Going to Disney World June 8. Nothing planned. What Must I Do?
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Anonymous
| Have had a lot of stress and illness in our lives, and I've not planned much. Airfare, Westin property condo, and rental car are the only thing confirmed. What are things I must do, without becoming overwhelmed? I can't deal with too much stress, but also know I need to prepare, or it will be stressful in the other direction. We are there for 1 week. We are 2 adults and one 7 year old boy. Thank you! |
Anonymous
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Buy "The Unofficial Guide to Disney World with Kids" and/or subscribe to their website touringplans.com (about $12/year.)
You'll want dining reservations pretty soon. They book up really early. |
Anonymous
| Touringplans is great. If you want to eat sit down meals on site then you need reservations. If you're staying off site you might be fine with breakfast and dinner out of the parks, and a fast food lunch in the park. |
Anonymous
What are good restaurants do you recommend? I know people who reserve 6 mo ahead. Am I going to be out of luck? Regretting my delay but I am doing the best I can (I am telling myself this). |
Anonymous
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If your son wants a character meal, start looking now.
I have sons, and on our last family trip we did a character meal at Garden Grill in Epcot. They bring the food to your table, so it's not buffet, but it is "all you can eat." The characters included Mickey, Pluto, and Chip and Dale (which are my sons' favorites). https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/epcot/garden-grill-restaurant/ If you want one that does not require park admission, check out Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary or Cape May cafe at the Beach Club. |
Anonymous
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Oh and if booking character meals, keep in mind that some of the restaurants are only character meals for part of the day--for example Cape May cafe has a character breakfast, but no characters at dinner time. Same with Tusker House (has character breakfast and lunch, but just regular dinner)...so double check to avoid disappointment.
And is your son a Star Wars fan? You will be there during Star Wars weekends at Hollywood Studios. If no one in your family is a Star wars fan, you will likely want to avoid Hollywood studios on the weekend, it will be packed. |
Anonymous
You can have a wonderful trip without any sit down meals. Disney has a nice variety of "fast" food, not just burgers and nuggets. If you want some sit down meals, then character meals are a fun choice. In my family we like to take a break from the heat by doing a late character breakfast or early lunch after a few hours in the park. Crystal Palace, with the Pooh characters, is a great choice and it's right inside the Magic Kingdom. Cape May, just outside Epcot, or Chef Mickey, just outside the Magic Kingdom, are also great choices. A few other meals that we really enjoyed: Le Cellier (Canadian themed steakhouse in Epcot), Rose and Crown (British Themed in Epcot), Kona (Hawaiian themed? I'm not really sure, in the Polynesian outside the Magic Kingdom). I often hear about people who absolutely can not get meal reservations, but I'm not sure why. I tend to reserve far in advance, because I'm excited and it helps the vacation seem real, and then the change my mind and my reservations several times. I've always gotten pretty much what I've wanted, my first or second choice even if I had to take a somewhat "off" time. That was true even when I called same day from Disney. I will say that my son isn't in to princesses, and those may be harder to get. |
Anonymous
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Buy (or get from the Library) the unofficial guide for disney (not with kids). You need the 2014 edition.
Through that you get a discounted code for touring plans. Decide how many days you are going to go to a Disney park. It is great to also just spend a day at the hotel pool! Purchase tickets through undercover tourist. If this is your 1st time - keep it simple. Plan on doing only 1 park a day. You do not need to do EVERYTHING to enjoy the visit but you do need a general plan. Disney just recently opened up "FastPass +" to people not stayong on property. This is key! What it does is allows you to make a reservation for a ride at a specific time. The process is a little complicated to figure out - but after you figure out what park you are going to, touring plans can help make recommendations on which rides you want fastpass for. Does your child like StarWars? If yes - you need to go to Hollywood Studios. Others will need to comment as I am sure the process has changed - but there is a Jedi training program where the kids learn how to fight Darth Vader. It is pretty fun - but you need to go to a special place at the right time to sign up. |
Anonymous
| Thanks. This info is very helpful. He is at age 7 more into starwars than pooh bear. We have done Disney Land in CA once when he was almost 5. Loved it. I will order the book now! |
Anonymous
| Touringplans.com, great site! |
Anonymous
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www.easywdw.com
His touring plan cheat sheets will plan your whole day for you. |
Anonymous
Here's what I would do -- Schedule 1 character breakfast at Cape May Cafe or Chef Mickeys. Call Disney reservations to do that: 407) 939-1947 Go to TouringPlans.com and look at their crowd calendar to see which park is recommended for each day. Take their advice. Buy a copy of the Unofficial Guide to WDW and use their cut-out Touring Plans in the back. There's some doubling back, but you don't have to run, and they really are pretty good plans. Plan on getting to the parks before they open. If you can (and I think everyone can now), reserve your fastpasses before you get there. Other than that, kick back, relax and have fun. Let the kids lead the touring as much as you can. If they want to do something twice, let them. If they want to stop and play in a fountain, let them. If they want to eat ice cream for lunch, let them. There's not a damn thing in those parks that you HAVE to do. Nobody can see the whole place in one trip. Don't even try. Hit your highlights and don't worry about the rest. |
Anonymous
Be there before the park opens and hustle over to ABC Sound Studio immediately. You can sign up there. Don't wait around or be late or all of the slots will fill up. They will give you a time to come back and then you can be in the show. |
Anonymous
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When my boys were that age they loved the Indiana Jones stunt show.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/hollywood-studios/indiana-jones-epic-stunt-spectacular/ And if you leave Disneyworld, Universal Studios is a must. |
Anonymous
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Get the app mousewait. Great for tips & ride wait times.
Show times and reasturant menus |