Disneyworld planning help

[beltm]

I'm hoping you experienced disney world goers can help me with some questions. We had a whole trip planned out last year, but we cancelled due to my high risk pregnancy. We are investigating going for spring break next year. Ds1 will be six, ds2 will be 15 months. This will probably be our big disney trip for a while until ds2 reaches age four or five ( we don't go every year!). Here are my questions :

1) Timing- per yourfirstvisit.net the week we'd like to go is a low crowd week, but per undercover tourist.com it's i big red level 9 crowd. It's not the weeks surrounding Easter. Which website is more reliable for crowd prediction? I realize its a spring break week so it won't be empty there, but what's the best way to figure out how the crowd will be? It's one of the top recommended weeks on yourfirstvisit.net, so why the discrepancy on crowd levels? How bad would waits be at a high crowd level spring break week?

2) Baby ride swap - how does this work? If dh takes ds1 on a ride while I wait with baby, then do I get it hop right on when they return? Do I have to go on by myself or will I get to ride with ds1 again? Do I have to wait in a baby swap line?

3) Hotel - where is the best deluxe hotel to stay knowing we won't be back for a few years and will have a toddler and stroller with us? Considering animal kingdom lodge, Polynesian and wilderness lodge. Haven't checked pricing yet, but that aside, where will we have a special disney experience and convenience with the baby. Are the buses difficult to maneuver with kids and stroller and diaper bag? Is the monorail easier or will that involve more walking?which would be more fun for my six year old (I'm sure the baby will enjoy whichever we pick, so I'm sort of using the six year old as the guide for planning this trip). Is beginning of April pool weather there? Which has a nice pool area and good/fun restaurants. I think he would love animal kingdom lodge, but it seems far away from all the other parks, is it easy to get around from there?

4) Parks - will there be stuff to do with the toddler? If we have seven full days at disney, how many days doi allocate to each park?two for magic kingdom and one for each of the other parks? I guess this depends on crowd levels, which I can't seem to figure out! I doubt well do park hoppers, probably just one park a day, some relaxer pool time and then dinner somewhere.

5) Dining- what are the best character meals? Both for food and characters? Not sure if well do dining plan yet. How does the baby work? Do i pay for a meal for him, or can I feed him off of ds1's plate? Are there high chairs everywhere? I know his park admission is free. Ill definitely pack a supply of squeezable meals for him to supplement park food. Looking for any special meals or experiences for ds1, since his trip was cancelled last year due to the baby (though he's handled it just fine :)). Anything in particular for the one year old? So far he's a pretty easy baby so hoping he's a good traveler like ds1 was.


Also, if I book through AAA can I still book a meal plan? Any other discounts on rooms? Thanks for all of your help!

[keh602]

Hello! How exciting! We are going next month for our third trip as a family, and I can't wait. Hopefully I can help you out some.

1) undercovertourist.com is a very reputable site, so I would lean towards trusting them more... I have never heard of the other site, so I'm not sure. I do know that spring break is a very busy time, but we went over ours in 2011 and it was fine.

2) As far as the baby swap goes, you all go up to the cast member at the entrance to the ride (so they can see the baby). They give you what is essentially a fast pass that is good for three people to ride. So the first person(s) wait in the normal line while the person with the baby goes off and does whatever -- shop, sit, ride another ride, etc. Then you can hand off the baby and go through the fast pass line to ride. If DH rides with DS, once they far back you can take DS and ride. My DD got lots of extra rides that way. :)

3) We have only ever stayed at Animal Kingdom. We LOVE it, but you can only travel by bus to/from there, and that can be a pain. It is definitely the furthest resort from everything except the AK park, so travel takes longer. The decor is awesome, though, and seeing the animals from your room (if you have a savannah view) is fantastic. We are staying at Bay Lake Tower this time because of the monorail access. We have three kids now and a double stroller, so it just seems like it'll be a little easier. The Polynesian would give you monorail and boat access. We had to fold our stroller on the Polynesuan boat when we went to dinner, so it wasn't all that unlike a bus. Wilderness also has boat access, I believe.

4) Even the youngest of kids can ride almost everything. DS1 was 13 months the first time we went, and he did almost everything we did. If I had my way I would do 3 days at Magic Kingdom, 2 at Epcot, 1 at Animal Kingdom, and 1 at Hollywood Studios. We are traveling with family this time, so we have to do things a little differently, but that's what I'd do. We also add the park hopper option so we can switch between parks if we want to.

5) We have done a ton of character meals. Which characters are your kids into? I can tell you that you will not have to pay for your little one to eat. If the restaurant is a buffet, you can get him his own plate. For sit down restaurants he can eat off of your plate. We do the middle dining plan and like it a lot.

I think there's a 30% discount on moderate and deluxe rooms right now. You could also rent DVC points and potentially save quite a bit that way. We are DVC members, so I'm not sure about discounts out there. I'm pretty sure you can add the dining plan no matter the discount as long as you're staying on property though.

I hope that helps!! I'm happy to clarify anything I said or answer any other questions. :)

[SnuggleBuggles]

To add re. Baby Swap/ ride swap...at least at at Disneyland it was awesome bc what they gave you was like a fast pass but no return time and you could hold passes for lots of rides at once as they weren't tied to your ticket. It was kind of a way to "game" the fast pass system with its rules and time restrictions. You don't have to get back on the ride right away; you can go back later. Gives you a lot of flexibility.

[TwinFoxes]

I'll take a crack at some of your questions. I have to say, I've never heard of "yourfirstvisit". But my first visit was many moons ago. Undercover Tourist is pretty reliable. I'd go with them. I've never gone during spring break, but I sure wouldn't want to either. I think it would be very crowded.

I haven't done ride swap.

I like AKL, but it is really removed from the parks, other than Animal Kingdom. I love the theming, and it's very cool seeing the animals. I've never stayed there, but have had several yummy meals. Polynesian is very convenient to the parks. You can walk to MK. I also like Wilderness lodge, and you can take a boat to MK. Have you considered a DVC property? I like having the kitchen and more space. Boardwalk and Beach Club are walking distance to DHS and Epcot.

There is plenty to do with toddlers. My DD's first visit was when they were two. They LOVED it. LOVED. We do park hoppers, but everyone's touring style is different. I like being able to do mornings in one park, and then hop to another park for dinner or a parade/fireworks. Also, since you'll be staying on property you can do early morning hours (available to on property guests only) and then leave that park when it starts getting crowded and go to another park. We always do at least 2 days at MK.

Tusker House at AK had the best food I'd say. The "main" characters are there, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto, Goofy. Chef Mickey has OK food. Crystal Palace is pretty awful (Pooh and friends). You can also do Mickey's Backyard BBQ over at Fort Wilderness. That's fun for character interaction. The kids get to dance with Mickey and Minnie, Chip and Dale, etc at a big hoe-down. I've never done any princess meals, so I can't comment on that.

As for the DDP, kids under 3 eat for free. You can share your food with them. Buffets are great because of this. You can still do the meal plan if you book the AAA. But you don't have to book through them to get the AAA discount. Depending on your local club, if you book through them you may get the Diamond Parking pass, which gets you parking very close to the entrance (not free parking, but you get free parking by being an on-property guest). Have you signed up on the Disney website? If you do, you may get a pin code for a discount.

For your DS2, find the baby-care centers in the park. Awesome facilities for nursing, preparing food, changing. They have microwaves and bottled water dispensers.

Be sure to get a "My first visit" button for your DS1. The cast members will make a fuss over him. :)

Lastly, as always, I really strongly recommend buying "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World". There's also a "Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids". It gives great information, and impartial reviews.

Have fun!!!

[spunkybaby]

Polynesian is very convenient to the parks. You can walk to MK.

Actually, you can't walk to MK from the Polynesian. I think you can only walk to MK from the Contemporary and Bay Lake Towers (the DVC property at the Contemporary).

However, I think the Polynesian definitely has the best transportation options because you have monorail access and also boat access to MK. The Polynesian is also walking distance to the Ticketing and Transportation Center, so you can easily access buses to the parks not connected to the monorail. Using the monorail is definitely easier than than folding up the stroller for the buses. AKL seems neat theming-wise, but you will be so far from all the parks except AK and will have to use bus service everywhere.

For timing, I would check www.easywdw.com to look at their free crowd calendars. That website has a lot of great information--about hotels, meal plans, rides, etc. It was the most helpful website to me when planning our WDW trip. We went during early December and had a great time.

Have fun!

[TwinFoxes]

Actually, you can't walk to MK from the Polynesian. I think you can only walk to MK from the Contemporary and Bay Lake Towers (the DVC property at the Contemporary).

However, I think the Polynesian definitely has the best transportation options because you have monorail access and also boat access to MK. The Polynesian is also walking distance to the Ticketing and Transportation Center

That's totally what I meant...my brain typed something else though! :)

[123LuckyMom]

I would DEFINITELY stay at the Polynesian if you can afford it (it will be more expensive than your other two choices). I recommend Tahiti at the Polynesian, because it's a very quick walk to the TTC.

The buses are a PITA with the stroller and gear, but if you stay at the Poly, you'll only have to take the bus to get to DHS and AK. MK and EPCOT will be by ferry or monorail.

The baby can ride everything without a height restriction. Baby swap works as described above. You get an open ended fast pass that accommodates the holder of the ticket and three additional people. Our 11 month old LOVED Disney! She just stared at everything wide-eyed, laughing and clapping her hands. The kid was in heaven!

We had park hoppers but did two and a half days at MK, one day each at DHS and AK, and a day and a half at EPCOT. We could have used two full days at EPCOT. I think 7 days in the parks would have been perfect, and if we had had that extra day, we could have forgone the hoppers. It's just that I love having a day at the end to ride everything we love in all the parks just one more time :).

We subscribed to touringplans.com and used their app Lines to plan our days. It was like a miracle! Even on days with crowd ratings at 7-8, we never waited for more than 20 minutes in any line. (That's a good site for crowd sizes, too.) the key was getting to the parks at rope drop each day and optimizing our schedule using the app whenever we deviated from the plan (which we did a lot!) On MK and EPCOT days, we went back to the hotel for nap midday, but on DHS and AK days, we just plowed through, and it was fine.

We didn't do any character meals. I think next time we'll them, but I wasn't sure how my kids would feel about the characters in person, and we booked our trip without much lead time, so reservations were nigh unto impossible to get. I think our next trip we will try to do Crystal Palace for Pooh characters and Akershus (or Cinderella's Castle) for princesses. I'd like to eat at the Beast's Castle, too, but we won't go until they change the menu. It's a very odd menu! As it was, both kids were enchanted with the characters, but only at a safe distance.

We did two ADRs, and that was at Boma (which was very good. I highly recommend it) and at Rainforest Cafe, because DS loved it so much in Niagara Falls.

You're going to have a wonderful trip!!!

[beltm]

Thank y ladies for all of the info! So helpful!im sure ill have more questions as I do some more research. Rates for spring break next year appearantly aren't out yet, so no decisions yet!