Best tips for a one and done trip?

[DisneyMama811]

our trip is coming up in one week!!!!!! we are Canadian and due mainly to financial reasons we definitely won't make it back to Disney during the kids childhoods (they're currently 6&8) I was lucky enough to visit twice as a child and DH & I visited in 2011 while we were dating. This is our big "one and done" trip 6 park days at Disney + 2 at Universal I know many of you are lucky enough to visit Disney yearly or even multiple times a year, I'd love to know what would you do at Disney if you knew you'd probably never be back again!

 

[RoseGold]

Fantastic ago for a one and done. If your girl is the princess-y type, Bippiti boutique! It's pricey, but to me it's the most Disney experience there, and the one they remember.

I'd also seriously consider the night events/tickets instead of day tickets, depending on where you are going. They are really a magical experience.

If there's budget, I'd consider Hollywood and Vine late lunch. Seasonal Minnie and Mickey, great character experience, and much better food than other character meals. I'd skip any other sit down meals. Food at Disney is OK, but you need park time, not restaurants.

Oh, and I'd pre-order the bands, at least for the kids. Getting them in that neat, special box is really exciting and really causes excitement for the trip. You don't really NEED the bands, but the package is so cool. EDIT: Too late to do this, and they don't ship abroad anyway. Oh well!

 

[DisneyMama811]

Fantastic ago for a one and done. If your girl is the princess-y type, Bippiti boutique! It's pricey, but to me it's the most Disney experience there, and the one they remember.

I'd also seriously consider the night events/tickets instead of day tickets, depending on where you are going. They are really a magical experience.

If there's budget, I'd consider Hollywood and Vine late lunch. Seasonal Minnie and Mickey, great character experience, and much better food than other character meals. I'd skip any other sit down meals. Food at Disney is OK, but you need park time, not restaurants.

Oh, and I'd pre-order the bands, at least for the kids. Getting them in that neat, special box is really exciting and really causes excitement for the trip. You don't really NEED the bands, but the package is so cool. EDIT: Too late to do this, and they don't ship abroad anyway. Oh well!

I did order us Magic Band+ as we are Canadian they don't ship abroad but they're already waiting for us at the resort!

 

[loves to dive]

6 park days is a good amount of time so my advice would be don't try to do it all. It's not possible and if you try to pack too much into the trip, everyone is going to be miserable. The kids are just going to enjoy being there, they can't miss what they have never had so maybe think about their interests instead of trying to do the "must do" things.

Do they like characters, what are their sexes? Are they picky eaters? Are they active kids? Do they watch Disney movies or are they totally non-Disney kids? Will you have single park tickets or hoppers? It all makes a difference. With 6 days, you are going to be able to spend one day in each park then do extra days in other parks. Most people are going to tell you to do two days at MK with kids that young but it really depends on your kids interests. I would book two days at MK one at the beginning of the trip and one toward the end after you have done all 4 parks. After the first day at MK, you will pretty much know if your kids want/need to go back there, if they don't you might be able to switch it to another park. The same with all the other parks, use those first 4 days to figure out if you done all you wanted to do in those parks. We go often and have since my son was just shy of 3 (he is 41 now). His must dos through the years could and probably would be different than yours and your kids. He was a science geek from day one and loved to learn so Epcot was actually his favorite park. HS was MGM back then and he loved it since it was full of history but he would have probably enjoyed it even more now since Star Wars is there. Biggest advise is don't over plan, don't try to do it all and don't force it. Relax and enjoy the place and moment.

 

[DisneyMama811]

6 park days is a good amount of time so my advice would be don't try to do it all. It's not possible and if you try to pack too much into the trip, everyone is going to be miserable. The kids are just going to enjoy being there, they can't miss what they have never had so maybe think about their interests instead of trying to do the "must do" things.

Do they like characters, what are their sexes? Are they picky eaters? Are they active kids? Do they watch Disney movies or are they totally non-Disney kids? Will you have single park tickets or hoppers? It all makes a difference. With 6 days, you are going to be able to spend one day in each park then do extra days in other parks. Most people are going to tell you to do two days at MK with kids that young but it really depends on your kids interests. I would book two days at MK one at the beginning of the trip and one toward the end after you have done all 4 parks. After the first day at MK, you will pretty much know if your kids want/need to go back there, if they don't you might be able to switch it to another park. The same with all the other parks, use those first 4 days to figure out if you done all you wanted to do in those parks. We go often and have since my son was just shy of 3 (he is 41 now). His must dos through the years could and probably would be different than yours and your kids. He was a science geek from day one and loved to learn so Epcot was actually his favorite park. HS was MGM back then and he loved it since it was full of history but he would have probably enjoyed it even more now since Star Wars is there. Biggest advise is don't over plan, don't try to do it all and don't force it. Relax and enjoy the place and moment.

they're both girls and both into princesses, Disney crazy just like their mama. we are doing MK as our first and last days, 1 EP 1 AK 2 HS plus a "rest" day to swim and explore. no park hoppers. DD8 likes thrill rides (we've been to Canada's Wonderland once) DD6 is more timid and looking forward to rides like small world and winnie the pooh, she will be all about the characters. we were expecting to spend only a few hours at Epcot but then it was announced Festival of the Arts would be on during our visit so we're excited to explore those activities

 

[loves to dive]

Sounds like you have most of it under control. Maybe throw in a princess breakfast at Epcot. Maybe split up when older daughter is riding thrill rides, one parent with her and one parent with the littler one doing the easy rides. You might be surprised how much they enjoy Epcot. The countries are always interesting and they do have the new interactive game you play on your phone. I would plan on doing at least one show at AK - both FoTL and Nemo are good shows, I always do both. Take the train out to the petting zoo area, it does take up some time but AK is an easy park to take it easy in.

 

[CamillaF]

I just planned my one and done trip for my twins 9th birthday. I did 4 day park hopper in Disney world. I missed one thing at each park that I wanted to do so I believe 6 days will be more than enough. I recommend getting park hoppers so you can rope drop one park in the morning. Take an afternoon break. Then pick an evening park.

As for universal I highly recommended staying one night at a deluxe hotel. As of now you will get skip the line passes for both check in and check out. With the fast passes you will be able to ride every ride and your favorites multiple times in two days. Highly recommended them. You can buy them separately but it’s cheaper to rent the hotel room if you have 4 people.