Need Advice About Our Touring Plans

[wisconsinmousermom]

Hello,

I'm having trouble deciding on our touring plans for MK, Epcot, AK, and MGM. I have the 2003 Unofficial Guide Book and 2003 Passporter. They've been a lot of help, but my problem is we have 3 children. 2 boys 14 and 12 and then we have a 5 year old girl. The boys would rather follow the adult plans, they LOVE thrill rides. On the other hand I want my dd's experience of the parks to be magical too. We've discussed splitting up, either letting the boys go it alone, (we all have cell phones), or either my husband or I going with them and then one of us going with my dd. Doing 2 different touring plans. My problem with this is I want to experience all my kids reactions to their adventures. To me splitting up doesn't feel much like a FAMILY vacation.

Have any of you been in this same situation? How did your familes handle it?


Thanks!

 

[tjkraz]

I'd suggest spending the majority of your time together as a family, but also set aside a few hours for the boys to go it alone. Your 5 year old will love things like Dumbo and Winnie the Pooh, but honestly, if you try to run teenagers through Fantasyland, they might end up ruining the "perfect moment" you are envisioning.

If the boys' main focus will be the thrill rides, and you want to be along for the ride, then try hitting them first as a family. There are only a handful of legitimate "thrill rides" in each park. Then, maybe after lunch time, give the boys an opportunity to hit the thrill rides again by themselves while you take your daughter to the things more appropriate for her age/gender.

The typical teenage boy will probably make YOUR life miserable if he has to sit through Voyage of the Little Mermaid or Small World, so reserve those moments for yourself and daughter.

 

[yesdisneyfool]

Originally posted by tjkraz
If the boys' main focus will be the thrill rides, and you want to be along for the ride, then try hitting them first as a family. There are only a handful of legitimate "thrill rides" in each park. Then, maybe after lunch time, give the boys an opportunity to hit the thrill rides again by themselves while you take your daughter to the things more appropriate for her age/gender.

I'll second that.

 

[Pirate Mickey]

One thing we try and do for our youngest one when she can't ride the big rides is to split up and let her do something special.

She and I have our own special thing while at MGM. I do not like the Star Tours style ride. So when the big kids and my DW are riding, we go and get a Mickey Bar. The other kids are not allowed one when they get off.

This let's my DD see that her time alone with me is not missing out because she can't ride but rather we make it a special time for us.

 

[wisconsinmousermom]

 

[susy]

In November we took my niece and newphew (ages 13 and 16) and my son, who is 5.

In the MK-
take your DD to start Fantasyland, while the boys start in Tomorrowland. Everyone should work their way over to the haunted mansion. We timed this perfectly! My DH and I split up with the kids and we met at Haunted mansion (two way radios work great!). After that we all went on Splash (get a FP for Thunder first), then Thunder, then Tom sawyer, then adventureland. If your DD will ride thunder and splash , you should be fine and I would encourage her to ride as much as possible. My sister did do space mountain on our first trip back in 74. She was 6.

AK- this one's easy!

Start in Dinoland - head to the right as you enter the park.
take DD on Ticeratops spin, while others ride primeval whirl. Then, take her to boneyard, while others go on dinosaur (not for a 5yo). They can meet you at the boneyard and you all go to Tough to Be a bug together- if you exit dinoland, it's straight ahead. Exit LEFT into Asia and ride kali- wear ponchos if you don't want to be SOAKED (underwear gets soaked, too!), walk the jungle trek and head over to Africa- get FP for Safari and enjoy the pangani Forest trail, while waiting. Eat lunch at tusker house, if you still have time and then ride the Safari. We did this all before noon on the sunday of veteran's day weekend! See the shows .


Epcot- Split up here and let the kids go on their own. trust me. We missed the Food and wine festival because my niece and nephew had to ride TT twice. It took all evening.

MGM- I would split up here in the morning. Let the older kids ride what they want and take your DD to see Playhouse disney.

Also, don't stay with the little one the whole time- take turns with DH. Have fun!

 

[Morgan'smom]

All of these responses are great and very helpful. The only suggestion I would make would be to split up in the morning. My daughter is five and she would be too excited to wait to see Little Mermaid or Minnie Mouse's house to wait for the afternoon. She also would tolerate lines better when she is not getting tired.You can do the shows or walk around the parks together then. I have also heard that renting a stroller, even for five year olds is a good idea. Their little feet get tired by the afternoon and she may be able to last longer in the parks that way. We plan to rent a double stoller for our kids just in case she wants to sit with her little brother. I also agree that you should spend time with the older ones as well as your daughter. It is hard to not want to see the amazement on their little faces but if you like thrill rides you should have a go with the boys too. I took my daughter when she was three and I could have just watched her all day - which I pretty much did! When we go next I am definitely going to try a few older attractions and rides and leave my less thrill seeking husband with the kids!

 

[Pienut]

I am in the same situation. It really comes down to the way your family works at home! If you are used to staying together and working out the differences at home you should be fine at the park. If however the boys always do their thing and your daughter her own, and your husband and you split up all the time it will be difficult.

We go on the weak link theory in our family. Please the weak link and everyone will have fun. Sometimes the weak link is our daughter sometimes its just me! We say...Weak Link and that person gets to choose. My boys are very gracious when the whole trip is on the line and believe me...one little "I never get to do what I want!" and the credit card gets closed down..don't even ask for anything and chances are I am heading to the gate! These vacations cost too much money to fight over who gets to go where first.

You know teenage boys can surprise you. My sons will-with some encouragement- get excited for their sister and want to see how she reacts to Mickey...they will hunt down something she wants. The most magical moments at Disney for me, have nothing to do with the rides or shows, but those moments when my children spontaneously reach for each other. To see my daughter sitting on the curb watching the parade while leaning on one of her brothers. Or watching my older son take her hand and lead her out into the parade to join in....THATS MAGIC. It takes some leg work in the beginning. But Oh its worth it!!

We discuss expectations before we go. The reality of a 5 year old versus the realities of the 11 and 13 year olds. The boys are old enough to be told that the magic is in the family being together and having fun NOT in just THEM riding Space Mountain three times in a row with your sister crying and clinging to mom (WEAK LINK!) With that theory we mostly stay together but occasionally split up using cell phones or walkie talkies to hook up easily. In many families its mostly Mom who gets to enjoy the 1 hour dumbo line and Dad who gets to fastpass space mountain so we also make sure we take turns waiting with the kids when we do split.

For example. We arrive at the parks early and DD wants to ride Dumbo AND have her smiling brothers waving! I figure she has watched them at baseball football soccer and Basketball so they can WAIT 5 minutes to Please HER!! So we all watch and wave and then boom...DH and DS's run off to Space Mountain. Then they come back in time to jump in line for Winnie the Pooh...DD wants her big brothers with her. After an hour or so. Everyone is pretty happy. The parks are pretty overwhelming to DD (so big so much to do) so she will be happy to sit in a stroller (ABSOLUTE MUST!) and watch them for awhile. Kid Swap is great. DD gets to see all the preride shows then sit out the ride while DS's get to ride twice...once with Dad then again with Mom. Generally the boys are thrilled enough to get two rides for one wait that they'll willingly ride Peter Pan or Small World.

Mostly talk to all of your children tell them what you expect, what you will allow and where the line is. Then watch for those moments that will knock you over and remind you in the first place why you have a family and what disney magic can really do!

Have a wonderful time. We leave in 4 weeks so I'll let you know if all that works again this time!!

 

[wisconsinmousermom]

Just wanted to say thank you....thank you!!! ALL of you have given me some wonderful advice!!

Pienut, your discriptions of your kids sound soooo much like mine!! Sara's big brothers, especially my 14 year olds enthusiasim in seeing her little sister thrilled I'm sure will carry through at Disney. He is so protective of her, much like a second father. When I read your statement about your kids watching the parade with your dd's head resting on her brothers shoulder, it brought tears to my eyes. My husband and I just can't wait to share Disney with our kids! I'm sure that whatever we decide the best touring plan to be, we will all enjoy ourselves to the max!!

Thanks again EVERYONE, I just love these boards!!

64 Days Till The Magic Begins!!

 

[Pienut]

Dear Wisconsinmousermom! I have to say I read your reply with my older son and we both laughed. Is your daughters name Sara? Mine is Sarah too! I consciously left it out so I was smiling when I saw it!

My boys are Ryan and Colin...are we close again?

Ryan (older boy) loved Rock n Roller Coaster!

Have you gone before? Is this the first trip?

 

[OHIO VIKING]

we have the same situation ,3 boys 17, 9 and 6years. The last time we went they were 14, 6, and 3 and we have found that we enjoy touring together but counted on our oldest getting his fill of thrill rides at e night and at EE(at MGM) with my husband. I brought the little ones along later or took them back to the resort for an earlier bedtime. This was great for some guy time with dad also. This time we are hoping that the courage factor will be high enough to enjoy all of the rides together but if not we know that this worked rather well.

 

[wisconsinmousermom]

Originally posted by Pienut
Dear Wisconsinmousermom! I have to say I read your reply with my older son and we both laughed. Is your daughters name Sara? Mine is Sarah too! I consciously left it out so I was smiling when I saw it!

My boys are Ryan and Colin...are we close again?

Ryan (older boy) loved Rock n Roller Coaster!

Have you gone before? Is this the first trip?

OMGosh!! LOL Well we have a Alex and a Patrick. But my son Alex's bestfriend since he was 3 is named Ryan!

I've been twice, my husband once on our honeymoon, but it will be the kids first time.

 

[Pienut]

Wisonsinmousermom,

What a riot the names are. Ryans middle name is Patrick!

When are you guys going and where are you planning to stay?

We made two trips close together a year or so ago for two reasons. 1) I had unused hopper days 2) I found cheap airfare and 3) I knew I could do it better the second time.

From the first to second trip here is what I learned.

For Disney MK- ARRIVE AT OPENING or Take Advantage of Early Opening if staying at a Disney Property. My daughter was so overwhelmed by the whole thing that she didn't want to do ANYTHING till we were ready to leave! She enjoyed herself but really came alive about an hour before the park closed on our last day??? I had a lot of luck leaving a long line and just checking back periodically. If you go by a ride with no line...JUMP on then find a CM and ask whats up. We got on Alien Encounter and Space Mountain with no waits that way. Have your heard of the Dumbo run at Rope Drop??

We ALL loved EPCOT. Even my youngest just loved the place. Its so spread out and there is so much to see. The 3-d shows totally freaked her out. You can leave those shows quickly if you want.

MGM is good for mostly shows for the younger group, unless they are adventurous (by then my daughter had gotten caught on too many rides that scared her so she wasn't going in ANYTHING willingly!) but she LOVED the Movie Ride and the Back Lot tour and any show...

Animal Kingdom, is totally incredible and differnt. She loved that one! The shows are great, there are some play areas the CM's are wonderful. She HATED the Bug show and wouldn't go near the Dinosaur Ride...

We discovered Pin Trading on our first trip ...what a blast. That was something Sarah and her brothers did together. The boys had more an eye for a pin that she might NOT want to trade for or get rid of. We mostly traded with CM's that had wonderful stories to tell. We spent the whole trip looking for a dumbo pin. All of us! When she finally got it she was ecstatic...till she later traded it for Cinderella then Snow White...then eventually ended up with the same type of pin she traded away originally???!!!

Character Meals were GREAT...she LOVED them! Riding in front on the Monorail! Getting signatures on her hat (we didn't get an autograph book). Getting candy in the shops at MK all were her highlights.

Boy I could go on and on here...but I'll stop...for now!

 

[wisconsinmousermom]

Pienut,

I can not believe Ryan's middle name is Patrick!! LOL

Oh by the way Sara's "boyfriend" at preschool is Collin! LOL

We fly out of Milwaukee on Wednesday April 30. We are staying at the Polynesian. We will be returning home on Wednesday May 7. We started out by booking offsite, but then the more I read I wanted to stay at a Disney Resort. So I booked at the POR because I could get 5 in a room with the trundle bed. Then when the AXA code came out my husband said go for it lets stay at the Poly!! I've booked a garden view, but now after we've read more we are really thinking we'd like to have a lagoon view. LOL we have to quit reading!! LOL

Pin trading sounds like a blast!! I'm sure the kids will love it!

Sara loves to ride wild rides, but I'm sure some of the shows will scare the pants off of her! She always tries to be so brave, because she always wants the boys to include her, but more often than not she chickens out at the end.

Thanks so much for all your wonderful advice, I've copied and pasted all of your posts so that I can refer to them as I'm making our touring plans.

My next big hurdle is trying to get ressie's for Cindy's for 5/1/03.
Sara LOVES Cinderella, her room and wardrobe reflect that! LOL

Alex and Pat downloaded the Disney Time Keeper on our computer last night so that they can count down the days, hours, seconds till we arrive!!

It's so exciting!!

When do you leave and where are you staying?

Will try to send you a PM and give you my email.

Thanks again!