HELP Planning trip with children

[Mickey Fanatic]

I know this is going to seem really strange, and probably a little early, but I need the help of people with families.

Some background if you will. I am a Disney nut, I mean absolutely obsessed. Because of that my DH and I have been to the World five times. So to my family I am the Disney expert.

Since I have started to brainwash their children to the Disney way (have to start early you know) the kids all want to go to Mickey's house. My sisters and parents have decided to put away money from every pay to take a trip May 2007. Now here is the kicker, they are putting me in charge of organization, everything from where to stay and eat to what to do.

The problem is DH and I have no kids so our trips are different than what a trip with kids would be.

Can anyone give me an idea of good things to do with kids? I don't want to push too many things into a day. We are planning on staying onsite so that we can go back for naps if necessary. At the time of the trip the kids will be:

Tyler 4.5
Brenden 3
Rebecca 3
New one -7 months (approx)

 

[LynnTH]

We have been to Disney with our 2 kids 4 times in the past 7 years. DS is now 7 and DD is 5. We have stayed at All Star Sports, All Star Movies and Pop Century and this year I rented some DVC Points and we stayed on the Boardwalk. The kids aren't too fussy where we stay as long as there is a pool. They did love staying on the Boardwalk though (they had a great pool) and it was nice taking the boats to MGM and EPCOT.

I think you definitly need to stay onsite. We have never gone back to the hotel during the day for naps and swimming as it seems to take up too much time. My kids were good about sleeping in their strollers though too. The first few times we would just stick to one park per day but this last time we did park hop mainly because we had Reservations at certain restaurants. It's nice to have that flexibility but is not necessary.

Every year we go I get my kids the "DisneyWorld for Kids" book. It is written by kids and has lots of pictures. My kids loved going through it and deciding what they want to do.

A few years back we went with my entire family (12 of us). Just don't plan on always being together all the time. We would all go in the morning for breakfast and then go to a park and meet up later for dinner. It would have been way to much for everyone to travel together all the time. This worked out good for us.

I don't think you can go wrong in whatever you do - the kids will love it....

 

[mama4]

....here are some things we like to do.
-Plan an early character breakfast to get into MK before opening. Choices are CRT and CP. Allow yourself time to eat bfast and then head to fantasyland before the crowds get heavy. CP has Pooh and friends and CRT is the princess meal (never been to this one but CP is fun). Do all the "mandatory" kids rides Dumbo, Pooh, Peter Pan, etc. (remember Snow White is a bit scary)

-May should be pretty warm. Bring change of clothes/swimsuits for the kids to play in water fountain play areas found in the parks (Mk has Ariels Grotto and Pooh's Playful Spot).

- Make use of baby changing stations- they are a good place to get small children away from the crowds for a breather. Also clean place to change/feed baby and find emergency baby supplies (you can buy diapers, wipes, and other stuff)

-Make use of fast-pass if lines are long.

-We have always stayed at POR/CBR but last trip we tried POP. Really great resort for kiddies and I hear the AllStars are as well.

I'm sure you are familiar with www.allearsnet.com. Check out the "For Families" section under "Planning your Trip". Also, the "dining" and "accomadations" sections should help you when deciding where to stay and eat.

Also I agree with above poster about not trying to do everything together. If this is your relatives first trip they may want you to show them around. This can be overwhelming (or so I've found) with a lot of people. I'd go over the plans in detail with each family and have them make itineraries for when you aren't going to be together (with your help of course). I would plan some sit down meals together but not every meal. I'd also let them know it's ok if different people want to go to different parks on the same day. You and the grandparents might get a little tired of following the kiddies around MK - I know my Mom and Aunt did. I wished we had gone to different parks one day at MK but they thought they would get "lost" or just didn't feel comfortable going it alone. I think if I'd helped them build an itinerary ahead of time, they would've had more fun NOT visiting MK twice in one trip.

Good luck! It will be a totally different experience for you to see WDW through the eyes of a child!

 

[sschro3]

In 04 six of us went...DH, DMIL, DD5, DD4, DS2 oh yeah and me. Then in 05 we took a cousin 7. Each park has something for the kids. MK the entire park. At Epcot the kids liked the FW pavilions, but got bored really quickly walking through the World Showcase. At MGM it was all about Star Tours...over and over and over. We didn't spend too much time at AK, we were rained out and missed alot of stuff.
Have a great trip.
Sharon

 

[Lizzydoll73]

We are just back from our kid's first trip to WDW. They are 5 and 3. It was a very different than traveling to WDW before we had kids. The kids wanted to spend alot of time at the pools. Also, at least for my kids, standing in line to see characters was more important than going on rides.