Taking Granddaughters for their First Trip - Need Help!

Nana Weafer

Earning My Ears
Joined
Oct 24, 2013
Messages
40
Hi all, just have to say DisBoards is a wonderful resource and I've been using it on and off for a few months as we plan our May 2014 trip - thanks for the help so far.

Now that the trip is getting closer we have been showing our ages 4 and 5 granddaughters lots of rides, characters, introducing them to stories, etc., so they will recognize what they see in the parks. They are into all princesses (Frozen, just recently), water rides (anything to get wet while dressed!), Cars, Toy Story - well you get the picture - they are into everything Disney. With that said I have not been to Disney since their 35 year old father (my son) was 10 years old and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with the planning.

So far we have booked meals at Chef Mickey's, Cinderella's Royal Table, Rain Forest Café. We've booked BBBoutique for makeovers as well. We've also scheduled a few character meet and greets using FastPass and a few rides using FastPass. My dilemma is that I'm not sure what else to choose. I would love it if a few of you veterans would list rides, attractions, etc., that you think two little girls should not miss. I also need a lunch dining option in Hollywood Studios.

We are staying at The Poly and will spend two days in Magic Kingdom, one day in Hollywood Studios, and one in Animal Kingdom.

This Nana really appreciates any info that will help make this a magical trip for our granddaughters. Thank you.
 
Hi all, just have to say DisBoards is a wonderful resource and I've been using it on and off for a few months as we plan our May 2014 trip - thanks for the help so far.

Now that the trip is getting closer we have been showing our ages 4 and 5 granddaughters lots of rides, characters, introducing them to stories, etc., so they will recognize what they see in the parks. They are into all princesses (Frozen, just recently), water rides (anything to get wet while dressed!), Cars, Toy Story - well you get the picture - they are into everything Disney. With that said I have not been to Disney since their 35 year old father (my son) was 10 years old and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with the planning.

So far we have booked meals at Chef Mickey's, Cinderella's Royal Table, Rain Forest Café. We've booked BBBoutique for makeovers as well. We've also scheduled a few character meet and greets using FastPass and a few rides using FastPass. My dilemma is that I'm not sure what else to choose. I would love it if a few of you veterans would list rides, attractions, etc., that you think two little girls should not miss. I also need a lunch dining option in Hollywood Studios.

We are staying at The Poly and will spend two days in Magic Kingdom, one day in Hollywood Studios, and one in Animal Kingdom.

This Nana really appreciates any info that will help make this a magical trip for our granddaughters. Thank you.

Oh my gosh you are going to have such a good time. One thing I would consider if you can swing it is the Perfectly Princess Tea at the Grand Floridian. It's from 10:30 a.m. to 12 and Princess Aurora comes to meet the girls and they also give each girl a princess Aurora doll. It looks like an American Girl doll dress as the princess.

Have fun and enjoy!!
 
I think that you already have some great things planned! In my experience, I wouldnt "book" to much to do at those ages, they get tired and overwhelmed fast and often need a break or nap in the afternoon other wise they start to break down. Even when my kids were way past naps at home, at disney they still needed them. Almost all of the parks have some sort of splash pad for the kids to play in as well as DTD. My daughter at that age could have spent all day in them. Our children loved the magic carpets and got a Kick out of the camel that spits on you while on the ride. DD rode it over and over. If you do the morning Extra Magic Hours you will find you can get some of those smaller fun rides done rather quickly, sometimes several times in a row if you wish. At hollywood studios, the kids always liked sci fi for lunch, i could take it or leave it but they loved it. This year they didnt mention it but want to go back to 50's prime time. I think 50's is cute and i love the PB and J milkshake. Dont forget to get a fastpass for toystory mania at HS. I will be honest at AK when the kids were younger they didnt have alot of "rides" that they enjoyed. They liked the safari and the zoo sort of thing. They love breakfast at Tusker house. If you book a reservation before park open you can head right in and hopefully be done eating right as park opens. This way you are already right near the safari to jump in line as the gate guests are just entering and walking back that way. I hope that you all have a great time!! And if the girls really love anything that gets them wet be sure to bring along extra clothes and underware into the park, learned quickly once that they dont sell underware anywhere in the park LOL.
 

I think that you already have some great things planned! In my experience, I wouldnt "book" to much to do at those ages, they get tired and overwhelmed fast and often need a break or nap in the afternoon other wise they start to break down. Even when my kids were way past naps at home, at disney they still needed them. .

Ditto!! I think you have PLENTY booked as it is. Tone down the tempo, allow for afternoon breaks back at the room and also build in significant time for waiting in "regular" lines as well as lines for food, drinks, etc.
 
For lunch at Hollywood Studios I'd recommend Pizza Planet for counter service. I think they would like the atmosphere and the food is fine (it's pizza). Note that Pizza Planet can get pretty busy since there aren't a ton of counter service options at Hollywood Studios. If table service then I hear that Sci-Fi Dine-In is good but have never eaten there.

I second the taking a break during the day recommendation. If you have time (note that travel back and forth from park/resort can be time-consuming) everyone will be better rested and less cranky if you can take a couple hours at the resort mid-day. Sounds like your granddaughters are at an age where a nap would be a great idea. Even if the monorail is down during the day the boat ride from MK to Poly is very short. And if you tour early morning/late evening you might avoid some of the worst crowds.

My daughter really enjoyed the Beauty and the Beast show at Hollywood Studios.
 
I know how excited you are I too will be going with my Son's family for their first trip.I cannot wait to experience Disney with my grandsons.

I do agree with PP's you need to plan on breaks with the young ones.My grandsons are 3 and 1 and no way would we go from RD to closing or later in the evening without breaks and nap times.It would not be fun for them or us if they totally had meltdowns because of exhaustion and being overwhelmed by all the excitement.

I wish you a very magical vacation with wonderful memories to cherish always!
 
The one thing I would like to suggest for your lunch at HS is to book Hollywood and Vine they have Disney Jr. characters now with Sophia the First and Doc McStuffins,Jake from the neverland pirates and Handy Manny.
 
If there is any way to add an EPCOT day, I would. My DD is 8 and has been going to WDW every year since she was 2. EPCOT has always been by far her favorite park other than MK- it is a 2 day park for us. It has the Nemo Ride, Turtle Talk with Crush, Living with the Land, Soarin, the boat ride in Mexico, the Agent P (Phineas and Ferb) missions, Kidcot stations, Pick a Pearl (if you want to pay to do that), a ton of Princesses and other characters out for meet and greets, a ton of entertainers like jugglers, balancing acts, bands, drummers, acrobats, and so much more. She ranks eating at Biergarten (with a dance floor and German polka band) right up there with Princess meals. I can't imagine skipping EPCOT with her. We've gone to DL once a year for the last 4 years too, and when we do, the only thing she complains about missing from WDW is EPCOT.

I think you have made some good dining choices for that age. We don't do Rainforest at WDW because there is one by my in-laws home only 2 1 /2 hours from us, so we hit that one at least a couple of times a year, but I'm assuming the WDW one is like it and is really fun. As far as dining at DHS, it really isn't a great dining place. We like to actually for one day have a semi-quiet meal (as opposed to characters, bands, crowds etc), so we tend to do Mama Melrose. 50s Prime Time can be fun (it is like a 50s kitchen where the servers act like you are family and may get onto you for not cleaning your plate etc- and which serves "home" food like fried chicken, pot roast, and meatloaf). Some people love Sci-Fi- but we have not been there because we looked at it on the internet and DD was not a fan of the sci fi clips. There is a Disney Jr. character meal there, we haven't done it and I've heard mixed reviews.

As far as the other parks things DD loved at that age:

MK
Peter Pan was the absolute favorite ride
Small World
Pooh
Philharmagic
Ariel's Grotto to meet Ariel with her tail
Any and all character meet and greets
Barnstormer
Dumbo
There is a water play area over by Dumbo/Barnstormer
Tea Cups
Buzz Lightyear ride
Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor
Aladdin's Magic Carpets
Jungle Cruise
Tikki Room
Never underestimate the appeal of the Tommorowland Transit Authority Peoplemover
Enchanted Tales with Belle and Ariel's ride were not around until DD was 6, but she still loved them and 4 or 5 year olds too.
Same with a lunch at Be Our Guest if you don't have dinner reservations there- it is very impressive inside.
Your GDs will likely be tall enough to ride any of the thrill rides that they like. My DD turned out to not be much of a thrill seeker. Splash Mountian is a water ride where they might either get a drop of water on them at the end or get soaked. My DD isn't a big fan of it because she is terrified on the last drop. She does like Space Mountain though. She isn't a fan of Big Thunder because it is too jerky. If your girls are thrillseekers they may love them all.
I love Pirates of the Carribean, but DD is just okay with it.
She will ride Haunted Mansion, but she isn't a big fan as it creeps her out a little.
If the Seven Dwarves Mine Train is open by your trip-that will be a huge draw (with huge crowds).


DHS
Toy Story Mania
Star Tours
Beauty and the Beast Show
Little Mermaid Show
Muppets 3D
Character meet and greets- Phineas and Ferb; Buzz and Woody; Sophia etc.
These were pretty much DD's only must dos at DHS at that age. At age 4 and 5- DHS would have been a half day park for us except we were usually there during the Christmas lights.
Your girls might like Fantasmic in the evening- my DD prefers the DL version (so do DH and I), so we don't usually spend the time in line for the WDW version.
At age 4, the Disney Jr. show might still have been a must do- if the 5 year old likes Princess Sophia it may be a must do for her too as they recently added a Disney Jr. section. That is the only show that DH and I don't find particularly enjoyable at Disney.
There is an "unpublished" thing fans call "character Palooza" which is not a given, but usually occurs about4 1/2 hours before the last Fantasmic show begins. This is when several characters come out and spend about 20 minutes doing meet and greets on the Streets of America (on San Francisco Street). Here is a guide from Kenny the Pirate on that:

http://kennythepirate.com/category/character-palooza-2/

Kenny is a great resource for all character schedules etc.

The Great Movie Ride - DD thinks is okay. She has never been scared on it (I cover her eyes during the Alien part), but I have seen kids get scared.
DD started liking the Indiana Jones Stunt show at age 6.
She won't even consider trying Tower of Terror.
Your girls probably won't be tall enough for RNRC



Animal Kingdom:

DD has never cared a whole lot for AK- I think part of the reason is that we have a really good zoo at home, so she wants Princesses (which AK has no Princess presence except for Pochahontas), and does not want to stand and look at the same kind of animals she can stand and look at 20 minutes from our house. If you don't have a great zoo at home, it might be a huge hit.

Her only must dos there are a character meal at Tusker House, riding Safari, seeing the Lion King show, and meeting some characters. By noon, she is usually begging to leave there and go back to MK or EPCOT. I'm the only one in the family that really likes AK and could probably happily spend a whole day there. I don't ever get to because DD and DH are always wanting to leave!

That said- in 2013 AK started a thing called Wilderness Explorers where you get a field guide book from a ranger at a ranger station and then you have to earn badges (sticker badges placed in the book by a ranger) throughout the park to fill the book. The book has over 30 badges you can earn. Sometimes you do an activity and then report to the ranger station to get your badge. Other times you report to a ranger and they give you information or lead you through an activity to get a badge. At age 7 last year, DD loved that. For the first time, she actually showed some interest in AK and we spent a good part of the day there. Your girls might be the same way.
 


Disney Vacation Planning. Free. Done for You.
Our Authorized Disney Vacation Planners are here to provide personalized, expert advice, answer every question, and uncover the best discounts. Let Dreams Unlimited Travel take care of all the details, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy a stress-free vacation.
Start Your Disney Vacation
Disney EarMarked Producer






DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter
Add as a preferred source on Google

Back
Top Bottom