Need Lots Of Help!

[catelynsmom]

I don't have a lot of time to browse all of the post here, so I am looking for quick help. What are the best things in the parks (shows, rides, etc) when you have lots of kids? We have never stayed on property, I haven't been in over 10 years, and the rest of our party HAS NEVER BEEN TO DISNEY, 4 adults, 1girl-4,3boys-8, 4, 2. We are going 8/30-9/5. Staying at ASSP (they all play baseball).
Thanks in advance!
Samantha

 

[Mersmom98]

This probably isn't a HUGE help but I'll try...First thing is you need to figure out what the kids are interested in. It sounds like (according to their ages)that in the MK that Fantasyland rides are a no-brainer and you will probably all want to see Mickey's Philharmagic which is an indoor 3-D show. Are they going to want autographs? If so, you need to make sure that you have scheduled plenty of time to allow for the long lines. My best suggestion for a lot of kids that want autographs is to get ADR's for character meals and get a bunch of them at one time. I hope that you are able to get some time to search the boards for some suggestions before you go. There is a lot of great advice here! Have fun!!!!

 

[MJMcBride]

Here are a quick run down of my faves in each park and/or the thing I think you need to do. I don't know how much time for each you got but....

MK: Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Peter Pan's Flight, Mickey's Phillarmagic, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger, the afternoon parade

Epcot: Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Living Seas, Soarin', Maelstrom, and strolling thru World Showcase, Wonders of China, American Adventure

MGM: Star Tours, Muppetvision, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Tower of Terror, Great Movie Ride, Fantasmic

DAK: Kilimajaroo Safari, Expedition Everest, Festival of the Lion King, Flights of Wonder, Its Tough to Be a Bug, Dinosaur, and the animal exhibits in Africa and Asia

Thats my opinion of the "must sees" for each park. Obviously there are million things I didn't include and/or forgot to include. I would suggest you get a guide book like the Unofficial Guide or the Passporter to just review to see if there is anything in there you guys might like since everyone likes different things.

 

[jcriket]

I would get a parks guide from the bookstore, or the library, The unofficial guide in my opinion is the best, it will tell you every ride's discription, reader's polls etc.. then you have a really good idea of what each park has incl. dining. Hard to say what you should do everyone has diffrent opinions. MGM does have a lot for boys as far as shows, car show, stunt show, power rangers, buzz, and woody hang out there. My advice do as much as possible, and the crowds may have tapered off so it might not be to hard to do.

 

[goofy4tink]

Hi Samantha and welcome to the DIS boards. The first thing I would suggest is getting a really good guide book....a lot has changed in the past 10 years!!! The 8 y/o boy may have very different tastes as far as attractions go, than the rest of the kids. But, I'll give you my personal favorites (and my dd's faves, she started going at the age of 6).
MK....Dumbo, Winnie-the-Pooh, Philharmagic, Peter's Pan Flight, IASW, ToonTown, BuzzLightyear, Jungle Cruise, Liberty Belle, Aladdins Flying Carpet..now if the kids are daring they can try Splash, Big Thunder and Haunted Mansion.
Epcot...Universe of Energy, the different pavillion areas with the hand's on experiences, SpaceShip Earth. Soarin', Test Track and M:S may be too intense for the younger ones. World Showcase is fun but can be boring for little tykes. Try doing the Kidcot stops. IllumiNations is wonderful but loud!!! Honey I Shrunk the Kids 3-D show is fun.
MGM...Little Mermaid, StarTours, Great Movie Ride, Backlot Tour, Indiana Jones. There is a Beauty and the Beast live show that is really nice. The Muppets 3-D is good. And Fantasmic! after dark but can be intense for the littlest ones.
AK....Tough to be a Bug is cute but can be overwhelming for youngsters, safari is good for the kids, Rafiki's Planet watch, Lion King Show is NOT to be missed, and the walking trails can be interesting.

I'm sure I've forgotten some, but those are our highlights, at least the ones for the younger set. There are height restrictions in place for a reason...it's not based on age but in the way the restraints work so don't try to 'fudge' the kids' heights.
Any others I may have forgotten guys??
I second the idea of character meals if you can fit them in. I hate waiting in long lines for those characters in the parks. But, getting them done while you eat is a god-send.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Wow! you are going to have so much fun. I agree to getting a guide book. Go to the library and borrow a few. You can skim through them and then pick 1 or 2 to read thoroughly. Read them with the kids so they can give opinions about what they want to see and do. It really is easier to make some plans if you know what your options are. You might want to split up your group if there are different interests.

Here are a few of my favs:

MK-- everything in Fantasyland, Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, the night parade and Wishes.

Epcot-- Turtle Talk with Crush, Soarin', Test Track

MGM-- Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Star Tours, Fantasmic, Beauty and the Beast

AK-- Kilamjaro Safari, Kali River Rapids, all the live shows, It's tough to Be a bug


Some of the above might be to intense for your youngest ones.