Help! First trip to WDW..2 days only..what do I do?!

[Dvcfan55]

Hi everyone!

My family (me,DH,DS 5) will have 2 days in WDW after a dcl cruise and it's a first for all of us..when I say I'm clueless about where to start planning it's an understatement. So what would you do with 2 days in the parks? We are staying at animal kingdom villas over next memorial days weekend! Bad time to go I'm sure but for better or worse I'd like to make the best of it. Also, a somewhat leisurely pace would be best. What big rides would a 5 year old have to do, where should we eat, what time night shows/parades should we see, etc?

Thank you all so much in advance!!!!!!

 

[Lori74]

Hi everyone!

My family (me,DH,DS 5) will have 2 days in WDW after a dcl cruise and it's a first for all of us..when I say I'm clueless about where to start planning it's an understatement. So what would you do with 2 days in the parks? We are staying at animal kingdom villas over next memorial days weekend! Bad time to go I'm sure but for better or worse I'd like to make the best of it. Also, a somewhat leisurely pace would be best. What big rides would a 5 year old have to do, where should we eat, what time night shows/parades should we see, etc?

Thank you all so much in advance!!!!!!

having only been to magic kingdom once myself, that's where i would go. so many things for all ages. we liked cosmic rays to eat at, but there's lots of places with great snacks. my advice, don't set the bar too high and enjoy. our goal was to see the castle, everything else was icing on the cake! have a great time!

 

[PatsGirl]

I'd go to MK for one day (whichever one you can stay the more hours) and AK the other day, which will be a 3/4 day. Make sure to book BOMA at the resort for dinner one of the nights. The resort is so nice, you'll probably want to spend some time there, maybe the night vision walk or the storytelling circle? I'd book a character meal (whichever is her favorite) for your day at MK, if dinner, probably Be Our Guest, would be a nice choice if she likes Beauty and the Beast. There's also Chef Mickeys (yucky kid buffet-style food) with lots of characters and the Crystal Palace breakfast buffet, not sure what characters there, I'm sure someone will answer.

 

[Serrina89]

Honestly, with only two days at the parks. I would go to the Magic Kingdom twice. You'll be able to get a better sense of the place and should be able to ride everything. There are enough shows, parades, ect. to fill up two days. Are park hoppers an option? I would then do MK one day and then AK morn/ HS afternoon.

 

[Dvcfan55]

I'd go to MK for one day (whichever one you can stay the more hours) and AK the other day, which will be a 3/4 day. Make sure to book BOMA at the resort for dinner one of the nights. The resort is so nice, you'll probably want to spend some time there, maybe the night vision walk or the storytelling circle? I'd book a character meal (whichever is her favorite) for your day at MK, if dinner, probably Be Our Guest, would be a nice choice if she likes Beauty and the Beast. There's also Chef Mickeys (yucky kid buffet-style food) with lots of characters and the Crystal Palace breakfast buffet, not sure what characters there, I'm sure someone will answer.

Great advice thanks! I'll look into BOMA and the characters buffets. Be my guest sounds like something I would love to do but do you think my son would enjoy it ?

Honestly, with only two days at the parks. I would go to the Magic Kingdom twice. You'll be able to get a better sense of the place and should be able to ride everything. There are enough shows, parades, ect. to fill up two days. Are park hoppers an option? I would then do MK one day and then AK morn/ HS afternoon.

I think 2 parks would be great. So MK and AK it is....what big attraction rides (suitable for a 5 year old to) should we try to hit? Also, we've been to DL plenty but don't understand how fastpasses and stuff works in WDW can you help?

Thanks so much!!!

 

[MinMou]

I would get either the Unofficial guide to Disney World or Birnbaum's guide to DisneyWorld, and scan through the descriptions of Animal World (since you will be so close), Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Hollywood Studios. (I left out Epcot, because your child will probably prefer the other parks more, but it doesn't hurt to check.) Then go back through and try to figure out what you think your son will like, and make a list of those things, and try to prioritize what you would like to do. You might want to also do this for what you and your husband would like, but trust me, a grouchy kid makes for a lousy day, so I would concentrate on your son.

Once you have figured out what you would like to see if you had enough time to do everything, take a look at your top priorities, and see which park they are in. If your child loves animals and dinosaurs, you will need a day in Animal Kingdom. If he likes Star Wars, you will need at least part of day in Hollywood Studios. Then you can decide which parks you want to go to. You may want a park hopper for one day to see those things.

Some rides are more popular than others. If you want to see one of those, look to see if Fast Passes (https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/fast-pass-plus/product-description/) are available, or put them on your list to do early in the day. You may want to consider skipping some things that have notorious long waits, especially since your time is so limited.

There are websites and smart phone apps that can put together a touring plan for you based on your list, and if you think your child won't mind a fast paced day, it might be worth it. But another strategy is to figure out 6-8 things to do during a day, and if you get an opportunity to do more - Yippee!

Getting to the park as early as you can manage is going to help you immensely. There will be a crowd prior to opening, waiting to see the rope drop. I always aimed to get to the park 10-20 minutes after opening, so that we would miss that crowd. If you are doing a character breakfast in the park, you can start off your day that way, and possibly get into the park early if you have the first reservation time in the morning.

If you have a smart phone, download an app that has the wait times for WDW for the different parks. I like Disney World Magic GUide, because it has maps, park hours, Wait times AND Dining (descriptions and menus of all the restaurants).

 

[PatsGirl]

I believe that the Beast circulates during the dinner at BOG so if your son likes him, its a good choice I think. You'll have to look at the different dining experiences to see what characters he might like. Maybe the Hoop De Doo Review would be more to his liking? I know this goes against the grain here, but we like to get to parks at rope drop, spend the 7-8 hours or so and then leave for a nice dinner and time at the resort, either swimming or for kids, the arcade. Another choice for after dinner is the Boardwalk, you can get face painting, rent surrey bikes, have an ice cream cone. We don't generally take the time for parades or fireworks when we have kids that young with us so we can get in and out (I absolutely hate when kids get over-tired and grumpy LOL). That being said, the new Festival Parade at MK at 3:00 everyday is getting great reviews so we intend to check that out this trip coming up in January.

As for rides, you def need to research the FP system to see how it works. I would personally make sure you do the rides in Fantasyland, Pirates of Caribbean, BMTRR, Jungle Cruise,see the parade, don't miss Mickey's Philharmagic! We have never been during crowded times but have always been able to do MK from rope drop to about 4 pm and hit everything we wanted. As for AK, the two shows are great, I think your child would enjoy both. There is the safari, Its a Bugs Life, Dinosaur and a few other not to be missed. If he likes coasters at all, Expedition Everest is the bomb. A nice leisurely day when we go but again, we've never gone during really busy times so I"m not sure about your weekend plans.

Most important, don't try to do everything. Decide either to go for rope drop or stay until close, one or the other IMHO, is your son an early riser or prefers to stay up late? My kids at that age were used to going to bed at 7, so even leaving the parks by 5, dinner at 6 or 7, walk or something after, it was usually 9 or 9:30 before they hit the sack. Pick two or three MUST-Dos in each park and then fill in the blanks. Figure out a way to keep your son moving through the gift stores without stopping LOL, that's a huge time waster.

 

[caroline1851]

I'd do RD one day at MK and stay as long as he can handle. My kids at that age were done around 4 or 5. Eat/Swim at your resort. 2nd day, i'd go to AK at RD and do Safari, Dinosaur (maybe, depending on your kid), Tough to be a Bug, Kali Rapids, Boneyard, etc. Then back to resort for a nap/rest. Then i'd head out to MK for nighttime.
At MK, make sure to do: Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, 7 Dwarves, Buzz

 

[Mainemama]

Just putting a shout out for my favorite (and my kids' favorite park, Epcot). If you have hoppers, I would do AK one a.m., break at hotel and go to MK at night. The other day I would do MK in the morning (and try to use an extra magic hour morning at one or both parks if available), then go to Epcot for the afternoon and evening. I would skip the break at hotel. Due to transportation time and just take the monorail. Take a stroller, if your son is not used to walking miles. I would plan to eat somewhere in World Showcase. My son's favorite experiences at 5 were all thrill rides: Expedition Everest, Space Mountain, and Test Track topped the list. Take a look through attractions, through the lens of your son, and invest in Touring Plans would be my advice. Finally, see this as a taste, not a do it all visit!

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Our first trip was a 2.5 day trip last fall, DS was turning 3. You can see the link in my siggy for a full trip report but we did one day at MK, one day at AK, and a party night at MK. We did Crystal Palace lunch on our MK day (Winnie the Pooh and Friends) and Tusker House lunch at AK (Mickey, Donald and friends in Safari Gear). Both were a big hit with our little guy, and lunch is cheaper than dinner. He also loved all the kid's rides at MK, and the safari and Finding Nemo puppet show at AK. Good luck planning and I hope you have a great time!

 

[GPC0321]

Since you've been to DL several times, and MK will be most similar to DL of all the parks, I'd look at the MK attractions that are unique to MK (not replicas of things in DL) and focus on those.
Obviously you're so close to AK it makes since to at least pop over there for the safari and maybe one of the shows (Nemo or Lion King) and whatever else strikes your fancy.
Studios is limited in family-friendly rides, but is home to the very popular Toy Story ride (FP+ a must for this one). It's also close enough to Epcot that you could do both parks in one day.
I think Epcot is great for a young child because Future World has a lot of interactive/educational attractions for them. If he likes Nemo, The Seas ride and a visit to Sea Base plus Turtle Talk with Crush would be great for him.
I'd honestly try to figure out a way to see the things in WDW that set it apart from DL.

 

[Mome Rath]

IMO, with only 2 days limit your park hopping because you are going to "waste" a chunk of time doing that unless you plan to return to your hotel and go out again anyway. My 2 picks for parks are always Magic Kingdom and EPCOT, as they are the 2 Florida originals, and my favorite park is EPCOT . If you try to see everything in 2 days not only will you fail, you'll hate it. I'd recommend picking out one place to eat a day and perhaps 2 rides that you absolutely must do, and the rest becomes icing on the cake.

At MK if you want a sitdown meal BoG is always popular, but I prefer Liberty Tree Tavern. As for parades, Mainstreet Electrical is the signature parade at night, and do see Wishes Fireworks. If you want to ride Seven Dwarves Mine Train, fastpass it. If you want to ride Peter Pan here, either hit it at rope drop or fast pass it. I don't prefer Animal Kingdom, it is last on my list, but if you do go make sure you ride the safari, and take some time to stroll some of the trails (if your kid loves animals). EPCOT we pick a country to eat a table service meal at (we love Via Napoli) and plan on a lot of walking in the countries. Rides; Soarin (when it's open), test track, Journey into Imagination, Spaceship earth, the Land, Turtle talk, etc...

Mainly I'd focus on "general" info and then pick your ADR's, and pick your FastPasses. That's the core of your choices, everything else just kind of flows around that.

 

[RustManFan]

I would also do MK and AK for the 2 days... especially with a 5 year old

 

[Shellyb84]

I would do 1 day MK and 1 day Epcot. We took my daughter in July, also at 5 years old. Her favorite rides were Small World, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz, and the People Mover She did ride the Barnstormer once and Space Mtn once, but wouldn't do them again and she wouldn't ride Splash Mtn, Big Thunder or Haunted Mansion. At Epcot, she loved Test Track and Living with the Land. Soarin not so much. The best part of the trip for her was exploring World Showcase and visiting the Kidcot stations and getting her passport stamped. Personally I think BOG is overrated. Maybe try it for lunch and eat at AKL for dinner. Jiko was great! Or head to the Poly and try Ohana or the Spirit of Aloha show (kids love both of those). Our stroller was a lifesaver. We were able to stay at the parks as long as we wanted since she could chill or nap in there when she was tired, plus it carried all our stuff! Have fun!

 

[Dvcfan55]

I would get either the Unofficial guide to Disney World or Birnbaum's guide to DisneyWorld, and scan through the descriptions of Animal World (since you will be so close), Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Hollywood Studios. (I left out Epcot, because your child will probably prefer the other parks more, but it doesn't hurt to check.) Then go back through and try to figure out what you think your son will like, and make a list of those things, and try to prioritize what you would like to do. You might want to also do this for what you and your husband would like, but trust me, a grouchy kid makes for a lousy day, so I would concentrate on your son.

Once you have figured out what you would like to see if you had enough time to do everything, take a look at your top priorities, and see which park they are in. If your child loves animals and dinosaurs, you will need a day in Animal Kingdom. If he likes Star Wars, you will need at least part of day in Hollywood Studios. Then you can decide which parks you want to go to. You may want a park hopper for one day to see those things.

Some rides are more popular than others. If you want to see one of those, look to see if Fast Passes (https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/fast-pass-plus/product-description/) are available, or put them on your list to do early in the day. You may want to consider skipping some things that have notorious long waits, especially since your time is so limited.

There are websites and smart phone apps that can put together a touring plan for you based on your list, and if you think your child won't mind a fast paced day, it might be worth it. But another strategy is to figure out 6-8 things to do during a day, and if you get an opportunity to do more - Yippee!

Getting to the park as early as you can manage is going to help you immensely. There will be a crowd prior to opening, waiting to see the rope drop. I always aimed to get to the park 10-20 minutes after opening, so that we would miss that crowd. If you are doing a character breakfast in the park, you can start off your day that way, and possibly get into the park early if you have the first reservation time in the morning.

If you have a smart phone, download an app that has the wait times for WDW for the different parks. I like Disney World Magic GUide, because it has maps, park hours, Wait times AND Dining (descriptions and menus of all the restaurants).

I really love your ideas. I think sitting down and prioritizing things is what it's going to take and a guide book would definitely help. I'll check into the apps to. Thanks for all your advice!!

I believe that the Beast circulates during the dinner at BOG so if your son likes him, its a good choice I think. You'll have to look at the different dining experiences to see what characters he might like. Maybe the Hoop De Doo Review would be more to his liking? I know this goes against the grain here, but we like to get to parks at rope drop, spend the 7-8 hours or so and then leave for a nice dinner and time at the resort, either swimming or for kids, the arcade. Another choice for after dinner is the Boardwalk, you can get face painting, rent surrey bikes, have an ice cream cone. We don't generally take the time for parades or fireworks when we have kids that young with us so we can get in and out (I absolutely hate when kids get over-tired and grumpy LOL). That being said, the new Festival Parade at MK at 3:00 everyday is getting great reviews so we intend to check that out this trip coming up in January.

As for rides, you def need to research the FP system to see how it works. I would personally make sure you do the rides in Fantasyland, Pirates of Caribbean, BMTRR, Jungle Cruise,see the parade, don't miss Mickey's Philharmagic! We have never been during crowded times but have always been able to do MK from rope drop to about 4 pm and hit everything we wanted. As for AK, the two shows are great, I think your child would enjoy both. There is the safari, Its a Bugs Life, Dinosaur and a few other not to be missed. If he likes coasters at all, Expedition Everest is the bomb. A nice leisurely day when we go but again, we've never gone during really busy times so I"m not sure about your weekend plans.

Most important, don't try to do everything. Decide either to go for rope drop or stay until close, one or the other IMHO, is your son an early riser or prefers to stay up late? My kids at that age were used to going to bed at 7, so even leaving the parks by 5, dinner at 6 or 7, walk or something after, it was usually 9 or 9:30 before they hit the sack. Pick two or three MUST-Dos in each park and then fill in the blanks. Figure out a way to keep your son moving through the gift stores without stopping LOL, that's a huge time waster.

Lol your totally right about grumpy kids and wasting time in gift shops!! I love to shop but my wallet doesn't like my 5 year old in a Disney store! Thanks for help with which rides to check out I'll definitely put those on the list.

Thanks again!

 

[CarolynFH]

I fully agree with using a good guidebook as a starting point. And hopefully you know whether your son is a daredevil or not. At age 5 our DGD loved all the roller coasters she was tall enough to ride and only tolerated Peter Pan, etc. because we love it!

 

[GillianP1301]

I would do hoppers on a 2 day trip. I would do MK for a full day (or as full as your kids can handle), start at RD and go until late afternoon, then back to your resort for a nice meal (a couple of good choices at AKL in Boma and Sanaa) and maybe some pool/resort time in the evening. Day 2, I would go to DHS for a few hours in the morning and then either hop to MK for the evening to take in Wishes for fireworks, or head to Epcot for the afternoon, dinner and then Illuminations. I would lean towards Epcot if your kids would enjoy things like the Living Seas, The Land. Between those 2 things alone, my young son can easily spend half a day. If that's not that big a deal, then you can't go wrong with more MK time.

AK would not be my choice for a day or half day on such a short trip, but that's only because it tends to be the park we spend the least amount of time in on our trips. But if the animals are a really big draw, then you could easily substitute DHS for AK in my example above.

 

[Mom2Kids2003]

Another piece of advice that I'm not sure anyone mentioned is to check your son's height depending on what rides he is really hoping to go on. When my daughter was that age, she wanted to do Space Mountain and was so disappointed because she was half an inch too short. I would definitely do MK for the whole time. There are so many great rides for that age and parades/entertainment. If you haven't checked out the Pirate Makeover (I know that's not the right word), it looks so cool for a boy that age but keep in mind, it is an added expense. As for eating, my son loves Crystal Palace because he thinks Tigger is totally fun!

 

[lroger01]

I'd do RD one day at MK and stay as long as he can handle. My kids at that age were done around 4 or 5. Eat/Swim at your resort. 2nd day, i'd go to AK at RD and do Safari, Dinosaur (maybe, depending on your kid), Tough to be a Bug, Kali Rapids, Boneyard, etc. Then back to resort for a nap/rest. Then i'd head out to MK for nighttime.
At MK, make sure to do: Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, 7 Dwarves, Buzz

I second this plan! You'll need to add park hopping, but that's minimal cost and gets you a better visit. With the above plan you get an MK morning (low crowds), time to enjoy your resort, an AK morning (save FP+ for MK), and a chance to see MK at night. Skipping all the Disneyland duplicates will ensure you'll see most everything worthy at both parks and not exhaust yourselves.

One thing to add is put Festival of the Lion King (FOTLK) on your list for AK. It's (arguably) the "Aladdin" show of Disney World!

 

[Srtheiss]

I really love your ideas. I think sitting down and prioritizing things is what it's going to take and a guide book would definitely help. I'll check into the apps to. Thanks for all your advice!!

Lol your totally right about grumpy kids and wasting time in gift shops!! I love to shop but my wallet doesn't like my 5 year old in a Disney store! Thanks for help with which rides to check out I'll definitely put those on the list.

Thanks again!

Yes! Very helpful