1st trip - me, dh and our 5 children. Advice????

[mom25kids]

We will be braving it all and taking our 5 children on a road trip in May this year, for our first ever family vacation. We are headin' from PA to FL.

We already rented a home - no place would work with me becuase of our family size and got a home cheaper and it is the one a dear friend uses for her family often.

We are driving - flying was a huge laugh with the cost and the extreme limits.

We are staying just over a full week. I know we won't get it all done and this is a vacation. So we are breaking it up. We will see Magic Kingdom, Island of Adventure, Downtown Disney, and Sea World. I keep warning my children that MK is so huge we will not see/do it all in there with just one day there. I hope they are computing that. lol

I want to know what do you suggest we do/see in the parks. Is there a certain day that it's better to go to one park than another day? Do you have anything that we should absolutely bring/not bring?

Our children are older - we purposely waited til we felt they were ALL old enough to understand, appreciate, and walk around on their own. lol They are 15, 12, 10, 9 and 7.

I appreciate any and all advice, suggestions, whatnot. I was only there once myself on my honeymoon and only hit up MK for a single day and I know I missed so so much, but I'm happy I got to see anything at all. lol I had never been to FL before that.

Thank you!

 

[Rylee]

Hi,

What are the dates you'll be in FL?

As for Magic Kingdom, I would check the parks hours and visit on a day that doesn't offer the Extra Magic Hours, since, 1) you can't take advantage of them, and 2) the park will be more crowded then.

Look over a park map to get an idea of the layout.

Try to get to the MK as early as possible.

Save the gift shops for later... you can see and do the most during the morning hours, and besides, the gift shops stay open for a little while after the attractions close.

If your family likes parades, stake out a spot early. If not, this is a great time to take in some of the bigger attractions as the lines will be a little shorter.

Don't miss MK's nightly show, Wishes. Facing the castle, make sure the kids are watching the right side of the castle.

Learn about Fast Passes (FP) and use them. Your FP will list a time when you can return to the FP lane, and a time when you can get your next FP. We always have a FP in hand. For example - We grab a FP for Space Mountain, go watch Monster's Comedy Floor, on our way back to Space Mountain, we grab a FP for Buzz Lightyear, and so on. If you think they'll want to do a ride more than once, such as Splash or Space Mountain, grab a FP, but then get in the stand-by line to ride, then return to ride later with the FP.

Considering the ages of your children, your family should be able to enjoy most of the attractions together.

They would probably enjoy -
All the mountains... Space, Splash and Big Thunder Mountain.
Pirates of the Caribbean
The Haunted Mansion
Mickey's Philharmagic
Monsters Inc. Comedy Laugh Floor
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin

I've never been to Universal and haven't been to Sea World in many years. As for Downtown Disney, not sure what to tell you, as it is mostly shops and restaurant. Some of your kids will probably want to hit up the Lego store. Also, you might want to consider making a reservation at one of the restaurants.

Have a great time!

 

[mom25kids]

We will be there May 16th through the 22nd.

I will check on the days without Magic Hours - thank you for that tip.

Are there parades every day? Is there a schedule somewhere of the times?

I was just reading up on the fast passes. I'm still not 100% clear on them, but will definitely be looking into them more.

Thank you!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Advil... LOTS of Advil...

 

[mjkacmom]

You really should pick up a guide book - Unofficial Guide and/or Passporter. I planned our WDW vacation a year out, and still didn't know everything I needed to know, even though I had been to WDW about 8 times already!

Get to the parks at rope drop, and get fast passes whenever eligible (they don't expire at the end time - you can use them after the beginning time anytime that day). Make your ADR's now - it might be too late for character meals. You can always cancel them, but with a big family, it might be hard to get table service restaurants, even at a slower time. Know what attractions are a must-do for your group. Have fun!

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Check into Seaworld--they had a second day free pass when we were there (2 weeks ago). It was our first trip there, my 4 kids loved it so much, we went back for the second day. My gang would find that MUCH more interesting than Downtown Disney! Well, maybe not DD14--she's a shopper--but we also stayed off-site, and instead we shopped at a flea market. Really, I don't find DTD all that appealing (and it's PRICEY!).

You also might want to check Universal's website--they frequently have decent deals on tickets, like $99 for a 7-day ticket. Considering the price of a 1-day, tha'ts a great deal,and you could do Universal and IoA for that price.

I will tell you, too--my kids' favorite thing was the house's private pool. They all thought that was the best!

 

[v.t.]

If only a day in the MK, I would not do any sit down meals, only CS because my kids would rather be riding rides than waiting on dinner service. Fast Passes are the key to the bigger rides. Have either your DH or you be the runner to get the FP's, one person moves a lot faster than the group. Be there at rope drop, ride all the mountains first, it is amazing what you can get done in the first hour. You can take snacks in, which helps a lot. My kids (aged 9 & 7) were not that crazy about the afternoon parade, if you want a good spot, you have to stake it our early and seeing the characters were not that exciting for them. They did enjoy the fireworks and Spectro, which you can watch from a distance.
I don't know if we would have spent a whole day at Downtown Disney, unless you have an unlimited budget you will spend a lot of time saying "no". But I would recommend eating at Wolfgang's Express, it is really, really good food. And the lego store is great for the boys. Have fun!

 

[chrisw127]

I think you've already done the smartest thing, which is rent a house which gives you more room to spread out. Otherwise, I've got to second getting a guidebook. I really like the Unofficial Guide, but I also enjoy The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World. It's smaller and has lots of great pictures.

Have fun!

 

[mom25kids]

Wow. Thank you! I'm going to look into the book(s) that were mentioned and get my hands on them.

The day parades look like they might be something that is a hit/miss with my kids instead of an "absolute". We are already set that we will be back next year for two weeks instead of one, to see other things and such. So this is more of a trial run.

It has taken me days to figure out ADR - I"m guessing Advance Dinner Reservations?? Am I right?? LOL We are a very easy going, don't need much, nothing fancy family. We honestly nixed all the character dinners, except one - that is on the fence - the one with Pooh - no one is too hot on Pooh - but we do like the foods they have listed. LOL So who knows, chances are we might not do that at all. Can you leave the park and go back later? We were thinking more of going back to the house around 2ish to eat, then coming back to the park that same day or can't that be done?

Rope Drop - that's when they first open, right?

I LOVE the Advil comment. Dh said "Excedrin and Motrin - and tons of it!" when I first mentioned us doing this. lol


Snacks are allowed int eh park? Are there restrictions on that? What about drinks?

I remember when i went with my husbadn how everone had this handheld fans and I thought how silly. Then after an hour or so, we paid like $10 for him and me each to get one - they were essential! lol So I'm going to grab them here before we leave for like $2 a piece instead.

Our home that we are renting has a pool as well and that's something the kids are soooo excited about. lol Though we have one here! I guess because it's someone else's pool in someone else's home, it's "better". lol

Now, what do you all carry all this park stuff in????

 

[pooh4evr]

I would not waste any time returning to the house for lunch if I had just 1 day - but that is just me- you can take some small snacks /sandwiches and botled water into the park in a small soft sided cooler even (nothing with wheels that has to be pulled) so if you need to bring some water (we also being those crystal light mixer packet things) and other snacks.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

The day parades look like they might be something that is a hit/miss with my kids instead of an "absolute". We are already set that we will be back next year for two weeks instead of one, to see other things and such. So this is more of a trial run.

We would always go to 1 and skip the others. We'd use that time to hit up the busier rides for lower waits.

It has taken me days to figure out ADR - I"m guessing Advance Dinner Reservations?? Am I right?? LOL We are a very easy going, don't need much, nothing fancy family. We honestly nixed all the character dinners, except one - that is on the fence - the one with Pooh - no one is too hot on Pooh - but we do like the foods they have listed. LOL So who knows, chances are we might not do that at all. Can you leave the park and go back later? We were thinking more of going back to the house around 2ish to eat, then coming back to the park that same day or can't that be done?

Yes! You're right on the definition! You can leave the park and come back to that same park on the same day. If you want to go somewhere else, you have to get hoppers.

Rope Drop - that's when they first open, right?

Correctemundo again!

I LOVE the Advil comment. Dh said "Excedrin and Motrin - and tons of it!" when I first mentioned us doing this. lol

Couldn't help it!

Snacks are allowed int eh park? Are there restrictions on that? What about drinks?

You can take anything that is not glass, alcohol, or carried in a large or wheeled cooler. PB&J, cold cuts, etc. Keep the temperature in mind when you're packing.

Now, what do you all carry all this park stuff in????

You need to find a functional bag that is portable. There are lots on here who like bagillinis (sp?). I'm sticking with my Vera Bradley bag, but A) it's a monster but B) we'll have our stroller to stash it under. Not all attractions have somewhere to stash the bag on the rides. Try to keep it light too.

 

[rgribik]

Hi, we also have 5 kids (17,15,12,7,7), we have driven from PA almost every summer Are you only going to MK or are you doing any of the other parks in Disney? I agree with the fast pass and grabbing counter service if your kids aren't picky eaters. Let everyone pick a ride they really want to do, get there early, and know where you are going in the parks ahead of time. Downtown Disney is a great place, but it is shopping and places to eat. The big Disney store is there, the lego store, a toy store, a christmas store. We love, The Earl of Sandwich for lunch, but with a big family it is best to eat on off hours. We go to lunch early or do a really late one. It is hard to get a table for everyone during the busy times. My kids loved the new Dinosaur restaurant(it is pricey), and of course Rain Forest Cafe(same prices as Dinosaur) is there also. Once you get done with the long drive, Florida is a ton of fun.

 

[Rylee]

We will be there May 16th through the 22nd.

I will check on the days without Magic Hours - thank you for that tip.

Are there parades every day? Is there a schedule somewhere of the times?

I was just reading up on the fast passes. I'm still not 100% clear on them, but will definitely be looking into them more.

Thank you!

Check here - (You can also click on each little square for details about that day... parade, fireworks and show times, etc.)

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/magic-kingdom/calendar/

Or here -

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/hours.htm

Looks like Tues., or Wed., will be the best days. (For some reason, the park is closing at 5 on Sunday, the 16th.)

 

[Rylee]

Just so you know...

You can visit Sea World a second day, for FREE, when you purchase your tickets online. -

http://www.seaworld.com/Tickets/Visitors.aspx

We live in NY and have 5 kids, too! We figure just getting to FL is one of our biggest expenses, so once we are there, we like to get the most bang for our buck.

 

[mom25kids]

We are also going to Sea World (second day free and even got the adults tickets at kids' price).

We had a huge glitch in our plans. :-( My husband's work is looking at a strike. We are still going, though, becuase it's already paid for, everyone is already off (school/work) and we have just been so looking forward to this. So things will end up a lot tighter financially than we expected, but the kids are aware of what's going on and I think they'll just be happy to finally be out of this state.

I'm going to be going through all the links and getting things gathered this next week here. So I thank you SOOO much for all the information! It definitely is going to help make things a lot easier.

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

SeaWorld is also running a promo now where you can get a kid's ticket for $5 with the purchase of an adult ticket. No limit on how many you can get so in your case you can get 4 adult tix (over age 12) at full price and 3 kids (ages 3-12) for $5 each given the ages of your kids. Here's a link:

http://www.commerce.4adventure.com/estore/scripts/skins/CAR/SWFTickets.aspx

They're only single day tix so don't know if they qualify for the usual "2nd day free" but then we've never gone to SeaWorld two days in a row as for us it's a one day park for us.

 

[mom25kids]

Thank you guys. I really appreciate all the feedback. We are at 10 days til we start our 1000+ miles trip to Disney. The kids are already packed!! LOL I'm nervous, but that's normal becuase I worry about forgetting things, and getting there, etc.

So hopefully this will all go as best as it can.

 

[mlynn]

If you are going down 95 buy this book.http://www.drivei95.com/

 

[mjkacmom]

Although I love Seaworld, and would love to go to Universal, check the WDW ticket prices - after 3 days, the following days are only a few dollars more, so it makes sense to stick to WDW (and plan later trips for Seaworld and Universal). I have a large family, too, and this made the most budget sense for our last vacation - you will save a ton of $.

 

[mjkacmom]

It has taken me days to figure out ADR - I"m guessing Advance Dinner Reservations?? Am I right?? LOL We are a very easy going, don't need much, nothing fancy family. We honestly nixed all the character dinners, except one - that is on the fence - the one with Pooh - no one is too hot on Pooh - but we do like the foods they have listed. LOL So who knows, chances are we might not do that at all.????

If you are considering TS meals, made some ADR's - many make them 180 days out, especially character meals. It's not likely that you will be able to walk up to a restaurant and be seated with a large family.