Disney with boys -- what are MUST DOs???

[jhnsnfamily]

Goofy's takes candy store to the next level with the "make your own" treats, the create your own pixie sticks (plastic tubes), and the create your own slushy cups - don't miss it!!

Yes, Ghiradelli is wonderful for everyone!! Their sundaes are really a cut above regular ice cream places and large enough to share. You can also sign up for their email newsletter thing on their website a couple of weeks before you go (input Fla location as fave) and you should get some coupons to use.

Have a great trip!!

Downtown Disney is a "for sure" visit on one of our 'NIGHTS OFF' from WDW. We'll probably do dinner somewhere (any suggestions?) then grab some candy from Goofy's (for later), stop by the Lego's store, etc., and top off the night with a Ghiradelli treat. I'll be in heaven! Thanks for the tip on the coupons !!! BTW, I saw some pics of the treats on the food forum -- omg, I was drooling on the keyboard last night!

I'm starting to get excited (but I'm completely overwhelmed with all the info available on these boards ... I've got INFO OVERLOAD SYNDROME! GOTTA MAKE MORE COFFEE .....

 

[Motherofboys]

Downtown Disney is a "for sure" visit on one of our 'NIGHTS OFF' from WDW. We'll probably do dinner somewhere (any suggestions?) then grab some candy from Goofy's (for later), stop by the Lego's store, etc., and top off the night with a Ghiradelli treat. I'll be in heaven! Thanks for the tip on the coupons !!! BTW, I saw some pics of the treats on the food forum -- omg, I was drooling on the keyboard last night!

I'm starting to get excited (but I'm completely overwhelmed with all the info available on these boards ... I've got INFO OVERLOAD SYNDROME! GOTTA MAKE MORE COFFEE .....

We usually go to Wolfgang Puck Express - the boys LOVE the chicken fingers there (very high quality) and there is great food for us adults there as well. Another fave is Earl of Sandwich - we like the variety there and I love the Earl's Lemonade.

We won't be going there anymore though b/c now we have one here!! So we can go whenever we want now.

We've done Rainforest Cafe for the atmosphere, not to impressed with the food though. The boys love looking around the shop though.

The best thing about the Dis is that there is a ton of info but any question you ask - there's always someone to answer it!!

 

[ISP2MCO]

Yeah, I was thinking Blizzard Beach, too. After visiting an indoor water park here in Ohio and Soak City at Cedar Point this past summer, my boys are geared up for the big guns (i.e., the gigantic water slides!). Unfortunately, my DH is trying to talk me out of the water park ... he says "the resort we are staying at [Windsor Hills] has a water slide and giant pool" and "we can go to waterparks in OHIO ..." Somehow, I don't think it will be the same. We'll see. I have 5 mos. to work on him changing his mind. Thanks for the input, though! Pray for me!

We are staying at WH for the first time next month. We didnt book waterparks this trip only because of the time of year and the limited time we have. Unless it is really hot and everyone is game we might go for a day but 5 of the 11 of us are first timers too and there is so much to see. I think it would be definately on our schedule if we were going during the hotter months like.... june

 

[Magical-Memories]

We took our 4 boys (at the time ages 6-11) in November of 2005.

MGM
They really like the adventurous rides, with their favorites being the Rock'n Roll Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. They also loved the Indiana Jones show and the Stunt car show at MGM. This was their top choice of parks to have repeat visits at.

EPCOT
They loved Test Track and Soaring in Epcot. The Biergarten was definitely their favorite restaurant...we ended up going twice during our stay. (We also went to O'Hana's, Boma, Whispering Canyon, Prime Time Cafe.....and shoot..I can't remember the rest now.)

MAGIC KINGDOM
At the Magic Kingdom, they loved all the coaster rides..but felt they weren't 'fast enough'. Also Buzz Lightyear was a favorite. But you know what their favorite thing at MK was? Tom Sawyer Island! They bought some of those wooden guns near the Pirates of the Carribean and than spent hours exploring and pretending in the caves and fort. They made us go back several times. I thought that was so funny!

ANIMAL KINGDOM
They really enjoyed the safari and Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom. (Expedition Everest was still being built at the time.) They liked the River Rapids ride..but felt it was not much different than the ones they have at other places like Six flags..it wasn't as 'scary'. Oh..they really enjoyed the "Bug's Life" show..I forget the name. And the Lion King show was awesome too.

OTHER STUFF
Oh...we also went to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue..and they all absolutley loved that too. None of them were into characters so we didn't go to any character dinners or wait for any autographs. They also refused to go to the Beauty and the Beast show :-( One thing I didn't plan was a 'down' day at the hotel...we stayed at the Marriott Grand Vista and they keep talking about going back to Florida to just hang at the hotel.

We are heading back down in a few weeks for an unexpected trip and we will be staying onsite this time. They are looking forward to doing the Crush show at Epcot (closed when we were there) and the new Monsters, Inc., comedy show at MK. I think they really are looking forward to doing Expedition Everest the most though.

Have a great time. I've enjoyed seeing everyone's ideas too

 

[vicceja]

Well, my boys are 11, 9 and 6 and these are the things they love to do:

- Parasailing
- Pirate cruise for the younger two
- Tom Sawyers Island
- All 3 Mountains
- Expedition Everest!
- Mission Space
- Test Track
- Lunch @ ESPN
- Hang out at SAB
- Great Movie Ride
- Dinoland and Dig site
- Taste all the Sodas at the Coke Station
- Try and sit in all the Kewl Cars after the TestTrack ride, especially the Corvette

Just too many to continue....

 

[jhnsnfamily]

I truly appreciate all of you taking the time to respond to my question! I am definately starting to narrow down our "must do's" ... still working on the Blizzard Beach one though ... of course, we'll do all the fun/scary rides, but I love the idea of the guns and Tom Sawyer Island. These are things I'd never even think of! My boys have a houseful of toys and guess what they play with ALL THE TIME ... army guys, army games (Call of Duty), my husband was in the Air Force, so they have some of this old stuff that they play "dress up" with and go outside and play war, etc. (They have tons of wooden very real like guns from Gatlinburg.) They'd have a blast. What better place to play army than at MK ???

 

[DizneeMommy]

I have a 9 year old son, and he LOVED Star Wars Weekends last June. If you're not interested in limited edition merchandise or autographs from the actual actors, getting there at rope drop is fine. We were there about 7:30, and they had storm troopers on top of the ticket booths doing a pre-show, then the gates opened and rope drop was at 8 (EMH morning). We planned our day really well and didn't wait in line for anything over 20 minutes, even though the crowds were ridiculous. The Star Wars parade was great. My son even got to be a part of Jedi Training Academy--that made his trip!!

He also LOVED Animal Kingdom (he's an animal fanatic)--all the rides of course, but liked Conservation Station as well. He got to handle a snake!

 

[famofsix]

I am still mad at myself for not getting a picture of DS trying to lift the sword in the stone at MK. It seems like a small thing but we were rushing to something, he tried it and I told myself I would take the pic later. Well later we were nowhere near it. So capture the moments...even the small ones with your boys.
I did redeem myself with pics at Legoland and with Zurg in Jail after the Buzz ride

 

[jhnsnfamily]

Okay ... thanks to all of your wisdom, I have made a planner spreadsheet in Excel with lots of fun clipart for our upcoming trip. Even though I haven't listed them below, we WILL hit all the fun/scary/I'm gonna P my pants rides. Here's a run down --

Sat -- arrive, settle into house, hit grocery while Dads stay with kids so they can play/swim after a day of flying
Sun -- Hollywood Studios for Star Wars weekend! Probably Pizzaplanet for lunch and Mama Melrose for dinner (I love Italian and if DH gets Biergarten in Epcot, then I get Italian here!), followed by Fantasmic at 9 p.m. and possibly Sci-Fi for late snack (milkshakes and onion rings)
Mon -- Animal Kingdom (I figured after a full day at HS, they'd be ready for a shorter park day and this one closes early) followed by a visit to Ft. Wilderness for Chip & Dale's campfire sing along (will buy Smores kit), check out the movie and the campground, and then take the shuttle to the beach for the 9:45 electric water pageant
Tues -- FREE DAY -- may plan a day trip to Clearwater Beach
Wed -- EPCOT -- Biergarten for lunch and snack our way through China (egg rolls), UK (fish and chips), and Norway (school bread and rice cream) for dinner, finish up with Illuminations at 9 p.m.
Thur -- FREE DAY -- have ressies for Pirate Cruise for boys - leaves from Grand Floridian at 9:30, then the adults are hopping on the monorail to have breakfast at Kona (have ressies already); Downtown Disney in evening--dinner at Wolf Gang Puck Express, hit all the "kids"shops including Goofy's, then off to heaven we go -- Ghirardelli's!
Fri -- Magic Kingdom -- saved best for last we hope!
Sat -- day we go home -- flight doesn't leave MCO until after 6 p.m., so I may make late lunch ADRs for either Whispering Canyon or Beaches N Cream.

Sadly, Blizzard Beach and Universal, et al, will have to wait to next to trip (hopefully at Ft. Wilderness!!!).

Whaddya think?

 

[mousescrapper]

Okay ... thanks to all of your wisdom, I have made a planner spreadsheet in Excel with lots of fun clipart for our upcoming trip. Even though I haven't listed them below, we WILL hit all the fun/scary/I'm gonna P my pants rides. Here's a run down --

Sat -- arrive, settle into house, hit grocery while Dads stay with kids so they can play/swim after a day of flying
Sun -- Hollywood Studios for Star Wars weekend! Probably Pizzaplanet for lunch and Mama Melrose for dinner (I love Italian and if DH gets Biergarten in Epcot, then I get Italian here!), followed by Fantasmic at 9 p.m. and possibly Sci-Fi for late snack (milkshakes and onion rings)
Mon -- Animal Kingdom (I figured after a full day at HS, they'd be ready for a shorter park day and this one closes early) followed by a visit to Ft. Wilderness for Chip & Dale's campfire sing along (will buy Smores kit), check out the movie and the campground, and then take the shuttle to the beach for the 9:45 electric water pageant
Tues -- FREE DAY -- may plan a day trip to Clearwater Beach
Wed -- EPCOT -- Biergarten for lunch and snack our way through China (egg rolls), UK (fish and chips), and Norway (school bread and rice cream) for dinner, finish up with Illuminations at 9 p.m.
Thur -- FREE DAY -- have ressies for Pirate Cruise for boys - leaves from Grand Floridian at 9:30, then the adults are hopping on the monorail to have breakfast at Kona (have ressies already); Downtown Disney in evening--dinner at Wolf Gang Puck Express, hit all the "kids"shops including Goofy's, then off to heaven we go -- Ghirardelli's!
Fri -- Magic Kingdom -- saved best for last we hope!
Sat -- day we go home -- flight doesn't leave MCO until after 6 p.m., so I may make late lunch ADRs for either Whispering Canyon or Beaches N Cream.

Sadly, Blizzard Beach and Universal, et al, will have to wait to next to trip (hopefully at Ft. Wilderness!!!).

Whaddya think?

That sounds like a great plan! If you remeber my family and I will be there at the same time (5-12). We have 2 similarities....Sun Studios-SWW and my DS is doing the Pirate Cruise from the GF on Thurs too.

Kinda cool! Please PM if you want to try and do a DisMeet on that Sunday at the Studios. It would be cool for my DS to meet your boys, since they'll be on the same cruise. Give him a familiar face to pal with. It'd be fun.

PS you don't even need to hop on the monorail to get to the Poly from GF there is a walkway btwn them, takes I've heard less than 10 min. Cause the mono goes clockwise, you'll have to go all the way around stopping at MK, CR and TTC before getting to the Poly. Though if you want the ride....it sure is fun!

 

[logansmummy]

Every year we have maps made through the wdw site, we choose ALL BOYS stuff.....it is great and there is no girly stuff going on.......

 

[jhnsnfamily]

That sounds like a great plan! If you remeber my family and I will be there at the same time (5-12). We have 2 similarities....Sun Studios-SWW and my DS is doing the Pirate Cruise from the GF on Thurs too.

Kinda cool! Please PM if you want to try and do a DisMeet on that Sunday at the Studios. It would be cool for my DS to meet your boys, since they'll be on the same cruise. Give him a familiar face to pal with. It'd be fun.

PS you don't even need to hop on the monorail to get to the Poly from GF there is a walkway btwn them, takes I've heard less than 10 min. Cause the mono goes clockwise, you'll have to go all the way around stopping at MK, CR and TTC before getting to the Poly. Though if you want the ride....it sure is fun!

What a small world afterall! (Haven't I heard that phrase somewhere before ... ) We can try to arrange a meet and greet at HS on Sunday -- that would be cool! We are traveling with four families -- mine consisting of myself, DH, and two DSs (now 9 and 7), my parents, and two sets of friends -- one mine (his too -- she was in our wedding in 1995 and they have vacationed with us before) -- DF, her hubby, and their DS (will be 8 this month), and one is my hubby's (mine, too -- we all went to high school together!) -- they also have a son who will be 8 when we go -- this couple consists of one firefighter/paramedic and another paramedic -- they all work together. We should all be in good hands while we are there! I plan on making matching t-shirts for the kids for their pirate cruise! (I'm making several t-shirts for the gang. I asked a DISigner to do one of Mickey as a firefighter that says "Firehouse Mouse" -- it's too cute!)

Thanks for the tip on the monorail and getting from GF to Poly -- but we might go ahead and ride! With the exception of my parents, some of us have never been to WDW and the rest of us haven't been since we were kids! We are all looking forward to our trip! One of the boys going with us has never even flown before ... lots of firsts for everyone! Take care ... I'll PM you about the DIS meeting!

 

[twinmum]

I enjoyed reading these dieas for boys - this is pretty much waht we did last year with our twin boys (then 8)!

Few points:

Yes, walk from GF to Poly - it's more like 5 minutes and a nice walk past the GF spa and weding chapel. One of sons is disabled and he did the walk in his walker on the way to breakfast with Lilo and Stitch!

Monorail - our boys really enjoyed riding in the front - always gotta learn how things work, right?!?

Holloywood Studios: a big YES to the car stunt show and Indiana Jones. Our boys also enjoyed the Studio Backlot Tour.

Jedi Training academy: We just went to Disneyland (CA) in December. The boys LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Jedi Training Academy. Those fabulous CM's did indeed pick them, including our disabled son. What a thrill to "fight" Darth Maul and/or Darth Vadar! I had read that they were maybe bringing the JTA to WDW permanently and I think this is what it is showing on the website. BRING SIGNS and tell the boys it's a good time to be over the top enthusiastic. And come back again if you don't get picked first time.

EPCOT - Innoventions held our guys' interest at WDW and even more so at Disneyland in December. Of course, Test Track and Mission:Space were pretty much their WDW favourites. We survived World Showcase by allowing browsing time and souvenir allowance for the Japan pavilion, where they purchased Yu-Gi-Oh and/or Pokemon cards they hadn't seen at home.

Animal Kingdom - Loved the Safari, Everest, Primerval Whirl. They hated Tough to be a Bug, though.

Magic Kingdom: Such a long list of things they love: some highlights: Big Thunder (the "wildest ride in the wilderness!"...yes we've been on it 10 times a trip!), Pirates, Space and Splash Mountains, Buzz Lightyear (over and over - and why is it the boys and my husband rack up the big scores and I do so dismally?!?)

Pirate Adventure: The boys really enjoyed this. I will mention that they were a little older than the average age, though. There were only a few older than their age of 8 at the time.

Downtown Disney: We seriously underestimated the time the boys would want to spend browsing...the Lego store alone took ages! They had such fun, though.

Fianlly, a special treat for us all was seeing La Nouba - it was a major highlight of our trip. It's not cheap, though!

Have fun!!!

 

[Terry36]

subbing for my trip in june!

 

[irene_dsc]

Well, my ds is 6 and maybe has tamer taste than yours, but his major highlight was the Jedi Training Academy! He would be in heaven if we were there for SWW, tho I bet the competition for getting picked will be fierce! Definitely prepare them for disappointment, just in case they don't get picked.

He also really loved the safari (cool weather, so we saw a ton of animals), Soarin, Primeval Whirl, and Buzz.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I didn't read through this whole thread, so forgive me if I'm repeating things that have already been mentioned. Here's what my boys love:

For rides ~Soarin, Test Track, Big TMtnRR, Space Mtn, EE, RNRC, Buzz, Star Tours, Backlot Tour

Shows ~Fantasmic, Philharmagic, Monsters Inc

Restaurants ~Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace, Casey's Corner(they can get mini-corn dogs), Wolfgang Puck Express(they say it's the best chicken at WDW), they love buffets and character meals!

Downtown Disney is a must!! We went 3 times last year on one trip!! Goofy's Candy Store and Once Upon a Toy Store are their favorites! They can "Build their Own" Lightsaber at the toy store. They can get 3 pretzel rods dipped in chocolate then rolled in candy (for one snack credit on the DDP) at Goofy's.

They also love the resort pool and playing in the various sprinklers throughout the parks!

Have fun!!

 

[jhnsnfamily]

Well, my ds is 6 and maybe has tamer taste than yours, but his major highlight was the Jedi Training Academy! He would be in heaven if we were there for SWW, tho I bet the competition for getting picked will be fierce! Definitely prepare them for disappointment, just in case they don't get picked.

He also really loved the safari (cool weather, so we saw a ton of animals), Soarin, Primeval Whirl, and Buzz.

I'd love to know more about the Jedi Training Academy ... all the details. We definately want the boys to participate, we just need more details. TIA!

 

[smylie1]

I don't know if anyone has already mentioned this, but my boys 8 & 12 loved Tom Sawyer's Island. It was early when we went, so we were practically the only ones there. They ran around and explored the caves and the fort. It was a nice slower paced moment. Of course they loved the all the "E-Ticket" rides, but TSI was a different kind of fun.

 

[IndigoFairy]

My boys (ages 9, 6 and 6) ABSOLUTELY LOVE the sports store at the Downtown Disney Marketplace - Team Mickey Athletic Club.

We even got to watch as they engraved a personalized Rawlings bat with my 9 year-old's name and the year of our trip. As an avid baseball player and fan, we know that this souvenir from Disney World will be one he will have and cherish for the rest of his life!

I'm hoping to have one made for a friend while I'm there in October. Do you happen to remember if a Disney World logo was available to be engraved on the bats?

Thanks!