Taking friends to AKL in APR 2013 1st time Disney

[midaroco]

I'm hoping that some of you can lend your Disney expertise. After visiting WDW 2x last year, my husband and I purchased DVC. We just got back from a 10 day stay at BLT (which was awesome!). What I'm looking for advice with is this - in April, we are taking our friends and their two children (5G & 2B) and staying in a 2 bedroom villa at AKL. My husband and I don't have children, so when we do Disney, it's obviously from an adult point of view. I'm looking for help planning our trip to ensure this is special for them and to make sure we do all the "must do's" that will make this a memorable trip for them. This will be the first time all of them will be visiting Disney, so I want it to be really special for them.
Thanks for any insight!

 

[TSMMANIAC]

I would encourage them to read extensively about WDW and decide what they would like to see and do while there. I would plan for down time for the whole group so no one has a meltdown from exhaustion. The kids will probably
Enjoy MK and AK the most so plan accordingly. Don't overplan and don't reserve a bunch of ADR's. Keep your expectations realistic. Enjoy the magic!

 

[bobbiwoz]

There's a playhouse in DHS that the kids may enjoy especially if they know the characters.

 

[Ln42]

Hi
You will have such a great time going with kids. Here are a few things we learned along the way.

Some small children need a little time around characters before they are comfortable. Maybe a dinner at Crystal Palace of Chef Mickey's is better after being in the parks for a couple of days.

Carry snacks they like. They will go go go and you can get caught with hunger crash. Having something familiar saves time, pleases them, and is a quick fix if they dont want what the park offers.

Schedule a mid day break and consider the hotel pool. Its less intense than the parks but still a big deal to them.

Take time for the little things- chatting with a CM, ride the train at MK, etc. The kids will find things they are interested in that you may overlook. Im not kidding when I say I saw a bunch of kids circled around a worm on the sidewalk just talking about it. I looked at my husband and chuckled...with all that surrounded them, the worm was the object of interest. Let them do their thing and you will end each day like we did, with them saying...'That was fun! Wasnt it?'

Have a blast!!!

 

[Ambassador]

I think everyone has given excellent advice. I all our years of going to WDW, we found this general schedule to work the best: Breakfast in room, at Parks early, early lunch, return to Resort pool mid-afternoon, early Dinner. Remember that the group does not need to do everything together. The Unofficial Guide has
great itineraries for small children. I do recommend ADR's at times that are best for each group.
And small children seem to really appreciate the simplest things: water features, parades, shows, and animals. Slow the pace way down, without any expectation of seeing everything.

 

[midaroco]

Thank you all! This is great advice, much of it I would not have thought of (like bringing snacks, allowing time to acclimate to the characters, pool time!!!)!! I can't wait to go with them to be able to experience the park with their children (whom I'm very close to), one of the main things I will need to remind my husband is that we'll need to slow down when we are all a group since we'll have the little ones with us! Maybe I can get him to read this thread! ;-)

 

[Kidanifan08]

We have a 6 year old and have been taking him since he was 2.5. He loves AKV and the pool area at Kidani is awesome for kids that age. I would strongly suggest strollers for both of the children, as they get tired easily walking around the parks. There are several stroller rental companies in Orlando that have better strollers than the ones at the parks.

Regarding ADR's, I have a different perspective and recommendation than a PP. We have always had a TS ADR every day of our trips. It becomes a time when we can all sit down in a cool room away from the chaos of the park and recharge/re-group. You are already within the 180 booking period, so if you want to eat at Be Our Guest or do any character meals, you may want to think about those now and get them booked. We have done Chef Mickey, Crystal Palace, Tusker House for Breakfast, Hollywood and Vine and Garden Grill. We have enjoyed them all, particularly Tusker House. H&V was just OK. Cinderella's Royal Table tends to book up quickly, as well, so look at that if the little princess may want to dine in the castle.

Epcot often gets written off on little kids, but it is actually one of my son's favorite parks. There is alot for kids to see and do there. He loves Test Track, Soarin', Nemo, Mexico boat ride and even the Land boat ride. For some reason, the boat ride at Norway spooks him?!? He could easily spend an hour watching the trains in Germany and he will also spend time running around the park in England and playing the drums at the Outpost. Like others have said, kids have a different perspective!

Enjoy! It is so exciting to see kids visit Disney for the first time!!