School me on Disney World

[birdmom]

We are planning a trip to Disney at the end of October or early November. We will be staying at SIL's timeshare, so not at a resort in the park. DS will be 21 months at the time. What suggestions or helpful tips would you have?

[incognitotoday]

Make sure you look into Epcot's Food and Wine Festival as it is around that time of year and it is mad-crazy busy. Great fun, no doubt, but beware, that park alone, is filled with more people than the usual.

I worked for DW and it is a great time of year to go, but coincidentally, you picked a time when they have that festival going on. If you aren't doing Epcot; skip this comment.

ETA: Festival dates: September 28, 2012 – November 12, 2012

[jerseygrl]

I think it is worth buying tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party. You can dress your child up in costume and go trick or treating through the part.

If you go around the second week in November you may be able to catch the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (this is when we go and it is amazing)

If you plan on eating at the parks make reservations ASAP. A lot places fill up pretty quickly especially the character meals and popular places. You can easily do this online through Disney's website

use allears.net for some fun facts and helpful tips of getting through the parks

[dulcemariamar]

I would buy the Park hopper tickets so I could come and go during the day. Since you are going with your DS I would get there when the park opened, stay until noon, go home for lunch and a nap, and go back late afternoon.

I was there during Halloween and you might want to investigate a bit before you buy tickets for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. I think you have to pay an extra 50 euros for a few more hours in the park and I dont know if what they give is really worth it.

[jenni232323]

We go during Very Merry Christmas Party - love it. Yes, it's an extra cost for the event, around $60 but it is nice to go in the evening to get away from the heat (yes, even heat and humidity that time of year).

I'd recommend to bring a water bottle with a filter so you can fill up and stay hydrated. Something like this www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-20-Ounce-Filtration-Personal-Bottle/dp/B004RLNDWA/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_1/187-9315401-6708739

I live here (40 minutes east of Disney), but still frequent the boards for tips - they have sub boards that narrow down the info so you don't get overwhelmed.
www.disboards.com - forum type
www.mousesavers.com/ - great for ways to save
allears.net/index.html - good for facts

[smilejenn]

We live in Orlando and I agree with the first poster that Epcot gets crazy busy during the Food and Wine Fest. However, you don't have to avoid the park all together. If you want to visit Epcot, just plan on a weekday morning. We visit the Food & Wine Fest every year on a weekday morning/early afternoon. Crowds are low, lines are short, and we have a great time.

[sunny]

if you aren't staying on site, just know that when you get to magic kingdom to park, there is still a ways yet (e.g., boat or monorail across the water), so plan ahead accordingly.

at disney, it's all about getting there as soon as they open in my opinion. fewer crowds and you can maximize your time. when we get there early, we have plenty of time for LO to meet with the characters and ride rides. she wasn't really into the characters and hugging them until she was 3 though, so it may still be too early.

fast pass is your friend for the big kid rides or the more popular ones, just grab a ticket for fast pass and come back later and bypass it all. at animal kingdom's everest rollercoaster there is also a single rider line which moves very quickly if you and your DH want to ride it but someone has to hang back with LO.

have fun! there's something at every park to enjoy. we personally don't do the multi-park pass because we just don't need to go to more than 1 park in 1 day so I don't personally see the point in spending extra for it, but it's a personal decision.

[flatlan]

I follow a blog called "Couponing to Disney" and she has tons of recs about Disney World and going there with kids.