[Arial]

Hello! Our family is going on our first family vacation....and it is to Disney World! The age range is from 8-17 excluding the 'elders'. I was wondering if there were any packing mistakes you have made in the past...

we are renting a caravan to go down because there are 6 of us. We are also staying at the Westgate Villas...has anyone heard any good or bad things about it?

We are going to be visiting Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and MGM....we would like to eat lunch at each park, do any of you recommend any restraunts? We are looking for sit-down and interesting because we have an 8 year old..

Thank you all for your help on this forum!


http://www.NoSecretsOnline.com

[mickey]

Arial, welcome to DisneyCentral. I have heard that Westgate is pretty nice, one of the nicer timeshare villas in Orlando. It won't compare to the Disney resorts, but I am sure that it was substantially less expensive.

Westgate Vacation Villas

Usually, our big mistake is packing too much. Especially if you are staying in a villa, you should have a laundry room.

As far as restaurants go, browse around and you will find some good suggestions. If you have any questions about a particular restaurant, feel free to ask.

Arial, by the way, forum rules prohibit web site advertising or links to other sites unless they are deemed useful to other members. Since you are new, I just wanted to let you know.

[Arial]

Thanks so much! oh, does anyone know how to get photo sessions without just running into them? Can you schedule photo sessions? Oh, is there anything we definately shouldn't miss while we're there? And is there a Cracker Barrel near Disney? lol We love that place and we have a few gold cards. Thanks again and sorry about the link...

[PiratesFan]

As far as photo sessions, the best place to get a Family portrait is in the camera store in Downtown Disney. We chose to get a family portrait with Mickey with our package deal but anyone can get a portrait done. The next best way to get pictures with the characters is to attend one of the many Character Meals, like Chef Mickey in the Contemporary, Donalds's Brunch in AK, Ohana's in Polynesian, and others. This way you have the character's undivided attention for video/photos, at least for a few seconds. Hope this helps and may the fairy dust travel with you on your stay! :)

[Arial]

Thank you for all your help! My mom wants to know if Eeyore's tail comes off...and she wants to have breakfast just with him...but aren't the breakfasts with all the characters, and however many guests want to go? Thanks again!

[mickey]

The best place to see Eeyore is at the Crytal Palace in the MK. He can also be found at Discovery Island Character Landing in the AK, Disney Characters on Holiday Bus in EPCOT, Toontown Hall Of Fame at the MK and the Great Movie Ride Courtyard.

Character meals are one set of characters covering an entire restaurant. In the case of Crystal Palace, it is about 80 tables. The characters will come around to your table and spend time with everyone, usually about 1 minute each, or less. They are also sometimes available near the front door for a while. I believe that Crystal Palace has Eeyore, Pooh, Piglet and Tigger. And no, Eeyore's tail does not come off, he would spend all day chasing people around the parks.

[Arial]

LOL true...my mom wants his tail as a souvenier...she said she's gonna take scissors so it's a good thing we're not flying lol. She's pretty funny...she's gettting more excited than I am!

My brother wants to meet Snow White...do you know where she is in the park usually?

Which rides are best for the older audience...OH and are all the fast passes at all the rides? Do you have to purchase a swipe card or soemthing to get one...or does it have soemthing to do with your ticket?

[Dawn S]

Originally posted by Arial
LOL true...my mom wants his tail as a souvenier...she said she's gonna take scissors so it's a good thing we're not flying lol. She's pretty funny...she's gettting more excited than I am!

My brother wants to meet Snow White...do you know where she is in the park usually?

Which rides are best for the older audience...OH and are all the fast passes at all the rides? Do you have to purchase a swipe card or soemthing to get one...or does it have soemthing to do with your ticket?

Welcome to the boards & have fun on your trip! It will be a blast, especially with the awesome info you have access to on this site!

As for Snow White...I've had good luck recently meeting her in Toontown. At the meet & greet there, they have 3 rooms & I've been finding Snow White in there quite a bit. You can also always ask the CMs that are out with other characters. They can usually tell you who will be appearing, when & where throughout the park.

[mickey]

Question overload....

Snow White can only be seen at Cinderella's Royal Table and every once and a while at the Fantasyland Skyway station.

All Characters and where they can be seen

As far as fastpass, it is only on some of the rides, usually those you would consider the main attractions, and you just use your park pass.

Arial, most of these questions have been answered a couple of times in the forums. Do a search for "fastpass" or whatever, and you will see a list of threads were fastpass was discussed. See if your questions have already been answered, and if you can't find an answer, or you need a better explanation, then ask away. Make sense?

[Arial]

Oh, ok thanks everyone for helping me out!

[Dana]

Chef Mickey's!!! I love going there for a sit-down meal. You may not be able to do lunch, but perhaps an early dinner would work out. It's a great character Meal at the Comtemporary. It's just a monorail ride away from MK. I enjoy it as much as my 8 year old. So much so, that we go at least twice every vacation. The prices aren't bad so it won't break you. Have a great experience. One trip will hook you for life :)

[brumcg]

Arial asked:

I was wondering if there were any packing mistakes you have made in the past...

We did great on our last trip although I did make one mistake... I only packed one belt for myself. I bought it right before the trip at a great price. Of course, at day 4, I figured out that "great price" meant "cheap construction." I couldn't find a belt on-property anywhere...until I finally stumbled across some in Epcot at Mexico.

And I will categorically deny that the belt broke due to all of the great meals we had! :)

Bruce

[Goofette]

Since you are staying at Villas, I'm sure you will have some snack food. I actually packed some food in a small box so it wouldn't get smushed on the drive down. That came in handy after a swim at the pool when everyone was hungry, or for a quick breakfast before we left for the parks. We ate out a lot but having something in the room helped save some money and was convenient.