Must Do's for First Time in Disney

[nats1211]

Originally Posted by FirstTimeDisney

Brill advice thanks. Epcot was actually one I was going to miss! I won't now!

Did you book your character meals before you went?

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The world showcase in Epcot is definitely a must do. Every staff member in each country is from that country and the kids can get a little passport to get stamped, in Japan one of the ladies made my son an origami Pikachu and wrote his name in Japanese on the back, we found little interactions like that really interesting and all the cast members were happy to talk to everyone about their home country.

Yes booked all our character meals at the 180 day mark. I wrote a live trip report in July 2017 if you’re interested in our first time I can link it, we were in a villa then too so it’s a mix of eating onsite and offsite and includes Disney, Universal, Discovery Cove and Seaworld.

[Merryweather]

If you want Character meals definitely book them before you go! Breakfast is the cheapest and one I would definitely recommend is Garden Grill at Epcot with Mickey, Goofy and Chip and Dale. I also love 1900 Park Fayre at the Grand Floridian (at breakfast Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter, with Pooh and Tigger and dinner is Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine and the ugly sisters). Disney you can book 180 days in advance of the day you want to dine and if you have a look on the WDW web site you can find a list of them all. Sorry but I can’t say about Universal!

[Tj28]

I’ve only been once but agree that you must book character meals (ideally at 180 days out) if you want them as they are popular. They are expensive, remember you are paying for the experience more than the food. We did 3 last time and were brilliant, but not sure if I am doing any this time.

Last time, my DDs were 6 and we just focussed on Disney and had a trip out to Kennedy. We easily filled 13 days with just that. I loved Epcot and AK most, and we all loved the waterparks. Hs was a bit “meh” for us. This time we are getting Disney and Universal tickets for our 16 day trip. My DDs will be 10, and are Adrenalin junkies who love Harry Potter, so this was a must for us. It may be worth checking the height requirement of the rides in Universal for your 8 year old. We got the tickets for c. £2400 for the 4 of us.

[FirstTimeDisney]

Originally Posted by nats1211

The world showcase in Epcot is definitely a must do. Every staff member in each country is from that country and the kids can get a little passport to get stamped, in Japan one of the ladies made my son an origami Pikachu and wrote his name in Japanese on the back, we found little interactions like that really interesting and all the cast members were happy to talk to everyone about their home country.

Yes booked all our character meals at the 180 day mark. I wrote a live trip report in July 2017 if you’re interested in our first time I can link it, we were in a villa then too so it’s a mix of eating onsite and offsite and includes Disney, Universal, Discovery Cove and Seaworld.

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Yes please could you send me the link?!

[FirstTimeDisney]

Originally Posted by Tj28

I’ve only been once but agree that you must book character meals (ideally at 180 days out) if you want them as they are popular. They are expensive, remember you are paying for the experience more than the food. We did 3 last time and were brilliant, but not sure if I am doing any this time.

Last time, my DDs were 6 and we just focussed on Disney and had a trip out to Kennedy. We easily filled 13 days with just that. I loved Epcot and AK most, and we all loved the waterparks. Hs was a bit “meh” for us. This time we are getting Disney and Universal tickets for our 16 day trip. My DDs will be 10, and are Adrenalin junkies who love Harry Potter, so this was a must for us. It may be worth checking the height requirement of the rides in Universal for your 8 year old. We got the tickets for c. £2400 for the 4 of us.

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Hi, thanks for your reply. Where did you purchase your tickets? They're currently £2661 for the 4 of us.

[FirstTimeDisney]

Thank you all for your replies! I've read them all and currently researching, making lists and checking prices!

[Animagus]

Hi and welcome
We’ve been twice, both visits in August. Our dd was 8 first visit and 10 on the second one. One off-site stay and one on-site.

Our second visit in 2017 was for 16 nights. We did Disney, Universal and Sea World. DH also had a day at Kennedy. We really love Universal (huge fans of Harry Potter). The rides tend to appeal more to slightly older kids but our dd loved them even when 8!

Our must dos would be: the Disney Festival of Fantady parade, a character meal (our favourite was Tusker House at AKL), the fireworks in MK, all the Harry Potter stuff at Universal, Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach water park, Pandora by day and by night, the shows if you go to Sea World.

Definitely book the dining at 180 days, buy a photo pass for Disney, try a Dole Whip, allow 2 days for Epcot (at least) and, most importantly, be a bit flexible with your plan and don’t try to do it all.

Have fun planning and keep on asking questions on The Dibb.

[nats1211]

Originally Posted by FirstTimeDisney

Yes please could you send me the link?!

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Here you go, you should be able to click through to the next day at the end 😊
https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho... php?t=1036218

[DisneyFoodie]

Our must-do parks are magic kingdom and Epcot. Make sure you allow time for wandering and exploring (especially in Epcot) - if you race from ride to ride you will miss half the point of it!

[Tj28]

Originally Posted by FirstTimeDisney

Hi, thanks for your reply. Where did you purchase your tickets? They're currently £2661 for the 4 of us.

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Sorry it was £2500 but was a Black Friday special with Florida escapes