Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just go, walk around and have a nice time. Don't stress it. You will never see everything in one trip so if you enjoy it plan to go back.

This is crappy advice. Nowadays you have to book restaurant reservations at least six months in advance. Otherwise you’ll be eating chicken nuggets every night.

Not true at all.

100% True. You can be on the dining plan and not be able to use the table service meals if you don’t make your reservations well In advance.
Most places are 100% booked every night and every buffet breakfast or the castle breakfast . Everything with a character is booked months ahead of time. Unless you like constantly checking for a possible cancellation 24/7 during your vacation - that’s always fun! Not.

Anonymous wrote:Kid is 5 and staying 5 nights. Where do we eat dinner? Got the meal plan and have 1 quick meal, 1 table meal and 2 snacks. Want to do dinner somewhere where we could see characters. Any suggestions? Ordered fast passes but this trip feels overwhelming. Planning a trip to Europe is less stressful and complicated.

How old are kids? Where are you staying?
Chef Mickeys is FABULOUS, especially for their buffet breakfast.
I’m literally typing this from a Disney resort having been at chef mickeys yesterday with the kids - it’s at the contemporary resort, a short monorail from the magic kingdom. Characters are mickey, Minnie, Donald and Pluto.

Crystal palace at magic kingdom has Winnie the Pooh characters.
The castle breakfast has princesses.
Breakfast at the Grand Floridian has Alice in wonderland and the mad hatter characters.

My DH books everything six months in advance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just go, walk around and have a nice time. Don't stress it. You will never see everything in one trip so if you enjoy it plan to go back.

This is crappy advice. Nowadays you have to book restaurant reservations at least six months in advance. Otherwise you’ll be eating chicken nuggets every night.

Not true at all.

You're making it more stressful than it needs to be. Since your kid is 5, you probably would be better off heading back to the hotel to eat as he/she will be wiped out by dinner time and likely not on best behavior. We did the Japanese restaurant at Epcot one night as you can watch the fireworks from their deck. It was good but not amazing though I felt that way about most meals at Disney.

The character breakfasts would be better. Though I have a boy and at age 4 the best one for him was at Hollywood Studios with Doc McStuffins, Jake, etc since he isn't into princesses.

Also expect to do 1 ride an hour on average though in the less popular little kid area, you can often ride the same ride again. The rest of the time we were walking to the next ride, stopping for a drink, stopping for a pretzel, and waiting in line.

Just remember that you don't have to fit everything in on this trip and enjoy what you do get to see.

OP, I think people overthink, overstress, and overplan. I'm from Florida. We lived about two hours from Disney. When my kids were little we went every couple of months. A lot of times it was school related - band trips, etc. Sometimes we went down and spent the weekend. Many times we just woke up on a Saturday morning and decided to go to the parks.

It's not that complicated. Decide on a budget and pick your hotel based on that. It's easiest to stay in the park. We always get a meal plan when we stay several days. But you certainly don't have to. If you want to do a character breakfast, add that. It's fun!

Our typical schedule - Wake up early and get to the park when it opens. Do the popular attractions first. Eat lunch in the park. See a show. Head back to the hotel. Rest. Go to the pool. Eat supper. Head back to the park for a few hours. Simple.

Anonymous wrote:Kid is 5 and staying 5 nights. Where do we eat dinner? Got the meal plan and have 1 quick meal, 1 table meal and 2 snacks. Want to do dinner somewhere where we could see characters. Any suggestions? Ordered fast passes but this trip feels overwhelming. Planning a trip to Europe is less stressful and complicated.

For a girl into princesses, I recommend an early breakfast at Akershus in Epcot, and then you get to the Frozen ride and meet Anna/Elsa before everyone else.

Tusker House in Animal Kingdom and Garden Grill in Epcot are other good options. 1900 Park Fair (at a hotel) is also decent.

For non character, my kids liked Sci Fi Restaurant in Hollywood Studios.

Anonymous wrote:Just go, walk around and have a nice time. Don't stress it. You will never see everything in one trip so if you enjoy it plan to go back.

This is crappy advice. Nowadays you have to book restaurant reservations at least six months in advance. Otherwise you’ll be eating chicken nuggets every night.

Kid is 5 and staying 5 nights. Where do we eat dinner? Got the meal plan and have 1 quick meal, 1 table meal and 2 snacks. Want to do dinner somewhere where we could see characters. Any suggestions? Ordered fast passes but this trip feels overwhelming. Planning a trip to Europe is less stressful and complicated.

I planned ours using

www.disboards.com

Touring plans. Go to the website or get the book. Explains everything pretty clearly.

One word: fastpass

Just go, walk around and have a nice time. Don't stress it. You will never see everything in one trip so if you enjoy it plan to go back.

How old is your child? How long are you staying?

Travel agent. It's free, and they can often help you save money. I've worked with Missy from Wishes Family Travel twice and she has been awesome both times but there are lots of agents and agencies out there.

https://wishesfamilytravel.com/

Can someone give me the cliffs notes to Disney? Where to eat dinner so my kid can see a character? What rides to book fast pass for? What attractions are can’t miss? Staying on property but no clue what to do. I have no idea how to plan this trip. Help!