MK "touring plan" with small kids

[toodles12]

Okay, so I have a new plan...and hopefully this one will stick! We're only going to be at WDW for 2 1/2 days, but my overall plan has changed about 6 times. ha ha

Our plan now is to arrive at MCO by noon on Sun, Sep 30 and head straight to MK. MK closes at 7pm that evening, so I'm HOPING that we can be at the park around 3pm and still have about 4 hrs to check some things out. Then we will spend the entire next day at MK (they are open until midnight with the "extra hrs"). Then on Tues, Oct 2, spend the first half of the day at Epcot and the 2nd half of the day at DHS.

I'm looking for advise on how we should go about touring MK in a day and a half. We will have our 5 yr old and 3 yr old boys, so we don't really need to worry about seeing/doing the things that are too big for them.

I'm more of a "go with the flow" kind of person, especially on vacations; but, I realize that when it comes to Disney, you kind of NEED to have a plan. I'm not interested in trying to time everything out to a T, but if you have any suggestions on what we should see/do when we get there Sun afternoon, and then how we should spend all day Monday. Since the park closes at 7pm on Sun...MAYBE it won't be quite as crowded???

I know there are touring plans out there that you can pay for, but I'm just not interested it get THAT overly detailed with all this. It's our first time going to WDW, so I'm just interested in letting our kids experience some magic.

Thanks!

 

[ghtx]

You might want to think twice about keeping a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old at MK until midnight, and then expecting them to hit two more parks the following day

My advice is to get to each park at rope drop, and to take a 3 or 4 hour break back at the hotel in the middle of each day. Do most of the major rides (i.e. Fantasyland in MK) early in the mornings, and the less crowded stuff in the afternoons. Don't worry about trying to see everything since you will never be able to see everything. But you will have a great time and so will your kids!

 

[miami305]

Starting off with MK sounds good. HS Sunday. MK at rope drop Monday, nap break, then Epcot Monday evening.

Fantasyland won't take all day. You can hit all the kiddie rides first thing in the morning, rest and have lunch, then go to Epcot.

 

[IllinoisMommy]

I agree to get there early- take a break and leave the parks for awhile in the afternoon. Grab fastpasses for some of the popular rides (Toy Story Mania in DHS I have heard gets real busy)- just know you need to return and ride during the time printed on the ticket. You may want to think about a character meal- you have lots more time for pics and to interact with them than in a line at a park. We love Chef Mickeys (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale) and Crystal Palace (Pooh and friends). And there is a lot of fun boy stuff outside the park- my sons loved all the pirate stuff in the stores in Downtown Disney (or they also have a gift shop outside Pirates of the Caribbean) and they adored the Lego store in DTD too.

Have a great trip

 

[sharonabe]

There is one small problem with your current plan. The reason MK closes at 7:00 that night is for a party. In the past, party guests have been able to enter the park at 4:00 and many do. That will only give you about an hour before it starts getting busy with party guests.

 

[bababear_50]

Just a few ideas from my experience re arrival day.

Allow time to get from the airport to your Hotel--45 min--- 1 hour
Allow time to get from your Hotel to the Parks.--30 min
"this can vary according to Disney transportation/own vehicle"
"this can vary according to Hotel Location"


I would take arrival slow,check into resort-organize your room and stuff then head to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party for 4 pm,,(I would buy tickets for this if this is your first visit) to WDW.
I would pre-book a nice evening meal or snack in MK.
Crystal Palace or The Plaza restaurant.
I'd even see if the Wishes Dessert Party had any availability for that evening.

Day #2
I would do Rope drop at DHS,
hit TSM and Star Tours Jedi Academy
Rockin Roller Coaster,
Indiana Jones Stunt Show.
etc
Then decide if you want to head over to Epcot or if you want to do Epcot another trip.
I say this because my guys love Soarin and I'm not sure you'd get into it arriving so late.
Mission Space may or may not be too big for your guys.
Test track is be refurbished so I'm not sure what is there right now-?
Sorry as much as I LOVE Epcot as an adult it is IMHO lacking a bit right now,,geeesh I'm going to get flamed for that comment.

Day # 3
I would redo what ever you felt you missed or wanted to try again at
MK,,
and I'd even consider going to Animal Kingdom.

 

[jwolfpack]

My kids are roughly the same ages as yours. I would do Epcot on your first day since there are fewer things there that will appeal to your kids. I'd be at MK for rope drop the next 2 days, and spend one evening at HS and one evening in MK.

It makes all the difference in the world being in MK in the first couple of hours the parks are open. Often, we accomplish more in those 2 hours than we do for the rest of the day. I don't advocate planning out each and every hour of your day, but I do suggest you pick your "top 5" things to knock out first thing in the morning.

 

[newdeal]

Ok well I dont love your plan so I will just tell you what I would do as a Disney veteran. Personally two and a half days wont be enough and your tickets will cost a fortune especially since you plan to park hop but that is your choice. On arrival day as others have said arriving at that time, especially before a special event is likely going to be an issue, it would be best to hit epcot on day 1. By that time crowds will be low at the entrance to the park as people generally work their way towards the back. Hit spaceship earth first, then go get fastpasses for soarin (if your kids are tall enough). While waiting for your return windows you can do the imagination pavillion and the seas pavillion neither of which will have lines, hopefully by the time you are done there you will be able to ride livin with the land and then use your soarin fastpasses. After that make your way to the other side of epcot to do ellens energy adventure (wont have a wait) and mission space if your kids are tall enough (probobly will want to stick to the green side). Skip world showcase, do spaceship earth again on your way out and if you have time play some of the games at the exit to that ride before leaving. That wont give you everything epcot offers but is a good amount in the time you have. The next day hit magic kingdom at rope drop and do all of the attractions that get big lines first thing. That includes all of fantasy land to start, then head over to frontierland and do splash and big thunder mountain if your kids are interested, you may want to utilize fastpass here and go ride pirates and the jungle cruise in adventureland while waiting for your fastpass times. That will probobly take your whole day because keeping your kids there till midnight will be a disaster. If you do have time head over to tommorrowland and do whatever you have time for to finish the day. The next day hit hollywood studios 30 minutes prior to official park opening as they usually let people in early, do toy story mania as many times as you can before the crowds hit, then do the backlot tour, and great movie ride, hit one of either the indiana jones or the lights motors action then go back to magic kingdom to finish the less popular attractions (country bears, laugh floor, space ranger spin, caroselle of progress) and whatever you want to do again as favourites from the first day there

 

[bek]

I just got back from a trip with grandkids (almost 3, almost 5 and 6.5 years). They loved:
Buzz Lightyear ride (went twice)
Dumbo
Peter Pan
Winnie-the-Pooh
Speedway cars

The older two were tall enough for roller coasters:
They loved Splash Mtn (went twice) and Big Thunder RR
Neither were particularly fond of Space Mtn -- it was a bit scary for those two thrill seekers

They also loved getting autographs. We were there during TS Debby and had very short lines for Buzz, Chip 'n Dale, Stitch, Alice and the White Rabbit.

A rule of thumb I read for touring with small children was 2 rides, then something else -- eat, play, autographs, etc. Even walking across the MK from Tomorrowland to Frontierland provided a break. We did afternoon breaks back at the resort. Also we took a rest morning and rest afternoon the day after we were at the MK until midnight. The parks have such a high sensory input, I found the breaks away from the parks to be essential to keeping them on a more even keel.

My grandkids would've been happy to spend the entire time at the MK. They didn't find Epcot or the Animal Kingdom very interesting. The Animal Kingdom was more popular than Epcot because of the Boneyard playground and Kali River Rapids. But they kept wanting to go back to MK to ride Buzz and Splash Mtn.

BTW there's a cool splash area that just opened up near the new Dumbo. September 30 will still be hot, so you'll probably want to bring swimsuits, waterproof shoes and a change of clothes to the MK.

 

[LazyDaisy]

I have a slightly different take. We used to go to MK all the time last year with my then 3 and 4 year old.

The rides that seem like no-brainers for their age group - Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, Peter Pan -- we ended up not doing very much. I think we went on them once or twice when the lines were short. They were so popular that the lines were just miserable. Maybe get a FP for one or two of them, but I would concentrate more on going with the flow - with whatever rides have the shortest lines. We went on rides that were geared for slightly older kids - Haunted Mansion, Pirates, etc - and also PeopleMover which has like no lines, ever. Oh, and the carousel, and Small World are also usually pretty quick. Small World not so much but it's a must do for us. Those are their favs in the Magic Kingdom. Mine also loved Splash Mountain once my 3 year old was tall enough to ride it. They both just had a ball on that one, but YMMV. They might also like the train ride around the Magic Kingdom - a lot of people seem to miss that one but it's a fun ride.

There is also a little play area by Splash Mountain that's a little out of the way, if they're starting to get antsy.

Also, don't discount something as simple as sitting down to share a bag of popcorn or something. DD always talks about how great the popcorn in Disney was. Yeah, OK... sure thing.

Less is more with kids that age.


ETA: If you're at EPCOT I wouldn't skip WS, but if I was in a time crunch, I would just do the Mexico ride inside the pyramid (great for kids their age, it's calm and cool and fun) and then if I had a tiny bit more time I would go down to Norway to ride that ride if the line wasn't too long. Then I would walk to Germany and take the boat back to the front of the WS - kids love the boat almost as if it was an attraction all its own.

Also... at AK you HAVE to spend some time at the Boneyard. Kids love that place. And the Nemo show is pretty cool too.

 

[hollygolitely93]

Sounds like a wonderful vacation. My suggestions:

Day one: Epcot
- send runner for Soarin FP if kids tall enough
- finding Nemo
- turtle talk with crush
- Spaceship Earth
- character Spot (kids can see Mickey and friends...if lines look too long save for after dinner)
- Soarin (if FP ready...or before character spot...)
- dinner in Mexico then ride the Grand Fiesta boat

Go back to resort for good night's rest

Day Two: Magic Kingdom
- Consider 8am Crystal Palace breakfast to see Pooh and friends
- FP Peter Pan
- Tomorrowland speedway
- Winnie the Pooh
- Peter Pan with Pass
- get buzz FP
- Astro
- Buzz light year
- lunch cosmic rays
- dumbo
- barnstormer
- afternoon break (head over to castle and find bench around sleepy hollow for nap/rest)
- parade
- pirates league
- pirates of Caribbean
- FP for big thunder man if kids tall enough
- Dinner at pesos bills
- big thunder mtn with FP
- go back and do some favourites...or home for rest...

Day Three: HS arrive 8:20am
- sign up for Jedi 9:20 while one parent runs for Toy story FP
- Jedi training 9:20
- Star Tours
- Meet phineas and ferb
- Toy Story with FP
- Disney jr playhouse show 10:30
- meet woody and buzz if interested
- 11:30 Indiana jones show
- eat at backlot express
Leave park for rest or stay for 1:20 lights camera action show.

Do Fantasmic that evening or back to MK for MVM CP (same price as the hopper pass, I bet...)

Enjoy!