It is a little late for you, but for others reading, I highly recommend the book The Unofficial Guide to WDW. You indicated that touring plans wouldn't be your thing, but theirs are great because during busy times they help you hit rides at the right time of day. I also really like their ratings of rides/restaurants, which they break out for age group. They are based on reader ratings. It was extremely helpful to us to know that Ride A is good for kids at this age group but not that age, etc. It was also nice to know how intense some of the rides were.

Also, once you buy the book you can use their website and they have crowd calendars that suggest which part to go to on which dates. So, if MK has preferred hours (or whatever they're called) for folks staying on Disney property on Monday, don't go there on Monday if you're not staying on property. It is a science.

You don't necessarily need to plan your day to the minute, but I think it helps to plan in the sense of identifying options. It's a lot easier to be flexible and go with the flow if you have at least some knowledge of which restaurants have foods your kids will eat, which attractions can be relied on for low crowds or a good place to cool down and calm down, etc.

Random bits of advice based on two trips at ages 2.5 and 3.5:
- Buy some glow bracelets/necklaces at a dollar store before arrival. Present with a flourish as the sun sets. If your kid is like mine, they will be thrilled and distracted from the $$$ light-up toys being sold there. (YMMV with older kids.)
- Pack lots of snacks. The only things you can't bring in are glass containers and alcohol. Otherwise, Disney is fine with you bringing your own food. Saves money, avoids junk, and avoids meltdowns to have familiar foods readily available.
- If MK is busy or you need a change of pace, go have lunch at one of the resorts on the monorail.
- Some people say Epcot is boring for little kids, but mine loved all the performers and musicians (plus of course the Nemo ride).
- The Disney transportation system is as exciting as the rides for some preschoolers. Again, if you need a change of pace/break midday, go ride the ferries, the littler boats (to/from MK and the nearby hotels), the monorail, etc. You do not need to be staying at a Disney resort to use any of the transportation.
- The recommendation to arrive early is for real and it pays off. Go early, take a break mid-day if desired or needed, come back later.
- If your kids are scared of loud noises, go view the MK fireworks from the TTC dock. Great view, and they pipe in the music but the "booms" are muted. Plus, if you drove to MK, you'll then be right at your car after the fireworks rather than battling the crowds to get out of the park.
- Pressed pennies are great. Originally I thought of them as ripoffs because you are paying 50c for a flat penny... then I realized you are paying 50c for a souvenir that is easy to transport and won't clutter up your house. Now DS has a collection, including pennies from other trips or that relatives bring back from their own travel.
- My kid thought the play area that is the waiting area for Dumbo (they give you a pager and buzz you when it's your time to ride) was the best thing ever. And it's air conditioned, has benches for parents, and they will (usually) let you stay there as long as you want if you tell them your kid just wants to play. So basically: awesome spot for a break.

Ok, that is my fairly-MK-centric collection of tips. If you tell us more about your plans and kids we can probably suggest more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all of the advice. (OP here.)
We will be going after the New Year, so fingers crossed about crowds.
I guess I was looking for easy advice here, because I am overwhelmed by all of the blogs, sites, etc and just want a couple of tips and tricks.
I have no idea what crowds will be like and I don't want to plan my day before even waking up, which is what a lot of these websites seem to encourage parents to do.

If you have your heart set on eating at a specific restaurant (especially character meals), then you would definitely have to plan your day before waking up--in fact, you have to plan your day 180 days before you wake up

But if you are ok with just grabbing chicken nuggets and a coke from the nearest counter service window for all of your meals, you'll be fine and don't need to plan in advance.

I'm not sure how true this is. On both of our last trips, which were in October which is supposedly similar crowds to January I made reservations at Crystal Palace (buffet with Pooh, very popular) for lunch at 180 days. Both trips we then pooped out and decided to change plans to leave the park earlier (I'm the "do what feels good" poster, and both days we decided that what would feel good was the pool), but wanted to see Pooh, so we walked to the podium and they had us seated for breakfast within half an hour. If you go with the flow as far as reservations you may not get your first choice every time, but I think you can eat sit down meals every day without planning months in advance.

I'm not much of a planner either, but reserving fast passes with the magic bands made our trip more enjoyable. We were just there the day after christmas and the crowds/lines were crazy!

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all of the advice. (OP here.)
We will be going after the New Year, so fingers crossed about crowds.
I guess I was looking for easy advice here, because I am overwhelmed by all of the blogs, sites, etc and just want a couple of tips and tricks.
I have no idea what crowds will be like and I don't want to plan my day before even waking up, which is what a lot of these websites seem to encourage parents to do.

If you have your heart set on eating at a specific restaurant (especially character meals), then you would definitely have to plan your day before waking up--in fact, you have to plan your day 180 days before you wake up

But if you are ok with just grabbing chicken nuggets and a coke from the nearest counter service window for all of your meals, you'll be fine and don't need to plan in advance.

Thanks for all of the advice. (OP here.)
We will be going after the New Year, so fingers crossed about crowds.
I guess I was looking for easy advice here, because I am overwhelmed by all of the blogs, sites, etc and just want a couple of tips and tricks.
I have no idea what crowds will be like and I don't want to plan my day before even waking up, which is what a lot of these websites seem to encourage parents to do.

Get the Disney World app. If there are any dinner reservations left, you can find them and reserve, and you can see wait times at some attractions. It will be nuts,though.

Anonymous wrote:I was just there. There has been a dramatic shift in the attitude of the employees- they are rude and condescending. Do not expect Disney smiles. Used to be our favorite vacation, but now we have no plans to return anytime soon. I think the crowds were too oppressive, as well as a change from the GAC to the Disability card. Disaster all around. I hope you have a better experience

Oh wow. I wonder if it's because they are so busy? Not excusing it, but I can imagine it's not a fun place to work this time of year.

Anonymous wrote:Do what feels good at the time.

I think when you go on an expensive vacation, it's easy to get caught up in "but I paid a lot so I need to . . . " which is how you end up standing in your bagillionth line with whiny kids who are DONE standing in line because you feel like you have to ride everything.

Once I realized that I was only getting my money's worth if I was enjoying it, my Disney experience was great. If my kids wanted to spend the morning riding Buzz Lightyear 10 times in a row, or head back to the pool every day at noon, or spend hours running around one of the playgrounds, then that's what we did, and we laughed and had a great time doing it.

My other piece of advice is to collect something. We did autographs one year, pressed pennies the next, and pins on a third trip. It gave a structure to the trip that was nice, and something to look for and talk about as we went.

This is extremely good advice. The pins and pin trading seem to be really popular.

I would add that I think Animal Kingdom best in the morning right when it opens (the animals are all out for the safari and you can ride Expedition Everest easily) and I like Magic Kingdom the best later in the evening after it has calmed down a bit (the fireworks are great). Other than that, get Park Hopper passes and just go with it!

I was just there. There has been a dramatic shift in the attitude of the employees- they are rude and condescending. Do not expect Disney smiles. Used to be our favorite vacation, but now we have no plans to return anytime soon. I think the crowds were too oppressive, as well as a change from the GAC to the Disability card. Disaster all around. I hope you have a better experience

this week, between Christmas and New Year's is literally the busiest of the year. Since you there 2 weeks, I strongly recommend you avoid the parks til this weekend, Sunday, or Monday would be even better. You will get so much more done not fighting the crowds.

Have a great trip!

Do what feels good at the time.

I think when you go on an expensive vacation, it's easy to get caught up in "but I paid a lot so I need to . . . " which is how you end up standing in your bagillionth line with whiny kids who are DONE standing in line because you feel like you have to ride everything.

Once I realized that I was only getting my money's worth if I was enjoying it, my Disney experience was great. If my kids wanted to spend the morning riding Buzz Lightyear 10 times in a row, or head back to the pool every day at noon, or spend hours running around one of the playgrounds, then that's what we did, and we laughed and had a great time doing it.

My other piece of advice is to collect something. We did autographs one year, pressed pennies the next, and pins on a third trip. It gave a structure to the trip that was nice, and something to look for and talk about as we went.

Go to the search box on the left and type in "Disney tips." There are plenty of ideas already shared here on DCUM.

We'll be there off and on throughout two weeks. It's my first time with little kids.
Any BTDT suggestions?
I'm not a huge planner, so I won't be checking websites for suggested routes, etc, but I will take any quick bits of advice you can offer me!
Thanks in advance.