closing in on 6 mo out...what do I need to be doing?

[lurknomore]

I hate this trip already and if we hadn't told the kids I think I would have cancelled...Vacation is supposed to be fun, not stressful!  I'm the first to admit that the blogs and WDW boards stress me out so I haven't spent more than a few minutes figuring out what I need to be doing.  So I'm here looking for someone, anyone, to just tell me what to do.  I'm approaching 6 mo out.  I know there is something that hits at 6 mo.  Dining?  Do I want a dining plan?  What does that even mean!??!?!  The TA I'm working with said he'd add the trip to me espn account but so far as I can tell he hasn't yet.  I'm assuming I need to start there.  Our dates are November 3-8 FWIW. 

ilikedonuts ....How do I book that Christmas party thing we talked about!?!?!?

[lala]

From the planning perspective - think of it this way - when you spend $5k and go to, say, France for a week would you do no research? Just book a hotel and show up? No. Now, you don't have to make all the dining reservations, of course, but you would research attractions/museums, if you were renting a car, where you wanted to stay, etc.

IME, when traveling with kids, a certain amount of planning & prepping is required no matter where you are going. The only time I don't do that is when we rent a house at the beach b/c it's the beach we've been going to for years. BUT, all of this prep is worth it, IMO, b/c your trip will run smoothly & there will be less decisions once you arrive.

You also need to make it want you want, if you're already miserable about it then you won't have a good time. I don't know if that's just changing your perspective or changing they way you're planning or what.

Onto the question - it's time to reserve table service meals at 6 months out. I don't do the dining plan b/c it doesn't make sense for us. Do you have any ay idea where you want to eat? How old are the kids? Boys or girls? Dining preferences?

You should be able to set up your MDE account yourself - I think you need the reservation number?

You can buy tickets to the christmas party through disney's site or I'm sure your TA can.

[curbsideprophet]

I would not bother with a dining plan. Dining opens up at 180 days so that is what is coming up. Will your travel agent make dining reservations for you?

Do you want specific restaurant recs or do you have an idea of where you want to eat? I would aim for one table service meal a day to start with.

[tinkerbell]

www.distripplanner.com will help you figure out whether or not to purchase the dining plan.

[lurknomore]

Fair enough lala. Thanks for putting that in perspective! We've only taken beach vacations as a family, so they didn't require much planning, but you're absolutely right! I can totally figure this out. I feel better....Off to the message boards!

[lala]

I hope I didn't come off too harsh! I just think it's what you make it. You don't have to have the crazy spreadsheet with every minute planned, but some planning or at least knowledge will help.

If you like podcasts there are some great Disney ones that might be a good way to get info without feeling overwhelmed.

[curbsideprophet]

Good luck in the planning. It can definitely be overwhelming at times.

[ilikedonuts]

lurknomore we can talk at swimming tonight if you want.

Or FB me questions

[egishere]

We are going in Sept for the first time with the kids (DH and me have been 20+ yrs agp) and I agree with you that it all seems overwhelming and I hate the thought of scheduling so much. My TA gave me dining suggestions and I just picked from her list. I figure we will try to FP the popular rides but other than that I hope we can just go with the flow. We are not morning people on vacation so I don't see us getting to the parks at rope drop or anything. I hope we can go and just have fun and see what the kids want to do. I figure we wont get to do everything but will definitely go again at some point so stuff can wait.

[alleinesein]

If your kids are old enough ask them to pick 3 things at each park that they want to do and prioritize those items.

Book your dining at the 6 month mark and be flexible with days and times. Consider doing a late lunch instead of an early dinner and then having an evening snack while you watch fireworks or a parade. Likewise you can also consider a later dinner and having a nice afternoon snack to keep everyone from being hangry. Don't book dining reservations all over WDW on the same day. If you have a breakfast reservation at the MK try to stick with MK restaurants and MK resort hotels for your other meals. A morning ADR at one park and a dinner ADR at another are ok but you don't want to spend your whole day trekking around the property.

If any of your littles have to meet a princess and you can't get into one of the character meals you still have the option of a character meet and greet. It isn't the end of the world if you cant eat overpriced food inside of Cinderella Castle; an ice cream, churro or turkey leg while waiting in line to meet a princess is cheaper.

Pick your park/parks for the day based on where you are eating. Want to head over to Kona Cafe for Tonga Toast for breakfast- do that on your MK day. Want to have dinner in Morocco- make sure you plan to do EPCOT in the afternoon/evening.

Planning is as simple or as complicated as you make it. There is no need to stress yourself out because you couldn't get a 5pm dinner reservation on a Tuesday and you could only get a 6:30pm one.

Mickey's Christmas Party- check this website often. Once tickets go on sale they will have a link so you can purchase them.

Disney posts their menu prices for the majority of their restaurants.  Take an hour or so one night and look at the places you want to dine at and get an idea of the cost.  If you are a light eater or stick to a vegetarian diet the dining plan will be a total waste of money.  There are ways to work the dining plan to come out ahead but for the most part Disney is the one who is benefiting from it.