First Family trip to WDW

[andrewmueller]

We will be making a quick trip to WDW the second week of January to celebrate our son's 4th Birthday. It is our first family trip and my first time to the resort in about 20 years. We arrive on a Thursday and leave on Saturday, planning to stay at the Grand Floridian and spend 1 day at Magic Kingdom w/ a character meal at some point. It wil be my wife and I, Grandma and our son.

What tips can you provide to make the most of our limited time at WDW? Thank you in advance

 

[atcNick]

We will be making a quick trip to WDW the second week of January to celebrate our son's 4th Birthday. It is our first family trip and my first time to the resort in about 20 years. We arrive on a Thursday and leave on Saturday, planning to stay at the Grand Floridian and spend 1 day at Magic Kingdom w/ a character meal at some point. It wil be my wife and I, Grandma and our son. What tips can you provide to make the most of our limited time at WDW? Thank you in advance

From my limited knowledge and the fact that I have not been yet... Only thing I can think of is make sure you make your character meal reservation now. They book up quickly.

 

[JulezP]

If you are going to only stay one day in Magic Kingdom then get there right before the park opens. Magic Kingdom (in my opinion) is the best park that Disney World has to offer. I made the mistake of arriving in the late morning and didn't get to see and do everything that I wanted. Take advantage of the fact that you are there with your family and do anything that your son wants to do. After all, it will be his birthday! Enjoy!

 

[grainsmommy]

Get the birthday pin at guest services, make sure to note the celebration on the dinner reservation and possibly order a cake if that's what you were wanting to do.

We are spending my son's 4th at the park, too, on our first visit! Cannot wait!!

 

[nighttowll]

Since you only have one day, I'd get there before the park opens. It always amazes me the amount of rides we can hit in the first 2 or 3 hours the park is open. It's about equal to what we can do the whole rest of the day. By 10:30 / 11:00, you start to notice the crowds no matter what season we go in.

If you want to do a character meal, I'd try for one either before the park officially opens or at the end of the day after you are done touring. Character meals take up a huge chunk of time. I wouldn't want to waste my park time like that when you only have one day. You could also book one at a resort and not use up any park time at all. If you go for breakfast before the park opens, you get the added benefit of a head start on everybody else, so you can get first in line for whatever is most important to you. You can also take great pictures in front of the castle while the park is virtually empty.

Beyond getting there early, the best advice is having some type of plan. I don't mean a down to the minute plan, but just something to guide you at the least. Things just seem to go much smoother if you aren't standing around wasting time debating what to do next. Decide if its important to you to see a parade or a certain show, and then make sure you know when and where to be for those, as you only get one shot to see them. Maybe make a list of 5 or 6 "must do" attractions, and then try to hit those first, so you don't feel as though you missed out on something you really wanted to see if you run out of time. Do you have an idea of what you guys might be interested in or is this all new to you? We can help suggest attractions if you need, but that works out better if we know what types of things your family is interested in. Me just telling you what I'd do, probably wouldn't be very beneficial for your family.

Another tip you might not have thought of is to check when a characters line will be cut. What I mean by this is that the characters who meet for signatures and photos around the park leave and take scheduled breaks. Just because you are in line doesn't mean you will get to meet the character. We have waited before and gotten all the way up to the character only to have the line cut and the character leave. After waiting 10 / 20 minutes, that's not fun. It is especially hard to explain to a 4 year old that they don't get to meet character X or will have to wait another 10 minutes for them to come back from a break. With one as young as 4, I'd check with a CM to make sure you will actually make it to the character before getting in line and waiting. Also some characters only meet during certain times, so if it is really important for you to meet a certain character, you will need to plan in when they meet in your schedule.

Touring without a plan is great if there is nothing you just have to do, but if you just have to meet character X who only meets from 10:00 to 12:00, and just have to see the parade that is only at 3:45, and have to see show X only at 10 and 4, then the day fills up very fast, and you haven't even eaten or experienced any attractions. You can see how very quickly not having a plan and only having one day, you start to miss stuff.

 

[andrewmueller]

Night Owl Thanks for the great tips. We just decided in the last 2 days to do this trip and it has been 20 years since I have been to WDW so this is all new to me at this point and i haven't mapped out any must do activities etc So if you have any "Must-Do's" for a 4 year old I would love to hear them. I am not so much worried about me seeing specific items but making sure my son has a great first experience. I know that unfortunately the Electric lights parade is not scheduled for the day we are there-one of my favorite memories from when I went as a kid!

Do you think only being there for 1 day the Photopass+ is worth it?

Since you only have one day, I'd get there before the park opens. It always amazes me the amount of rides we can hit in the first 2 or 3 hours the park is open. It's about equal to what we can do the whole rest of the day. By 10:30 / 11:00, you start to notice the crowds no matter what season we go in.

If you want to do a character meal, I'd try for one either before the park officially opens or at the end of the day after you are done touring. Character meals take up a huge chunk of time. I wouldn't want to waste my park time like that when you only have one day. You could also book one at a resort and not use up any park time at all. If you go for breakfast before the park opens, you get the added benefit of a head start on everybody else, so you can get first in line for whatever is most important to you. You can also take great pictures in front of the castle while the park is virtually empty.

Beyond getting there early, the best advice is having some type of plan. I don't mean a down to the minute plan, but just something to guide you at the least. Things just seem to go much smoother if you aren't standing around wasting time debating what to do next. Decide if its important to you to see a parade or a certain show, and then make sure you know when and where to be for those, as you only get one shot to see them. Maybe make a list of 5 or 6 "must do" attractions, and then try to hit those first, so you don't feel as though you missed out on something you really wanted to see if you run out of time. Do you have an idea of what you guys might be interested in or is this all new to you? We can help suggest attractions if you need, but that works out better if we know what types of things your family is interested in. Me just telling you what I'd do, probably wouldn't be very beneficial for your family.

Another tip you might not have thought of is to check when a characters line will be cut. What I mean by this is that the characters who meet for signatures and photos around the park leave and take scheduled breaks. Just because you are in line doesn't mean you will get to meet the character. We have waited before and gotten all the way up to the character only to have the line cut and the character leave. After waiting 10 / 20 minutes, that's not fun. It is especially hard to explain to a 4 year old that they don't get to meet character X or will have to wait another 10 minutes for them to come back from a break. With one as young as 4, I'd check with a CM to make sure you will actually make it to the character before getting in line and waiting. Also some characters only meet during certain times, so if it is really important for you to meet a certain character, you will need to plan in when they meet in your schedule.

Touring without a plan is great if there is nothing you just have to do, but if you just have to meet character X who only meets from 10:00 to 12:00, and just have to see the parade that is only at 3:45, and have to see show X only at 10 and 4, then the day fills up very fast, and you haven't even eaten or experienced any attractions. You can see how very quickly not having a plan and only having one day, you start to miss stuff.

 

[nighttowll]

Night Owl Thanks for the great tips. We just decided in the last 2 days to do this trip and it has been 20 years since I have been to WDW so this is all new to me at this point and i haven't mapped out any must do activities etc So if you have any "Must-Do's" for a 4 year old I would love to hear them. I am not so much worried about me seeing specific items but making sure my son has a great first experience. I know that unfortunately the Electric lights parade is not scheduled for the day we are there-one of my favorite memories from when I went as a kid!

Do you think only being there for 1 day the Photopass+ is worth it?

I'm probably the wrong one to ask about photo pass because I never think it is worth it no matter how long I stay. I just can't bring myself to pay that much for pictures that I can print at home or develop at Walmart for a fraction of the cost. The photo pass people will use your camera or your phone to take the same pictures for you for free, so why pay for it?

As far as rides that really depends on the kid. Some at 4 will ride roller coasters all day, others are terrified of the tamest of rides. Some love certain characters, others don't have a preference. For a 4 year old boy, I'd say start by looking into (in no order) Pirates of the Caribbean (slow moving boat ride) if he wouldn't be too scared, Buzz Lightyear (interactive shoot them up game), Dumbo, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Tomorrowland Speedway (race car ride), Prince Charming carrousel, the Mad Tea Cups, and Mickey Philharmagic show (3d glasses). Those are all pretty tame attractions that appeal to that age group.

More iffy are the mountains, Splash, Thunder, and Space. I personally love the first two, but hate the last as I feel it jerks me around too much and is just uncomfortable. The drop at the end of Splash Mountain as well as some of the darker cave areas of the ride can be scary for a 4 year old. Thunder mountain is just a typical outdoor roller coaster, and a pretty tame one at that. It doesn't go upside down or backwards or anything, but could definitely be too much for a 4 year old. Space mountain is the most intense, all inside, pitch black, and very fast. I wouldn't classify it as 4 year old friendly at all, but there are kids who love it. The barnstormer is another iffy ride. It's a roller coaster located by Dumbo, but its more of a kiddy coaster, than a real coaster. Again a 4 year old might love it, might be terrified of it. It actually looks like a traditional metal coaster unlike the mountains.

The haunted mansion is fun and the ghosts are more funny than scary, but it could definitely be scary for a 4 year old as well. Nothing jumps out at you or tries to get you or anything, but it is dark, there are scary noises, things move, and the ghosts look real. Also, there is a part at the end where a ghost gets in the car with you that could be seen as funny or scary depending on the kid.

I absolutely hate Stitch, and would recommend avoiding that at all costs, but again, there are those who love it. It's a "ride" where you do nothing but sit strapped into seats that don't move in the dark while creepy escaped aliens run around you. It's a 4d experience so you feel things touch you and stuff. Many a kid has left in tears hysterical, many an adult I think too. We had a horrible experience there years ago where the harness malfunctioned and came down and squished my little sister. I spent the whole ride trying to hold the pressure off of her as she sat there crying in pain. I've since learned that this has happened to quite a few other people as well and would never chance it again. If it does happen, there are no emergency releases and no cast members to help, so you are just stuck until the show which is not short ends.

Well, off the top of my head, those are my recommendations. But at 4, he'll have fun whatever you do. Everything is all real and magical at that age.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you are going to be there Jan 10-12, you will be there for the Disney Marathon weekend. Getting to the MK early on Sat, Jan 11, might be difficult unless you are staying in a MK resort. Buses will have a hard time leaving the GF that morning.