1st Disney World Trip

Epcot is a must and of course the Magic Kingdom. The last time I went, I purchased the meal plan and I thought it was more than worth the cost. I can't remember what it's called but utilize the fast pass for rides whenever possible. It really cuts down on wait times for rides!

Hey guys,
im helping my sister plan her family vacation to walk disney world orlando in July.
She lives out of the country and has never been so I offered to help do some research.

We only have 3 days there (Sat, Sun, Mon) and we want to make the best of that time.

i'm looking for:
:flowerforyou: money saving tips
:flowerforyou: must see/must do activities
:flowerforyou: recommended places to stay
:flowerforyou: any other tips you'd like to give

P.S. My nephews are 3 and 8 years old and its their first time!

THNX A MILLION

Hi ya.
Go here for the best Disney info you can get:
http://www.disboards.com/
Have a great time.
:bigsmile:

for a 3 and an 8 year old, i reccommend Magic Kingdom for sure! i went when i was 8 (going in again in July - at 19 im no less excited!!!) and absolutley loved it there. Universal was also good, but theres alot of rides that have height restrictions if i remember it right.

Seaworld is amazing aswell, definitley worth a visit, especially with young kids. me and my sisters loved it.

theres also a Harry Potter Park in Universal if your nephews are interested in that! theres a version of Hogwarts with a tour, the village of Hogsmeade with shops and some rides, which im sure are young kid friendly. im so looking forward to this!!

Islands of Adventure sounds like a lot of fun for kids, it has a few different themed islands such as Dr Seuss, Jurassic Park, Toon Lagoon, Marvel Superhero Island..

Busch Gardens is about wildlife, with water rides and coasters. im pretty sure there is a zoo in it of some sort, i remember vaguely seeing a lion?

i know its not normal disney but the water parks there are alot of fun Typhoon Lagon is one of them

Made my first trip there earlier this year and stayed 4 nights. We didn't go with the Park Hopper, and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone on their first time. There is so much to see at Magic Kingdom that it easily an all day trip. Until you learn your way around the different parks, I don't believe it is realistic to fit multi-parks into one day.

I highly recommend the meal plan, but go with a Quick-Serv meal plan. Sit down dining is very time consuming and many of the places in the Magic Kingdom are impossible to get same day reservations. If you want to do a character meal, you better call asap and try to schedule it.

We stayed at one of their All Star resorts, which are their most inexpensive. You won't be in the room much anyway, and they were more than adequate. If you stay on Disney property, you get free transportation to all of their destinations. I have heard from several friends that cab drivers in Orlando is a hit or miss. Some will try to rip you off, so staying on Disney property is a way to avoid that potential nightmare.

Good luck!

With small kids staying at a disney hotel might be worth it if you can find a deal. You get two hours of extra park time which helps you get ahead of the crowds, plus when they fall asleep around 2, you'll still have time to take them "Home" and back. Try to hit the popular rides early or during a parade. With small kids I'd rule out the park hopper pass. You'll have plenty of things to do at one park for the day.

My family and I just went there last month, spent about a week there. I would recommend Universal Studios - Islands of Adventure (http://www.universalorlando.com/Amusement_Parks/Islands_of_Adventure/islands_of_adventure.aspx). My sister took my niece to Disney Hollywood Studios (which has a lot of the Disney Junior shows like Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, etc - she is 3 and had a blast!). Also my husband and I flew down through Southwest for about $350 total. Go to www.visitorlando.com, there you can sign up to a get a free Magic card, which gives you discounts to different places. Also we went to a place called WonderWorks (http://www.wonderworksonline.com/orlando/) and played glow in the dark putt-putt (http://www.puttingedge.com/home.htm), really fun!

Hope this info helps! Have a great time!

We try to go every year. Another site that is good is disboards.com. I'm sorry if I'll be repeating stuff, but here is my advice.

You are only there 3 days, so I would just get regulat tickets and skip on the park hopper. The kids;especially the 3 year old will want to take a nap and probably would go back to the hotel room for that or use the baby center in the parks for that. If the parents are content on letting the younger one sleep while traveling, by all means get the park hopper. There are 4 parks and 2 water parks. I would not try to cram a lot into a short trip.

I would definitely recommend Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and Animal Kingdom to visit without a park hopper. Magic Kingdom is a classic and no one should leave WDW without going there. An do not forget the fireworks. EPCOT is fun because in the World Showcase, the kids can do what is called Kidcot where they go from country to country collecting and coloring pieces of paper that corresponds to that country. Also they have Kim Possible where the oldest one can go on a hunt to capture the bad guys and Innoventions is good for the kids and sparks imaginiation. Finally, Animal Kingdom is good for kids because of the animals they get to see on some of the attractions such as Maharajah Jungle Trek and Kilimanjaro Safaris.

If you are staying off property you will not be able ti utilize the bus transportation or the extra magic hours. I will explaing these hours in a bit. So if she wants to stay on property I recommend one of the Value resorts such as Pop Century or All Star Resorts. Their resorts are really cool in that the guests feel like ants compared to the decor of the resort.

The dining plan I would skip on, again, because it is a brief trip. Like others have mentioned, it's too expensive and you are better off packing your own lunches.

Now back to transportation and extra magic hours. Transportation starts running 1 hour prior and after the parks open and close. Again, if they do not stay on the resort, they will have to rent a car. With the extra magic hours, depending on the park, it will open 1 hour earlier or stay open 3 hours later. But this can only be utilized if they are staying on property. So, for example, If they are there on July 11 and there is A.M. magic hours for Animal Kingdom that means Animal Kingdom will open at 8 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. Also, if your sister and family wants to, they can untilize babysitting services if they are staying on property so that she can have some alone time for things that she wants to do that the kids cannot do (ie. rides)

Regarding rides, there is a list on that website i mentioned earlier (disboards.com) that you can check which rides have height restrictions. There is also the option to do a parent swap. The way this works is you have a family of 4 and only one child can go on the ride because they meet the height requirements. So one parent would go on the ride with the child while the other parent watches the child who did not meet the requirements all while keeping their spot in line. So when the first parent comes back they switch and waiting parent can now go on the ride. They have to make sure to get the parent swap pass when they can get into the park, usually at guest relations.

Finally, for now, the last piece of advice is. STROLLER RENTAL. Your sister and the family can rent a stroller for $13/day. They pay for it at guest relations and they MUST keep their receipt because they have to drop the stroller off once leaving the park, butt he receipt shows that they paid for 3 days and they can pick up a stroller at the next park. The kids will not want to walk all day so this will be a saving grace instead of lugging their strollers on and off the bus, but they can certainly do that to save the $$.

I hope that this has been helpful. I am a Disney girl since birth so if you have any more questions, please feel free to private message me and I will do an itinerary for them. It's the organizational freak in me. I do it for us and friends all the time.

I've been to Orlando many times and love Disney World! Other than what everyone else has mentioned, I would try to see the night parade at Magic Kingdom. It really is fabulous! We also bring some bottles of water so we don't have to pay for them. It's going to be HOT and crowded, so keep that in mind.

I was going to tell you to go to Mickey's Toontown to get pictures with the characters, but I looked it up and it's closed for renovations. According to the Disney website, "In the meantime, you can meet Mickey, Minnie and the Disney princesses throughout Magic Kingdom. Starting Spring 2011, they will greet Guests at the Town Square Exposition Hall." It's best to go early & get pictures done before the line gets long. You can bring your own camera and they'll sign autographs too.

Most of all, "Have a magical day!"