Disneyworld advice?

[93Devil]

Thanks, Boom. My kids are too small to ride many of the rides. Do shows have fast pass access?

No, but you seem to be going in off season so just show up 15-20 minutes before the start, and you should be fine.

Oh, budget at least an hour for every character meal. It might sound like a long time, but it does not feel that way.

Crsytal Palace will knock out all the Pooh characters. I would recommend not doubling up too much on characters.

 

[joe]

Folks with kids, what age have you found that they love it AND will remember it? Our daughter is 4 now, and I'm thinking she needs to be at least 7 (but probably 8) to truly appreciated it and remember it.

Yeah, that smiley face should have been an "8".

 

[Mizzougrad96]

The Pirate dress up day is nothing short of awesome... It's quite a bit cheaper than those princess boutique trips. We were with friends there and they shelled out $200 or so for their daughter to do the boutique while we were only on the hook for $30 X 2 for the Pirate Day.

 

[93Devil]

Folks with kids, what age have you found that they love it AND will remember it? Our daughter is 4 now, and I'm thinking she needs to be at least 7 (but probably 8) to truly appreciated it and remember it.

We took Lil 93 for her fourth and fifth birthdays, and she might not remember one, but I really don't care.

She believes in princesses like she believes in Santa, and the look on her face when she sees them is priceless. Taking her at an older age, I think, is a mistake. I think three is a great age to start taking them.

And at some level she will remember.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Folks with kids, what age have you found that they love it AND will remember it? Our daughter is 4 now, and I'm thinking she needs to be at least 7 (but probably 8) to truly appreciated it and remember it.

We took Lil 93 for her fourth and fifth birthdays, and she might not remember one, but I really don't care.

She believes in princesses like she believes in Santa, and the look on her face when she sees them is priceless. Taking her at an older age, I think, is a mistake. I think three is a great age to start taking them.

And at some level she will remember.

They'll remember... My kids remember everything down to the last detail of each of the trips...

If you take them there and you spend the time running from ride to ride, they're not going to remember it as much... The rides at Disney are fine, but you can find better rides at most parks....

When you're talking about little kids, if you focus on the character interaction and the shows and parades and letting them get dressed up, they'll remember it better.

 

[User 1019]

That's really our approach. I understand my kids aren't going to be able to ride much more than the teacups and Dumbo rides.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Folks with kids, what age have you found that they love it AND will remember it? Our daughter is 4 now, and I'm thinking she needs to be at least 7 (but probably 8) to truly appreciated it and remember it.

She's fine. Take her now...

 

[Mizzougrad96]

My kids were 2 and 3 the first time we took them. They were old enough... They were fine... They remembered everything...

Oh more advice... Either bring a stroller or rent them there... They're not cheap, but it's worth it because if kids have to walk all day, inevitably they're going to fade earlier than if they don't... It also gives you a place to hold backpacks, drinks etc...

We went with friends who refused to rent a stroller and for the last three hours of the day the dad was carrying the 5-year-old and the mom was carrying the 3-year-old as they waited for parade. I'm guessing they were wishing they had shelled out another $20 for the stroller.

 

[93Devil]

That's really our approach. I understand my kids aren't going to be able to ride much more than the teacups and Dumbo rides.

How old are they?

You will be amazed at how the Magic Kingdom is geared to children under five. And there is so much to do, that you can come back in 3-4 years and your child will be riding totally different things and doing totally different things.

And from the People Mover to the Carousel of Progress to the Emmett Otter's Jugband thing, they will eat it up.

 

[93Devil]

My kids were 2 and 3 the first time we took them. They were old enough... They were fine... They remembered everything...

Oh more advice... Either bring a stroller or rent them there... They're not cheap, but it's worth it because if kids have to walk all day, inevitably they're going to fade earlier than if they don't... It also gives you a place to hold backpacks, drinks etc...

We went with friends who refused to rent a stroller and for the last three hours of the day the dad was carrying the 5-year-old and the mom was carrying the 3-year-old as they waited for parade. I'm guessing they were wishing they had shelled out another $20 for the stroller.

The smaller the stroller the better. You will be much more mobile with a cheap stroller and a backpack than a person with a triple wide monster.

And this is a great time to look at a decent SLR camera. Your Iphone is not going to cut it. For video, sure. For photos, get a decent camera for your autograph book.

 

[expendable]

My oldest was not quite three when we went for a day on the way back from a Bahamas cruise. She doesn't remember much, but she does remember going. I do though. I remember carrying her when she saw Mickey waving at her at the front of the park. I most remember the warm feeling on my arm as her pull-up suddenly got heavy.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

If you're kids are into autographs, my wife found the Junior Encyclopedia of Disney Characters on Amazon for $10-$15 that has a full page for 95 percent of the characters you'll see there. The only ones not in the book are the ones from the most recent Pixar movies and some of the Disney Jr. stuff. It worked great for autographs and the year we did that, we had tons of people asking us where we got it because I don't think they sell it there...

 

[User 1019]

That's really our approach. I understand my kids aren't going to be able to ride much more than the teacups and Dumbo rides.

How old are they?

You will be amazed at how the Magic Kingdom is geared to children under five. And there is so much to do, that you can come back in 3-4 years and your child will be riding totally different things and doing totally different things.

And from the People Mover to the Carousel of Progress to the Emmett Otter's Jugband thing, they will eat it up.

3 and 5

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I think 3 and 5 is almost perfect age.

My kids were 2 and 3 the first time they went and as soon as we walked in, my oldest saw the castle and just had this moment of true awe... It was really cool... Anything that makes my kids react like that, I'm going back until that reaction goes away...

 

[Ace]

I was amazed at what rides/attractions scared kids 5 and under at Disney/Universal, though.

My kids freaked out at the live Barney show because of the flashing lights and sound. Also wouldn't go on the Star Tours ride or see the Muppets 3D movie.

The noise, lights and loud sounds in some of lines for the rides really affect them.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I was amazed at what rides/attractions scared kids 5 and under at Disney/Universal, though.

My kids freaked out at the live Barney show because of the flashing lights and sound. Also wouldn't go on the Star Tours ride or see the Muppets 3D movie.

The noise, lights and loud sounds in some of lines for the rides really affect them.

I could see Star Tours scaring young kids... Same with the Dino ride.

 

[joe]

Thanks for the advice, folks. My wife is kind of set on taking our daughter in the spring of 2014, when the kid will be about 5 1/2.

The reason I asked about remembering is because after a while — like, by your teenage years — you're not really sure what's a true individual memory or if it's just something you've heard about enough that it seems like a memory. Maybe it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but I've always felt a little cheated if it's just a story I know without really remembering an event.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Thanks for the advice, folks. My wife is kind of set on taking our daughter in the spring of 2014, when the kid will be about 5 1/2.

The reason I asked about remembering is because after a while — like, by your teenage years — you're not really sure what's a true individual memory or if it's just something you've heard about enough that it seems like a memory. Maybe it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but I've always felt a little cheated if it's just a story I know without really remembering an event.

My parents took me to Disney World as a kid, but I don't have any grand memories of it, probably because my father would have had no interest in letting my sister or me take pictures with characters or actually "experience" it. It would have been all about seeing how many rides he could cram into a time period and if there was anything the kids wanted to do, well, we could just go **** ourselves...

 

[spikechiquet]

So Mickey and Minnie are getting a divorce. They go to the judge and he looks over the paperwork.
"It says here Mr. Mouse that you are filing this because she is insane?"
"Uh, huh huh, no," Mickey says. "I'm divorcing her because she is ****ing Goofy."

Go and tell that one to the mouse while you are there.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Downtown Disney is pretty fun too... The Disney dining plan allows you to eat at some of the restaurants there... The last time we went we ate at the T-Rex cafe, which is similar to Rainforest Cafe, just with dinosaurs all over the place... My kids went nuts for it...

We ate at the T-Rex. Kids loved it.

Another fun eating place is the Sci-Fi Dine-In. It's like being in a 50s drive-in theater. You sit in these little cars to eat (burgers, hot dogs, stuff like that), and watch a big screen of 50s cartoons and horror film commericals.

The place is usually so quiet, because all the kids are watching the screen.