Going to DisneyWorld with 10 and 6yo.......advice?????

In my opinion, many families plan a pretty rigid schedule. "First we'll go to this ride, then that one, then we have to go to this exhibit", etc, leaving no room for freedom and spontaneity. It applies to tourism spots as well as theme parks and fairs.

We've lived in many countries and I have observed the occasional family that has a schedule on their phones or in a guide book. They're so intent on reaching Stop#4 that they have completely missed a wonderful opportunity that was right next to them, had they been just relaxed and enjoying the moment. But they were too intent on staying on the plan.

One time when we were at Disney, we planned on going to a particular ride, but the kids had so much fun on the ride that we just had been on that they wanted to go again. We never did get to the next ride, but the kids had a wonderful time, and my husband and I realized that spontaneity was more important than the anticipated schedule.

It's pretty impossible to see everything and do everything at these large parks, so let that just go. Enjoy what's right in front of you. Stop and listen and watch and if your kids want to look at something and stop and enjoy something, just let them.

Prepare your kids by telling them that you'll do what is possible, that there will be some things you just won't have time for, but that the fun they'll have will be something they'll enjoy for a long time.

Also, don't spend every second taking photos. Take just a few. Instead, look at your kids' faces with your own eyes, listen to their laughter.

Another possibly helpful tip is to plan the souvenirs ahead of time. When kids walk into that gift shop, they just want everything they see. It's mesmerizing! Plan on one t shirt, or one hat, or whatever their interest is and according to your budget. And save the purchase for the very last day, before exiting. Use the gift shops along the way to help narrow down their choices. Then on the last day, they'll be able to say "Yes, I've decided, and I really want that magic wand" or they'll have completely forgotten about the thing they just couldn't live without on the first day. Get the souvenir when departing on the last day (plus that saves lugging around bags and reduces the possibility of misplacing a hat or toy during the previous days). Make sure your kids understand that and stick to it.

Have fun!!!

We were there in May. I like to spend one full day at each park and not mess with hopping from park to park. You should be in good shape that time of the year with crowds. We used the fast pass for the top rides we absolutely wanted to do at each park.

I have done the meal plan before and while it was okay, we find we can do better by sharing and entree. The food is expensive but also huge portions. Unless your kids are huge eaters they can probably share an adult meal instead of two kids meals. My husband and I almost always share one adult meal and it is plenty.

I love to have granola bars, peanut butter crackers, etc. for snacks in my back pack. I've rented strollers there to just have a place to put our jackets, snack bags, etc. If you're staying on site, I would highly recommend to have a down day and just enjoy the hotel area. Disney hotels are a treat themselves. My kids loved the movie at the pool or swimming and exploring their property (when they were younger). Another fun thing to do is enjoy the other properties. One year they had gingerbread houses and we toured them at each location. The Grand Floridian is gorgeous and watching the fireworks from there is amazing.

You can easily spend the whole day at one park. We usually go for a week and do a 5 day pass. We go to a park on Monday and Tuesday. Down day Wednesday. Park Thursday and Friday and then decide which park to go back to for the 5th park day. We also LOVE the waterparks there so we typically close our trip with one of the water parks.

We were annual pass holders for a few years because we worked frequently in the area. If you'd like to p.m. me, I'm happy to help. I LOVE Disney. I tease my husband when I retire from our businesses I'm going to work there.

Have the best time. Relax and enjoy your kids. That's the most important.

I went with kids exactly that age about 2 years ago. We have a blast!! We stayed at the Caribbean Resort, which I think is middle tier for price. We loved it because it was hot when we were there and we took breaks in the afternoons to go to the pool, and it has a great pool. But if there is a place I would cut costs next time, it would be the hotel. In reality, we spent almost no time in our room and would probably have been just as happy at the Sports Resort for less $.

The meal plan is very worth it. Food costs a LOT at the park, and the meals and snacks available with the meal plan are good. If you plan your snacks well, they can almost substitute as a meal - a huge hot pretzel or a turkey drumstick. We actually had some snacks left over on our last day that we used to buy some snacks for the plan ride home.

We were only there for 3 days and we spent 2 at Magic Kingdom and 1 at Epcot. You need 2 days to see all of Magic Kingdom and IMO, that's the park with the best rides. We don't watch movies at all so none of us had any desire to go to Hollywood Studios. I've heard that the animal park is fantastic. If we had another day, I would have added that to our agenda.

Learn how to use fast passes and maximize them. I wrote a post on this a few weeks ago in response to another Mamapedia question here: https://www.mamapedia.com/questions/6673879122357583873

If you go to websites like undercover tourist, they actually have detailed advice on which rides you should use for fast passes for, and what order to go on the rides to maximize your time in a day.

Download the WDW app before you go. It give you live wait times, so when you are in the park you can easily see what rides have short lines and which have long lines before you make a long walk across the park..

Have fun!

ETA: Oh - someone just mentioned souvenirs. This may be too late for you to see, but the best tip I got in advance was to buy a bunch of dollar store glow stick stuff. During the nighttime light parades, they sell tons of these things at the park for a lot of $. I took them with me, and when my kids started seeing other kids with glow stuff in the dark, I just pulled out the dollar store stuff and they were happy.

I haven't been in years and certainly the apps and express passes are great additions. One thing I remember is NOT to go to the first rides as you enter, because everyone else does. Go toward the back of the park and work your way back to the entrance. That way, when everyone is exhausted and their feet hurt, you're near the exit.

I agree on expensive park food. If you can get a small room refrigerator, it's a great place to keep a little food you buy off-site on the way in - yogurt, apples, clementines. Take a few with you too for fussy kids - an insulated lunch-type bag especially with a shoulder strap is great.

Don't buy bottled water - take your own refillable bottles and fill at water fountains or even bathroom sinks. If they don't have hooks, they may have a loop so get a few inexpensive carabiners at the hardware store and clip those bottles to the mini-backpacks you give each person (otherwise Mom and Dad wind up carrying everything). Scope out places to sit down - it's amazing how much your feet hurt, between walking and standing. Sneakers with good support for all - no sandals or flip flops! You won't spend much time in the hotel, and you can forget outdoor pools in January. Indoor, maybe - but you can do pools at home if you really want to. So I'd scale back on that.

Set a souvenir budget ahead of time. No purchases on Day 1 no matter what - make them look around and keep a wish list, then purchase on the last day if they still really want something and have re-done their priority list 4 times!

My 22 yr old daughter and I went fir Christmas last year. Loved it...

We had been several times beginning when she was 2. I did more on this trip than other trips!

The app was helpful as well as fast passes. We bought a hopper ticket so we could go to any park any time any day.

We had dining reservations but we chose to be spontaneous as well. We've never done a meal plan. We just go where we want but absolutely have reservations for any special place you want to go.

We did the dessert buffet that was outside and next to fireworks at the castle. Beautiful!!!! It was a prepaid deal for about $120 for us and worth every penny!

Christmas dinner was Tony's!! Ohana breakfast one day, an Italian place at Epcot for lunch one day, a dinner at animal kingdom and lunch with beauty and the beast restaurant. ALL great meals plus our hotel had good food!

You do need to make any special reservations asap. It books up quickly.

Polynesian is our favorite place to stay!

Enjoy!

There are some fun evening options for adults, if you and your husband are interested you might want to look into one evening of a resort childrens camp and you can do a Disney date night. Just a different way for everyone to decompress after a busy day of running around.