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First Disney World Trip! Help Please!
We are headed to Disney World for the first time with our 5 y/o DD and 8 y/o DS. We are also traveling with my inlaws, BIL and his girlfriend. We have been to Disney Land several times (Dh grew up in California) but this is everyone's first trip to Florida. Not including travel days (we are traveling from the Seattle area) we have 7 full days in Orlando.
Our plan is to do DW for 3 days and Universal for 2 days. We will not be doing another other parks (Sea World, etc.) The other 2 days we will use as "rest" days (pool, shipping, etc.) Is this doable? We are contemplating skipping Epcot with the kids completely and possible heading there one evening with BIL and his GF while the inlaws stay with the kids. Will the kids seriously be missing out if we do that?
Any suggestions on how to manage our time would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Re: First Disney World Trip! Help Please!
Hi there..Don't feel overwhelmed because your family will have lots of fun!! Disney World is a big park but all that matters is that you enjoy it. I have been to Florida five times and four to Disney lol...I definitely think your little ones will enjoy Magic Kingdom which is more themed to younger kids. There are 7 different themed lands inside of Magic Kingdom and lots of rides for youngsters as well. Epcot is nice and you can see different themed areas from all over the globe. There are not too many rides there but it is up to you if you would like to take your little ones there. It sounds like you guys might one a little time to yourselves...Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are fun parks as well...
You can do Universal and Islands of Adventure in 2 days. I would do Islands of Adventure first maybe because it can be kind of busy and they have a new Harry Potter area there. I have not been since 2009 but have heard it is amazing!! Universal Studios is more rides based on movies and Islands of Adventure have different areas like Marvel Superhero Island and such and it is divided into different sections.
I am not sure when you guys are going but if you go during spring break and Easter just remember to bring lots of patience since it is a busy time, the same with the summer months...Just enjoy the experience with your family...It is a lot of fun and Orlando is a great city...:)
I think there is quite a bit at Epcot that kids can enjoy, I wouldn't skip Epcot. Your plan is definitely doable but personally I would skip Universal altogether and just do Disney, especially since it's your first trip there, there is so much to see and do that even with 5 days you won't see it all but you can get most of it done, at least the most important things.
Definitely get there as early as you can (as close to park opening as possible and take advantage of "Extra Magic Hours" if you are on Property. Learn how FastPass works and use it (it's free). Good sites to go for more info are AllEars.net and Disboards.com.
I think your plan sounds good. It's nice that you can take two days for a rest - because you might need them. (Especially the in-laws. LOL) I might do Universal IOA first, because it was seriously more exhausting than Disney and if you do it at the end of the trip, you will keep comparing it to Disney, instead of just enjoying it. If you guys like Harry Potter at all, you will love Islands of Adventure. The Harry Potter section was worth the price of admission. The Dr. Seuss section is fun for kids. The lines at the front of the park were LONG and ANNOYING - if you can buy tickets to Universal ahead of time, I would do it. I've never been to the other Universal Park, so I can't comment on that.
The kids will love Epcot. They have Nemo and lots of character sightings and fun places to eat. What we did was spend 9:00-2:00 at Epcot with our young daughter and the grandparents, then everyone went back to the hotel for naps and dinner. At 6:00, my husband and I went back to Epcot (your ticket is good for the whole day) and the grandparents watched our daughter. DH and I got to spend a good 4 hours at Epcot riding all the "big kid" rides and watching fireworks. Sooo fun.
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i think your timeline sounds great. YOu definitely need a couple pool days, it's usually our favorite days there! (we go every year)
Have fun!!!!
Thanks everyone for the advice! My son adores Harry Potter so we can't skip Universal. How should I divide up our 3 days at Disney? I know we will go to MK for a full day, but I am not sure how to break up the other two days...
I think Epcot deserves a full day. Hollywood Studios and AK are both half day parks IMO. Usually we do those two in the same day.
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Epcot has a lot of cool attractions and I agree that one day should be given to walking around there...Soaring is a really cool attraction and I think a must to do. The little ones will like the Nemo ride...Hollywood Studios and AK do not have that many rides and you can probably do each in a few hours...
I agree- HS and AK both have cool rides, but not a ton of them. Especially if you don't plan on seeing many or any of the shows at HS.
My big question is when are you going? If you are going during Spring Break, you just aren't going to see everything and will need return trips/another day. Especially to Magic Kingdom. (Perfect ages for your kiddos)
Know what rides your kids can and can't go on ahead of time. I can't tell you how many kids freak out if they aren't given a heads up b/c they are too short to ride the ride.
Don't feel pressure to see absolutely everything . . . just enjoy the time you have.
As far as Universal . . . the Harry Potter section can take a LONG time and eat up a huge amount of the day. Just be prepared for long wait times. (even when the park isn't overly crowded, HP is crowded b/c it is such a small area. But, it is VERY cool,and your kids are gonna love it. Make sure you get a chocolate frog!
Let me know when you are going and I am sure we can give you more help. And yes, you will need down time . . . the kids will need sleep and you don't want to not enjoy the trip b/c people are having meltdowns. (Side note . . . I used to work as a performer at these theme parks)
Thank you so much for the tips! Unfortunately we are going for Spring Break (April 13-21st). I have done some research and the kids are tall enough to ride pretty much everything. DD will be a bit too small for some of the larger rides, but there will be enough in our group that we can take turns doing other rides with her.
I really appreciated any bits of info anyone has. We probably won't make it back to Disney World for at least another 5 years so we want to try and see as much as possible, but still make it enjoyable!
I'm not sure how old the kids are (I'm thinking younger) but they won't be disappointed to miss Epcot. I've been to DW several times, both as a kid and an adult, and I definitely enjoyed Epcot much more when I was older. It's actually even more fun as a legal-drinking-age adult to enjoy cocktails around the world.
I think your plan of having rest days is really helpful. DW can be very overwhelming. Are you staying on property? I would also recommend leaving the park in the late afternoon, heading to the hotel for naps and dinner, and coming back after dark. The parks just have a special magic at night.
I totally disagree. I grew up near Disney so I went several times a year, and Epcot was the park I always looked forward to the most when I was a kid.
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DD went to Epcot for the first time right before she turned 4. I took her to Disney again right after she turned 5 and the first thing she asked was if we were going back to Epcot. I am in the process of planning our trip for this year and all she keeps talking about is how we missed Mexico on our last trip in 2010. I think Epcot is a must see. I would probably do at least a 4 day and spend one day in each park if not a 5 day so you can maybe hop around on the last day seeing some things you either missed or really, really liked again.