Unexpected trip to WDW - Need tips!

[BayGirl2]

We did a big trip to DL back in September. I did all the research, had a detailed touring plan for each day, everything planned just enough so we could relax when we got there. We had a great time. Planned to go to WDW in a few years. Well, I am now speaking at a conference at the Grand Floridian in May and my travel is paid, plus we get a conference rate on the hotel. So we decided DH and the kids and my Mom (who lives in FL) would join us. Very exciting! But I already feel behind the ball in planning, and I can't dedicate as much time to preparing for this trip. So we're going to keep it casual, focus on the things unique to WDW and our favorites. I'm choosing park days and making ADRs now, hotel is chosen. I'll use Touring Plans when we get closer to plan out our can't mis attractions. I already read most of the stickies and I've been to DISBoards but the WDW section takes way longer to navigate than the DL Forum. Its been 10 years since I went to WDW, I've never been with children, and when I went we totally winged it. So a few questions for those of you who do WDW more often:

- How much should I adhere to the TP crowd suggestions for parks? I'd like to Epcot Fri night (I'll join DH after my conference) the MK on Sat but TP recommends the opposite. MK's a 3.6 Fri and 5.1 Sat. Will that be a palpable difference that I should not ignore? (I usually try to avoid crowds, went to DL the week after Labor Day when it was a 1/10).

- What is most special about WDW that we can't get in DL? We're more likely to stay on our coast for future trips. DCs will be almost 4 and 1.75

- What are the not to miss restaurants, especially for character dining or special experiences? We prefer table service and are willing to pay for something interesting.

- What are the in-park strollers like? Do they rent doubles in the resort? We're thinking we'll bring our BJCM single and try to not do a double this time. But we could change our mind after the first day.

- I believe I read here that the Magic Express transportation is carseat compliant? And the monorail is stroller friendly. Is that correct?

Anything else? Thanks in advance!

[scrooks]

I can't comment on too much... We have had just one family trip to wdw and none to dl but looking at the ages of your kids I would rent a double from an outside service. I think we used magic stroller rental but there are several. They rent BJ city minis for less than the cost of the park strollers. You will need a stroller for both kids! I think wdw parks are way more spread out than DL.

ETA- these stroller places deliver and pick up the strollers at your hotel.

[TwinFoxes]

I'll write more later, but there's no way I wouldn't bring a double. DDs (4 yrs, 4 mos at the time) hadn't ridden in a stroller in months, but rode a lot when we went to WDW in October. Not only did they get tired, it's much easier to get someplace quickly if they're riding. Also, they napped in the stroller (and they gave up naps 8 months prior).

DDs enjoyed the Hoop de Doo Review (dinner show) when they went at both age 2 and age 4. We liked it too. When they were 2 we went to Mickey's Backyard BBQ which was fun, but I had no desire to go again.

I would definitely recommend AK. Lion King show, wild animals, great playground.

Where are you staying?

[BayGirl2]

Thanks, we're staying at Grand Floridian, that's where the conference is so we get a good rate for extra nights.

We took our double (BJ Summit XC D) to DL and DS really needed it. But now he refuses to ride 90% of the time and walked about 4 miles on Friday touring SF. We would bring a carrier so either kid could go on DH's back while the other goes in the stroller. I'm still torn though, I prefer a big stroller, but don't want the hassle either. And DH will be flying back alone so having a single in the airport would help him. If they deliver to the room I think we'll probably rent.


I woke up stressing last night over whether this is too much to squeeze in to a couple days. It will be in between 2 conferences for me and spending 3 full days in the park could make ME too exhausted for my 2nd week of work. I think we'll scale down the plan a bit. Will 3 days in the park (2.5 for me) and a day at the resort make the trip still worthwhile? I just envisioned committing a week to WDW, so doing a short trip is making me adjust my expectations.

[BayGirl2]

One more stroller question: Do you have to fold strollers on the monorail at WDW? I was under the impression you didn't, but the WDW site says you do. This was a huge PITA for us at DL with a double.

I assume it will have to be folded on buses to Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios?

[scrooks]

One more stroller question: Do you have to fold strollers on the monorail at WDW? I was under the impression you didn't, but the WDW site says you do. This was a huge PITA for us at DL with a double.

I assume it will have to be folded on buses to Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios?


We just pulled ours right on the monorail....

[BayGirl2]

We just pulled ours right on the monorail....

Good to know. Sounds like its crowd-dependent, but possible?
The DL monorail is configured so that strollers just won't fit. Even folded a stroller takes the whole aisle. I've heard the WDW monorail is more "transportation" than "ride" so is more accommodating.

[georgiegirl]

I've never folded my strollers on the monorail (we've been several times with a stroller.)

I used easywdw.com for planning which parks to go to on which days. I didn't want to pay for touring plans. I've always gone to the parks they've recommended (usually they have 2 recommended parks), but sometimes I go to the less ideal park. I've never gone to the one that was "not recommended." My kids pretty much loved all of the parks, but magic kingdom was their favorite because of all of the rides. Animal kingdom has an awesome play area and some good shows (lion king and Nemo). That's always a shorter day for us.

As for food, I think it depends on what you like to eat. We went to Saana (at animal kingdom lodge) this past time and loved it. It's Indian-ish and after dinner, you can see the animals with night vision goggles.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I think you should just go into it relaxed and unplanned. Don't make reservations for dining, just eat when you are hungry at the closest restaurant. Roll with things- make short days, if necessary, and don't try to see and do it all. You've done that trip. :)Everyone will be happy even with a little. Especially since you don't have big expenses you won't feel as pressured to get your money's worth. :)

[westwoodmom04]

If you want to eat at sit down restaurants, you will definitely need to make reservations as far in advance as possible, as many are fully reserved months in advance and almost none take walk-ins. The restaurant at the Polynesian is fun for kids, and the food is ok. They run all types of games for kids to play during dinner which provides a welcome distraction. Same with the more casual sit down place at Wilderness Lodge. We loved the African buffet restaurant at AK, they have standard kid food as well (mac and cheese, chicken nuggets,etc.). The restaurants at the grand floridian are good. You may want to slip in a character dinner as well, the food will just be ok, and you probably could got to any of them at your kids' ages.

Your kids would probably love AK, and maybe Hollywood studios in addition to the MK. Epcot probably skews too old.

[BayGirl2]

I think you should just go into it relaxed and unplanned. Don't make reservations for dining, just eat when you are hungry at the closest restaurant. Roll with things- make short days, if necessary, and don't try to see and do it all. You've done that trip. :)Everyone will be happy even with a little. Especially since you don't have big expenses you won't feel as pressured to get your money's worth. :)

We definitely prefer Table Service so going it without ADRs would be super stressful to me! I know at DL you can get away with that, but even there I feel way better if I have a meal planned to work around. Plus we like to get the character interaction during meals and not wait in line for meet and greets. I also find TS way easier logistically with kids, QS is a PITA for me as one adult has to go get food for the whole family while the other chaperones hungry kids. Sitting at a table and being served is a nice break for us and totally worth the cost.


If you want to eat at sit down restaurants, you will definitely need to make reservations as far in advance as possible, as many are fully reserved months in advance and almost none take walk-ins. The restaurant at the Polynesian is fun for kids, and the food is ok. They run all types of games for kids to play during dinner which provides a welcome distraction. Same with the more casual sit down place at Wilderness Lodge. We loved the African buffet restaurant at AK, they have standard kid food as well (mac and cheese, chicken nuggets,etc.). The restaurants at the grand floridian are good. You may want to slip in a character dinner as well, the food will just be ok, and you probably could got to any of them at your kids' ages.

Your kids would probably love AK, and maybe Hollywood studios in addition to the MK. Epcot probably skews too old.

So far I made these reservations:

1900 Park: Cinderella's dinner the first day, since its at the hotel I can meet everyone after the conference
Tusker House Safari Breakfast: Is this what you were talking about westwoodmom? It sounds fun, and DS likes Donald. I think he'll like AK
Biergarten: For Dinner at Epcot, followed by Illuminations. I could skip Epcot but DH likes the World Showcase and I want to see Illuminations. To compromise I think we'll go there just for an afternoon/evening.

Debating whether to do HS at all, because its Star Wars weekend and we've been there, and a lot of the kids stuff seems duplicative of DCA. I do have an ADR for 50's Prime Time Cafe and Hollywood & Vine for Fantasmic! VIP seating but I may cancel. I love HS but I think that's the park we'll cut out if we have to.

Funny - Last time I was at WDW was with DH for a conference when we were dating. We had no idea about ADRs and tried to get a reservation last minute. The "romantic dinner" spot they found for us was the Polynesian. Definitely NOT our idea of a romantic couples evening out! But I'm sure my kids would love it now.

[westwoodmom04]

The restaurant we went to was actually at the AK lodge, it's called Boma. Tusker House is suppose to be very similar though.

[BayGirl2]

The restaurant we went to was actually at the AK lodge, it's called Boma. Tusker House is suppose to be very similar though.

Oh cool, I've heard Boma is great. Glad to hear its similar to Tusker.
I think we'll stick to dining in the parks and at the GF. That will simplify the logistics for us.

[westwoodmom04]

I totally understand, it really only makes sense to go to AK Lodge in particular if you have a car. AK itself is really great for little ones, especially some of the shows. If you do make it to Epcot, the Nemo ride and Crush turtle show were a big hit with my four year old.

[BayGirl2]

I totally understand, it really only makes sense to go to AK Lodge in particular if you have a car. AK itself is really great for little ones, especially some of the shows. If you do make it to Epcot, the Nemo ride and Crush turtle show were a big hit with my four year old.

Anyone know how different the Nemo ride at Epcot is from the Nemo Subs at DL? My DC's LOVED the Nemo Subs but if its very similar we may not spend time on it. Turtle Talk sounds similar to DCA too.
(I cannot seem to find any answers to this stuff on the DIS)

[hellokitty]

The nemo ride is totally different and the entire building is really cool, like an aquarium. We got to see them hand feed cuttlefish, and that was so awesome. They also have turtle talk with crush. We love that show!

Oh and I can't believe I forgot to mention this. Www.applescooters.com is a scooter rental, but getting into the stroller rental biz. They are offering an amazing deal right now where you only pay for the insurance for your rental stroller! They have the bjcm and double and it's dirt cheap with this promo. As long as you book by the end of this month, I believe they will grant tiu the promo price until 11/2013. Have fun on your trip!

[BayGirl2]

The nemo ride is totally different and the entire building is really cool, like an aquarium. We got to see them hand feed cuttlefish, and that was so awesome. They also have turtle talk with crush. We love that show!

Oh and I can't believe I forgot to mention this. Www.applescooters.com is a scooter rental, but getting into the stroller rental biz. They are offering an amazing deal right now where you only pay for the insurance for your rental stroller! They have the bjcm and double and it's dirt cheap with this promo. As long as you book by the end of this month, I believe they will grant tiu the promo price until 11/2013. Have fun on your trip!

Oh amazing tip! I was going to try a GT but for $5/day I can live with a BjCMD

[hellokitty]

Oh amazing tip! I was going to try a GT but for $5/day I can live with a BjCMD

Oh and I don't know if you are aware, but there's construction at the GF right now for their new DVC resort. I'm not familiar with that resort, but maybe do some research at disboards or something about which room location to request in case there is any construction noise.

[Tinkerbell313]

- I believe I read here that the Magic Express transportation is carseat compliant? And the monorail is stroller friendly. Is that correct?

Anything else? Thanks in advance!

You can not use car seats on Magical Express or Disney transportation. DME is a traditional coach bus without latch or seat belts. Here is a FAQ link for DME: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/airport-transportation-and-check-in/. Most parents put their child on the inside/window seat or hold the child in their lap.


Disney bus transport to/from resorts to parks are the traditional city type buses with the hard seats. You can not use car seats there either.

[BayGirl2]

You can not use car seats on Magical Express or Disney transportation. DME is a traditional coach bus without latch or seat belts. Here is a FAQ link for DME: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/airport-transportation-and-check-in/. Most parents put their child on the inside/window seat or hold the child in their lap.

Disney bus transport to/from resorts to parks are the traditional city type buses with the hard seats. You can not use car seats there either.

Yeah, after I asked that I saw another thread about it where I had responded about carseats on buses. I understand the legal aspects and compartmentalization concept, but I'm still not a fan of shuttles/buses with my kids sitting untethered. Not sure what we'll do here. The Magic Express is free for us and way more convenient. I don't want to bring carseats or rent a car.

I especially hate the SFO Airport parking shuttles that go on and off the freeway at high speeds and often have standing room only, with no one offering a seat when I was pregnant and holding onto a 2 year old. I felt like I was in imminent danger of falling down and so was my child. (I make DH drop us off before parking now.) I'm actually ok with city buses and large charter buses with padded rows of seats and the speeds/traffic on the Disney resort property are not comparable to the 101. So maybe we'll just suck it up.

[billysmommy]

So far I made these reservations:

1900 Park: Cinderella's dinner the first day, since its at the hotel I can meet everyone after.

This is such a fun dinner - the stepsisters are hysterical!!
Definitely try the strawberry soup, it's delicious!

[westwoodmom04]

I know you said you weren't interested but Orlando car rentals tend to be dirt cheap (not sure why) and if you are staying at a disney resort, parking is free at all the parks. Since you are only going for a short visit, it may be worth it to avoid waiting for shuttles and the circuitous route the disney transportation takes (there is no disney transportation that serves only one resort). You can always gate-check car seats/boosters or rent them as well.

[BayGirl2]

Oh, now I'm excited about 1900 Park Fare. That will be where we meet up for dinner on the first full day, and I'll be in my conference all day, so it will be my first real Disney experience. And after I'm done presenting, so I can relax a bit. We love character meals.

How bad is the transportation to AK, Epcot, and HS? We'll want to get to AK early on Sat morning so driving may be easier. Is driving from AK to Epcot easier than the bus? I keep looking for maps or something on the WDW site but its so not helpful. Probably because they don't want you to know.:wink2: I'm a total PT/walking person and love that at DL we can walk everywhere.

I really don't want to bring 2 carseats (both my kids are harnessed, one is RF) and don't trust rental seats at all. My Mom could bring hers up maybe, but that doesn't help us when we're leaving from the airport. The Magic Express to/from the airport just seems so much easier. IDK

[Tinkerbell313]

Oh, now I'm excited about 1900 Park Fare. That will be where we meet up for dinner on the first full day, and I'll be in my conference all day, so it will be my first real Disney experience. And after I'm done presenting, so I can relax a bit. We love character meals.

How bad is the transportation to AK, Epcot, and HS? We'll want to get to AK early on Sat morning so driving may be easier. Is driving from AK to Epcot easier than the bus? I keep looking for maps or something on the WDW site but its so not helpful. Probably because they don't want you to know.:wink2: I'm a total PT/walking person and love that at DL we can walk everywhere.

I really don't want to bring 2 carseats (both my kids are harnessed, one is RF) and don't trust rental seats at all. My Mom could bring hers up maybe, but that doesn't help us when we're leaving from the airport. The Magic Express to/from the airport just seems so much easier. IDK

Getting to MK is easy...you take the monorail or the boat.

Getting to Epcot, you can either take the bus (there will be a dedicated bus stop somewhere in front of Grand Floridian), or you can take the monorail three stops to the Ticket and Transportation Center where you will get off that monorail and switch to the Epcot monorail. Very easy to do.

For AK and DHS, you can take the bus from the Grand Floridian. I believe GF shares busses with one to two other resorts.

Here is an excerpt regarding GF transportation from easywdw.com (BTW, I think Josh on easywdw does a great job explaining all the nuts and bolts and I find him to be very accurate. We went in October and during the time period we went (Oct. 21 to 25), others complained how busy the parks were. We followed his guidelines exactly (and we did not get to the parks early) and we found that parks were not crowded at all)

Transportation: The Grand Floridian is on the Disney resort monorail line which conveniently connects it to the Ticket and Transportation Center, Polynesian, Contemporary, and Magic Kingdom. Located in the back of the resort is a marina with a scenic boat ride to the Magic Kingdom and Polynesian resort. While not necessarily as fast as the monorail, it’s a fun ride that I would recommend trying at least once. For Epcot, guests ride the resort monorail to the Transit Center and then switch monorail lines to the Express route.

Travel to the Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios is via bus. Most of the time, bus service will be shared with at least one other resort. The Grand Floridian is usually picked up and dropped off last which can equate to longer transit times coming back from the Parks and the strong possibility that it will be standing room only on the way to the Parks. It isn’t so bad when the Grand Floridian shares buses with the Polynesian, but plan to spend an extra 15 minutes on the bus if it’s sharing with the Wilderness Lodge. The Grand Floridian is about as far away as possible from the Animal Kingdom and not particularly close to Epcot or the Hollywood Studios either. Unlike the Polynesian, it is not possible to walk to the Transit Center to get on the Express Epcot Monorail and there is no walkway to the Magic Kingdom like there is at the Contemporary.

The times below are calculated after the bus, monorail, or boat leaves for its final destination (this does not include wait times at the stops).

Hollywood Studios via Bus: about 20 minutes
Epcot via Resort Monorail then switch to Epcot Monorail: about 35 minutes, depending on how long it takes for the Epcot Monorail train to arrive.
Animal Kingdom via Bus: about 25 minutes
Magic Kingdom via Monorail: about 5 minutes
Magic Kingdom via Boat: about 10 minutes

***************************

With all that said...we have been during several times of the year (however not during Thanksgiving, Spring Break, or Christmas...the busiest times). And we have never had a problem with transportation. We have never had to rent a car. We have stayed at BLT, AK, CBR, Pop, POR-FQ.

OK...I take that back...one summer, there was a bad electrical storm with extremely bad lightning. We were stuck on the boat at the DHS dock for one hour because Disney stopped all tranportation due to the bad weather conditions. And the rain was coming down in buckets...so no one was going anywhere.

[westwoodmom04]

For comparision sake, it is a 10 minute car ride to HS or AK or epcot from GF. You do sometimes ride a minishuttle from the lot to the entrance, but if you are there early you can usually park close enough to walk. The parking lot shuttles, however, are very frequently, and take less than 5 minutes to drop you at the entrance. The bus service is a bit more erratic and can be overcrowded depending on how busy the parks are.

For us, the motivation to rent a car was the Magic Express, which I know some people love. They assign you a pickup time for the airport which was way earlier than we would have left on our own, and I don't like the idea of sitting on the shuttle while it goes from resort to resort. You could call and see how many resorts your shuttle would go to, and what stop you would be. I've also heard that the check-in process can be busy when the express arrives, because there are a bunch of people trying to get settled in at the same time.

[Tinkerbell313]

For us, the motivation to rent a car was the Magic Express, which I know some people love. They assign you a pickup time for the airport which was way earlier than we would have left on our own, and I don't like the idea of sitting on the shuttle while it goes from resort to resort. You could call and see how many resorts your shuttle would go to, and what stop you would be. I've also heard that the check-in process can be busy when the express arrives, because there are a bunch of people trying to get settled in at the same time.

ME picks you up 3 hours prior to departure time and I am greatful for that ...without traffic it is 35-45 minutes to the airport. However, security is awful at MCO and time consuming. There are no designated lines...meaning there are no single file lines until you get closer to the actual part where you take off your shoes and put your carry on onto the belt. Prior to that, you just wait in a huddle mass that eventually brings you to security to check your ID. Then once you pass that check point, you are back in a huddled mass with others who went through other ID checks. Eventually you funnel into a a single file line.

DME gets us in the mood for Disney. When you get on the bus you are shown a cute video for the duration of the ride. There was only one time when we had a bus driver that was not very interactive. But usually, they are high energy and love to have a good time.

We usually drop our bags off at the Resort Airline Reservation Desk first thing in the morning after we check out. They send the bags off to the airport for us. We will then either swim during the day or go to a park for one last time. We then come back to the resort and hop on to the DME bus.

But it definitely isn't for everyone. I have seen some infants on the bus. But if you have an infant I can understand wanting to get to the hotel quicker. I think the longest it has taken us to get to the hotel from the time our plane has landed is 90 minutes (which includes the 45 minute travel time) For us, it definitely doesn't pay to have a car sit in a lot all week since we use Disney transportation to get to the dinner and parks.

This is just our experience and others may have different experiences.

[BayGirl2]

Thanks, those are very helpful perspectives.
DH and DC's flight out on Monday morning will likely be around 6:30 am. (There are only 2 directs to SFO. They are going home, I'll be going to Miami on a different morning flight). Does ME really pick up 3 hours early for a 6:30 am flight?

MCO sounds like a nightmare to me! <Ok, I have CLEAR and I just checked and they have it at MCO, so that helps me and the kids a bit at least. I take them through quickly then DH can deal with the chaos if his Nexus clearance doesn't work)

After reading 3 different sources for crowd levels I'm going to shift our days a bit so we do Epcot Sat morning and AK Sun morning. That way we'll be less rushed getting over there in the mornings and we won't park hop. I like to be there at rope drop but it will be harder with the time change, and I'm still getting use to the "avoid EMH" concept for WDW, totally the opposite of the DL philosophy. I think we're skipping HS altogether. I like it but with Star Wars weekend it will just be too crazy, and potentially scary for the little ones.

[westwoodmom04]

I think the pickup time is based on how many other stops they are making, hopefully at 4 in the morning you can get a straight shoot. I wouldn't worry too much about airport security with such an early flight. I don't remember it being particularly awful.

[Tinkerbell313]

Does ME really pick up 3 hours early for a 6:30 am flight?

MCO sounds like a nightmare to me! <Ok, I have CLEAR and I just checked and they have it at MCO, so that helps me and the kids a bit at least. I take them through quickly then DH can deal with the chaos if his Nexus clearance doesn't work)



Yes, ME picks up 3 hours early. For a 6:30am flight...yes, you are looking at a 3:30am pick up time. You will not be able to send your luggage ahead of you as the Resort Airline Desk where you go to give them your luggage (and pay any applicable luggage fees for your airline) is open from 5am to 1pm. Therefore, you will need to put your luggage under the bus and then check it in at the airport.

Regarding the chaos, at 6:30 in the morning...I think you will not see any of what I usually see. My flights are usually later in the afternoon and early evening since I live in VA (I try to stay as long as possible in WDW). So I am sure I am there during prime time. Early in the morning it may not even be an issue.

Also you mentioned that you can proceed through the CLEAR line. I am not familiar with the process however I have noticed separate lines for special travelers (such as those that have special clearance or are cleared earlier and I think that would include CLEAR). Those lines are always empty. One time, we were lucky to go through that line when they were trying to alleviate the congestion.

[Tinkerbell313]

Regarding EMH, I would do early morning extra magic hours. The parks will be empty at that point. On some of the rides, you will be able to remain on the ride several trips if you want to stay on. We did that in Sept. with Kali River Rapids at MK.

Evening EMH can be crowded depending on how far into the evening the hours go. Earlier in the evening is more crowded then later in the evening. Also, the parks start emptying out after fireworks and parades.

I would highly recommend morning EMHs.

[BayGirl2]

Regarding EMH, I would do early morning extra magic hours. The parks will be empty at that point. On some of the rides, you will be able to remain on the ride several trips if you want to stay on. We did that in Sept. with Kali River Rapids at MK.

Evening EMH can be crowded depending on how far into the evening the hours go. Earlier in the evening is more crowded then later in the evening. Also, the parks start emptying out after fireworks and parades.

I would highly recommend morning EMHs.

Interesting. I keep reading how EMH at WDW tends to draw more people to the park. It sounds like its worth it only if you can make it in time for that extra hour (obvious I guess). The only morning EMH for us is AK at 7am on Saturday. It sounds like we'd need to get a bus at like 6am to make rope drop. We're planning to do a very late night at MK the night before and we'll be on west coast time, so I worry we'll get held up and miss the whole EMH hour. In which case it seems like a better choice to just plan AK the next day, when its "Most recommended" for various other reasons and I'm fairly certain we can make it there by 8.

CLEAR is a service you pay for that gives security clearance based on biometrics and background checks. You get checked as a special podium then bypass the entire security line and go to the front. Its awesome if you travel for business a lot and and you can take minors through with a member.

[Tinkerbell313]

Interesting. I keep reading how EMH at WDW tends to draw more people to the park. It sounds like its worth it only if you can make it in time for that extra hour (obvious I guess). The only morning EMH for us is AK at 7am on Saturday. It sounds like we'd need to get a bus at like 6am to make rope drop. We're planning to do a very late night at MK the night before and we'll be on west coast time, so I worry we'll get held up and miss the whole EMH hour. In which case it seems like a better choice to just plan AK the next day, when its "Most recommended" for various other reasons and I'm fairly certain we can make it there by 8.

CLEAR is a service you pay for that gives security clearance based on biometrics and background checks. You get checked as a special podium then bypass the entire security line and go to the front. Its awesome if you travel for business a lot and and you can take minors through with a member.

Thanks for the info on CLEAR. The only airport we use that has it is MCO. Our home airports does not.

Yes, I highly recommend early EMH. However, you are going at a time when crowds are not insanely crazy. So is it necessary? No. And if you have another plan in place that will work, then go for it. When we went in October this past year, we never made it to the park for rope drop. Sometimes we would get there during the EMH but not always. You will notice a difference between park opening til around 11am and 12pm to 5pm. The crowds will be much heavier in the afternoon. I am glad we made in in the morning. Trustme...we are not morning people

I keep forgetting you have the time difference to deal with. You are well educated in Disney and you will definintely find what works for you and your family. You are always going to get two sides to every story (i.e. EMH or not; Park hoppers or not; dining plan or not; rent a car or not). I just tell people to have a basic plan and then change it as needed.

You guys are going to have fun!!

I am actually trying to plan a quick getaway for my friend and I without husbands/kids just for 4 nights in late April. So I have been looking into resorts and renting points through DVC. So that's why I have been very talkative about it.

I will shut up now and let others talk!!

Again, have a great trip.

[BayGirl2]

Thanks Tinkerbell! You've been super helpful. I understand the 2 sides, so its really valuable to hear people reasoning and then figure out what will work for us. As much as I want this trip to be low-planning I get wrapped up in all the exciting Disney details and become obsessed! I've already wasted way too much work time this week on ADRs and crowd calendars. :oops:

Your trip sounds great. Next time we have a long lead time we'll probably rent DVC points too. Good luck planning!