Tips on Disney with a toddler and a 6 year old?

[Anonymous]

We'll be in the Disney area this winter and will have a few days to head to the parks with a 2.5 year old and a 6 year old. I'm seeking the wisdom of DCUMers who have been there (I've never been) with little ones for guidance on what all 4 of us can do together as a family. Are there any rides tame enough for a 2.5 year old? The 6 year old wants to go on Pirates of the Caribbean and some new Toy Story ride he's seen on commercials --- I'm guessing we can't bring the little guy on that. How about the Dumbo ride and It's a Small World -- can we bring a 2.5 year old on that? We plan to go to the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Epcot -- is there anywhere else we should go? I read that the Wilderness Lodge does a nightly campfire for families --- has anyone done that?

I'll be attending a conference during portions of our time there, so DH will have to fly solo and find cheap (or free) non-park activities -- any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for the tips!

[Anonymous]

There is alot for a 2.5 year. We just came back and DS is 2.5, he also went last year at 1.5 and enjoyed it both times. DD is almost 5 now. You should check the disney web site and see how busy the days you are traveling will be and plan from there.

They have fastpasses for many rides. You get a fast pass at a certain time and then come back a few hours later when they are valid. The fast pass valid use time has to start before you get another one. Highly recommend these for Peter Pan and other rides. The hardest part of disney with little kids is the wait time in rides. The merry go round is a good time filler.

Best rides for 2.5 and 6 are winnie the pooh, peter pan, small world, dumbo, teacups (fantasy land), Buss lightyear (tomorrow land), alladin's magoc carpet ride (adventure land). There are also some play areas (pooh's play yard in fantasy land, tom sawyer island has a fort they can climb into). Bear jamboree and the tiki room are cute shows where you can sit. Both kids loved Mickey's Fanstay Movie (3 -D) in fantasy land acros from small world.

If you can swing staying in one of the resorts on a monorail this is great for naps. You could also check and see if you can get early admission which is good with little ones. If not go early right when it opens and take a stroller so your little one can fall asleep. You may also want to take snacks along. The food is OK but expensive. Its impossible to get sit down table service without a reservation. If you want to do this then make a reservation a day in advance.

At Epcot, Nemos ride was good and there is a farming ride in the main building where the cafeteria is located that they liked ( I would have thought they would find it boring but they liked it.)

My kids had a great time on both visits. I also had them by myself on one or two days this time and it was fine. For DH, mine would have killed to just sit in a Starbucks and surf on his iPhone.

[Anonymous]

disboards.com - - check out the forums on trip planning and parks. You'll find everything you need to know, and then some.

[Anonymous]

We just got back from our first time going with our 3 and 5 year old. There's lots to do at all the parks for both ages. (at MK: Dumbo, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Goofy's Barnstormer, Tea Cups, Aladdin, It's a Small World, Buzz Lightyear, Tomorrowland Speedway are some; at Epcot: Figment, Nemo, Living with the Land, and the Turtle Talk show; AK: Lion King show, Safari, Dinosaur Twirl). Just have a plan for what to do with the little one when the big one gets to go on the bigger kid rides so the little one doesn't get upset. In reality, there weren't that many rides that our 5 year old could do that our 3 year old couldn't. If you go on the Disney website, there's a way to search by height requirements. I found it helpful to check it out ahead of time so I knew which rides we could do with one or both kids. The other key thing is that Disney allows you to do parent swaps when you have a little one who isn't tall enough for a ride. So one parents stays behind with the little one and then you get to switch and go right back on again without waiting. We did this on a few of the more popular/busier rides (Soarin at Epcot, Thunder Mountain at Magic Kingdom). It's great and the big kid gets to go twice. There are also a ton of parades and shows throughout the day at the parks which my kids loved. Depending on how many days you are there, you might want to consider Hollywood Studios as well which was a lot of fun for a little ones b/c of all of the shows and familiar characters (Toy Story, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Mermaid, etc.), and which is where the Toy Story ride is. If you are going at a busy time, I also highly recommend using www.tourguidemike.com. It was $20 very well spent. We followed his suggested itineraries at all of the parks (as well as his advice on which days to go where), and barely had to wait in any lines. His Magic Kingdom itineraries for touring with little kids were particularly helpful. As far as non-park activities, if the weather is nice, you can just hang out at the pool. If you are staying at a Disney property, you can also take a boat ride around between different resorts/parks which is relaxing and fun for the little ones. Have fun!

[Anonymous]

At Disney now. It's been, honestly, really annoying. My guess is you're going at a slow time, so that's good. My 2 year old has been enjoying it (well, as much as a 2 year old can in freezing weather). Honestly, he hasn't cared much what he does, as long as he isn't confined to the stroller all the time.

My 5 year old pretty much just wants to stay at our resort and color and do activities here. They'd be happy going to the pool every day, except did I mention it's freezing? FREEZING.

Oh, I see you didn't mention Hollywood Studios. It's not awesome or anything, but the kids did like the Playhouse Disney show and area. Probably the biggest hit so far, and they also liked the tiny little area with Lightning McQueen and Mater.

[Anonymous]

If you are going during a busy time (like spring break), I highly recommend Tour Guide Mike. We went there over Thanksgiving week (one of their top busiest times of the year!) and never waited more than 20 minutes in line for anything. Well worth the $20 or so for access to all the tips/itineraries.

[Anonymous]

OP here: we're going in February. Any suggestions for good restaurants? (not fancy, just fun for the kids)

[Anonymous]

If you want to plan a meal beyond counter service that the kids will enjoy, make reservations at the Crystal Palace Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. It's a Winne the Pooh-themed character meal that many enjoy. If you're going in February, you should be able to get reservations, unless it's President's Day weekend.

[Anonymous]

14:53 do you have any other tips? How did the kids do in the lines? We are going 16-23rd with a 2 yr old and 4 yr old. Staying at Grand Floridian. That week is supposed to be fairly slow other than MLK day (the 18th) and the day before.

[Anonymous]

I did lunch at Crystal Palace and it was great fun with the characters making the rounds around the restaurant. The food wasn't half bad either. Very easy to make a reservation with a call. I think the place that fills up most quickly is Cinderella's royal table but it sounds like you have sons.

In downtown Disney, theree's a T-Rex restaurant that would be awesome for a young boy. There's a big animatronic T-rex and it just screams fun. There's also a lego store downtown that has a bunch of tables for playing with tons of legos and lots of lego statues.

[Anonymous]

14:53 here. We really didn't end up having to wait in any lines for more than 10 minutes. I'm certain this was because we followed the tourguidemike.com itinerary given that we were there over Christmas. His itineraries are not particularly intense. His main philosophy is to go really early, use the fastpass system wisely, and save the character meals for lunch and dinner. This worked well for us since my kids are up early anyway, and we actually ordered groceries from gardengrocer.com so we could eat breakfast in our room and have snacks to bring with us during the day. Great money/timesaver and they deliver to all of the Disney Resorts.

For meals, we liked lunch at the Crystal Palace, but I would skip Chef Mickey's if I had to do it again. It's expensive, the food is terrible, and you can see all of the same characters in the parks multiple times a day. We had a fun dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge, and great Chinese food at Nine Dragons at the China Pavillion at Epcot. There was a cool Chinese acrobat show (15 mins.) that we were able to see right before dinner at Nine Dragons. Other highlights were Lion King show and safari at Animal Kingdom, Fantasmic show at Hollywood Studios, and we stayed up late one night for the Spectro parade. The weather was pretty cold when we were there. Otherwise, I'm sure we would have spent plenty of time hanging out at the pool or going out on a boat ride. They also have surrey bikes (where all of you ride together) to rent at the Boardwalk which looked like fun.

As for the other thread re disliking Disney, I agree that it's just not a trip you can do without planning in advance. We had a great time and the kids loved it, but it's intense with little ones and I can't imagine going again for at least a few years. Have fun!