Kids' First Trip

[bsmcneil]

In Jan/Feb, I'm taking my two kids (9 and 5) to WDW. The oldest has been once, when they were 2.75 (wanted to get in there before 3!); the youngest hasn't been. I've been many, many times (including a month ago). So, I'm trying to decide how long we should be there. I've rented points for 1/30-2/5 - so that part is locked in (and has been for a while). Then I started contemplating flying in the day before to get settled and make the most out of the first day of the DVC stay. I won't get park hoppers and I think I'll do G+ for MK/DHS only.

Going through attractions, etc - and also wanting to plan for midday breaks, I thought we might need (or could use) 2 days at MK, 1 at Epcot and DAK each, and probably 1 at DHS but maybe 2. Touring plans has the resorts basically at 5 all week (which seems strange to me given the timing, etc). That crowd level has me a little anxious (when I went in Sept, it was all 1s/2s. I'm generally thinking we'd get to a park around 9, go back to AKL around 1 and then go back to a park around 4-5 (if the kids can rest during the break, we'd probably stay until closing - if not, I sort of assume we won't because they'll be too tired). Obviously DAK would be different because of the hours. My current thinking is:

Sun - arrive mid-morning (if I come in on the first day of the rental, I'd probably take the 6:30a non-stop, getting to MCO around 9a), drop off luggage and explore AKL for a little bit, and go to MK for a little bit
Mon - DAK
Tues - Epcot
Wed - Resort
Thurs - DHS (I thought about switching this with MK but it feels like I should hit each park once before going back to one).
Fri - MK
Sat - open (we'd have a late flight - likely at 8:30p - so we'd have most of the day to enjoy. It could either be another resort day or a day to catch anything we didn't get to earlier).

Any recommendations/thoughts?

 

[Disney Fool]

since your children are young, I would definitely give them more time than one day at MK. If you're planning to take such an early flight, your children will be tired by noon. And probably cranky. Why not make the arrival day your down day, and explore the resort at AKL, relax and get ready for the week? You could then use Wed/Fri for full days at MK, and use your last day (Sat) to check out Disney Springs, maybe have an early dinner there before heading back to AKL to depart for airport, or if using your own transportation, Disney Springs is closer to airport, so you could depart from there. You will also spend a lot of time traveling back to AKL on MK days ( MK is furthest park from AKL); I would suggest having some down time right at MK-maybe planning a meal at one of the monorail restaurants, and relaxing in the lobby of resort or taking a boat from MK over to Ft Wilderness for awhile. JMHO

 

[BostonEd]

I'm thinking more of the 5yo, but if the adrenaline is pumping, I would stay at MK as long as possible Sunday. Then, do Epcot Monday, since it opens later; so don't make the kids wake up early. And Epcot can be a chill park, also.

At that point I would guess you will probably need your day off as Tuesday. Then Wed-Fri in parks, though with breaks like you said. Agree with the MK break just being the monorail resorts.

 

[bsmcneil]

I'm thinking more of the 5yo, but if the adrenaline is pumping, I would stay at MK as long as possible Sunday. Then, do Epcot Monday, since it opens later; so don't make the kids wake up early. And Epcot can be a chill park, also.

At that point I would guess you will probably need your day off as Tuesday. Then Wed-Fri in parks, though with breaks like you said. Agree with the MK break just being the monorail resorts.

Is this a crossover episode?

Seriously - thanks for the feedback!

 

[Rory607]

I agree you need more MK time and I also would probably hang at the hotel that first day. Our first trip with little kids we flew out early and went to the parks once we got there and it was too much. It set us up to be really tired on our first full day. We always do MK on our first day, but that’s personal preference.

Would you be willing to do park hoppers? It would give you more flexibility. We don’t always do a midday break, but when we do we like to hop somewhere else in the evening. It always feels like a nice re-set.

 

[BostonEd]

I agree you need more MK time and I also would probably hang at the hotel that first day.

I sort of agree. But it depends on the kids (as always with these queries). If they are bursting out of their seams, wanting to go to "Disney", it's kind of nice to let them go right way. And, assuming you can do a low-key day the next day (like Epcot), it could still work out.

But let's emphasize: it really does depend on the kids and what kind of energy levels they have.

 

[Anna131517]

AKL is pretty far from everything except AK. Staying at the parks a little longer and not taking a break may work out better than wasting a lot of time on transportation. OR you could do a couple evening hours at AK after a break.

 

[bsmcneil]

I sort of agree. But it depends on the kids (as always with these queries). If they are bursting out of their seams, wanting to go to "Disney", it's kind of nice to let them go right way. And, assuming you can do a low-key day the next day (like Epcot), it could still work out.

But let's emphasize: it really does depend on the kids and what kind of energy levels they have.

This totally makes sense (generally and the depend on the kids part). And it's super hard to tell because they've not done this sort of thing before. My current plan is to come in on Saturday (even though it means one night somewhere - probably AoA), have some time at the pool, maybe Disney Springs (which I don't really want to spend time on but realize they may enjoy the Lego store, etc). Have Bell Services transition our things and head to the park on Sunday. I do recognize AKL isn't terribly close to parks but I think the break will be crucial, especially for little legs. And if it feels like I'm wrong, we can skip them - but I'm trying to be more conservative than expecting we'll get everything done (based on my solo trip a couple of months ago where I flat-out failed at recognizing my own limits until it was too late!).