What I learned from taking a 1 year old a 3 year old and a 5 year old girl to Disney World Magic Kingdom. We had a family trip planned to Jacksonville FL for my wife and her work and decided that we needed to take the girls to Disney because it's about making memories with the family. A little backstory on that, my neighbor, a retired FBI agent, suddenly had a massive heart attack on the golf course one day and died, leaving behind his wife with dementia and young and new grandkids. My wife and I decided that not spending money to not make new memories was no longer an option, you never know when it may be the last chance you have.
When buying tickets to Disney now they have "Tiers" of days: Peak (highest priced), Regular, and value. Pay attention to when you will be there and what the prices are, moving your trip by a day or two can add up in savings. Also get the Disney Magic Bands:
These bands are the best thing you can buy to make your time inside the park easier. You load your ticket onto the bands, you can load credit cards to the bands and best thing, fastpass is now on the bands. The way fastpass works now is you get 3 fast passes per person to use to get to the head or nearly at the head of the line for rides, shows and meeting characters, Once you have either used all three fast passes or the time for the last one has passed you can add another fast pass off the Disney App. and keep doing this until the night is over. For our trip we added fast passes to meet princess, and ride some rides to start and then just kept added more fast passes, even riding some rides back to back time slots.
So back to the trip. Ill skip the drive from Jacksonville to Orlando except to say I-4 is a mess with construction. Upon arrival at the park we paid for the premium parking, its 35 dollars and if you have a large party or kids I recommend this, you are only a few rows back from the monorail station, it's an easy walk up.
For things to bring: Disney unlike many parks allows, water, food and many other things inside. Also every food service place inside Disney will give you ice water for free if you ask. We also brought bottles of water for all of us, snacks for the kids and even some food for us.
If you want to stay for the light parade and then the fireworks but want to leave soon after I recommend sitting in the town square right near the entrance/exit, there are bathrooms in restaurant right in the square and while you wait you can get your kids Mickey Ears hat embroidered with their name.
This trip was great, not because my wife and I got to do the things we like at Disney but because I got to enjoy seeing my kids enjoy one of the happiest places on earth.
Comments
This 1000%. Having young kids makes everything great, you get to see stuff through there eyes and it makes things magical all over again. Always make the time and spend the money on your kids because they are only young once...Oh and of course make sure they root for the good guys and know how to do the Hokie Pokie
Truely magical time, go in early December when they have the Christmas decorations up and you can buy special night time tickets. They make it snow on Main Street during the parade. Even my 1 year old was mesmerized.
Christmas decorations are fantastic and the parade is great, but the firework show is quite simply the best I've ever seen. We always go the week before Thanksgiving. The lines are short, decorations are up, A very Mickey Christmas is in full swing and for military you can get tickets regardless of whether that is sold old out to the general public. Additionally, if you can swing a reservation to the California Grill (Do it, it's AMAZING!) for around 2100 or 2200 you get to see the fireworks from up high... and it's fantastic! November is a great time for Disney!
For another cost saving measure, there is a facebook group dedicated to planning for Disney trips where families all throw in on a Photo pass. Rather than spending $100+ to get unlimited pictures it ends up being like $5 per family. You have to sift through their pictures, but at that savings I am happy to do so.
I kind of want monthly write ups of what Fireman is up to now. Like an X's and O's of random stuff he's up to.
We need something juicier though. What entrance are you heading for? Is there strategic cover invovled? How will you handle puddles and will you employ an umbrella defense for maximum protection?
Great write up. My wife is a Disney fanatic but frankly I could do without the place. I think Disneyland is superior to Disneyworld, but her entire family thinks I am crazy when I say that. So at some point I am going to have to plan this vacation with family. Kids are currently 4 and 2.
We have a bit of a trial run this week as we are spending 4th of July week in Carlsbad, CA, and have a 2 day pass to LEGOLAND. If the kids can handle that, Disney might be on deck for next year.
Find someone who works for Moments of Magic travel and have them plan your trip. They get paid by Disney and ours did a fantastic job. Also plan more than 6 mos in advance as the character meals book up that far out. If you need a name of someone that works for them, let me know.
My wife is a huge disneyphile. She grew up on Disney World. We live in SoCal now, and been to Disneyland a plenty. We've gone back to Disney World, came to the conclusion that Disneyland is hundreds times better.
I've been to Disney Tokyo, Land and World.
I liked Tokyo best but perhaps for reasons not related to Disney.
Second was World, more to do besides just go to do the rides. Land was just too small.
Haven't done Tokyo yet, but hoping to go there this year near Christmas. Planning on hitting up the ones in China as well before I leave Korea. Will give updates as I go. Never went to Land, but world is just amazing! Just resort hopping is fun with the different themes and schticks plus all of the restaurants. Was never a fan of the parks as a kid, but seeing my oldests reaction the first time she saw the castle has me going back as often as we can.
I was at the Shanghai park in its soft opening. Its pretty small at the moment but the tron ride and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride are damn good.
Love Carlsbad. Pizza Port FTW!
I'm putting that on the list to try out the eats next week
My wife and I went there for our 3 yr anniversary at end Jan/begin Feb.
My wife had an aunt and uncle who worked there and could get free passes, so we have gone several times over the last 15 years as the boys grew up. We preferred world over land, though the lines were shorter in CA. Biggest thing to remember is that you are going for good memories with the kids, not to do everything. When they are hungry, eat. When they are tired, nap. When they are hot, cool off. I am always amazed at the parents dragging crying kids around to get their moneys worth. When the kids were the right age to enjoy the characters the character meals are the way to go. No long lines to be rushed through a picture in a minute, and time for real interaction, along with good food. Take the time to read the show reviews, and go to age appropriate ones through-out the day for a break. The 4-6 year old really loved it, while the 2-3 year old took a nap - and yes we planned to go one at his nap time. If you are lucky enough to have rain in the forecast go then if the kids are not real young. You won't mind the water rides with the kids, the lines go away, and everyone should play with their kids rain some time. At about 10-12 old ours started to prefer Universal, so go before then, or do both.
Tool insisted we bring the kids to Disneyland this year and we are there now.
Are you at Disney World or Disney Land?
The think attached to the key says "Disney World". Just sayin...
World. Sorry.
I haven't had bourbon for a while so, my brain isn't working.
Slightly further off topic - but Disney World as a lot of really cool internship and career opportunities for IE's. I work with a handful of former interns, and they're all fun, sharp people. If you're still a student, and interested in industrial engineering, it's worth checking out.
I did the college program between undergrad and grad school and it was the most fun 4 months of my life. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is 21 and single
Disney World is expensive, but in my opinion worth it, particularly for kids.
Like others have said, when kids get older, they start to want to go to Universal.
For adults, Epcot is worth a day.
Disney World is pretty cool. My wife and I are aiming to go back before we have kids haha. Also, if you want to save and still get an awesome experience that all ages will love go to the Hershey area. Hersheypark is probably my favorite theme park, ahead of Dollywood and Disney World. Tons of roller coasters, awesome family stuff, and of course everything is Hershey themed.
Forgot to add this. If you taking a stroller clip one or two of these onto it for the young ones to stay cool. Also BRING YOUR OWN MISTER FAN!!! The ones sold at the park are 19.99 while we bought some on Amazon for 5 dollars.
Also, for night parades buy the lights and stuff ahead of time. Great cost savings and when the kiddos ask to buy them you pull those babies out and you saved the world!
Just got back on Sunday from Los Angeles. It was my 4 year old daughter's 2nd trip to Disneyland. Last year we kind of rushed everything and tried to do both parks in 1 day. This year we only went to Disney California Adventure and it was awesome. Despite the 100+ degree heat we had a great time.
Although I think I am going to do vtfly's suggestion next time. Never thought of that and it sounds 100% worth whatever it costs.
My parents have a house in Ocala Fl.
Flights on Allegient Air out of Roanoke are rediculously cheap. So we go to FL annually.
My daughters have been to Disney close to 1 time per year.
I don't even go in the park any more. I hang at the pools and do other stuff while the wife runs around doing the rides.
For the parents out there that have been with young kids... what is the "right" age to take a child for the first time? I don't want to spend the money for them to forget the experience but I also think it is important to go when the "magic" is still real... I am thinking around 5-6?
I've been wondering the same thing as I've had many of my friends take their kids that were under 2. Most of them come back and say that there child had fun because they knew many of the characters from TV shows and movies, but they were afraid of the characters up close or couldn't/wouldn't ride the rides or their days were cut short by tantrums, nap times and other things more common for younger children. I'm thinking of taking my son, who just turned 1, around 4 or 5. I think at that point he'd enjoy the characters, the shows, and the rides so we'd all have a great time. My suggestion though would be to take them to a cheaper amusement park near you, perhaps something like King's Dominion or Six Flags, see how they do with the folks in costume, on the rides, and just their general tolerance of being there and use that as your judge. If they do well, maybe start planning a trip for about 6 months from then.
We just went in March and my kids were 5 & 3. They both loved it but I don't think my 3 year old will remember it like the 5 year old will. My 5 year old was tall enough for most of the rides which I think helped her experience.
All that to say that I think 5 is a good age. We will be going back in a couple years when my son is older.
Depends on the kid, but 4 or 5 would work. We took a 2 year-10 month old a few years ago and that was a waste....he doesn't remember it at all and we are going back this fall now that he's 6.
For those of us with multiple kids, it's often a timing issue to get the youngest old enough to remember it (and not need to be carried!) before the oldest is jaded and cynical.
We took our first to World at 2, he does not remember. We took both at 2.5 and 5, oldest remembers. Tried Dollywood next, not so much. Same for Kings Dominion in there somewhere. Took both again at almost 6 and 9.5, with Universal - they liked World better, but not the Kingdom part. Went to Land at around 9-12, both were into trying to do everything, and wore us out, they loved it. Did some Carowinds and Six Flags (ATL), Busch Gardens (Williamsburg and Tampa) after that, they both enjoyed it about as much as Disney. Went to Universal at 12.5-15 - the Halloween stay and scare was the highlight. Cedar Point at 15-17.5 was fun as part of a Great Lakes tour, but not worth a special trip.
In summary, based on my kids, under 3 most of Disney went over their heads, 4-8 is perfect. We liked October much better than July, but never went for Christmas. When they are old enough that they like the rides better than the rest of it, the local park for a day is competitive, unless you want to make of week of everything when the weather sucks where you live, or are/have someone really into Disney. Teenagers will enjoy Universal more. Stay and scare is awesome.
My daughters have gone many times.
When my oldest was 5 we went to a character dinner in the castle, in costume.
Exiting we got stuck. The fireworks started and we had to stay under the castle until it was done. My daughter became convinced that she was directing the fireworks with the magic wand she got at the dinner.
Yeah, 5 is great. She didn't remember it but I took video. Then she remembered. That's what cameras are for.
We went when my kids were 2-1/2 and minus-1 month. (Yes, I'm an idiot and went to Disney World with a toddler and an 8-month pregnant wife...for New Years Eve, no less. I strongly recommend against it. The trip was booked for the whole extended family before we discovered we were expecting.) My son is 6 now and barely remembers the trip. If a commercial for Disney World comes on TV, he recognizes the big castle, but that's about it. My nieces were probably 5 and 8 at the time and I think that's about the perfect age for such a trip: old enough to remember and appreciate the experience, but not old enough to think they're too cool for such things.
I forgot to mention my wife is 5.5 months pregnant.
You poor bastard. I feel your pain. But if you really want to know suffering, bring her back there in about 3 months. Pushing the Brickette around in a wheelchair all week through those crowds was hell. By the end of the week, I was ready to go buy some shin guards for her and cover them with bayonets so I could go all Mad Max on the crowds.
Congrats on the soon-to-be new arrival! Have you found out if it'll be a li'l fireboy or another firegirl yet?
4th daughter.
We took my oldest before she turned 2.6 and it was amazing! Her reaction to the castle and characters were classic. We went again when my youngest was 2 and a few months and then again at 3 and a few months and all of the trips have been amazing.
VMI Hokie's kid will be the only one in kindergarten telling people she's 5.3 years old. Not 5, 5.3. Get it right, fools.
Tool found the only bar in Disney, it seems, that carries beer other than AB products.
Goto The Hangar Bar near the ferry boat dock in Disney Springs.
Paulaner HefeWeizen with an orange (because that's how I like it when it's hot).
Ewww......hot beer? Don't think I'd like that.........
Would still be better than the AB products.
The restaurant in Canada at Epcot has Moosehead on tap. Supposedly the only place in Florida? Goes well with their big steak. I recommend.
Ehh...Le Cellier is WAY over rated. For a great steak go to Capa at the Four Seasons, Bull & Bear at the Waldorf, Shula's at the Dolphin, or the Boat House at Disney Springs...they are all much better, and you will also get the excellent service and ambiance that is more appropriate.
There are actually several places to get good craft beer...the Cabana Bar at the Swalphin, Blue Zoo at the Swalphin, Via Napoli in Italy, the Brown Derby has several Unibroue beers, Cigar City beers are pervasive throughout the property, Morimoto has some great beers including a Rogue brewed especially for that location, Raglan Road has great beers including a few that they brew themselves, the Wave always has several great beers on tap, Block & Hans in front of the American pavilion always has several craft beers not found elsewhere, etc. For a good list of beers on property check out this site (although I'm not sure if he is still updating):
http://beersandears.net/wdw-beer-list/
Been doing Disney since about 2000. The last time we went was 2014 when the magic bands made their debut. They were testing them with guests staying at the value resorts acting as the guinea pigs. I pretty much thought they sucked, mainly because of the 3 fast pass per day limit. The way Disney used to do it, was you swiped your guest card at a ride kiosk for a fast pass. They were pretty much unlimited, with the exception that you couldn't hold more than one fast pass at a time for a ride. Example- You could walk up to Space Mtn at 9am and pull a fast pass. The fast pass would give you a time frame to come back and ride, like between 11am and 1 pm. At that time, you could not get another fast pass for Space Mtn until after 1pm. But, you could get fast passes for other rides during that time period.
Another thing that sucks about the bands is that you have to show up to ride during your time slot. From the example above, with the bands you would have to show up between 11am and 1pm to ride Space Mtn. However, the cards were much more flexible, in that you only had to wait until 11am to ride. If you wanted to wait until after 1pm, it was ok. Plus, after 1 pm you could get another fast pass. If you knew what you wanted to ride multiple times, it was easy to work the system. In 2014, we actually showed up at guest relations at Epcot and complained about the bands, and they swapped out cards for us. (If you get the right rep at Disney guest relations, they will do whatever you want. Don't believe the guy that tells you "the system won't allow him to do XXX... don't give up, just thank him, and move on to the next guy.) The trip went much better with cards.
I guess now it's bands for everyone, so...yeah.
You can still get the cards. But the 3 fast passes a day limit is gone.
As I read these responses, it reminds me why I could care less for Disney.
You need tricks to game the system to ride the rides or see the shows...at a place you are specifically going to (and paying good $$ for the privilege) of riding rides and seeing shows.
Give me the old Soapbox Derby at Knottsberry Farm