At your mercy--9 days (2 travelling) with 2 little ones HELP

[Beryl]

I am really happy that we are doing our first WDW vacation (coming from California we are NUTS about Disneyland and know all its little ins and outs). We are going in late May (the week before Memorial day--travel one day, there 7 days, travel 1 day. At that time our kids will be 2 years old and 4 years old. My daughter is a princesses fanatic. And my sons adores anything my daughter adores. I think the animal park thingy will be in there somewhere.
We are staying at Old Key West in a one bedroom suite. My daughter loves to swim so Typhoon Lagoon and MK will definitely be on the list. My husband wants to see Epcot (he's a dweeb - yawn). We have reservations at Albert and Victoria one night.
So what else shouldn't we miss? What "deals" should we take advantage of? Where and waht type of Park Hopper Passes should we buy? We arrive in the middle of the night the first day and leave mid-day the last day.
Can we use a pool at a different resort than we are staying at?
(I know my daughter would adore the Boardwalk Pool)
What is the purpose of hte "launch
transportion"?
There is a Disney store about 30 miles from here if that is the best place to buy park hoppers.
Do you recommend hiring the types of sitters that just sort of hang out with the parents to "help"? Can they go in the park with you? Keeping track of two highly mobile kids could be really hard.
I hope one of you devoted Disney Worlderse will take pity on me and share your wisdom. Thank you!:wave:

[tcfdick]

If you are going to WDW only and not going to other parks like Universal, Islands of Adventure, or Sea World, then I would suggest a park hopper plus pass. If you feel you would want to take a day off and use the plusses from the pass to visit a water park, then a 6 day hopper plus pass would be for you. It has 3 plusses that you can use for water parks (both TL and BB), Pleasure Island, and World of Sports. I would definitely buy the passes before you go because you will save money.
EPCOT is not boring to my family. I've been taking both my DD and DS since they were 18 mos. and 3 yo and that is their 2nd favorite park after MK! If you feel you would want to go to the parks everyday you are there, then go with the 7 day hopper plus pass with 4 plusses.

There's something to do for the little ones in every park at WDW! AK is fun because of all the animals and the Boneyard play area. MGM has shows and Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area (if it is open in May).

You will have so much fun if you use the suggestions on these boards and go to several other sites.
My favorites are
http://allearsnet.com/
http://www.disneyzone.net/
http://www.intercot.com/resorts/default.asp
http://www.mousesavers.com/ ***(use this site for helping with deals)
And here is one that has links to Disney sites
http://www.disneyexperience.com/links.htm

You can not pool hop, you will only be able to use the pools at your resort, but the water parks are great and with 3 plusses, you could go several times!

Here is a site to help with deciding about using a babysitter:
http://allearsnet.com/pl/childfaq.htm

Here is a site that tells about your resort and the type of transportation available:
http://allearsnet.com/acc/faq_okw.htm


Hope this helped!
:earsgirl:

[zurgswife]

first....My husband wants to see Epcot (he's a dweeb - yawn) Epcot is one of the best parks..my kids now 610,11,12 have been enjoying this park since the youngest was an infant and the oldest was about 6.....

There are amazing things to see in do in this park for ALL ages...

OK...on to your other questions..well reading the earlier post....they did a great job of answering...:sunny: :bounce:

[scootron]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by zurgswife
[B]first.... Epcot is one of the best parks...
There are amazing things to see in do in this park for ALL ages...

{/QUOTE]
I agree, Epcot is a great park! You need to go with an open mind! Lots of fun things for all ages.:sunny:

[Beryl]

DH is laughing uproariously--he is VINDICATED. Thank you for reminding me about keeping an "open mind". Re pools--I cannot stand to think we can't use the pool at the BOardwalk. Is Typhoon Lagoon better or just as good? I Just wanted to stay close to our hotel and have no sense of how far things are. The Old Key West pool looks very uninteresting (read "no slides"). Feedback anyone?:hyper:

[Joan S.]

Hi, The OKW pool area should be lots of fun for you and your children! The pool Main pool is quite large and there is also a kiddie pool with sand and playground nearby. The main pool area also has a nice snack bar and bar area and is located near the OKW store and Olivias. OKW is a HUGH resort! If you want to be able to walk to the main pool area you should request this on your reservation ahead of time. If Slides are what you are interested in a visit to Typhoon Lagoon would be just what you are looking for! Joan

[crazyforgoofy]

Have you planned when and how you'll find them? You might want to consider seating at a Princess character meal (Storybook Princess breakfast might be available or the dinner with Cinderella and the gang at 1900 Park Fare, I'm pretty sure you won't be able to get seating at Cinderella's Royal Table as it's almost always sold out 90 days in advance.) If you're interested call Disney Dining tomorrow and try for a priority seating.

Our little one liked Blizzard Beach more than Typhoon Lagoon at 4 but they're both great.

[DisneyMomx7]

When we went to WDW last summer our kids were 2, 4 and 5. The 4 year old DD loved Wonderland Tea Party and breakfast at CRT. SHe believes she's a princess also. She really liked Toontown in MK and got to spend a lot of time there with Cinderella. My 2 year old DS loved the monorail, Buzz lightyear, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Playhouse Disney and the fireworks. Everyone loved the parade. We stayed at GF and my son amazed me by just wanting to sit by the marina and stare at the castle change colors. Besides all the character meals all three kids really liked the Sci-Fi Diner and the Little Mermaid show. Have a great time.

[mjatgoofy]

Just returned from Disney with our Boys 2 1/2 and 4 1/2. They loved the trip and the 4 1/2 year old is already planning what he wants to do on the next trip.

Epcot may seem like a more grown up resort but I think if you look you will find many things to interest your little ones. We really enjoyed The Inovations Pavillions. In one you get to make paper, play tag with Donald, Goofy, Minnie and Mickey on the computer and send video D-mails to friends and family. You can also take advantage of the Kid Cot - Fun Stops. Where you get to make a mask and have each country you visit add an item to the mask - best part this is free. There are also Epcot passports you can purchase to have each Country place a stamp in and a greeting in that language. Our kids loved the living statue, talking drinking fountain and the live entertainment that takes place on the streets.

To be honest we do normally visit Epcot during the evening or late afternoon after a morning spent at the other Disney parks. This way the kids are not as active and don't mind riding from country to country in the stoller. This strategy works for us.

Something we never went to before this trip was the spectromagic parade at Magic Kingdom. We just thought it was too late for our kids after a long day at the parks. We are so glad we went to it this year. We all loved it and would rank it as a must see!