Fastpasssteve]

You might have a struggle getting your money's worth on the Deluxe Dining Plan. Here's an idea to maximize your plan. Create a list of restaurants you want to visit that are NOT in the parks themselves.

Some favorites are:
'Ohana (Polynesian Resort)
1900 Park Fare (the Grand Floridian)
Whispering Canyon (Wilderness Lodge)
Artist Point requires 2 Table Service Credits-it's nicer (Wilderness Lodge)
Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge)
Wolfgang Puck Cafe (Downtown Disney)

These are restaurants you can get to with no park tickets at all. Check them and their menus out here on Intercot.

It makes sense to make as many dining reservations you can, but don't worry...they understand that plans change...you can cancel your reservations at any time...even that very day. They do like it if you call instead of just 'stand them up' though.

EPCOT has many restaurants...no problem there.

Other people will talk about strategies in the parks pertaining to attractions and timing and fastpasses and such.

Best of luck to you.

[Mfarquar]

I love gerald72's suggestion and agree:

Try to do your breakfasts BEFORE park opening. Table services can take quite a bit of time (minimizing in-the-park time), but you'll obviously want to take advantage of them since you have the deluxe plan.

If you do resort restaurants, you'll be spending more time traveling so try to pick ones that are on the monorail (at Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Contemporary).

I also love the suggestion for adding on Disney Quest and the Waterparks. They're really great attractions and I usually find them to be much more slow paced than the regular parks. Both are GREAT and I'm sure they'll be well worth it!

As for your 4th day park, it's REALLY hard to decide between AK and DHS. However, I think it will depend on what your family likes more. DHS might be a good match if your older children like thrill rides (Rockin' Roller Coaster and my personal all-time favorite, Tower of Terror). DHS has tons of stuff for younger kids as well (Playhouse Disney, character meet and greets, and Voyage of the Little Mermaid show). It may be a good mix! Plus, there's in the middle stuff for everyone like the Muppets 4-D, American Idol, and the Toy Story ride (Midway Mania). The Toy Story Ride is really fun - get there first, get a Fast Pass, get on the line if it's short, and then save the Fast Pass to ride again later (your kids will want to)! But, if your family is big on wild life, AK is also really well done (but less rides).

[wdwluv]

I would just mention that table service meals eat up - no pun intended - alot of valuable park time. It's my understanding that summer months are very busy, and that translates into long lines...for our family we'd rather spend that time doing attractions. My kids also eat very little when we are in the parks. I'm not sure why - I *think* one reason may be, that we just don't feel like eating as much when it's hot. (we've done 2 mid-May trips, this last one just a few days ago!) We drink TONS of water and just aren't very hungry for big meals. We did our first dining plan this last trip and for us it's just not worth it, since we don't eat much. (that doesn't mean you won't maximize it of course! It's just our experience - we have a 9, 6 and 3 yr olds) That being said - there are some great meal experiences, so if that is important to your family, they can be great fun! (notice I said experiences - so far, food has not been great - not bad, just not great. We would only do the restaurants for the experience of it from now on - for example we LOVE the Royal Table at the castle. Most enjoyable food for me was Cape May Goofy Character breakfast and 'Ohana dinner - we have not done any Signature dining yet, so I can't speak on those)

Make sure you make good use of those Fast Passes - we had a JAM PACKED day this past Saturday at MK...waits were 60 - 90 minutes for the top rides, and the park was packed right up to closing!!! (we thought sure it would ease up by 9pm during parade and fireworks - but no such luck!) The Fast Passes saved the day! And we used the touring plan tips too. (Unofficial Disney Guide plans) Don't be obsessed with schedules so that you miss out on the experience, but I'd definitely have a loose plan for the major attractions you want to get to. (Peter Pan, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Ranger Spin are our favorites. Monsters Inc too - but that one is a large capacity attraction, so that we never had a significant wait for that)

Oh - and get there as EARLY as you can!!! Opening if you can help it!

I'm a uber-planner and drove my husband crazy with planning...but it was appreciated by everyone once we got there!

Have a SPECTACULAR time!!!

[Disneyfirsttimer]

First off, if I had to choose Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios, I would definitely choose AK. We just like that park more. I am not sure of your number of days, but if you have hoppers, you could do HS in AM one day and then AK another.

As far as the dining, we always do the dining plan. Like you, we like to know it is paid for and it makes things easier for us. The Deluxe Dining may be a bit much especially if you haven't made all your reservations yet. We do the Basic dining which is 1 snack, 1 counter service and 1 table service per person per night of trip. We use the snacks credits as breakfast or pay out of pocket as breakfast foods are less expensive. We use the counter service for lunch and the table service for dinner either in the parks or at a resort. It will also cost less for your package if you downgrade. Keep in mind with the Deluxe Plan you still need to pay gratuities so that is extra money needed.

As far a table service restaurants, we love the following:

1900 Park Fare - Grand Floridian
Ohanas - Poly (a must for us)
Le Cellier - Epcot Canada
Teppan Edo - you have this already
Mama Melrose - Hollywood Studios

Wolfgang Puck Express is our favorite counter service. It is located in Downtown Disney. Awesome food for a counter service option.

Happy Planning .

Karyn

[mama2six]

Thank you all so much. I really appreciate all the advice.

I did get our reservations at the same park we are going to be at, mostly for time purposes. I don't think we will bother with the park hopper option this time. I will add the water parks and more, it is oly $25 each person for 4 days. That way we can go to the water park and then Disney Quest on our free day. I didn't even know about Disney Quest

We are staying 6 nights. We also want to have the professional pictures done. My husband is deploying very soon and I thought that would be a nice bonus. Does anyone recommend a location for that? I was thinking a beach setting might be nice...

I am still torn (it is the frugal part of me!) on the Deluxe dining plan, but I did get reservations for Cinderella and one other that takes 2 credits. I hope we don't waste money! I am also staying longer than my family for a conference and will be going to Downtown Disney the last day of our reservation, so I can use a couple that day as well (lunch & dinner).

Please add if you think of anything!

Thanks again.

[buzznwoodysmom]

I've seen pictures taken with the photopass private session at a few resorts. The ones I thought were the best were taken at the Beach Club and at the Polynesian. Those are both beachy settings soI think you'd be happy with those. We were at the Beach Club in Nov. and I wanted to do the private sessions for the exact reason you want to do it, DH deployed in Jan. However, we never found time for it. I did take pictures of the kids at the Beach Club using some of the poses and places I'd seen of other's sessions and they came out great. I also took tons of DH and the kids, every chance I got. I took lots of nature pictures, of them laughing together, playing together, on rides and just having fun together. Those ended up being our favorite pictures from the trip. Although if I had followed through with the photopass session I'd be in more pictures. I always end up in, like, 2 pictures from the entire trip. LOL.

I hope you have a wonderful trip and thank you to both your hubby, and you and your family for your service to our country.

[thejens]

I hope you have a wonderful time with your family. We have done the deluxe dining plan and enjoyed it. We did lots of two table service restaurants to maximize the benefit. We love California Grill. Our kids absolutely love Sci Fi. It's their favorite. If you have any boys it will balance out the princess stuff a little. The food is just okay IMO, but not bad.

You will probably have a lot of snack credits left over. You can use these to buy souvenirs for friends at home. My friends expect to get chocolate covered rice crispy mickey heads. Last time I had some counter service meals left also and they let me get 4 mickey heads for those! Just a suggestion in case you have any leftovers. We also use leftovers to get sandwiches for the ride home.

RE the best use of your day: definitely get to the parks when they open and hit the most popular rides first. We use the Unauthorized Guide tour plans and they are excellent. We often hit the parks on opening, did lots of rides, then had the latest possible breakfast buffet. If we had a signature/2 table credit meal for dinner we would just have a snack in the afternoon. The suggestion to prioritize attractions based on your kids interests and the unauthorized guide tour plans is a good idea.

[thejens]

One more thing, I was thinking if you choose to go to Hollywood Studios, you could always go to Boma or Sanna on your water park day. You can spend time at AKL and watch the animals. It's not the same thing as the AK park of course, but it is lovely.

[epceddie]

I'd vote for AK over DHS. The safari ride at AK is a blast and we like It's Tough to Be a Bug (located inside the Tree of Life). Also, the Lion King show is one of the very best that Disney puts on. Hope this helps. Have a great trip!

[mama2six]

Thanks again everyone. I am taking notes!

My kids made a count down chart, we are all pretty excited!

[WelshieLover]

On your EPCOT day for breakfast you could try the Cape May Cafe character breakfast at the Beach Club and wlak over to EPCOT through the International Gateway entrance for park opening. Another great breakfast idea at EPCOT is the Askerhaus Princess breakfast in the World Showcase. Even boys enjoy this meal. You can get into EPCOT early for this breakfast. Either choice it gets you in or near the park to be there at the rope drop.

If you do go to AK I highly going to Boma for dinner.

If you choose DHS it is a good thing you have the deluxe plan because the counter service places there are not so good. Your kids will love Prime Time Cafe and Mama Melrose.

One thought with a 2 year old make sure he/she has some down time. When our boys were young we discovered at WDW that they would have meltdowns at dinner time if we did not get them some afternoon nap, pool or just quiet time. Being that you are there in July you may all want to take afternoon breaks and then go back to the park and stay until close. It is much cooler after dark.

[Genie1953]

On your EPCOT day for breakfast you could try the Cape May Cafe character breakfast at the Beach Club and wlak over to EPCOT through the International Gateway entrance for park opening. Another great breakfast idea at EPCOT is the Askerhaus Princess breakfast in the World Showcase.

We did that one morning. We ate breakfast at Cape May and then took a leisurely walk over to EPCOT. Was really nice as we had never seen Beach Club, Yacht Club, Boardwalk, or Dolphin/Swan resorts before that day and this gave us a chance to see what they were like. We got to EPCOT early and since we were planning on spending time in world showcase we had to wait for it to open but was sure nice to sit on a bench watching the world go by (AND rest our feet).