First time Disney trip

[CamillsP]

I'm taking my daughter to Disney next year for the first time. (I've never been either) She will almost be five years old. Should I plan on visiting all 4 parks or concentrate mostly on Magic Kingdom? Any experiences that are a most do for our first trip?

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

I'm taking my daughter to Disney next year for the first time. (I've never been either) She will almost be five years old. Should I plan on visiting all 4 parks or concentrate mostly on Magic Kingdom? Any experiences that are a most do for our first trip?

I have a few questions. How many days will you be staying? How old is your daughter?

Make sure you make your fastpasses as well as reservations for the restaurants that you want to eat in. For us it is nice to see the characters at some of the restaurants so we are not waiting in line.

 

[mshanson3121]

Oh that's such a person decision that revolves around finances and interests, how much time you have etc... If you only have a few days then I would focus mostly on MK and one other park. Is she into animals? Then Animal Kingdom would be good. Does she like Frozen, Beauty & Beast, Disney Jr, and Star Wars? Then Hollywood Studios. Honestly, my 5 year old wasn't all that interested in Epcot at that age. So, I wouldn't feel bad about skipping it at that age.

However, if you have several days, then I would try and do all parks at least once (and at least two days at MK at that age)

 

[AnnaS]

How many nights will you be there? When are you going? Where are you staying/planning on staying?

I would try to book at least one character meal and try to get FPs/wait in line for some character meet and greets. Magic Kingdom minimum two days, Animal Kingdom 1 day and if you have time/want - 1/2 day at Epcot and 1/2 day at DHS. It all depends on how many sit down meals you book, shows you plan on attending, time of the year you are going.

I would plan some resort/pool time. She will have a ball and some down time at the pool.

 

[mshanson3121]

As for must-do experiences, if she loves Princesses then I would definitely try and do a meal at Cinderella's Royal Table. It's expensive, but so worth it. We got to meet Cinderella, Aurora, Jasmine, Snow White and Ariel, all without any wait.

Fort Wilderness Campgrounds has a free campfire with a Chip n Dale meet n greet, plus a free movie "under the stars" after. And you can watch the fireworks from the beach there. They also offer pony rides, hay rides, and they have an AWESOME dinner theatre called Hoop dee Doo Revue that our kids (including our 5 year old) LOVED it. It's a riot.

 

[CamillsP]

I have a few questions. How many days will you be staying? How old is your daughter?

Make sure you make your fastpasses as well as reservations for the restaurants that you want to eat in. For us it is nice to see the characters at some of the restaurants so we are not waiting in line.

How many nights will you be there? When are you going? Where are you staying/planning on staying?

I would try to book at least one character meal and try to get FPs/wait in line for some character meet and greets. Magic Kingdom minimum two days, Animal Kingdom 1 day and if you have time/want - 1/2 day at Epcot and 1/2 day at DHS. It all depends on how many sit down meals you book, shows you plan on attending, time of the year you are going.

I would plan some resort/pool time. She will have a ball and some down time at the pool.

We are going next year in September. She will be a few months shy of 5. We plan on staying for a full week. We are planning on going to Mickeys Halloween party and I want to do the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. I'm sure we will go to downtown Disney on day too.

 

[mshanson3121]

We are going next year in September. She will be a few months shy of 5. We plan on staying for a full week. We are planning on going to Mickeys Halloween party and I want to do the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. I'm sure we will go to downtown Disney on day too.

If you can swing it, try and get BBB followed by lunch or dinner at CRT. We did this for our 5 year old as a birthday treat, it was wonderful. We had a 5:00 BBB and a 6:50 CRT and it was so magical for her, dining in a castle, dressed as a princess.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Since you will be going for a full week - I think that you will be able to get to all 4 parks. I would do HS and AK 1 day; we love EPCOT but I could see doing this just once - we do it many times; then I would do MK at least 2 or 3 times. You don't want to get warn out with this being your first time - you could do a couple of hours at a time. We stay on property so it is easy to leave and relax at the pool and go back later - or just go back the next day.

Bibbity Bobbity Boutique will be so much fun for your daughter. I would look to eat at Be Our Guest in MK and at Akershus in EPCOT if your daughter is into princesses.

We are going to MNSSHP for the first time ourselves this year - we can't wait. Ask any other questions that you think of.
Enjoy!

 

[NYTIGRE]

I would do all 4, first timers usually love everything, do Epcot the first day and you'll have nothing to worry about.

 

[Dreamport]

I can remember being 5-years-old and enjoying Epcot... for a couple of hours before my father took me back to the Magic Kingdom (we had hopper tickets) while Mom and Grandparents stayed in Epcot. Since you're staying for a whole week, I'd still recommend trying all four parks even just for the morning or evening. At Epcot, definitely check out the Living Seas pavilion and they will have some Frozen attractions in the back of the park (World Showcase - Norway) if your kiddo is into Anna and Elsa. Take the other part of the day to relax or even find a character meal at one of the resorts. Spend one day at each and at least two at Magic Kingdom. Every other recommendation really does come down to your own interests. Personally, I'll always tell folks to check out Fantasmic! at Hollywood Studios (if it's still showing; there is so much changing at that park!) and don't miss Peter Pan's Flight, Small World, and of course meeting Mickey; you can see him at each of the parks. You'll be able to find lots of suggestions here and have plenty of time to make up your mind. Meal reservations for table-service can begin 180 days before your trip and ride reservations (FP+) either 60 or 30 days. Definitely don't miss out on those.

Also, since no one else has said it thus far... to the Disboards! (I really hope I didn't step on any Official Welcome Wagon toes, if there are any...)

 

[Nancyg56]

Since you have a full week I would plan all 4 peaks. At her age there is plenty for her in each park. I also suggest the BBB on the day you plan a Princess meal. I have no idea what you finances are but at that time it is still hot during the day, and so if your child is into the characters, I would consider planning several character meals to break up the day. I also plan a character kick off meal at Chef Mickey when we have kids with us. It is classic DIsney: Loud, a little chaotic, but tons of fun from the monorail ride in to the walk out of the COntempory resort.

 

[CamillsP]

Thank you for everyone's advice so far. I think we are planning at staying onsite at a value resort. Any pros/cons to these hotels? I would rather spend my $ on souvenirs or activities than hotel costs but I'm open to suggestions. Thanks!

 

[siskaren]

I would highly recommend getting this guide book:

http://www.amazon.com/Guide-First-D...=1465261654&sr=1-1&keywords=first+disney+trip

 

[Mikie]

Thank you for everyone's advice so far. I think we are planning at staying onsite at a value resort. Any pros/cons to these hotels? I would rather spend my $ on souvenirs or activities than hotel costs but I'm open to suggestions. Thanks!

You'll find the Resorts board here loaded with information about all the things that are specific to each resort and what amenities they have and many threads weighing the pros and cons of each.
I like staying at values for just the reason you state - they are perfectly serviceable, if not impressive, and I'd rather spend my money on other aspects of the trip. I have stated at all except the Art of Animation (AofA), but have walked over there from PoP century. By far, AofA is the most impressively themed - it is really cool to look at! Most of it is suites, though, which are priced more comparable to the moderate resorts. They do have Little Mermaid themed rooms, which are regular non-suite rooms, but I haven't stayed there.
All the values I can speak to, have double beds (vs queens in moderates), are very basic rooms with 2 beds, a small table with 2 chairs, tv on a dresser, bathroom with vanity outside of it. Their linens and toiletries are basic, nothing to write home about. There is no microwave or coffee maker in your room, though both are available in the food court.
Values have food courts for your dining option and do not have any table service restaurants right in them. However, you can of course have table service in the parks and in any other resort, it's just that you have to take a bus (or drive or cab) to get there.
Values use Disney buses to get everywhere, while moderates and deluxes may have boat, monorail, or be close enough to walk to a park.
I like the oversized, cartoony theming at the values and their pools are large, but they do not have a slide like moderate and deluxe pools do.
I really enjoy staying there, using the buses to get everywhere (no driving on vacation!), the pools and the food courts meet our needs for breakfast and occasional lunch or dinner - most of the time we're in parks or Disney Springs, not at our resort.

 

[Keyser]

Honestly, it's tough to say what will be "best" since that will depend a lot on your daughter. One of my daughters had little interest in the characters, for instance, but enjoyed many other things - she loved Epcot, for instance (Soarin' being her favorite thing at all of WDW), and really liked the Disney Jr. show (between that, Muppets, and Fantasmic, I think DHS might have been her favorite park). I absolutely would not have skipped a park with her - she loved all of them. Another daughter liked meeting the princesses and especially wanted to watch parades at that age (but had no interest whatsoever in Disney Jr., for instance), and was generally more of an MK fan. She liked all the parks, but would have been happy just visiting MK, I think.

The value resorts are great - we stayed at All Star Movies for several trips. In fact, other than Animal Kingdom Lodge (seeing the animals right outside), I think that was my kids' choice any time we asked them. The values have smaller and more basic rooms, with somewhat fewer resort amenities, but it have great food courts and we always found them very nice (though we preferred driving - we generally hate using mass transit).

One general comment (and I'd say this to anyone, but especially to someone with a 4-5 year old): don't overschedule your trip. Plan on breaks during the day and/or a "break day" or two during the trip. Kids usually enjoy a day just playing at the pool, or doing low-key things like mini-golf or a carousel ride and visiting places like the Lego store in Disney Springs or whatever. It's easy (especially as you read these boards, and make plans - which you should make) to get into the mindset that you "have" to do X, Y, and Z, but realize that you really DO NOT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING - it's perfectly OK to go on a trip and miss all sorts of "must-do" things - you can still have a great time.

 

[agavegirl1]

I would visit all four parks for that amount of time. I like value resorts even as an adult traveler because I don't spend a lot of time at my resort. For kids your daughter's age, the pools will seem fun. I agree about a guidebook. They are an invaluable resource.