3.5 day stay advice needed

[robdam]

Greetings. Staying @ WL 2 BR Villa for 3.5 days in May. 2 adults with 3 y.o. boy and 5 y.o. girl. I'm looking for WDW veteran advice on what my "plan of attack" should be. What are 'Must Sees" or "Must Do's"? I'm not looking for a minute by minute itinerary, just some general advice on rides/restaurants/attractions. We think we would like to spend time in MK, AK and time allowing, EPCOT. Thanks to all who reply!

 

[ErinInCT]

I have actually not gone yet with kids so you may want to take my advice with a grain of salt, but I have spent every waking minute on this board learning from the pros so I will take a crack at helping you!!

Instead of Epcot I recommend MGM for the kids. Not sure if they can appreciate Epcot at their age. MGM has some fun shows (Muppet 3D, Little Mermaid, Beauty & The Beast, Playhouse Disney) for the kids as well as Fantasmic (a must see show) at night. You can probably get to MGM in time for the afternoon parade & do most of the above shows b4 Fanstasmic.

I think a character meal is a MUST DO. You have a boy & a girl so you'll have to chose something they would both like. I have to dd's so we will do Cindys & Princess Storybook if I can get a ressie. You may want to do Crystal Palace - Pooh characters, or Chef Mickey's.

Fantasyland at MK has the most kid friendly attractions. Go theit 1st b4 it gets too crowded. Make the most of FP in all parks!

Don't know much about AK - we are not going to visit since my dd's are not as interested.

We want to try to do both Illuminations (Epcot fireworks show) & Wishes (MK fireworks show). You will probably need to go to the parks in the am (other then MGM), go back & rest in the afternoon & come back for the fireworks shows.

Hope this helps! A bit of planning is very important in having a successful trip IMHO!

 

[JRLATL]

Our first visit was similar ~ DS(s) were 4 and 6 and we stayed at WL.
We loved walking to the dock and riding the boat to MK. It gives a very magical feel. I agree on the Character Breakfast, and mine have always enjoyed Crystal Palace in MK. Our faves in MK were BuzzLightyear, Space Mountain, Dumbo, Thunder Mountain.
We like animals, so we enjoyed AK, and The Safari, Festival of the Lion King Show, and getting autographs in the camp area. We watched "It's Tough Being a Bug," and they both liked it, but the younger one has not wanted to do it since.
There really wasn't anything in Epcot that they liked other than Test Track, so if you don't have the time, don't feel like you have to try it.
One important thing to remember is that you will all need some "down time." This could be going back to the great pool at WL for the afternoon, and also getting a nice nap. Then you can go back out for dinner and some more fun.
With the 3 1/2 days, you might want to do MK for 2 and AK for 1. DTD is nice to walk around for part of a day on the 1/2 day. Have a great time!

 

[robdam]

Originally posted by JRLATL
Our first visit was similar ~ DS(s) were 4 and 6 and we stayed at WL.
We loved walking to the dock and riding the boat to MK. It gives a very magical feel. I agree on the Character Breakfast, and mine have always enjoyed Crystal Palace in MK. Our faves in MK were BuzzLightyear, Space Mountain, Dumbo, Thunder Mountain.
We like animals, so we enjoyed AK, and The Safari, Festival of the Lion King Show, and getting autographs in the camp area. We watched "It's Tough Being a Bug," and they both liked it, but the younger one has not wanted to do it since.
There really wasn't anything in Epcot that they liked other than Test Track, so if you don't have the time, don't feel like you have to try it.
One important thing to remember is that you will all need some "down time." This could be going back to the great pool at WL for the afternoon, and also getting a nice nap. Then you can go back out for dinner and some more fun.
With the 3 1/2 days, you might want to do MK for 2 and AK for 1. DTD is nice to walk around for part of a day on the 1/2 day. Have a great time!

Great replies, thank you. What can you tell me about the WL pool(s)? Slides? Kid friendly, etc? EPCOT doesn't sound too young kid friendly.

 

[DisneyArk]

Hello! We went to WDW in Nov and stayed in the Villas at WL. My boys are 3 and 5 and they loved the resort! They LOVED the pool and the slide. My DS3 wore floaties and was able to go down the slide by himself. It's a short walk up to the top of the slide and you can keep an eye on them while you wait for them in the pool. Beware that my boys wanted to leave the parks and go back to the hotel to swim each day.

Our previous trip we went to the parks for 4 days and were not able to get it all done. This time we stayed 7 nights and still didn't get to do everything we wanted.

So my advice is to continue researching what you think your kids will enjoy and try to concentrate on the things they like.

We LOVE MK - my boys do everything there except the Mountains. We loved the new movie Mickey's Philharmagic! The boys also love Animal Kingdom. If it's not a big hit, you can do a lot there in a half day. They have a Kid's Discovery Club Guide and you can do activities throughout the park to earn stamps in your book (this is free).

We usually only spend a half day at MGM. We see the shows, but my boys don't like the rides. The Honey I Shrunk the Kid's Playground is a lot of fun!

This year my DS5 actually enjoyed Epcot. He loved Spaceship Earth. He also loved going to the Kidcot stations in the World Showcase. But since you only have a few days you might want to skip it.

We also went to Typhoon Lagoon and they loved it! The kiddie area was really cool. The waterpark is packed with trees and tropical plants. It's not like any water park I've been to before.

Best of luck planning you trip. I really enjoyed the book Walt Disney World With Kids - It listed each attraction at each park and told you what to expect.

 

[JRLATL]

You will have 2 pools at the villas. There is a small one outside the villas and a short walk to the main pool where the slide is. The slide is great for your ages, not too long, but adds alot of excitement. You also have a very small beach area. The resort has such a wonderful feel to it, and just spending time outside or in the lobby is nice.
You may want to get some more input on Epcot, since some children seem to like it more than mine. If you have park hopper tickets, you could go to Epcot in the evening for dinner the day you go to AK, and stay for Illuminations. The fast passes may all be gone by then, but there is plenty to see while walking around.
Don't let it overwhelm you ~ just go at the pace you can all handle, so you will feel like you have actually been on vacation when you go home.