Help......first time to Disney

[s u]

Hubby and I are taking our 4.5 yr old daughters to Disney for the first time in March for 8 days. It will be our first time ever going too.
We are going at a very busy time of the year and we need help with a plan of attack.
We know this won't be our last trip to Disney, so we aren't concerned with doing everything. However, there are definitely certain things we would like to do.
We will have a 4 day pass. No park hopper.
We will be doing the following (according to the crowd calendars)
March 12 - Hollywood Studios. We will be there at opening time. Hoping to leave around dinner.
March 13 - Magic Kingdom. Be there for opening Will more than likely stay until after dinner. But not too late
March 14 - Animal Kingdom. Be there for opening. Would like to leave around dinner time
March 15 - Magic Kingdom. Be there for opening. Will stay for evening parade and fireworks. 9:00 appointment at Barber shop for hairstyle. 12:00 reservations at Cinderella Royal Table.
My daughters will more than likely want to meet as many princesses as possible. Including Tinkerbell. Even though Ariel will more than likely be at lunch, my daughter would still like to meet her in the grotto.
We will get to Downtown Disney on one of the other four days we have in Orlando.
Any suggestions on how to wisely use Fast Passes and the order to do things would be GrEATLY appreciated!

 

[almburr]

No EPCOT?

 

[Julie711]

When you arrive at HS head right to toy story mania for a fast pass! The beauty & beast show, Ariel show, and disney junior will be def must sees !

MK for fast passes I would def get fast passes for Peterpan, enchanted tales with belle, under the sea with Ariel, and Winnie the Pooh can have long waits as well. Our DD just turned 5, has been to disney 4x and loves to eat at CRT , we always do breakfast and she loves to meet with all the princesses, and get all dressed up!! Once you arrive they can get their picture with Cinderella which is included in your price package!

 

[suzicute20]

Are you staying on site? I know all the touring plans tell you not to go to parks on EMH days. However, I used to teach 4.5 year olds and know that after a good nap, all of them would have loved to stay up late to run around the Magic Kingdom. I would suggest going back to the hotel during the day, relaxing, and then going back to the park at night. Have fun! Don't worry about doing everything - you'll be back!

 

[pepe of ohio]

No EPCOT?

For 4.5 year old, rather spend the time in the MK, EPCOT hardly holds my interest...

 

[s u]

Are you staying on site? I know all the touring plans tell you not to go to parks on EMH days. However, I used to teach 4.5 year olds and know that after a good nap, all of them would have loved to stay up late to run around the Magic Kingdom. I would suggest going back to the hotel during the day, relaxing, and then going back to the park at night. Have fun! Don't worry about doing everything - you'll be back!

No. We are staying off site. I don't think that a nap will be in the picture. My girls haven't been napping for a long time now. Even though I know they would benefit from one on this trip.

We are not doing Epcot.

And you are right.....we will be back

 

[SA mom]

For 4.5 year old, rather spend the time in the MK, EPCOT hardly holds my interest...

My little ones loved it, could have spent the whole day in Innoventions.

If you haven't already done so, read the Unofficial Guide to WDW. It is a great overview. Our family has used their Touring Plans (www.touringplans.com) with great success. The Lines app is also a great tool.

 

[s u]

When you arrive at HS head right to toy story mania for a fast pass! The beauty & beast show, Ariel show, and disney junior will be def must sees !

MK for fast passes I would def get fast passes for Peterpan, enchanted tales with belle, under the sea with Ariel, and Winnie the Pooh can have long waits as well. Our DD just turned 5, has been to disney 4x and loves to eat at CRT , we always do breakfast and she loves to meet with all the princesses, and get all dressed up!! Once you arrive they can get their picture with Cinderella which is included in your price package!

The fast passes you mention - should they be done in this order?

 

[dminnie]

Are you staying on or off-site? What do you plan for the other 4 days? If you'll be around WDW, you may want to add a couple more days to your tickets. Once you hit 4 days, adding an additional day doesn't cost much. Not getting the park hoppers is a great idea, especially going for the first time and at the ages your kids are.

That way you could visit Epcot even for just part of a day to see what it's like(the food is probably better there than any of the parks). Things the kids might like: seeing the topiaries at the flower and garden festival, the seas with nemo ride, the movies in China, Canada, France, China movie, walk around world showcase to see "street" performers, meet and greet with Belle and Jasmine, the butterfly garden. It might surprise you how much your kids like Epcot! The other extra days on the tickets, you could use to just spend a couple of hours seeing whatever you missed or really liked at different parks, without spending all day.

It's a busy time, but not unbearable. The weather is usually so comfortable in March and you're hitting it a little before the big spring break crowds.

Have a great time!

 

[s u]

Are you staying on or off-site? What do you plan for the other 4 days? If you'll be around WDW, you may want to add a couple more days to your tickets. Once you hit 4 days, adding an additional day doesn't cost much. Not getting the park hoppers is a great idea, especially going for the first time and at the ages your kids are.

That way you could visit Epcot even for just part of a day to see what it's like(the food is probably better there than any of the parks). Things the kids might like: seeing the topiaries at the flower and garden festival, the seas with nemo ride, the movies in China, Canada, France, China movie, walk around world showcase to see "street" performers, meet and greet with Belle and Jasmine, the butterfly garden. It might surprise you how much your kids like Epcot! The other extra days on the tickets, you could use to just spend a couple of hours seeing whatever you missed or really liked at different parks, without spending all day.

It's a busy time, but not unbearable. The weather is usually so comfortable in March and you're hitting it a little before the big spring break crowds.

Have a great time!

We are staying off site.

We've decided on doing only four days of parks. And because of their age and interests right now, we are going to do two days at MK and skip Epcot this time around.

 

[dminnie]

I see you posted while I was typing that you're off-site and not planning on Epcot this time.

If you decide you want to visit the parks more, you can always add more days while you're there.

Since you're not leaving the parks for a rest (we hardly ever do even staying on-site), you might want to find some of the shows to see after lunch. Such as: Nemo or Lion King at AK, hall of presidents or Monsters Inc. Laugh factory at MK.

 

[GreenCntryGirl]

For 4.5 year old, rather spend the time in the MK, EPCOT hardly holds my interest...

My kids loved Epcot.

 

[Julie711]

The fast passes you mention - should they be done in this order?

Toy story mania in HS is the first fast pass you need to get, people runtime this ride in e park opens, lol
MK I would def get Peter Pan first as I've never seen this ride less then a 45 min wait.

 

[suzicute20]

Ooo, ooo, ooo. Don't forget to stop by guest relations and get My 1st visit buttons!

 

[letsgoreds]

Kenny the Pirate posts on these forums, and has his own fansite on FB, app, etc. Since characters seem to be a big ticket item for you, I would spend some time on his site...and don't hesitate to ask him directly for advice. He seems to eat, breathe, and sleep characters. His enthusiasm convinced me to do our first M&G in over 5 trips. It was fun!

Your park choices look to be good. I love Epcot, and park hoppers, but with only 4 days, what you have lined up looks pretty perfect. Not biting off too much. Pace yourself, bring/rent a stroller and take a lot of breaks/snacks.

We just returned from a 5 night trip to WDW where DN4.5 who hasn't sat his toosh in a stroller in almost 2 years (after DS1.5 was born), was riding in that stroller 90% of the time.

If you haven't seen elsewhere, Apple Scooter rentals is offering some sick deals on strollers ($5/day---insurance only), single and double. Have to book soon.

 

[claryche]

I'm with one of the posters, that said add more days of tickets. If you are already going to be there for 8 days, adding more days is really cheap. Even if you do only half days, it is still worth the money. Of course I tried to convince my sil last summer to do more than 4 days, they did just HS and MK with two 7 year old boys. And they were happy with just 4, said just that much overwhelmed them. So to each their own.

My only suggestion for your four days, would be to do MK, AK and HS and on the fourth day ask the kids which one they would like to go back to again. I bet they will pick MK, but who knows.

 

[mummabear]

I would get an autograph book for her as well, DD3 looks at hers from last years trip ll the time and is really excited to do it again. Have you considered BBB before CRT?
DD3 was quite scared in a lot of the kids rides like peter pan. She loved the tiki room both trips though. Dream along with Mickey show is great (we watch it on youtube alot too)

 

[spidet1964]

If I were going to skip, it would be AK. Was greatly disappointed. Not much more than an enhanced Zoo and not much for the little ones. Honestly though you should try to do all 4 parks. I think you'll be surprised with Epcot. You might want to also check into staying on site. Once you figure in transportation to and from the parks and convenience you might find it just as reasonable as staying off site unless you have a time share you're staying at.

 

[s u]

Sorry, I should have mentioned that 2 of those 8 days will be partial travel days. With the other two days will be spent at the beach, shopping and DTD. So we really only have the four days for the parks.
We are traveling with another family and we have settled on the days we indicated going to MK, HS, and AK. I'm not disappointed that we are not going to Epcot. I know that this will not be our one and only trip to Disney. We will be back .
The advice we are getting in terms of where to go first and how to maximize the fast passes is GREAT. Please keepit coming!!!

 

[claryche]

Sorry, I should have mentioned that 2 of those 8 days will be partial travel days. With the other two days will be spent at the beach, shopping and DTD. So we really only have the four days for the parks.
We are traveling with another family and we have settled on the days we indicated going to MK, HS, and AK. I'm not disappointed that we are not going to Epcot. I know that this will not be our one and only trip to Disney. We will be back .
The advice we are getting in terms of where to go first and how to maximize the fast passes is GREAT. Please keepit coming!!!

Makes more sense now. Still for the 4th day I would let the kids decide.

I don't know if you have decided on a stroller or not. My DS was there when he was 4 and a half and again at 5 and both times we rented a Disney stroller for just a day to two. The one I recommend it for though is Epcot, and you don't have to worry about it. It's just so huge, hence why we used one. But the other parks, as long as you aren't going a crazy pace then you might be fine without a stroller. AK was one that we got a stroller at, only because my DS has a habit of tripping over his own two feet and falling forwards to his head. No putting out of those arms for some reason. And the walkways at AK are so uneven, so a stroller is good there, if you have a kid like mine.

We were also there around the same time you will be there two years ago. Even though every year is different, but it wasn't that bad. So prepare for the worse and hope for the best. With that said, I would suggest being there as soon as the park opens. Which for AK and HS now it means being there 30-15 minutes early, since they open the gates before the opening time. It means getting to the parking lot for MK close to an hour before opening if not more. It will take time to park, ride the tram to the ferry boat or monorail, get to MK, go through bag check and so on. Being there at rope drop is so important, because you can get so much done during the first few hours.

In order to keep my DS a little bit under control with buying things, he gets his own gift cards. Mickey and friends leave them for him in the room every night.

Have your daughters give you their top 3 things each at each park and focus on them. Sit down before hand and plan an attack. I have to tell my DS every time that we must do BTMR first thing, no we can't do Stitch first thing. Yes, he loves the Stitch ride, which is great because there is never a wait. I know they have never been, but just have them watch videos and look at the rides online and decide. And then on that 4th day you can always see which park still had the most things that you didn't get done.

Use FP whenever you can, which you need to be aware that the FP + might be up and running by the time you are there, so check back on the boards to see and that will be whole other thing to work on.

At HS, always get FP for TSMM. If possible I would say ride it first then get FP, so that way you get two rides in. But that is only if you are there as soon as they start letting people in the park. The Backlot tour is actually pretty good, especially if you have someone who gets picked for the show. My ds loved it when he dad and grandmother both got picked. He also loves the Indy show. Your kids should be tall enough for TOT. My DS sometimes loves it and other times hates it. He doesn't like the movie at the beginning, so I have him close his eyes. There is also a chicken elevator, so in case they decide last minute not to do it.

AK, the musts are the shows. We love FOTLK and the Nemo show. We saw the bird show for the first time last trip and we loved it. It's great. Ride KS first thing or get a FP. It's tough to be a bug is something we have done once when he was 5 and we didn't like it. Little scary. One of our fav places to see Pooh and Friends is at the AK.

Okay I rambled enough. You have any specific questions?