FP strategy with kids

[erin1715]

If we ever get FP back, I’m wondering if those of you experienced Disney parents can share some wisdom with a fairly new parent (but not new to Disney).
With the news that the dumbo indoor playground is opening back up, it occurred to me that maybe we don’t need to get a FP for that since my daughter would probably enjoy playing on the playground until it was our turn to ride.
Are there any other tips I’m missing or wisdom with Disney and young kids?

 

[WhenIsOurNextTrip]

Pre-pandemic, as Florida residents we made trips to the parks about every two months for a weekend when our daughter was 2 and 3. We never stressed about not getting anything fit in, since we knew we’d be back in a couple months.
Best system we found was...
Book 3 fast passes before lunch with almost no gap between the 1 hour window.
have lunch reservation or quick service lunch at noon. During lunch I would look for a 4th fast pass to use after our daughters nap. After lunch we would roll around the park until she fell asleep. While napping in the stroller we would hit some shops and find a shady spot to sit and relax. After nap and potty time, we would do our 4th fast pass and then look for a 5th and sometimes a 6th(easier in magic kingdom). By this time we might have caught a parade or a show too and time for dinner at 7pm. After dinner back to hotel.

The odds of fast pass returning in past form are extremely slim, which sucks because we really loved our little system. And now we have a 1yr old too and Disney with little kids but without fastpass is bad news for parents sanity.

 

[BethanyMouse]

As the PP stated- we used to book 3 fast passes right in a row before lunch. That allowed us to do those three rides, plus a few in between before a break at lunch. We generally leave after lunch to "nap/rest" and then head back to the part in the evening. I always would book a 4th FP for the afternoon upon our return to the park.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

If we ever get FP back, I’m wondering if those of you experienced Disney parents can share some wisdom with a fairly new parent (but not new to Disney).
With the news that the dumbo indoor playground is opening back up, it occurred to me that maybe we don’t need to get a FP for that since my daughter would probably enjoy playing on the playground until it was our turn to ride.
Are there any other tips I’m missing or wisdom with Disney and young kids?

So when our kids were little and FP was a thing, we decided what our park plan was based on how long we'd be in the park that day and what time we thought we'd arrive. So if you aren't going to rope drop, you need to decide if FP is really needed for the ride and you also need to think about rider switch if you want to ride something sans small children.

So even up until our kids were about school age, we never rope dropped. Just didn't see the point since it's hard to get up on vacation with little kids and make them get up early, eat and rush. I don't find that enjoyable when I had to get myself, all that gear and my kids ready too. But everyone is different. We liked to book our FP for mid/late afternoon. So for example a day at MK would be arriving maybe 30 min/hour after park opening, ride some headliners, eat/walk around, then start the FP around 2ish. We'd pick the rides we knew we really wanted to do and then go from there and see what else we could get. Sometimes we would park all day and other times we'd leave early, just depends on how we all felt.

Now, my kids are older, and we usually park it all day or on hot days we park early, leave midday and return in the evenings, it just depends. Some people with small kids are go go go, and the kids do fine, some kids don't do well with that and need structure even on vacation. You will know quickly in their behavior which lot you got and you can adapt or push on through, your call. Ours were adaptable but at times still had meltdowns for what appeared to be no reason.

 

[erin1715]

Thank you all for your experience. Our daughter is 2.5 and still needs her naps so we plan to stick with a schedule even on vacation because that will work best for her. She is an early riser so it’s possible we will rope drop. We definitely plan to go back to the resort to nap and then go back to the park early evening.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Thank you all for your experience. Our daughter is 2.5 and still needs her naps so we plan to stick with a schedule even on vacation because that will work best for her. She is an early riser so it’s possible we will rope drop. We definitely plan to go back to the resort to nap and then go back to the park early evening.

just do not let her fall asleep on way back to resort unless she goes back to sleep easy. that was a big problem with one of grandsons when he was 17 months old. even if driving your self allow a half hour to get to your car or how you plan to return to resort, then travel time to resort and then more time to get to your room. all of which can take 45 minutes to an hour. had him fall asleep for like 5 minutes and then refuse to go back to sleep. worse day of trip and we did stroller naps after that. have a plan but be ready to go to plan B if needed. the thing I would suggest is try taking a stroller walk for about 20 minutes at start of naptime and see how nap goes before you head down