Help!! Last minute, first time Disney trip!

[kellysdickerson]

Hello! I am new to the board and I was wondering if any of you Disney veterns could give me some advice. We are taking our 3 kids (7 yo boy, 5 yo girl and 4 yo boy) on a last minute trip to Disney on Christmas. Yes, THIS Christmas, less than a week away!!! We have 2 days to spend in the parks before heading further south to stay with my Aunt. Any suggestions for must see/do stuff on a short first time trip? Thanks in advance!
Kelly

 

[dqpowell]

Are you staying on Disney property (i.e., in one of the Disney hotels)?

David

 

[dqpowell]

Some general advice:

With young children, you should follow this rough plan each day:

Get up EARLY. You want to be prepped, fed (breakfast) and at the park turnstiles at least 30 minutes before the park opens, and you don't want to be rushing around like a maniac to achieve that. So plan on waking at 6:30 or earlier for 9 AM park openings. AVOID whatever parks have Extra Magic Hours on any given day. Avoid Magic Kingdom on Mondays, whether it has EMH or not.

At MK, with young kids, you're going to be hitting Fantasyland first thing. Dumbo first! Then Peter Pan, then Winnie the Pooh, then... whatever makes sense to you. Mickey's Philharmagic is awesome but some small children won't keep the 3D glasses on, which makes it pointless.

Make smart use of fastpasses. If you're unfamiliar with it, you should study up on what it is and how it works before you get there.

With small children, I suggest cutting out of the parks for a midday break around lunch time. You will avoid crowds if you go back to your resort for lunch instead of trying to get lunch in the parks. After lunch, put the kids down for a nap. Make sure your break is no shorter than 3 hours... though 4 or 5 hours is better with young children, counting from when you leave the park until when you're back at the turnstiles. Your evenings will be MUCH more enjoyable if the kids are well rested.

More advice when you can provide a few details about what you want to do.

David

 

[kellysdickerson]

We are not staying on Disney property. We rented a house in Orlando.

 

[OB1]

Just understand that it will be VERY BUSY. VERY CROWDED. Go with that in mind and know that you will be very limited to how much you can do.

The decorations in the parks are beautiful. At the Magic Kingdom, make sure to check out the Christmas areas, get photos with characters, see the castle being lit at night, watch a parade. Your kids will probably like Fantasy land the best - so go there as early as possible. If it is too crowded, then enjoy all the extra atmosphere with your kids.

EPCOT has story tellers at each country. This is really fun. The kids will enjoy doing the KIDCOT stops. Chistmas Illumination fireworks are excellent if you make it that late at night.

Good luck, have a great time, and go prepared to do less than you expect, but to really get in the spirit.

 

[DisneyDebbie]

I would definately take advantage of being at the park 30 min. before rope drop. You can get sooo much done in the first 1-2 hours. I would avoid any Extra Magic Hour park.

Use fastpass!

For Magic Kingdom remember there is a tram from the parking lot to the gate entrance, allow extra time to get to and from the parking lot.

You are so lucky! I would love to be there at Christmas. it will be very, very crowded, but just enjoy the decorations and this can be a good experience to determine what you would like to do at Disney in the future!

 

[Hessie628]

First off- have a great time!!!!!!!!!!! I love x-mas time at WDW. What a great time to visit despite the crowds. I usually am there the week after Thanksgiving, but am going in Jan this year. The decorations are wonderful! Enjoy! I don't have too much advice because I don't have any young children, but I agree with everything the previous post says. Go very early and at MK definitely do Dumbo and Peter Pan first. These lines get long and the they move slowly. I would definitely go on Buzz Lightyear too. The line there moves pretty quickly. My nephew loved the Tommorrowland Speedway(I think that is what it is called) when I met up with them at MK when he was about 5. However, I feel the wait for this is always twice as long as it says. Maybe it just feels that way? What parks do you want to go to? Are you staying on property? Will you have a car? If it is your first time you may want to see if you can do a character meal, but given it is Christmas- I don't know if you could get a ressie. It wouldn't hurt to try.
-Jessica

 

[dqpowell]

We are not staying on Disney property. We rented a house in Orlando.

Depending on how far away that house is from WDW, you may want ignore or modify my advice to take a midday break. I still think it's important, but you're going to be there during the most crowded week of the entire year, and the travel time from the parks to the house and back may make the break somewhat less than restful. Plus, leaving a park during that week could mean having difficulty with finding a parking space when you return for the evening.

In any case, I would still recommend arriving very early and hitting the long-line rides first thing in the morning before the crowds build.

You should also check out the recommended parks to visit and avoid for each day here:

http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=14

What do you think you and your kids would like to do?

David

 

[seadd67]

Those are great advice,but your kids will be the best tour guide you have. If there early risers then yes hitting the park at opening Is doeable,but If there not no matter amount of preping will make them move any faster. Since you are there for only a couple of days then I would suggest let them look at the map of the park you are planing to go to,and then let them pick out there favorits/must do's, then at the gate or on the ride over to the park then you all can make a plan to go to the first ride. Nobody knows your children as good as you,so when it comes to midday breaks look for those signs of getting tired,you know what those are!.If they raise a fuss about leaving for a break,let them chose what ride to come back to or a parade that way the feel like your not trying to force there fun away.I hope theses help,and the looks on there face when they look down main street,will make all the work worth it. Have fun.

 

[kellysdickerson]

Wow! Thanks for all the well wishes and super fast advice!
The house we rented is roughly 10 miles from Disney. We were thinking about packing a cooler with lunch and maybe heading back to the van for a break.
As far as what we want to do, the kids want to do it ALL of course From what everybody is saying, it is going to be very crowded. We tried to get Chef Mickey reservations but none were available. It sounds like MK is the place to start considering the kids' ages. I tried going on the disney website to come up with some sort of plan, but it is somewhat overwhelming. Lots to do and see.
We will def arrive at the park early as suggested. Thanks!

 

[RMulieri]

My advice even with small kids, if you are planning to do the MK at all ...be at the gates BEFORE opening.MK frequently closes its gates for capacity and offsite guests are the first denied access.

 

[WDSearcher]

As has been noted, the week between Christmas and New Years is the busiest week of the year at WDW. MK will close at capacity probably every day that week. And if it doesn't close, it will feel like it should.

Because you are not staying on property, you will be among the first group turned away if they start closing. (MK closes in phases, and the first phase is to people off property, as the parking lots close to cars coming in.) If you leave MK during the day for a break, realize that it is quite possible that you won't be allowed back in. Even if all you do is go into the parking lot to eat, you may not be able to get back through the turnstiles afterwards. Keep that in mind.

If you bring a cooler, you can bring it into the park as long as it's not a huge rolling cooler. Bring your lunch with you, store it in a locker and have a picnic at lunchtime.

Be at the park first thing. "First thing" at MK during the week between Christmas and New Years means "early". Park opening will be at 8am, so you'll need to be there by 7:30am. If you're ten miles away, plan on at least a 40 min trip in -- between traffic, parking, tram and monorail, you'll need that long. So you're talking about leaving your house at 6:45am or so. I know it seems ridiculous, but again ... busiest week of the year.

One prior note said to avoid MK on EMH days. Not possible the week you're going, as EVERY day that week is an EMH day at MK.

Buy or borrow a WDW guide that has a list of all the rides. Find a half-dozen or so that are absolute MUST-DO rides. Plan those first. If Dumbo is among them, that should be your very first ride. At the very beginning of the day, you will have a line at Dumbo. The later the day gets, the longer the wait. What was 30 min at 8am will be 75 min by 11am. So do Dumbo first if Dumbo is a priority.

Fairies are very popular, so if your kids want to meet Tinkerbell and her friends, expect 90 min. If you don't want to wait in that line, then don't tell your kids they can meet Tink.

Have a strategy for waiting in line. Games, bubbles, snacks, something. Because you will be waiting in lots of lines. Lines for rides, shows, food, characters, souvenirs, the bathroom. Be ready for that.

Remember that there are four parks. If MK is closed, you have three other choices, so be sure to at least look at those parks in your WDW book too. You may not get into the park you want to get into, so have a Plan B.

I know it seems overwhelming, but ... that's Disney at Christmas!

 

[Grumpy92]

As everyone has already noted, you will be visiting at probably the busiest time of the year. Realize that the week of xmas the parks will fill to capacity. MK fills first then probably EC, DHS & AK will follow. Getting there early is the key. Since you are staying off property once the parking lot is filled you will not have access to that park. Once you are in do not leave because there is a good chance you will not be able to return that same day.

Have everyone before you go pick their top 3-5 must do things for each park. Lines will be long and you will not get everything done.

If you would like to eat at any of the full service restaurants then you will need ADRs. They are a must xmas week otherwise you will find yourself at CS locations only. Check everyday there are cancellations.

Take time to do some fun things in the resorts. Santa will be at the resorts on xmas eve. GF is a great place to go in the evening with the music and gingerbread. They also have a photographer who will take pictures of your family that you can order later. WL and FW are other resorts with great xmas displays. The campers really decorate their sites and you can take in a free disney movie at the campfire.

If you love xmas carols think about the candlelight processional, this is a fantastic show at EC, American pavillion. The osbourne lights will be something else your family will enjoy.

Have fun! WDW is extra magical at christmas.

 

[maccagerl]

If you would like to eat at any of the full service restaurants then you will need ADRs. They are a must xmas week otherwise you will find yourself at CS locations only. Check everyday there are cancellations.

As you enter each park there is a "guest relations" office. They will have a blackboard listing what restaurants still have reservations available for that day, so you can check the board and make your ressies right then and there.
I've never been to WDW at Christmas- maybe next year!
Have a great time!