Help me, what am I forgetting for young kids?

[OkieDisney]

We are planning a trip in January for 9 days...of which
2 will be departure/arrival days...and 5 will be park days...that leaves two others to rest/resort hop, etc.

My DDs will be 5 and 6 at that time and I want to make sure to focus on things that we can only do when they are young....so, for example we would skip DQ and Cirque....I know these are great but we have many years to explore these.

What would be on your list of must do activities for young kids (that they can't/wouldn't want to do when they are older)?

So far I have:
Grand Adventures in Cooking
Pirates Cruise
Tea Party at GF
Simbas Club
Neverland Club
Family Magic Tour

Thanks

 

[catwho]

We are also going in January (it's a great time to go ) We have taken our children when they were those ages and aside from the Tea Party, they preferred to be with us. They really enjoy visiting characters, doing the rides, playing in the Bone Yard, Walking through the trails at AK, exploring things at Epcot. We limit one special function per trip because we see our children becoming over stimulated as it is by just being at Disney. Sure it is nice to have some "free time" away from the kids, but we look at it as a *family* vacation and that we want to share things as a family.

 

[OkieDisney]

Very good point, probably can't do all...

Just want to make sure that I am not forgetting anything so that when we sit down to make a plan of what we can do, I know all the possibilities for little kids.

 

[RumpleMom]

Be sure to hug each and every character you see and take pictures. You will find as your children get older the magic changes a little bit. Yes, our teenagers still hug characters, but usually only their favorite. We used to do a lot of fast food meals to save time and money, but as the kids got older we switched to longer sit down meals(Ex. We have to go to Canada for cheese soup.) Teenagers are more expensive. Ten years later we are going to Pleasure Island three or four times in a week because the kids love the Adventurer's Club and Comedy Warehouse. We all still love Disney, but have a diferent focus. We are very sad the Villains Dinner is cancelled. My advice is to do what is appropriate for your child's age (the first trip DH did Space Mt. all by himself- his only solo ride) because you are building memories as a family. Enjoy your children, they grow up very fast!

 

[CindyAnn]

My children loved the Pirate Cruise and the Neverland Club. DD was 4 and DS was 7 during last year's vacation. I'm considering putting them in the cooking program on our next trip - sounds like fun. They considered the Neverland Club to be a full-fledged Disney attraction, as a matter of fact. The one thing I see missing from your plans is the water parks, and my two, like lots of other kids, loved Blizzard Beach. We went our first afternoon, and they enjoyed it so much we returned a few days later. I think BB is down for rehab in January, but Typhoon Lagoon should be open. They're both lots of fun if it's warm enough to swim.

Character meals were another big hit, of course, as was riding in the front of the monorail. What a view! You just have to ask politely (limit of 4 people) and maybe even wait for a monorail or 2 to pass by, but if you're lucky they'll seat you up front. I think they let us go because we were puffing up the ramp, only to have the gates slam shut right in front of us. I politely asked the CM, and he said "sure thing" and we sat at the front on the next train. You might also end up getting a co-pilot's licence if the driver has some available.

Most of all - take lots and lots of pictures!!!

 

[catwho]

Thanks for the clarification that you were just looking for all the options. I thought for a moment that this was your itenerary and what I was seeing was mom and dad chauffering their kids from one activity to another at the parks and not spending any time together! It seems like we know what all there is to do and Disney ends up adding yet another wonderful something. My oldest dd really wants to do some of the DI events and we may look into it this next trip, but we know she really wants to do the tea party with her younger sister. So we may put that on hold for our *next* next trip. LOL!!

 

[*Fantasia*]

I don't know where you're staying, but I think your kids will love to stroll at the All Star Movies and see the big icons. If they love Disney movies, they will apreciate the atmosphere here. You can walk around and soak up the Disney atmosphere and try their arcade and have lunch there. It's just a thought! We were there last year and my kids (now) 2 and 4 thought they were in heaven!!