First Family Trip to WDW!

[aprilfoolwed]

I have been reading posts for HOURS now - such great advice on this board!

We are heading to WDW in June for our first family trip there! I have been to WDW several times as a child, but it's been about 12-15 years since I was last there. My DH has never been there, nor have my children (who will be 8, 6 and 3 when we go). We will be traveling with my parents who have been to WDW many times.

We never really planned to going to Disney when we still had a fairly young preschooler; however, DH needs to attend a conference in Orlando and we are taking advantage of some of his travel being paid for and piggybacking on his trip.

So - we will be driving from PA to FL - which has me biting my nails a bit. And I understand that mid-June is probably NOT the best time to go to WDW, but that's just how it has to be this time.

We just booked an off-property pool home and can now really start planning. We will have 7 full days at Disney - and possibly an extra half-day as well.

This is a BIG BIG trip for us, and I want it to be super special for the kids. Can you share your Top 10 Tips for doing Disney with young children - in June - for 7.5 days?

 

[Diamondintheruff]

I don't know if I can do a top ten for you but I know I learnt alot from reading other people's trip reports. Especially if they had kids around the same age as mine. Plus some of them are really entertaining.

You're already doing the best thing which is hanging out on the disboards and asking questions.

Good luck and enjoy.

 

[koolaidmoms]

We drive just about every year from Western NY to FL. We have been doing since my children were 18 months old! First in a Grand Am the last 2 years in a Grand Caravan. Lots of little toys rotated every 20 minutes or so and a DVD player (we swore we would never get one and the last two trips we've had one - never go without it again) are a great thing to help pass time. We all view it as part of the experience.

My kids top 10:

1. Lunch at CP
2. Splash Mountain
3. Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
4. Peter Pan's Flight
5. Small World
6. Honey Pots ride
7. Fireworks at night with Tinkerbell Flying over your head
8. Little Mermaid in DHS
9. Beauty and the Beast in DHS
10.Pirates of the Caribbean

I just asked DS and DD and this was their list of must sees!

 

[FoundMyPrince]

I would add to the PP to make a trip to the water parks if possible. My children are the same ages as yours, and our kiddos love the water park! We've only been to Typhoon Lagoon, and it's so fun! For a trip that long, it's kind of nice to break it up a bit and relax in the water.

 

[David 1980]

We have gone in June the past few years with 5 kids ages 17,15,9,7,7 and I cant tell you how much joy you will have when they see the Magic Kingdom for the first time. I cried and my Wife also cried and from that point I knew we made the right choice. This board is the best place to get your info and people are so helpful and it has helped me each time. I can tell you to plan out your days and try to stick to them and take your time and try to do as much as you can. The little ones will need naps and then the pool comes in handy and go back to the park rested and ready for more. I am going in June again if we are all are not in the poor house? I hope you have a great time with the kids and take lots of pictures and be ready for a vacation of a lifetime.

 

[mommyofjoeyp]

We did our first family trip this past March and now we are going back this Feb/Mar!!!! When we went in March our kids were 5, almost 3 and 14 months and now we've added a newborn! We also drove from Windsor, Ontario (about 18 hours) and had a great time. The drive actually went so much smoother than I was anticipating. The kids loved watching movies and my ds played his Nintendo Ds. We packed a cooler of food in the car so the kids stayed happy eating the entire way!

I was so surprised at Disney to find that my almost 3yo dd was probably the one who enjoyed the trip the most! It was all so magical for her.

Do lots of advanced planning (reading on here is great) so you can be sure to maximize your time at the parks with the kids. I also subscribed to Tour Guide Mike and found it to be really useful (I subscribed again for this next trip!). We did lunch at CRT and loved it. My 3yo loved seeing the princesses around Epcot and we didn't have to wait long to have pictures done with them there. We also did a Pirate and Princess Party and had a great time (hoping to do another one this year!).

Have a great time!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Your kids will love it! For advice, I'd just say be prepared to do a lot of walking...you will probably want to bring an umbrella stroller for your youngest. And don't worry about trying to see every last thing in the parks--just decide which things you don't want to miss, hit those, and then fill in with other attractions at your own pace.

 

[Cadiewampus]

You will have a blast just seeing Disney through your kids eyes. I will list a few things that we have done in the past. Not really in any order of importance but just what I could come up with. Also with kids that age make sure you leave some down time during the middle of the day just to relax and swim. Biggest thing while in the parks is stay hydrated

Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom
Camp Minnie Mickey (for photos of the characters. Take a left when you come out of Lion King Show)
Finding Nemo show at Animal Kingdom (take right coming out of Lion King go back up the toward Expedition Everest and its on the right)
The Safari at Animal Kingdom
Muppet Show at Hollywood Studios
Turtle Talk with Crush Epcot
Get Cheeseburgers at Pecos Bills in the Magic Kingdom (on the left going towards Splash Mountain before you turn on bridge. best ones in the park)

 

[sherreis]

It's going to be so exciting for all of you. Nothing like seeing WDW through your childrens' eyes.

As for driving, we drove from northern MD 2 yrs ago and it was not that bad as people made it out to be. My kids knew that if they wanted to go to WDW the only way they were getting there is driving. Originally, we were going to drive through but eventually decided to stop overnight. We were glad we stopped overnight around Savannah, GA.

Something super special might be making ADR for a character meal. It's really neat meeting them in person.

Have you watched the Disney planning video? That's always a fun way to start and get the kids involved. That's what we did with our trip 2 yrs ago. I kind of did it with this past trip but they just didn't know that is what I was doing because the trip was a surprise.

Have fun planning!

 

[mjh8955]

Well, you have come to the right place for planning information! Stumbling across this board was the best thing that ever happened to me. Our first WDW trip as a family was almost 10 years ago and it was short - my husband allowed just ONE day, and he went grudgingly. Because of all the tips and tricks I picked up from this board the day was awesome and as the day ended my husband admitted it was THE BEST one day of vacation ever.

We now have a timeshare and stay offsite when we go and we usually drive. Our tradition is to go directly to Downtown Disney before we even go to our timeshare to get a little Disney Magic started. We will eat at Planet Hollywood or House of Blues, and our kids who are teens now love to see a move at the DTD theater. If you stand in the middle of the round lobby and whisper, another person can hear you across the room.

Breakfast at Cinderlla's Castle and try and get the first time slot of the day if you can. That gets you into the park a little earlier than most.

Staying offsite we always go to the park that does NOT have early entry. That strategy seems to work the best.

Do not go to the Magic Kingdom first, especially with little kids, because there really is more Little Kid Magic there than at the other parks.

Dole Pineapple whip. You have to try one.

At Epcot, you have to try the Schoolbread dessert at the cafe in Norway. Unbelievably good.

Do take time to visit the resorts, one recommendation I got off this board was to have lunches or early dinners at the resort, especially the ones you can get to by monorail or boat ride. Very relaxing break in the middle of the day and they should be less crowded than the park restaurants.

Ask for ice water at any counter service - it's free.

On your way out of MK, stop by the Main Street Bakery and pick up some cinnamon rolls for next day's breakfast. They are big enough to split among the kids.

Hats/sunglasses for the kids. They will need them. When our kids started to overheat we made sure they were hydrated and then visited a nice dark air condtioned ride or attraction; our kids have taken nice little naps in the Hall of Presidents and the American attraction at Epcot. Actually I think we all took naps in there one time!

I used the link to mouseforless.com and printed a whole bunch of things for my kids when they were younger. My daughter LOVED the scavenger hunt stuff. I printed each park on different heavier weight color paper and they fold up into a nice small size.

I planned which park we would be at which day and laminated small sheets that listed park hours, times of shows we didn't want to miss, if we had ADR's when and where those were.

Kid's meals seem to be plenty for me and that saved us alot of money. Our favorite fast food place is the one at Japan - can't think of the name of it. I don't think we have ever gone to Epcot and not eaten there.

 

[ampc3]

We went this past June for our first family trip and had the time of our lives!

Take adavantage of the Fast Passes and Child swaps and use them to your advantage.

I've never stayed off property before, but get to park at Rope Drop no matter what, we went to Epcot last year for lunch after spending the morning at MK and the line to get into MK at the TTC was CRAZY mid morning....

Make an appointment for your DD for BBB , she will love it, so worth the $ for the experience.

Have at least 2 character meals if your kids are into that, again worth the $ to not wait in line some where else to see them IMHO

take an afternoon break.
Read other TR's that have gone in June see what worked , what didn't ,you'll get great tips that way also.
The food portions are big enough to share instead of everyone getting there own meal...
bring you own water bottles in,
invest in a water mister fan..
ENJOY!!!!

 

[aprilfoolwed]

Do not go to the Magic Kingdom first, especially with little kids, because there really is more Little Kid Magic there than at the other parks.

Not sure I quite understand this - do you mean save it for last so it's the highpoint of the trip?

 

[Ariel8676]

How exciting for you!!! We go to WDW 2x a year since my 7 yo DD was about 8 months old.
OK my biggest tip would be to get up early, get to the parks at opening or before stay for a few hours and have lunch at the park and head back to your resort for a bit or head back have lunch and hang out. That way you can nap, swim or just relax..then head back to the parks around dinner time. You will be amazed at how much you can get done being at the parks very early. Taking a break mid afternoon is so important..we never have the tired meltdowns, or whining or crying..
We always go to Magic Kingdom first..breakfast at Crystal palace is always good. Toontown opens an hour after the rest of the park..so hit Fantasyland 1st, then head over to toontown.
Epcot is actually my older girls' favorite park..they love The living seas with Nemo and friends, Soarin', Journey into Imagination, Test Track...then they love to visit the world showcase..and LOVE to get a Rice Cream from NOrway. They really enjoy eating at Coral reef or Germany.
Hollywood studios..their favorite our past trip was Toy story mania..they had a blast
Animal Kingdom..they LOVE taking the train over to Rafiki's PLanet watch/ Conservation station.
The big thing our last 2 trips was finding hidden Mickey's..i bought my girls the book and they had so much fun finding them all over...there are a ton in Conservation station..lol
Make sure the kids wear hats and sunscreen (dont forget the ears and feet), and drink a ton of water. Bring ponchos from home..and most of all HAVE A GREAT TIME!!!!!

 

[aprilfoolwed]

Thank you all for the great tips!` I am soooo excited!

It's a little too early for me to countdown til our trip = so I'll start a countdown of when I can call for our ADRs LOL

 

[FoundMyPrince]

I would also add - there is a lot to do at Disney World that you get to do with your paid park admission (rides, exhibits, Kid Kot at Epcot World Showcase, Animal Kingdom passports {I think that's what they are called}, wake up Tinkerbell, photos with characters, etc). There is also a lot you can do, that costs extra, within and outside of Disney World (character meals, BBB, tea party, holiday parties, mini-golf, water parks, etc). I don't know what your budget looks like, but if you are only able to do the things that are included in park admission, your children will have a fabulous time! We've all seen budgets of $15,000 down to $1500, and I'm sure all the families had a great time, regardless of the budget.

You'll have a great time - and find loads to do! Find a Photopass share group, order your free customized map from the Disney.com site, and have a blast planning!

 

[koolaidmoms]

Do not go to the Magic Kingdom first, especially with little kids, because there really is more Little Kid Magic there than at the other parks.

I don't know if this is what the poster meant or not but I totally agree with this. I know that with my children, especially when they were younger, that if we went to MK first it built up an expectation that all the parks would be like this and for little children they are not. There is just not as many rides, shows and little kids magic as in MK. Don't get me wrong the other parks are great in their own way but MK sets the bar very high and World Showcase for my kids just can not meet that.