We're going to WDW in July. First time going as a parent, I've only been once in about '93 or something. We have an 8 yo boy and 4 yo girl.
I'm trying to do this on the cheap after a rough financial year, so we're going to stay with family that lives just over an hour from the park. We may stay in a hotel near the park for a night or two so we can do the fireworks and not drive home super late. I haven't gone through this thread yet, but I'll be looking for must-do activities, a lower-end hotel that is not a dump, things we can skip or avoid for kids that are 8 and 4.
We plan to do a 4 day pass, (there is a deal right now for $100 per day). My wife and I don't drink, and I remember Epcot being pretty meh, so we were just going to skip it and do Magic Kingdom twice, AK and Hollywood Studios one day each.
It sounds like the Genie pass is worth it to reserve ride times. The restaurants are so pricey, it's hard to justify it since neither of my kids like food beyond dino nuggets and fast food burgers or pizza. I'm sure they would enjoy the experience, but restaurants are a drag because they barely touch the food 90% of the time. We'll probably do it a time or two and regret it.
I'll be packing up lunches and snacks which seems to be ok to bring into the park in a bag or something.
Once we get there, I'm sure it will be amazing, but I hate the build-up for a trip like this. My wife and her sister are much better at planning this crap, but it's always good to have a surly POV so I know what's in store.