Disney Vacation - Lombard,IL

Get to the park as soon as it opens! Leave before the parade and fireworks! I have a 4 year old and she loved the bibbiti bobbiti boutique! make dining reservations NOW!! HAVE FUN!

Go to the Disney World website and check out each of the theme parks - they have information on all of the rides/entertainment/food at each park and you can make a list of the stuff you definitely want to do, might want to do if time permits and definitely won't do - Disney will even send you maps, this should help reduce the feeling of being completely overwhelmed when you get there. There is a Mickey's Holiday parade at the Magic Kingdon, the Osborne Family Light Festival at Disney Hollywood Studios and a round the world candlelight processional at Epcot - make sure you get in a nap (for everyone!) in hte afternoon so that you can go back for the evening fun.

Have a blast!

Are you going to Disneyland or Disney World, makes a huge difference :)

Disney World (I assume you're going to Disney World as opposed to Disney Land, since you live in Illinois) is VERY crowded during Thanksgiving break. 2 weeks before Thanksgiving (and Christmas) is the ideal time to go. So, be prepared for the long lines and use the fast passes when you can. Otherwise, bring plenty of sunscreen, and even though your child is 5, he/she will not be able to walk the theme parks all day long, so bring a stroller. Sneak some snacks in, as food is very expensive and your child will want to munch on some snacks, I would imagine. Better yet (in my opinion) - bring your own food altogether (sandwiches, etc) and say it is for religious reasons or that you and your child have food allergies, and they will let you bring in your food. You can put it in a mini cooler, but just don't bring it in a big cooler since they won't allow that. My husband and I have a big issue with paying for very expensive, unhealthy food at theme parks, so we always bring our own food!

Bring snacks with you! They are allowed in the park. We always bring our own snacks and drinks, eat breakfast before we leave, that way it keeps the cost of food down. Go to the Disney Store, pick out some items that you think your 5 year old may want, and bring those. The dress-up costumes alone are double the price at the parks, and I am not joking. The souvenirs are outrageous. The Dumbo ride gets long really quickly and there is no fast pass for it. Get fast passes whenever you can, but you can only have one ride out at a time. You will want to rent a stroller. Although your child is 5, they will be exhausted and want to ride in one. I am not sure if you have Mickey and Minnie meetings anywhere else (hotel or character breakfast), but if not, that line gets very long really quickly too. You can meet them in Toon Town, as well as the princesses. I didn't look to see if you have a boy or a girl, but if you have a girl, there are 3 princesses you can meet in Toon Town area and/or the Fairies, but Princess Tiana is not with them, she is on the other side of the park, near the castle. Oh yes, like Leslie said, bring a fan! It's usually still hot here in Florida at that time.

If your going to Walt Disney World, I would suggest the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. ( Not sure if there is one for land) It gives lots of advise on rides ( scare factor, how tall, if you can do a line switch or a kiddie relay) I wish I had budgeted money to get some of the souvenir ride pictures. If you are going to Florida have a sweater for the evening. Be prepared to play games in line. And no matter which park you are going to always look at a map and know where the bathrooms are. :-) Have a wonderful time!

I would definitely get the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World book. Use one of their touring plans, and arrive at the park as early as they recommend! Those first hours in the morning during peak time, will be your most enjoyable. You can go back for a swim/rest break during mid-day. Read up on the FastPass system, and make use of it, as it will really minimize your time waiting in lines. Bring a small or mid-size backpack with sunscreen, snacks, I always bring extra lightweight shoes like crocs or flip flops for my youngest because her feet get hot in socks and tennis shoes, we brought paper cups, so it is easy to share beverages. I would rent a stroller at the park, definitely even for a 5 year old. Also, target a few "must see" attractions, but don't set your sights on every single ride and show in the park because that is a long, long very fast-paced day to attempt with a 5 year old during busy season. Have fun, I'm envious!

First of all, make sure you either rent a stroller from the parks or borrow a stroller from the hotel (if they have some available to borrow). We stayed at the Grand Cypress and they had a bunch of strollers that we were able to choose from and keep for the week. Also, I would highly recommend getting FastPasses for the rides, but get them early as they sell out pretty quickly. Also, the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World helped us a lot in deciding what parks to go to and what to do at each park.
There are tons of inexpensive souvenier shops around Orlando that you can get some really great Disney stuff at for much cheaper than the parks sell it for.
If you plan on going to Sea World and want to also want to visit a water park, there is the new Sea World owned waterpark, Aquatica. They have a package deal where you can buy both Sea World and Aquatica tickets at a discounted price. The cool thing about it is that you can go back to Aquatica as many times as you want during the week. They've got a great kids' water play area that my daughter loved - we were there playing in that for 2 hours one day.
I don't know about your 5 year old, but our 5 year old pretty much would hit a wall after about 3-4 hours at being at the parks. I didn't quite plan on that and therefore, there was a lot that we missed at each of the parks. I wish we would've planned better so we could've seen the things that she really wanted to see.
Don't know how hot it will be when you go, but definitely invest in a handheld fan. They sell them at Disney with an attached water bottle, but if you can find one here buy it and bring it because as you can imagine, they are so much more expensive at the parks.
You might want to also look into joining the Dining Plan. We personally didn't do it, but my friend who went a couple of months after we did, signed up for it and they saved quite a bit of money.
Have fun!!!

As Dawn said - start surfing the Disney World website. If you're staying on Disney property you can take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours. You will be allowed early entrance or stay a few hours later at various parks than the general public which means less crowding. The schedule changes so check each park and plan which locations to take advantage of. We liked getting to the Animal Kingdom early and heading straight back to the back of the park to Kilimanjaro Safaris. There will be a minimal line wait and the animals are typically out at this time.

My kids loved the pin trading. If your 5 year old would like this, purchase your pins online (Ebay). Make sure they are tradeable pins - the sellers will disclose this in their details. Pins bought at the park are from $3.50 to $12.00 each. You can usually pick up a set of 15 -30 pins (grab bag style) at $0.50 - $1.00 per pin. Once you get to the park, you can trade pins with any cast member. Cast members with green lanyards can only trade with guests under 12 years of age so you can find some really great pins. Pins come in all shapes, sizes, colors, characters and themes so your child can collect just their favorite character in various poses or all characters doing a particular sport or activity (i.e. - soccer or dance). We bought some pins at the kiosks while in the parks and used them for stocking stuffers.

My kids are 16 and 13 now and still love their personalized Xmas ornaments we picked up for them at the Christmas store in Downtown Disney. Everytime we decorate the tree our whole family reminisces about our Disney vacation and what a great time we had.

Check the fireworks schedule at Magic Kingdom and make sure you're there the night they do the fireworks and the Parade of Lights. A great place to see the Parade of Lights is right in front of the train station at the front gate. Get a spot early and hold your ground!!! LOL! After the parade is finished, walk down mainstreet to get a spot for the fireworks show. It's awesome!

Check out Mousesavers.com as well for potential money saving ideas. The M.'s forum and other forums on the Disney website are great sources of information so don't miss those.

Have a great time!!!

Bring a fold up stroller or rent a carriage - there is a LOT of walking.
You don't have to spend every waking moment in the park. Take breaks.
LBC