Disneyworld with Young Kids?

Ok, I'm a Disney fanatic, so bear with me!

We took our son when he was 2 years and 3 months. We planned on doing a park in the morning, going to the resort for taking a nap and going to another park in the evening. We were going to take everything easy and not push too hard. Well, he NEVER wound down. Going to the resort in the middle of the day was horrible, he was too wound up to rest. We ended up staying at the park and closed most of them down at night! Even then he was still awake on the bus back! We all had a great time! We only hit 1 park for early magic hours (which avoiding is a hit or miss on crowd level, so we usually take advantage of them) and slept in a little. We rode the things we wanted and "child swapped" for what we wanted that he couldn't do.
I say go for it! If you would like more information and trip reports from a lot of people, especially with kids, try www.mousebuzz.com. We are Disney fanatics, but you can get a lot of useful information.
If I can help at all with planning, just e-mail me. I like to do it as a hobby (yes, I'm possessed) and usually have trips "planned", even though we're not going anytime soon!
We've also been to Disneyland (last May, our son was almost 3) and I just love Walt Disney World more. It was special to see the place where it all began, but love the variety at WDW. Magic Kingdoms at both are similar, but not exact duplicates. Yes, there are only 2 parks, but we didn't find as much to do for our little one at DL.

We took our son to Disney World when he was 4 and let me tell you I wish we had waited until now, he is 8. It is VERY expensive. Every ride ends with you exiting through the gift shop of that ride! He wanted a toy after each ride. Also just to have lunch for 4 people, burger, fries, and a coke was around $50.00. They give you this credit card to get into the different parks and you can also use it to buy things like drinks and food, toys, and such. The lines are unbelievable. If you go bring some sort of medication for your nerves because you will need it. My frined has been to both Disney World and Land and said that Disney Land was much better because it was much less crowded and the park is much smaller. Also, have you looked into "Nick Hotels" I have been told that is a blast.

Hello,
I used to live in FL and have been to Disney more than a couple of times. I took my almost 3 yr old boy a few years ago when some friends came into town. He loved Animal Kingdom and b/c he was tall for his age, he got to ride some of the rides with us. However, the next day we went to MGM, not a good place for the little ones... My son to this day will not go to a movie theater b/c he got totally freaked out at a 3D movie there... So with that said, your 5 yr old, would love it. The other two are too young to "apprciate" Disney and the expense. I would either wait till their all old enough to enjoy Disney or leave the other 2 with family and just take the 5 yr old.
H.

We went when the kids were four, two and 6months. We went only one day, brought a double stroller so the two year old could take a nap. We had sooooo much fun. Much more than we anticipated. We were there when the park opened, and stayed till the last parade. It was great. Go for it, and have fun.

I.

Hi L.!

I used to work at Disney World. (LOVED it!) Basically what it comes down to is this...Are you going for yourselves (you & hubby) or are you going for the kids? I grew up in Florida and my mom was a manager out there so we went practically every weekend. Back then, if you worked there, you could let in as many people as you wanted, nowadays, things are different. You only get to let in a certain number of people per year with time restrictions. (she still works there) Anyway, if you bring the kids, true, you aren't going to get to ride the "cool" rides. (thunder mountain, space mountain, splash mountain, etc.) BUT if you bring the kids, I assume that you are going "for" the kids. Which means you'll be spending alot of time in Fantasy Land and Mickey's Toon Town Fair. It's true what they say about Disney World being magical. You feel it as soon as you enter. There is so much for the lil ones to enjoy. Bring strollers, bring a wagon for the 5 year old and 3 year old to ride/nap in. Trust me, you WILL NOT be dissapointed! Then maybe someday, you and hubby can go and enjoy all the "big people rides" or once the kids get older and they all can enjoy them too. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to message me! Have a wonderful time! Oh, and going in Feb is a good time to go in regards to no lines, no standing out in the heat, but...you have to think that even though it's Florida, it's still going to be chilly for the lil ones. It gets in the upper 60's and lower 70's during the day, so you won't be freezing, but you'll still need to bring jackets and their blanky's because once it gets dark, it gets colder and you don't want them to miss tinker bell and the fireworks show! (Or the parade!)Have a wonderful time!
T.

Hey L.! We went in October when my daughter was 19 months old. We had a blast! She loved riding the rides, and we even took her on Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Carribean, she loved it! To be in fact, we are planning to take our kids back either late this year or early next year when my son will be around a year old. There are lots of things for you to do with small children. If you can afford to stay at a Disney Resort, then you can always catch a ride back to the hotel for naps then head back to the park afterwards. Hope this helps!!

You might want to consider Disneyland...the Magic Kingdom is the same at both parks. The big difference is that in California there are only two parks. California Adventure is directly across the street from Disneyland and has two terrific kid areas for the 17month old espically. I haven't been to Orlando, but I have heard it is very overwhelming. My sister-in-law took her kids to Disneyland (ages 6, 4, 3, 20 months) and had a great time. Her hotel was directly across the street so it took them less than 7 minutes from the park entrance to get back to there room. Just try to break the day up a little and Fast Pass as much as you can!!

my parents took me to WDW when I was like 8 yrs old. I hardly remember it at all. I would recommend waiting.

Another option would be to take your 5 yr old and leave your other 2 with relatives this time. You/they are not going to get much out of all the time effort and money you put into it at this age.

Hi L.!

Here is a question posted by another mama about Disney with young children. There was a lot of good advice:
http://www.mamasource.com/request/9800196263784742913

Hope it helps!
C.

DO IT!!! It is so worth it and your 3 & 5 year old will think it is soooo magical! We took our girls when they were 31/2 and 1 and my 3 yr. old was in heaven! We are going back next year as well and our kids will be 7,4 & 2 and we cannot wait. Our kids already have planned out what they want to do first! It's fun and maybe they won't remember everything but it will be so much fun for them and you-not to mention, Feb. is a great time to go. I would encourage you to buy the Birnbaums Book from the Disney Store-it's a great help and my kids love to look at it too. One more thing, forget about naps and bedtimes and just let em enjoy!

I went with 5, 6, 15, and 18 year olds at Thanksgiving (not a time of year I would recommend!).

I would definitely recommend the stroller rental (even the 6 year old needed it as the day went on).

One thing we did to help was to get there right when the gates open. We left around lunch time and returned to our hotel. We ate lunch and had some down time before returning to the park. We also packed snacks so we weren't stuck standing in line for any food (especially highly overpriced food).

Watch the Magic hours. If a park has the morning Magic hours you will want to stay away from that park until afternoon. In the reverse, if a park has the Magic hours in the evening, then that is the one to stay away from in the afternoon/evening.

Fast Pass is great!

Good luck!

We took our daughter at 2, 4, 6, and 8. She is now 12. I highly recommend staying at one of the places on the monorail line. Things might have changed since we were there but the 3 hotels there were Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and Polynesian (our favorite) The monorail line goes right into these hotels which makes easy access to Magic Kingdom. It was easy to run back to the room for necessities, naptime, etc. Also, 1 park opens early daily for the guests in those hotels. The other park that our daughter loved was Animal Kingdom. We spent most of our time at those parks and just had short visits to Epcot.

The character breakfast or dinner is very nice at Chef Mickey in Contemporary and the luau at Polynesian.

We did book our hotel about a year in advance, FYI.

Have a great time. We have wonderful memories from our trips there. Susan

My family and I went in January. We were there for 10 days. Our children were 3 and 18 months old at the time of our visit. Both of my kids had a blast!! I would definitely do it again. One piece of advice is have a down day where you do nothing but hang out at the hotel. It would have really helped out. We didn't think about it until the end of the trip.
We tried to keep to the kids' normal schedule as much as possible. We stretched it, every once in a while, but we tried to be consistant.
My husband and I split our days up. We would go to a park after breakfast and go back to the hotel so they could nap. When they got up, we went back to the park. Sometimes the same park, sometimes a different park. That worked well for our kids. They never were too tired to where they would be crabby and out right unbearable.
If you can, be sure you get a character meal for your kids. The kids were leary of the characters at first, but the characters were great with them. By day 3, the 3yr old was excited about seeing the characters and getting his picture taken with them. The 18 month old was ok and long as either my husband or I were right there with her.

Hope this helps!! If you want to know more of what we did, you are more than welcome to ask me!! I am a huge Disney fan and loved to go there way before I had my children. Have a great time!!!