Something special to do as a whole family?

[Surgie2]

Of course going to WDW is very special but I'm thinking ahead to our May 2018 family trip (6 adults, 3 preschoolers, one infant 13 mo.) When we go on vacation we try to do one extra special whole group activity. Wondering what to consider at WDW? We are planning to stay at the POLY. I've read a little bit about reserving a private Wishes cruise on a pontoon boat but haven't found cost. Any info or other ideas?

 

[Nancyg56]

When we stay at the Poly and are traveling as an extended family, I have booked the Spirit of Aloha. I know that it is cheesy, but I think it is a fun way to celebrate the Poly and family. My family loves going together to this dinner show.

You could go to Cirque du Solei.

 

[Surgie2]

I hadn't thought about Cirque. We are trying to be without cars but can't do Uber due to no car seats for the kids. IS there a bus from TTC to Disney Springs?

 

[CatPack]

Bus do run to Disney Springs (where Cirque is) starting at 4.

 

[babygrl]

Spend some time on the Boardwalk.

 

[DrunkJam]

We liked the pirates and pals cruise we did. For the fact that it was something different, and the kids loved it, and it's a different way to see the fireworks.

 

[Aliceacc]

We loved the Pirates and Pals cruise.

 

[Surgie2]

We loved the Pirates and Pals cruise.

Is it scary for 4-5 year olds? And is it on a large boat with a lot of people? I couldn't find anything about it on the Disney site except the cost.

 

[DrunkJam]

Is it scary for 4-5 year olds? And is it on a large boat with a lot of people? I couldn't find anything about it on the Disney site except the cost.

DS was 5. He really enjoyed it. It has hook and smee in the opening bit (where you collect your snacks and drinks, sodas, chips, popcorn, cotton candy and cookies) and they have very kid friendly villain banter.
Then the CM that does the cruise (it's not massively busy, they split our group into two boats so it was not crowded) does some jokes and a quiz, (there were pirate prizes when we were there) and some info about the EWP which you watch, then you watch the fireworks, and then back, where you meet Peter Pan.
At least., that's how it was for us.

 

[Aliceacc]

DS was 5. He really enjoyed it. It has hook and smee in the opening bit (where you collect your snacks and drinks, sodas, chips, popcorn, cotton candy and cookies) and they have very kid friendly villain banter.
Then the CM that does the cruise (it's not massively busy, they split our group into two boats so it was not crowded) does some jokes and a quiz, (there were pirate prizes when we were there) and some info about the EWP which you watch, then you watch the fireworks, and then back, where you meet Peter Pan.
At least., that's how it was for us.

Exactly.

And each family is assigned its own row (or, for my family of 5, both halves of a row) on the boat-- there are probably 15 double rows total? It's a fairly small boat-- no bathroom or anything, just those 15 or so double rows of seats. Nothing remotely scary. If your kids are old enough to stay awake for fireworks, I imagine they would love it.

 

[Surgie2]

Ok great, that sounds really fun.

 

[Julylady]

I would recommend doing the Hoop De Doo musical revue. The humor seems to appeal to all ages and the food is good old comfort food. We went for the first time with kids ages 4-13 and they loved it. We repeated the trip 8 years later with some of the original group and some new people and it was the one thing on everyone's list as not to miss.

 

[imthemamahere]

We also did the Pirates & Pals Fireworks Cruise a few years ago.

It was cute, silly fun. Like others said before, it's not a big crowd, and it's a fun way to see the fireworks. Granted, it's from a distance, a very different experience from watching on Main Street USA. But you can see everything clearly, the music is piped in on the boat, and from what we could tell, everyone around us had a good time.

We liked it enough to do it all over again when we go in a few months!

 

[Surgie2]

Great, thanks. We may try the pirates cruise. Our little ones might not be able to stay up and see them from the MK up close so this may be a good alternative.

 

[Tasmen]

I would recommend doing the Hoop De Doo musical revue. The humor seems to appeal to all ages and the food is good old comfort food. We went for the first time with kids ages 4-13 and they loved it. We repeated the trip 8 years later with some of the original group and some new people and it was the one thing on everyone's list as not to miss.

I was also going to recommend this. We did this for our 'family' fun event last trip and it was a blast. DD had an awesome time.

 

[Surgie2]

Great, I'll look into Hoop De Doo. Hard to project what our little ones will like 18 months from now but we'll know when we're closer.

 

[Baklava]

We did HDDR, SoA and the Pirates and Pals Cruise. Our youngest was 5 but our favorite was the cruise.