Just to get an idea (for those with little ones)

[mom2-four]

What does a day to day schedule for Disney World look like?

Thanks!

 

[poohfriend]

you plan your basic days well before you leave home.

Here's what I do...

Our kids are early risers and we tend to keep them close to their normal bedtime routine.

We pick a park to visit in the morning and we are there before opening. We're in the park early and there are shorter lines for rides ..that means we can do the rides we really want without wasting a lot of precious time in line.

We eat an early lunch or a big snack and ride a few more rides. Last year during the busies week of the year (between Christmas and New Years) we did 12 attractions at MK before our Noon lunch. If you are there during the off season, you can do way more than that. You feel like you've gotten a lot accomplished. By 1 we're out the gates and off to our (onsite) hotel room for a rest. Sometimes that rest includes a nap for the youngest in our group. Other times it's quiet play in the room or just watching tv while in bed. After a rest we may go for a swim or play on the resort playground.

If we've planned on it, we go to a park for early dinner and to see some of the show attractions. If we can get fastpasses, we will ride some of those rides... or wait out a favorite.

We might also go to Downtown Disney or just a Character meal instead of going to the parks.

Again, we get up early, so we cannot stay at the parks late. We are usually out of the parks by 7 so the kids can settle down and go to sleep! We may plan on one late night to see fireworks...and the next morning is a lazy morning!!!

The more you plan in advance the less stress you'll experience while you are there. Get a good touring book or visit tour guide Mike for planning ideas. There is also a board with threads on this issue.

Disney is a fabulous vacation with young kids, you just need to be realistic about how much fun they can handle. Don't push you or them and there will be less frustrations and more magical memories.

 

[jchick]

We took DD2.75 (now 3) and DD8 in September and our days were done by 6pm generally. She just couldn't hack all the activity, so even with an afternoon nap at the hotel, she was pretty much through by 6pm.

 

[1Prince2Princesses]

Definitely plan way in advance, but don't make your plans too detailed. I've found with my kids that if we overplan, we tend to spend the day rushing around, and we lose the magic. Just try to get a general idea of what parks you want to do what days. We always make a prioritized list of what we want to do, and try to stay flexible. Flexibility is the key to a non-stressful vacation at Disney.

If you are doing a multi-day, multi-park trip, I'd reccommend starting and ending with MK. It's the best. Have a fantastic vacation!

 

[karibritt01]

We generally do MK the first and last days. My kids also love Epcot - they are 8 and 4. The main thing to do in advance is get ADR for any restaurant you plan to eat at. We saw many with a 2 or 3 hour wait, while we just walked up and were seated. We all enjoyed being able to sit and relax, and it gave the kids an hour of down time before taking in the nightlife. If your kids are early risers, a character breakfast is an incredible experience for them. My kids are night owls, so we generally sleep in until about 10:30, eat breakfast in the room or in the food court, then swim in the AM. We rarely get to the parks before 1 or 2, then close them down and do EMH.

 

[jnordan]

We took DD2.75 (now 3) and DD8 in September and our days were done by 6pm generally. She just couldn't hack all the activity, so even with an afternoon nap at the hotel, she was pretty much through by 6pm.

My DD will be 2.75 when we go, and this is my biggest dilemma. At home, she and older DD both go to bed around 6:30pm, but she still takes a 1.5 hour nap most days of the week. I'm just not sure what to do at Disney.

For sure, we'll have early nights. Most of our dinner reservations are at 4:30-5:00pm so that they can still be in bed by 6:30-7:00pm. We're going in May and none of the shows at that time even start before 9:00pm, so there's just no way those will happen. MAYBE on the last day there we'll consider it since I could handle a grouchy trip home, but there's no way I'll sacrifice a whole day of the vacation for an evening show! BUT, what to do about naps? Traditionally, she doesn't nap well unless she's laying down (on her tummy), but if we're ending our days early as it is, I just don't see us getting back and forth TWICE in a day -- we're staying at BCV. I'm basically praying that she'll sleep in the stroller, and I've rented a comfy double jogger from ABBF to facilitate this. . . Any thoughts?

Otherwise, we're also beginning and ending our trip (8 days) with the Magic Kingdom (have one other half day at the MK) and are doing the other parks in between with one full day with nothing planned at all.

 

[brat5063]

We made our ADRs for character breakfasts or dinners first. And that pretty much picked what parks we went to that day. We always got up early enough to go to the food court for breakfast then we would hit the parks pretty much as soon as they opened. We would ride all the rides, there are shorter lines in the morning so you can ride more rides faster in the AM. We would eat lunch at the park and maybe ride a ride or two on our way out the gates back to our hotel. My son was 2.5 and rarely napped so we had down time in our room or we took him to the pool just to take a break. We needed the break more then he did. Then we would go off to where we had dinner reservations. Our reservations were normally around 5. If it was at a park we might ride a ride or two again and then hean back to our room. We were normally in our room between 7-8. We had one late night where we watched the MK parade. He loved it and was fun the next day.

 

[monorailsilver]

Here is our scheduale (FYI the first time we went dd was 15 mo old, the next time she was 4 ½ & ds was 22 mo & there was one cooking in the oven).

What we do is I shower first since I am up at the crack of dawn. Then by that time dh is awake & she showers & the kids are starting to get up or I start to wake them if it is 7am ish.

They have their breakfast in the room while we finish getting ready, get the bag/stroller/drinks ready for the am park trip.

Then if it is a EE day we go to that park for opening or as close to opening as possible.

Then we ride the rides, see the sights, etc...

We then either leave the park at eat lunch at the resort or we eat lunch in the park depending on our mood.

We try to get back to the resort by 1 so we can nap (mainly the kids). If there is time for a swim we do that too.

Then we shower & head back to the park for around 5 & usually find something to eat there.

We stay in the park & watch either Illuminations or Wishes since I only go to MK or Epcot at night.

Then we get back to the room & go to sleep.

My then 4 yo took a nap on our last trip & she had not been taking naps for a year or so & it was so worth it because the first day I didn't have her nap & she swam with me, she passed out in her stroller at 6pm right after we ate dinner but she woke up in about an hour but still.

 

[LaraK]

We get up at our normal time (about 6) and get ready. We are out the door and on the way to the parks by about 7:15-7:30. We try to get an 8:00 ADR in the park we will be visiting that day. We eat and see characters and are at the interior rope drop when the park opens at 9. We hit rides until about 12, when we return to the hotel for a quick (light) lunch and a nap. We return to the parks around 4ish and ride a couple of less popular rides before hitting dinner and then strolling around the park hitting non-popular rides. We are usually back in our room for bed by about 8. We have to have an off day every few days where we can sleep and veg or the kids will not make it.

 

[sgmom]

Make sure you rest! We just returned with DS6 and DD2.5. Our DD is a regular 2 hour afternoon napper, but has to be in her room, with the door closed. She is not one for napping in strollers - there is too much going on! DS is fine to make it through the day no matter the hours.

We planned early dinner ADRs about 5ish, because the restaurants are just opening for dinner and should not yet be backed up, so your wait should be short. If your little ones have napped, they should be refreshed long enough for an early dinner.

We did not follow this routine! Since we were travelling with a group of 9, we had a lot of wasted time figuring out what to do next or where to meet up with the rest of the group, etc. We arrived in the parks late, which meant we stayed late to make up for it. DD did not get naps until about day 3, she woke up sick in the middle of the night. She and I ended up missing 2 park days because all she wanted to do was sleep. She is still not her normal self.

Plan your down times and your meals times and everything else will fall into place.

 

[Aristomommy]

First time DD went to Disney, she was 2 months shy of 3 years old. She got up really early and I tried to stick to her regular schedule. We would eat in our room (I brought stuff with me) and get to the parks at opening time. We would ride all the must-do rides for her first to avoid lines and while it was still cooler outside. When she was getting tired, we would either watch a show, stop for lunch and then head back to the hotel. There was one day she fell asleep in the monorail and we just kept on riding the monorail because I didn't want her to wake up. Luckily it was September and very slow time right after 9/11.

I had a general outline of the day, which parks we would visit each day and what rides we should do first. Beyond that, we stopped when she was tired, kept going if she was fine and took plenty of breaks. Just be flexible as you won't be able to do Disney commando style at this age. But as a bonus, you will have unbelievable memories when you slow down and appreciate the little things Disney has to offer. I will always remember when Captain Hook came over to DD and tickled her with his hook. She didn't know if she should laugh or not but it ended up being the cutest tickling match between them.

 

[ekball]

My DD will be 2.75 when we go, and this is my biggest dilemma. At home, she and older DD both go to bed around 6:30pm, but she still takes a 1.5 hour nap most days of the week. I'm just not sure what to do at Disney.

For sure, we'll have early nights. Most of our dinner reservations are at 4:30-5:00pm so that they can still be in bed by 6:30-7:00pm. We're going in May and none of the shows at that time even start before 9:00pm, so there's just no way those will happen. MAYBE on the last day there we'll consider it since I could handle a grouchy trip home, but there's no way I'll sacrifice a whole day of the vacation for an evening show! BUT, what to do about naps? Traditionally, she doesn't nap well unless she's laying down (on her tummy), but if we're ending our days early as it is, I just don't see us getting back and forth TWICE in a day -- we're staying at BCV. I'm basically praying that she'll sleep in the stroller, and I've rented a comfy double jogger from ABBF to facilitate this. . . Any thoughts?

Otherwise, we're also beginning and ending our trip (8 days) with the Magic Kingdom (have one other half day at the MK) and are doing the other parks in between with one full day with nothing planned at all.

Sounds like you are on the right track! I would say that if your DD is a napper at home, you should definitely build the nap into your days at Disney. We went last Sept. with DS (1) and DD (just under 3 at trip time) - DS would take his morning nap in his stroller at the park, then we'd all head out of the parks after lunch for a little naptime at the hotel. There's just no way my kids could have functioned without the naps. Naptime enabled us all to unwind, cool down, and head back out in the afternoon refreshed and renewed. Mom & Dad also were able to get a little alone time relaxing by the pool or on the beach. I think the latest we stayed in the parks was maybe 7??? Maybe. We were pretty much in for the night by 7:30 and kids to sleep by 8 at the latest (usually earlier).

One bit of advice that I am implementing on our next trip - take the first full day to just acclimate and relax at the resort. We jumped right in and did the MK on our first full day, after an early morning & travel day the day before, and it blew up in our faces!! Kids were just exhausted and we had a major meltdown from the (almost) 3 year old. This next trip we are flying in on Friday (hopefully early), and will take all of Fri. and Sat. to just relax around the resort, enjoy the pool, and recover from our travel day. Remember that there will always be future trips - you don't have to fit everything into your trip and it's OK if you miss a ride, a park, a restaurant, etc. We had to totally cancel our AK day last Sept. so the kids could unwind and just relax - it ended up being one of our best days that week!! We never saw Illuminations, Fantasmic, Wishes, etc. - but I anticipate that we will see them on one of our trips in the future. No problemo!

Lastly, as others said, just be flexible. With your 'touring plans', with your weekly schedule, with your dining plans, etc. Tune in to your kiddos, and plan your days according to THEM! Have a great time!!!

 

[crisi]

We took our kids (now 7 and 8) for their first trip at 2 and 3.

We'd get to the park at opening.

Neither of my kids were hotel room nappers - that was a complete waste of effort. Instead we'd ride the bus/monorail/MK train/ferry whatever, around in circles for about an hour while they napped. We usually used this time to switch parks - we like Epcot as an evening park.

Our kids did better with sit down meals than expected, they were so tired by dinnertime they'd just zone - but with so much time taken up with sleeping, it didn't seem like the best use of anyone's time.

We'd be back to the hotel by 6:00 or 7:00 - we ate a lot of food from Roaring Forks (we stayed at WL that trip). We cut out all fireworks/nighttime shows.

 

[woodchuck]

I have a ? we have a Ds he will be $ when we good in May. We went when he was 2. Do you get the park hopper?

 

[woodchuck]

sorry some how I put a $ in stead of 4 (LOL)

 

[Whosemom]

Don't anybody call children's services on me, but we run like the wind from the time we get there, just like pre-kids, and have a blast. We rent the double stroller, and anyone under 7 just passes out when they need to. And my kids are all nappers at home. Watch your clock and make sure to feed them every two hours (can be just a smuggled in granola bar) and water them at least every hour. We nap at home from 1 - 3 (ANYONE who is home at that time on any given day - /i am a total nightowl, and then have to get them up at 6) so at the parks we look for our sitdown meal and maybe a show during that time. When we went this summer at 100degrees, we made sure we were inside. We have even ridden the train all the way around twice. when need be.
OK, so I think we do commando, but really its an ebb and flow thing, we just find restful things at the parks. whew, you don't have to turn me in.

 

[kohlby]

Don't plan much and be willing to change your plan!
We just returned. We knew to be at the parks at opening. We knew we weren't going back to the room mid-day since my 3 year old didn't nap when we went 6 months ago. We planned out the parks and figured we would plan as we went along based on our son. It's a good thing we were so flexible! We started at MGM and DS didn't want to ride anything! All he wanted to do was "dig for dinasour bones." This was an activity at Animal Kingdom - a park we had decided not to do since last time he wasn't that into it. After doing just a couple rides, we realized we were going to be miserable if we didn't go to AK, so we did. The next day's plan was to do Epcot and stay all day. DS had a blast and was in great spirits so we felt we could push him by going back to MGM so we could see the light display. We did Magic Kingdom the next day. We weren't able to utilize fast passes much since DS wanted to do rides here then there and some more than once and some not at all. The next day was a down day and we switched hotels. The next day was supposed to be both Islands of Adventure and Universal, but DS had so much fun at IOA that it was a full day. The last day was Universal and DS was feeling the effects of not enough sleep so it was a tough one.

We had to be flexible and use DS's moods to figure out what to do. DH and I were able to take turns going on other rides without the kids at IOA and Universal, but it wasn't possible the other days. (We also have an 8 month old baby. DS had too much energy for one person to watch both kids for the start of the trip!) However, some kids aren't as spirited as my son is. The baby travels quite well. Most kids my son's age seem to be more easy-going. You know your kids. Just keep in tune with them.

 

[fofinia]

Don't anybody call children's services on me, but we run like the wind from the time we get there, just like pre-kids, and have a blast. We rent the double stroller, and anyone under 7 just passes out when they need to. ... water them at least every hour.

LOL

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

Our trips now are much different then when we didn't have children. We used to get up early and go all day without a break. Now we have changed everything. My children DD 6 and DD5 get up early so we have a big breakfast, ususally a character breakfast at whichever park we are going to that morning. Then we go go go until they have had it which is around 1PM. During the morning the kids will have a snack and then we head back to the resort for a pool break and lunch. If it's a day we are heading back to MK or MGM we try to get back for the afternon parades. We have seen them many times so if my girls don't want to go back until later that's fine. We go until the park closes. We have never left before closing time. When my children were smaller, they would take naps in the carriages so we didn't necessarily have to leave, but now they don't nap anymore so they need a pool break. Our trip is for them and so I let them decide when they need a break.

 

[chip91]

I didn't read all the replies all the way through, but are you staying on-site or off-site? That makes a huge difference I think. On our trip my 3 dd's were very close ages to what your 3 oldest will be, (they were 7, 6 & 3). I guess with your ages I have 3 words for you: two double strollers! Because we were "off-site" and had never been, I had the "go commando or go bust" attitude on the 1st day of Disney, and we had a stroller for our 3 year old only. We had breakfast ressies at CRT, early, so we were up at 6, out the door at 6:50 a.m. & arrived at the gates of MK at 7:20 a.m.. we returned to our rental home 14 hours later, with two very tired older girls with blisters on their feet, and I thought we sat alot! WE did ALL of the "shows" that you can do at MK, we had our sit-down at CRT in the morning, and then we "sat-down" inside of Cosmic Ray's CS for late lunch/early supper, which we spent close to an hour in just taking a break from the heat/resting our feet. The next day, the 1st thing we did was stop and rent a double stroller, and our girls rode in one for the remainder of our trip.

My thoughts; if your staying off-site you need a little more "strategic" planning, we also didn't want to leave the parks to lose the great parking spots we had by getting there so early, so try to plan out when you will see shows to get a break, and try to do 1 sit-down meal/day, your time of year also matters, and I thought your ticker said Oct., my first trip was Oct & it was HOT!! If your staying on-site givin' the ages of your little ones, I would play it by ear but probably try & get them a mid-day break if possible, your 7 & 5 yr old might not need a break but the younger ones may, perhaps you & DH could swap days where you take the youngest back to the hotel and vs.

Good luck with your planning and just remember their your kids, you know them better than anyone, so follow their lead and it will all work out for you! - there's some Pixie Dust and Tinkerbell wishes for you

Chip