Need help, advise...etc.

[Abuleta]

Ive been saving since my grand daughter was born to take her to Disney. She is 4 now. My husband and I took our kids several times when they were growing up and it was magical. Yes it was a bit expensive but completely doable for our family. Now as i read more and more about the changes at WDW i am hesitant to contemplate a trip that will cost an astronomical amount of money for an experience that is not going to be anywhere near the experiences we had. I know inflation raises prices but im reading over and over about poor customer service, price gouging, lackluster onsite hotel reviews,charges for things that were once complimentary ( hotel parking, transportation to WDW from the airport, package delivery to resorts) . Then on top of this i learned fast passes are no more and are replaced with genie plus which is an extra charge in addition to very very expensive tickets. I have also read many stories of peoples dissatisfaction with genie plus because they feel they are on their phone all day trying to navigate it. ....i guess my question is to those that have taken little ones lately on a multy day trip. Would you recommend just a 1 day visit to the Magic Kingdom so my grandbaby can see the princesses? If you had it to do over again would you spend your vacation dollars elsewhere, perhaps Universal or a Florida beach, and just do one park day for your princess loving child? Thank you for any input.

 

[Nickylv]

Since COVID everything has changed. Yes its more expensive and yes they are trying to recoup some of their lost revenue since they had to shut down in every way they can. My wife and I have been back to WDW twice this year alone and had a great time. We had nothing but the best experience with the parks, Disney hotels and cast members. Now that being said it depends on when you go, there are very busy times, like when schools are out. Peak times you will do much less because of the crowd. One day at the parks is probably not enough but thats up to you. In May we took our 1 1/2 year old great grandson to Disneyland (we live in Las Vegas so that is just a 4 hour drive) and he had the time of his life. Almost three months later he is still talking about Mickey. We booked a 4 day trip back to Disneyland for his 2 year old birthday In September for him and his mom and dad. I just think you have to know its expensive and its a little different than 20 years ago but its still the best place for kids and adults to just have a great time. Good luck in your choice and let us know what you decide.

 

[loves to dive]

You can't miss what you have never had. Your grand daughter has never been there and trust me, for a 4 year old it is going to be magical even if she doesn't ride a single ride. Yes, it's changed and yes it's more expensive but hasn't changed and what isn't expensive. I've been 4 times since the parks have re-opened and will be taking my fifth trip in August. I've been going since 1982 and I still love it.

Price example: Hubby and I went to a seafood restaurant last night. Nothing fancy, plenty of people in shorts and t-shirts, we live in a small college town in north Georgia (go Dawgs). We both had an appetizer - he had fried shrimp I had feta cheese and toast, we both had an entre - he had crab legs and fried potatoes (I think there were 6 legs) and I had a blackened halibut, I had a glass of wine, he had 3 Coors Light, we both had a dessert and cup of coffee. The bill after tip was $200. The same restaurant in the before times, we had similar meals except he had oysters, it was a little over $100.

 

[Anna131517]

Go during the traditional slow season (Jan or Feb). It wasn’t slow last year but maybe it will get back to normal in ‘23 or ‘24. At the very least you won’t be roasting and she’ll still be young enough to love princesses. Yes, she’ll love even one day.

 

[nursejackie]

With a four year old you won't have to worry about queuing for all the big rides, and going on them back to back. She will be entertained by being in the parks, the sights, the characters, shops, shows etc. It was a lot easier going with a youngster, I go next week with a 14 year old. It's back to back attractions for me, no character interaction (not cool), no sing-a-long shows (definitely not cool)

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Personally, I would do 1 day at MK and then take a Disney cruise. There is plenty of fun for a 4 year old and grandparents will have some relax time too.

 

[Darcy03231]

So I'll preface this by saying that my last trip was in 2017 and it was a couple of days tacked on at the end of a cruise so DH could see Pandora. Until I have grandchildren, Disney will no longer be a primary vacation destination for us. For me, the cost is just not worth it.

In your case I would go and take the 4 year old. Try to plan for a slower time of year. If you can stand the heat, the last week of August through September tends to be slower, along with the first couple of weeks of December, January (not around MLK weekend) and the first two weeks of February. From mid-February through the end of April are school vacation weeks, which tend to be busier. I've also had low to moderate crowds during the month of May.

If all you want to see is Magic Kingdom, I would plan at least two days there. My plan when my grandchildren are about that age is to go for a week and see/do what we can. If lines are long we'll skip them and come back to them later. There's plenty to see/do for a first trip that I wouldn't worry about trying to navigate Genie. If there's a must do ride that has a Lightning Lane I would do it for one ride.

While it won't be the WDW you remember, she won't know the difference and I'm sure you'll have a good time seeing it through her eyes.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Ive been saving since my grand daughter was born to take her to Disney. She is 4 now. My husband and I took our kids several times when they were growing up and it was magical. Yes it was a bit expensive but completely doable for our family. Now as i read more and more about the changes at WDW i am hesitant to contemplate a trip that will cost an astronomical amount of money for an experience that is not going to be anywhere near the experiences we had. I know inflation raises prices but im reading over and over about poor customer service, price gouging, lackluster onsite hotel reviews,charges for things that were once complimentary ( hotel parking, transportation to WDW from the airport, package delivery to resorts) . Then on top of this i learned fast passes are no more and are replaced with genie plus which is an extra charge in addition to very very expensive tickets. I have also read many stories of peoples dissatisfaction with genie plus because they feel they are on their phone all day trying to navigate it. ....i guess my question is to those that have taken little ones lately on a multy day trip. Would you recommend just a 1 day visit to the Magic Kingdom so my grandbaby can see the princesses? If you had it to do over again would you spend your vacation dollars elsewhere, perhaps Universal or a Florida beach, and just do one park day for your princess loving child? Thank you for any input.

So I am pretty much a life long disney goer from FL and now an adult that's been taking our kids regularly since they were little and they're now 14 & 15 so I'm pretty well indoctrinated. However, all that to say, I do think Disney has been cash grabbing for a while now and not just post Covid. All that to say, we're not millionaires so we do budget for our trips. I do think some costs have gotten to be a bit much but, at the end of the day, it's my decision as a consumer what we'll do/pay for when we go. We love going and have such a great time as a family, we prioritize our visits.

We are not super frugal on our vacations but we also don't YOLO either. We do not stay in the most expensive deluxes, and if we do stay deluxe, it's after a big discount. We never pay rack rate for any room at WDW, we don't eat TS for every meal and some trips, we have only done QS. We will pay for G+ for MK and DHS but not Epcot or AK.

For a trip with a 4 year old, if they love princesses, I think MK would be a better choice than Universal. I just think it's better suited for young kids. Not sure how long you're planning your trip for but when our girls were little, even around 5/6ish, we didn't do more than 2/3 park days any given trip. I think no matter what you decide to do, any 4 yr old would have a blast at any theme park. Also, at her age, you could stay at POP Century and have a great room, on the skyliner line with over the top theming that she'd love.