Help! I'm a DW rookie!

[iowavb]

We are taking a family vacation (myself, husband, and two children, 3 and 6 plus my sister, her husband and 1 y.o., my other sister and her bf, and our parents) to Orlando Dec. 27- Jan. 2. My question is your recommendations on how to go about this!! I am overwhelmed with the trip and don't know where to start!

We are thinking going to Disney for 2 or 3 days max, then going to Sea World for one day. My mom wants to go to Disney on New Years Eve, is that going to be crazy?

Where should we get our tickets? Is there any places that offer discounts? We don't have a Disney CC or anything like that.

What parks should we go to? I know for sure we want to do Magic Kingdom, but other than there any recommendations?

I think we are going to try to find a hotel outside of DW just for cost purposes, but would entertain it if it's totally worth the extra money/hassle for the days that we would be there.

Thanks for any help that you may have to offer!

[jjordan]

If you're just going to be there for 2-3 days, then I would do one park per day that you're there. That will save you money on tickets, as getting "park hopper" tickets (where you have free range of the parks) are more expensive than single park tickets. Definitely Magic Kingdom for one day. If you're there for 3 days, given the ages of the kids, I'd probably think seriously about doing MK two days. For the other park, Epcot is a good choice, but kids might enjoy the Animal Kingdom more. I probably would not do Hollywood Studios.

It will likely be crazy on New Years' Eve. But, oh well. :)

Get a guide book and it will tell you about stuff before you go so that you can have some idea of what to prioritize. You might be able to find videos of rides on You Tube and gauge your kids' reactions to see what they will want to do.

Read up on FastPass and plan to use it.

Plan to be at the parks when they open since you'll be there during busy days.

I could write more but have to go to bed! You'll have fun! :)

[acmom]

We have been to Disney several times over the past few years with little ones. I would start by checking out the Disney website and then also check www.easywdw.com (good info on crowds and lots of other stuff) and www.allears.net (has lots of resort pics and full menus for restaurants).

I have never been over Christmas/New Year's, but I have heard/read it is really busy and parks often fill to capacity and close. We did go the week after New Year's one year, starting on the 2nd or 3rd and it wasn't bad at all then (not sure if your plans are flexible at all). Several waiters there actually commented how lucky we were to be there that week and have missed the crazy crowds.

I would definitely advise staying on property, especially with little kids and at a busy time. It will save you so much transportation and waiting time bc you will get to the parks earlier and will have more control over your schedule (getting back for a nap, downtime, meal, etc.). We stayed off site when it was just DH and I and it worked out fine, but would have been a real hassle and cut into our park time and down time at the pool with kids.

If you plan to do any sit down or character meals, I would start making those reservations asap since you will be there at a busy time. I would suggest booking the earliest sittings for meals since then you are less likely to wait and can take advantage of time when many other people may be sitting down to eat.

As far as parks, I would spend the most time at MK. If you are only going for 2 days, I might advise doing both days there. If you are going for 3 days, I would probably do a day at Epcot or Animal Kingdom. Or if your kids are real trooper and not nappers, maybe split one day between them, but my family hasn't been able to handle that yet. We don't get the park hoppers, just do one park each day and if we have a short day, we head back to enjoy the pool and then do a fun dinner somewhere. My kids love MK of course and their second favorite was probably AK (both loved the safari ride and Lion King show as well as general surroundings) with Epcot a close 3rd.

HTH! Have fun planning - I'm sure you will have a blast no matter what!

ETA: Plan to be at parks before they open (they have a cute little show for opening at MK) and if you stay on property, you can plan your days to take advantage of "magic hours" (when the parks are open extra time either early or late for resort guests only). And as PP said, read about Fast Pass and what rides it is best to use it on. And if there is some character one of your DC just has to see, think about planning a character dinner to take care of that so you aren't hunting and hoping to see them the whole trip!