Anonymous wrote:It's fine. I wouldn't be hesitant to do another Disney day though. Each park is different and warrants their own day or two.

My personal thought is that a pool day is kind of a wasted opportunity because you could do a hotel pool anywhere. But at the same time, you don't want overtired kids. I would combine pool day with a dinner at Disney Springs (formerly known as Downtown Disney) because it's free to get to, and is inside WDW so will feel like you're starting your Disney trip without having to pay any admission.

+1 Don't let the Disney fanatics plan your vacation! Taking a pool day is fine. Going to legoland is fine. No you won't get to see and do everything at Disney but I'm not sure why that matters so much to people. You can always go another time if you want.

If you really want to do Disney, 4 days (one day for each park) is probably the bare minimum. I would skip legoland as others have mentioned.

We went to Orlando in January, 4 kids (ages 7, 5, almost 4, and almost 2). We did Legoland first. There was plenty my almost 2 and almost 4 year old could do; however there was more that they could not do. The park itself was so fun for our ages of kids, and it was a nice "warm-up" to Disney. The Legoland water park was not open during our stay.

We spent our next park day at Animal Kingdom. One day was plenty for our crew. The only thing we did not get to was Expedition Everest, but that was because we arrived at the park about 45 minutes after it opened and my boys wanted to ride Dinosaur again. The nice thing is: they don't know what they were missing. In January, AK closed at 5:00 so we got a good night's sleep.

Next day was Magic Kingdom. ALL DAY (as in breakfast reservations before park opening and stayed until after closing). We did most everything; again, they don't know what they missed. Definitely prioritized and conquered.

We rented a double stroller for our entire trip from an off-site company. Even our 5 and 7 year old wanted a ride by the last day, so I wore the almost 2 year old in our Ergo.

My advice is to prioritize and just have the attitude of "we get to what we get to." We drove down and back. As parents, we were exhausted by the last day at MK. We had planned an additional day at Disney, but bailed because it was pouring and we were totally wiped out. Luckily, we bought 2-day tickets and planned to upgrade on-site because it is cheaper that way. We weren't out the cost of the third day the way we did it.

Have fun!!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do the pool day on your travel days...when you arrive use that to unpack, freshen up, jump in the pool, acclimate, etc for example.

Use the remaining 3 full days at MK

+1 best advice.

I would also stroller the kids to avoid the meltdown. If your kids don't want to stroller on the first day let them walk. Day 2 and Day 3 they won't mind it. It's a lot of walking even for adults

3 days at magic kingdom is complete overkill.

I went to Disneyworld back on Spring Break & think a bit of planning would have made my trip a bit more enjoyable.

I would skip Legoland and just stick with Disney.

You can do the MK the first day while everyone is newly excited + energized because that is the most crowded of the theme parks.
It will be hot, humid and the wait times for all the rides will be very long. Even waiting to get a picture taken with a Disney character will run an hour or so.

I strongly advise you + the kids to go to bed early and wake up early to arrive at the park when it opens.
Then head immediately to the big ticket rides first.
FastPass access may need to be reserved weeks or even months in advance.

I suggest Animal Kingdom another day.
Epcot is lovely for grownups, but young kids may find it boring.

The final day you can all enjoy one of the Disney water parks.

Don't worry about the fireworks, some hotels you can see them from the windows!

OP here, thanks for all the advice. We're going to the area as my husband will be in the area for work but already booked offsite. I might have to take the 2 kids solo for 1 of the days to MK...sounds a little overwhelming but looks like if we hit it up early each day and leave in the afternoon we should survive a couple days in MK or animal kingdom. Guess they'll have to see the fireworks on another trip!

We took young kids out of school and went the week before xmas break. It was great and not crowded at all.

DISNEY? WHAT IS DISNEY? DO YOU MEAN Magic Kingdom YOU LOSER? THERE IS NO DISNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Kidding. Totally kidding. I disagree with the PP who says you need three days at Disney. Three days at Disney would have me doing the thorazine shuffle.

Anonymous wrote:don't waste your time driving back and forth to legoland.
You will be surprised by the number of small rides that requires an adult or older child to ride with little ones that are less than 48in tall. And almost all the rides have a minimum 34in limit. So if you have 2-3 year old not yet 34in tall, they won't be able to ride hardly anything. It is actually a little ridiculous. I still remember riding around in a safari car with my 3 year old thinking it was ridiculous how many adults were forced to ride with their 3-5 year olds because most kids don't reach 48in until age 7 or so.

100% agree.

We used to live very close to the one in California, my husband was a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton which is literally in the next town over. Even though we lived less than 10 minutes away, we hardly ever went because we had two young children, and with my husband deployed so often, it was literally impossible for me to take two kids on my own.

I would do Legoland the last day.

And for the day(s) you're at WDW I'd just go in the morning - at the "rope drop" - until early afternoon. Then nap/pool/dinner back at the hotel.

Disney Springs is just a big outdoor mall. I'd eat at one of the hotel restaurants. Or on the Boardwalk if you're staying there.

Stay onsite and go to the pool for afternoon breaks and then back to the parks in the evening. Get to the parks in the morning before they open. At MK head straight to fantasyland.

Stay at Disney the whole time.

don't waste your time driving back and forth to legoland.
You will be surprised by the number of small rides that requires an adult or older child to ride with little ones that are less than 48in tall. And almost all the rides have a minimum 34in limit. So if you have 2-3 year old not yet 34in tall, they won't be able to ride hardly anything. It is actually a little ridiculous. I still remember riding around in a safari car with my 3 year old thinking it was ridiculous how many adults were forced to ride with their 3-5 year olds because most kids don't reach 48in until age 7 or so.

Minimum three days at Disney. We stayed five and that was just about right. We took one day at a water park and did just the three major parks. Staying at Disney is worth it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do the pool day on your travel days...when you arrive use that to unpack, freshen up, jump in the pool, acclimate, etc for example.

Use the remaining 3 full days at MK

+1 best advice.

I would also stroller the kids to avoid the meltdown. If your kids don't want to stroller on the first day let them walk. Day 2 and Day 3 they won't mind it. It's a lot of walking even for adults

I would not spend all 3 days at MK. My kids loved Animal Kingdom at that age, and would give it a day. Don't take a non-travel day for the pool.