some advice please

[got hunny?]

Hi everybody!

New to this forum and my gf and I decided to head to Disney World (Our first time). We are planning to go May 26-31, basically a day at each park.

If someone can give us your advice on the following questions:

What parks are the least crowded on Saturday and Sunday?

Are there any websites with planned itineraries that we could use to make the most of our time?

Any romantic things to do at Disney World?

Any advice for us first timers?

Thanks!

[anniedg]

Welcome! A general rule of thumb is that the park that has Extra Magic Hours in the morning tends to be the most crowded park. If you're taking advantage of EMH be sure to get there as early as possible and then if you have park hopper tickets (which a heartily recommend ) you can hop to a different park if/when it gets too crowded. If you're not doing EMH, I'd avoid the EMH park each day. Saturday and Sunday are travel days for a lot of folks so they aren't as overcrowded as compared to weekdays to the same extent as at DL. Lots of romantic stuff to do there, but I've never been without at least three of my kiddos so I'm no expert
Another piece of advice, stay onsite if possible.
You can poke around for recent threads or do a search, seems like there have been a lot of threads lately for first timers.
I think you'll LOVE WDW!!

[Niwel]

If you go to the WDW site you can click on "Romance and Relaxation" and they will give you some advice. Also check out this MP article on Love at Disney for other reader romance tips...

[Mickeymac]

Where are you staying? you are there for a relatively short period of time, so it might be easier to make romance recommendations based on your resort or where you will be?

Also, I love the touring recommendations at touringplans.com. They are always dead on the money, and you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for them.

[efoxx]

some romatic ideas...

a late night dinner at a world showcase location. my two favorites are Chefs de France and Alfredo's. afterwards, after illuminations hang back until most of the crowds are gone then take a leasurly stroll back to the front of the park.

also the illuminations cruise on the breathless could be really nice.

dinner at the california grill to watch the fire works over the MK would be another idea.

can think of others, unfortunatly many of them tend to be ideas for proposals...

Wfoxx can attest to how I do at that one

[mckat]

Sunday has a tendency to be more crowded at MK I think (a lot of people arrive Saturday and hit MK first thing on Sunday). In general many people don't want to get up early on their vacation- so any park will be much less crowded the first two hours (unless it is EMH morning). AK is probably the least crowded on the weekends-people save it for last. Although with the new ride that may not be as true. AK closes early- so if you have park hoppers (which I also recommend) then you might want to take in Epcot that night. Epcot is a great place to be out at night with the one you love anyway.. lots of lights, great deserts to eat on while walking, magical fountains...

As far as plans, I like to make my own so I go through a website like this one (http://www.mouseplanet.com/guide.php?pg=B00000) or I also like allearsnet.com-but it is much more detailed so maybe not the easiest to get through. Then just read through each park and make notes on what you think you would most like to see. Get a map and go for it! (I actually type up a little cheat sheet for each park with notes and restruant ideas and fold it up in my back pocket). Prioritize a couple things for each of you for each park that are must see! but expect to be surprised by the things you find you love that weren't on the list. The bird show at AK is an example for me- it really gets to me each time and is one of my favorites. I generally- get a fastpass if available for rides that have long lines- go for popular rides 1st thing or during parades. And stop and smell the roses. I would also recommend having a short list of possible restruants for each park- because when you are tired and hungry that isn't the best time to choose and the parks are large!!! Allearsnet.com has menus for most restruants which I find really helps you make up your mind and know better how much things are going to cost.

What you want to avoid is panic stressing about "not doing it right" or '"missing stuff". I'm now planning my 4th trip and each time I still miss stuff. But it is the stuff I get to do, and the people I get to do it with that are the great things!

[got hunny?]

Hi everybody,

Thanks for the responses. We're currently looking to stay at one of the moderate resorts. Does anybody suggest one over the others? Whether its location to get to and from the parks, the resort theming, etc...

I wished we had more time to do everything, but if we start cramming things then i'm sure we won't enjoy our trip as much.

Does anybody have a suggestion for a romantic restaurant thats not to overly expensive? Or do you think we should decide that when we get there?

[efoxx]

IMHO for two adults I would recommend POR in a bayou building if you want the feeling of getting away from it all, otherwise I think POFQ would be a good choice.

as far as an inexpesive romantic restaurant, well that probably doesn't exist at WDW. but that depends on what you mean by inexpensive. dinners at any sit down location at WDW are going to run from $20-35 each.

but since you are staying on site you may consider getting the MYW dinning plan. for about $375 you can have all your meals taken care of. in terms of WDW that's a pretty good price as we usually plan on about $90 a day for two people just for food.

dinner at what I think is the most romantic location, Chefs de France will cost you about $60 for two people, plus tip. you can spend more elsewhere, and less. you can save a few dollars by doing lunch instead, but not much.

for pretty up to date prices for meals you can check out www.allearsnet.com

but if it's romance you are looking for you won't find it in any of the buffet lines IMHO you will have to spend a few extra bucks for a nice location.

[Drince88]

I wished we had more time to do everything, but if we start cramming things then i'm sure we won't enjoy our trip as much.

Don't forget that advice!

All of the moderates are nice - it's just a matter of do you want to feel like you're in a Plantation House along the Mississippi (Port Orleans - Riverside, Magnolia Bend section); a location off the beaten path in rural Louisiana (Port Orleans - Riverside, Alligator Bayou section); the heart of the French Quarter in New Olreans (Port Orleans - French Quarter); the Southwest (Corrando Springs; or the Carribean Islands (Carrbiean Beach)

You're going to be there around Memorial Day - you may be limited on where you can stay by what's available (not sure how full they are for that time period)

The dining plan may be a great thing for you, too (like efoxx mentioned) - I think any of the non-buffet table service locations would be fairly romantic, though you're not going to find 'ultra quiet' in WDW! Artist's Point in the Wilderness Lodge might be not-too-expensive and not-too-full-of-kids. I haven't tried the restaurants in France (yet), but I'm sure efoxx knows the scoop there!

[DizMagic]

If finances are a concern (and they usually are) what we do for dining is eat our main meal at lunch and just order off the appetizer menu at dinner. Also, you could go to a really nice restaurant and just order dessert. We are going to do this at the Coral Reef in May. We have been able to eat at many of the more "expensive" places by doing this. Also, portions at WDW are HUGE. So sharing, when possible, is advised and this too can save money.

[fccabs]

I heartily support efoxx's suggestion of watching illuminations on the breathless if you can get it. its expensive but my wife and I managed to charter it for our honeymoon last December and it was fantastic and worth every penny. I've never been a big fan of illuminations (probably because i've only seen it through a crowd of people before) but watching it from the breathless really gave the show an added dimension; it felt as if the fireworks were exploding right above our heads. We were lucky as the wind was blowing away from us so we didn;t get the smoke blown in our faces which apparently can be a problem. For an extra cost you can order snacks and champagne for the boat which is also nice and if it gets cold they give you a blanket to cuddle up under.