Possibly going to WDW.... Ask The Disney Experts Discuss Possibly going to WDW.... in the Ask The Experts forums; I may be possibly going to WDW with my Mother in February. Regardless if I go or not, my mother will still be going and taking my 9 yr old ...

[heatherhy01]

I may be possibly going to WDW with my Mother in February. Regardless if I go or not, my mother will still be going and taking my 9 yr old niece. This will be their first trip. They/we will be staying offsite in a timeshare. We were only going to do 4 or 5 days at the most of Disney. I know we would never get to see everything in 4-5 days, what suggestions would anyone give on which parks to choose from on the first trip. I do not want to overwhelm them. I had planned on 2 days of MK, a day at DS and a day at Epcot. What would be on your list of MUST DO's? Thanks for any help. I am still undecided on whether I can go or not! I really want to.

[supernova]

4-5 days should be totally fine to see everything. That's a park a day, plus time to go in the evenings when Animal Kingdom shuts down early (depending on when you are planning on going). If it's off-season, you should be able to accomplish everything in the 4-5 days, and the jump in park ticket prices isn't too bad by adding in that one extra day. If you are going to only do the Disney parks over those days, then don't worry about the non-expiration feature -- it will only waste your money. And depending on how many young kids you do wind up bringing, you may or may not need the park hopper feature, though it is nice to have. Plus, as great as it is to plan out a trip, plans do change due to weather, interest, etc once you're there. Don't do what I've seen other friends do and get too caught up in planning out every single second of your visit -- it's a useless and neurotic thing to try to do! Have some ideas in your head and let the trip flow

[TTAfanatic]

I would definitely check out touringplans.com to help plan your trip, they lay out what days are best to visit what parks, and provide touring plans, among other great resourses. I also recommend the book The Unofficial Guide To Walt Disney World, which is affiliated with touringplans, it is a great book that covers pretty much everything you could think of, pick it up at your local bookstore or at amazon (or maybe even your library). If you can afford it, get a parkhopper option on your tickets, that way if you finish up early in one park, you can hop on over to another on the same day. Hope your trip goes well!

[NC_WDW_Daddy]

Agree with TTAFAnatic for the best days to visit and you will be able to experience quite a bit. As a general rule, if you visit the park that held Evening EMH the night before, you will probaly pick the best park for the day. If you have PH tickets, then plan to do Fantasmic on a day when you go to AK. After finishing at AK in the late afternoon, hop over to DHS for dinner and Fantasmic.

[disneymystic]

My first tip would be don't commando, especially with that much time. You aren't going to see everything, but you will get in a lot.


What do they like? Do they have a problem with thrill rides? Do they like shopping, etc.

[heatherhy01]

It is my Mother and nieces first trip, so I do not know what would thrill them. I will check out touringplans .com though. Thanks for the tip.

[zima-cheryl]

I like the idea of checking touring plans to get the best park to visit which day. Since you are off park you won't have accces to EMH, so maximizing your day will be helpful.

I'd say get have them do some reading (unofficial guide, fodor's guide, All Ears web site, order a promotional DVD from WDW, etc) and decide what is a "must do". Get those 4 or 5 things in then everything else is gravy.
Also - if there is someplace you absolutely have to dine, make sure to make an ADR for the meal.

Honestly you just can't do it all... no matter how much time you have, so just go in w/a plan for a few things to do and then just appriciate everything else you get to do.