DD3 first trip to the World

[Savanah'sMom]

Hello, this is the first time I post a new thread and I'm so excited. I got the best news last night, my DH has decided to move up our trip to the World by an entire year We will be going in January of 2008. Both DH and I have been a few times but this will be DD3's 1st time. I could just burst right now. I have never been to the World with a child and I have no idea what to expect. She will be 4 1/2 when we go. My questions are:
What is the best time to go (we would like any time in January) where the crowds are the bare minimum?
At 4 1/4 years old is using a stroller helpfull?
And overall, what should I expect with a 4 1/2 year old?

Thanks in advance for all the advice, I know ya'll won't let me down!!!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Congratulations on your upcoming trip, it will come soon enough!
A stroller is definately a good idea, when we went in 05 my 3 year old and 5 and a half year old used one, I rented a double. It's alot of walking for those little legs.
Get her to know the characters by watching the disney channel and renting or buying disney movies. That's what i'm doing with my 2 and a half year old, I want her to know who all of the characters are, she'll be more excited.
I actually just put up a post about my dd5 being terrified of the characters, so keep that in mind, I got alot of replys of other kids being scared and hiding under tables at the character dining.(not to scare you, but it could happen)
Have fun ,your son/daughter will have an awesome time, this will be our 2nd trip coming up, and i'm remembering our first in march 05, we can't wait to go back, it cant' come fast enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[juligrl]

Hello, this is the first time I post a new thread and I'm so excited. I got the best news last night, my DH has decided to move up our trip to the World by an entire year We will be going in January of 2008. Both DH and I have been a few times but this will be DD3's 1st time. I could just burst right now. I have never been to the World with a child and I have no idea what to expect. She will be 4 1/2 when we go. My questions are:
What is the best time to go (we would like any time in January) where the crowds are the bare minimum?
At 4 1/4 years old is using a stroller helpfull?
And overall, what should I expect with a 4 1/2 year old?

Thanks in advance for all the advice, I know ya'll won't let me down!!!

Congrats on your sooner-than-expected trip!
We took DD(then 2 almost 3) this past January. We arrived the day after MLK day and stayed for the week. During the week the crowds weren't bad, weekend was a little heavier. It usually took longer for us to get through the cues than the actual wait was. EMHs were great! If you can do them take advantage of them.

 

[kldmom2000]

What a great age to take her!!! The first time we took our girls (we were Disney veterans prior to having kids! ) they were 26 months and 4 yrs old. My then 4 yr old was terrified of the characters (something we knew before we went but we still went). It was rough for her because she was trying to avoid them everywhere... my then 2 yr old LOVED everything-the rides she could go on, the characters, shows, etc.....

We just returned a little over a month ago and our girls were now 6 and the younger one turned 4 on our 2nd day there.... the 6 yr old was now over her character fear and was a character "groupie"... couldn't get enough of them!!! Wanted her pic with all of them! My 4 yr old DD LOVED Thunder Mtn-she rode it 12 times... She was soooooo enamoured with everything-it's what I always dreamed a Disney vacation would be with kids!

Definitely bring the stroller! My 6 yr old would fight my 4 yr old for time in it so we ended up renting a stroller for my 6 yr old by afternoon when she was wiped....

Be sure to take that break in the afternoon!!! A few hours in the hotel pool did wonders for them both!!! My 4 yr old generally ended up falling asleep en route to whichever park we went to for the evening-but thanks to the stroller, no problem She'd given up naps 2 yrs ago, but the walking and excitement would get the best of her! Here she is on the way to her birthday dinner with Cinderella.....

[/IMG]

We just had the most magical time and my DH realized on day 3 how wrong he was for only letting us go for 5 nights/4.5 days... he wants us to go back in 2007 now!!! IF I had the choice of when to go, I'd pick late Sept.... they have the MNSSHP-(my girls LOVED this!!!) and the weather for us anyway was superb (though it is hurricane season-but it's also value season) My older DD's school gave us a rough time about her missing 4 days this past trip and I don't want to go through it again, so we'll most likely go in August when it's dreadfully hot but hopefully the free dining might happen again???? (Fingers crossed!!)

Have a wonderful trip whenever you go!!!!

 

[all4fun]

Hello,
I just thought I'd post a link to Allearsnet.com "Tips for Taking your Preschooler to WDW" because it has lots of good ideas, some of which I've even read on the boards over the years.

You're going to have a great time!

Hth.

 

[Savanah'sMom]

You guys are so helpful. Thanks for the advice, hopefully DD won't be afraid of the characters. Right now she has no interest in the Princesses (much to my disappointment ) but she can't wait to see Mickey & Minnie. kldmom2000, what kind of stroller is it that you DD is in, in your pic, I'm looking to get a comfortable one for my DD for the trip.

 

[kldmom2000]

You guys are so helpful. Thanks for the advice, hopefully DD won't be afraid of the characters. Right now she has no interest in the Princesses (much to my disappointment ) but she can't wait to see Mickey & Minnie. kldmom2000, what kind of stroller is it that you DD is in, in your pic, I'm looking to get a comfortable one for my DD for the trip.

It's a Maclaren Triumph from 2 yrs ago.... I've never gotten so much use out of a stroller and she slept in it EVERYDAY after the pool (she gave up naps 2 yrs ago too! ) It's awesome because it's so lightweight and easy to push (my 6 yr old rode in it too at 54 lbs!)

Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[2poohbears]

Savannah's Mom---I'm your neighbor here in Thibodaux, LA!

We're taking our 3 1/2 y/o twins the last week of JAN 2007 and we're going back again in JAN or FEB 2008---don't know which dates yet as we're meeting up with friends for that one.

I've been to WDW the last week of JAN twice now and I've found the crowds are really low then. The best things I did in preparing for our last trip (JAN 06) are:
-read the DIS boards often to gather lots of info and ideas
-bought and read "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World" (They put one out every year)...this book has lots of detailed information, websites to visit, hotels, reviews of rides (age appropriate info, etc), reviews of restaurants, tour plans, etc...and you can get info on predicted crowd level on their website for every day of the year. This thing is my WDW "bible" when I'm planning our trips.

Something to think about---If you think you want to do several character meals during your trip, you might want to look into doing the dining plan (if you plan to stay on WDW property). With the dining plan, you can book a lot of character meals and you don't pay extra for it. We book a character meal almost every day when we go...this way we don't have to stand in line to meet characters in the parks. And don't forget you can book ADRs 6 months in advance - you'll especially want to do that if you plan to go to the Castle to eat or some of the other more popular character meals.

Happy planning, neighbor!