Aug 19 trip questions. First timer.

[Ricky_Spanish]

We are staying at Caribbean beach from 19th Aug to 2nd Sep. We have the normal dining with 1 TS and 1 QS per day. There are 4 of us and 2 kids will be age 6 and 4. This is our first time and we were planning to just stay with Disney.

I'm just starting to get my head around the fast pass and dining reservations etc.

I was wondering what parks to hit on which days? I guess MK will be the most visited. Is AK worth multiple visits? Can anyone offer any advice on what parks to hit and where to put a rest day? I guess magic hours may afect this. What would you do on rest day? Hotel, disney springs or water park etc? I'm starting to look at rides but taking into account one child is 117cm and the other 103cm so it depends how much they grow. I've found the restrictions on dibb but am not sure how to do the fast passes if it's for ride my youngest can't go on? I've read it's better to use FP early with young kids as they become tired and hot later (and prob me too).

What are late EMH for e.g. 22.00 - 0.00?

We think we may get some cereal in for the kids to have in the room before we head out so I'm trying to figure out how to set the timing of meal booking and looking at the character stuff.

What sort of food do the snack credits include? Is it hot dogs, ice cream, popcorn etc?

I've linked booking to MDE. Will dining and fp option become available? It has a check in option. Is this worth using when available? I'm assuming at check in you get the magic bands so am not sure why this option is present (and doesn't work yet anyway as I tried it).

How do you book the magic express airport transfer? Can you not just turn up?

Sorry if some of this is answered elsewhere. I've been reading loads the last few days and am starting to struggle to take it all in.

[dippiedawnie]

Wow that is a long list of question!

We always go at that time of year and it is hot but it s the humidity that really saps your energy. I would agree with what others have said. Book fastpasses early for park opening and get your must dos done then if you are all cranky and hot you can take a break and not feel too frustrated.
We tend to have a quick Danish in the room with a cuppa and head out early then stop for food about 11.30. Use the time to find somewhere cool to sit in and eat.
Lots of this depends on your kids and what they can manage and how tired they get so you may need to play some of this on a day to day basis.

You will find it starts to quieten down for your last 4 or 5 days as all USA schools go back so that helps.

My best advice is- make a list of must dos for all of you. Book whatever that list is and then anything else is a bonus.

We spent a lot of time by the pool and in water parks when ours was younger and found that was what he really enjoyed. That frustrated us as you pay a lot of money to go to Didney but could go anywhere for a pool but we realised quickly he just wanted to be a kid, be with other kids and have fun so we factored in some kid activity time regularly rather than a whole day on rides.

They will love it and you just have to book what you think is best for your 2.

We have never done DDP so can't comment on that.

Re magical express -who did you book through? If direct with Disney then ring them.

[Ricky_Spanish]

Thanks for that. We did book direct with Disney.

[Eccle]

I would agree with doing fastpasses in the morning. Time in each park will depend to some extent on what you enjoy. MK and Epcot I would say you definitely need more than 1 day for, the other two could be done in a day but with the tiering of the fastpasses and the heat you might be better to do a couple of shorter days.

The parks involve a massive amount of walking, so having a quieter day every few days if you can gives a some recovery time. Having said that, with younger kids you may be better mixing shorter park days with pool time etc.

As well as height it’s worth thinking about how you child will be with rides, eg they will both be tall enough for Tower of Terror, but not all 4 or even 6 year olds would be happy going on it. If there is a ride one isn’t tall enough for, they have a parent swap - ask when you are entering the queue. It has changed since I last went and is now added to your magic band but it would let the other parent take the older child back on too

[loves2plan]

You can book the Magical Express online yourself:
secure.reservations.disney.g...US/dme/dmeform
If you just turn up, they will still book you on to a coach, but it will take a bit longer. You'll then need to arrange the return pick up, so it's just easier to book it online.

Online check in just saves a bit of time as they have everything ready for you, and you'll have already set the pin number for your magic bands and linked a card to your room. The pin numbers are needed to redeem DDP credits and charge to your room.

All parks are worth multiple visits, and if you're just doing Disney, you'll have plenty of opportunity to do that. Disney Springs might not interest your children too much as it really just shops and restaurants, but it's nice for a visit. Kids tend to enjoy the Lego shop, but don't try and take them there after a long day as itllt probably be too much for them. Maybe go for dinner after an afternoon/day by the pool, and take in a couple of shops then.

We don't tend to do long park days, but rather half days with pool time. At the start of the holiday when we're up early, we'll do mornings in the parks, then head back to our resort to spend the afternoon by the pool. Later in the holiday, we'll switch it round and lie in a bit, have some pool time and head out afternoon/evening. Kids love pool time just as much as park time, sometimes even more!

I found meal scheduling with the DDP tricky and often got the times wrong. Breakfast is much easier to schedule, and they're a good option for character meals. Then try to schedule dinner TS meals around the time that you'd normally eat at home. QS is easy as you just go when you want. There are only 2 QS meals that you can book which are breakfast and lunch at Be Our Guest and the family dinner at Pizzafari.

There are a huge range of snacks available, but they don't include hot dogs - they'd be a QS meal. Anything on a menu with a snack credit symbol next to it is eligible. It's a little purple symbol and gets you ice creams, drinks, pop corn, cupcakes, fruit pots, vege pots, crisps, Danish pastries, cookies, smoothies, milk shakes... honestly, the list goes on and on. You might find these threads useful to get a better idea of the dining plan and the sort of food available:
https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho... php?t=1011133
https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho... php?t=1013966

[Andybear]

Originally Posted by Ricky_Spanish

Thanks for that. We did book direct with Disney.

See more...

You don't necessarily have to ring Disney - you can just book it online using this form, a lot of us do. You get email confirmation when doing it this way.

secure.reservations.disney.g...torial+Content

[Thorpy]

Originally Posted by Ricky_Spanish

I'm just starting to get my head around the fast pass and dining reservations etc.

I've been reading loads the last few days and am starting to struggle to take it all in.

See more...

I'll bypass the questions for a sec, and focussing on the bigger picture. Before you get overwhelmed and worried that you might not get the perfect holiday... consider the following..

Imagine all the people that turn up knowing nothing of what you've learned so far, but that still have a great holiday. Understand that you're already many steps ahead of many people and realise that you've tapped into the best guide book and collective wisdom there is for UK travellers.

As for advice, menu's are available online for all restaurants, so you can get an idea of what you fancy...working out what and when is a task in itself ! but having done so allows you to be ready to book when the time comes.
Restaurant bookings are only available 180 days beforehand for the public, those staying onsite get I think 10 extra days before this to get ahead of the game, so you're day to book table service restaurants is mid Feb sometime, but someone will clarify exactly I'm sure. We have the same dining plan, and also don't plan to visit other parks. We know from experience that we will have days when we don't go to any parks, or will go in for food and thats it, we also know we will visit all parks more than once.

We travel a week earlier than you. We currently have a list of 11 restaurants and a couple of maybe's. Nothing as to which parks on which days yet, aside from Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom on the first morning.

As for fastpasses, I'll book Magic Kingdom on day one (because we have the restaurant booked), and then when I can book flight of passage that becomes an Animal kingdom day, and then just book something for all days. We're quite happy to not turn up for a fastpass, and there's no penalty.

[loves2plan]

Originally Posted by Thorpy

I'll bypass the questions for a sec, and focussing on the bigger picture. Before you get overwhelmed and worried that you might not get the perfect holiday... consider the following..

Imagine all the people that turn up knowing nothing of what you've learned so far, but that still have a great holiday. Understand that you're already many steps ahead of many people and realise that you've tapped into the best guide book and collective wisdom there is for UK travellers.

As for advice, menu's are available online for all restaurants, so you can get an idea of what you fancy...working out what and when is a task in itself ! but having done so allows you to be ready to book when the time comes.
Restaurant bookings are only available 180 days beforehand for the public, those staying onsite get I think 10 extra days before this to get ahead of the game, so you're day to book table service restaurants is mid Feb sometime, but someone will clarify exactly I'm sure. We have the same dining plan, and also don't plan to visit other parks. We know from experience that we will have days when we don't go to any parks, or will go in for food and thats it, we also know we will visit all parks more than once.

We travel a week earlier than you. We currently have a list of 11 restaurants and a couple of maybe's. Nothing as to which parks on which days yet, aside from Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom on the first morning.

As for fastpasses, I'll book Magic Kingdom on day one (because we have the restaurant booked), and then when I can book flight of passage that becomes an Animal kingdom day, and then just book something for all days. We're quite happy to not turn up for a fastpass, and there's no penalty.

See more...

Just to clarify this bit. People staying onsite don't get to book 10 days ahead of the 180 days. They still book at 180 days, but can book the first 10 days worth of adrs in one go (or length of stay if shorter). They can then book day 11 at 179 days, day 12 at 178 days, and so on. People staying off-site have to book at 180 days on a daily rolling basis. The adr calculator is really useful to work out when your add day is: https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/adr_calculator.php
The fastpass calculator will also work out your fastly booking day for you: https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/fas...calculator.php

[Mumtotwo]

With regards to the rides for your children and suitability or likelihood of riding, could I suggest you have a look at some of the rides on You tube to get an idea of the suitability for them. Gives you an idea of what to expect, there are loads of videos on there to help you make some decisions.

[Ricky_Spanish]

Thanks all. Looking on youtube is a fab idea. I didn't really think to do that.

I've been looking at someone else's trip plan and they have a garden grocer delivery that they pick up on check-in. Is this something you can arrange and if so how?


What is Tony's parade package at MK and BBQ show at AK?