Me and my family are planning to go to Disney World for the first time the first week of May. We are going to be staying at the Disney Caribiean Beach Resort so can anyone give me any advice on how to make the most out of my first Disney experiance :-)
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I went to Disney for the first time a few years ago. I referenced this site for a lot of information.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/
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how many days and do you want to go to all their parks?

we generally go every year, the parks will take an entire day if you really want to do every ride possible. get there early and grab fast passes for the long wait rides. get hopper passes just in case you miss something.

it's going to be pretty hot by then also, expect it to rain in the mid afternoon most days and then for it to clear up so plan to eat lunch around then. unless you have a food pass avoid eating there as much as you can. the food is okay and not worth the price.
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how many days and do you want to go to all their parks?

We are staying 7 days and are planning to go to all the parks :-)
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I'm guessing your family includes children? If so how old... I can write up pages of information for you about disney but a lot of it would be negated if you have young children...
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A couple of cheap things inside the park:

If you have young children, my daughter loved the character autogragh thing so we stood in a lot of lines. Mickey ,Minnie, and the princess lines take the longest, but she had a ball.

Also a kind of fun thing to look out for around the park are thoses quater chrushing machines. They are hiddien throughout all the parks and feature different images depending on where you are. We grabbed a collection book and it turned into a fun thing for all of us to look out for while running around the park.
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I've been going to Walt Disney World since 1983, I love it there! For a family the best advice I have is the Disney dinning plan. Money well spent, especially for a family. It allows you to eat wherever you want three times a day with snack and drinks between your meals for the kids. Last time we were at Disney World was in 2008 for eight days and the meal plan paid for itself on day 4. You'll be able to eat at restaurants you wouldn't normally dine at due to $$$$$. It's worth checking into! Have fun it's a great palce for kids of all ages!!!


:-)


Chris.....
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Epcot was my favorite park when I was a kid. Be sure to go inside the ball at Epcot and get on the ride. MGM was pretty boring I believe. Magic Kingdom was pretty cool.
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I'd recommend going to http://www.touringplans.com and getting a plan for each day. Based upon your objectives (kids/adults/arrival time/etc), it'll give you a print out of the sequence to go to attractions. This results in shorter waiting times and allows you to see more than people who go in without a plan. Another great message board to learn about all things disney is http://www.disboards.com. You can get all kinds of tips for the parks, resorts, transportation, dining, you name it.

Crowd-wise, you should be in pretty good shape though. My wife and I went the same week last year and it was pretty slow. We got on virtually everything with no more than a 20 minute wait. You'll want to utilize fast passes for attractions like Toy Story Mania(the best ride @ Disney right now), Soarin, Test Track, and a handful of others.

Hopefully your weather is better than ours was: 8 days/7 nights of 93-94 degree sun. It was 3 showers/day for us. If you're on the Disney Dining Plan, hopefully you've made all of your dinner reservations. My favorite restaurants:
Le Cellier, Germany, Chef Mickeys, Crystal Palace, Boma(breakfast and dinner), and 50's Prime Time Cafe are just a few.
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If you plan on doing alot of the rides use the passes. Get a pass then wait in line at another ride then go to the pass ride. It makes it a little smoother.
MGM is alot of fun, they have side shows movie character meets. The toy Story Ride was the best of all the rides at the park fun for all and interactive. This ride is packed all the time so get you passes see the rest of the park then go back.
Note: we got our passes for toy story at 0900 and we could not get into the ride until 1445 if this give you any indecation of how busy this ride is.

Be sure to do down time because when you get home you will need another week to wind down.
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After doing Disney World with the family recently my advice is this: Schedule at least 3 days after going to Disney for time for some R&R, you'll need it :-)
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This is all great stuff! My family has been going to Disney World since the early 90's and we go back every year.

Like others have said, plan ahead. There are lots of resources (web sites, books, etc.) pick what works best for you and go with a plan. Having said that, you still need to be flexible (e.g., if it is pouring rain you may want to do something besides a water park :-)).


Some other suggestions:

• Get park hopper passes and don't be afraid to move between parks. Some parks are busier at different times of the day so try to take advantage of that (planning tools will help you here)
• A second vote for the dinning plan; worth the money if you are eating at the parks or resorts
• Don't be afraid to use the buses -- they are pretty reliable and you can get anywhere and it really is easier than driving
• Don't be afraid to visit other resorts for meals, character events, etc. Often the resort restaurants are not as busy as those at the parks.
• Don't be afraid to use the monorail to move between Epcot and the Magic Kingdom
• In the parks (with your plan) get your fast passes first and then ride other rides. As soon as you can get a second fast pass (usually after an hour) do it. Usually we send our youngest (a teen) to run and pick them up and meet us at the next ride
• If you can manage it, try to catch the fireworks shows at the Magic Kingdom, Studios, and Epcot. Phantasmic at the studios has its own theater while the others are viewable from most anywhere in the park.
• The parades are also enjoyable, but the crowds can be initimidating for some
• Remember to stop and enjoy the Tequila bar at Epcot :-)

We are going in June with another family for our son's high school graduations (both kids are bringing a friend, so we probably won't see them except at meal times. If then :-))
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[quote=elderboy02;769266]Epcot was my favorite park when I was a kid./QUOTE]

Epcot rules. When I was a kid I bought a Katana in "Japan" and they gave me two options. 1) Pick it up outside the park in 3 hours or 2) Have an armed escort walk me out of the park with my purchase. :-) I picked it up at the gate but still think it would have been funny to recieve an armed escort passed Micky Mouse while holding a sword. :-)
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get yourself this book
Image


http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=26

it will give you all the info you need to know. :-)
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One of the authors, Len Testa, is the brother of a BOTL (Mike Testa). He does not hang out on CA much though...

Mike and his wife got married at WDW and occasionally help out with the book.

Mike's in Merida, Mexico right now and I am waiting for him to come back with some cigars :-)
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as an adult epcot is the coolest for me. my dad and i spent all day walking around the park drinking beers from each country. that was an interesting day. needless to say i didn't drive home that night.

also, if you are taking a little one (we had my nephew with us who was just shy of 1) we had to do a baby swap (rofl). they do not advertise this but it was a way for us to get fast passes and ride a ride a 2nd time quickly. we did this with soarin, went and got fast passes for us all. almost all of us went except for my sister in law and then we came back and went again with her while one of us stayed back.

http://www.mouseplanet.com/dtp/wdwgu...s/babyswap.htm

honestly i enjoy seaworld more than i do disney but that is just me. busch gardens isn't to far away also depending on how much time you have.
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I can't believe nobody has stated the obvious:

MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR ASS OVER TO CORONA CIGARS ON SAND LAKE BLVD!

PS: I work at WDW. PM me with any specific questions.
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I'm guessing your family includes children? If so how old... I can write up pages of information for you about disney but a lot of it would be negated if you have young children...
__________________
I forgot too mention my son is 8 and my daughter is 5
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I think the best thing you can do is take shilala with you.
Mind ya, he ain't cheap, but he is easy. :-)
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I think the best thing you can do is take shilala with you.
Mind ya, he ain't cheap, but he is easy.

LOL to easy :-) Lets do it we can rent a condo and skipp the hotel room:-)
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