[shawnandjeff]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this board and this is my first post. My hubby and I (no kids) are going to Disney in March...we're driving down and will be camping at the FW campground in our new popup. I have been to Disney but it was sooo long ago. My questions are mainly around the dining plan stuff. We didn't purchase that and I'm no 2nd quessing whether we should have. Is it possible to do the trip with making the advanced dining reservations? I just can't see us being so organized as to know where we'll be and when in advance. But after reading alot of the posts, yikes! It looks like we need to! Help...and suggestions/advice/input/recommendations welcome!!!

Thanks!

Shawn

[Elmo]

Welcome...

I'll take a crack at it... assuming you are asking if you need to make ADR's - but you did not purchase the dining plan...

ADR's aren't mandatory (regardless of whether you are on the dining plan), but you'll likely have trouble (an understatement perhaps) finding a seat at a "sit-down" dinner after about 4PM. Character meals are usually booked well in advance too.

If you are easy going and not too picky about your meals, you will do OK.

My suggestion is to make a couple ADR's. If you need to cancel, you can always do that later - but at least you have a few booked.

[Andrea]

I believe that if it's your first time (or at least sort of your first time), you're going to have a better time if you've got at least a general plan. Otherwise I feel you'll waste a lot of time standing around wondering what you're going to do next instead of actually doing things.

If I were you, I'd make some decisions. First- is it important to have a nice, sit-down meal every night? If so, then definitely get the dining plan, because even counting that most people would never order as much food as is on it, it's a great deal. If you're not planning to sit down, or only to sit down a couple of times, you may want to skip the dining plan.

I'd come up with a general idea of what you want to do each day, and which park you want to visit, and also come up with an idea of where you might like to have a sit-down meal (if any). Then see if any of them line up- for example, if you want to eat at the California Grill in the Contemporary, is there a day when you'd be at the Magic Kingdom, because it's easy to get from one place to another? Consider park hours, too- if the park is open until 8, do you really want a 7:30 dinner reservation, or would you rather stay until the park closes and eat at 8:30?

This may sound overwhelming. But here's the thing... if you tell us what you're thinking you want to do, there are a LOT of anxious planners here who would love to help you put together a schedule and some ADRs.

[iluvwdw]

Like Andrea said, if you plan to do a sit down meal every day, the Dining Plan is for you! I tried the Dining Plan for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it was AMAZING!!!!! Since we always plan a sit down dinner anyway, it was a REALLY great value for us!

As far as what restaurants you want to go to...you should really consider what kind of places you want to eat. You should check out the dining section of All Ears Net (Dining at Walt Disney World) You can check out menus from each and every restaurant on Disney property! Including Counter Service places!

If you have questions on a particular restaurant, just ask here. Chances are someone has been there.

Have fun planning!

Oh, and welcome to MouseBuzz!!!!!!

[catfish1999]

I think that your decision to purchase or not to purchase the DP would depend on your dining choices. If you want a sit-down meal each day, then yes, it may be for you, but if you are more snackers than diners, it might not pay for you to get it.
Just m/h/o of course!

Oh, and WELCOME TO MB! We love helping first timers, so ask away!

[catfish1999]

Ha! Kim and I posted the same thing at the same time!
Great minds eh?

[shawnandjeff]

Thank you everyone. We will have to sit down and do some planning I think! I will definitely be back to ask for suggestions...once we figure out where we'll be and when. I will definitely check out that link about the restaurants...we're pretty basic...meat and potatoes or Italian usually works for us. We eat out every night at home so I would imagine we'll that on vacation as well. I think our first plan of action will be to come up with a simple agenda of what park to visit and when. By chance, are there sample itineraries here somewhere? After I finish typing, I'll do a search.

Thanks again...we're so excited!!!

[llama]

First of all - welcome to Mousebuzz! You've come to the right place if you'd like some help in planning. To say we're needy is an understatement. Nothing we love better than helping plan Disney vacations.

As for itineraries - I would suggest that you go out today and buy a copy of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. It's invaluable. And will answer just about any question you might have. It also has sample itineraries for almost any situation. Put it by your bed. Read a couple of chapters every night.

And hang around here - we're happy to help! And don't panic - there's still lots of time to get everything sorted so that you'll have a terrific time!

[emamasa]

Originally Posted by llama

First of all - welcome to Mousebuzz! You've come to the right place if you'd like some help in planning. To say we're needy is an understatement. Nothing we love better than helping plan Disney vacations.

As for itineraries - I would suggest that you go out today and buy a copy of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. It's invaluable. And will answer just about any question you might have. It also has sample itineraries for almost any situation. Put it by your bed. Read a couple of chapters every night.

And hang around here - we're happy to help! And don't panic - there's still lots of time to get everything sorted so that you'll have a terrific time!

You can also borrow it from the library - I think the librarian knew what I was after when she saw me coming! Have fun!!

[Cavey]

Shawn,
Welcome to MB!

Let's get you started on Disney Planning 101!

First, Llama is right (as usual). Get the Unofficial Guide. Read it. Use it. Plan by it. The Guide has built in touring plans that are SURE to help you get more out of your vacation (especially since March gets fairly busy with Spring Breaks).

Second, tied into point one, you HAVE to go with a plan. I've been to WDW 4 times since 2001, and I still haven't seen it all. But we always go prepared with a plan. There's nothing sadder than talking to someone after their WDW vacation and hearing them say, "We didn't know Disney offered that," or "All we did was stand in lines." A few hours of planning can make or break a vacation (again, the Unofficial Guide will be a great help in this).

Third, you need to view Disney Dining as an "experience," rather than a quick meal. Disney's restaurants are inexpliciable. You'll get a 1000 different answers on this board as to where you should eat (Spoodles), but we'd all agree that Disney Dining is as memorable as the theme parks!

Last (for now), FW is a fantastic place to stay. For a Pop-up Camper (as we have), you'll want either the 1500 or 2000 loop. Also, make sure to give yourself a day just to hang out at FW. It's more than a camp ground.

Hope that helps. Stick around MB, and we'll help you the best we can.

Oh, you can get the UG at any chain bookstore in the Vacation Planning/Travel section.

[Cavey]

Originally Posted by emamasa

You can also borrow it from the library - I think the librarian knew what I was after when she saw me coming! Have fun!!

Yeah, but you can't use the tear out pages in the back if you borrow it.

[catfish1999]

Originally Posted by shawnandjeff

Thank you everyone. We will have to sit down and do some planning I think! I will definitely be back to ask for suggestions...once we figure out where we'll be and when. I will definitely check out that link about the restaurants...we're pretty basic...meat and potatoes or Italian usually works for us. We eat out every night at home so I would imagine we'll that on vacation as well. I think our first plan of action will be to come up with a simple agenda of what park to visit and when. By chance, are there sample itineraries here somewhere? After I finish typing, I'll do a search.

Thanks again...we're so excited!!!

For Italian, try Portobello Yacht Club at Downtown Disney. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm

[iluvwdw]

Originally Posted by Cavey

Yeah, but you can't use the tear out pages in the back if you borrow it.

But you CAN photo copy them!

[shawnandjeff]

Guess where I'll be stopping tomorrow...the nearest bookstore!

Thanks for the tip on what loop to request a site on too!

I'll be searching lots of forums for all the great input from everyone!

[Jen]

Looks like you've been given some great advice! I've nothing to add, but I wanted to welcome you to Mousebuzz!