GM, get ready to have a shit ton of athletes there in 2 weeks for ESPN Weekend. So far we have 3 Jets repping. Revis, Scott, and LT. Can't wait.
Yea, i am going all 3 days. Joba is going to be there as well. I already know where the Jets players are staying. Not gonna be a stalker, but I am going to be a stalker..lol
Here is a variation of info I have sent to friends (and may have posted earlier in this thread: Here is some info I’ve sent to other people before (if she has any specific questions, she can e-mail me): 1) As long as you stay on Disney Propoerty, you will be happy. I’d recommend using a Disney-specializing travel agent. Ours was great. PM me if you want her info. 2) Here are the best resources that I know of: The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World (which I believe is affiliated with the www.touringplans.com that Koz referred to). This is without question THE BIBLE of planning a WDW vacation. This is the most comprehensive guide to all things Disney. It has great information on Hotels, Dining, Transportation, Parks, Traveling with kids, Attraction Reviews (by age), and sample touring plans. If you are starting your planning, it should begin here. You will not be sorry. http://www.allearsnet.com - Tons of great information here....especially on WDW Resorts and Dining. http://www.disboards.com - This is a Disney Message Board. Every question you are afraid to ask, has already been asked and answered here. Lots of great info. http://www.mousesavers.com – Lots of discounts can be found here. http://www.tourguidemike.com – This is a PAY website that I also used, but I don’t recommend it as strongly as the others. There is a load of info, but it is poorly organized and not always up to date. The reason that I mention it is that it has 3 things that are worthwhile: 1) Relative crowd levels by week; 2) Best parks (for crowds) for every day of the year...with good rationale (this can make a HUGE difference in how long you wait on lines); 3) Sample touring plans (with more of the “why’s” than the unofficial guide). There are some other good things, but these are the big ones. It is worth the money (about $25) for these 3 things alone. 3) IMO the meal plan is not a great deal (the merits have been debated constantly on the WDW forums). Unless you are sure about the meal plan, I would skip it. 4) Other random things to consider: - Make your Dining reservations as early as possible (the 180 day window to make reservations in advance of your trip has already passed....your options may be limited) - Have at least a rough plan of what you want to do each day (especially at the parks)...the more detailed, the better. - Plan your days to take afternoon breaks - Get to the parks before they open (I can’t emphasize this enough). The opening ceremonies are great and the crowds are the lowest first thing in the morning - See the afternoon parade, evening parade, and fireworks at Magic Kingdom - Don’t miss Fantasmic! at Hollywood Studios - Buy the kids, shirts, gifts, etc before you go (much cheaper) - Don’t pack more than one dressy outfit - If you can get a night out without the kids, go to Jellyrolls on the Disney Boardwalk - Visit the KidCOT stations in EPCOT (I’ve also heard that the Kim Possible Adventures are great too....it rained on us the day we were going to do this) - Bring a stroller and cheap rain ponchos - Make sure you understand how FASTPASS works before you leave - Pin trading is fun for the kids. You can get cheap pins on ebay and trade-up for better ones at WDW. DBJ
Thanks I will spend time digesting all that later! I do have a question Do I need to bring car seats for the kids on the magical express from the airport?
Magical express does not provide car seats, or seat belts. As a motor coach carrier in FL, there's no requirement. If you want the kids in car seats, keep in mind that there's nothing to secure them to and the bus is not for you. Also, I have to counter what DBJ said- the meal plan is absolutely needed if you've got a family and your intention is not to leave the parks. A couple of quick serv meals PP per day, and you've already gone beyond what the meal plan will cost each of you.
Thanks koz, hey did you take a airport shuttle service from your house on long island? If so which one and how did you handle car seats for the kids because we are thinking of not taking them.
I just ordered 20 pins from ebay. I have no idea if my kids will be into it or not but I figured I would try it.
We left out of Islip. I had a family member drop us off and pick us up. What airport are you departing from?
JFK Islip's direct flights around the time we were looking to leave were booked for the day we are leaving. I looked up prices everywhere from $150 to $240 for the same thing.
One thing you may want to consider is dropping the family and then parking offsite (you alone) taking the shuttle bus back. You'll save a ton of $ and at least have the piece of mind that the kids are secured. I'd probably shy away from hiring a car service and using your own seats, because those seats are pretty much useless once you get off the aircraft anyway- since they can't be used on the bus. How old are the twins?
They are 5 so they are big enough as to only really need the seats in a major accident. They are still required by law for a few more years.
As I said, it's debatable on the meal plan. Some people love it and view it as essential, others don't. With two little kids, i would just questions how much they will eat. For us, it was a borderline call (and having had a terrible experience with the meal plan at Atlantis.....pushed us away from the idea). My guess is you won't go wrong either way.
They'll be into it....trust me. The rules are that any WDW employee wearing pins must trade any pin they've got for any pin your kid wants. You will also need to get lanyards for the pins. They are sold everywhere at WDW.
Is there different values for different pins on ebay they said that some pins will not be included making me think some were valuable. How can you find out values? Also what about autograph books?
We're bringing our girls there next month, we've been there twice, they love it. We were there for the Jets-Cincinnati playoff game last year--unusually cold weather saved me from missing the game.
There is a whole gray market for these things. For little kids I wouldn't worry about value of the pins. Get the cheapest on e-bay and trade for something they like. Autograph books are a big hit too. My kids loved them. The basic is fine, but they also have ones with photo slots opposite the signing page. So you can add photos of the kids with the characters for each autograph. The times guide you get at the front of the park tells you when and where characters are. The Evil Stepsisters are the most entertaining meet and greet IMO (although some of the princesses are pretty hot....Ariel). You also get some cool pictures (cute kid poses) with the Power Rangers. Here is my daughter with the Pink Ranger:
We went with the meal plan it was just a case of one less thing to worry about. Booking resturants has been really difficult but we started way to late to get good times. We booked what we could get and we will be calling while we are there to adjust our times. We have heard that it can still work out for us because people cancel all the time.
Do your best to get into Whispering Canyon @ Wilderness Lodge (easy boat ride from MK). Also, if you are Hollywood Studios, the "drive-in" theater where you actually sit in the cars, watching old movies, is pretty damm cool. We did 2 character dinings in 8 days. IMO the character dining at breakfast wasn't as hectic. Have you tried to get into a late breakfast for Chef Mickey @ Contemporary? It's easy to get to if you're in Epcot or MK at the time.
People definitely do cancel quite often. The catch is that you have to call pretty much every day to see if there's an opening. If you do that, you're bound to find something. Anyway, you can normally make advanced dining reservations (ADRs) 180 days in advance. Take advantage of it. In the future at least try to do it between 180 & 90 days (probably closer to 180). Any later than that and you'll have a hard time finding the meals that you want.
