New, from Europe and with too many doubts!

Blanquita

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 12, 2017
Hi!!
I'm from Spain so my English is far from perfect :S and i'm planning our first trip to WDW! We've never been there and i'm so overwhelm with all the information i dont know where to start.We are going 14 days on property, (one or two we wanna go to Universal) and i dont know how many days to go to each park, where to eat or what fastpass to take!!
I've been reading the forum for a while but this is huge!!
Any advice? We are going with dinning table plan in april :D
So.. i'm scared and super happy!

Blanca
 
First of all, Welcome to the DIS! You'll find lots of help and information here. A lot of it boils down to personal taste, but everyone here is happy to answer any questions and the like. First I would start by hammering out your dates and such. This can have an effect on where you want to be and when (like Universal will be less crowded on weekdays and such). With 14 days you will have PLENTY of time. Don't forget about things like the water parks and Disney Springs. Pool time can be nice too, so don't feel like you have to schedule wall to wall.

I know it can be overwhelming, but with help from the DIS you'll be well prepared for a great time!
 
Hi Brian!!!
Thanks for answering!! We are going on april 7 to april 21th next year, i really dont know if its the best time or the worst (we couldnt choose anyways) so i hope its nice!! We are staying on Caribean Resort and we have the dining plan with one table food and one quick service. The offer included too the photo service (i dont remember the name) and the magic bands.

I'm super lost with dining plan, i want to do BOG and the cinderella one but thats all i know! hahaha and i dont know if i can go there with the dining plan :S
I'm trying to decide if we sould go one or 2 days to universal, i mostly care about Harry Potter, and we have tickets for all the days at disney but we will have to buy the universal ones and loose the disney ones.. I dont know either how to go to universal.. maybe with Uber? hahaha as you can see i dont know much but i have 60 days before booking the restaurants and almost 200 days for fastpass so i hope i can figure out by then!

I have to improve my english too but i read that many people speak spanish there so it may be easier i imagined :D
Thanks again for your kind comment!

P.D. I've been many times to DLP so if anyone is coming i can help with info :D
 
Universal, I would say do 2 days, and make sure to get the Park to Park pass (their version of Park Hopper) as that is needed to ride the Hogwarts Express (the ride begins in one park and ends in the other). I would do weekdays. Also, yes, Uber is probably the easiest way to get to Universal.

You are so far out that park hours and such aren't really available yet. That is generally how to plan your days. Parks with longer hours are busier (like, if MK is open until midnight, then that means they expect it to be pretty busy that day), however you have more time to do things and the early and late hours aren't as crowded generally. This is where park hopper can come in handy.

Being there for park opening (Rope Drop) is very important as that is the least crowded time of day and you can usually get in 2 or 3 rides with minimal waits before the crowds appear. You have a lot of days though, so don't feel that you have to get up early every day of your vacation, but do have a strategy.

For FastPass, read this thread:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/fastpass-frequently-asked-questions.3491680/
This is the ultimate guide to all things FastPass and can help you pick your attractions. All thanks to mesaboy for that excellent resource.

You have a lot of time. Just spend a lot of time here. Read and ask questions. There are lots of very experienced Disney folks here who will be happy to help. Planning is half the fun!
 


And do you know if these is a good time to go? will it be over crowded? i will plan everything with that advice in mind. I'm already reading a lot of post, but its difficult for me to find the stuff i'm looking for :D I'm also watching a lot of youtube videos.
I think we have park hopper tickets but i'm not sure now.

We really want to enjoy also the food and the shows, and i dont know how many days to use in each park and if htere is something nearby that could be interesting too, like a nice shopping centre and that stuff. (thats more for my husband, i'm a disney fanatic so i dont really care for the other stuff)
I will read all the fast pass information, thanks!!!
 
It shouldn't be too bad crowd wise. You are there the week after Easter so it should have calmed down some by then. Honestly, there are few times of year that aren't crowded anymore, but it is manageable with good planning.

For the number of days in each park, you have so many, I wouldn't worry about it too much. MK needs the most as it has the most to do, but if you go at rope drop every day you will find you can get them easily done and have room for encores. Disney Springs is basically a really nice shopping center, so you can definitely spend some time there too.
 
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Thanks again!! this may be a silly question but, can you drink tap water there? or you have to buy mineral water? Can you bring an empty bottle with you and refill it at fountains ?
 


You can definitely drink the tap water if you want and there are plenty of water fountains around to fill bottles.

As for your park days, I'd say plan on 3-4 days at Magic Kingdom and 2 days each at the rest of the parks. That is 10 days at Disney parks. Then you can do 2 days at Universal.

And you can use your dining plan at ALL restaurants on property including Be Our Guest and Cinderellas Royal Table. Cinderella meal will use 2 of your Table Service credits (most meals will use 1 credit, unless it's a Signature Restaurant like Cinderellas Royal Table is).

Any other questions, ask away, and keep reading this board and you will be an expert in no time.
 
Wow, TJ! Thanks for that super fast answer! do the water park deserves a day? I'm going with my husband, no kids :P and i dont know how the weather is like in april there. As we love to eat i'm studying a lot about the restaurants and how to have the most of our dining plan (the most not just in money but in the best experiences) :D i think i will do the fast pass around the places we'll eat! hahahaOne think i'm super lost is in the transports, we are staying at caribean beach resort, and i dont know how to go to others hotels (i have read Ohana restauran deserves a visit!) and i would like to know better how the water transports works, if they are free and when or for what are the best ways to use them :D
(thanks a lot again!)
 
Wow, TJ! Thanks for that super fast answer! do the water park deserves a day? I'm going with my husband, no kids :P and i dont know how the weather is like in april there. As we love to eat i'm studying a lot about the restaurants and how to have the most of our dining plan (the most not just in money but in the best experiences) :D i think i will do the fast pass around the places we'll eat! hahahaOne think i'm super lost is in the transports, we are staying at caribean beach resort, and i dont know how to go to others hotels (i have read Ohana restauran deserves a visit!) and i would like to know better how the water transports works, if they are free and when or for what are the best ways to use them :D
(thanks a lot again!)

TJ is right about the water. It's fine. Also, you can get a cup of free water from any counter-service restaurant and it will come through the filtered soda fountains, so if you prefer that you can do that.

For Transportation, it can get tricky, but it's not too hard. You can't go from resort to resort directly (well, you can if you call an Uber or use the new Minnie Van service, but I digress). You will be at Caribbean Beach and there will be buses to the major destinations (4 theme parks, water parks, Disney Springs, etc.). So it depends on where you want to go. If you are going from Caribbean Beach to the Polynesian just take the bus to MK and then the Monorail or Ferry Boat to the Poly. To head back, just reverse it.

Basically any park or Disney Springs can be used as a "transfer point" but some will take longer than others. For example, if you are at Epcot, you could bus to the Poly, or take the Monorail to the TTC and then walk to the Poly (which might be faster than waiting for the Resort Loop monorail). You can walk from the back of Epcot to Boardwalk or Yacht Club/Beach Club, or Swan & Dolphin easily. Caribbean Beach is not really near one of the major destinations so I doubt you'll find too many shortcuts, but still, trying to get as close as possible to your destination is probably a good thing.

If you need help with transportation planning, just ask. There is also a whole subforum on transportation here:
https://www.disboards.com/forums/transportation.16/
 
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For Transportation, it can get tricky, but it's not too hard. You can't go from resort to resort directly (well, you can if you call an Uber or use the new Minnie Van service, but I digress). You will be at Caribbean Beach and there will be buses to the major destinations (4 theme parks, water parks, Disney Springs, etc.). So it depends on where you want to go. If you are going from Caribbean Beach to the Polynesian just take the bus to MK and then the Monorail or Ferry Boat to the Poly. To head back, just reverse it.
6/

yes, so basically, if you want to go from Caribbean Beach to any of the "monorail resorts" that you want to visit (Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Contemporary), your best bet is just take the bus to MK and then hop on the monorail. If visiting Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness, also get a bus to MK and then take the boat (as they are not on the monorail).

If you wanted to go from Caribbean to one of the "Epcot resorts" (Beach Club, Yacht Club, Boardwalk), you could get a bus to EPCOT and then walk, OR a bus to Hollywood Studios and take the boat. If it were me, I'd just go to the buses and whichever bus arrived first (EP or HS), I'd get on it, and go from there.

OR, as PP said, take an Uber/Minnie Van
 
Thanks so much for all your kind answers!!! you are a super awesome community :D we arrived to the airport at late night, so i have to book a hotel for that night (my disney package start on the next day) any recommendations? :D somewhere easy to arrive (maybe some hotel that has airport shuttle) We arent going to have a car. And do you know if april is super hot? hot? cool? hot at day cold at night? I already have our plane tickets! now its really real! :D i'm sooooo excited!!!
 
The hyatt IN orlando airport is the easiest as u dont have to leave the airport. Then there are a couple less expensive options nearby, but I like the convenience of the hyatt.

Id say april is more on the warm side overall. Shouldnt be TOO hot but could get up to high 80s most days, and nights usually only go down to 70s or high 60s. But, you never know for sure until youre there
 
I'm just planning our first trip for next year so I'm no help at all. LOL. I just wanted to drop in and say Welcome!!
 
So.. i'm here again! i've been studying but i have more doubts :P I've read you can make ADR with 180+10 days in advance, so.. 190 in advance? how does it works? I'm freaking out a little bit cause i will be out the country in the 180 day mark and i dont know if i would be able to make the reservations in that week.

And how can i know the time the parks close and open the days i'll go? and the times of the show so i can make the ADR with that in mind? Thanks so much!
 
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The hyatt IN orlando airport is the easiest as u dont have to leave the airport. Then there are a couple less expensive options nearby, but I like the convenience of the hyatt.

Id say april is more on the warm side overall. Shouldnt be TOO hot but could get up to high 80s most days, and nights usually only go down to 70s or high 60s. But, you never know for sure until youre there

I will look for it!! I will look the temperature in celsius so i know. thanks so much!!!
 
So.. i'm here again! i've been studying but i have more doubts :P I've read you can make ADR with 180+10 days in advance, so.. 190 in advance? how does it works? I'm freaking out a little bit cause i will be out the country in the 180 day mark and i dont know if i would be able to make the reservations in that week.

And how can i know the time the parks close and open the days i'll go? and the times of the show so i can make the ADR with that in mind? Thanks so much!

It's 180 days from your check in date and you can make reservations for up to 10 days after that....
Do you have access to the Disney app? I don't know if it's only a US thing....but reservations are pretty easy to make with the app (My Disney Experience).

The disney website MAY have the park hours updated by day 180 but they also make changes after that so you can't really 100% depend on those. As for show times, they don't release those until closer to yuor trip. There are plenty of shows each day so you don't really need to think about those when making your meal reservations.
 
It's 180 days from your check in date and you can make reservations for up to 10 days after that....
Do you have access to the Disney app? I don't know if it's only a US thing....but reservations are pretty easy to make with the app (My Disney Experience).

The disney website MAY have the park hours updated by day 180 but they also make changes after that so you can't really 100% depend on those. As for show times, they don't release those until closer to yuor trip. There are plenty of shows each day so you don't really need to think about those when making your meal reservations.

Thanks! i wanted to book the dinning packs with the night shows, what do you recommend?
 

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