Feeling Overwhelmed

[THEJOEL]

Well we, my wife and I, are going to take our DD to Walt Disney World for the first, and hopefully not last, time. We have decided to go the week AFTER Thankgiving(Tues Nov 30- Mon Dec 6) because we heard it was a good time to go with the Christmas Lights and lighter crowds. I have already gotten my first discount PIN from Disney and I am currently waiting on the trip planner DVD.
My DD will be 4 years old at the time but she is VERY petite and very active.
Since I am planning this trip I am feeling very overwhelmed because there are A LOT of options at WDW. The only things I have really decided on at this point are we will get the dining plan mainly for the character dinners, we are gonna stay at a moderate resort (not sure which one) and we are gonna get the park hopper option. Granted I have a lot of time to plan still but since I have never been with a child, and frankly the only time I got to go it was a disaster because of my 2 older siblings, I have NO idea how to really plan this...HELP!!
Any suggestions on resorts, activities, dining (especially character) and any benefits of getting the Disney Visa would be GREATLY appreciated.
I am still trying to process all the info here also.

 

[momofrrr]

The first bit of advice I would offer is to plan to be flexible with a 4 year old. In spite of how perfectly you have planned your days out she will have her own agenda.

There are two great books, Birnbaums and The Official Guide to Disney. Both are great resources. I find the Official Guide to be a bit over whelming at times so I tend to use Birnbaums the most.

Have a great time! The first time we went our oldest daughter was 4 and we had a great time. We must have, we keep going back

 

[MamaOfTwoPrincesses]

We'll be there at the same time! My younger DD will be 5 and my older will be nearly 9. Since you want to stay at a moderate, I would recommend PO French Quarter, where we will be. As the smallest of the mods, it is the easiest to navigate, and therefore, ideal for people with younger kids. There is only one bus stop, which you will grow to appreciate too. Some buses are shared with PO Riverside, but POFQ is always the first stop. If it's warm enough, the pool is really fun, and we love the Mardi Gras/New Orleans theme of the resort.

Perhaps we'll see you there!

ETA:
If your little one is a Princess fan, then you should try to do at least one Princess character meal, and maybe the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique as well. My girls love getting all dolled up! You can save on the BBB by bringing a dress from home. My girls also love eating at Chef Mickey's - we do it as a dinner on our arrival day, which is a no park day for us.

HAVE FUN!

 

[THEJOEL]

We'll be there at the same time! My younger DD will be 5 and my older will be nearly 9. Since you want to stay at a moderate, I would recommend PO French Quarter, where we will be. As the smallest of the mods, it is the easiest to navigate, and therefore, ideal for people with younger kids. There is only one bus stop, which you will grow to appreciate too. Some buses are shared with PO Riverside, but POFQ is always the first stop. If it's warm enough, the pool is really fun, and we love the Mardi Gras/New Orleans theme of the resort.

Perhaps we'll see you there!

ETA:
If your little one is a Princess fan, then you should try to do at least one Princess character meal, and maybe the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique as well. My girls love getting all dolled up! You can save on the BBB by bringing a dress from home. My girls also love eating at Chef Mickey's - we do it as a dinner on our arrival day, which is a no park day for us.

HAVE FUN!

Yes definitly a princess fan and I was actually looking at that resort. So I take it that is a good week to go then?
Chef Mickey's actually sounds like a good idea for arrival day.
What about rides for the undersized kiddos??

 

[momof1princess]

MK has lots of rides for little ones in fantasyland, and they can go on the majority of the other rides as well (except for space mountain and maybe big thunder mountain railroad). if you can't get a meal at cinderella's castle at the time you want, try akershus at the norway pavilion at epcot-it's a princess meal as well and my DD LOVED it. also, if appointments at BBB at MK are filled, try the DTD location. any more questions, feel free to ask we usually stay at pop century, but if you prefer a moderate, caribbean beach resort is beautiful. DH and i spent our honeymoon there.

 

[deerhart]

also remember that even if you can't do everything you want, you can always go back!!

categorize things into three piles: must dos, want to dos, and if we get to it great

You will put everything into those piles, food, shows, rides, character meets, shopping etc.

For example our trip last year one of the must do's was ice cream from Casey's, a dole whip, and the Little Mermaid show!

 

[allaboutaprincess]

We were there this past year the week after thanksgiving. It was the perfect time to go!!! Low crowds and fantastic weather! My DD is also 4 and had a wonderful time. She was not tall enough to go on any of the bigger rides, but there was plenty for her to do. Character meals are a must. She loved Akershus (princess breakfast in epcot), Hollywood and Vine (playhouse disney characters) and chef mickey's.

The MVMCP is also a must do event. My girls LOVED the parade and seeing all the characters dressed up in their holiday outfits. Also the castle is beautiful when lit up with christmas lights.

Make sure you see the osborne dancing lights at hollywood studios. So neat to see and it snows! My favorite memory of this trip was seeing my little girl dressed in her mermaid outfit dancing in the snow.

 

[BroganMc]

Just a few tips:

• They will be filming the Christmas Day parade at Magic Kingdom on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (Dec 2-4). You're better off avoiding those days at the park, except maybe for evening events. It gets crowded and the filming crew takes up lots of space. Make sure you hit that park earlier in your stay.
  
• Weather in December can be hit or miss. Pack bathing suits and sweaters. If the sun is shining, your DD will want to hit the pool. (In fact, you may have a hard time dragging her out.) After dark, it gets nippy in Orlando.
  
• Make a date for a Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Dates get announced online in March and tickets go on sale in May.
  
• Use your MVMCP ticket in lieu of another regular park admission ticket. You can get into MK by 4pm with just a MVMCP ticket. The party officially lasts from 7pm - midnight but you can get 8 hours to play there for 2/3 a day's admission.
  
• You will NOT be able to see and do everything you want to from the guidebooks. It just isn't possible for one trip. (I've gone mutliple times, for weeks at a time, for 6 years in a row and still haven't been able to do it all.) Count on 10 highlights for your must-sees. The rest is gravy.
  
• Invest in a good pocket digicam and pocket Handycam. You'll take hundreds of memorable photos and videos. personally I like a good Canon point-n-shoot and the Flip cams for video.

The holiday must-dos in December are:

• Magic Kingdom: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (especially the fireworks, parades and free hot chocolate... also the dance parties for kids)
  
• Magic Kingdom: Ice castle lighting ceremony, happens at dusk every night. The lights stay lit all night, every night. Make sure you take time to enjoy Main Street as well. It's like walking inside a Christmas train garden.
  
• EPCOT: the Candlelight Processional (an outdoor Christmas concert with multiple choirs and a celebrity narrating the Christmas story). It's beautiful to see and can be watched up close with special seating, or even from the back (if you're not sure your little one has the patience for a bunch of church music).
  
• Hollywood Studios: Osborne's Spectacle of Dancing Lights (an outdoor holiday lights display that tops anything mere humans can do at home). It begins at twilight (around 6pm) with a lighting ceremony and lasts until well after park closing. Go explore and look for all the hidden Mickeys, Disney snow and be dazzled by the dancing lights musical numbers.

Honorable mentions go to EPCOT's holiday storytellers. In each country, a native Santa (or similar character) will tell you how they celebrate Christmas in their country. (i.e. Pere Noel appears in France, Santa & Mrs. Claus in America, Father Christmas in England, etc.,)

Your DD can get a chance to visit with Santa and give him her list in person at various places around Disney. He hangs out on Main Street in his Candy Garden near Town Hall, in America at EPCOT, and in Downtown Disney near the Disney Store.

Lastly, feel free to check out some of my trip reports from past seasonal vacations. I've detailed what it's like that first week in December with family here and what holiday decorations/festivities are like around NYE in '08 and '09.

Have fun with the planning!

 

[katied]

If you haven't already, look ahead of time at what rides have height requirements that you're daughter won't make. Then you can avoid going to those rides and causing disappoitment. It won't be a lot. DS is almost 3, and very small, yet he can ride almost everything at MK (the "mountains" space, big thunder and splash - are the main one's he can't ride). If you want, you can look at touringplans.com which can give some sample itineraries. I think some are free, or otherwise there is an annual subscription fee. I use this to plan for crowd levels and picking which parks for which day.

Character meals can be booked 6 months in advance (via phone or online). Some book up very quickly - like the Princess meals and Chef Mickeys. We were actually not impressed with Chef Mickey's at our visit in Dec. We liked Donald's breakfast at AK much more (better food and better character interaction). But it's all personal choice. If you're staying on-site, the 6 month window for booking starts the day you check in, so call 6 months before your checkin day and try to book for your whole trip (to at least hold the hard to get meals, you can change others later). I think you need to provide your reservation number.

We generally go in Dec. THe weather, as others noted, can change quite a bit, so be flexible. This past year, we had 1 very chilly day, and several days where we were swimming.

Also, for when we took our niece and nephew for their first trip, we bought a travel book - I think it was Brinbaums (sp?) Disney for Kids by Kids. This may be helpful to let your daughter know what to expect about the trip. It has lots of pictures, and some decriptions of the parks, resorts, rides, etc., all from a kid perspective. You can read it with her ahead of time.

Also, consider a photopass card and ordering the photopass ahead, depending on your budget. This is a nice way to get photos of all 3 of you together. I think pre-order cost is around $100, and you get all the pictures taken by disney photographers on a CD to do with what you want. We do this, and get great pics, including DS's Santa pictures every year (normally DTD is best in terms of lines for the Santa picture, but at Epcot you can stand in line and get pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus).

Other websites I generally use to plan: allearsnet.com (I like the way I can see all the menus and food choices for the parks/resorts - helps to plan/budget) mousesavers.com (sign up for the newsletter to get a link to discount park tickets - I always use to order, also good for other budget tips to help save some money on the trip).

Good luck, and have fun!