Not sure if this is the correct forum, but we are going to Disney for the 1st time with the kids --- 6,4,2 all girls, anyone have any advise?? What books should I read what sites to good to, where to get bargins, how to save on eating......
We are going late May and staying off grouds, (we got a deal on a condo with trip points)
Thanks,

We've never been there since we are on the West Coast and big Disneyland fans, but try these boards:

http://www.disboards.com/
http://www.wdisneyw.com/forums/

There are quite a few more so just search for Disneyworld help...

Have fun!

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~ Jessica

Take naps! Seriously, I've been blessed to go several times and even when I was a teenager the thing that made our trip the most pleasant and fulfilling was to do something in the morning, go to the hotel, eat lunch and then take an hour nap before doing something else in the afternoon. With little kids you may want to all take a 2+ hour nap.

If you haven't bought your Disney tickets yet, be sure to get Park Hopper passes so you can go to multiple parks per day. Our best days were: AM park, lunch, nap, water park, different PM park (usually included dinner then a firework show or parade).

Also, we always pack one suitcase full of food and snacks to keep in our hotel room. That way we can bring baggies of snacks into the parks to keep our energy up and also eat at least one meal a day in the hotel room. It saves tons of money. There are lots of inexpensive places to eat in Disney World (about the same as the price of fast food) you just have to know where to look. We stayed at the economy hotels last time and usually ate a really nice breakfast for about $4-5 per person at the cafeteria. I think you still can eat there even if you are not staying but I'm not sure. Our other find was that (and double-check me here, but this might only be for hotel guests) you can buy a souvenier mug that you can refill from the cafeteria for free anytime during your stay. Saved us loads of money.

We purchased 2-3 guide books before every trip and pretty much knew ahead of time what rides we wanted to do in each park and where the cheap places to eat were located. Also which parades and fireworks shows we wanted to see.

DO go to at least one nice restaraunt during your stay. My fav was the Rainforest Cafe.
DO go to at least one water park per day!
DO snack all day long. And drink lots of water or Gatorade, etc.
DON'T try to do everything in a park in one day. Break it up a little.
DON'T forget that at DisneyWorld, you and your husband are little kids too. Trade the kids off and go on some scary rides and rollercoasters. In fact, most rides will adjust the line a bit to accomodate parents with young kids taking turns.

I'm so jealous and happy for you. I LOVE DisneyWorld! Have tons of fun!!!

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I am my son's mom & my husband's wife.

Tripadvisor, mousesavers and intercot are great sites for info on Disney and the Orlando area. Since you are staying off site, I would suggest bringing a small back pack and putting snacks and drinks in it to bring to the park with you. When you do eat in the park keep in mind that the portions are large. You can definately get one meal to feed at least two of the girls. If you are planning on collecting character signatures, get an autograph book before you go and bring it with you (along with a pen) as you will often see character right when you enter the parks. Don't forget a stroller, especially for the younger two as they will inevitably get tired. Go to the ride you kids want to do most, first thing to avoid the long lines. You can go to the Disney website to help determine what your kids are interested in. Don't forget sunblock and hand sanitizer.

We are going in June, We did the meal plan with snacks to be included, but I still will probaly bring stuff with us. Do you carry a backpack? Thanks for the tip on the refill cup. We have already decided there will be naps because no naps means everyone will be seriously cranky way to early in the day! That includes mom and dad.
My sil and her family will be meeting us for a couple of days (They live in FL) so thats when dh and I will get some alone time and sils sons are old enough to sit so maybe even an all adult dinner out at least once. With the meal plan we can choose from 200 restraunts though the parks. We also got Park Hoppers. Now I need to start researching maps of the parks to determine our routes and stuff. I dont want to be super overwelmed on our vacation.

Momof3 Hope you have a great time and let us know how it went since you get to go first. I literaly booked this trip a year in advance, paying monthly on it through AAA. We will be staying at the Value Pop Century Hotel on Disney property.

Momof2boys, June is very busy. Be ready for big crowds and long lines. You will need to take advantage of Fast passes and get them early on as they often run out and your kids will be disappointed. Also, if possible book some of your dinners and any character meals now. We were there last June and wanted to eat in the restaurant in Canada (Epcot) and were told that there was literally a year wait.

Ooohhh now I'm really jealous! I have never heard of the meal plan, but it sounds great. We always go in Sept when there's no lines, so it's too hot to carry a backpack all day long. I always used a fanny pack and a carry strap for a water bottle (my water bottle had a mist fan attached ).

It will actually be really nice for mom of three, because you'll have a stroller to carry all your stuff in.

BTW, I just remembered. We were there last time in 2001 and they were still very tight on security. I don't know if they've relaxed any, but we had to open our bags upon entering every park. It really helped to have everything in clear baggies so the screeners could see everything but it wouldn't be all messed up when they were done.

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I am my son's mom & my husband's wife.

I think the meal plan is fairly new!

Hawkshoe, Can you get fast passes through the hotel before heading out for the day? I need to go get an updated book, sometimes. Everytime I visit the website I get overwelmed there is so much info. My travel agent did send me a list of all the restraunts I just dont know which ones to reserve. Worried we wont be there when were supposed to.

you will love the meal plan it saved us alot when we went over x-mas this past year. one thing we found out if you do not use all your meal plan you can trade them in at the end for all snacks so that way you will have something for the plane...another thing we found is that you need to book dinner reservations at least 3 months in advance is thers some where particuler you want to eat otherwise its impossible to get in at a descent time....another thing with the meal plan you can eat almost anywhere and the sit down meal includes a appetizer, main course and desert and beverage which can really add up we ate at the brown derby at mgm on night ther were 7 of us and our meal came to 500 and we did not have to pay a penny on the plan. make sure they take the dinner pass all do not......i would not go without this it was great not having to carry money and you really do get alot to eat with it...

I am a disney fanatic I actually found a link to this board on the disboards, I go all of the time. I second the naps. I have 2 children and I always schedule nap times. If you try to see everything and stay at the parks all day everyone gets tired and it is not fun. So I go early beat the crowds and then leave around 1:00 and go back to the room, swim and take a nap. Then I take advantage of the night hours that are cooler and not as busy. I found when I first went with my daughter I missed all of my dinner reservations because I was still back in the room getting ready because we enjoyed our nap so much we overslept! So I make all dinner reservations at 7:30 or later. I know that is late but if you do the naps your children will be rested. I do not do hoppers because with little one one park a day is enough for them. I get the meal plan too. I bring bottled water and snacks so I can use my snack credits for breakfast items and get my three meals. I also use snack credit for treats for the kids since we try to stay on a budget. So the 5 packs of lollipops in the gift shop, or a bucket of cotton candy etc. That is all I can think of but if you need any other help feel free to PM me. Have you made your Meal reservations yet?? Good Luck and have fun!

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Kristen, Mom to Katherine and Nolan