Off to Florida next week- Firsttimers- can anyone help with an itinery????

[tiredemma]

Got two boys aged 3 and 6, staying on Disney at Port Orleans Resort- fly out on Sat 7th and return 21st april. Have already booked discovery cove for friday 20th April- to chill out before we come home.

Can anyone who has been suggest an itinery of ways to go about things? we have Disney 14 day passes, but dont know how to schedule our holiday- any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also anything that you wouldnt recommend we do while we are there.

many thanks

anyone?

I would recommend getting an up to date copy of "a brit's guide to orlando". It's got a lot of good info about each park and which rides are best suited to which age groups. It also has a section that tells you which days are busiest/quietest at each park which we found to be very accurate.

My top tip has to be to get to the park for opening time. It is much quieter and you can get on the more popular rides with minimal queuing. We did this and because we had been on so many rides in the morning we were happy to leave the park, have some lunch and then spend the afternoon doing something more relaxing like resting round the pool or shopping. Sometimes, we returned again in the evening when it was cooler but they do tend to be busy right up until closing.

We spent more time at Islands of Adventure than anywhere else but it does depend on what rides you prefer.

We waited in what seemed like a massive queue in Disneyworld to meet eeyore, pooh and tigger. We were happy to wait because the queue was under cover and it was raining heavily, otherwise I'm not sure we would have bothered. This was probably one of my DDs highlights and it is still talked about five years later!

ooh- thnaks - will have a look at that guide.

anyone else???

Have you got tickets for anywhere else other than Disney?

For younger children the Disney Parks are better than Universal ones IMO.

For easiest way to see the characters go for a character meal. If your children like Pooh bear et al go to the pavillion in Magic Kingdom for lunch. Or for Mickey and friends try a character breakfast. By far the easiest way to ensure you see them all without the need to queue.

The Disney website has all height restrictiosn on. Measure then in their shoes before you go

This website is really good for up to date info about the Disney parks.

ta hula!

If you do a MN search I am sure there will be lots of other hints and tips too.

We're off shortly too with same age boys.

Have you made meal bookings (ADRs)? These will be pretty essential over Easter. Some restaurants are busier than others, and I've been booking some meals just earlier this week. And I agree with Hulababy - I think it is easier to meet the characters via the character meals rather than to line up for ages (though doubtless we will do both).

Lots of half days are probably in order as you're on site and can use the facilities and transport.

Discovery Cover looks great. We've decided not to do it on this trip as ds2 will be too young to swim with the dolphins (which i view as one of the main attractions). Given it costs a huge amount, we're leaving it for a later trip when ds2 is older.

I've found The Dibb quite useful for asking Disney specific questions. You'll also see a lot of itineraries planned by other people on there.

Oh - if you going to Universal then Island of Adventure have character meals with Spiderman on Thursdays through to Saturdays. We're booked for the 19th!

ladymuck- thanks for that link- its a FAB website isnt it??!!

The pool at the Port Orleans Riverside is fab, our kids (2 and 4 at the time) loved it. I would second ccbb's advice; up and out early to parks for opening and back to the hotel for a rest in the afternoon. We 'did' a park in the morning, had lunch, went to the hotel for lie down/pool, out for tea and another couple of hours at a park, possibly a different one to the morning.

Our kids loved the Disney evening fireworks/parades (we went back to the parks in the evening).

The Buzz Lightyear ride at the Magic Kingdon was a winner. The Animal Kingdom has a great playground in the dinosaur bit where the kids can go digging for bones and adults can sit down (in the shade)!

Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach are defnitiely worh visiting and both have great areas for children. I think you can go an hour earlier than opening if you stay at a Disney hotel. Our dc's still talk about these a year later.

I made reservations (priority seating in Disney speak, I think) for everyday in advance. If you decide not to go it doesn't matter, if you do, you have priority over people who haven't booked.

There is less for that age group IMO at Epcot.

They loved the Whispering Canyon Cafe restaurant at the Disney Wilderness Lodge Hotel (we parksed there, ate and got the boat to the MK in the evening). Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge was great too.

Hope you have a great time .

buy "the brit guide to orlando" - worth every penny. has a guide at the back to which are the quietest days at each park so you can plan your itinerary - worked really well for us

Tiredemma - yes, I've definitely found it useful. And if you can work your way round to searching you probably know quite a bit about my holiday plans! Enjoy your hol!