Questions about Disney World, trip upcoming in May

[pi_kapp_shack]

Hi All -

As I know there are many knowledgeable sources out there regarding the wonderful world of Disney I wanted to throw this out for any feedback/suggestions that anyone may have. Our family, myself, wife and 2 kids (ages 6 and 2) will be taking a trip to the Orlando area in May. As of now we are thinking of visiting Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios with the kiddos. We are not going to be doing either of the Universal Studios parks this trip, that will be another year.

It's been well over 15 years since I last visited Disney and my wife nor kids have ever been. I am sure that both Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios can be full day adventures but am not sure about how much time would need to be spent at Animal Kingdom.

I appreciate any information that anyone wants to throw out there.

[standbyme]

Different people like different things...my family seems to be satisfied with about half a day at Animal Kingdom...but I know of others on this board who could spend days there!

You should use the search feature and look for the Disney trip reports here. (Narrow your search by only searching for Disney in the thread's title.)

You could also PM "Avatar", he is very nice and has helped a lot of us with Disney tips..i'm sure he could send you to a few Disney sites that would be helpful.

(Planning IS everything!)

[Cory Butcher]

All parks are full day excursions. Especially with young kids in tow. You will need in all likelihood twice the time of some of us regular visitors to Disney to see everything, appease the kids at various times and make your way from attraction to attraction. It really becomes a question of not "Is there enough to do?" but rather, "Will we have enough time to see everything?"

Where are you considering staying on your vacation?

You definitely came to the right place for some ideas. Some of us have been to the Walt Disney World Resort more than 10 times! And some of us have been to the parks even more times than that!

[jzarley]

^ I agree with Cory, each park is a day unto itself. This is especially true at WDW, because even with the park hopper passes, "hopping" is actually a lot more difficult than it sounds just due to the logistics and geography of the resort. (As opposed to Universal...) With the kids, you may even need two full days at the MK.

Animal Kingdom has some of the best shows I've ever seen in any theme park. (Although, I understand with a 2 year-old sitting thru shows might be challenging ) "Finding Nemo the Musical" and "Festival of the Lion King" are both outstanding.

I know that the Studios aren't a favorite for a lot of people, but it's one of my favorite parks. (In fact, on my "personal best" list, I rank it 3rd among all parks after IOA and CP...KI comes in at #4). But, then again, I also really like Disney's California Adventure so maybe it's just me.

I also agree with the suggestion to PM "Avatar"--he's got as much knowledge on visiting Disney as any travel agent you'll ever find!

[CoastersRZ]

Remember, that Animal Kingdom does not stay open as late as the other parks. At times, they close at 5pm, because the park featured animals. I know at certain times of the year they close at 7, but they are rarely open past dark. And yes, those two shows at Animal Kingdom are amazing!

No visit to EPCOT? While it isn`t high on thrill rides, there are still several things that your kids will enjoy. In the Seas Pavilion there is the Nemo ride, in which you ride in people movers similar to Phantom Theater/Scooby Doo cars. You ride past scenes with real fish from the aquarium, and also see the stars of Finding Nemo throughout the ride. There is also Turtle Talk with crush, where kids can interact with Crush from Finding Nemo. Yes, your kids maybe a little too young to fully appreciate World Showcase, but there are still some rides that they may enjoy like Maelstrom, and the American Experience.

I don`t know how long you plan to visit, or what you intend on seeing and doing, but Walt Disney World also has two top notch water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. Of the two, I preferred Blizzard Beach on my recent visit back in September of 2008. That trip to Disney World was actually "research" for my thesis project!

Remember, if you stay on property at Disney, you have access to Disney transportation buses, which will take you to all the parks, water parks and Downtown Disney. This also alleviates the need to pay parking fees at the parks. Some of the value resorts (the All Star Sports, Music and Pop Century) are comparable in price to hotels on International Boulevard. And if you are flying into the Orlando International Airport and staying on property, Disney will even take you from the airport to your hotel and will deliver your bags to your room! No need to pick them up at the hotel! I used this service on my trip, and it certainly made getting from the airport to the hotel a breeze!

[Avatar]

OK first things first congratulations to you Dad. You are going to make a couple children very happy as well as making some family memories that your family will cherish decades down the road. Let me also congratulate you for making one of the best decisions that you will make on your upcoming trip and that is for asking for advice and tips before you go. That tells me you want to have a awesome family vacation and want to make sure your give your family the best experience possible. Disney is more affordable than many think but none the less it is still expensive. Many go down to Disney World and spend hundreds or thousands of dollars and they show up with out a plan or just try to wing it, that's OK because they do not no what they are missing. I assume by you asking that that is not what you want. My first trip down with the family I had a great basic plan and knew what park to hit and what was the must do shows and attractions. We flew in at night and checked in our Disney resort about 11PM at night, it was dark so we really had not got to see the Disney Magic yet except for the wonderful service staff. The next morning when we were walking out the door I can remember how over whelmed I was of from the magnitude of the place and wondered how in the world those without a plan do it. I do subscribe to a paid site that helps families plan a trip and gives many inside tips and tricks on how to tour the world with out the stress. It does not tell you to follow a one size fits all plan but rather gives you inside information and the tools so you can tailor fit a visit that works for your own family. TGM says many pay a lot of money to go on a trip but won't spend a few bucks that will make there trip the best possible. If you are interested in that just let me know and I will guide you there.

I have many tips and suggestions to make but only will give it if you really want it.

To answer your question about Animal Kingdom; that always depends on each family, but I find with families with children the ages as yours they can spend a whole day at Animal Kingdom easily. The shows and character meets are wonderful there and they offer a great parade towards the end of the day which the park itself closes at 5PM towards the first of the month and 6PM most other days. The park is the most spread out and requires a lot of walking don't be surprised that even when you leave you will be just as wore out as you will be from the other parks. We often stay till after the parade then take a quick buss ride to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to have a look around then a wonderful dinner at one of their many restaurants there. As CoastersRZ said above Epcot is also a great park for kids but if I was to leave one out and my kids where the same age as yours that would be the one I would skip if I had to leave one out. At Hollywood Studios they have a wonderful night show of Fantasmic. that show is absolutely wonderful and I suggest that you all not miss that show but keep in mind they only show it on select nights so plan carefully.

I have some questions if you want to answer that may help us help or suggest tips for you.

Have you set a date yet and are you firm on it?

Are you staying on-site?

Do you plan to visit Disney again in the next few years or is this the last trip for a while?

How many days are planning to visit Disney?

Are you pulling the Kids out of school during your trip?

Have you made a reservation to have lunch with the princess in the castle yet? Or to have them made up to be a princess or pirate. (Depending on their gender)

Like I said earlier I will give you as much information that you want and will make suggestions but I do not want to force it on you so I tend to hold back unless asked. Feel free to PM me and I will help you as much or less as you want. I truly enjoy seeing families going to Disney and want to give them the best opportunity to make it the best it can be for them while they are down there. As you can see there are many on here that can help and have great information to share.

Here is a great site that gives good basic planning tips and how to save some money on the basics. http://www.mousesavers.com/

Thanks standbyme and jzarley for the vote of confidence.

[Diamondback FOF]

The only thing I can really say is:

-Stay on property if it isn't too much more than staying at a place off property. You will save time (both by driving time and getting in early), and you can get in early and/or stay late, depending on the park and day. Also, you will save parking money.

-Use fastpasses. They will save you waiting time, so...

-Buy souvenirs (sp?) It is always nice to bring some stuff home

-Ride some bigger rides, not just kids' rides (I know that is important, but there are some really good larger family rides that must be ridden

-Get a picture card thing (if the park photographers take your picture, they just scan your card and then you can look at your photos online when you get home)

-Don't worry about getting to the parks at opening nd staying the entire day until close. The kids will probably start falling asleep if you get a puch cart thing (maybe for the younger child?). Also, you and your wife will get tired if you try to do three parks all day for three days straight. It is a lot of walking and more tiring than just a normal day or park

-Maybe take a day to drive to the beach while you're down there. It would be a relaxing time, and a decent beach that isn't crowded, Cocoa Beach. When we went, it wasn't even a couple hours from Disney (maybe an hour or hour and a half, I think) and, like I said, it was family friendly and not crowded, but a place to park was a pain to find. But, the edge of the ocean had tons of little shells, so be careful walking (it might have just been because of a storm stirring stuff up or because of the tide). But, if the children want to collect shells, there weren't many goood shells to collect. Daytona Beach was a good place for shells. Also, depending on the day, a space shuttle may be landing or taking off, so you could watch that, whcih would be a neat experience (a shuttle was landing right after I left the beach, but was even closer to Cape Canveral, but it was way too cloudy to see it )

-Finally, enjoy yourself! Disney was one of the BEST weeks of my life (minus the long drive) and I wish I could experience it again.

[pi_kapp_shack]

Thank you all for the great information so far. I have reviewed several of the TRs on this site and that is the reason that I posted this here. I know that this is a group of true enthusiasts regardless of what parks are being discussed.

I'll try to answer the questions that have been asked so far, if I miss yours, I'm sorry and will look to get back to it later.

Avatar:

We arrive in Orlando on 5/7 and will be flying out on 5/13, flights are already booked so no changing of the dates unless something major comes up. Our 5 year old (boy), he'll be 6 at the time of our trip, will be missing a week of school for the trip but I think it is well worth it to try and avoid some of the crowds by going before a lot of the schools are out.

We are not staying on Disney property as we have a vacation club that we are part of and need to use up weeks of vacation. I know it's not ideal to be off-site due to the additional perks that come with the properties but we have to use what we've already paid for. We'll look to stay on-site on a future trip as we do plan on returning, hopefully many times with the kids as they get older.

We have not yet booked any meals but are definitely planning on doing so. We are tentatively looking at the Princess breakfast at Magic Kingdom, our daughter is 2 and is getting into the whole Princess thing already, wow do they start young . We are also planning on doing the Playhouse Disney lunch at Hollywood Studios. Our current plan, not yet finalized, has us visiting Magic Kingdom on two separate days and on the second visit we plan on taking part in Mickey's Cafe for lunch.

I am totally open to whatever information you wish to provide and will send you a PM as suggested. When it comes to a venture like this I don't think there is such a thing as to much information. Thank you for you willingness to share!!!!

CoastersRZ:

We have not ruled out Epcot yet. The Nemo experience is one of the things that has us leaning toward visiting but our son is beginning to grow out of that movie and our daughter has not yet discovered it.

No water parks for us this trip but I'm sure we will hit those on a future vacation. Our son is still not sure about going down the water slides at our local pool. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Diamondback FOF:

As addressed earlier we are not staying on property simply from a prevoiulsy purchase vacation package deal. Trust me that package is one of those, "If I could get in a time machine and go change something" moments in life. Although we are only staying about 5 miles from the Disney area I am not looking forward to the drive nor the parking costs. I'm sure there will be plenty of money spent in the parks for the souvenirs for the kids, mom and dad to. Only limitation is what can we fit on the plane with us on the way home. At least SouthWest doesn't charge for checked bags!

We are working on getting our son geared up for the rides, both the kid rides and the bigger ones that he'll be able to go on. As we live in KC, we've been to Worlds of Fun several times and he has seen mom and dad riding the big rides. As we've been looking at the attractions at Disney he keeps asking how big he has to be to go on the rides. Looks like we have our own little thrill seeker on our hands!

We are definitely going to take a day and stay away from the parks to refresh the batteries, at least the kids are. Grandma and Grandpa are going with us so we'll have some built in babysitters. Not sure if we'll make the drive over to the beach or not although I do like the idea.

[DaveStroem]

• Here are some tips I came up with after a recent trip to the world. Since you are going in May I would highly recommend getting RideMax. Crowds will probably be pretty high. Also be aware of the Star Wars weekends at DHS this time of year.

• Research – You will likely be spending thousands of dollars on your Disney Vacation. Spend some time researching your trip. Get maps so you will know your way around. Pick up a touring guide like the Unofficial Guide to Disney World. Check out bulletin boards like DISBoards.com, they can be invaluable and have lots of Disney experts that are happy to help you have a Magical trip. On these boards you can find out everything from menus to information about hidden Mickeys.
• Have a Plan – Choose your dates trying to avoid holidays. Once you have your dates, chose which park you want to go to each day. Consult the calendar on the Disney.com website for current hours. Disney hours are not the same everyday and can change often. Disney also offers Extra Magic Hours for Disney resort guests. These times allow resort guests only in the park before and after the non resort guests may enter. These can make the parks extra busy on the day that a park has an EMH. Decide before getting in the park which rides you want to do first, second and third and know where these rides are at. This will save a considerable amount of time trying to figure out where to go. There are also pay sites like touringplan.com, tourguidemike.com and ridemax.com. Considering how much a trip cost, spending an extra $20 for some great advise is cheap.
• ADR – Advance Dining Reservation. If you want to eat at a sit down restaurant while at Disney World you should have reservations. ADRs can be made 90 days in advance by calling 407-WDW-DINE. Most of the better restaurants will fill up quickly and not take any walk up requests for dining. There are also many Counter Service restaurants that don't take reservations. Eating early will lesson the crowds, as there is a huge difference in the lines from 11:30 to 12:00.
• Park Hopping – If you want to go to more than one park on the same day you need a Park Hopper ticket. You cannot just use an extra day from your Magic Your Way ticket to hit 2 parks in the same day. If you are unsure that you will use park hopping, don’t get it but put the money aside (currently the hopper option is $50 per ticket for your entire stay whether it is one day or 10) and then if you need to add the hopper option you can upgrade at any ticket booth or even at your Disney resort. If you don’t end up hopping you just saved a considerable amount of money that you can spend on that stuffed Mickey you have been eyeing.
• Transportation – Getting around the parks is easy, but can take a while. Buses, monorails and boats go between resorts and theme parks and from theme parks to theme parks but not from resorts to resorts. Allow for 30-60 minutes to get from a resort to a theme park and a bit longer to get from one resort to another. Disney Magic Express provides free airport transportation to and from Disney resorts. (advanced booking for DME is required)
• Rope Drop – Disney gets crowded. The earlier in the day you start your tour of the parks, the more you will get done. If you get there 30 minutes before the park opens for the day you will be at the turnstiles when they open 15 minutes before the park opens. From the turnstiles you will be held inside the park by a rope. When the park officially opens for the day they remove the rope and you may then proceed to the attractions. You will get more done in the first hour than you will in the next 3 hours and more done in the first 3 hours than you will the rest of the day.
• Fastpasses – They are free and are included with your park admission. You get a Fastpass by inserting your Key to the World card or park ticket into the Fastpass machine at the attraction you want the Fastpass for. This will give you a ticket with a return time that will allow you to ride with a minimal wait. You can get a second Fastpass as soon as the return time on the ticket or 2 hours from the time you got the previous Fastpass whichever is less. Fastpasses may be used after the return time that is printed on the ticket but never before the time printed.
• Take Care of Yourself and Your Group - Make sure to drink plenty of water. Dehydration can cause meltdowns and muscle fatigue. If someone in your group starts to imitate Grumpy from the Seven Dwarfs have them drink some water. There are many drinking fountains around the parks but filtered water is also available for free from any location that has fountain drinks. Bring a couple of pairs of comfortable shoes that are broken in. Take a first aid kit with moleskin for putting on blisters and check your kids feet regularly to make sure that they don't have a blister starting. Extra dry socks are a good idea to take with you into the parks. Medicated powders can be helpful for keeping chaffing under control. If your in pain, your not feeling the Magic.
• Know your Group – Gear your trip to the needs and interest of all members of your group. Not all people are into big coasters or meeting characters. Plan something for everyone. Also remember that you are only as strong as your weakest link. Young children (some adults too) may need a break in the afternoon whether it is a nap or a swim in the pool. You will then be better rested to hit the parks in the evening. Remember that you can get Fastpasses before you leave that you can use when you get back to the park.
• Have Fun – Remember that this is a vacation and not a military exercise. You will not be able to see and do everything in a single visit. Slow down and enjoy what you are doing instead of rushing around trying to get it all done. If you miss something, don't get upset about it. Just think of it as being the reason for your next trip to the Mouse House.
  

[KIfan1980]

I really enjoy seeing the love for Disney show through in everyone's responses! I'll try not to repeat what others have said, but will add a couple of thoughts as I've taken kids of a similar age to the original posters to Disney fairly recently (I can't believe it is already a year ago, time to start planning again!)

My input/thoughts:

• Kids under 3 are free so taking this trip when you younger one is still 2 years old is a really good idea (we made a trip with both our kids just before their third birthday)
• If you know you will be making return trips in the future, think about purchasing as multi-day a ticket as you can afford now with the no expiration option
• As others have said, have a plan - but also be flexible (especially with the kids). Decide what are really must-do's and what are nice-to-do things for you and your family
• Recognize the different age and interests of your kids and be prepared to have one parent go with each at times. If you always stay together as a family, you are likely to bore the 2 year old waiting for something or skip something the 6 year old really wants to do
• Character dining is a must with the kids (although be prepared for your 2 year old to be scared of the huge characters!). We have found that the Cape May Breakfast Buffet at the Beach Club is excellent for multiple interactions with characters, but have also done others also and all have been good
• I'd highly recommend a visit to Epcot (especially for your older boy). While the kids won't necessarily get the details of the world showcase area, my then five year old loved many of the rides there (Mission Space, Soarin, Test Track) and there is more kid friendly stuff there than you might imagine and Illuminations is just awesome.
• Above all else, don't forget to relax and enjoy yourself - don't feel like you have to be at a park every open hour every day. We typically go to the park 2 of every 3 days. As a side note, I once spent an entire day with my two year old boy riding Disney transportation (buses, monorails, boats of different types) visiting Disney properties (hotels like Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, and areas like Boardwalk) and never actually entered a park. He and I both had a great time that day

Hope this helps and I hope you are able to build as many great family memories at Disney as I have!

[Touchdown]

Ill be leaving WDW the day you are arriving. My suggestions:

-Look into a Disney Guide Book, I personally like the Unofficial Guide because they have Tour Plans that you as a Disney novice will be quite helpful in helping you plan your day.

-Do not miss any of the park's night shows (Wishes and Spectromagic at the MK, Illuminations at Epcot, Fantasmic! at DHS) some of them (Spectro, Fantasmic!) do not happen every day, plan your days so that you see them at least once. My family's rule is that we never have a night on the property where we do not see one of them.

-Stay on property, it truely makes the vacation feel special, it feels like you leave the "real world." Also a park is open for ERT (or as Disney calls it EMH, extra magic hours) one hour in the morning and three hours at night every day.

-You are there during the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot, be sure to check that out

-Just to give you an idea, here is our schedule:

-Day 1: Arrival day, check in and spend the afternoon/evening at DHS which is showing Fantasmic that night.

-Day 2: Blizzard Beach in the morning/Magic Kingdom in the afternoon-evening (Spectro is running that night, Evening EMH)

-Day 3: Animal Kingdom in the morning (EMH,) Typhoon Lagoon in the afternoon, and the Magic Kingdom in the evening (we will likely simply see Spectro and Wishes and not even ride any ride as we have a reservation at Ohana before this)

-Day 4: Epcot all day (morning EMH)

-Day 5: DHS all day (Fantasmic showing)

-Day 6: Magic Kingdom all day(morning EMH, Spectro showing)

-Day 7: Epcot all day (evening EMH)

[XGatorHead 8904]

These are all fantastic ideas. Definitely use the Fastpass system whenever possible. With children, any decrease in queue line wait times is a blessing. You can go off and do other things while you wait for your time to arrive. And be aware that Fastpasses can be used anytime after the return time listed on the ticket. It lists an hour window on the ticket, but if you come back after that hour is over, the Fastpass can still be used.

When going to DHS, make sure that the first thing you do is go over to Toy Story Midway Mania to get Fastpasses for that. They run out quickly for that ride and may not be available later in the day.

When at MK, go to the Hall of Presidents toward the middle of the day. This is a great place for the kids to get a nap in! I read this tip online somewhere years ago, and two out of the three times we've been to MK with my daughter, she's fallen asleep during that. The third time she came very close but didn't quite get the nap in. At EPCOT, she fell asleep during The American Adventure. I like historical audio-animatronic shows, but it puts the kids out!

Like KIFan1980, we also spent some time away from the parks by visiting some of the resorts, Downtown Disney, etc. These are all detailed in my TR from our last visit which can be found here.

If you have time, when at DHS eat at 50's Primetime Cafe. It's our favorite restaurant on property.

Another great website for tips and ideas is http://allears.net. I have found many useful tips and ideas on this site over the years, as well as from their weekly email newsletter.

It sounds like you're well on our way to having an enjoyable trip. The kids will love it. And you're going at a good time of year while kids are still in school. But after you come back home, be prepared to hear "I want to go back to Disney World!" It may not be right away, it may be a year after your trip, but you will hear it!

Have fun... I'm sure you will!

[pi_kapp_shack]

Thanks for the tips about the FastPass, I didn't realize that you could come back after your designated time. Also, great to know about Toy Story at DHS, I'm sure that will be a great hit with the kids.

We are absolutely expecting to hear the requests of wanting to go back. Once we told our son that we were planning the trip to Disney he asked if we could start a countdown. Yikes, not sure I was ready for a 100+ day countdown to a vacation. Luckily, we talked him into starting one about a month before we leave.