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Disney talk...your best tips for spur of the moment-type Disney vacays
So, we bit the bullet and decided we needed to get to Disney soon. 
We booked our trip for just after Easter...which leaves us little time for planning things like character dinners and such. But, what are your best tips for things to do with two little ones (5 and 2.5)? Are there any attractions we'll need to avoid because the little one won't be able to participate? We did get a dining plan that offers one sit down meal, one snack, and one quick meal per day per person. We are staying in the Contemporary so we'll be able to take the monorail. to different places to dine...and we got a 3 day park hopper pass. We'll only be there for 5 days (M-F)...we'll be there before lunch on Monday, and leaving early Friday morning, so we're only doing parks T,W,Th. Can you offer any tips?
Thanks! We are so excited! It'll be the first time I've been there since 2002, and the first time hubby has been there since he was 21 (he's 38 now). It'll be the first trip for both kids.
Re: Disney talk...your best tips for spur of the moment-type Disney vacays
Which parks do you plan on going to?
We had the same meal plan, it worked out well...it's SO much food. we never actually had to buy Liam anything separate even though he wasn't on the plan, there was always enough that he could eat off of our plates, or we would use a snack credit to buy him something. Since you'll be at the contemporary, I would suggest Chef Mickey's...we did breakfast there, and it was one of our favorite meals of the week. We also really liked Be Our Guest and Tusker House (animal kingdom)
Jake - 1.15.08
Liam - 5.17.11
We are considering a Florida trip that may involve a day or two at the parks.
Jake - 1.15.08
Liam - 5.17.11
Having just gotten back from there a few days ago, I can offer some info too! I TOTALLY second Emmy's recommendation of the double stroller. It was THE BEST decision I made about that trip! Cori will be 6 in May and used it just as much as Ben (who will be 3 in July). It is a lot of walking!
We were at the parks M-Th and did not do the park hopper option. And I'm glad, because esp the first few days, the kids were done by 3/4 PM. They just wanted to go back to the hotel and swim! It made for a more relaxed vacation, though we did have to cancel some dinner plans and only saw the fireworks at MK one night and I went back to Epcot for the fireworks with Cori alone one evening. I think 2 days at MK is a must, and if we had another day we would've added in AK.
As Emmy said, we had the same meal plan and it was a lot of food. We never used all our snack credits.
I think the hardest thing for the kids was the waiting in line. For the things we had fast passes for, it was no issue since the wait was very very small. But for other rides and things, they got restless. I'd even venture to say that I wish I had waited another year to take Ben cause I think he was just too little. He loved the characters but wasn't good at waiting. I guess it just depends on the kids.
We did Chef Mickey's for breakfast too on the last day before we flew home; it gets mixed reviews as there can be a very long wait to be seated. We had 8 AM reservations and had no issues, but apparently even 30-45 mins later can result in a big wait. Since you are staying right at the Contemp. I'd say to try and get a 7:30 / 8 AM reservation and you can just walk right downstairs.
Our kids also loved the character lunch at Hollywood and VIne in Hollywood Studios - great food and nice character interaction. Feel free to ask me any questions! Have fun!
We couldn't make it on the toy story ride at HS...it is super popular!
Jake - 1.15.08
Liam - 5.17.11
We didn't do a double stroller, but I can see how it would have been nice. DD was a total trooper with walking everywhere, but we'd occasionally give her a lift on our shoulders, or let her sit in the stroller and give DS a lift on our shoulders. We also made sure to grab some snacks and sit down periodically and just chill out.
Two of our character dinners were Princess oriented, which may not be your boys' favorites, but let me know if you want any info on Cinderella's Royal Table or Akershaus. Both were very good, Akershau especially.
We didn't do Hollywood Studios so I have no advice there.
Magic Kingdom--There really wasn't anything that they didn't like but, kid's favorites: It's a Small World; Enchanted Stories with Belle (DD was the Beast, so she was thrilled she got to dance with Belle); Buzz Light Year's Space Ranger Spin; The Haunted Mansion (scared Brinley a bit, but Nolan loved it and was cracking everyone up by saying, "Spooky ah ah ah...").
Epcot, this may have been DD's favorite park. She liked all of the "world" stuff. Especially, Norway and Maelstrom. Nolan loved the cuckoo clocks in Germany. It was also the food and wine festival while we were there, so we hoarded all of our snack credits for some tasty treats for us. We were also able to walk right up to the character spot there and meet Mickey, Minnie and Goofy. As others mentioned, Turtle Talk with Crush was a hit. For the science-y stuff she liked Journey into the Imagination with Figment. We actually did 2 days here.
We did Animal Kingdom in a half day. Tusker House was just OK for us. The food was good, but it took forever for all of the characters to come to our table and our server was not great and seemed irritated that we were waiting to meet the last 2 characters. Definitely use rider swap so you can ride Expedition Everest--it may have made it to the top of my favorite Disney rides.
The Lion King Show is a must see in my opinion. Both kids loved it and were dancing, singing and clapping along. Get to the Kilimanjaro Safari's early. We went straight there and were on the second caravan going through.
Some of my kids favorite things weren't the rides and main attractions--they loved playing the bongo drums in Animal Kingdom, going in all the shops of the world in Epcot, dancing at the dance party in MK--so make sure you leave some time to just do whatever strikes their fancy.
I wish I would have done some more research on the quick-service restaurants. We had 1 table service meal per day and it was big, but if our big meal was breakfast, I needed to have a better plan for where we would eat for dinner and I felt ill-informed.
I agree that strollers are a must, but I will offer a suggestion. We took one with us and then rented a second one that was delivered to the hotel. That was great because there were times my husband took our 2 year old in one direction and I took our 6 month old in another. If you split up to shop or watch a parade or even go to the bathroom, you may want to consider a second stroller so one of the kids doesn't have to walk. That's just the way we did it. We took both strollers on the monorail without much problem.
Also, you may want to start slow. We started out at Hollywood Studios and I think my son was overwhelmed with everything. He loves Toy Story, but I don't think he was able to process it because it was so new. And we did the Disney Junior breakfast right off the bat, first morning. I wish I would have waited a day or two for that, until he understood more what was going on.
We used our sit down meal on a character breakfast somewhere different everyday. 50's diner in Hollywood Studios, Crystal Palace in MK, Tusker House in AK, and Chef Mickey in Comtemporary) It was a great way to start the day and we weren't worrying about leaving a park to get cleaned up and somewhere for dinner on time. I thought it was a great way to go. Then we did a park and by the time we got back to the hotel, picked up a counter meal and passed out!
Another tip - if you are going to get signature, the largest size sharpie is a great marker for the characters to handle and sign with.
About the Pixar - My son LOVES pixar, we stayed in the All-Star Move Resort in the Toy Story wing, he was in heaven! The Art of Animation hotel is a great place too with the Nemo and Cars suites. Hollywood Studios has Woody and Buzz together as well as the Army men walking around and you can take pictures with Lightning McQueen. Last year when we went, there was an afternoon parade at MK, my husband and son caught it right on the side of the castle and they had Jessie and Woody dancing in front of them for a good 30 minutes. He was in heaven. Then Jessie and Woody were in Frontierland for meet and greet, we were like 3rd in line. That was our 2nd day there, so he was a pro meeting the character and getting signatures by then.
Have a great time, the kids are a such a magical age, everything will be so exciting for them. You will have great memories!