First time to Disney with kids

[fjd2008]

We are planning on going this year with 2 girls ages 4 and 8. I was there years ago as a child but hear so much has changed.

When is the best time of year to go to avoid heavy crowds and how many days would you recommend? The girls are into the princesses big time. Thanks so much.

 

[Rylee]

As for when to go... are you willing to have your daughter miss school?

Lowest Attendance -
January (except New Year's Day) until just prior to Presidents' Week in February
The week following Labor Day until the week prior to Thanksgiving
The week following Thanksgiving until mid-December

Highest Attendance -
Presidents' week in February
Mid March through Late April ("Spring Break")
Memorial Day weekend
Mid June through Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day and weekend
Christmas week through New Year's Day

I recommend having at least four (4) full days, (not counting arrival or departure days) or more time if you can manage it. With 4 full days, you can spend one (1) day in each park.

If your daughters love princesses, be sure to schedule an Advance Dining Reservation (ADR) for a princess character meal.

 

[Disneydd2]

If it's princesses you have, you may also want to check out the Bibbidy-bobbidy Boutique.

 

[Fabinva]

Originally posted by Disneydd2
If it's princesses you have, you may also want to check out the Bibbidy-bobbidy Boutique

.

I took my 4yr old daughter to the boutique mid morning followed by lunch at the Cinderella castle and she loved it, be aware that you must get an ADR way in advance to meet Cinderella at the castle.

We went late Nov after Thanksgiving, weekend after was crowded but it was fine during week.

 

[Grand Canyon]

You're going to have so much fun!
The Cinderella Lunch does take ADR. I believe they start 90 days in advance. It used to be just a lunch in the castle. Now it's a formal pic with Cindy; then the princesses come around during lunch. It's a must do with two little princesses.
Have you considered the Tea with Princess Aurora/Briar Rose at the Grand Floridian? It's expensive. When DD is 6 or 7 we plan on doing that. Right now she considers the princess characters as competition and won't have her picture taken with them.
Have fun!

 

[Doogan]

Check out ***************** for a statistical analysis of when the best time to go. They do a crazy amount of analysis in figuring out when the crowds are highest/lowest. Personally, my favorite time to go is late April/early May because the crowds are fairly low (most kids are still in school) and it's cool in the morning but warm enough in the afternoon to enjoy the water parks. Also the parks are busy enough that they don't have a lot of things shut down for maintenance like they often do during the really slow times but not so busy that you wish you were somewhere else.

Your kids are about the same ages as mine. My last trip my girls were 9,8 and I had a 3 year boy. We like to plan some days off from the parks. We found that going every other day gave the kids time to rest. There is so much to do at the resorts and outside the park that you'll miss out if you only go to the parks. We also forced ourselves to go back to room in the afternoons. The parks generally get very crowded in the afternoons and it gets hot and the kids get tired. Despite the fact the kids didn't want to leave, we would go back to our room and either rest in the room or take a dip in the pool and then go back in the early evening. It did wonders for the kids. They were able to cope so much better.

Finally, there is also a princess breakfast at EPCOT. We were not able to get into the one at the castle. Our girls LOVED the one at EPCOT, so it might be a good backup plan for you.

 

[irene_dsc]

You're going to have so much fun!
The Cinderella Lunch does take ADR. I believe they start 90 days in advance. It used to be just a lunch in the castle. Now it's a formal pic with Cindy; then the princesses come around during lunch. It's a must do with two little princesses.
Have you considered the Tea with Princess Aurora/Briar Rose at the Grand Floridian? It's expensive. When DD is 6 or 7 we plan on doing that. Right now she considers the princess characters as competition and won't have her picture taken with them.
Have fun!

Actually, the meals at the castle (and almost everything else) take ADR's 180 days out. That's supposed to be one of the hardest ones to get, I hear, so I didn't bother since we didn't start planning until about 60 days out! Instead, we did dinner at 1900 Park Fare, with Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, and the stepsisters. Food was great, and the characters were lots of fun (and it's about half the price of the castle - and I haven't heard very good reviews of the food there). There's also the Princess meal at Akershus at Epcot (but Cinderella is dd's favorite, so it was an easy choice for me).

Not sure the slowest time - but anytime school is out, figure it will be busy, lol.

 

[TheDizMom]

Actually ADR's are now 180 days out.

We have only been during peak times and yes it's busy, but we still have had a wonderful time. I wouldn't rule it out as an option, unless as OP have said you don't mind taking kids out of school. We have always gone for a week because 1 day for MK is never enough and we like to have a day to just spend at our resort hanging at the pool and relaxing after a few days of non-stop parking it. Since you have princess lovers as I do, don't miss 1900 Park Fare and the Princess Storybook character meal at Akershus (it has the largest number of princesses and though we have only done lunch their breakfasts are supposed to be great). Don't miss Ariel's Grotto in MK, the B&B show and Little Mermaid show at Dis. Studios (though be carefull with that one and your 2 year old as Ursula is VERY big, loud and scary) and we have found that outside of a character meal Epcot is where we were able to get the most princess meet and greets, especially around France and China for Mulan.

Have fun. It is so fun to see your children experience WDW for the first time. It is a memory I will never forget .

 

[Grand Canyon]

Actually, the meals at the castle (and almost everything else) take ADR's 180 days out. That's supposed to be one of the hardest ones to get, I hear, so I didn't bother since we didn't start planning until about 60 days out! Instead, we did dinner at 1900 Park Fare, with Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, and the stepsisters. Food was great, and the characters were lots of fun (and it's about half the price of the castle - and I haven't heard very good reviews of the food there). There's also the Princess meal at Akershus at Epcot (but Cinderella is dd's favorite, so it was an easy choice for me).

Not sure the slowest time - but anytime school is out, figure it will be busy, lol.

Oooh. We've never done that one. We seldom eat dinner at the park. But I'd love to try that one.
I agree about the food at the castle this last time. As Sarah Silverman would say, "It's fair, at best."