MK strategy for those with toddlers/babies

[CamAnd]

For those of you with very young kids, what are your strategies for getting in the most number of rides/attractions on a day? (which rides to get fast passes)

I realize that many breaks would be needed esp with our 21/2 yr old and 11mo old. But this is our first time with Kids at Disney, the last time we went was when I was first pregnant with the first.

Can your kids last all day? I really want to get there at opening and stay until Wishes. We are staying offsite, so going back to the hotel for naps is not an option.

Anyway only 2 Days before we leave!!!! Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

[BevS97]

well, I am going to be honest - I don't think you can plan on arriving at opening and staying till wishes - that's a very long day - I don't know if I could manage that personally, and I wouldn't like to try it with little ones.

You don't mention how long your trip is for, and how far offsite you are staying.

we have travelled with a 3 1/2 year old, a 4 1/2 year old, and last year with a 6year old and a 3 month baby. Our strategy is to plan a longer trip, buy longer tickets and take things slow. We will normally either arrive at a park at opening and then leave around 3, or else have a quiet morning, get to the park after lunch and stay late.

I suspect this isn't what you want to hear, but this has been our experience.

Depending on how far off-site you are staying, there is no reason you can't go back to the hotel around 3 and then come back onsite for a late evening. We have had very late nights on all 3 trips, but not after an early start. Some of our favorite visits to Magic Kingdom have been when we arrived at the park around 5pm and stayed till closing - the park is quieter, it's cooler, and we have gone on loads of rides.

to answer your question re rides/fast pass etc. I would suggest if you are at the park at/before opening, then if you are wanting to do one of the Mountains, I would head there first, otherwise, I would go to Fantasyland and visit there early - the early you get there the better. Then just use Fast Pass as much as possible, if you are really looking for ride time, then I would suggest riding during the parade- but with the ages of your kids, I think they would enjoy the parade more than a couple more rides. In fact, while there undoubtably plenty of rides they can enjoy, I would change the focus from riding lots of rides, to slowing down and enjoying the little moments - the 2 1/2 year old will probably enjoy meeting the characters, watching the parade, trying a Mickey Bar, etc etc as much as the rides.

hope that helps somewhat, and have a great trip,

bev

 

[3boysluvndisney]

We are going to WDW mid June for an extended family vacation. I have 3 kids ages 8, 5, and 14 months. We will be arriving in Orlando on Sunday and plan on visiting MK on Monday. We plan on doing open to close with no breaks. Our stragedy is to take it slow and take sit down breaks as much as possible. Although we will be there all day we don't plan on seeing everything as we want to take the day at a slow and steady pace. To make up for this FULL day at MK we are taking Tuesday off to relax at the house and then heading back to Epcot on Wednesday. We are hoping this works as we will also have a 9 and 6 year old along with us (sister's kids). So 5 kids altogether. As the PP mentioned get fast passes whenever possible as we are going to do. We are also planning on watching parades as this is a sit down break for us. We will have strollers for all kids so that will help on all the little feet so I definitely recommend that. So I think it can be done just pace yourself, relax and enjoy. Have fun and good luck!

 

[dijid]

Just got back with 3 kids - 4.5, almost 3, 7mo. The best way to do MK with young kids is to get there before it opens and do as much as possible while it is still cool and the crowds are thin.

Then go back to your hotel - even if it's offsite - when the crowds get heavy and take a break. NAP. Even you will want the rest. Taking care of kids that young while in the parks wears on you, too.

I don't know if your kids normally stay up til 10 at night, but there's no way mine would have made it til Wishes. Their bedtime is normally around 8, and the latest we ever left the parks was 8:30 and that was pushing it. Kids get cranky when they're tired and we tried to avoid that.

Prioritize what you want to see and go with the attitude that you'll come back some day. (even if it's 10 years from now)

 

[alloyd1170]

My dad and I took my 2 yr old son in Feb and the trip was all about him. We didnt do many rides, but what I enjoyed most was seeing how happy and excited my son was to be there. We did a few things at MGM the first day (arrival day-went to MGM around lunch time and stayed for Fantasmic) to ease into the Disney thing. The next day we headed to MK after breakfast-by then the crowds had gone in and it wasnt bad. We headed straight for Fantasyland and did the rides my son wanted to do. Around lunch time it got crowded so we headed back to CR for a nice lunch and a short nap (I shopped, he slept in his stroller, dad went to Epcot). We went back in the afternoon to hit some rides he didnt get on earlier, and redo a few others. Then we got a spot for Spectro, and watched Wishes before heading back. The next day we spent a few hours in AK (he couldnt spot a lot of the animals and we go to our zoo a lot so no big deal), then headed to Epcot. My son napped in his stroller when he wanted. We then went to Cirque du Soliel which he loved (as did we), then headed back to CR for the water parade and bed. Our departure morning we had breakfast at Chef Mickeys (another huge hit with my son) then did some shopping at DTD. So in a nutshell, if your child can sleep in a stoller an all dayer can be done, but dont be surprised if you have an unhappy child or one that cant sleep at night. We travel a lot so my son is used to his schedule being changed all the time. Just be sure to give your child a break and get out of the sun for a few hours. What you may want to try is to start putting your child to bed maybe 15 minutes later than normal until you work up to a time similar to Wishes. That way it wont be a huge shock. Take lots of pictures too-my son loves looking at his video and photos from his trip and cant wait to go back!

alison

 

[bartleby1]

It depends on how easy going your little ones are as to how long you can stay in the parks. Mine sleep in the stroller and are fine to stay open to close for one day, but then we plan a no park day for the following day. We usually do one early day (like AK or MGM) and then do a long day and late night the following day. The third day we do the pool or something less stimulating. We don't ever take afternoon breaks outside of the park. We do try to do an airconditioned attraction mid-afternoon to cool off and relax (hall of presidents is a good one for that).


Definitely get to the park early and do as much as possible before it gets hot and crowded. We usually do fantasyland first and it is nearly empty.

HTH!

 

[Barb D]

We don't do the mid-day break thing, especially since we tend to go off season when park hours are shorter. There are some great places IN the parks to take relaxing breaks, especially if your kids will nap in strollers or go to sleep in a cool, dark, boring place (like, oh, say, Hall of Presidents.) We also like to do character LUNCHES in the parks. That's a great mid-day place to cool off and get off your feet. We like Crystal Palace at MK and Garden Grill at EPCOT.

 

[CamAnd]

Thanks for all the input!
We will do MK on the 24th which is a Monday and they close at 8:30 that day. So will try to stay until then unless we are dealing with cranky kids. Don't know how well my kids will nap in their stroller during the day. We'll see.

I also planned to do early lunch at the Crystal Palace. Will note to get to Fantasyland early.

 

[Zoesmama03]

It will depend on how well your children sleep in public. Will they sleep in stroller good?

My dad stepmom and stepsister went Christmas day in 98 w/ stepsisters 5 month old she slept fairly well and we stayed till the end. We were doing MGM and went to Epcot for fireworks.

My dad lives 30-45 minutes away so nowhere close to go for naps.

 

[720L]

I would head straight to Fantasyland, get those rides done, then go to Toontown to see the characters. You could grab a fastpass for a ride you guys want to ride on the way to Toontown.

Be sure to bring something to cover the stroller with in case your baby falls asleep in the stroller. A sheet cut in half works good because it's not too heavy and won't be hot in the stroller.

My 2 1/2 year old fought a nap but eventually passed out in the stroller. When I noticed she was getting tired we just kept walking hoping the motion would put her to sleep and it worked.

Air conditioned rides are great for cooling off. If a ride offers a fastpass get it because lines will probably be long.

Have a great time!

 

[jcemom]

Originally posted by CamAnd
Thanks for all the input!
We will do MK on the 24th which is a Monday and they close at 8:30 that day. So will try to stay until then unless we are dealing with cranky kids. Don't know how well my kids will nap in their stroller during the day. We'll see.

I also planned to do early lunch at the Crystal Palace. Will note to get to Fantasyland early.

Just happened across this thread and was wondering how your trip went and if the "no breaks" thing worked for you?