Disneyworld - Allen,TX

That is a great time of year to go that's when I went the first time. I would like the other said skip EPCOT unless you are just dead set on seeing the stuff there. To me it was a waist of time over all. There were a few cool things there. The character meals are great. That age would like Chef Mickeys(Mickey and friends) in the contemporary resort, Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom (Pooh bear and friends) and if you are a girl Cinderellas royal castle (The princesses are there). YOu have to make reservations for these usually about 60 to 90 days in advance. I don't remember which. My husband usually did that. IF you are staying on property you might take an umbrella stroller for the little one anything bigger is hard to get on and off the buses. The buses will take you almost anywhere on property if a bus wont a tram will. You will have a blast!!!!

www.mousesavers.com

www.touringplans.com (it's worth it to order their book!!!!)

Have a great time. IMHO the whole purpose of Orlando is to separate you from your money, so it's fun to max your fun and minimize your expense.

We've been many times and I can't emphasize enough the touring plans web site and their book "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World."

ETA: If you're going in April be on the look-out for "Grad Night" at the various parks. They close early on those evenings. Check the operating hours for every date you're thinking of.

www.disboards.com

All disney parks are appropriate at that age.

Sign up for www.mousesavers.com and they will give you a link to order tickets thru "undercovertourist.com". You must use the link thru the other website, this will save you the 13% sales tax. We've used them 3 times to order our park tickets.

Try to spend more than 4 days at the parks, that way you can relax and see as much as possible. We typically get 7-9 day "park hoppers". This way if one park closes earlier (Animal Kingdom), we can still go to another park (Magic Kingdom) to watch fireworks or get a few rides in during the evening.

Pack your lunches, water & snacks, you can take anything into the parks as long as its not packaged in glass.

Research "disney vacation villas" on ebay and contact the seller directly to find out street address & if you are in a gated community, we rented a 5 bedroom house for $99 back in Feb.

Saving money on where you stay and food will allow you more days at the parks! Remember to budget for parking once a day.

Also purchase your Mickey souvenirs before you go. Try to find a Disney outlet store to stock up on t-shirts and gifts, hide them in your luggage and surprise your family each day!

Good luck, Enjoy every minute :)

My kids were slightly older when we went, 5 & 8. We drove and had fun doing it! We drove from DFW to Disney. To make it fun, we had the brown lunch bags with different toys or travel games and gave one to the kids every time they got bored or when we went over a border. We got to stop at really cool places along the way. You can also stop at the beach for some fun, the kids thought that was awesome. They had never seen the ocean before. DVD players were a big hit as well. We did not take 2 days to get there, we drove straight through, it is an 18 hour drive. If you have more then one driver, it really works well.

Couple things we thought were cool:
1:we had autograph books made at office max that were personalized. It is about the same price as buying one there. Make sure you bring a fat perm marker for the characters to use as some of them can't use anything else with the costumes they use.
2. ALL people that work at Disney wear a lanyard with Disney pins on them. You can trade pins with them if you have some. Ours were bought beforehand on ebay (WAY less expensive) My kids thought that was beyond cool!
3. We bought gift cards beforehand as well at the Disney store, these can be used both at the store and at the parks.

My kids loved Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Disney Hollywood Studios. Magic Kingdom would have the best entertainment for your age group tho.

A friend mentioned the character meals and how, depending on the time of year, they need to be booked months in advance. Same with Cinerella's Castle (but not sure what all you can get there!) If this is the kids first time or if you are celebrating any milestones (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) tell the 'customer service' people when you get there and they will give those celebrating (whatever it is) a button and the characters throughout the park will make it a point to say special hello's to those in your party.

Definitely bring bottled water and snacks or packed lunch, even if you have to eat outside of the park and maybe make one meal a day in the park...again, if that is within your budget because we are talking about $15-20 hamburgers! Have you looked into your local Parks & recreation dept. for discount tickets?

Most importantly, don't overplan and just soak up the joy your kids will experience....nothing like it in the world!!!

I would skip Epcot. Just went to Disney in December and my kids could have cared less about all the cities - mostly just stuff to buy for them there anyways! There were a few rides, but I would spend the majority of the time at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. We did 2 days at Magic Kingdom and 1 at Animal, MGM (don't remember if that is still the name...LOL) and Epcot.

If you plan on being that late at night, until the park closes, for the fireworks, etc, I suggest going back to the hotel or room/house for a middle of the day nap. We did NOT do this and our 3 year old was asleep on our shoulders for the last hour of the day almost every day (this was between 630-830 pm). We did get a stroller (2 person) and that was really beneficial for our three year old because he tired easily...or bring your own. I didn't because I figured he was old enough to walk. We ended up carrying him or put him on our shoulders the first 2 days (same with our 5 year old so she could see things since it was often crowded). This way they are safe and you do not have to carry them.

Bring snacks and water. We did get 1 snack/drink per day (ice cream sandwich, fudge, etc) but it's expensive so we tried to avoid that. We also split meals - one for hubs and I and one for kids to save money and they were usually full enough (not like they were interested in sitting down eating anyways!).

Do not take them on Stitch's ride (Magic Kingdom). The kids were TERRIED of this one. We had a 7, 5, 4 and 3 year old and this was the FIRST one we went on. Very scary (just a room you sit in but Stitch gets loose and it really scares them).

Definitley go IN the Tree of Life to see the 3-D show. My 3 year old honestly did not like MOST of the rides. He went on a few of them (Dumbo, kids roller coaster, water ride, etc) but was too scared to ride them again. He really enjoyed the Indiana Jones show, 3D show, etc. Shows and the rides where you sit (in a teacup, It's a small world, Winnie the Pooh, Toy Story, etc) were MUCH more his style.

Take one backpack for the entire family. We also put our kids names on the inside of their shirts with our phone numbers (or give them a wristband with this information JUST in case they got lost).

If you are interested in getting your kids pressed pennies (cheaper 'toy') that is all around the park, I suggest buying 2 tubes of the mini m&ms (and eat them) and then put 2 quarters, 1 penny, 2 quarters, 1penny, etc. Each penny press is .51. The kids did like this but then it came in handy when we needed change for a game at the hotel, a dollar here and there, etc.

Good luck and have fun!

Wow I'm surprised at all the people saying you need to book meals in advance. We go at least once a month to one of the Disney parks and never have issues getting character meals or restaurants. Even though character meals are a waste of money IMO. Unless your older son is into science and all that avoid Epcot. Hollywood Studios has the playhouse Disney stuff and Star Wars. Animal kingdom has some good character spots, also. And magic kingdom is always a must for a Disney trip.

I am a Mom of 7 and Grandmother of 14 and a Travel Agent. Driving to Disney World is a brutal thing to do. It is 24 hours of driving so you have to break it up at least in 2 days. Right now Southwest has some good prices on flights and Disney is offering free nights at their resorts where if you stay you can get dining included. There are also promotions for flying one way and driving back where cars are only $20 a day. If you need more help feel free to contact me.
Thanks
N. Cox

majic kingdom has the most rides for little ones.. because it has the most rides.

animal kingdom has some nice things. but for $80 per person it is a pretty pricy zoo. The safari at animal kingdom is cool.. but 20 minutes long.. there are a couple of rides too big for your kids.. bugs life is cool but might scare them. (dark) very dark

do not do the stitch ride.. scary and really dumb.

epcot has some cool things..

I would mainly go to magic kindgom.

we packed a light lunch.. half a sandwich per person fruit and juice ate the lunch at 11ish.. so I didnt have to carry it all day.. then we ate a bigger lunch we bougt at the park around 1.. the lunch lines were shorter at 1.

it is great fun.. but very tiring for all ..

Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. Allears.net. Has everything you need to know. However, if you were planning on eating at any of the restaurants you need to try to get reservations now. Chances are you will not. I usually do it four months in advance, if not, more and do not get what I want all the time. There are always the counter meals or the hotel restaurants you might get into. Parks in morning, naps in afternoon. Go back later in day. April is a very crowded time of year, so be prepared for long lines. Epcot is great. Especially for the five year old. Learn about different countries. Character meals are fun, but usually need to book minimum of six months in advance. You can try. Food is not cheap but certainly not $20 for a hamburger! Just try to plan out what you want to do in a day. Seaworld would be great too for the kids.

What month are you going?

I would skip Epcot ! My kids went there once and have no interest in going there again.

Magic Kingdom can take 2 days to get through if u are going for the 1st time. It is ALOT of walking. And if you go on a school vacation, the longs can be very, very long.

My favorites are Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Typhoon Lagoon when it is very hot (If they like the water).

Take snacks and water. It is very expensive to buy water. Your 3 yr old may or may not need a stroller. The food in Disney is not cheap. Make dinner reservations ahead of time if you plan to go to restaurants !!!

They will love Magic Kingdom.. The Animal Kingdom is nice and laid back.

One thing we noticed is that if you all do the Character photos.. Epcot had the shortest lines and some of the best Characters.

I agree to go back to the hotel for a nap.. In the summer when our daughter was younger, we would go to the early opening park.. Come back to nap, take a swim, then go back to the park..