We are taking our 4 and 6 YO boys to DW in October to celebrate their 5 and 7 birthdays! I'm sooo excited! Here's the questions for you "Disney pros":
We already know Magic Kingdom is a must, and two days is great. My questions have to do with which parks would you visit in order and, please explain what the top things to do are for my 5 and 7YO at each park.
Thank you, Thank you in advance for all of your answers/advice/input and any extra tips you would love to share!
I wanted to add if to has starwars fans do the Jedi training. But you MUST get there before hollywood studios opens it fills up fast!
I would pay attention to which parks have which shows in the evening, because not all of them do an evening show every night (except for Animal Kingdom, which does not do any evening show at all) and unless you get park hoppers, you will need to go to the park that day that has the show at night you want to see (i.e. Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios).
As for what your kids will like, it will all depend on what they are into. At Hollywood Studios there is Jedi Training Academy and Star Tours, as well as Toy Story Mania and the Indiana Jones stunt show. At Animal Kingdom we really liked the Finding Nemo show, Festival of the Lion King, and Kiliminjaro Safari. And at Magic Kingdom there's Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, and the roller coaster rides like Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Railroad. It will also depend on how tall they are and what the height requirements are for each attraction, and what you think they can handle. Some 4 year olds can take the Haunted Mansion in stride and some 8 year olds cannot.
We always get the latest edition of Unofficial Guide to Disney World when we go and it's always been very helpful, especially in planning which attractions to do in which order so that you minimize how much time you spend waiting in line. Also know that Fastpass is your friend! If you have an iPhone or other smart phone, there are apps that will show you in real time what the approximate wait time is in line for each ride. Take advantage of their Photopass service too.
Since you are going in October, they might have "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party" taking place some nights. They have a special Halloween themed parade and ALL the characters come out as part of it - it costs extra but I've heard it's well worth it!
I would say Magic Kingdom, Wild Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. I would skip Epcot - my son was 4 (so a bit younger) and we were in and out of Epcot in 2 hours.
Here are a few highlights we liked:
Magic Kingdom - highly recommend the Pirates League. (It is like the princess beauty salon but for boys) It is $29 per kid and they get made up like a pirate, get a sword, a bandana, a piece of treasure, a sash, stickers, tattoo, etc. I thought it was a great deal but you need to make a reservation weeks in advance.
Wild Kingdom - we liked the DinoLand.
Hollywood Studios - definitely Buzz Lightyear ride - go early though and get the FastPass - they go quickly.
Definitely do a character breakfast, lunch or dinner. Again you have to make a reservation in advance. We liked Chef Mickey.
Have a great time!! It is so magical!!!
Go to disboards.com and get all the info you need! It is a wealth of information ....almost more than you need.
Magic Kingdom and Hollywood studios are a must for both ages. Animal Kingdom also but get there early because they close early. I would skip Epcot, there are some things that would interest a 5 year old but not enough to justify the cost unless you are going to have dinner in one of the countries. All the restaurants there are very good.
Have fun, take your time and see the things that interest you and your family. Don’t try to do everything in one trip. Wear sunscreen and drink lots of liquids.
October is a nice time to visit and I would recommend paying the extra money for Mickey’s not so Scary Halloween Party, it is worth it (just try not to go on a Friday night it gets busy with locals). The weather is usually cooler and the parks are not as crowded.
Great ages to go ! We waited until they were old enough, too.
I would skip Epcot.
The parades and fireworks are a must !
Make dinner reservations ahead of time and experience the monorail ride at least once.
A lot depends on your child's interests. If you decide on a park hopper pass, then check out all the attractions at each of the parks. You can go to one park in the morning and another in the evening.
For that age, I would recommend Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom as the top 2. Epcot has more to offer older kids, but the light/fireworks show is a must see IMO. In October, skip the water parks. If you want water just enjoy the pool.
If the kids like Nemo the Nemo show is wonderful, I beleive it's in animal kingdom. I found that Animal Kingdom was a good place to see the characters. There's usually quite a few at the entrance as well as walking around the park.
Everyone does Disney differently. My husband & I are taking our 11 & 12 year old kids this July. They have been twice before, the first time with us as well as my parents & sister, the 2nd time my husband & I were unable to go so they went with the rest of the family. So this will be the first time it's just the 4 of us & I'm really looking forward to it.
I've done a ton of research & from what I can tell, your best bet is to avoid whichever park has the extended Magic Hours for that day because they are the busiest. You can go on www.disneyworld.com for that information, just change the date to October & it'll show you everything you need to know.
Personally, because I'm in charge of this trip I'm trying to plan it so that we're not stuck flying by the seat of our pants & miserable. We've rented a 3 bedroom condo about 10 minutes away from the parks to help keep not only rental costs down, but also food costs as we'll be having breakfast every morning at the condo & then either heading back for lunch or finishing up in the parks in the afternoon & having dinner at the condo. If you'll be staying somewhere within the park, you're definitely better off adding the dining plan to save on food.
Our must-sees are all over the place, but Hollywood Studios is definitely at the bottom of our list. The first time we went my kids were about 8 & 6 years old. Magic Kingdom & Animal Kingdom were by far & away the favorites. We'll have 4-day Disney Park Hopper tickets as well as 2 days at Universal Studios. I've tried to kind of spread out where we'll be each day most days spent visiting 2 parks, 1 in the morning & another either in the afternoon or the evening.
No matter how you go about it, make sure you schedule some down time for yourselves because it's just soooo much moving & doing & just plain new & exciting that it can wear you down almost as much as your kids.
