https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 20 Jun 2026 08:46:30 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/10#post-2772320 Fri, 08 Sep 2017 09:30:24 +0000 looch 2772320@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Truth Bombs: That's pretty clever! I have to remember that for our next vacation. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/10#post-2772299 Fri, 08 Sep 2017 08:26:11 +0000 Truth Bombs 2772299@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: We're traveling Sat-Thur and then sending the kids to school on Fri while my husband and I stay home and relax... specifically because I fully expect to need a vacation from my vacation :shocked: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/10#post-2772294 Fri, 08 Sep 2017 07:32:41 +0000 looch 2772294@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: Oh, and additionally, we usually do a day away from Disney. This past trip we spent a day at the Space Center and my son went absolutely bananas over it. He still talks about NASA and how he got to hear a real live astronaut talk about eating food in space. He's extremely worried about how the Rocket Garden is going to fare in the hurricane.</p> <p>I also wanted to mention one more thing and that's Disney Springs (I think that's what it's called, it's the renamed Downtown Disney). No admission, a ton of restaurants AND it has a Lego Store and a special toy store where you can get Mr. Potato Head pieces that you can't buy anywhere else. We always head there for at least one night too.</p> <p>All this to say that there are soooo many ways to do WDW. I feel like I fall towards the "WDW Lite" end of the spectrum. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/10#post-2772292 Fri, 08 Sep 2017 07:25:20 +0000 Anagram 2772292@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: That's what we did. On our shorter days (HS and Epcot), we went back to the resort and spent time in the awesome pool. My 4 year old went down the big slide probably 25 times.</p> <p>But also, if I were with older kids, I could have easily made a full day at any of the parks. I feel like we didn't get to spend near enough time at Epcot (we left at 4 because we got there at Rope Drop and kids were fading fast), but we didn't even get to half the countries and we didn't ride Soarin or Test Track because our kids were borderline for height. I could have absolutely spent the whole day there.</p> <p>HS--I also could have spent more time. There were several shows I didn't see (Star Wars or Indiana Jones), and we didn't do Tower of Terror or the Aerosmith roller coaster, again because our kids were younger. </p> <p>AK--my husband and inlaws loved it. They spent the entire day and probably would have done a 2nd day if we had a longer vacay. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/10#post-2772287 Fri, 08 Sep 2017 06:37:01 +0000 looch 2772287@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T-Mom: We don't do park hopping at all, largely because if a park is smaller and we feel there isn't much to do, we take the afternoon off and go to the hotel and use the pool. </p> <p>My view is that WDW isn't going anywhere (and I mean no disrespect to Irma), we're probably coming back and my vacations are also partly to relax. I have zero desire to see everything and cross it off the list all at one time. I want to go back home somewhat relaxed, not needing a vacation from my vacation!</p> <p>It's also why we rent a car and stay off property, because I do need a little time away from the Disney Magic. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/10#post-2772266 Thu, 07 Sep 2017 20:59:01 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2772266@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>FYI</p> <p>Friend booked a week stay buying points through a third party company called </p> <p>DVC Rental Store</p> <p>She purchased a $200 travel insurance plan through them. Now with Irma they are refusing to refund or reschedule her trip! Buyer beware!!!!!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/10#post-2772259 Thu, 07 Sep 2017 19:24:05 +0000 Charm54 2772259@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T-Mom: good luck 😊 We must be going around the same time, our ADR date was a few days ago. </p> <p>We were able to get everything we wanted by logging on early. Our tentative plan is :</p> <p>Sanaa<br /> Biergarten<br /> Be Our Guest breakfast<br /> Ohana<br /> Cape May Cafe<br /> Yachtsman Steakhouse<br /> Sci-Fi Diner<br /> Beaches &amp; Cream<br /> Raglan Road<br /> Bon Voyage Princess Breakfast<br /> Via Napoli</p> <p>I'm excited to go back to our old favourites and try a few new ones too 😊 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/10#post-2772258 Thu, 07 Sep 2017 19:19:49 +0000 T-Mom 2772258@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@nanilani: I tend to agree with you about the rental car for Ft. Wilderness. But I have 181 days to think on that, I guess :happy: .<br /> And my ADR window opens tomorrow so you know what I'll be doing tomorrow at 5 am Central time ... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/10#post-2772248 Thu, 07 Sep 2017 18:26:59 +0000 nanilani 2772248@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T-Mom: I've not stayed at Ft. Wilderness myself, but I think taking the buses there may be a bit more time consuming b/c the campground is so spreadout. I think there may be an internal bus loop that takes you to the main stop where you'd be picked up by a second bus that has usually picked up passengers at Wilderness Lodge first. Again I haven't done it myself, but if that sounds like a pain having your own car may be worth it.</p> <p>And if you want to eat at Be Our Guest or Ohana, book those as soon as your ADR window opens!! You can figure everything else out later and can cancel up to 24 hours in advance, but those reservations are hot tickets! I would say Hoop De Do is good for all ages. Even if your kids don't get all the jokes, there'll be enough general silliness going on for them to appreciate. And did someone say all you can drink sangria? ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/10#post-2772228 Thu, 07 Sep 2017 16:26:23 +0000 T-Mom 2772228@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@StrawberryBee: oh bummer about getting ride of that option! I'm definitely looking forward to pandora land. Good luck with your planning! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/10#post-2772211 Thu, 07 Sep 2017 15:37:08 +0000 StrawberryBee 2772211@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T-Mom: I'm not a fan of HS. I love Epcot for the countries (but not really the rides; Tomorrow Land is in need of a revamp). AK is nice as a one day adventure for me, but something about it just always exhausts me (and it feels hotter for some reason). I've never seen Rivers of Light or the new Pandora land (which is crazy popular since it's new, so be prepared for crowds if you want to experience it, and try to get a FastPass+ for Flight of Passage as soon as your window opens if you plan to ride it). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/10#post-2772209 Thu, 07 Sep 2017 15:31:26 +0000 T-Mom 2772209@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Truth Bombs: awesome! We will have to compare notes later. Lucky you for getting a planner, too... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/10#post-2772207 Thu, 07 Sep 2017 15:30:42 +0000 StrawberryBee 2772207@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: @T-Mom: Unfortunately Disney nixed the express transportation :`(. I was looking forward to trying it out!</p> <p><a href="http://blog.touringplans.com/2017/08/15/walt-disney-worlds-express-transportation-end/" rel="nofollow">http://blog.touringplans.com/2017/08/15/walt-disney-worlds-express-transportation-end/</a></p> <p>Just booked a trip for May 2018...so excited! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/10#post-2772196 Thu, 07 Sep 2017 14:59:46 +0000 T-Mom 2772196@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: Thank you for all your thoughts.. we definitely like to park hop, although I think the parks at WDW are way bigger than what we are used to. It may end up that we don't park hop much, but I had heard from friends that some of the other parks like AK and HS, or even Epcot were "duds" (I guess that's a matter of opinion, we'll see what we think) so we didn't want to be stuck somewhere if we could go to another park. That service you linked to sounds great for park hopping, so thanks!</p> <p>@looch: that is interesting about Hoop Dee Doo.. if it's not really a kid show then maybe it's not worth it.. although I thought it would be something convenient to do the first night we are there. I will look into it, thanks..</p> <p>This WDW planning is not for the faint of heart. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2772186 Thu, 07 Sep 2017 14:44:08 +0000 Truth Bombs 2772186@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T-Mom: We're staying in a suit at Wilderness Lodge in early March! We decided renting a car wasn't worth the hassle. Our Disney Planner said the boat to MK is great and the buses really aren't bad. You can also take the boat the MK and then hop on the monorail to get to Epcot if you want rather than taking a bus.</p> <p>@Anagram: We have young kids and we did the park hoppers. We don't expect Hollywood studios will take a full day so we'll do Magic Kingdom in the morning and then HS that afternoon. Also, if you are going to restaurant inside of a park, you have to have a ticket for that park for that day, so the park hoppers just gave us way more scheduling flexibility. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2772175 Thu, 07 Sep 2017 13:54:56 +0000 looch 2772175@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The shows are so worth it. We did the Lion King and Finding Nemo shows and had a great time. No seat is a bad seat and you're sitting in the AC which is great for a break. We try to do at least one show per park, two if we can manage it. It makes the price of admission easier to swallow too!</p> <p>I enjoyed Hoop De Doo...there are a ton of kids, but it's not what I would call a kids show. A lot of the jokes are for the adults, kind of like in the animated movies. I was pregnant when we went and I ate my fill, for sure! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2772174 Thu, 07 Sep 2017 13:50:41 +0000 Anagram 2772174@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T-Mom: also, with older kids, do you get through a whole park in less than 1 day? What made you want to do Park Hopper?</p> <p>I feel like with kids, I would only do it if I were staying at a resort walking distance to one of the parks, in case I wanted to do dinner in the park after being at another park all day.</p> <p>Also, I really enjoyed the new nighttime show at MK, Happily Ever After. So don't miss that! Some other pleasant surprises were the Lion King show at AK, and the movie in France at Epcot. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2772173 Thu, 07 Sep 2017 13:48:01 +0000 Anagram 2772173@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T-Mom: sorry, I missed this. If your son is 43 inches, just have him wear sneakers with the thicker sole and he should be tall enough. My oldest was 39.5 inches, but with her regular tennis shoes, she was tall enough for Big Thunder Mountain and the other 40 inch rides. Those are her comfortable shoes, so she was going to be wearing those anyway.</p> <p>As far as dining--that's so personal! We aren't that into sit down dining with our kids in tow, so I didn't have much I really wanted. But I've heard great things about the Hoop de doo review at Fort Wilderness.</p> <p>There is a new service that transports guests from one park to another, i think. You don't have to go back through security. Read this link for details: <a href="http://www.tipsfromthedisneydiva.com/2017/03/14/minimize-security-checks-disney-world-park-hopper-express-transportation/" rel="nofollow">http://www.tipsfromthedisneydiva.com/2017/03/14/minimize-security-checks-disney-world-park-hopper-express-transportation/</a></p> <p>As far as transportation, that's such a personal (and tough!) call. We drove one day, the day we had 8am reservations at Cinderella's castle, and at that hour, we basically parked in almost the front row of parking near the TTC (then monorail to MK), so it was really easy going in and out. But of course, later in the day I'm sure the lots were full so then you have to park, ride the tram to TTC, then the monorail or boat to MK. That would be kind of long.</p> <p>The other days, we took the bus and left around 8:30 am each morning and the bus transportation TO the parks was pretty great. We usually only wayed 5-10 min for the bus and then were dropped right outside the entrances, so it was faster and more convenient than parking. BUT since we have young kids and were often leaving the park at off-peak times, we usually had to wait about 20 minutes for another bus to go back, which can be a beating when you are tired and want to go back to your resort quickly. But even with waiting for 20 minutes, that is probably comparable to walking through a huge parking lot to your car, loading stroller and gear and doing up car seats, and then driving back to the resort and having to park there, get kids out of car seats and unload stroller and gear. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2771837 Wed, 06 Sep 2017 09:17:22 +0000 T-Mom 2771837@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This is a super helpful thread..<br /> We just made our reservations for a Spring Break 2018 trip, I'm a little overwhelmed. We booked a cabin at Fort Wilderness and will do a 5 day park hopper. My kids will be 9 and 6 so we are over princesses, but may be still interested in other characters. My 6 yr old is currently only 43 inches and I'm hoping he can grow another inch by March so we can all ride the 44" rides, haha...</p> <p>My dining reservation window opens in just two days and I have not figured out where we want to eat (and if we want dining plan). We usually go all day when we go to theme parks and going back to the cabin to cook for dinner sounds like a hassle, even though the cabin is fully outfitted. But having to sit down for table service every day also sounds like a pain when you have to get yourself somewhere by a certain time... there are a few places we want to eat, such as Be Our Guest, maybe Ohana?</p> <p>@luckylifemummy: did you rent a car when staying at Ft. Wildneress? It is nice that each cabin has parking, but i'm not sure if it's better to drive the park each day, or take the bus/boat, especially if we are going to park hop. I wonder if taking the internal bus around the resort is as slow as some people say... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2771559 Tue, 05 Sep 2017 06:45:44 +0000 looch 2771559@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: Thanks! We've always also had a rental car, so we just go to the grocery store when we get there at the beginning of the trip. I have an intense planning spreadsheet I use but my husband is trying to break me of that habit and instead eat out a bit more. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2771533 Mon, 04 Sep 2017 20:05:05 +0000 Anagram 2771533@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: we had a car, so we just went to the publix near there before we checked in and picked up essentials---pouches, bananas, almond milk and cheerios, cereal bars, yogurt, and mini muffins, and eggs, sandwich stuff. And stuff to make pasta.</p> <p>So every morning we had either cereal and a banana, or yogurt + muffin, or eggs and a banana. Lunch we usually ate at the parks at Quickserve places. Dinner we made veggie pasta and had it twice, ordered pizza and had that twice, and then ate sandwiches and popcorn and stuff the other night.</p> <p>The villas has everything--a few pots and pans, flatware, glasses, salt and pepper, coffee. And since our kids are young and go to bed early, it made sense to eat dinner at the villa before bed. If our kids were older, we probably would have switched that and done dinners out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2771096 Fri, 01 Sep 2017 06:44:18 +0000 looch 2771096@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: What did you do for food delivery, or did you have a rental car to go to the store? That's the one part that paralyzes me right now about vacations, is not having access to a kitchen, which sometimes means needing a car. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2771067 Thu, 31 Aug 2017 22:20:34 +0000 808love 2771067@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: That is how we did Cinderella and Fantasyland too! So much fun!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2770880 Thu, 31 Aug 2017 09:31:19 +0000 Anagram 2770880@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Charm54: the only big reservation we did was Cinderella's RT for breakfast. We did the 8am rez so we didn't have to rush but were still done just before 9. Then we went to Fantasylsnd and we're able to ride 3 rides straight away before our first FP that was from 9:30-10:30. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2770878 Thu, 31 Aug 2017 09:23:33 +0000 Charm54 2770878@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: I'm so glad you had a great trip!!! My girls will be the same ages when we go, 4 and 2 and I'm hoping our 2yo will do some stroller naps. 🤞🏻 DD1 did great at Disney when she was 2, but my dd2 is more...spirited than my dd1 .. I'm hopeful she will go with the flow! She still loves the stroller so that will help.</p> <p>How did you like the Boardwalk? I'm excited to stay in that area ! I'm so glad renting points worked out for you. We had to tack an extra 2 nights on to our trip and Davids was super accommodating, got us points at Animal Kingdom Lodge for those nights before we switch over to Beach Club for the rest of the trip.</p> <p>What was your favourite restaurant? We make our dining reservations tomorrow! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2770863 Thu, 31 Aug 2017 09:08:08 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2770863@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@skinnycow: We have taken both our kids at age 2 and they both survived a whole day with just a stroller nap. I think my son we did the 3 pm main street parade (way past his "nap" time). I put him in the stroller with a fan and covered the stroller with a muslin blanket. I faced him towards a wall and we watched the parade and rocked the stroller back and forth until he fell asleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2770853 Thu, 31 Aug 2017 08:15:34 +0000 MrsADS 2770853@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@anagram awesome!! We are Florida "locals" (3 hours away from Disney) and used to go all the time. We now have a just turned 2yo and haven't taken him yet because, as you said, he can be pretty difficult to manage. Lol. We have 3 nights booked in December, and my mom is coming too to help. He will be 2y3m at that point. I am so thrilled to read that your 2yo loved all the rides! I am worried he is going to be scared of dark rides, loud noises, etc. and be miserable! A lot of the dark rides have scary parts (in my opinion). I am also planning for a midday break for a nap at this point, but I guess it depends on how he does. He has never napped in the stroller. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2770850 Thu, 31 Aug 2017 07:51:18 +0000 skinnycow 2770850@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: Sounds like you had a great time! We’re in the beginning stages of planning a trip for end of January or beginning of February when DD will be almost 2. Did your 2 year old do okay skipping naps? I’m really hoping to avoid going back to the hotel and aiming for stroller naps or no nap. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2770837 Thu, 31 Aug 2017 00:38:42 +0000 808love 2770837@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So you must LOVE Disney now!!! A well planned trip just makes you want to keep coming back for more. I can't wait to go back again!! So glad everything worked out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/disney-world-planning-thread/page/9#post-2770829 Wed, 30 Aug 2017 22:14:52 +0000 Anagram 2770829@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Here are all the rides/attractions we enjoyed st each park (that I can remember!!)</p> <p>-I did online check in and our room was ready by the time we arrived at noon, so we got to bypass the front desk lines and go straight to our room 4 hours early.</p> <p>- Hollywood studios--half day on arrival. We just did Toy Story (fastpass), Disney junior (fastpass), met Sophia, and did the A frozen sing along show (fastpass) It was pouring that day so we didn't stay too long at HS. We put the kids to bed early and checked out the boardwalk. We could also see the HS fireworks from our balcony.</p> <p>Epcot: Frozen first thing at rope drop, then meet Elsa and Ana, then a turtle Talk, Finding Nemo ride (both FP),The Land, Mexico (that ride twice,the girls loved it), Canada and France and those movies. Frozen again with a FP. It was another pouring day, so we took the girls back "early" after skipped naps and in laws stayed and saw all the other countries. We went to the resort and went swimming (4 year old loved the big slide), then bed early.</p> <p>- Magic Kingdom (2 days). I feel like we did EVERYTHING. Breakfast at Cinderella's castle, met Mickey, Rapunzel, Tiana, Peter Pan (twice), Small World, Belles enchanted tales, Mine Train (twice with rider switch), Winnie the Poo, Little Mermaid, Barnstormer, People Mover, Racetrack, Carosuel of Progress, Magic Carpets, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle a cruise, Tikki room, treehouse, Thunder Mountain (3 times), Haunted Mansion, Space mountain. Went home and put kids to bed and then we went back for the new nighttime show which was surprisingly great. We went home a bit early on the 2nd day so kids could swim again before bed.</p> <p>Animal Kingdom-- Kilimanjaro safari, Kali River rapids, Na'vi River journey, Finding Nemo musical, Lion King show (this one is fabulous), A Bugs Life, Dinosaur, Triceratop spin in laws stayed and did the train more walking trails, and the Rivers of alight show.</p> <p>Since we ended up skipping naps, we ended up typically going home pretty Early like 6 pm, so kids could eat, bathe, and be asleep by 7:30.</p> <p>Overall it's been pretty great and if anyone has questions about getting around with a wheelchair, I can tell you a little bit. In some cases it got us "perks", like front row st Lion King....but in other cases it made the ride take longer (Kali river rapids and Kilimajaro safari) because they make you wait until you have a full car/boat of other people in wheelchairs so in some cases we had to wait an extra 15 min. </p>