if you love Disney...

[Anonymous]

Can you explain why? I'm being serious, I'm here now (well, right now I'm at the computer in the resort because I couldn't face 4 days in a row of parks), and I just don't see the appeal. DD has liked meeting the princesses, and I'm sure she'll like the Cinderella's Castle stuff tomorrow, but aside from that, she'd rather be doing crafts at the resort, and my 2 year old just wants to wander around outside anywhere.

I did like Epcot, and would like to spend more time there sans kids, but Magic Kingdom was just a disaster. I mean, who wants to wait in line 40 minutes for a teacup ride that you could walk right up to at a place like Dutch Wonderland or Hershey Park. Seriously, we were there for about 6 hours and rode 2 rides. Granted, the playgrounds there were good, but if I wanted to take kids to a playground, I could really do that anywhere.

As for the characters, it bugs me to no end that they let kids line up forever, then whisk the characters away without the kids getting to meet them. My 5 year old is capable of waiting in line for a half hour to meet Ariel, but the 2 year old can't wait more than 5 minutes, and I wouldn't even want to subject him to that anyway.

I guess I'm just annoyed because I'd heard how great an experience Disney was, and honestly, it's not all that. The princesses have been terrific, but aside from them, not so great.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your post. My husband and I have been made to feel so guilty because we haven't been able to swing Disney yet with our 5 yr old, 3 yr old, and 8 month old. Your post is a breathe of reality - that is rare after a trip to Disney it seems. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for your post. My husband and I have been made to feel so guilty because we haven't been able to swing Disney yet with our 5 yr old, 3 yr old, and 8 month old. Your post is a breathe of reality - that is rare after a trip to Disney it seems. Thanks!

You're welcome. I hate to be a downer, because it's not like it's AWFUL, but I just don't understand the overwhelming love from (what seems like) so many people. Not necessarily people on this board, but I was wondering if anyone here was a devotee.

Your 5 year old would like it, if they are into any of the characters or princesses. But I certainly don't think it ruins kids to not come here. I've only been once before, when I was 16. I liked it (again, mostly Epcot and Space Mountain), but at 16, I had far more patience for long lines and lots of walking than I would have at 5 or younger.

I will say, I bet your kids would LOVE Dutch Wonderland. It's so much better for the younger kids, and they have rides that the oldest would like (my 4.5 year old LOVED the swings and big rollercoaster last summer, and all the smaller rides). Plus, it's a manageable size, with manageable crowds if you go mid-week. And there's a princess and a knight and Thomas, which we found was plenty of characters to keep the kids happy.

[Anonymous]

Huh. We did Disneyland in California last year with our then 4 year old and my brother's family (kids age 13, 11, 2, 2, and 1) and everyone had a good time. My 4 year old LOVED it. The lines were nothing like what you talk about, and we didn't really worry too much about the characters. I was pregnant, so when the big kids (my 4 year old could go on all but one ride) and the other adults wanted to go on the faster rides, I hung out with the little ones in their triple stroller (got lots of looks with those 3 and being pregnant, I'll tell you!).

If I ever had to wait to meet a "princess" though, I think I'd go nuts. Ugh.

[Anonymous]

We're taking our first trip there this February. Can you recommend some good restaurants for the whole family? We're staying at the Boardwalk.

[Anonymous]

Disney isn't the relaxed vacation it used to be. Back in the day, families would show up on their vacation, and decide when and where to eat whenever they happened to get hungry.

Now, you need to make reservations 6+ months in advance if you want to eat at a restaurant. You have to buy all sorts of books to find out how to avoid the lines and experience all the perks of the park.

We just did Disney over Thanksgiving, and we were there on one of their busiest days of the year. We used the Tour Guide Mike website (like $20) and never stood in line for more than 20 minutes for any ride all day - and we went on dozens! Good thing my sister in law is super organized and likes doing that stuff, because it is not my cup of tea.

[Anonymous]

I feel like 20:49 hit the nail on the head - you have to plan everything down to the last minute. Also, it takes an hour just to get into Magic Kingdom (if you don't stay on-site) between parking and walking and tramming and ferrying or monorailing. I mean, come ON.

And who can plan 6 months in advance what a barely 2 year old will want to do at every hour of the day? The dining thing is RIDICULOUS too. It's just not relaxing at all, and not a vacation, just kind of tedious and annoying.

On the bright side, I've gotten in better shape from all the walking.

[Anonymous]

To each his own... and certainly I don't begrudge your Disney - hating. It's not for everyone.

We've had a couple of fabulous trips with our young kids (last time they were 2 and 4).

I am a master scheduler, and I did plan the trips down to a T. I researched food options so I knew where a few decent places were in each park, so based on where we were, we weren't stuck eating hamburgers for the 4th day in a row, or hiking across the park for some better food. But the "plans" included lots of alternatives so we could go with the flow.

I think most importantly, we really really didn't wait in lines. What a nightmare that would be. My kids had the capacity to wait in one good line per day.

We went early, jumped on the 1 or 2 or 3 rides we REALLY wanted to do (Peter Pan, Small World in the MK, the safari ride at Animal Kingdom,...) Then we took it easy and went on lots of the "lesser" rides that never have long lines: Cinderella's Carousel, the Magic Kingdom train... the little boat ride at Epcot about the Earth... and did the "other stuff" (watched shows or street shows, ate ice cream, played at Ariel's playground, played the bongos at Animal Kingdom, rode the monorail). We walked by the characters and waved... we never waited in line.

We stayed on site, did mornings at the parks, ate lunch, and then came back to the hotel (Animal Kingdom Lodge) and spent the afternoon relaxing and playing at the pool (while my husband got a martini!). It was relaxing and enjoyable for everyone.

But I hear about these families who go with young kids and stay in the parks ALL DAY, and I just think that must be miserable. Some kids might have the endurance for that, but mine certainly didn't.

So, I think especially with young kids, explore the "non-ride" options before you go. If all you want to do is ride the rides all day, you'll spend a lot of time waiting in line!

[Anonymous]

Similar to what PP mentioned, with kids that age you can't plan to be in the parks day after day for hours on end. We took our three yo DD and she loved it. We did half days at the parks - going to MK twice to split it up - and spent a lot of down time at the hotel swimming, watching the ducks, playing on the playground, etc. Staying onsite is key. I also agree that, yes, these days you really have to plan a Disney trip and that kind of detail is not for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Our kids are in K - 4th grade. We went last spring. Other than my youngest, we all disliked Magic Kingdom. Way way too crowded. Epcot was great and 2 days is better. We also went to Sea World for 2 days which we all loved. And we went to Kennedy space center for a day (and the beach there). Disney can be great but remember there are other things to do in that area. You don't have to stay on property. We stayed at Windsor Hills (TH with private pool) and loved it.

[Anonymous]

I agree OP. Went to Disney World last year with 4 yo and she would have been just as content at King's Dominion.

Sea World is a different story though. I LOVED that place.

[Anonymous]

We just got back from spending 2 days at Disney World (we were in FL visiting family and took 2 days to go up to Orlando).

I have a couple of my own observations and things I learned from being there or from guidebooks, so take them for what they're worth.

It is really geared toward elementary aged kids. Not that little kids can't have fun, but many of them, like OP said, would rather be hanging out at the hotel. Some kids have a blast, but would they have as much fun riding teacups at Dutch Wonderland? Probably. If it's a big expensive trip that you'll only do once or twice, wait until they're older. My kids are 9, 8, and 5 and that was just about right. We had a fantastic time.

Second, and I cannot stress this enough - get the Unofficial Guide to Disney World AND join the touring plans website. (It's like $9 and gives you access for a year to tons of printable touring plans.) Follow the advice of this book as if it were gospel. Christmas week is THE most crowded week of the year at Disney, and there were something like eleven Bowl games in Orlando that same week. Do NOT go during this week. Just do NOT do it. We had no choice, however. It was the only week we could go. Armed with a lot of advance planning and my detailed touring plans, we did Epcot and Hollywood Studios and followed the advice to avoid Magic Kingdom (just too crowded this week, and we had been there before). We waited maybe 5-10 minutes for each ride, if that, and for one ride we waited 30 minutes. As we walked around, we noticed that the lines for the popular rides and attractions (which we had already ridden) were over 2 hrs long by mid-morning. It would have been a disaster without those touring plans. Really, the whole experience would have been so different. You MUST arrive early and with a plan in hand so you can do the key attractions before the crowds. This goes along with my first point, but if you have little ones who can't get off schedule, can't be woken early in the morning, must nap at certain times, etc., it can be hard to follow the plans and hence you end up waiting in exceedingly long lines, which is another reason I think it's better to wait until everyone's past the nap stage.

If you go at an off-peak time of year, you can be a lot more relaxed and don't even need touring plans. I spent 2 days there with my DD last February and fortunately it was very cold and it rained! So it was not crowded at all and we just wandered around (in our raincoats & sweatshirts) and were able to go on everything we wanted. Finding an un-crowded day at Disney is not easy, though!

Third, if you can have a car, drive to the parks yourself. It is so much faster and more convenient than resort transportation, and if you are staying in the resort, you can park free at all the parks. Plan your day so you take a mid-afternoon break back at your hotel and then return to the parks in the evening. This is totally do-able if you have a car; more time-consuming if you don't. And, here is a trick. We arrived before park opening each day so parked near the entrance. We went to the hotel in the afternoon to rest. When we returned to the park later, of course the parking lot was quite full and we were directed to park much farther away. We just told the parking attendant that we were here earlier and would it be ok if we drove up to see if our parking space was still open, (the attendants will let you do this) and sure enough, there were open spaces near the entrance b/c other people who arrived super-early like us had also left!

Fourth, if you want to eat at a sit-down restaurant, make reservations WAAAAAY in advance of your trip (like 90 days in advance, in some cases). We didn't eat at sit-down restaurants while we were there b/c our trip was planned kind of last minute and with those crowd levels, there was literally not a single dinner reservation in the entire resort.

20:27, if you are staying at the Boardwalk, you can walk right into Epcot via the International Gateway and you'll be in World Showcase, in the country pavilions, each of which has its own restaurants. I'd recommend getting a reservation at one of those now - the Japanese steakhouse (Benihana-style) is fun for kids; my DD loved it.

[Anonymous]

I know plenty of people who feel the way you do, including my husband. But in my opinion, Disney is not a place you can go to with kids and wing it. You have to go with a plan, you have to go knowing that it is a strenous vacation, not like going to the beach or the mountains. It is non-stop action. And I think that newbies have no idea what they are getting themselves into, if they don't read all the guidebooks in the bookstore (or at least review a couple of them), subscribe to www.disboards.com, www.tourguidemike.com, www.touringplans.com.

I love Disney, would take my dd every year if I could. But I go with a plan, with reasonable expectations, and have had a great time the 2 times I've taken her, despite having a husband that hates it.

It's not a trip for everyone. But rest assured, local amusements can be fun but can never top Disney, if you do it right.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thank you for all the responses. I want to be clear that I don't hate Disney, and I did read 2 books in advance and did plan out the 2 activities (princess meal and makeover) that I really wanted to be sure to do.

I think what others have said makes me think my initial reservations towards coming with a 2 year old were valid - it just takes more flexibility when traveling with a kid that age. But we were offered the chance to come for free, essentially, and I didn't want to pass that up. I'm grateful, of course, and the past few days have been much better.

I think the PP who said that it is geared toward elementary-school-aged kids hit the nail on the head. My 5 year old is able to ride a lot of rides, do a lot of activities, and in general handle the monstrous amount of stimulation pretty well. 2 year old likes being outside and running around (or being inside and running around), and has certainly ridden a few of the rides and liked them, but overall, if I had to do it again, I would wait until he is 5 to come back.

Oh, and we are not staying onsite (part of the feebie), and I think that hasn't helped. Hopefully we'll have a good last day here!

[Anonymous]

I would re-iterate advice from PPs who suggested that Disney is best enjoyed by elementary and even middle-school kids, and that the Unofficial Guide to Disney should be your Bible in planning a trip. When our kids very little, we were very anti-Disney because of the commercialization and princess-y stuff. Though I went to Disneyland as a kid, and it was pleasant enough, I never felt compelled to take our kids. But, our youngest, a very un-princess-y girl, really wanted to go (older DSs never expressed the slightest interest). So, I told the boys they were going to have to take one for the team and planned a spring break trip.

To my great surprise, we all had a fabulous time. Because the kids were older, we didn't have to schlep strollers and diaper bags; also they could get themselves up, dressed, and breakfasted on their own, so we could hit the parks early and never had to wait in line for rides (we did, however, get timed entry tickets for a couple of popular rides, so that obviated the need to queue). We stayed on campus and used Disney transpo, which was remarkably efficient and allowed us to split up if, say, some of us wanted to go back to the condo and hang at the pool, while others wanted to stay on at the Magic Kingdom. For meals, we had breakfast in the condo, and used a meal plan for snacks, lunch and dinner. I reserved a character dinner with Cinderella and co. several weeks in advance -- food was just so-so, but acting was pretty amazing -- yes, really. We also reserved one day ahead for dinner at an excellent PanAsian place in Animal Kindgom. We didn't stay in the parks from dawn to dusk, but after an early dinner, headed back to the condo to hit the pool. We kep the trip short -- just 3 days in the park, with one day off in the middle to see a Nats spring training game (the Braves play their pre-season games at Disney Stadium and were hosting the Nats).

All in all, it was a lot of fun -- our little one (then 6) had her Kodak moment with Mulan, her heroine; our older son (then 13) got to relive his childhood memories high-fiving Tigger and Pooh, and I, too had a Proustian moment on "It's A Small World", recalling not my childhood trip to Disneyland, but an earlier visit to the 1965 World's Fair! And DH -- well, watching the Nats tank allowed him to face the pre-season handwriting on the wall without any illusions of glory. Finally, we all enjoyed eliciting the swarming of Disney "cast members" whenever we pulled out the Unofficial Guide; they would immediately descend upon us to ask if we had any questions, any questions at all -- all the while eyeing the book like it was the Devil's own handiwork! That alone provided plenty of excitement -- almost as much fun as Splash Mountain!