Must do's for first timers?

[rafjen]

I have to agree Universal and Disney is plenty for 2 weeks- Definitely build in pool time- we prefers early starts then chill in the afternoon and possible go back out but teenagers may not agree. You will get lots more done in the parks first thing-
We like at least 4 days for universal.
I know you have teenagers but a character meal is a must do for us- We loved Garden Grill lunch.
Get an ice cream in Diagon Alley and we loved eating in the Leaky Cauldren. Hagrids is amazing well worth a wait.
Do some evening fireworks and shows- they are amazing.
We don't do much shopping- the exchange rate is poor and we have far too many other things we would rather do- however teenagers may disagree.

[Shazzabelle]

Originally Posted by miikeyblue

We're there for 14 days, though day 1 I guess we'll be too tired to do much - this will be my son's birthday, and he loves Bubba Gump's in London so we'll probably head down to the Orlando branch for some dinner before chilling out later.

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We love Bubba Gumps too. If you don't already have one get a Landrys card, and make your birthday a Florida one . You pay $25 for the card, but then get $25 off your first meal, and an extra $25 off if you're there during your 'birthday' month... it also gives you priority seating, which means you don't have to queue with everyone else, just show your card and you'll be seated first. (The manager may even come and see you, to check you're enjoying your meal!)

landrysinc/selectclub.asp

[tink111]

I think 2/3 days in universal is enough and the rest disney/rest days. You dont even need to build in full rest days in my opinion, half park days and half rest days are my fave! Chill in the morning and head to the park for afternoon/eve etc!
Make a list of everything you want to do and prioritize- fast passes will help with the attractions

[WDWfangirl]

As others have said, make the most of your Disney 14 day tickets and your Disney dining plan. There is more than enough to do to keep you occupied.

We've now done 2 two week holidays of just Disney and have had a great time. On our last trip we didn't even leave the World once. I know this isn't for everyone but we had splurged on the accommodation and wanted to keep other expenses to a minimum. With the exception of Universal I would recommend saving all the extras for your next trip and possibly staying off site while you do them.

Definitely aim to get to the parks early. I wouldn't waste your first day chilling by the pool. You will be awake early because of jet lag so take advantage of that and rope drop a park before the queues build up. We aim to do parks for the first 2 days (getting there early and leaving mid/late afternoon when we feel tired) and then have a water park day for the third day and fireworks in the evening somewhere.

[DanLees]

We were sort of in this situation last year. We hadn't been for 7 years and the prior trip was when the boys were small.
The boys were 8 and 10 last year.

We had 2 weeks and decided to wholly concentrate on Disney.
We had 2 visits to each park, plus 3 visits to the water parks.
By limiting it to Disney we could also go to a baseball game, KSC and a Gator spotting trip.

It also allows you to actually have a bit of a rest which you will probably need.

Saves about a grand too...

We're heading back in February and this time doing Universal and 1 day at HS just for Galaxy's edge.

[Buzz n' Piglet]

You will be awake at silly o'clock in the morning on the first day.

Make the most of it and get up and go to one of the parks for opening time.

We have been known to go to Walmart at 4.30am on our first day as our body clock is all over the place.

Personally think you are trying to fit in too much. I would miss both KSC and Discovery Cover this time.

I would use the money saved from this to stay in one of the Lowes Universal hotels for the night and do two consecutive days at Universal to get the FOLP, and mean you only need to make one trip there and back from WDW. Traffic can be bad and it can take a looooong time.

Will you have a car?

Baseball is in Tampa, so that will take up a decent amount of a day as well. Roughly 90 minutes each way plus the 3 or 4 hours the game is on. Even longer if you dont have a car.

Also with having the dining plan I would limit how many meals are eaten outwith WDW.

Another point on the dining plan, get a list of where you want to eat made as you will need to be quick with reservations at 180+10, otherwise you might not get places you want to eat.

Hope you get the Florida bug. Your bank balance wont be happy for that mind you!

[Bozza]

As above Tampa is where you'd need to go for Major League Baseball.

However, I always strongly recommend people take in minor league if they get the chance. Florida Fire Frogs play in Kissimmee and it's a nice relaxed (and pretty cheap) evening out soaking up some Americana.

You could probably try and combine it with a day at Kennedy, stopping on the way back for the game.

[miikeyblue]

Thanks for all the replies. Would have come back sooner but life gets in the way...

Happy to ditch baseball, and Kennedy Space Centre.

Discovery Cove is one that the kids are looking forward to the most, so not much wiggle room there.

The birthday meal, which I know is gonna be hard work and a bit of a waste with the dining plan, may also be non-negotiable. He might not be up for it when it comes to it, he tires quite easily and having spent the day on the plane he might prefer somewhere more local. I'm happy either way - I work nights, so used to feeling jetlagged and completely knackered all the time anyway, it just depends how the rest of them feel when we get there! Definitely keen to make full use of the dining plan wherever else we can though.

This will be our one and only trip, at least, for a very, very long time, so keen to go all out and pack as much in to each day as we reasonably can. Sleep is for wimps, right?

I'm willing to come back to this thread in August and eat my words

[ziggyzag]

If you can book a night at one of the Universal hotels to get the express passes for both days be easy to do Universal in two days then. One day out for Discovery cove then the rest on Disney.

First time we went we did 3 weeks and didn't do all we wanted too, its surprising how the heat and humidity drains you!

[discoclare]

Do they like water parks? We love them as a family and did both Disney ones and VB. I would say VB might be a must do if your boys are water park fanatics.