Please Provide Feedback: First trip with twin 4 year old girls.

[Lucius Best]

This may be a dumb question but when I book my fast passes (starting tomorrow), do I book each one for the entire family at once or is it an individual process?

mesaboy2's FP+ guide has answers to just about every FP+ question you can come up with:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/fa...ed-priorities-and-strategies-part-ii.3326057/

Basically, you will select 3 rides for your entire family. Then Disney will provide 4 options, some will have return times early in the day, most will be later, and chances are none will be close to what you want. Select one of the options. Then you can go back later and modify the rides individually to get it the way you want.

Note that the one-hour FP windows cannot overlap. The strategy we used (we wanted FPs early in the day) was to select an option with late FP times, then it was easier to move them to the morning (changing the most popular/important ride first).

 

[gwek]

Book for the entire family at once. Make sure everything is set up today so you can start immediately at midnight without any surprises (ie, are all family members in; does everyone have a ticket, etc).

I've only skipped some of this, so I may be repeating what others have said:

1) If you CAN Fastpass Elsa and Anna, do it. Seriously. You'll still have to wait a little bit, but the lines are insane otherwise.

2) If you CAN'T Fastpass Elsa and Anna, you'll want to hit it first or not at all, but remember that probably about 1-in-3 people at Rope Drop is also headed there. Also, Elsa and Anna don't arrive until 8:30 or so, so even if you're first in line, you'll be losing valuable time.

3) Depending on the make-up of your party, consider having one adult wait in line while the other(s?) take the kids to rids that can accommodate 3, like Peter Pan and Small World. That way, you can knock out a few rides rather than losing much of the valuable first hour.

I don't know if things have changed, but when we were there in November, only one person needed to be on line to "hold the spot," but obviously, you couldn't get in until everyone was there. I had my whole family there, but the guy in front us us was holding a spot for his family -- which hadn't left the hotel yet! When we got to the "inner hall" with the princess paintings, he just pulled over to the side and let everyone past.

If anyone has more recent intel that this won't work anymore, please sound off. I don't want to steer the OP in the wrong direction.

Beyond E&A, you'll want to blitz as much of Fantasy Land as possible before the park crowds up. In particular, Seven Dwarves, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, and Ariel's Grotto (for signature) fill up quickly. The lines will only get longer throughout the day.

One thing to consider: Both Winnie the Pooh and Dumbo have fun stuff for the kids to do while waiting, so even if they get a little longer, it's not terrible (for the kids at least!). My daughter was upset when we Fastpassed WtP last year!

Good luck and have fun! (That last part is the most important thing to remember when planning!)

 

[gwek]

A few more thoughts: Pete's Silly Sideshow has two different lines, so you wait to meet Minnie & Daisy, then wait to meet Donald and Goofy (or the other way around). Each line will probably be 15-20 minutes. Consider if it's worth all that standing for some signatures.

While you're in Frontier Land, you may want to consider Country Bear Jamboree, especially if the kids could use some sit-down and cool-off time. You should be able to pretty much walk in.

If you have to pick between a FP for the Ariel ride or the Ariel signature, I would go for the signature. In my experience (and maybe it changes month by month), the signature is always the longer line. I don't think we ever had a wait of more than 10 minutes for the ride, and I think we've been on it 8 times in the past 2 years. The walk in is really long, and we found that the actual line was very rarely backed up.

If you're hitting Splash Mountain early, remember that you might get VERY wet and pack accordingly. In fact, consider your children's temperament in putting two thrill rides (one of them a wet one) at the beginning of the day...

If you haven't already, download a line-tracking app onto your phone. There are a lot of good ones out there. My preference is for WDW Maps, which is free, so people are more likely to use it. For my past two trips, I've found it to be pretty accurate (and much better to use than Disney's own).

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

I noticed in your original plan you skipped Winnie the Pooh and It's a Small World. Those were my daughter's favorite rides at age 4. If you decide to do two days, you won't have any problem hitting all of the things on your list plus Cinderella and Rapunzel, Dumbo, Pooh, and Small World. If you ultimately decide to do only one day, I would eliminate Magic Carpets of Aladdin. It is so much like rides you can find anywhere else.

We tend to like knocking out Fantasyland first and then doing Adventureland and Frontierland in the evening. It saves us a lot of walking. Going back and forth between Fantasyland and Adventureland can be a lot of walking for four year olds (and for their parents). Will you have a stroller? You could probably do most everything in Fantasyland before your BOG lunch reservation, using one FP for Anna and Elsa in the morning. Then, save your other two FPs for BTMR and SM when you return in the evening. Of course, that does limit the possibility of a 4th FP or 5th FP. Another option would be to use FP for A&E, Peter Pan, and SDMT in the morning, then get 4th FP for Splash Mountain and BTMR in the late afternoon/evening.

You also have not listed Talking Mickey. That might be neat for your little girls.

I think four is a fabulous age for Disney. You will have such a great time!

 

[eyehartdisney]

Thanks. great suggestions. I am going to remove belle's FP so we can go through the cottage. Do you actually get to meet belle at all or just see her as part of the attraction?

It's an audience participation story. If you can, have your kids be LOUD, and EXCITED. (Especially practice roaring!) They might get picked to be the beast, and dance with belle. Even if they aren't chosen for a specific part, have them volunteer as one of the extras, after the show is done, they get to get a short meet and greet with belle, and a picture.

 

[DisneyWisher]

I didn't read whole thread but here is my suggestion. I live an hour from Disney and we go last minute. We went last Thursday,I booked FPs that Tuesday, there were only 2 of us (well 3 but a child under 2) but I was able to get Ana and Elsa and 7DMT. It is important to book these 1 person at a time. At first I didn't get the same time (couple hours apart) but kept checking and moving times. I was able to get them with 30-45 min windows (where the times overlap) if there are FPs available (example of 1:00-2:00 and 1:30-2:30) it will not show if trying to do 2 people at a time. Also my daughter did the Wishes FP you can see celebrate the magic in same area but she said this time was horrible. Everyone was standing she was toward the front but outside the FP area people stopped and stood in front of her (usually CMs make them move along) we'd probably never do it again. We'd take the time and enjoy rides in Tomorrowland or Adventureland.
I'd book Peter Pan, 7DMT and Ana and Elsa. Even day of there was lots of availability for Belle...good luck

 

[Mainemama]

This may be a dumb question but when I book my fast passes (starting tomorrow), do I book each one for the entire family at once or is it an individual process?

You can book the whole family at once. If you want anyone's to be different, you can select that person and change times easily once everyone is booked. I usually look up movie schedules @ buildabettermousetrip.com. They only list for the current month, however. Have a fantastic trip!

 

[caspersf]

Definately drop the enchanted belle's FP, you miss seeing the cottage if you FP it. Get an elsa and anna FP instead... and I'm thinking you're going to have to meet cinderella and rapunzel as well (They're in the same building as the frozen girls, but in a different line.) They might also enjoy space ranger spin, if the other 4th fps aren't available.

Thanks. What are the best rides to actually go through the lines instead of FP where you miss great ride queues?

 

[GWhitten98]

If possible to increase to a 2 day ticket and spend even 3 or 4 hours in the park the first day, I think you would see a good return on the investment in the extra day. Also, I would highly suggest trying to get your girls to hold out on there nap for an hour or so and stay for the FOF parade. My girls still talk about all the princess floats. I would suggest trying to catch it as close to the start of the parade(frontier land) as possible then you can immediately follow the parade and make your way out of the park. Last I would not keep them up late to watch fireworks the first night if you want to make an 8am rope drop and be close enough to the front of the line to A&E without a FP. Plus you are going to see them from the park the next night.

 

[caspersf]

I noticed in your original plan you skipped Winnie the Pooh and It's a Small World. Those were my daughter's favorite rides at age 4. If you decide to do two days, you won't have any problem hitting all of the things on your list plus Cinderella and Rapunzel, Dumbo, Pooh, and Small World. If you ultimately decide to do only one day, I would eliminate Magic Carpets of Aladdin. It is so much like rides you can find anywhere else.

We tend to like knocking out Fantasyland first and then doing Adventureland and Frontierland in the evening. It saves us a lot of walking. Going back and forth between Fantasyland and Adventureland can be a lot of walking for four year olds (and for their parents). Will you have a stroller? You could probably do most everything in Fantasyland before your BOG lunch reservation, using one FP for Anna and Elsa in the morning. Then, save your other two FPs for BTMR and SM when you return in the evening. Of course, that does limit the possibility of a 4th FP or 5th FP. Another option would be to use FP for A&E, Peter Pan, and SDMT in the morning, then get 4th FP for Splash Mountain and BTMR in the late afternoon/evening.

You also have not listed Talking Mickey. That might be neat for your little girls.

I think four is a fabulous age for Disney. You will have such a great time!

Thanks. Excuse my ignorance but what is Talking Mickey?

 

[eyehartdisney]

Thanks. What are the best rides to actually go through the lines instead of FP where you miss great ride queues?

Peter Pan, most definitely. At this point I think the wait line is cooler than the actual ride. I wouldn't say it's better but you could easily wait in the Pooh line, there is a cute little play area there, while the parents wait in line. Ditto for Dumbo. 7DMT has a cute interactive element, but the lines are insane right now, for a kiddie coaster. I'd still FP it.

 

[ejgonz2]

If you're only going to be at WDW for one day, why take a long midday break. My dd was four last year and she did fine without naps most days.

 

[lroger01]

I like the idea of you going the day before for a few hours. Since you won't be part of the morning rush, you'll be able to take your time gawking at the castle and taking pictures.

If you can swing an earlier nap for the kids maybe you can time arrival for the 3pm parade. It ends right where you enter, so even getting to the park at 3 means you'll see it. And it will be a wonderful introduction to the park.

I agree with others that suggest you skip the fireworks that day though. Go for your 3 FP+ and otherwise enjoy being at the park. If you get there at 3 and leave around 7, you'll still have time to swim and see the movie at the hotel.

Whatever you do, the goal is to have a good time. As long as you're doing that, don't worry too much about where the fun is happening, or if you checked it all off the list.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

Thanks. Excuse my ignorance but what is Talking Mickey?

There is a Mickey Mouse meet and greet at Town Square Theater (right at the front of Magic Kingdom) where Mickey actually talks and interacts with guests. I have never done it, but a quick google search brings up some great reviews of this experience. We have a fastpass for it for our upcoming trip in July. I would not FP it if I only had one or two days in the MK (we just got annual passes, so we will be there several days), but I think it could be a special experience for two little girls.

 

[caspersf]

Random Questions:

1. Are the princesses there right at opening (i.e., if the park opens at 9am and you get in line for Rap/Cind, do you go right up or just wait in a line for 30 minutes before they actually show up)?
2. How long before the park opens do the boats run from WL?
3. Since I am going to the park before I can check in to my hotel, will they hold my bags and then assign my room while I am in the park so when I come back for the girls nap, I can go straight to my room?
4. Is it faster to walk from Fantasyland to Frontierland or take the train?
5. What are the best carts to get food from? We have a couple of dining reservations, but for the other meals we just want to grab and go.