A week from Tuesday On Tuesday night, September 27th, my family and I are taking a 6 night vacation to Walt Disney World. My wife and I are beyond excited to do this with our five-year old daughter Ema and three-year old daugther Ellie. Earlier this year, we decided to take this vacation because of a fantastic deal we got through AAA and that my wife and I honeymooned there 10 years ago 
The best part? The girls won’t know we are going until we tell them next Monday night (and yes, I will be video taping their reactions!)
The last time my wife and I were at Disney World was in 2004 with our close friends, so we know many things have changed. Yes, we are currently reading Birnbaum’s latest book, Allears.net and other popular Walt Disney World blogs, but personal recommendations have always been best. As points of information, we are staying on Disney Property, have the “Magic Your Way Plus Dining” option, and riding the Magical Express to and from the airport in Orlando. Below is our planned itinerary:
Wednesday, September 28 : Magic Kingdom
Thursday, September 29: Epcot (with a character lunch scheduled at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall)
Friday, September 30: Hollywood Studios (with a character lunch scheduled at the 50′s Prime Time Cafe and Dinner at Hollywood and Vine)
Saturday, October 1: Animal Kingdom
Sunday, October 2: Magic Kingdom (with a character lunch scheduled at Crystal Palace)
Our order of which parks to visit on certain days revolved around availability of character meals along with special events happening on those days/nights. If you have been to Disney over the last few years, with young kids, I’m curious:
1. What was your mindset each day at the park? Plan out the attractions you wanted to see each day or play it by ear?
2. Is there anything you wish you knew ahead of time?
3. What things do we definitely have to do and what things can we skip?
4. Where are the best places to meet “the Princesses” besides at character meals?
5. Any luck on getting into Character meals, “day of”, without reservations? If so, how?
6. What “Disney” App do you recommend for an Android phone? (Right now, I have the “Disney Parks” App)
Thanks so much for any help or advice you can give in the comments below. Please feel free to forward this post to anyone you know in your life who may be willing to give some perspectives as well!
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Ok, this advice comes to you from a life long disney freak. I’ve worked for Disney, studied disney and I was a certified disney travel agent for about four years.
My advice:
1. Get to the parks early right when they are opening up.
2. Do your kids favorite rides until lunch then take a break for a quick nap or rest in the room.
3. Go back to the park around 4-5 and have a fun evening.
You’ll ride more in the three to four hours in the morning if you get there early, you’ll see more characters, and your kids will be more rested (because you won’t be waiting in long rides in a little bit of heat) so they’ll have more fun.
I plan out what we want to see in a tentative list and then play it by ear depending on kids and what they want to do.
MUST DO
Magic Kingdom: Mickey’s Philharmagic, Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor, There is a Princess Meet & Greet in Town Square.
Epcot: Soarin, The Seas with Nemo & Friends, Turtle Talk with Crush, Grand Fiesta Tour in the Mexico pavillion
Animal Kingdom: Killamanjaro Safaris, Lion King Show, Finding Nemo Show
Hollywood Studios: Beauty & the Beast, Disney Jr Show, Little Mermaid Show, Toy Story Mania (get FASTPASS!), MuppetVision
Tip: Fastpasses, USE THEM! You probably know but just in case, you can use them even after the time listed on them but for the same day. So, if it says you have to be back between 1:30 and 2:30, you can use it at 5:45. Look at the time on the bottom of the FP to see when you can get your next ones. Sometimes it is quick and sometimes you have to wait 2 hours.
Most importantly, remember it’s a vacation, have fun, don’t worry about doing it all because you never will. Take a TON of pictures (would love to see you in a Donald Duck hat #GODUCKS!!)
Bil
Hey Ed! Angela and I did the character lunch at crystal palace! We had the pooh characters and the kids (my daughter and god daughter) had mixed reactions. Scared yet happy to see them. Food was standard American food which the kids will love. Didn’t do too many rides because the kids were too small plus wife is prego. I do suggest to do pics with mickey and Minnie but expect that wait to be very long but worth it. Oh and you can get those first visit pins and birthday pins at any disney gift shop for free. Have fun! And wear some comfy shoes… Crocs worked for me… Ugly bit comfy!
Bring strollers. Your older daughter might be a little old or tall for one but it’s a LONG day in the park. The last thing you want to be doing is carrying a 5 yo through the park because she crashed at 5. If nothing else it can help a little with their stamina. We went this past August and brought them for our 7 and 4 yo monsters, I mean, kids. You can usually just check them at the gate. It’s well worth the 15 bucks a piece you will spend.
BTW, Chris Giacchi works for Disney HR, which is just across from Downtown Disney. Hit him up for some tips too!
Good luck and have a great time.
Hi Ed,
Here’s a few tips for Disney with kids:
- Keep their regular sleep schedule. If they still take naps, head back to the room during the day. One of the fouls every parent commits is keeping their kiddie out too late and burning them out half way through the trip.
- See what they like and let them pick attractions. You are there for them, and there’s no way you can see e everything in one trip. So, see what you can. You will be back if they love it anyway!
- Fast Pass can be very effective for not waiting in line for big attractions. Keep in mind that you have to wait until the time stamped to use it, but the pass is good all day. You don’t need to return during the 2 hour window stamped on the pass.
- The best mobile app by far is “Lines” by touringplans.com. There is an $8 per year fee, but you get accurate predictions of wait times, show schedules, and park crowd levels right at you finger tips.
- Your dining plan looks great. You have a nice balance of kid friendly and great food.
- Have fun, and try to remember you’re on vacation
Ed,
I think we will need to schedule a conference call after your trip – my wife and I are taking our kids the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and returning the Tuesday after. Thanks to those who have already provided some great suggestions and I look forward to hearing your thoughts after the trip Ed.
Jeremy
Ed we have gone twice now, once when Meg was 2 and once when 3. The cruise is next. She has loved it each time! But my advice:
1. Be flexible. I would make an agenda for each day and hold loosely to it based on her and how she was doing. Go early, no lines and get fast passes when you can. Really go with your gut about rides. We let Meg convince us to ride Splash Mountain and she hated it. After that there was no way Thunder Mtn or Haunted house was happening! Little one probably won’t be tall enough anyway. Typical rides were favorite (Small World, Peter Pan, Buzz Light Year). Meghan hated Philharmagic – 3-D component scared her.
2. Is there anything you wish you knew ahead of time? Make dinner reservations – even if you don’t keep them that guarantees you shorter lines. With the meal plan use snack for breakfast for the girls – you can get two breakfast for the adults that are huge and can supplement what the girls get but we found that what counted as a snack for breakfast food was enough for Meghan to eat. Get the cups at your resort that you can refill. Bring strollers! Worth the hassle at airport. Bring snacks – you can bring them into the park – much cheaper and you can save your snack points for other things; If you can get to be the last in line at character meet and greet (and stand the wait) the characters will usually spend more time with you.
3. What things do we definitely have to do and what things can we skip?depends on girls – trip #1 was about fairies, Trip #2 was Princesses. some of the meet and greets have fast passes – use them if you can. Otherwise expect lines at meet and greets. Get them autograph books right at the beginning for the characters to sign. Skip the countries at Epcot, find the Nemo ride. Bring Princess dresses – many little girls dressed up and walking around parks. Cheaper to pack and bring then buy there. Just heard prices have jumped since we are getting into costume season.
4. Where are the best places to meet “the Princesses” besides at character meals? When we went in May they were stationed at the front of Magic Kingdom in hall next to Italian restaurant – not sure if they are still there but they had fast pass for them. Meals were fun but $$$
5. Any luck on getting into Character meals, “day of”, without reservations? If so, how? We always had reservations but check with your hotel concierge or call day before – many cancellations. Highly Recommend Crystal Palace breakfast with Pooh – earlier the better you get in park early, eat, meet and get into park when it is very quiet – I love the park at that time!
6. What “Disney” App do you recommend for an Android phone? (Right now, I have the “Disney Parks” App). I have Iphone so can’t help there.
Hi Ed,
I just came back from Disney last month after working there for about 7 months! It sounds like you have a great schedule as of now which is great. Having a plan but being flexible with it is most important. I would definitely reccomend taking a little rest in the middle of the day, this not only benefits the kids but gives you a little break as well! And since you are staying on property why not enjoy the hotel a little bit more than just in the am and evening.
You can meet the princesses right when you walk into Magic Kingdom it will be over on your right (Mickey and Minnie are there as well). I would definitely get fast passes for both meet and greets, this way you can walk around the park and come meet the characters whenever is easiest for you and have a minimal wait. Also not sure if the girls are interested in Tinkerbell but Disney just completed a brand new meet and gree area with all the fairies and it is awesome! That is right past the entrance to Adventureland on your right.
One awesome feature of the parks right now is all the Halloween decorations. There is also Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party which takes place at Magic Kingdom. This is a seperate event, so the tickets do cost extra, but it is a great time! Guests are encourage to dress up, there is a FABULOUS Halloween parade, and plenty of trick-or-treating throughout the park. Again you do need seperate tickets for this, and they can be bought online throught Disney’s website.
Hope this helps, feel free to email if you have any questions!
Sounds like you have a great trip planned, have fun!
-Nicole
nmason@student.bridgew.edu
Ed, we’ve been to Disney World with my husband’s much (as in, decades) younger siblings a couple of times now, and I heartily second the advice above about naps. Even if your kids don’t take naps normally, they are necessary to balance the excitement that quickly leads to exhaustion. We ended up taking naps with the kids too, on some days, because pushing a stroller around in 90 degree weather is especially tiring.
The only other thing that stands out for me as working particularly well, was timing our days around the shows/character appearances we wanted to see. That gave us enough time to get to the venues early enough to get good seats/get in line without feeling rushed. Having a plan of attack is the only way to see what you want to, without the stress.
However, if you didn’t want to see shows or character appearances, you could easily just wander around and have a great time. The most important thing is just to have fun!!!
Hi Ed -
I went to Disney in August with a 4 year old (girl) and 5 year old (boy). Here are my thoughts.
1. What was your mindset each day at the park? Plan out the attractions you wanted to see each day or play it by ear?
Definitely have a plan – if not you end up spending time in lines or wandering around trying to get your bearings. Use the FastPass for sure!
2. Is there anything you wish you knew ahead of time?
Not really – we had the meal plan too, and it’s a LOT of food. Keep in mind the “snacks” are great for drinks (waters) throughout the parks. We for some reason didn’t use ours each day and ended up with a ton of them at the end of the week. You get dessert with every meal so most of the time we didn’t want another actual snack.
Also – a lot of the rides are really dark. I’m not sure if Ellie & Ema get scared but our 4 year old Paige was so scared in some of the rides, such as the Great Movie Ride, which has a fake bank robber get on your boat with you – she thought he was really going to hurt us and she cried. She was also scared in Pirates of the Caribbean and the Dinosaur ride. If you do A Bug’s Life in Animal Kingdom be aware that the hornet “stings” you by poking you in the back – 4 year old was NOT a fan of that!
3. What things do we definitely have to do and what things can we skip?
The kids with us LOVED Mikey’s Phillharmagic show in Magic Kingdom. Also Finding Nemo for sure.
Skip It’s a Small World, they probably won’t get the concept and it was deemed ‘boring.’ The safari can be hit or miss depending on whether they are really into animals or not – there are long stretches of sitting/listening.
4. Where are the best places to meet “the Princesses” besides at character meals?
The Princesses are all over the Magic Kingdom – use the App and it will tell you where/when.
5. Any luck on getting into Character meals, “day of”, without reservations? If so, how?
Not sure – we did almost the same meals you have on your itinerary – Crystal Palace, 50′s Prime Time. We also did the Liberty Tree in Magic Kingdom. We used the Disney dining service every day to make a dinner reservation and it was definitely tough sometimes to get into just regular places (we had 7 of us though).
6. What “Disney” App do you recommend for an Android phone? (Right now, I have the “Disney Parks” App) that’s the best app!
Hi Ed,
I wish I had seen this sooner.
1. What was your mindset each day at the park? Plan out the attractions you wanted to see each day or play it by ear?
When traveling with children, I find it’s good to have a plan on which part to visit each day. I based our schedule on the suggested parks on http://www.touringplans.com (less than 30 days out is free) You also need to be flexible. We have a toddler so her naps are not routine when we are in disney so we can’t always get everything in that we hope.
2. Is there anything you wish you knew ahead of time?
Crowd predictations are a big thing I focus on now so I can avoid the busiest park of the day and wait in shorter lines.
I highly recommend pre-paying for the PhotoPass CD: http://www.disneyphotopass.com/previsitoffer.aspx
By paying in advance the CD is $99 (instead of $149 after the trip) and you have the right to reproduce the images so you can use them for holiday cards, scrapbooks, etc. Then when you are in the parks meeting the characters, be sure to tell the photopass photographer that you’ve prepaid and they tend to take a lot more pictures. After your trip, you can add cute borders and there are also a handful of magic shots where they superimpose characters in the pictures, etc. If you don’t like your photos, you can request a refund of the $99.
3. What things do we definitely have to do and what things can we skip?
This is really subjective. We go every year so we tend to skip fireworks and parades but most people insist they are a must-do. I’ve found if you have a lot of rides you want to get in, parades and fireworks are a great time for that. There are usually two parades each night in the MK. If you are night owls, I’d recommend getting rides in during the first one and watching the second one as it’s always less crowded.
4. Where are the best places to meet “the Princesses” besides at character meals?
Since the closing of toontown in the MK, the princesses meet & greet has been relocated to town square (which is in the same building as Tony’s Town Square restaurant at the entrance of the MK) The best part is that they now have fast passes for both the princess M&G and Minnie & Mickey meet & greet.
5. Any luck on getting into Character meals, “day of”, without reservations? If so, how?
Most of the character meals book up pretty quickly. One I’ve heard folks getting luck at is Garden Grill in Epcot. If you show up early (they only serve dinner) ask if there is any chance of getting in and that you are happy to wait. This is actually one of my favorite character meals as the characters seem to spend a lot more time interacting. It is usually Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale. If you want a really fun time, keep your video camera handy and have someone tell Chip that Dale said he can dance better than him or do something else better than him. They love the competitive banter. It’s great food too and the restaurant rotates slowly as you eat so the scenary is always changing. Another I’ve found a bit easier to get into is ‘Ohana for breakfast.
6. What “Disney” App do you recommend for an Android phone? (Right now, I have the “Disney Parks” App)
My all time favorite app is the lines app from touringplans. Touring plans does require an annual membership but the app itself is free.
One downside to photopass is they do not put all the images that they take on your account. 2 yrs ago we did a pseudo Kyle choke me in front of ToT and they didn’t add it. Last week I did a handstand in front of ToT and Kyle held my legs, they didn’t include that. So if there is a pic that isn’t the basic stand there and smile, I’d suggest taking a pic with your camera as well.
Ed, I just checked touring plans and the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot starts on Friday, September 30th. I would HIGHLY recommend going back over to Epcot on either Saturday or Sunday afternoon to check it out. They will have kiosks as you walk around the world showcase from all the different countries with food and wines/beers from the various countries. The food is amazing! We love it, it’s our favorite part of the trip. I’m not sure if you will have park hopper tickets but if so I’d really suggest it. For us, we are always done with Animal Kingdom around 3pm so that day might work.
This map shows the events and food/drink options: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/epcot/events/photos/2011-food-and-wine-map.pdf
Yes I agree ONE MILLION PERCENT. The F & W festival is our absolute favorite.
Hey Ed,
Now you’re talking my language as someone who just left the great state of Walt Disney (a.k.a. Florida). There have been some great suggestions above so I’ll not go into too much overload.
If you get to Magic Kingdom when the park opens you’ll see a cool opening of the gates show. Plan out shows and the rides with long lines (get Fast Passes for these), just go with the flow for the rest based on wait times.
In Magic Kingdom near the entrance there is a place you can get the kids haircut or if you want free, they can get just “pixie dust”. It’s great for girls.
When you go to Hollywood Studios, the Toy Story ride is the longest line, get there when the park opens and go immediately to that ride. Get a Fast Pass for later in the day and ride it first thing in the morning (will get you two rides for the price of one which can get wait lines up to 2 hours).
Hollywood Studios also has a cool place to meet different characters (Lotso the bear, Jasmine, Mickey the Wizard, etc.) and the lines are very short (you do not need to go through the animation tour to get there, just skip over that).
Epcot has the best and fastest way to meet the main characters (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto) all at one time and waiting in only one line that usually takes no more than 30 – 45 minutes.
Animal Kingdom is in my opinion the weakest of all the parks, it has the least amount to do and the biggest crowds, so be ready to bump into people a lot. It does have another good place to meet characters with lines not too long.
In Magic Kingdom, if you need a quiet place to rest, go to the Noodle Shoppe seating area. The food is closed for now so no one hangs out there.
If you go to Downtown Disney/Pleasure Island, T-Rex is a cool place to eat with dinosaurs that move and the whole restaurant changes colors, and other fun stuff.
I’m sure there are lots more, but you’ve already got a lot to work with. Hope you all have an amazing time.
Hi Ed,
My fiancee loves Disney parks (and now we live in Los Angeles so he’s thrilled we’re so close to one!), and even though we don’t have kids, I think I can still provide some answers to your questions (he’s also obsessed with characters–last Thanksgiving, headed to WDW with his family, the first item on our itinerary was the character lunch at Cinderella’s Castle, with the Princesses).
1. What was your mindset each day at the park? Plan out the attractions you wanted to see each day or play it by ear?
With kids you may want to plan a little more out than we did. We’re two adults who do have our favorite must-do attractions are also fairly laid-back and flexible about what happens when. I can imagine to make sure kids get to do what they want there needs to be some structure so they’re reassured that, yes, later today we will meet Snow White.
2. Is there anything you wish you knew ahead of time?
Which days certain parks open early or stay open late for resort guests–you may not want to stay at the Magic Kingdom until midnight, but it’s great when the Animal Kingdom is open an hour early. The Safari line gets long and the animals get a little more sluggish as the day gets warmer. Plus AK closes the earliest (6 pm, right?); getting there on a day it opens early can really maximize your time there.
If your kids have any characters they specifically want to meet, you can ask at Guest Services or any of the people who escort characters around to find out if that character is out and about that day. Then it doesn’t feel quite so random.
3. What things do we definitely have to do and what things can we skip?
Pirates of the Caribbean! We also found Aladdin’s Magic Carpet ride to be one of the most surprisingly fun experiences in the Magic Kingdom. Also I love Dole whips, which you can get at the entrance to Adventureland (it’s pineapple juice and soft-serve ice cream). One activity we actually tried in Disneyland but they have it at the Animation Backlot (whatever that’s called) in Hollywood Studios is the Animation Academy where a Disney animator walks you through drawing a character. That was also really neat. Epcot is my favorite park–walking through the countries is one of my favorite things, but make sure to get a FastPass for Soarin’ Over California–it’s basically a simulated hang-glider over various parts of California, but the line tends to be REALLY long. You don’t want to miss it though.
4. Where are the best places to meet “the Princesses” besides at character meals?
I believe there’s a set-up on Main Street where you can walk through and meet three Princesses. It was back in Toon Town when we went back in November, but they just closed Toon Town to replace it with an expansion of Fantasyland. And check back several times during the day because I think they change them up from time to time.
5. Any luck on getting into Character meals, “day of”, without reservations? If so, how?
Not that I know of–each time we did a character meal we got reservations. You can always ask when they open if they have any open spots, see if you can make a reservation early in the day for later in the day. I believe this is an off-season so it may not be as busy as some other times.
6. What “Disney” App do you recommend for an Android phone? (Right now, I have the “Disney Parks” App)
My fiancee has some app that updates us on wait times for rides. It’s called “Magic Guide.” It actually tells you more than just wait times, but that seems to be all we use it for.
Have a great time! You should follow up with a post to see how crowd-sourcing advice worked for your family!
Bryce
Ed! I just noticed this pop up on facebook. You’re going to have a FABULOUS time!
My parents actually pulled the same trick on us several times growing up (“Surprise! We’re leaving for Disney in the morning!”)…and my siblings and I always flipped out.
Some advice, since I have been there many times, both with little cousins and without.
I echo nearly everything above, particularly the part about taking breaks in the middle of the day. Just going back to the room to cool off helps a lot to minimize the tired and hungry meltdowns in the park.
Something that hasn’t been mentioned that we found helpful was to look at which park is “early entry” that day and to choose a DIFFERENT park to go to at opening time. The popularity of early entry has transformed it from a great opportunity for people staying on property to skip lines into what is now a mob scene! Those parks are always insane for the entire day, since many guests don’t have park hoppers. Other parks will have much smaller crowds.
Don’t underestimate the Toy Story line. It baffles me every trip we take that the line is perpetually 2 hours long. There doesn’t seem to be a time of day to beat it either, so the only option is to get a fastpass at park opening. Our strategy for fastpasses at all parks was to send a delegate with all of our tickets to run ahead and get them, so that we weren’t trying to run in a group with strollers.
I couldn’t agree more with the recommendation above to bring princess costumes if you have them. The Bippity Boppity Boutique is no longer only at Downtown Disney – they have outposts everywhere. Depending on your girls’ attitudes, they may feel some princess envy, and you’ll break the bank to get a costume and glitter in their hair. You can do just as great of a job in the hotel room!
Don’t forget to pack some snacks that they love in your luggage, and bring a couple of choices to the parks every day. You never know when you’ll be caught between meals with too few options, and you can head off their crankiness by having something small on hand.
Have an absolutely wonderful time!
Ok your friends really covered a lot of what I’d tell you.
Some other really neat things to do to engage the kids, look for hidden mickeys. They are all over the place (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Mickey).
This is really neat, in MuppetVision 3d look for the key under the mat (http://www.onlywdworld.com/2010/08/disney-world-hidden-secret-muppets.html)
On the Peter Pan ride in the nursery, over by Nana, there are some building blocks spelling out “DISNEY” and “P PAN.”
There used to be a ring hidden in the ground at the Haunted Mansion, I haven’t been able to find it for awhile. I think it got removed during renovations.
But if you ride the haunted mansion, take the line that goes through the graveyard. The statues and stuff are interactive.
Dole Whip, at the Aloha Isle in MK, get one. soooo goood.
Gosh I wish I had more time I could go on for hours! Cant wait to see pictures!
No advice here, just saying this is such raw cuteness! Thanks for sharing a life moment with us.
so i had this math teacher in high school that was obsessed with disney world, he went out and bought the blue prints for some of the buildings in the park. He told the class that whenever he went to disney world he never waited in line or if he did it wasn’t too long. He said that behind the fast pass machines there is a button and you can press it as many times as you want and it will give you free fast passes. I’ve never been to the park in florida only in the ones in california so i have never tried it but if you wanna beat the long wait it might be worth looking and seeing if the button is actually there. Ed i hope that you and your family have a great time enjoy your vacation.
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