Going to Disney, Any Advice??

My husband works for Disney world and we went all the time before my son was born. we are also going to Disney world for labor day weekend. My advice, Check the weather because it is going to be hot and humid. the magic kingdom does not have that many airconditioned rides so I suggest going to the kingdom at night and go to MGM or Epcot during the day, they have the most airconditioned lines. If you've never been to epcot go to soarin, you and your kids will love it. I don't know how tall your kids are but if you buy them some shoes with thick soles they will be able to get on a lot more rides, that extra inch really counts. The disney guide doesn't tell you that. Before you leave Epcot Stop at the coke Pavillian and drink free soda from all around the world. There really is a lot of thing to tell you but I hope these couple help you. ALSO DO NOT go to animal Kingdom it is a Sauna this time of year and it takes forever to get to on the buses. trust me.

I didnt go to disneyworld but did go to disneyland 3 months ago.
Use the baby pass its a pass given to parents ...one parent rides and when he gets off then mother boards directly to front of line ...... I went with my parents and sometimes i rode with my husband while dad cared for my son and sometimes i rode with my dad. either way someone always gets to ride twice if u want.

Many rides you can get in with the little ones. like most in fantasyland and pirates of the carrabean.

Like a reader said above a backpack comes real handy to put diapers and the camera. That way when u all ride together , yes including the children you dont leave valuebles behind.

get water refills at the drinking fountains and ask for ice at the food booths free.

You might want to head back to the hotel for naps for the kids.

This is a year of a milion dreams. Prizes will be given away like , Dream fastpasses, Dream Lanyards & Pins, and Dream Ears appear to be handed out for the most part between 9:30AM and Noon. After Noon you typically don't see these prizes get handed out. so get there early.

I recommend you go to Disboards.com. its the best site for planning any trip to disney parks. read the forums and ask questions there too.

have lots of fun

Hi Nocole-- Hope your plans are coming along nicely. I just wanted to add a couple of things. First, if you haven't, check out the Disney website, it is full of usefull information! You can look at each park to see what activities fit your family best and plan your days around them. I also recommend the park hopper pass---It allows you to go from one park to another at your convenience. You can get one for all the parks or pick two or three and bounce around between them. At the ages your kids are they may not enjoy Epcot as much as the other parks....I do recommend Animal Kingdom as well as the Magic kingdom (disney)--I found my son and younger neices and nephews enjoyed these the best (ages 2-8). One other tip, when you go into the parks head to your left. I was told that the majority of people automatically gravitate to the right, so the rides and attractions to the left generally have shorter lines and less crowds early in the day! Mostly try not to do too much, spend some time relaxing at the hotel and enjoying each others company, after all that is what family vacations are all about!! Good luck and have FUN!!! ps if your uncle is gonna be there with you, see if you can get him to watch the kids one evening and hit the Disney adult scene (Pleasure island)!! There are great places to eat and different clubs you and your hubby can check out!

I would say to take afternoon breaks it can make a world of difference if it is just to rest in the room or relax by the pool. Also, make sure you have Advanced Dining Reservations (ADR's). We will be at the world on October 1st and alot of places are booked solid so I would definately make sure to have dinner reservations. Have any questions just ask.

I've heard that getting the meal plan is the way to go! You could probably call your hotel and ask about it there.

Tons of advice. Just went in June with my 4 year old and 2 year old. Go early to the extra magic hours and ride the attractions that are most popular. We planned our schedule around the early extra magic hours. We went early and finished by lunch or after and went back to swim or nap. Then we would go back in the evening to what ever park we wanted to. This is what we did.
Monday: MGM: If your kids like Toy Story the characters are here. Also any other movie characters like Incredibles, Chicken Little, Cars etc... These characters you will find at MGM. The Little Mermaid and Muppet 3-D are the things we did early. We also ate lunch here at Pizza PLanet from Toy Story.
They also have Playhouse Disney. We returned back here that evening had supper and watched Beauty and the Beast and Fantasmic. I think that is the name of it. It was great. My oldest daughter was a little frightened but is was a good show.

Tuesday: Magic Kingdon: FantasyLand and Tomorrow Land open early. We went and rode all the rides that fill up quick. Mickey 3-D was great. We went home at lunch and back to Epcot that evening for the fireworks. This was our roughest day. If I had it to do over I probably would not go to Epcot. A few good attractions for the kids but not enough to go.

Wednesday: Animal Kingdom: The Safari opens early so do it first. It is great. We ate lunch at Animal Kindgom and returned back to the hotel for the night.

Thursday: Magic Kingdom: We had already ridden most if the main attraction rides so this day we saw several of the characters and spent some time is Toon Town and Tomorrowland.
Buzz LIghtyear Spin is a great ride. We went back that night and watched the evening parade and fireworks. Very good.

Friday: Magic Kingom: We had a character breakfast scheduled at the castle, which I do reccomend. It was great. We then watched the show in front of the castle. It plays every hour or so. Great show. My favorite. After that we went to Frontier Land for the Woody and Jesse, and Bullseye Ho down. They come in the streets and get the kids in with them dancing and singing. The kids loved it and you don't see much advertisment of it. So if your kids like Toy Story, ask about it. Frontier Land does connect directly with Fantasy Land. We didn't know that until the last day. We saw a few more characters at Toon Town and then our journey had ended.
One last thing: Go ahead and schedule your dinners. It is hard to get in to restaurants if you haven't got reservations. We wanted to go to SCi Fi but we didn't have reservations. We couldn't get reservations for any night once we got there. Rainforest Cafe needs reservations and any character breakfast.
Great Trip. We loved it and the kids loved it.
Although there wasn't much relaxing about it. We needed another vacation to rest from our vacation. Would not trade it for the world though.

Hope this helps.

N.,

We've been to Disney several times and the book you've referenced is the best guide there is bar none. I xeroxed the pages of each park out we visited and stapled them together so I could take that set of pages to the park we were going to that day. We could follow the ride suggestions without lugging the whole book around. We also loaded up a backpack with food, snacks, bottled water & juice boxes and took turns carrying it (we called it being the camel!) throughout the day. The good thing is it gets lighter as the day goes on & you save a ton of money by not purchasing food & drinks on property. We did take time out for special treats of ice cream, etc but brought most of what we ate/drank. I would also suggest putting extra pairs of socks & undies & shorts for after water rides. We usually tried to ride those later in the day to beat the heat. Also hats, sunscreen and hair ties. Look into getting multiple park/days for your passes - that will save you money. Also, since you're staying on property try to use the extended hours for using the park (maybe go back to the room during the hot afternoon for naps and going back out in the early evening). You can call and reserve a meal with Disney characters. This is always a big hit. I believe they do a breakfast and a lunch, can't remember if dinner was an option. I would highly suggest getting reservations now as they book up quickly in advance. Hope you have an enjoyable & memorable trip!

N.,
I'm not sure how to help you plan your actual days out but I can give you advice on how to save money.
Buy a back pack or two.
Buy water to put in those back packs.
Buy breakfast foods to eat in your hotel room.
Make your kids shop everyday and tell them they can only have one thing so make sure it is what you want and buy it the last day.

By taking your own water into the park you can save alot of money. The same with eating breakfast in your room. (unless you have purchased the meal plan that Disney offers because that is a great plan)

Hope you can use these tips.
Jen

I have a great idea that I got from several friends. Disney is expensive and kids are going to want everything in sight which makes it hard to keep saying no. So, this is what they do - before the trip they buy several small "surprises" at Wal-mart or maybe even the Disney store at the mall. They place one surprise on each child's pillow at night to be discovered when they get back to their room at the end of the day. By doing this, when they are at the park all day and the kids keep asking for the expensive toys, stuffed animals,etc. ( trust me - there will be lots) - they just say ' now remember you have a surprise waiting on you in the room tonight already." It saves money, makes it exciting for the kids and is fun for the whole family. You just have to find something small enough for your bags and inexpensive. They swear by it - & their kids love it! Hope you have a great time!

N. I can help. I have 2 children 5 months and 2.5 yrs. We just got back from Disney 3 weeks ago and are going back in 4 weeks. It was HOT when we went. It should be a little cooler and less crowded since school has started. Pack lunches and freeze water the day prior. This will save you a lot of money. Of course, children will be children. They will more than likely want something from the on-site restaurants, but one snack is better than buying a meal. Wear walking shoes, buy rain gear in advance (just in case it rains while you are in the park) Universal and Disney made mucho money of those of us who were not prepared. Fifteen dollars for a 5 dollar puncho. HAVE FUN!!!!

that was my sons wish, so make a wish sent all of us to disney world and gave us all the theme parks admissions.My kids were at the time ages 9, 4, 2,. They had a ball. My kids had more fun at universal studios then any were , there was more rides for all ages and they loved all the dr sues rides and we ended up leaving epcot because they were not having fun and went back to universal. They did like disney make sure you bring plenty of film or cards for your camera , U will not believe all the characters at all the parks that your kids can get there pics with. I bought a autograph book at the walmart in florida b/c of the disney them on it , you would not believe how big of a difference in price if you buy one at the theme parks.. But my kids love still looking at all the signatures from all the characters. My kids were not to found of sea world either there wasnt alot to do and if there was you had to pay alot alot more to do them and no swimming with the dolphins they have waiting list on those.. My suggestion just by me going and my kids is go to disney and universal, more than any, because your kids will love it. I hope you have a good time and hope your kids enjoy it as much as mine did. OOOHH i dont want you to think that the other parks are bad, it's just that at my kids ages those two parks were the only ones they had fun at and the only ones that they wanted to go to. All the rides are just perfect for them and me too. I had a ball with them and loved both parks.. Next time if we ever go back it will b 2 days at disney and 2 days at universal.. I hope this helps out

You will have a great time. My daughter is 3 and has been 3 times as soon as our son turns 1 we are going back again. The best thing to do is look up the height requirement list before you go. Use the fast passes and you can also do parent swap. And if you want to meet Mickey and friends get into their lines at their meet places as soon as possible. And at the magic kingdom they have 2-3 pirades a day so if you miss one and use that time to ride some ride the line will be shorter. Take advantage of the extra magic hours if you can. And have fun. Remember kids go at their own pace, the little one might sleep in a stroller while your there. Thats when my hubby and I would take turns riding grown up rides while the other stayed with her.

We have been to Disney twice with my daughter who is 3.5. She loved it especially the character dining. You will be going when it's hot so I'd suggest a break during the peak of the day when it is hotter. Take advantage of the special park hours you get when you stay at the resort. It is amazing how easy it is to get around with only resort members there. I'd plan your days around those park hours. Hopefully you got a park hopper pass with your package as it is the best. Also you might want to look into a Disney dining plan, we haven't done that but several of my friends say that it is a great way to save money and eat really good. I hope you have lots of fun and at least two of yours are free now.