I'm Sorry!!! I Have a Disney Question!

J. hi!! You are right you can never plan too much for Disney. But also no matter how much you plan you will miss something's. The way I looked at it you plan as much as you want. When you get there throw it all away. Enjoy with plenty of resting time and knowing you are not going to do it all. Have a great time!!!

I'm glad you are asking questions b/c my family is going for the first time in June. I want to know about the Disney boards.

Don't over think it, just GO and enjoy! Finding your way around, that is, EXPLORING the park, is a big part of what makes it so fun!!!

You are overthinking everything. Each park has sections: Adventureland,
Frontierland, etc. Just start at the begininng and work your way around.
I have found this the easiest way to do it. If not you end up wasting time
and energy. Have fun.

I think that there's only so much planning you can do without driving yourself and your family nuts. It's very difficult to keep a schedule at Disney as there are so many variables, the shuttle may take longer than planned, you may have to wait in line for a ride longer than planned. The kids may take longer naps, etc.

Decide what you think your family will enjoy most, ride, show, etc. Plan those and just let the rest of the day take it's course. One of the great things about Disney is you just never know what you might come accross.

Have a great vacation!!!

You should be fine w/ what you have done. I did the same thing but actually didn't book the character meals early.

Once you get there, you will get their current schedule and know which ones are open early or late for those staying on a Disney property. Assuming you, you want to be flexible enough to take advantage of those extra hours. Right now, you won't know what that schedule will be.

Also, if I were you, I would figure to "try" to keep up nape schedules but beware that the times may shift a bit and you may want to figure on letting them nap in the stroller a bit rather then heading back to the hotel at nap time (can be time consuming and harder than the alternative). You may have to accept some down time rather than a true nap.

You have meals booked, that's the big thing you don't have to worry about. Just get to the parks plenty early to experience "rope drop" because that first hour before crowds will be your most enjoyable. You don't have to plan out every attraction. Go with the flow makes a very enjoyable vacation. I swear our first Disney vacation was less stressful for the kids because they just loved everything and didn't have any experience to pine for this or that ride. The second trip was more intense for them because they KNEW exactly what they wanted to do and see and it was a L. more challenging to keep the whole family happy as compromises were made.

There is no possible way you can see everything in one trip. There was an article I read on an AirTran flight that said a person would have to visit at least 60 times or more to enjoy everything Disney has to offer.

I live 20 minutes away and have been there hundreds of times and I still see new things. Just plan to do what you and your family will enjoy and be sure to take a break now and then. You will know the popular rides because they have the longest wait times so try and get a fast pass if one interests you (I think they limit it to two fast passes per day).

Go and have fun, enjoy what you do see and experience. I have seen (and heard) parents flipping out because they missed something like the parade and it's not worth getting upset over.

Drink lots of fluids and please wear sunscreen. I see too many babies and children leaving bright red and sun burned.

It sounds like you still have L. ones since you mentioned "naps". Just know that you can't see Disney in one week or less, if you did, you'd never sleep. See what you see and enjoy those things without feeling guilty about missing something that someone said was a "must see". There are so many "must sees" that you can save a ton of them for the next time you go. Just enjoy being there as a family, don't stress if things don't go as planned and when melt downs occur, cause they will with L. ones, take it all in stride. You'll be surprised how many things you run into that you didn't "plan" and find your own "must sees" that become traditions for your family for every time you go in the years to come.

Just go with the flow! Overplanning will ruin the fun of it. I agree with Momma L. It's your first time there, so just have fun! Wow, I wish I could bring my girls, I'm jealous!! :)

You are worrying too much! You are going to have the most amaizing time ever nomatter what you do. My first time at Disney with the kids goes down as probably one of my favorite lifetime events. Subsequent visits were great but never lived up to that first time. So just let yourself enjoy it. The only way that you might not have as much fun is if you don't allow for flexibility and overthink things.

Don't forget to just enjoy. Disney parks are so nice to just "hang-out" in, obviously you want to make sure you hit the hot spots but don't forget that together time is the best part!!

Sounds like you've got the bases covered for now with the Character meals, etc.

Enjoy.

M

i haven't been to disney in years but i think we'll be going probably in the next couple :) BUT i have planned some family vacations recently so i can relate to what you're feeling! you want to be sure you see everything you can, etc. but what i would usggest is making sure your meals are planned (from what i hear, that's the hardest part) and throw the rest away!!!! if you stress out about planning you won't have a good time because you'll be too worried about keeping on schedule. just get there and have fun!!!!!

I like your approach. I went with my daughter last summer (she was 3 3/4 yrs) and my 12 yr old niece and nearly 16yr old nephew, so we had a lot of diverse interests. My experience was that we could've spent the entire trip at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot for my daughter, and the older kids really loved all 4 parks. You will meet characters pretty naturally in the parks, but there's also a great, air conditioned character spot in Epcot and a good one right inside the magic kingdom, too. For lines, we found that going to the park that stayed open late that night (for guests staying at the resorts) was the way to go on rides that normally had long lines. All of the kids in our group (young to old) had a blast at Chip N Dale's street dance one night in the Magic Kingdom. We also took the middle of the day "off" for rest time and swimming and activities at the room so that we didn't get too exhausted to have fun. The only downside is that the buses tend to be slow for getting around. If you are at wilderness Lodge or the campgrounds, you can take the boats to the Magic Kindgom and Epcot, which is definitely the fastest way to go. Whatever you do, be sure to take in the Electrical Parade and also see the fireworks at Magic Kingdom and at Epcot. Have fun! I'm ready to go back...

Do your top 3 or 4 things that you really want to experience. Than, go with the flow on everything else.

It would help if you stated how many days you plan to be in the park and the age of your kids.
One thing is for sure, just because one person loved certain attractions does not mean everyone will. But there are always those most loved and popular attractions. I would say the most important thing to do if you want to get the most out of the park is learn how to use the fast pass. You use your ticket to make an appointment time for a popular ride and then you get to show up at the appointed time and use the fast line. You need to make the appointment at the location of the ride and you basically only hold one appointment at a time (which is often about 1 hour from the time you scan your ticket, but sometime it can be more like 3 hours from the time you scan your ticket). A seasoned Disney goer gives one person all the park entrance tickets and sends them across the park to get their fast pass appointment times. If your kids are really small you will also want to figure out how to take advantage of the transfer pass. Basically at the end of a ride you ask an attendant for a transfer pass and the parent who babysat gets to use the fast pass line.

I'm always surprised at how long it takes to get into the park. Its not the lines per say, but the walking, the trams, the busses and finding parking lots and structures. 45 min to an hour is pretty typical and don't forget the potty break you will need once you complete all this. We have never stayed at a Disney land hotel and I'm sure if you are that will cut some of the hassle out.

If you have an iPhone or Android go download the app "Mousewait". It is THE BEST app ever! It is free. There is so much information on that app and it's all very accurate. There is a lounge section with amazing people with a wealth of answers and information.
Are you going to Disneyland or Disneyworld?

If it makes you feel any better, you will miss something and THAT is o.k! We stayed for 8 days and there are tons of things we missed.
We had everything booked well in advance and had an awesome time.
And I'm sure as most... you will go back! Have fun.

Disney world or Disney Land?? 8=)

Hi J.,
I just got back from Disney and am a planner like you :) I travelled with my non-planner sister and my 4 year old daughter. We were there for 5 days and went to the magic kingdom on three days and the Animal Kingdom on 2 days (from 9:00-about 1:00 each day). I wanted to keep her nap schedule also. Although she was often unable to sleep after we got back to our hotel, the downtime did her good and then we went to the pool for a relaxing hour or so before dinner. When you get to each park the first day you'll be able to pick up a daily activity schedule which tells you which attractions don't have standard hours, when live performances/parades are, and character greeting times etc. (if you haven't found this on-line already). For me, I liked to write a few notes for myself the night before about what our "must see/do" things might be, but then go with the flow the next day. Although my sister teased me about planning so much, I found that it was helpful to know what times things occurred so that we could maximize the things that we wanted to do without sprinting from place to place and getting overwhelmed and overtired. We only used the FP once. Instead, we got to each park for opening and had minimal lines for the first 90 minutes. Anything after that was a bonus while we strolled around and soaked up the atmosphere. I loved the unofficial guide to WDW and some of their recommended plans for approaching each park depending upon ages of people and how much time you could spend there (one day, two days, etc.).The only thing that I disagreed with them about is not wasting the time to meet the characters at Animal Kingdom. I found that to be a relaxing and natural way to meet them with very reasonable lines. I hope that you have a blast!!!