Disney Park and Children...

[The Sorrentino's]

My children are 10 (boy), 8 (girl), 7 (girl) and 6 (girl) years of age. Here's my question...for example, I'm looking at the MK map and I see five different sections and the Main Street area. Which area is best for my 10 year old? He's a tall boy and I know he'll be able to ride everything. On the other hand my girls are small so which sections are best for them? Mark and I were thinking about splitting up at some point so our son will have the opportunity to do all that he wants. We've never been to Disney before...we need help!

AK?
MGM?
Epcot?

 

[twocat]

Well, there's going to be something for all of you to do in all the parks. The Marks may like some of the more thrill type rides that the girls may not be tall enough to ride on. Rock and Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror at MGM, Space Mountain in the Magic Kingdom. (I'm trying not to use too many abbreviations since I know how new you are to this LOL).

Epcot is more older child oriented but the also have something called kidcot stops at each of the countries. It's a planned activity like making a mask that the younger ones might enjoy.

Keep reading the boards, Cadence, and you'll be a pro in no time!

Donna

 

[goofy4tink]

My dd has been going to WDW since she was 6. Now, at 11 1/2 and tall for her age, she loves just about everything. Well, except for Tower of Terror. Did that one twice and not feeling the need to do it again. But, have you gotten any guidebooks for your trip? We buy dd the Birnbaum's WDW for Kids every time we start planning a new trip. It has some pretty good attraction descriptions,from a kids' point of view. You could also get one of the many other guide books. We here on the boards seem to like the PassPorter and the UnOfficial Guide to WDW. THey are both good.
Then, you can read thru the books, and each person can make a 'must-do' list of things they are really interested in doing. And you can get a terrific overview of what there is to see and do, for every age. Even at almost 12, my dd still loves the 'younger' type rides as well as the thrill rides. Have fun planning your trip.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

One of the best things about MK is that you can ride almost every single ride in the park together as a family. As long as your youngest is over 40 inches, which I'm sure she is since she's 6, you really aren't going to need to split up unless you want to. (with the one exception of Space Mountain) If I were you I'd just stick together most of the day.

Now, at the other parks you might want to split up. At MGM there are two "big rides" that your younger kids might not be up for. Tower of Terror and Rockin' Roller Coaster. So that's a good split up time. At Epcot there's Mission Space and Test Track, which are faster rides. It really just depends on your kids. My son loves all the rides, the fast the better, and he's only 5.

Good Luck with your research!

 

[beattyfamily]

We stick together for the most part but we do sometimes split up when my younger child is tired of waiting for my older child to go on the mountains.

Since it's your first time, you may want to check out the rides and do a "must do" list and start from there.

Most people start out in Fantasyland. My girls could stay there all day! My older DD likes to do the mountains too though. She likes Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain which are near each other and she also loves Space Mountain which is near Buzz and I'll bet your son will like both of those.

You also may want to stop in Toontown to see Mickey and Minnie's houses and ride Goofy's roller coaster.

Maybe start in Fantasyland, then head to Toontown and then take the train to Frontierland for the mountains there...

You won't be able to do it all in one day. It's a big park!

 

[Idahomom]

Here are some of the height requirements...
Rock 'n' Rollercoaster 48 in.
Tower of Terror 40 in.
Star Tours 40 in.
Splash Mt. 40 in.
Big Thunder Mt. 40 in.
The Barnstormer 35 in.
Space Mt. 44 in.
Test Track 40 in.
Mission: Space 44 in.

My small 8 & 9 yr olds did everything. I saw children that looked to be 4 yrs old on all these rides. A book that we bought our children before the trip was Birnbaum's WDW for Kids, By Kids. It was great for our younger two to read about all the rides and make a list of the ones they wanted to go on. I would also measure your girls beforehand so that they know going in what rides they'll be tall enough for.
Have a great trip & welcome to the DISboards!

 

[The Sorrentino's]

Thank you Idaho Mom for posting the heights. My two youngest are scary and they won't do any of the fast rides. So for the big rides instead of waiting for the boys I can be somewhere else. I think I like Toontown and Fantasyland for them. My 8 year old may just go and join her dad and brother. As for MGM, that might be a hard one. AK should be farely easy. and Epcot may be a little iffy. I've been reading the Unofficial Guide 2005 to Walt Disney World today.

 

[Idahomom]

Toontown and Fantasyland would be great for them then. My two youngest, 8 & 9 at the time (just had a bday, now 10!) loved it. I was surprised how much they loved Toontown. And Fantasyland is great for little girls. You have to do Mickey's Philharmagic w/them! It's great!
Hope you're getting lots of great info on these boards. I stumbled upon them while planning for our trip back in December and got so much useful info.
Happy planning!

 

[debbiedoo]

For MGM--

Tower of Terror and Rock and Roller coaster are side by side. Beauty and the Beast show is in the same corner/area.

Plan--get Fast Pass for TOT or RnR ride the wait line--then go to the FP ride. While this is being done--you can take the the younger children to Beauty and the Beast. After that point--you can enjoy the rest of MGM as a family. Make sure to stop at the shop on the boulevard--I do not remember the name here--has the villian room on the right hand side going towards these areas. Great Candy apples!!

good luck!!

 

[WDWBetsy]

Cadence & Mark,

I don't know if anyone has pointed you in this direction, but I kinda stumbled across this for someone else. If you don't have the Disney World planning DVD yet, you can go to http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/myVacation/vpkEntryPage to view really cool video clips of different aspects of the parks. You just have to enter some info then you can click on various tabs (parks, resorts, etc.) to view what you like. It is streaming video that requires QuickTime, so you would need high speed internet to best view it (I'm guessing you're not on dial-up).

Hope this helps you (and others)! I know I like watching this better than the DVD!

HAVE FUN PLANNING!

 

[Baloo]

WELCOME to the DIS Sorrentino's !


You migh pick up a copy of Birnbaums Guide to WDW for Kids By Kids.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/102-4241605-8946517 It's a really great, kid friendly book to get your children's opinions on what they might like to do and see while at WDW.

Make sure to pick up some autograph books,kids love to do this.Also for Epcot a World Showcase Passport.My boys love these,even at 11 years old! The pasSport has a page for each county.There are stickers and a place for a CM to write them a message in their language.You might want to check out this thread on saying hello in the different coutries in Epcot.Another thing my guys still like to do!http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=504754

Happy planning! Hope to see you around here...there are lots and lots of great people with wonderful advice here at the DIS!

 

[KristiKelly]

Hi Sorrentino's!! I've followed you from the budget board . We have 2 kids, DD5 & DS7. DS loves roller coasters and will try anything that his height will allow. We rarely split up though. If there's something that DD won't ride, DH & DS will get a fast pass & then come back to it while we wait, which usually isn't long. The time of year you are going, I don't see long waits. If they were going to ride Space Mountain, you could grab a drink for the rest of you & just wait for them, take a bathroom break, etc. Since your kids have never been, even your oldest will probably enjoy most of the other rides such as Peter Pan (one of our favorites), although not a "thrill ride" most of the rides are a nice break for weary feet. I would suggest, the first day @ MK, you do it as a family & then on another day maybe split up a couple of hours.

We often split up more at MGM, DD likes to do the Little Mermaid Show & Beauty & the Beast, while DS & DH do Tower of Terror and Rockin' Roller Coaster.

A MUST to take with you - walkie talkies. This way, if you do split up, you can talk back & forth across the park. Last year Dh & I took our cell phones, they are with the same service carriers so it didn't cost us anything to call back & forth. Just remember to put it somewhere dry if you ride Splash Mountain.

Happy Planning!!!

 

[princess aurora]

Ok someone had to say it. It might as well be me...What you started having kids when you were 12? Sheesh! You and your honey look amazing!

 

[The Sorrentino's]

Mark laughed when I asked him if he wanted to see the Beauty and the Beast show so I guess I'm going to be sitting through that with my girls while my men go for the thrill attractions. The Little Mermaid is a must. Again, my men won't be interested. Thanks for the tips.

I ordered my Disney Planning DVD...thanks for the tip Betsy.

I was reading about fast passes. I was wondering how will we get them. Looking at the park maps some of thes attractions have a good distance between them. Seems like we'll be walking back and forth across sections.

The MGM park looks weird because there is a dead in where Playhouse is and that looks like a lot of back and forth walking too. I love to walk, just worried about tiring out my kids.

Why do the kids need autograph books? Baloo mentioned this.

Mark and I will use cell phones, but the walkie talkies may be good for the kids. If we split up, I'm sure Mark Jr. will want to tell his little sisters what they're missing and vice versa. I'm sure you guys can tell me which brand is best to use in the parks.

Cadence

 

[beattyfamily]

I was reading about fast passes. I was wondering how will we get them. Looking at the park maps some of thes attractions have a good distance between them. Seems like we'll be walking back and forth across sections.

The MGM park looks weird because there is a dead in where Playhouse is and that looks like a lot of back and forth walking too. I love to walk, just worried about tiring out my kids.

Why do the kids need autograph books? Baloo mentioned this.

Mark and I will use cell phones, but the walkie talkies may be good for the kids. If we split up, I'm sure Mark Jr. will want to tell his little sisters what they're missing and vice versa. I'm sure you guys can tell me which brand is best to use in the parks.

Cadence

Yes, sometimes there is a bit of running around for Fastpasses and that is what my DH is for!! He's the Fastpass runner while we head to another ride. At MGM we run to ToT and he gets Fastpass for RnR. Then we go do the shows and get Fastpass for Ariel while we go see Beauty, if possible. Then we do the "Shrunk the kids" playground and the Muppet 3-D movie. The kids love both of those. They also enjoy the Great Movie ride if we get to it.

You don't NEED autograph books but some kids LOVE getting the characters autograph as well as a photo with them. You'll see lots of kids with them. My kids share one. They don't care. I didn't even do autograph books the first couple of year and then I finally broke down and got one.

We use our Nextel cell phones and they are a Godsend! I'm not a big fan of the walkie talkies at WDW.

There IS a lot of walking at WDW!

 

[The Sorrentino's]

LOL! Thanks Princess Aurora.

 

[KristiKelly]

We use our Nextel cell phones and they are a Godsend! I'm not a big fan of the walkie talkies at WDW.

A couple of years ago we were using Walkie-Talkies @ AK. I kept trying to get in touch with DH to tell him so he wouldn't be late for our PS at Rainforest. Anyway, this other lady kept coming through on the same frequency saying "who is this?" & "where's _______"(can't remember his name now), blah, blah, blah. I really think she was ready to hunt me down thinking that I had "taken" her husband. It was really funny. . That's why we do cell phones now.

 

[Desnik]

I would also stick to the cell phones. We kept on getting other people talking on out walki talkies. Our Verizon cell phnes worked perfectly all over WDW property.

Your little girls will love getting autographs. DD just started getting into it when she was 5 yo. You will see all the kids with them. You can get them almost anywhere on WDW property. Not sure exactly where in NY you are, but the World of Disney store they just opened in Manhattan has the autograph books and fat pens(easier for the characters to hold) I can get you the exact address if you need it. There are so many characters out and about at the parks, especially MGM. We love to get the autographs and pics with the characters.

Please don't think that Epcot is more for older kids or adults. This park is one of our favs and we go to it every evening on our trips. Illuminations is not to be missed. The World Showcase(WS)is so beautiful. There are strolling entertainers in all the countries. Some are storytellers, magicians, musicians. There are alot of neat stores. One has all Hello Kitty stuff! DD was in heaven!!LOL They have the Kidcot stations with the masks for the kids to make in all the lands. There are also some rides and attractions. Future World(FW) also has some really neat attractions. Spaceship Earth is a fav of ours.

Here are some more links on info about the kidcot stations, and more...
http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/fastpass.htm
http://allearsnet.com/pl/tip73.htm
http://allearsnet.com/tp/fur.htm

 

[The Sorrentino's]

LOL! I didn't know the characters took the time to sign autographs. That's neat. My children would love that. It's great for scrapbooking too. The walkie talkies sounded like a good idea, but you guys are right about the reception. I'll get the kids two of those pre-paid cell phones for when we seperate.

I have a question about Tower of Terror. What if I want to ride it too? My girls will not want to so therefore I have to miss it to stay with them.

Cadence

 

[beattyfamily]

I have a question about Tower of Terror. What if I want to ride it too? My girls will not want to so therefore I have to miss it to stay with them.

Cadence

They have baby swap. You go to ToT and tell them you girls don't want to ride and they will tell you what to do. If your DDs are too short to ride, then they do not make them go through the line and they just give you a FASTPASS that is good for the day for up to 4 people to ride that day. If you DDs are tall enough to ride, then they will make them go in the line and have you swap at the ride itself. At least that is what they told me when my 5 year old didn't want to do it this past November.

We ended up just taking turns. My 5 year old didn't even want to go in the line.

Each ride handles baby swap differently. RnR will give you a Fastpass. Splash Mountain was like ToT. Because my DD was old enough she had to go through the line with us and we would swap at the ride. Also depending on the CM they will handle it differently.

Enjoy!