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b2b777
LIF Adult
Member since 9/09 4474 total posts
Name:
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Disney - 1st Trip
I am planning a trip for 2020 with my 3 and 6 year olds. How many days should I stay? Do i need a full 7 nights?
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Posted 9/26/19 12:45 PM  |
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NYCGirl80
I love my kiddies!
Member since 5/11 10413 total posts
Name:
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Re: Disney - 1st Trip
For a first trip, do you want to do everything? Or just give them a taste? If you want to do every park, then I'd recommend at least 6 days - 1 day per park and 2 at MK. At age 3 and 6, they are young and it will be impossible to do FULL days from opening to closing. You may also want time at Disney Springs and just to hang out at your hotel/pool. If you don't want to do every park, then you can definitely get away with fewer days. Let them get a taste of Disney, and bring them back again in a few years.
So basically, I feel like I need more info to answer your question 
Message edited 9/27/2019 12:26:44 PM.
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| Posted 9/26/19 4:01 PM |
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nraboni
Uggh...
Member since 10/09 6905 total posts
Name:
Nicole
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Disney - 1st Trip
Just an FYI - most of Epcot will be under construction in 2020. Also, they are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Magic Kingdom in 2021.
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| Posted 9/26/19 4:12 PM |
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ml110
LIF Adult
Member since 1/06 5435 total posts
Name:
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Disney - 1st Trip
we go pretty much every year. for a first trip, i would say if you do 7 nights, then plan on only doing the parks for 3 or 4 of the days... and have the rest of the days be "rest" days, to hang by the pool or do more low-key stuff like check out the different resorts, maybe one of the water parks thats a little more low-key. if you go and try to do the parks every day and see everything, you'll definitely get burnt out! LOL there is SO much to see- that i feel like you can go every year, and still not see everything. so no mater how long you go for, definitely go into it with the idea that you're gonna see what you can see, and enjoy what you DO get to see and not be thinking " but we HAVE to see this or that", the whole time.
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| Posted 9/26/19 5:42 PM |
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mommy2be716
LIF Adult
Member since 1/16 2921 total posts
Name:
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Disney - 1st Trip
i suggest to get a travel agent! I have a GREAT one who planned my whole trip for me and planned my park days around the crowd calendars and stuff. She did all my fast passes, dining reservations, and mailed me laminated itineraries and everything to use each day- FM me if you want her info :) She lives on LI
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| Posted 9/26/19 7:07 PM |
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FirstMate
My lil cowboy
Member since 10/10 7790 total posts
Name:
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Re: Disney - 1st Trip
Definitely get a travel agent!!! I have one as well if you need a recommendation. I would not have been able to get the best prices and have been able to have a grasp on it without her. It's not a vacation you can "wing". You CAN if you don't care if you miss things. If there are certain things you must do, you have to plan for it.
We went with three little ones. My best tips are:
1. Stay on property. It makes your life a hella easier when you have a stroller to deal with. If possible, stay on the monorail because that's even easier.
2. Use Shipt to send water, drinks, snacks, bread, pb&J, etc. Saves a ton of money in the parks.
3. If you plan on doing character dining, do the meal plan. Paying out of pocket is expensive. The little ones love the characters so we do at least one per day. We do the 1 Quick serve, 1 table service and 2 snacks per day and it's more than enough. Also, alcohol is now included in the plan so SCORE!
4. When planning your days, check the crowd calendars. That helps.
5. We do the park hopper passes for 6 days. It's probably excessive but we like having options. Sometimes we do HS during the day, go chill at the hotel and then go to MK for some rides and fireworks.
6. I opened a southwest card as did my DH. The initial point opening was enough to cover 2 round trip airfares to Florida. Now we put our bills on the credit card and that accrues so we aren't paying for 5 airfares.
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| Posted 9/26/19 10:40 PM |
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lightblue
LIF Adult
Member since 1/17 2249 total posts
Name:
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Re: Disney - 1st Trip
My kids are 4 and 7, we are going to Disney in November... we are planning 6 nights and 5 park days- some people need off days but we like going to the parks... staying at Pop Century and doing the Disney Dining Plan. Everyone's preferences are different though! I would also advise working with a TA your first trip- they are free to use and some of them will book your dining and fast passes at no charge.
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| Posted 9/27/19 10:29 AM |
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FirstMate
My lil cowboy
Member since 10/10 7790 total posts
Name:
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Re: Disney - 1st Trip
Posted by lightblue
I would also advise working with a TA your first trip- they are free to use and some of them will book your dining and fast passes at no charge.
I think this is such a misunderstood point and I'm glad you mentioned it. I think people think they pay TA's or that they pay more so the TA gets a cut. Absolutely false. They get their commissions through whomever they send the business. I never understand why people insist on booking big vacations through Expedia or whatever. I need someone to talk to and direct me and, if needed, an actual person to complain to. I mean an overnight trip or something silly, fine, but like to Italy? Um, no.
I digress...When I went to book Disney, I was playing with the numbers on the computer. When the TA gave me the final price quote, it was $1,800 cheaper than what I was coming up with and it was in a better hotel. They are more educated on the deals and specials. She also routinely checks the deals and I ended up getting a reduction in my rate between the time I booked and the time I went. I believe I got back around $600. It's totally worth it. I did my own dining reservations and FP because I am control freak but she did all the ground work.
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| Posted 9/27/19 10:52 AM |
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lightblue
LIF Adult
Member since 1/17 2249 total posts
Name:
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Re: Disney - 1st Trip
Posted by FirstMate
Posted by lightblue
I would also advise working with a TA your first trip- they are free to use and some of them will book your dining and fast passes at no charge.
I think this is such a misunderstood point and I'm glad you mentioned it. I think people think they pay TA's or that they pay more so the TA gets a cut.
Yup this is what my in-laws thought. That there was no possible way the TA would do all of this for free.
One thing I will say is check if the TA will do the dining and FP for free. The one I just used, her agency uses an outside Disney planning company to do dining reservations, and if you wanted FP's done they wanted $200 from me. So needless to say I did my FP's myself.
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| Posted 9/27/19 11:26 AM |
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PitterPatter11
Baby Boy is Here!
Member since 5/11 7619 total posts
Name:
Momma <3
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Disney - 1st Trip
I didn't use a TA and I had no problem organizing everything myself and it wasn't all that time consuming. We are a family of 3 and I got everything included for under $3200 (all meals and flights included).
We stayed at Pop Century for 7 days, 6 nights and got a 4 day hopper pass with the basic free dining plan. We did no character meals and I honestly do not feel like we missed out on anything. My son still got to meet all his favorite characters and I didn't spend an arm and a leg on meals and waste a huge chunk of time sitting down to eat.
We did some long days (we got there well before drop and didn't leave until the evening), but my son was a trooper. He's 5. We took a "rest day" in the middle of our trip, which was definitely needed.
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| Posted 9/27/19 1:23 PM |
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nycgirl
Angels!
Member since 3/09 7721 total posts
Name:
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Re: Disney - 1st Trip
How to do a vacation is really subjective.
I have 3 kids. Ages 4, 7 & 9.
We are happy going for 3-4 days and doing parks for 2-3 days. While you can stay longer, the kids get “Disneyed out” after 2 days at the parks. I think combining a few days in Disney with a few at the beach is ideal! We do that about once every year. We def save at least a day to spend at our hotel in disney/Orlando.
We like MK for 1-2 days (bonus points if is during the Halloween or Christmas party events) and we have been doing Epcot one day since my now 4 year old DD is small and many other parks have height requirements that don’t work for us. Don’t park hop. It’s expensive and takes a lot of time to travel especially with kids. I also found inter park travel to be unpleasant. My kids can hang... so we don’t go to the room for a nap.
I really enjoyed Bippidy Boppity Boutique with my 6 year old girl! The kid understands the dialogue of the “fairy godmother in training” hairdresser and it was very fun. I did it outside of the park such as not to waste park hours. My daughter’s experience was almost 2 hours and was exceptional. Book early and it does hold for the next day.
Hotels are easy... Disney has a website that’s easy to check for prices and features. You can also stay offsite. There are a ton of hotels that are all nice.
For travel agents... it may help to use one the first time. I like having control of my whole reservation and it’s really actually uncomplicated (vs international travel), so I don’t. My sister did use a travel agent and when I took away some things that she was recommended (like a park hopper and being at parks all days she was there), I saved her a lot. Not sure how they get reimbursed.. but there has to be incentive for them to help you. Paranoid me says they may not be working for YOUR best interest (but I honestly don’t know how they get reimbursed for their time/effort).
I travel light. No stroller (though you will see much older kids sitting, it was easy for my then 3 year old to walk the whole day in the park). I don’t stress the fast pass and just pile a few my kids will love in the AM and then add on using my phone so we don’t have to wait long in line.
Disney Springs is essentially a huge outdoor shopping mall with food. It has a Bippity boppity in it. It’s a decent way to spend a few hours before or after travel without paying to enter the parks.
As for dinner, I thought the food in general was bad at Disneyworld. Best food was surprisingly at Adventureland in MK. We tend to eat lots of small things through the day (ice cream) and have one nice meal. I did do the Beast Castle for dinner twice (it was borderline inedible), and Cinderella castle once (also bad food and the character interaction was Meh... you get much better by waiting in line for a character or using fast pass). Here, I think staying off site helps. Even the Universal associated restaurants are really good.
Have a good time... you can’t really go wrong and after spending a bit of time on the Disney site, you will be set.
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| Posted 9/27/19 4:38 PM |
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queensgal
Smile
Member since 4/09 3287 total posts
Name:
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Re: Disney - 1st Trip
Here was our first trip: ages 5 (girl) and 3 (boy)
Stayed at art of animation lion king suite (highly recommend). Had groceries for breakfast/snacks delivered from garden grocer - great way to save time/ cash.
Day 1: travel day - Disney springs for dinner (Irish dancing place)
Day 2: magic kingdom with lunch at Cinderella castle
Day 3: Epcot in morning. Oktoberfest place lunch (buffet and fun music show). Hollywood studios afternoon - rain this day so indoor shows at HS worked well.
Day 4: chef Mickey breakfast then time at hotel pool. Disney springs dinner (t Rex)
Day 5: animal kingdom and then Epcot for dinner/late afternoon - we got snacks (and booze!) at each country
Day 6: magic kingdom with be our guest lunch. Ended day a bit early due to fatigue.
Day 7: some hotel pool time then checkout
You will get a lot of advice on this board. Do what’s best for you. Plan an enjoyable pace with time for rest. I do think the entire thing can be over stimulating and we needed breaks. My advice is don’t try to over due it. You can always stay longer at a park than originally planned but it’s not worth it if the little ones need a break. Prioritize a few things and go into it knowing you cannot do it all.
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| Posted 9/27/19 7:56 PM |
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pnbplus1
Family
Member since 5/09 5751 total posts
Name:
Mommy
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Re: Disney - 1st Trip
I'm going to add that if you do your research, you can plan the trip yourself. The disboards have lots of valuable information and will help you educate yourself about all the things to see and do, how to book fast passes and restaurants, all of it. And as for food reservations, yes, the booking window opens way in advamce but it doesn't mean you can't get reservations you want later. We have AP's and plan trips 2-3 weeks in advance and I don't have a problem getting the restaurants I want at the times I want. You just need to be willing to check for availability, and modify times until you get what you want.
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| Posted 9/28/19 4:34 PM |
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b2b777
LIF Adult
Member since 9/09 4474 total posts
Name:
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Disney - 1st Trip
Thank you all -- this is very helpful all around !
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| Posted 9/30/19 10:28 AM |
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FirstMate
My lil cowboy
Member since 10/10 7790 total posts
Name:
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Re: Disney - 1st Trip
Posted by pnbplus1
I'm going to add that if you do your research, you can plan the trip yourself. The disboards have lots of valuable information and will help you educate yourself about all the things to see and do, how to book fast passes and restaurants, all of it. And as for food reservations, yes, the booking window opens way in advamce but it doesn't mean you can't get reservations you want later. We have AP's and plan trips 2-3 weeks in advance and I don't have a problem getting the restaurants I want at the times I want. You just need to be willing to check for availability, and modify times until you get what you want.
And mousedining.com is really helpful in alerting you when times become available!
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| Posted 9/30/19 10:47 AM |
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