Planning help! 5 days with 2 & 6 yr old

[dzaharchuk]

I would base my park day plans on crowd predictions, don't pick randomly! Sites like Easy WDW are so easy to use, and are so accurate. Two different parks can have completely different crowd numbers on the same day, we always follow the lowest park predictions.

We have hopped to a "worst park " in the evenings sometimes (because best park closed early) and the crowds were always so much larger. A little research will save you a ton of time in terms of lines.

 

[geraghty]

From my experience height requirements are usually accurate. We always put our kids in the tallest shoes possible. I've even taken the soles out of another pair of shoes when they were really close. According to a lot of people you shrink throughout the day so maybe hit those 48" rides early.

 

[iheartjuppy]

Agreed - if you're sure your child is >48", I would be prepared with shoes that give a little boost to make sure he measures as such at the parks, as I've heard there is some variability in the measuring! My cousin is well over the height requirement, per her doctor and several at-home measurings, but has come in under by a hair (literally!) at WDW before, so her mom got her the Sketchers sneakers that have a little boost just to make sure she'd make it. I wouldn't encourage it if your child isn't definitely at the height minimum, of course

 

[dlove28]

Are arrival and departure days not an option? Adding an extra day to tickets is usually not that expensive, so on our trips we hit MK on arrival for a few hours. No real plan , just soak it in and see what we can. We then do a full day at MK and do MK on departure day as well. That gives us one full and two half days at MK during a 6night 7 day trip, leaving 4 full days for other things. Some thoughts on other items that were raised:

Park Hoppers - sounds like you may only use them to hit AK and HS in the same day. They aren't right for everyone. I would recommend thinking about it a little more. Being a newbie, there is so much to take in and enjoy. You don't really want to short change yourself at AK or HS and skip things because you feel pressured to get to the other park. It's nice to stop and smell the roses, especially on a first trip.

HS - My DD loved it at 2 & 3. Little Mermaid show, B&B show, Disney Jnr, HISTK play area, etc. Not a full day park though, as others have said.

AK - Also not a full day park but we have stayed there much longer than we expected. Combination of seeing new things we didn't anticipate and navigating a little more slowly than expected.

Universal - sounds to me like you may be trying to do too much, but you know your family best and it seems like the right fit for DS.

Epcot - DD has always loved it and at 6yo there is plenty of must-do activities there.

Park Crowds - Like PPs said, try to plan your days around park crowd estimates.

Have fun on your first trip!

 

[monorailsilver]

Yawn.

I am tired just thinking about your days.

As an adult I'd need a day off of no park & to sleep in (til 7!) & sit by the pool.

The kids might need naps. I know when my dd was 7 she napped at Disney (didn't at home). When she wa 4 I didn't think she needed a nap so I took her to the pool while my dh stayed with my napping 2 yo. She fell asleep in the stroller while we were walking around Epcot.

But that is me.

We do AK, but we are out by lunch time.

We do DHS and we are also out of there by lunch time.

Then we spend the rest of our time between MK & Epcot.

I wish you luck!