I was reading a thread earlier where someone was asking how far in advance to plan and now I can't find it.

Anyway, my trip to WDW is in 130 days!!! Our lodging is booked and we are driving. What all do I need to do concerning planning? I plan on staying 7-9 days and only doing Disney since this is my daughter's (5 years old) first trip. I am not staying on the property. Are people booking all dining in advance? I see a lot about this and am confused. Are there any meals that I MUST book, like can't miss things? I have books and have been reading on here, but am still a little confused.

last time I was at WDW, I was 10. And, from what I remember it was just a day trip, no real planning behind it, at least not any that I was aware of.

I need a little help to get the ball rolling, PLEASE!

Thanks!

A lot of us here are planning fanatics! I don't know how old you are, but a lot has changed I am sure, since you were ten. There is a great deal of information on here,(MP) and lots of WDW veterans and seasoned travelers. I will leave the dining questions to them, as they have more experience. Just keep reading and you'll learn lots. Check out the trip reports section too. Lots of good info there. Happy Planning!!!! :) (And don't stress!) Planning is half the fun!

I plan on staying 7-9 days and only doing Disney

By this do you mean only doing the Magic Kingdom?

Or do you mean only doing WDW (covering- Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, MGM & Animal Kingdom)? (As opposed to also doing Universal & Sea World)????

When in May are you going? Are you interested in Character meals or not? Breakfast, or other meals?

If you and your princess are interested in Dining in Cinderella's Castle, particularly for breakfast, you should try to make that ADR (Advanced Dining Reservation) now. Alternately, you can visit with Princesses at the restaurant in Norway for all 3 meals. Chef Mickey's is another popular character meal location (in the Contemporary) and I enjoyed Crystal Palace with my nephews last year (that's Pooh and friends).

Le Cellier in Canada in Epcot is another popular (non-character) location that you want to book now if you're interested in it.

Basically, any time you're going to want to eat at a table-service or buffet restaurant, you need to make your ADRs as soon as you can, so that you don't have to eat at off-times, or get turned away all together. Especially with a 5 year old, I don't think I'd want to be around if meals were delayed too much!

Figure out what parks you'll be at which days, and then plan your table-service meals around that. Since you're staying offsite I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend that you avoid the Extra Magic Hours parks as much as humanly possible. You won't be eligible for them, and they tend to cause the parks to be more crowded. You can find the EMH parks on the official Disney site, and hit 'calendar' - and any day that has them it's listed there. You can also click on individual days to find out if they're running fireworks (at MK) and what time the parades are.

All of WDW and maybe Sea World, but not Universal.

Thanks Cathy! We are going may 9-17 at least, maybe a few days before or after. Do you think the character meals are worth it since you are likely to see them at restaurants anyway?

You won't see characters at restaurants unless it's a character meal. You can see most of them out on the streets, but you'll have to wait in sometimes long lines to get autographs and pictures.

As to dining, if you're going to stick to fast food, you don't need to do any advance planning. But the sitdown restaurants (Disney calls this table service), reservations begin 180 days in advance of the first day of your vacation. And some restaurants do book up almost instantly. My suggestion is to sit down and plot out which park you're going to visit on which days, select a few dining choices for that park, and call Disney Dining as soon as possible (407-WDW-DINE). You don't have to pay money up front for most locations, so if you end up changing your plans you won't be out of pocket. It is considered polite to at least call Disney Dining and let them know if you're going to cancel out on a meal.

Also, don't forget to consider the hotels for dining. Some of the best restaurants on property are in the hotels, including Boma buffet in the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the California Grill, up on top of the Contemporary hotel (although it's most likely booked up already for most popular times). And Epcot is a terrific center for fine dining. If you have any specific questions on restuarants, please feel free to ask.

Good luck!

last time I was at WDW, I was 10. And, from what I remember it was just a day trip, no real planning behind it, at least not any that I was aware of.

Have you seen a current map of WDW property and the individual parks? I can't emphasize enough how *huge* it is! We're talking about an area the size of San Francisco or two times the size of Manhattan! Of course, parks don't cover all of that area, but there are 4 good size parks, 2 water parks, a Shopping and Entertainment district, several night clubs, a hand-full of golf courses, several lakes complete with marinas for boat rentals and private cruises, and over 20 hotels! I know people occasionally do it, but I don't think anyone around this board likes doing WDW as a day trip. I usually spend a week there at a time (on WDW property exclusively) and I am unable to see and do everything. Proper planning is the key to doing as much as you can and having fun doing it. Start by looking up the park hours and special events for the time you will be there on the WDW website, and then start mapping out what restaurants you want to go to. Like has been indicated by others, you won't need reservations for quick-service places (the Disney term for fast-food, like mcdonalds, but much better in most cases) but you'll need reservations for *everything* else. Make those reservations as soon as possible as most of the prime choices are probably already getting booked solid (since you're within the booking time-frame already). If you have some books, you can see most of the restaurants already. Also, check out http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm for a complete listing of restaurants and menus. Once you hit upon what you think you'd like to try, feel free to run your game plan by us here. We're full of opinions! :p Good luck and have fun! :)

Thanks Cathy! We are going may 9-17 at least, maybe a few days before or after. Do you think the character meals are worth it since you are likely to see them at restaurants anyway?

This is only my opinion and others here with more of an eye on adult food tastes are going to disagree, but I am going to book as many character meals as possible for our next trip with under 10's. Queing for characters in the parks can eat up oddles of ride time and make everyone cranky and cross in a hurry if it's hot. If you can guarantee characters at meal times you can at least avoid some of this. Also, the food for children on the children's menus is, also only IMO, rubbish. Most character meals are buffets I think and the children get far more choice.

This is only my opinion and others here with more of an eye on adult food tastes are going to disagree...

No, Scooby, you're a pretty smart person and, based on your decision calculus, the choice to do character meals definitely makes sense. I usually plan to do at least one so I can get the obligatory pictures out of the way even though I don't travel with kids and I have "an eye toward more adult tastes." I do think that buffets tend to not be as good as what you can get at real TS restaurants (as far as a comparison of adult options) and you should try to hit up some of the most popular TS places...they're popular for a reason--Le Cellier springs immediately to mind as a wonderful meal I can't stop talking about better than a month after... but that doesn't rule out doing a few character meals to keep the kids happy and lessen the obligation to stand in line for one more thing (character interaction) in the parks. :)

Also, the food for children on the children's menus is, also only IMO, rubbish. Most character meals are buffets I think and the children get far more choice.

Just to expand on this a little bit - the kids can eat anything off of the buffets (even the 'adult' food), but if you're doing the dining plan at other table service restaurants, their credits need to be used on the kids menu, which is limited (aka, rubbish to some ;)). Even if you're not doing the dining plan, for little kids, the buffets let you regulate better the quantity of food then if you ordered them/split adult meals with them.

No, Scooby, you're a pretty smart person and, based on your decision calculus, the choice to do character meals definitely makes sense. I usually plan to do at least one so I can get the obligatory pictures out of the way even though I don't travel with kids and I have "an eye toward more adult tastes." I do think that buffets tend to not be as good as what you can get at real TS restaurants (as far as a comparison of adult options) and you should try to hit up some of the most popular TS places...they're popular for a reason--Le Cellier springs immediately to mind as a wonderful meal I can't stop talking about better than a month after... but that doesn't rule out doing a few character meals to keep the kids happy and lessen the obligation to stand in line for one more thing (character interaction) in the parks. :)

When my children are big and don't want to come on holiday with me anymore I have BIG plans for an adult only Disnley holiday eating at all those places we won't be at for the next 10 years probably. However, at the moment they are subject to a mum with a full on full time job and 4 nights a week after school child care and so for the 6 weeks holiday I get a year they get to be indulged. Yes I'd love to go to Le Cellier but it can wait. (Describe it to me if you want to keep me going :) )Also, young children who have toured parks and got over excited and over tired will not be at their best in restaurants however well 'trained' they are, and I actually respect those on adult only trips right not, for example, to have my children's faces pressed up against their table at the fish tanks at the Seas because they haven't paid or planned for that, but frankly, if I take the children there and we get sat away from the tank, that is what they're going to do ;) PS - 'Smart' - cool, thanks :cool:

Just to expand on this a little bit - the kids can eat anything off of the buffets (even the 'adult' food), but if you're doing the dining plan at other table service restaurants, their credits need to be used on the kids menu, which is limited (aka, rubbish to some ;)). Even if you're not doing the dining plan, for little kids, the buffets let you regulate better the quantity of food then if you ordered them/split adult meals with them.

Ah - that was a more eloquent description of rubbish, but what I meant!