Dsiney Musts?

My brother and sister-in-law lived in Orlando for a few years and had their daughter while living there. When she was 2 she really, really enjoyed Animal Kingdom and Sea World much more than any of the other Disney Parks. Sea World is a gorgeous park and is a nice break from Disney. Animal Kingdom was also a big hit with my niece as you can just stroll around and they have some nice rides for little ones as well as older kids. It is an easy park to do in a day.
Have a great time!

We went last December with our kids (9, 2, 1). I did the princess makeover in Cinderella's castle for my girls (9 and 2) and they LOVED it! The whole process was great. I only spent a little over a $100 b/c I didn't buy their dresses there. I brought princess dresses we had already so that saved a bunch of money there. We also did MGM Studios or Hollywood as it's called now, the playhouse disney stage show was great for the little ones and my oldest liked everything. Sea World was a blast. We skipped universal and Animal Kingdom this time, but we go once a year, so we'll catch it next year.

Magic Kingdom, of course, has Fantasyland which has the best mix of kiddie rides in one place. My 2 year old loved dumbo, peter pan, winnie the pooh, it's a small world, the carousel, etc. We didn't take him on Snow White because it's a bit too scary. He actually liked the haunted house ride too. The older kids might like Mickey's Philharmagic, which is a 3D cartoon orchestra film. The little one might not want to wear the 3D glasses or be scared by the effects. There is also Mickey's Toontown near tomorrowland that is a fun area. In Tomorrowland, I would skip Stitch's Great Escape. You're pretty much locked into your seat once it starts. You don't move anywhere, but you have to deal with annoying sounds, sensations, and noxious smells. Not fun at all. Oh, we also did the character breakfast at the Crystal Palace with the Pooh characters. Animal Kingdom is lots of fun. The safari ride is great. Go there first when you enter the park. The Tree of Life is quite amazing when you get up close, and there is a 3D "It's a Bug's Life" movie for the older kids showing in its trunk. Tusker House Restaurant there has the best buffet in all the parks in my opinion, especially if you like to mix in some ethnic foods with the usual stuff.

In general, make use of the Fastpass system when there are big lines. If one parent wants to go on a ride while the other stays with the kids, you can ask the disney team member at the ride if you are allowed to "switch off" which means that the second parent can then get on without going to the end of the line. There are nursing/baby changing centers at each of the parks, but I found all the regular restrooms to have plenty of space for a diaper change. Make all meal reservations well in advance. Let me know if I can answer any other questions. Have fun!

My granddaughters loved having dinner with the princesses. Belle, Jasmine, Princess Aurora, and Ariel were all there and each princess stopped at each table to chat for a few minutes and photos.

We went in Jan 2009. My 2 yr old loved the Safari at Animal Kingdom, lunch with Pooh at the Crystal Palace, The Nemo show and The Lion King Show at Animal Kingdom and oh, talking with Crush(?) the turtle from Finding Nemo. I can't remember which park that was in. May have been in Epcot. We skipped Universal/MGM.

We went last December and took my 2 1/2 year old to the princess makeover. You can do it for much less than $200. For the smallest package it's $50 and it includes makeup, hair and a sash. We brought a Cinderella dress we bought at Walmart for $20. It's very cute and your daughter(s) will not know the difference. If you get the dining plan, the breakfast or lunch at the castle is very cute to do after the make over. Have fun! Christmas is a great time to go.

Hi R.,
I just got back from Disney with my 3 kids (5, 3, and 6 months) in May and we had a great time! My kids absolutely loved Peter Pan's Flight in Magic Kingdom. There is usually a long wait so I would definitely recommend getting Fastpasses for it. You could ride It's a Small World while you wait b/c it is directly across from it. I am sure you were planning on doing the safari at the Animal Kingdom and it was definitely worth it. If you go to Hollywood Studios (MGM) my kids really enjoyed the Playhouse Disney show and playing in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area. That was a nice break for them and they could just run around and be kids.
One suggestion I would make would be to take a lot of breaks. It may seem like a waste of time, but it will make the things you do much more enjoyable! The other thing I did that was worth every penny was rent a double jogging stroller from a company called "Baby's Best Friend". It was less expensive than renting a stroller in the parks everyday and much more comfortable. My 3 year old took a nap in there everyday b/c they could recline all of the way back. The company will deliver and pick up the stroller directly to your hotel.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more specific questions. I loved this trip and we cannot wait to go back again :)
-K.

We got the official guide, there are lots of character meals that were great, in mgm there is a buffet with the little einstiens, in epcot one with the princess, etc. Also, we went on the website ahead of time and figured out what we could all do together for each park and which rides we would have to split up (due to height requirements). The other great thing was the book told about the rides, the the bugs life thing can be really scary for kids, my 4yr old LOVED it but he's fearless and sleeps totally in the dark, no hall lights, no nightlight, so when it went pitch black he wasn't scared. Also a stroller is a MUST...if you don't have a double, Disney will rent them at the front of each park, but get there early (you maybe able to reserve ahead of time). Even for a 4 yr old that never uses a stroller, you have no idea how much that walking is for them, it's a lot for you and remember each step for you is like 4-6 for them! Plus we left the park at the peak time each day, right after lunch for naps and then went back, it was well worth it!! If you can get to the animal kingdom early on certain days they have the characters out front before they open. Have a great time! Oh, the toy story rides are also games, so if they're great because with the older kids you can really play and the younger kids just like seeing their favorite characters (there are 2 toy story rides, one in magic kingdom and one in mgm). The princess thing looked great, we didn't do it because I have a son, but I swear every girl there had it done. Also, little girls wear those princess costumes like clothes at every park, if you have any, bring your own, they cost a fortune there. We took my niece and wished we had brought our own to save the money on the same thing. Also, if you do the princess meal at the castle (which I highly recommend) make sure they're dressed in the princess costumes if they're into that. When we went 4yrs ago with my niece, she was the ONLY one there not in a costume for the meal and now every where you go the girls are dressed up. Also, to see the princesses at the magic kingdom, you have to go to the character tent in the little kid land in the back directly behind the castle. They have the evil step-sisters on the right side of the castles, but only at certain times. Make sure to get time kids for as many of the parks as soon as you get there, so you can play the best day to go to whatever one based on the nights shows, etc. The mgm has the best night show!! Also be prepared...all the great rides end into a merchandise shop for that ride that you have to walk all the way through to leave. Have a great time and if you have any other questions let me know (we went this past march with my son who turned 4 in may).

I wasn't impressed with MGM, not much for little kids except the Muppet theater. Try to have dinner at one of the Epcot restaurants, we did Morrocco, amazing. Ohana restauant at the Polynesian resort was our fav, although some of the food was on the spicy side (shrimp, especially). Skip Downtown Disney altogether. The safari ride at Animal Kingdom was fabulous, we had a rhino running beside us!

You HAVE to go to the Fantasmic show at MGM. It is the BEST. People started lining up for it almost 2 hours before the show...so if you go to guest services at the front of the park they have this package you can do and you get reserved seats for the show. Its a resturant at the park you go to for dinner, then you go to your reserved seats 25 min before the show starts. I don't remember what the resturant was, but the food was good...and very worth it not having to wait in a 2 hour line!!!

Hello~ Our family of 8 went last December and had a great time. I don't know how long your vacation is, but we went for 8 days and had a blast but learned one big lesson! Don't over schedule yourselves! We decided to do the 4 Disney parks and of course the more days you go the cheaper it is per day. So we ended up getting 6 day passes. We had a great time, just tried to cram too much in one week. We had such a fun time we are going again this December, but we are only picking 2 parks and enjoying the resort more that we are staying at. We really missed out on enjoying the amenities our resort had to offer.....and most of all some down time with each other! Anyway, that's my take. I don't have a lot of advice about the dining aspect, since we prefer to eat more simply and go to less expensive places, which is better on our budget (so we can afford to come back and vacation again!)
Hope this helps, have fun!

My husband and I just took our two kids (age 17 & 2) in April after having not been there since we were both kids (I was only there once)...so a lot had changed. I recommend getting Barnum's guide to Disney...can't remember the correct full name but it gives insider tips to everything! I wouldn't recommend the makeover (because of price and importance) except for maybe the 6 year old. I would recommend making reservations now for one of the princess breakfasts or lunches at either Cinderella's castle or in ____@____.com the character meal at Hollywood & Vine in Hollywood Studios was great because there were several Playhouse Disney characters present and interacting w/ the kids. Playhouse Disney Live is a must for that age too. You must meet Mickey and Minnie in Toon Town @ Magic Kingdom (can't leave Disney without that!)...best to get there ASAP in morning for least wait. My biggest suggestion is get the book, and make a schedule (not necessarily w/ strict times but definately a plan in place). Have a plan for a few things to do if it rain so you know what to do if it does. Have fun!

Hi R.,

I think with those ages the only must is to plan in enough down time that you all aren't over stressed trying to 'do it all' everyday. Plan in some pool time, some afternoons or mornings off of park hopping. Its stressful for kids that age to be on the go all day everyday. And we usually take 2 days to do Seaworld, there is a lot to see there and a great kids play area that has water features.

Have fun!!
S.

I have the same question. I am starting to plan for our trip for next year. I am told that discovery cove is great. A friend of mine got married there a year ago. He said it was well worth the money. I am planning on going to the magic kingdom, animal kingdom, and discovery cove. I am not sure what else they have. Enjoy your trip.

We went in 2007 with our 11,9 and 4 yo. The best thing that we did was rent the double stroller at the front of each park we visited, ALL of the kids spent time in the stroller. We did one park a day, if you have the opportunity to go early, or stay late, do that, the lines are better. I am not sure about the food plans, but I hear for little ones they are way to expensive because they expect you to eat a lot of food, and we all know how they eat when they are tired. We packed snacks in a back pack, as well as water. The lines may be long, many people go during Christmas break, try to get as many of the "line cutter" tickets as you can to limit the wait times. I am not sure what the actual name for the tickets are, but the park employees can help with that. HAve fun, and remember, you can always go back another time and get more memories.