Hi Lois,
How exciting to be planning your family's first Disney World trip!
I like to start with a list of the locations we want to dine at. If you are not familiar with the numerous types of restaurants at Disney take a look at
www.allears.net under the dining option. There is a great list of restaurants and menus. We select a few choices at each park as well as a couple at our resort or other Disney resorts. After my initial list, I list them by which park or resort they are found in and number them from our first pick to our last choice.
Next take a look at
www.disneyworld.com under the park hours and make a list of any Extra Magic Hours you would like to enjoy and the park hours for each day of the week. I then create a temporary chart indicating which day of the week we plan on attending a specific park. We base this on park hours and expected crowds (
www.touringplans.com has a great crowd expectancy calendar indicating the best days of the week to attend each park for the lowest expected crowd levels).
I then create a temporary chart listing which restaurants we would like each day, based on the day of the week we will be in that park. Our family likes to park hop each day, so often we will eat lunch in one park and plan on dinner in a separate park. Reservations can be made by calling 407-939-3463, Currently reservations are booked 90 days in advance, but as of October 27, 2009, reservations will be taken 180 days in advance.
When first calling, I start with our most popular locations first. If it is not available you can either move to choice two, or try another day and shift your park plans. Good luck!