First off, my number one suggestion is to create a Disney Experience account online and get the free app!
You can do so much with this account: make dining reservations, choose your fast pass attractions, look at the park hours, find out the ride wait times, look at show times, find locations of characters and the times they will be out for autographs and pictures. Of course, there are maps of each park so you won't ever get lost!
You can create an account at this link: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/
You can use your account to book your resort, buy tickets, buy dining plan (which I wouldn't!), and much, much more!
When you book a resort with your Disney Experience account online, it will automatically link it to your account. Now that it is 2014, everyone in your party will have a MagicBand! Even the younger ones who are below the age of 3 - they don't need a ticket for admission, they're free- get a Magicband!! You choose a color and they put your name on it. They are water proof so you don't have to worry about taking them off. They will act as a room key to your Disney resort. If you link your theme park tickets to your Disney Experience account, your MagicBand will be your ticket to enter the park and be your Fast Pass +! Once you have a MagicBand, you can re-use it the next time you come to WDW, as long as it is working.
Fast Pass + can be used to select attractions and reserve seats for a parade or show, all from your laptop, smart phone, or when you first enter a Disney theme park! You can do this 60 days prior to the day you want to ride or see the attraction! The catch: You have to have a valid ticket linked to your Disney Experience account!
Dining Reservations can be made by calling WDW or by going online to your Disney Experience account. You simply select the restaurant, the date, the time, and number of guests! You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance. If you miss your reservation, they will charge you!
Last August 2013 I used my Disney Experience account online to book a Disney resort stay for one week for November 2014. They only needed $200 up front and the rest I pay monthly. You can't set up auto-payments but you can sign in and enter your card numbers and set the amount to pay each time. You can pay as little as $20 at a time. You can link your resort, dining plan, and tickets so that you are paying on the total of all 3.
You can also use Disney gift cards to pay for your reservation, Disney store items, and some restaurants inside WDW accept gift cards to pay for you meal! If you have children who will want a lot of toys/souvenirs, I suggest getting them their own gift card. You should keep up with it of course, but let them use it when they want to purchase a toy. That way, you can set the amount you're willing to blow on their toys and souvenirs. Just make sure they know the gift card has a set amount on it and is not a credit card.
If you are going more than once in a 365 day period, it will be cheaper to buy an annual pass! Floridians are able to purchase a discounted Florida annual pass but you must provide proof of residency. If you only plan to come once, then I suggest you sit down and decide how many days you want to go to the park, and add the Park Hopper Option to your tickets. The Park Hopper is where you are allowed to enter more than one park the same day. Without it, the park you first enter is the only one you are allowed to enter the whole day! So if you had a dinner reservation in EPCOT but you went to Magic Kingdom first, you couldn't get admittance to EPCOT unless your ticket had the Park Hopper option! Annual passes are Park Hoppers.
If you have a limited amount of time to spend at WDW, but you want to get the most out of it, I suggest a 3 Day Park Hopper ticket. Yes, there are 4 parks. Animal Kingdom closes earlier than the other 3 parks, so you could go there first thing in the morning, and then after lunch, go to EPCOT or Hollywood Studios. Magic Kingdom will need a whole day to itself if possible. At the end of the 3rd day, you can decide which rides you want to ride again and go to that park. Again, you can link your tickets to your Disney Experience account so you can use Fast Pass + for your favorite attractions!
Your children probably won't be that interested in EPCOT's World Showcase, so I would combine an afternoon at EPCOT with a morning at Animal Kingdom. You need to visit Animal Kingdom in the morning because that is when the animals are most active!!
I have more tips and advice to come!
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