I have never been to WDW and need advice.

[autumnbaby9]

My Family and I will be going to WDW for the first time Nov 8th through the 15th. My daughter is 4 and I would like any advice from people who have taken small children before. I would also like any other advice anyone can give to make our first trip wonderful. Thanx

Autumnbaby9

 

[magicaldisney]

I would recommend getting park HOPPER passes. It breaks up the day very nicely to visit one park in the morning and a different park for the the end of the day.

Take resting time when needed. It's much easier with a happy child, even if you miss a few things.

I would use an umbrella stroller if you will be taking one. Those big strollers are horrible to get on the buses (if your staying on site). Renting strollers in the parks is also nice if you want to spend the extra money.

Downtown Disney is a great place to go for some down, non park time.

Where will you be staying? That will help with further suggestions.

 

[staci]

Hello!

Just back from the world! You will have a great time!

Have you planned any character meals? 4 year olds love them, but they may already be booked. Try to get ADR's for one.

Take a stroller. The four year old will get tired. So will you!

Buy some glow sticks at home. I got 15 for $1 last week at dollar tree. We took a few packages, ds played and played with them. We shared them with the other kiddos at the parade in mk. They had a blast.

Plan your schedule according to your schedule at home. If your kiddo gets up usually at 7, plan on doing that on your trip, and getting to the parks early. (this is the best way because you beat the crowds). but if your kiddo usually sleeps until 10, 8 am in the parks wont be any fun with or without hte crowds!

Use your child as a guide for what you do, watch their temperment and stimulation levels. Go at their speed.

Take the time to look at the little things that we as adults pass by. The ducks, the little mickey touches, the water sprinkler things.

 

[autumnbaby9]

Thanx so much for the advice. We will be staying at the Days Inn Maingate. We wanted to save our money for the park rather than spend a fortune for our hotel.

 

[kizmac]

I second the character meal! My almost 4 year loved the ones we did so much. It was magical watching his amazement and seeing him hug and interact with the characters. I have oodles of priceless photos!

 

[3littleHalls]

A 4 yr old will LOVE it! Do a little pre-planning...figure out what your DD will be interested in, know which rides have height restrictions and if your daughter will want to ride, Fast Passes, Park Hopper tickets work best for us b/c we can do all morning in the parks leave for lunch and naps(have a 6yr, 3yr, and 15mos) a swim in the pool, then go back to park late afternoon, Princess character meals are a nice treat!, figure out what attractions have the long waits(Playhouse Disney, etc) keep a snacks at the ready. Don't expect too much....kids will get tired take a stroller unless you don't mind them riding on your shoulders for hours, kids might get too hungry while waiting in line to eat, kids might get scared(my Daughter loves Space Mountain, but is terrified by It's Tough to be a Bug) WDW is an awesome place to go for a little ones, you will have a great time, just a bit of knowlegde will get a magical time! Kelly

 

[KristiKelly]

Our kids love the character meals also. It's probably too late to get into a Princess Breakfast (but it never hurts to try), our kids also like Crystal Palace with the Pooh characters, it's at the Magic Kingdom or Chef Mickey's @ the Contemporary Resort with Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Chip & Dale.

I also recommend the Passporter book. There is so much information in it and a great place to keep notes.

Plan on taking a break midday if possible, it can be very exhausting.

You've come to the right place for info. We just came back Saturday from a week down there with our 3 kids, DS7, DD5 & DD 3monthes. You will want to buy her an autograph book when she gets down there. I found some cute Disney writing pins at BIg Lots near the check out for 99¢, they're $4-5 @ WDW. Have fun planning your trip!!! We just came back & I'm already planning my next one.

Oh and by the way, Welcome to the DIS!!!

 

[staci]

Thanx so much for the advice. We will be staying at the Days Inn Maingate. We wanted to save our money for the park rather than spend a fortune for our hotel.

Since you are staying offsite, a midday break may be out of the question for you depending on time. Plan some 'down time' into your day anyway. On one full day we had, we planned an extra hour into our schedule to ride the monorail. DS slept well in his stroller to the hum of the monorail, and we got a nice air conditioned ride! That is a great way to give the kiddos a break. You can get on the monorail from either EPCOT or MK parks. Also, a nice popsicle in the shade does wonders.

You are lucky to be going at a time of year where the weather is pretty good. We went three years ago in November for our honeymoon. You may need jackets/pants early morning/late evening depending on the temps, but the days were all high 70's or low 80's when we were there.

 

[MsMulan]

Best advise I can give is to take your time and listen to your little one. As adults we tend to get overexcited about the "Magic" and sometimes are kids are frightened, tired, etc. If you continue to push, it can make for a miserable day.

I am not sure where your hotel is location (distance to nd from the parks) but if you can go back to the hotel before or after lunch for a small break and return to the parks later in the evening your little one should be able to hang in there.

Have a great time.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Take an umbrella stroller.
Gets some dollar store glow in the dark light sticks.
Schedule a character meal - if you can't get into any of the princess ones, try Crystal Palace, Ohana Breakfast, 1900 Park Fare Breakfastk, Chef Mickeys or Liberty Tree Tavern. Odds are at least one will have an opening.
If you need to take a break in the afternoon, go back to the hotel and swim or nap, sometimes you really need it.

Take advice from someone who travels with three kids every year - the first year they were 2, 4, and 5. Take sometime to relax and smell the roses. You won't see everything the first time you're there so enjoy what you are seeing the don't worry about getting to the next thing. It will be there the next time.

Oh, and my best piece of advice - get to the parks at opening. They are so much more enjoyable the less crowded then.

Hope you have a magical time!

 

[abacobaby]

One piece of advice I would definitely give you about bringing a stroller - make sure it is comfy and that it can recline. This will make your DD much happier if she wants to take a nap.

We have a 2 year old DD. Personally, we do not get park hoppers. We got them last year - we also went in November last year, and we only used the hopper option one day out of the 6 days we were there.

We actually do not rush to the parks early in the morning. We make sure DD gets a good breakfast (in case she is too excited to eat at the park later ), then we head to the park between 9 and 10am. Our DD has no problems taking a long nap in her stroller, so we spend the whole day at the park. While she is taking her nap, my DH and I will stroll around, get something to eat in peace , do some shopping, or find a quiet park bench and relax.

We find it much better to stay at the park instead of going back to the hotel room for an afternoon nap since in November the parks tend to close much earlier than at other times of the year.

Also, we are planning to take DD to the Pooh and friends playground at MK that just opened recently. That way she can get out of the stroller and run around wearing herself out. One thing to mention about the park is that there are water sprinklers for the children to play in so we are planning to put her in her bathing suit and slippers to run around in the sprinklers.

That's all the advice I can think of for now...
Hope that helps!!!

 

[crisi]

Make sure to know what the attractions are like. A lot of people make the mistake of walking into Fantasyland and taking a four year old on "Snow White's Scary Adventure" and not getting to ride anything else (it isn't objectively very scary, but it will really spook some preschoolers). Know your kid's buttons - dark, loud, scary. And be responsive to a change - some kids are real daredevils at home - and are spooked when they get to Disney. Others seem tentative at home and are riding Tower of Terror.

Know your own family - we are a family of hoppers. We are not a family of nappers. We like early mornings and early evenings - which means we miss a lot of fireworks, but that is what has worked for us with smaller kids. We are a family who wants to sit down for one meal a day - so we do a lot of planning to make sure mom gets to sit down in front of a glass of wine and a real meal. My daughter tires easily and can be exceptionally whiney - so at six we will probably still use a stroller late in the day. My son has endless energy to walk. We like well themed attractions, can skip thrill rides, and like the less schmaltzy shows (i.e. we like Indiana Jones, we think Voyage of the Little Mermaid a waste of time). My kids would be happy to spend the entire vacation in the pool.

And with all that - don't assume what works for "everyone else" is what you will be happy with.

 

[indigoxtreme]

We just returned from 8 days at WDW with my 4yr old DGD. We started with AK and took it easy the 1st day. She met so many characters here and we saw several shows, the safari trip was good. Its a bug's life scared her. It does get scary for a little one at times. Then to MGM the second day and we had a great time there. The 3rd day was breakfast at CRT in the MK and MK day. During the day we took her evenflo stroller she could use it because the front bar came up so she could get in and out. It reclined and she did nap in it each day. There are many quiet places in the parks that they and you can relax in. She is a goer but she even got tired and fell asleep easily. Remember to give a lot of water, even in November you can dehydrate. We took a softside cooler with 6 bottles of water and filled it with ice at the hotel. It stayed cold all day. I took rasins and various snacks as well. Het your child an autograph book it works wonders in breaking the ice with the characters since they are so big. They sign the book first and then pictures. It helped my dgd so much. She couldn't wait to get an autograph and a hug.

 

[rt2dz]

Based on my experiences, here is my advice:

Even if you have a non-stroller using, non-napping 4 year old (like mine), chances are they will nap and will definetly use the stroller at wdw.

Follow your child's lead. Eat when they are hungry. Leave when they are done for the day. Don't wake them up early. Ride the rides they want & skip the ones they want to skip--regardless of your preconceived notions. I had a tall 3yo who LOVED ToT, BTMRR, Splash Mountain, but was terrified of Haunted Mansion. I did not follow their normal schedule, but followed their adjusted schedule. We also found it was much more important to ride Goofy's Barnstormer 12 times in a row than hit the indy speedway and space mountain. By telling our kids about what would happen in Bug's Life made it a favorite show rather than a fearful one. Know the attractions.

We did not find the need to leave the parks for breaks. As a matter of fact, when we tried, it was a disaster (and we stay onsite each time). We took in park breaks with rides on the RR, played on the playgrounds, took a sitdown lunch in air conditioning, people watched, etc. We also switched parks mid-day which released tension and boredom. A non-park day mid trip is also always really nice.

We always try to squeeze in a few character meals (including starting the trip with one).

Autograph books and pressed pennies make for an inexpensive and constant souveneir that keeps the "I wants" away and remain treasured for years.

Keep the little ones well fed with some non-junk and well hydrated. That might mean bringing in your own snacks/water.

That's it for now.