Where do I begin?
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Where do I begin?
| Sat, 04-28-2007 - 9:54pm |
Planning to go with 4 and 5 year old and dh in early March '08. I don't even know where to begin. I am so overwhelmed. Haven't been since '99 with dh before we had kids.
Where should we stay? Do we make dinner reservations ahead of time? What parks are best for my kids? They really only like the mild rides and 4 year old is easily frightened.
Thanks for the help. I'm sure I'll be spending alot of time here.
BTW we have a Disney Rewards card. Anyone have any tips about getting the most of our rewards? We are on somewhat of a limited budget.
Where should we stay? Do we make dinner reservations ahead of time? What parks are best for my kids? They really only like the mild rides and 4 year old is easily frightened.
Thanks for the help. I'm sure I'll be spending alot of time here.
BTW we have a Disney Rewards card. Anyone have any tips about getting the most of our rewards? We are on somewhat of a limited budget.

How fun! Welcome!
I would begin with the budget. As in, absolute total amount you're willing to spend on the entire trip, i.e. "the big picture". Also, the amount of time (this may or may not be limited to the budget). From there, you can find the best airfare, and subtract. What's left is what will guide you to make the finer decisions on lodging and park tickets/amenities, and food!
At least, that's how I started. I'll be happy to tell you more if that sounds reasonable to you!
Buy a Disney guide-there are may from which to choose.
Also, any advice about redeeming reward points from my Disney Visa?
Hi and Welcome~
Regarding redeeming points from your Disney Visa...
You can use them to pay on your trip if you want. You can also use them to buy your tickets from Disney. What I usually do is use them for souvenirs or food. This time around (and last trip too), we are doing the Dining Plan, so no need to buy food. We'll use the rewards points for souvenirs and adult beverages.
A few trips ago, we used our rewards points to pay for our food. We go to Disney so often that we never accumulate tons of points. I have just about 300 points this year. (our last trip was in September 2005 and I started from 0 after that trip!).
Happy Planning!
Marcy
OK! It's good that you narrowed it down to a specific week, and to onsite vs off, and even to value resorts at that. We'll be at the All Stars Music (had planned for the Movies but then a later change of dates had us changing resort...no problem for us since we like the Music theme). I think your family and the kids would love both the Pop and the ASMovies. There are pros/cons to both, such as (I hear): Pop is newer, but buses are more crowded due to sharing with the whole resort (All three All Stars together are as big as the Pop but they each have their own buses, as I understand)...Location is slightly different, etc. One advantage I *just* found out about Pop is they do not book 'student groups' (i.e. cheerleaders etc) so I'm going to have to go out of my way to request that they keep us (at the All Stars) away from the rowdy teenagers if at all possible. That's all I have to say about the values. Otherwise, they're fine as a place to sleep & shower (and possibly also to eat a small breakfast before hightailing it to the parks early in the morning...if you follow our family's touring style!)
Now for a week with children as young as yours, and particularly at a time as crowded as you'll have, I'd definitely plan for either mid-day (nap!) breaks (in order to have them last to the fireworks, etc) or (less ideally) a couple of "half-days off" (to just sleep in and not rush in the morning...or to come back early and enjoy the pools in the afternoon), in between full days. It otherwise becomes a marathon that gets the kids crankier as you go (and the parents crankier, too, as they wonder if it was worth all the $!) That is the best general tip I can give you.
As for what parks, I'd say there's something for your kids' ages in EVERY park...even Epcot (if you let them take the World Showcase at their own pace and do the kidcot stations, etc without rushing them). I'd definitely plan 2 days in MK though. (Some believe in leaving that for last since it's likely to be the highlight, that way they're not "let down" with the other parks after seeing MK first).
You have lots of time! Relax and enjoy the planning! :)
My family has stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian, All star movies, music, and just recently the Pop Century. The great thing about the Pop Century is that the buses only stop at this resort, whereas the buses for the All Star's stop at multiple resorts. I hate spending the time driving around and when your children are ready to get where they are going it is nice to go from point A to point B. You can also get in your car and park at the park you are going to as well. There is no parking fee for resort guests.
Selecting a preferred room location also gets you close to the main pools, food court, and lobby areas, as well as the buses. Do be aware though that the pools are always loud, even at night. We had a room near the pool at the Pop Century and you could hear the fun, but we did not mind.
We always buy at least two of the refillable mugs at the resort. This allows you to get as many soft drinks, lemonaide, frozen drinks, hot chocolate and coffee refills. They are about 12.99 each but over a week you can really save.
Remeber that breakfast can be an easy meal that you can have in your room. Packing fruit cups, bananas, apples, muffins, etc can cut some cost of your food budget.
I would highly recommend the dining plan if you can budget it. It gives you the opportunity to eat at the more expensive places and you already know what you will be paying.It is a great budgeting tool. Be mindful what you purchase with the plan as well. At the Pop Century you could purchase one muffin which deducted a snack from your card, or an entire box of doughnuts another ex. a tiny bag of chips or crackers vs a full size bag or box that will last your entire group many days. Look at your choices carefully.
Character dinners are wonderful and eating at Cinderella's Castle is great ( Royal Table ); however, it does take up two dinners on each persons plan. Another option for the princess meals is Akerhaus Storybook dining in Norway at Epcot. It is quaint and castle-like yet it is counted as one dinner per person.
Plan where you will go each day. With our 5 year old and 2 year old we would sleep in, eat a light breakfast and have an early lunch and 5-6 pm dinner. We tried not to rush in the morning and the kids fared well into the evening for fireworks and dinner. Make your reservations based on the park you are going to that day. For young children, moving from park to park can take much energy.
Have a great time !! I hope these ideas help. Getting the package with dining is a great budgeting tool.. You will just need the extra money for a drink or two in the parks and any other special things you see. PS... The disney store has great shirts at over half the price.. Pre-buy and give them to the kids when you get there.