We're t-minus 30 days from our Disney trip and let me just say... I feel totally and completely unprepared. And if you know me, you'd know that being unprepared is not a characteristic of mine.I have Disney Planning Disorder and here's why. I simply type in the word "Disney World" in my nifty Google box and here is what pops up:
"Results 1 - 10 of about 43,000,000 for disney world. (0.03 femtogalactic years)"
43 million! I can't possibly wrap my brain around that. And can someone tell me what femtogalactic years is?
See, the deal is... All four of us are going on this trip with Randy's family, which includes his mom, dad, brother, sister in law and 8 year old niece. (Do the math... that's 9 people!) I have taken on the role as planner and itinerary coordinator because I don't trust anyone else to do it. But, now that we are 30 days out... I'm getting a bit... shall we say... nervous/anxious/scared?
So I thought I would come to you... ye old wise Internets and pose a few questions to you.
1.) What is your BEST Disney planning advice?
2.) What is your BEST Disney itinerary advice?
3.) What was/is your favorite Disney experience?
4.) What would you NOT recommend at Disney?
Come one, come all... lurkers too. All comment welcomed and encouraged. Give me your best advice.
Oh, and femtogalactic years? Apparently, it's Google's way of being geeky on April Fool's day. Whatever Google... ya got me! Hardy Har Har!
Erica, I have not been in awhile, but my parents and my sister and her family went last year and my dad planned and planned for months. His best advice was to go to www.tourguidemike.com He swears it was the best thing and they hardly stood in lines and had a great time. Melissa agreed also- so you might want to take a look. I think he charges a small fee, but apparently is so full of info like what rides are closed, what parks are least crowded on certain days of the week, what to fastpass, which direction to go once your in the park, etc.
ReplyDeleteHope this helps, and hope you have a great time!!
Can't help with this one...haven't been since I was in school :) Good Luck!!!
ReplyDeleteWe went two years ago at Christmas, had a great time.
ReplyDeleteBest advise:
1. Stay on property, it is a little higher but the free transportation to all parks and the extended hours make it worth it.
2. Get a meal plan. You can say you won't eat in the parks, that you'll bring snacks in and then eat off property. It doesn't happen. The meals plans can be paid in advance, well worth it.
3. Set a schedule of where to go when and STICK TO IT. especially if you have reservations for dinner at places.
as for what you must do:
1. buy an autograph book, study the map and let your girls get photos with characters. it burns up time, but they remember it.
2. use the extended hours if you're on property. Go for a while, come back and take a nap and then go back in when most of the crowd is leaving. We rode Space Mountain at 2 am that way, very cool.
3. eat breakfast at Chef Mickeys in the contemporary resort, very good.
4. Tell them it is your birthday when you check in, even if its not. you get extra perks.
as for what not to do:
1. Test Track and Soaring at Epcot. Not worth an hour wait in line. Try and fastpass them, come back at a slow time.
2. The Garden Grill in Epcot. Food was okay, would not recommend though, too many other great choices.
Catherine did most of the planning for ours, she can tell you a lot more than I can, that's just the stuff off the top of my head.
The only tool you need is allearsnet.com and ME! That is the only site I use. Forget google and all that. I'm home now. Call me. :)
ReplyDeleteHi there - sounds cool - we have only been to the EuroDisney one at Paris (twice actually) and the best advice we got was to observe what everyone else was doing and then do something different - that way we managed to cut down of some of the waiting time. We also had our meals a little earlier or later than everyone else - that was good too. The autograph books did not exist the first time we were there - but we did take our own photoes - NOTE that not all children are as well behaved as yours (and ours) - Mie was pushed away by other more "natural children" who'se mum and dad had not taught them to wait in line. Eventually my husband shouted to an Italian family with a lot of children to get a grip and let other children have their turn - not my favourite moment - but it did help. =0) When the age of your kids Mie loved all the familiar rides - Peter Pan etc. First time - there was NO way she was going into the Haunted House - but when she did the second time she had great fun.
ReplyDeleteErica-
ReplyDeleteWe went about two years ago and my best advice is buy the book "The unofficial guide to Walt Disney World". It has daily planners that are great it tells you which rides to do first and which ones to use speed pass on etc. It was a huge time saver for us. Also we stayed on site which was a life saver for us, and like Dan said I highly recommend buying the meal plan. My favorite part was lunch at The Crystal Palace, it is a character meal which the kids love and it has an adult buffett and kids buffett. You must have reservations unless you want to wait for hours and hours. Oh and one more thing go to Wal-Mart and buy a water misting fan it gets really hot and your girl will want you to buy them the $25 Disney one. Which will break the first time someone drops it. (Speaking from personal experience again ;)
Can't wait to hear all about your trip!