Must-Dos for Kids?

[Kristen47]

Hello everyone, I have read the posts here for a while but never posted. We're planning our second Disney trip since having kids. When we visit at Thanksgiving our kids will be 8 (boy), 6 (girl), and 2 (girl). I'm hoping to do a Christmas party while we're there but I'm looking for any other hidden gems we might want to look into for kids that age?

We last visited when my older kids were 6 and 3 1/2. We crammed a lot into that trip and did BBB, the pirate fireworks cruise, Hoop Dee Doo, and quite a few character meals. Since Thanksgiving is a busier time, I'm hoping to make the most of early fast passes and not feel like we have to get to EVERYTHING like we kind of did last trip. I also think it would be nice to try some things that would be new to us. We're staying at the Grand Floridian so I'm hoping to get to enjoy that resort a bit as well. Any tips for some things that might be not as well known but fun for kids and/or preschoolers?

 

[thingwithwings]

The Boneyard in AK.

I don't know if it qualifies as "not as well known," but it was fantastic for OS when we went, and it's a great play space all around, with lots of activities that are fun for kids of basically any age (plus a few splash pad-type areas that were great for cooling down).

I think it's also fun to check out what sorts of activities the GF is offering when you're there, so you can maybe do a resort day and enjoy those activities. I know they have the huge gingerbread house around that time with demonstrations as well.

Something I'm trying to do with our upcoming trip is ask my kids (admittedly, two of them will be just shy of 3 at the time, so their responses probably won't make much sense) what three things they REALLY want to do... maybe a character they want to meet or a ride they want to go on. Especially with busier times, I feel like keeping that sort of short list of "must-dos" is really helpful in terms of planning.

 

[Kristen47]

Thank you! We last visited in the summer and our AK day was particularly hot so we didn't get to the Boneyard. I'll make sure we check it out this time!

 

[thingwithwings]

Thank you! We last visited in the summer and our AK day was particularly hot so we didn't get to the Boneyard. I'll make sure we check it out this time!

I don't know what it is, but our AK days are always so hot! The Boneyard actually HUGELY helped with that--it's got waterfalls and fountains that were just so perfect.

 

[Amy11401]

I don't know what it is, but our AK days are always so hot! The Boneyard actually HUGELY helped with that--it's got waterfalls and fountains that were just so perfect.

I did not know the Boneyard had waterfalls and fountains....that would have been nice on our hot trip last October. We actually avoided the Boneyard when we went....I did not want to deal with sand and worried it might be a place that is hard to keep track of my son.

 

[katyjeka]

Take a private fireworks cruise. It's a must for us every trip. Nothing is better than watching fireworks with a perfect view and no crowd at the end. The "captains" are so sweet and make the trip so fun for the kids.

 

[thingwithwings]

I dis not know the Boneyard had waterfalla and fountains....that would have been nice on our hot trip last October. We actually avoided the Boneyard when we went....I did not want to deal with sand and worried it might be a place that is hard to keep track of my son.

I thought it would be sandy, too, but there wasn't much sand at all--mostly just rubbery playground turf.

The waterfalls/fountains are, if I remember correctly, over in a corner by the jeep in the play area. There's a little cave over there, too... I just loved it all haha!

 

[Sara_H]

KidCot at EPCOT was fun for all. My kids really enjoyed that. Also, as simple as it is, my kids also enjoy the Dino area at AK...the area with the carnival type look. Also the boneyard was fun for them. At MK we also like to explore Tom Sawyer's Island.

 

[Marissa227]

I don't know if it would be out of your way, or if your family would enjoy it, but when we went in November 2016 we had fun doing the holiday sleigh ride at Fort Wilderness. It's just decorated horse drawn sleigh that takes you around the campground to see all the lights and decorations on the campers. They gave our family a limited edition pin to commemorate it with belle and the beast. We had 2 adults, 2 teenagers and DS4 and DS2 at the time.

 

[KenHutch]

Take a few hours and actually go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. There are several great places to eat and you can almost make a full day of looking at the animals on the savanna.