Touringplans now has an app. We recently used it instead of the books. It was a big help.

There is a discount code for touringplans.com membership if you look at mousesavers.com.

My advice is to rent a stroller or take your own. We took our stroller the first time at 2 and then at 4 we assumed we wouldn't need it, on day 2 as soon as we walked into the park, my dd said I need a stroller and it made life so easy for all of us.

Also, go to www.disboards.com for all things disney.

Plan to get to the parks at least a half hour before opening so you can get yourself situated and get to the ropes before it actually opens.

Wear comfortable shoes for all. Take a change of clothes to the park for the child.

We are going for the first time in 2 weeks with our 3 and 5 year olds, and we have used the Unofficial Guide and touringplans.com to plan. Touringplans.com has specific itineraries for families with small children (minimizes backtracking, walking, etc). You can also create your own touring plan by choosing the things you want to do/see (e.g., choosing only the attractions your 3 year old is tall enough for or would be interested in), choosing your arrival and departure times, plugging in your dining reservations and times, and it will optimize an itinerary for you. Our general plan is to be at the park at rope drop, stay through lunch, then go back to the room for naps/pool time, then head back in the evenings for dinner.

Depending on the age of your children, my kids loved the "kids guide to Disney world" (not sure of the exact title). If you are going during a very busy time get the one of the apps for your phone or ipad that show real-time line waits for rides and also for restaurants. That was a great thing to have while traveling with my not-so-spry parents because we weren't always able to plan reservations because of medical needs.
Make sure you plan to stay for fireworks and any parades that are happening. In that same vein, make sure you plan around the parades so that you don't get cut off from your planned route when they are staging them. Sometimes, you can get through a line really quickly just by thinking about the starting location for parades vs the rides. During Christmas week I think there were 7 parades a day (maybe more!).
Use the train for some down-time. It is a great way to take 20 minutes to unwind (you can just keep riding it around).
Rent a locker as soon as you enter. Even if you have a stroller you will want to have a place to store things that you get along the way. You will not want to be managing bags while riding rides.
During extremely busy times the monorail sometimes doesn't run from the parking lots to the park. If you are not at a monorail connected resort just plan on taking the bus from the parking lot. I accidentally told my youngest that we would ride the monorail in and that wasn't a possibility. He got stuck on the monorail thing so we ended up taking the ferry in to make up for it- which takes a long time.

I hope you can get out to see some of the other parks. Animal Kingdom is my personal favorite, my boys LOVED Hollywood Studios. Blizzard beach is great if you have kids over 48" because there are some extremely fun (HUGE) waterslides there. We all had a great time at Downtown Disney in the DisneyQuest, but I wouldn't say that is a good value for anyone under age 6.

Also- visit the Disney Moms site. Any question you could ever have has been asked and answered on there. HTH!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World has these itineraries. They are helpful if you're a newbie. They are available at B&N and Amazon.

We are definitely newbies. DH an I are not theme park people. Both of us have not gone to Disney since we were teenagers.

I highly recommend either purchasing or borrowing from the library the unofficial guide to Walt Disney World. Do not, get the book that has the add in for parent's of small children. The 2nd book has parenting advice - the 1st book will ground you on everything you are about to experience.

Get it now and start reading.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Run, don't walk , to touringplans.com.

Are there any free versions of this?

For what you pay for a Disney vacation, touring plans is totally worth it. We saw twice as much, and were able to get back to the hotel in time for a nice relaxing afternoon by the pool each day.

Think of it in terms like this -- a $3,000 vacation, spent waiting in hot frustrating lines, or a $3,011.95 vacation of your dreams.

Other than that, here's my advice.

1) Get there at opening.

2) Schedule the latest character breakfast you can, or the earliest character lunch. Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace (with Pooh, it's my favorite), or the Castle if you want the princesses.

3) To me, the ideal day at MK, would go like this:

Get there at rope drop (ideally on an Extra Magic Hours a.m.)

Go directly to fantasy land, do not stop, get to Dumbo. Ride all the fantasy land rides until the lines are too long. If you have 2 adults in your party, have one of them run to collect a fastpass for something (Buzz Lightyear?) and meet you at Dumbo.

Be at Mickey's Toontown fair when it opens, ride Goofy's Barnstormer. Meet Mickey.

Grab one more fastpass (Peter Pan? Buzz Lightyear again? Big Thunder or Splash if you have a very tall 3 year old?

Eat a late breakfast

Ride whatever you have your fastpass for.

Either hang out at the playground, or wander the shops if you're that kind of person, or go back to the hotel.

Swim, nap, relax. Go to bed early

Hit another park at opening the next day.

Anonymous wrote:Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World has these itineraries. They are helpful if you're a newbie. They are available at B&N and Amazon.

We are definitely newbies. DH an I are not theme park people. Both of us have not gone to Disney since we were teenagers.

Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World has these itineraries. They are helpful if you're a newbie. They are available at B&N and Amazon.

Anonymous wrote:when? how many days? are you staying at a Disney Property?

I was specifically looking for itinerary for Magic Kingdom. I know there are detailed plans to maximize your time there.

Anonymous wrote:Run, don't walk , to touringplans.com.

Are there any free versions of this?

What do you mean? I didn't understand the question..... Like, what are must seen things? Wich order ou should do them to make most of your time?

I'm not an expert, but went with our 18m old and that is what we did (to the best of my recollection):

Overall, we pretty much sticked to the "natural" path - starting at main street and doing the full circle clockwise. Of course, we skipped things that did not interest us, such as the mountain roller coaster/water ride. We did classics such as dumbo, tea cup, and of course Pirates of the Caribean among others. We walked the first time but in one of the other days we took the little train right at the beginning of the park and got off by one of the rides further.

If you have never been there, Mickey, Minnie and the princesses are right by Anthony's restaurant (right at the beginning). Take advantage of the fast pass system to cut out your time in lines. For instance, we would get a fast pass to see Mickey/Minnie and while we aired for our turn, we would be in line to see the princesses.

We stayed for one week and had the park hooper thing, so we took our sweet time. By the end, we were mostly walking around (went to see Mickey about 6 times!).

Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Tea Cups, Pirates of the Caribean. We're great hits. I didn't think a small world was that great, but it is a classic.

I'm sure I'm forgetting lots of stuff!

Disney is one of my favorite places on Earth! My toddler LOVED it! I can only imagine the reaction of a 3 y old! Have fun op! (and go with the flow...)

Disney veteran here. You will have fun for sure. A few suggestions are stay at a Disney property.

Not only are they very nice and convenient (free transportation to and from the Magic Kingdom front entrance) but they have special days when the park opens early for WDW resort guests only.

Go early with small kids, get the busiest rides done first (e.g., Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh) then get out of there by early afternoon. After naps, relax at the hotel pool with the little one.

Use Fast Pass wherever offered. It saves a ton of time and shortens the lines a lot!

If dining at WDW make sure to call ahead for reservations. 1-800-WDW-DINE. You can reserve weeks in advance. Great when traveling with hungry, cranky toddlers.

Do a Character meal at Magic Kingdom or one of the WD resorts.

For more on all of the above, go to the Walt Disney World website. There is a wealth of information on there. The guide books -- especially the Unofficial Guide -- are also quite helpful.

Have a great time!

Run, don't walk , to touringplans.com.

when? how many days? are you staying at a Disney Property?

We are headed to Disney with our 3 year old.