So I forgot I never posted these that I typed ages ago -- I've had several ask, so here you go! Kirkley asks nearly every day when we're going back! Trying to hold her off till fall again! :)
These were the most helpful tips that we received for the trip. I was not a super trip planner and really didn't start on a lot of things till the week before. All of this was manageable. And we kept reminding ourselves, if we miss something, it's there the next time we go! :)
Several months ahead...
- We booked the
hotel/ticket/dining plan package deal online. We did 5 days, 4 nights and this was perfect. We did a value hotel but next time would probably bump up to a moderate. We did have to take the bus, but that was fine, and when we compared prices, we could go to Disney twice for what it cost to stay on the monorail! :) We'd rather go again!! We did the dining plan and loved it -- we chose the Magic Your Way Plus Dining so that everyone 3 and up got a snack, quick meal, and sit down meal a day. It was great getting there and feeling like our meals were "free." I had a friend play with this online, and when calling Disney, they gave her the price even lower so try that!
- Book
character dinners. We wanted something with Mickey (either Chef Mickey or Ohana breakfast) and something with the princesses (either Cinderella's castle or Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot). Obviously choose ones with characters your children know -- we had brunch with Alice in Wonderland and Mary Poppins booked, and I canceled it when she called Alice Cinderella's sister at the parade. :) Reservations can all be canceled a day in advance so overbook and cancel when needed. I only bboked the girls for Cinderella's castle dinner as this burns 2 sit down meal credits a person.
- Magic Kingdom is the main park to hit with this age. For sure plan two to three days there. Then decide on your other parks based on your children's interests -- they will always be there for future trips!
- Know that children 3 and under are free but do not get meals/snacks in the dining plan -- there was typically plenty of food to share though! Jay was 22 months when we went and I am SO glad we took him! The only thing he couldn't ride was roller coasters (neither do I) so we'd split and go do another ride he loved while Alex and Kirkley did those -- there are only 1-2 rides like that in each park though. He was able to do and enjoyed doing everything else!
- Hide any Disney stuffed animals you already own. We took all of these with us and put one out each day for nap. Kirkley was soooo excited to see who her "napping friend" was each day! She didn't realize till we got home these were from her room. :)
- We loved going in the fall -- lines were never more than 20 minutes and the weather was great! There was a Halloween ticket option for some of the nights, but we did not do this.
- Gather some fun Disney items for your kids: pajamas, band aids, cups, etc. as you see them on sale. These were fun surprises back at the hotel!
Before your trip...
- Hit the Dollar Tree: glow wands/sticks to use at night for the parades/fireworks, Disney toys/coloring books, snacks, ponchos.
- Gather lots of drinks/snacks. You can take these in with you each day so we packed a little cooler lunch sack. I also found juice bottles at Wal Mart with Cinderella and Cars tops on them -- Kirkley loved her "princess water" the whole trip! I did a Horizon single serve milk for each child each day along with a Roarin' Water. Get breakfast snacks they can eat on the go as you head into a park.
- Get stroller plans in order. I always thought kids should be older and not need a stroller, but you are literally walking 5-7 miles a day. Ours rode in a double the whole time until we'd get to a location, park it, and they'd walk around an area of the park. Also have all of your stroller "stuff" in a vinyl/reusable tote to grab it all out easily when the stroller needs folded quickly for buses. We really liked having our stroller with us all the time, but there are options to rent them in the park. Mark your stroller with a bandana/name label -- there are hundreds parked!
- Grab a Disney beach towel or blanket for each child. These were great to spread out on the curb for parades and use for snack time while we waited.
- Pack comfortable shoes -- at least 2 pairs to switch up during the trip. Also pack swimsuits if you want a pool break. We did not have enough energy to spare for a pool break. :)
- Take extra memory cards or your laptop if you take tons of pics to keep enough room on your camera for the whole trip.
When you get there...
- As soon as you enter a park on your first day, go grab an autograph book that holds pictures on one page and they can sign on the other. And get a pen that clicks (no top to keep up with).
- Grab park maps/schedules for any park you'll be visiting when you check in and try to make a plan for your next day factoring in show times, parades, priority rides, etc. We used this
Disney World Ap and loved it to tell us wait times, which parks were most crowded, etc. When you walk in each park, there are maps and a time schedule for the day -- grab both.
- Know that every ride dumps you out in a gift shop. We kicked off the trip letting Kirkley know she'd get to pick one thing for a treat at the end of the trip, so be on the look out. I also snuck back in the gift shop and grabbed a few things to bring home for opening at a later time!
- The Disney photographers everywhere will take pictures with your camera so don't avoid them -- hand them your camera! :)
- Ask for ice water at quick service restaurants and you'll get it for free. Take some Crystal Light on the go packets to help the FL water taste! :)
- If your child loves characters, plan those character dinners so you aren't stuck in lines all the time. Rapunzel was a big one K wanted to see, so we got in line for that as soon as Magic Kingdom opened. There are fast passes for Mickey and the Princesses hidden as soon as you walk in Magic Kingdom -- when you walk in at the far right side of the circle between the Mickey ears store and Tony's Italian Restaurant. Characters are also hidden out here -- to the right of city hall and in front of the Mickey ears store.
- Fast Passes don't expire. If you have one that is good from 10:30am-11:30am, you can use it any time after 10:30am that day. Also, if there is a ride you love, you can go back for more Fast Passes for it as long as the printed time is in a different hour (like go back for the 11:30am-12:30pm Fast Pass). Then for example you can return to the ride with these fast passes at 1:00pm and do it back to back if your child is in love with it! There were several rides you need to get Fast Passes for as soon as the park opens if you want them: Toy Story in Hollywood Studios and Soarin' and Test Track in Epcot.
- The dining plan snacks were great to have -- 1 per person, per day. In little shops, look for the dining square next to an item's label. Some of our favorites were the frozen treats at carts, smoothies, and bakery items!
- We did naps each day. We all needed them! We left the hotel each morning an hour before the park opened, got there 30 min early, and usually stayed until the 3:00pm parade. Naps were crucial for all of us!
- Kirkley loved the parades. The Main Street Electrical Parade was the only night one we did and loved it -- mark your spot an hour before right in front of City Hall so you can scoot out. Most parades require you to mark your spot a bit before so we always used this at snack time -- one person stayed at the spot while the others retrieved snacks!
- If you want to do the night shows when the parks close, plan a good nap time for all. It will take 1-2 hours to get out of the park and back to the hotel if you leave when the rest of the world does after the 9pm show. We decided to save these for when the kids were older.
Magic Kingdom Notes:
Get there 30 min prior to opening and watch the show at the gate. When park opens, send one person to Rapunzel if your child wants to meet her. Take kids to Fantasy Land or Buzz Lightyear ride and grab breakfast smoothies in TomorrowLand (ask for extra cups to split for kids - these count as a snack).
Ride Peter Pan, Dumbo, and Pooh before lines get long.
Go on It's a Small World when you need a rest break! Fast to get on and nice to sit!
We loved the parades and shows -- check the time schedule for the day to plan accordingly.
Another fun snack: Pineapple Ice Cream Float in AdventureLand.
Rides we skipped because possibly too scary: Scary Adventures of Snow White, Monsters Inc., Haunted Mansion, and Lilo and Stitch. She liked Pirates of the Caribbean but it could be scary for some.
Notes on Cinderella Dinner:
We loved this! Dinner was great -- beef tenderloin and creme brulee! The only reservation we could get were at 9:15pm which ended up being fine since we'd had late naps and it was 8:15 our time. We got to see the 8:00 parade then head there! Only the girls went since this burns 2 meal credits a person, but it was totally worth it! She thought this was so special! Pack your own princess dress, jewelry, and crown!! :)
Some of our Animal Kingdom Favorites:
Kilamanjaro Safari, the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail adjacent to the Safari (did this while waiting on the Safari Fast Pass), Lion King Show (get there 20 min early), the Bug's Life Show (this scared K a little bit), and a quick lunch at Flame Tree Barbeque (everyone talked about the turkey sandwich here the rest of the trip!). We didn't do tons here as we'd done a character breakfast and were headed back to MK for princess dinner that night. Our next trip here with have us frequenting the dinosaur areas with Jay! :)
Some of our Epcot faves:
The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Turtle Talk with Crush (look for this after you come out of Nemo), Journey into the Imagination, Spaceship Earth,Gran Fiesta Tour, Maelstrom, and the Epcot Character Spot.
We did not get to do Soarin', Test Track, the KidCot activities, or visit the countries.
We didn't get there early enough to get Fast Passes to Soarin' or Test Track.
Those are all on our list next time -- supposedly great character spotting in the countries!
Hollywood Studios Notes:
Get there 30 min prior to opening, send one person to get Toy Story Fast Passes while everyone else eats breakfast at Starring Rolls (used some snack credits for this). Then we did the Playhouse Disney Show, Little Mermaid, character pics in the Animation Studios, and Beauty and the Beast (get there 20 min early). Ate a famous giant turkey leg for lunch, sent Alex for Star Wars fast passes -- him and K loved that. We all did the Muppets 3D then got a spot for the Pixar Parade -- send one person for snacks while you wait! :) Officially all we could do till we were all ready to head back for nap!
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