Momof3Labs
12-17-2007, 12:22 AM
This was our first trip to Disney with two kids. DS1 was 2.25yo and then 3yo on our prior with-kids trips. Here are some of the things we learned:
1. Start your days early. The lines were by far shortest before lunch. We walked on a lot of rides in the first few hours the parks were open, including headliners.
2. Schedule your big meal of the day for breakfast or lunch. Our kids just seemed to do better when they had their big meal earlier in the day compared to when we had dinner ADRs. And definitely don't skip or shortchange those two meals, even if they aren't table service. Your kids will be happier for it.
3. Garden Grill has the best character interaction I've seen at WDW. At all of our other character meals, they stop for a quick picture and autograph, then move right on and may not come back again. At GG, we saw each character multiple times. They played games with the kids, danced with them, you name it. We also like the food (served family-style, so comes fast but no buffet-sharing), though dessert wasn't as good this year as when we went in 2005.
4. My 21mo's favorite rides were Triceratop Spin, It's a Small World and the Mexico boat ride. He liked others too, but those were requested over and over and over again.
5. My 5yo's favorite ride, hands down, was Mission Space. He also likes Soarin, Test Track, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Rockin Roller Coaster, Spaceship Earth (I don't know why), Primeval Whirl and Peter Pan (many of those rides have height requirements, which he met for the first time on this trip). He didn't like Tower of Terror, Dinosaur or Expedition Everest. Motion didn't seem to bother him, but the scary situations in ToT, Dinosaur and EE were too much for him.
6. Let your kids wear costumes in the park!! DS1 wore his Peter Pan costume a couple of days. On the first day, in MK, he got pictures with Peter Pan and Wendy, and Captain Hook and Mr. Smee came out of the parade to duel with him. You see lots of girls in princess costumes, but not as many boys in costumes. They get extra attention - DS1 loved it!
7. Stay close to the parks, walking distance if you can. We stayed at AKL. Stayed there before and loved it, but really "felt" the distance this time. I felt like I missed a lot of park time commuting back (via bus or rental car) for DS2's daily nap (he's not a stroller napper). Had we stayed at the Swan (our original plan) it would have been easier, at least from Epcot and MGM.
8. If you have a napper, stay in a deluxe resort if you can swing it. Our room at AKL was tight for the four of us for 10 days. I longed for the extra space at BC (where we stayed in 2005), even though the theming IMO isn't as rich. Plus the deluxes tend to be closer to the parks.
9. I used to love the French bakery at Epcot. But this time it seemed so ordinary. Good thing we discovered School Bread at the Norway bakery - yum!!! Like a custard-filled coconut topped donut, but not nearly as sweet as one.
10. We really struggled to find good quality counter service food on this trip both for adults and kids. The kids often had only 2 menu choices, and one was often something *I* wouldn't touch, much less my 5yo picky eater. Wolfgang Puck Express at DTD was one exception - the food there was quite good. We found a few things here and there at other counter service places that were also fine, but I don't remember feeling this way about counter service food on past trips.
Bonus tip 11. Use fastpass!!! We'd often walk up to a ride and see a 30-40 minute wait, but the fastpass time started in 40 minutes. So we could either spend those 40 minutes in line or do something else and return (walking straight to the front of the line). It was a no-brainer with young kids.
10 days, 10 tips. That's all that my congested head-cold noggin can come up with at this point. I'm sure that I'll think of more, and I'd love for the other Disney pros to chime in with their experiences. Or if you are planning a trip and have specific questions, please ask away!
Lori
DS - September 2002
DS - February 2006
1. Start your days early. The lines were by far shortest before lunch. We walked on a lot of rides in the first few hours the parks were open, including headliners.
2. Schedule your big meal of the day for breakfast or lunch. Our kids just seemed to do better when they had their big meal earlier in the day compared to when we had dinner ADRs. And definitely don't skip or shortchange those two meals, even if they aren't table service. Your kids will be happier for it.
3. Garden Grill has the best character interaction I've seen at WDW. At all of our other character meals, they stop for a quick picture and autograph, then move right on and may not come back again. At GG, we saw each character multiple times. They played games with the kids, danced with them, you name it. We also like the food (served family-style, so comes fast but no buffet-sharing), though dessert wasn't as good this year as when we went in 2005.
4. My 21mo's favorite rides were Triceratop Spin, It's a Small World and the Mexico boat ride. He liked others too, but those were requested over and over and over again.
5. My 5yo's favorite ride, hands down, was Mission Space. He also likes Soarin, Test Track, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Rockin Roller Coaster, Spaceship Earth (I don't know why), Primeval Whirl and Peter Pan (many of those rides have height requirements, which he met for the first time on this trip). He didn't like Tower of Terror, Dinosaur or Expedition Everest. Motion didn't seem to bother him, but the scary situations in ToT, Dinosaur and EE were too much for him.
6. Let your kids wear costumes in the park!! DS1 wore his Peter Pan costume a couple of days. On the first day, in MK, he got pictures with Peter Pan and Wendy, and Captain Hook and Mr. Smee came out of the parade to duel with him. You see lots of girls in princess costumes, but not as many boys in costumes. They get extra attention - DS1 loved it!
7. Stay close to the parks, walking distance if you can. We stayed at AKL. Stayed there before and loved it, but really "felt" the distance this time. I felt like I missed a lot of park time commuting back (via bus or rental car) for DS2's daily nap (he's not a stroller napper). Had we stayed at the Swan (our original plan) it would have been easier, at least from Epcot and MGM.
8. If you have a napper, stay in a deluxe resort if you can swing it. Our room at AKL was tight for the four of us for 10 days. I longed for the extra space at BC (where we stayed in 2005), even though the theming IMO isn't as rich. Plus the deluxes tend to be closer to the parks.
9. I used to love the French bakery at Epcot. But this time it seemed so ordinary. Good thing we discovered School Bread at the Norway bakery - yum!!! Like a custard-filled coconut topped donut, but not nearly as sweet as one.
10. We really struggled to find good quality counter service food on this trip both for adults and kids. The kids often had only 2 menu choices, and one was often something *I* wouldn't touch, much less my 5yo picky eater. Wolfgang Puck Express at DTD was one exception - the food there was quite good. We found a few things here and there at other counter service places that were also fine, but I don't remember feeling this way about counter service food on past trips.
Bonus tip 11. Use fastpass!!! We'd often walk up to a ride and see a 30-40 minute wait, but the fastpass time started in 40 minutes. So we could either spend those 40 minutes in line or do something else and return (walking straight to the front of the line). It was a no-brainer with young kids.
10 days, 10 tips. That's all that my congested head-cold noggin can come up with at this point. I'm sure that I'll think of more, and I'd love for the other Disney pros to chime in with their experiences. Or if you are planning a trip and have specific questions, please ask away!
Lori
DS - September 2002
DS - February 2006