Disney newbie here seeking major advice

[princessanj]

So we have looked at the attraction descriptions online and made lists of everything we want to do at each park.

Does anyone have suggestions of the order to do the rides in each park:

MK: Dumbo, Barnstormer, Small World, Carousel, Winnie the Pooh, PhilharmagicDO NOT MISS THIS! We made the mistake of missing it last year, and we made up my doing it twice this year very cute and fun!, Peter Pan's Flight, Tommorowland Transit Authority, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Aladdin's Carpets, Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise, child swap for Haunted Mansion, Space, Splash (only DD 6 is tall enough for Splash and BTMRR), maybe do Pirates Monster's Inc Laugh Floor is hilarious and a good place to cool off, if you have time the Liberty Square Riverboat is enjoyable if you need a break

Epcot: Spaceship Earth, Figment, Nemo, Turtle Talk, child swap for Mission: Space and Soarin (DD 6 is tall enough, DD 4 and 2 are not), all the countries and kidcot stops, epcot character spotGreat!

DHS: Great Movie Ride, Character greetings, Toy Story Mania, child swap for Star Tours, RnRC, and ToT, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Disney Junior and Disney Channel Rocks, hopefully Idol The Muppets and the Honey I shrunk the kids playplace are cool off places and fun

AK: Kilimanjaro Safaris, Kali River, Festival of The Lion King, Nemo, animal trails

It's a bug's life is cute and a cool place, Dinoland has really fun stuff for the kids face painting and triceratops spin(like aladdin carpets)

 

[DavidNYC]

If you're up to getting up early one day, character breakfasts are great (and cheaper than a lot of character dinners). My two favorites are Crystal Palace in MK and Tusker House in AK. I'd suggest booking one of them instead of your breakfast in room for one of the days you're at that park in the morning. If you're REALLY up to it . . . you can book them even before the park opens. We love doing one early one at MK and getting to walk up Main Street before the park is open with almost no one around you!

You can always cancel your reservation if you decide not to go but those are hard to get the closer you get.

The other thing I'd recommend is to go with the flow . . . I always plan as well but something will come up forcing you to alter your plans at some point so just be prepared to jump off it when necessary. Particularly with any lunch/dinner you have listed at a quick service place (i.e. that doesn't require a reservation), don't get too wedded to those. So many places to grab something at WDW so do what you feel like.

Down time is good but depending on crowds and what rides your kids might want to do multiple times, you might want to head to a park at opening for an hour or two when you can get a lot of stuff done before crowds pick up.

(I didn't see if Illuminations was on your EPCOT day but I love that end of park show - might be a bit late for the little ones). And the day you see Wishes, make sure you also see the relatively new Castle Light show that is usually shortly before wishes. It's amazing!

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

It looks like you don't have an evening planned at the Studios, I would plan to make it to Fantasmic unless you think it would be too intense for the kids, you know your kids best but Fantasmic is a must-see for me Also I didn't see you specifically mention Wishes at MK, DON'T MISS WISHES!!! That is a MUST-MUST-MUST-SEE!!! Consider the Wishes Desert Party. Hope your trip is magical

Opps, didn't see the revised, looks good

 

[Balt ravens fan]

Love the revised plan!...

Fits in with the recommended parks by easywdw: http://www.easywdw.com/june2012-u4.jpg

Have a great time - and remember to be flexible

If you don't go back to the resort in the middle of the day, do something like "Hall of President's" - MK; "Nemo show" - AK; "Innoventions" - EP; "Animation building" - DHS ... there are other places as well to get out of the sun - especially in Epcot FW; AK Shows; DHS Shows - Stay away from Light Motors Action in the middle of the afternoon - brutal.

And if your group is tired and wants to go swimming - do it!

And you aren't "tied" to your reservations (except for the ones you gave a credit card.) So you can always change your mind - but try to cancel your reservation if you can.

Have a great trip!!!! Disney is awesome! Slow down sometimes and just soak it in

 

[mommaof3girls]

Thanks for all of the tips!

DH and I are getting super excited and it is so hard hiding it from the girls (older ones, at least). We are keeping it a surprise until the night before.

Any ideas for surprising the kids about a trip?

 

[kirsangel]

Just make sure to get your Toy Story Mania fast passes first thing in the morning. You do not want to wait standby for that long with a 2 year old. Speaking from experience here! The revised trip plans look great. I am also surprising my kids. We are getting up and getting in the car and driving to the airport. Iwill have all the bags packed and they will have no idea until we hit the airport. One surprise I have done in the past was to make a scavenger hunt/treasure map around the house with clues and a map to the next clue. The last one says "We are going to Disney World!" they really enjoyed running around the house finding clues.

Good luck!