Extended Family Vacation to DISNEY WORLD! :) Tips? Advice? Must See's?

My family is planning a Walt Disney World Vacation for September of 2008. (YAY!)


It will be:


Myself %26amp; My Husband (We have no children at this time)


My Sister %26amp; Brother In Law and their 6 year old daughter.


My Mom %26amp; Dad and little sisters, ages 13 %26amp; 14.





Plans are still in the making, but we are planning on going to Magic Kingdom (an obvious must see for the kids),


Epcot ( My Sister %26amp; Dad's choice..not my fav haha!), and Animal Kingdom (i think the whole family will enjoy this one).





We are considering adding Seaworld to the list, and Me %26amp; My Husband would really like to see the Cirque Do Soleil.





Me %26amp; My Husband went to disney world on our honeymoon less than 2 years ago...So we want this trip to be focused on my niece and little sisters. It will be the first DW trip for all 3 of the children.





What should we DEFINATELY see?


What should we PASS ON seeing?


What TIPS or TRICKS do you have? ;)


Any other overall ADVICE?





THANKS SOOOO MUCH!!!Extended Family Vacation to DISNEY WORLD! :) Tips? Advice? Must See's?
First of all, have tons of fun, it sounds like it will be a blast. Now, it can be a very different (though just as magical) experience when you are going with kids, as aposed to with your new husband. September is actually the cheapest time of year, so you MUST stay on Disney property. You may even splurge and stay at one of the deluxe resorts, they are beautiful. Try to make a reservation at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary resort. The food is good, and it's a character breakfast (so much fun!). If you want to have at least one fancy meal, make it The Flying Fish located on the boardwalk, and then you can rent a surry (4 or 6 person bike, hard work, but so much fun).





Epcot is a great park to go to at night, try the Moroccan restaurant, wonderful food, and fairly inexpensive (fairly). In Epcot, there is Test Track and Soarin' to go on, so it can actually be more than just walking around the World Showcase. Of course, you know you have to go to Magic Kingdom (if you stay on property, you can go to the Extra Magic Hours, so much fun!).





Animal Kingdom is not my personal favorite park, but kids do love it (espescially the 6 year old). When you go, try to see the Finding Nemo musical, it is very good.





If you are going to go to a water park, Blizzard Beach is the best one. Tons of things to do for all ages.





In my opinion, you can keep Seaworld off the list, Disney will fill up all the time you have just fine, and you will never get bored. Cirque Du Soliel is great, however. Amazing dancing and stunts.





Also, one last piece of advice that I give to everyone. Set aside enough time for rest. Many people believe that since they spent so much on tickets, they need to be in the parks 24/7. Don't make that mistake.





I am excited for you, have tons and tons of fun!!!Extended Family Vacation to DISNEY WORLD! :) Tips? Advice? Must See's?
As you stated, Magic Kingdom is a must. It is the anchor. We are going for our 6th visit this year, and it will absolutely be on our list of must dos. Naturally, while there, you should do Space Mountain, Carousel of Progress, Mickey's Philharmagic and of course, the Haunted MAnsion (recently refurbished). Don't forget the parades and Fireworks.





Best spot for the Parade at Magic Kingdom is just beside the Fire Department or across the street in front of the Barber Shop. Parades usually start or end there (they alternate). If they start there, the characters (while waiting to proceed) interact with the crowd more





At Animal Kingdom, Festival of the Lion King, It's Tough to be a Bug and the Safari are musts.





At Epcot, the World Showcase, Soarin' , Mission Space and Spaceship Earth. In my opinion, the best of the Fireworks Shows. Plus the Wine and Food Festival will be on and there are a bunch of great live acts that will be performing.





Germany's Biergarten is the least expensive buffet meal at Disney. Although the Dining Plan (if staying on site) can be worth it.





Avoid Stitch, Sounds Dangerous.





You did not include Hollywood Studios. If you will go, check the parade route and set yourself up at the start. This year, the Parade is strictly Pixar characters. Indiana Jones, The Stunt Show, Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast are great shows.





Take advantage Of Disney's Magical Express if you are staying on site. Which I sincerely think everyone should do. If you can, get to a store off property and stock up on bottled water, juice, snacks and fruit, which you can take into the parks with you.





At $10.00 a day, a small refrigerator in your room can come in handy for milk (to have with cereal in the room for breakfast) and other perishables.





The Water parks at WDW are great, although Seaworld just opened Aquatica.





Don't forget Pleasure Island. It's New years eve at 11:00 every night!!!
When traveling with kids a must of all must is character dinning. There are many to choose from and we have tried them all and adore them. Going to www.waltdisneyworld.com then going to dinning will allow you to read a little about each one, but I would call 1-407 WDWDine and see what is still available during you stay.





The ages between the kids is a hard one, the teens would love Disney Studios' rides, but the six year old may be intimidated by them, or even to small to ride.
Check into Disney's Magical Gatherings, a program they have for groups of 8 or more people. Special events for these groups include special character breakfasts, an end-of-day safari and dinner at Animal Kingdom, specialty fireworks cruises, and private viewing locations for Epcot's Illuminations. Go to http://www.disneyworld.com/magicalgather鈥?/a> or call 407-WDW-MAGIC.
Dinning with the characters, i think is a must. heheh..
There is a whole tips section at the link below.





Biggest tip I have? save some money and have bottled water shipped to your resort before your trip.





Have fun!
Your trip sounds like it is going to be so much fun!


We have also done trips with extended family, and they are great. The one thing I would recommend is using a planning service. We used Custom Mouse Plans and they were so great! They put together an itinerary and park touring plans that included so much for everyone. It is not easy to plan a trip for ages 11 months to 61, and I was so overwhelmed! We sent them our information and the plans they made had the whole group happy. Also, they helped with dining plans and gave us tons of advice at no charge. We didn't wait more than 10 minutes for any ride and we didn't have any arguments. It was the best money we spent on the trip!


Have a wonderful time!
Well you got the tourist traps under wraps... you should go off the beaten path to Parliament House and Millenia, go buy some sick designer goods... besides that... i prefer to feed alligators and get drunk... Disney is way over rated...


Just don't get drunk and go to Millenia.. you will wonder how you spent $8000 and then you will a trunk full of purses and shoes.... boo........
ok well my mom bought this book its called walt disney world with kids 2008 with universal orlando and sea world by kim wright wiley because we are going in april of '08!! and my moms friend said tht the Cirque Do Soleil was very very expensive and to skip it. ok this book has lots of time and money saving tips insiders secrets and scare factors for every ride and venue........clear easy to read maps...........full restaurant and hotel descriptions with star ratings..............quick guides dont miss lists and favorite attractions by age group.......................updates on disneys FASTPASS system and universals EXPRESS system.........and also stuff concerning the disney cruises(i took all tht info off the back of the book)............ok so im guessing you can get this book at any book store like borders or barnes and noble it is $17.95 but definately worth the money ............OH! it also has stuff about the waters parks. hope i could help! bye!