Planning a Disney Trip Quickly with Two Young Kids

[Mcterry]

Hi! I'm new to posting but have been reading the past couple of days. We had planned on taking our kids to Disney World in the Fall of 2014 as when we did our research parts of fall were some of the cheaper times to go. We came across the Spring Vacation offer yesterday and now we are seriously considering going in the beginning of April! However, I have a few questions.
If we booked tomorrow, what do you think our chances of getting a character meal are? We are looking to be in the Park Monday April 7th-Friday April 11th. For that matter, what are our chances of getting dining reservations period?
Also, what are your thoughts on the meal plan? We have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. We are trying to decide if it's worth it or not. We will most likely be staying at the Polynesian while we are there.
Will it be warm enough to swim? Are the pools open in April? The middle/end of April is also an option but the beginning works better.
Any pros and cons with trying to plan a month or so out? I'm not super concerned about riding everything as my kids are too small for most of the bigger rides (neither will be 40" when we go). We are also driving, not flying if that makes a difference. Any other advice? We have been to Disney before but it's been a few years and never without extended family. Thanks!

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

You can try to make reservations for dinner before you make your hotel reservations and see if anything is available. It will be hard to get but not impossible. April is busy due to spring break. Most schools are off different times in April.

Also we usually go February every year and it was always hot enough to swim - so it will definitely be hot enough in April. All pools are open.

I have been reading a lot about the Polynesian being under construction. Also about the monorail being down during most of the day. That would be a deal breaker for me if I was staying at a monorail hotel. Then you have to take a bus everywhere. Look into those items. If so then I would wait until Fall.

I would wait until Fall since April is such a busy time.

Enjoy!

 

[monique5]

Any time at Disney is great! With that being said, you have to be mentally prepared for the time you go. April is Spring break for a lot of schools. Also, Easter is in April this year.

There are several things you should consider before going to Disney...
1. When to go & how long. Traveling with 2 small kids, I think the fall will be best. Also, consider this is your 1st time. Any time can be enjoyable if you can go with the flow, if not allow yourself more time to plan.

2. Resorts & pools: transportation & distance/travel time to each park. As OP stated, Poly under construction until 2015 & certain monorails down during the day. For pools just search resort & click on amenities & photos generally provided. Also, check for kiddie pools & play areas. http://www.themouseforless.com/tripplanning/wdwparks/rehab-close.shtml
http://**************.net/2014/01/27/update-on-disney-world-monorail-closures/

3. Type of tickets, how many days. With small kids I would not do the Park Hopper or the Water Parks. Also, Disney now offers 3 FP+ for on-site guests. So parties traveling in April could start making selections/ reserving dates & time in February.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/my-disney-experience/fastpass-plus/

4. Dining: Reservations, Character Meals, Dining Plans
You can check availability without having reservations. You need to consider that dining reservations can be made 180D prior to arrival date, so most reservations were booked back in October. The days & times you want may not be available. You can check availability up until one day before. This may be to stressful & requires patience. This might not be how you want to plan your first family trip. Which characters are at which restaurants.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/
http://www.allears.net/din/cb.htm/cbchar.htm

5. Attractions, Fireworks & Parades
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/
http://allears.net/tp/mk/mk.htm
http://allears.net/tp/mgm/mgm.htm
http://allears.net/tp/ak/ak.htm
http://allears.net/tp/ep/ep.htm

Please let me know if you have any other questions. Btw- you can start booking ADRs this month if traveling in September & FP+ reservations in July. Weather would still be warm enough for swimming.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Go online and check out the available adrs, I do this sometimes if we have a range of dates we are looking at for a trip.

 

[Mcterry]

Thanks for all the info! I looked into a few things that you all recommended. It looks like we could get some dining, even character meals depending on what times we are willing to go. We aren't super picky about where we eat but do want a character meal.
I am reading mixed reviews about April. Some sites are predicting it to be very crowded, others are saying that the week we want to go should be relatively mild because Easter is so much later this year. Also, does it make a difference that our kids aren't big enough to ride the "most popular" rides at Disney typically? Also, this won't be our kids only trip to Disney, but we probably won't go again until they can ride the big stuff. What is this Fast Pass +? They had fast passes last time I was at DW, but not this new stuff!
I looked up the construction stuff, and we aren't super concerned about it as long as the monorail is running. It's supposed to open back up at the end of March so we should be ok there. We are getting the cheapest room available and wouldn't have much of a view anyways! We are still trying to decide but April fits our life much better. If anyone else has things to add, please do!

 

[monique5]

Traveling in April will have to be a personal choice. It's still considered spring break and schools vary between March & April. The storms this year have changed school holidays, last school day, etc. So people travel times may change, this would not show up on crowd predictions. I went last year, February. Crowd levels to be at lowest. But New Fantasyland, Be our Guest, AoA S/P/D specials, Super Bowl added parade at last minute all changed the crowd levels. Our 1st night was shoulder to shoulder in New Fantasyland, but my trip was well planned & for 8 days. Crowds didn't bother us, we were able to relax & avoid crowds by having 2 TS meals a day at the times I wanted. We roll with the flow, & had just a 5 yo. My point, if well planned, or planned to do family must do's then ok.

FastPass+: 3 rides per day per one park. You select the times.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/fastpass.htm

Attractions: The most popular attractions do not always require 44". Check out this site. For instance, your kids could do Dumbo, TSM & Kilimanjaro Safari. These are popular rides.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/height.htm

Also, based on last post seems you are set to go in April. If so, only you will know what's best. Just be prepared. Pixie dust that you get the FP+ times you want. My motto, any time at Disney is a GREAT time!

 

[lovetogowdw]

I get the idea of the Poly and monorail line, but I've found that my kids prefer the Art of Animation resort. If you are wanting to do hotel pool time, then the splash park area and the zero entry pool with jellyfish sprinklers at the Nemo pool area at AofA are hands down the toddlers pick of Disney resort pool areas. The hotel is not nearly as plush for the adults, but from a child's perspective AofA is "to die for" fun. And you just walk across the bridge to see Pop Century, with several much larger than life statues.

I like both April and fall for visits with kids. From the adult perspective, each also have great experiences at Epcot (Flower and Garden Festival in spring and Food and Wine Festival in fall), but my kids loved the F&GF last year. They had a couple of playground areas and fun spots for kids plus Tinkerbell's Butterfly Garden.

Since your children are so young, then it won't be all about the rides anyway, so I'm not sure it even matters if the parks are "crowded" in that sense. I've never ever found a line at the children's playgrounds/play spots - just do your research to find them! My first few trips I missed the little kid play spot at the end of Mission Space ride (go in through the gift shop/exit and turn right), the tot play spot between Thunder and Splash Mountains by the train station, etc.

And rides like the boat ride in Mexico building in Epcot rarely have long lines even when the park is packed -- so go when YOU want to go, as there is plenty for young ones to enjoy without lines.