Taking it Slow....

[LoKiHB]

After almost a year of debating and planning, our next trip is just around the corner.

We have 7 days. 3 MK, 1 EP, 1 AK and, 2 HS (SWW). For the Friday we are planning on RD for HS and hoping to get as much done as we can, and then leave the rest for Saturday.

I'm thinking of swapping out AK for a second EP day if we don't get to see everything we want.

We have 2 boys, a 1 year old, and a 6 year old with ADHD. Last time we felt like we were pulling our son from place to place and making it harder than it should have been (at the time he had not been diagnosed). This time we know we'll be back again in February, and at the very least on a yearly basis.

We'd like to let our boys dictate the course of our days.

So my question to all the experts out there is what are your tips and recommendations for taking it slow?

 

[Steve's Girl]

Personally, I would swap out one of the MK days. My kids have always loved AK. At least for us, 2 days of MK is plenty.

 

[jmcghee2024]

I'm not sure you need 2 HS days with kids that age. There are several rides they will be to short to go on most likely. You could always do HS on Saturday morning to finish up and then go to Epcot and stroll WS in the afternoon or evening.
I would keep the AK day.

 

[ghtx]

Swap out one of the MK days, and then replace it with a "do whichever park we feel like doing on the last day" day (which may end up being MK).

You might not need 2 days at DHS, either. (Although if you have big SWW plans then you might.)

 

[LSUfan4444]

I don't see why you would need two days at Epcot with kids that age.

 

[Happyjen27]

1 EP day was fine when my pair was 5.

We definately went slow, and absolutely let them dictate the schedule.

There are approximately a million things we did not see or do because of this, and that was fine with me for the reasons you listed: We didn't want to drag them around, we knew we would be back at least annually for a while.

So my question to all the experts out there is what are your tips and recommendations for taking it slow?

1. Make a list of the top 3 objectives for any given day. We did MK in 3 days, Day 1 was fantasyland. Objectives: Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Dumbo. Seriously, that was it. Anything else we did (and there was a lot we fit in) was considered extra and bonus. We bailed out of each park after 4 hours I read on here that was a magic number, and boy was I right.

2. Be prepared to let them enjoy what they love thoroughly. Kids don't know what they are missing if they don't get to do or ride something. They just know they are liking what they are doing at the moment. Which means that if they want to ride Peter Pan 3 times, and you never make it to Barnstormer (true story) that has got to be okay with you. Barnstorm next trip.

3. Evaluate your priorities for this trip, and stick to them. My priority was the same as yours, to go slow and let the kids lead me. Some people have added up the cost per hour of the trip, and they intend to maximize that by getting as much Disneying as they can. That is a valid way to vacation, but it wasn't our way. If my kids wanted to watch an hour of TV in the room, there was probably a reason. They were probably tired, overstimulated or sick of talking to us for a while. It was my style to allow that down time. (but not a whole day, which is what my DD would probably choose to do, since they only watch 4 hours of TV on the weekends and none during the week)

4. Touring slow is definately a state of mind. Don't focus on what you haven't ridden or experienced, focus on what you enjoyed to it's fullest, even if that means you have played at the fountain at the resort all.day.long.

 

[bopper]

1 EP day was fine when my pair was 5.
. Kids don't know what they are missing if they don't get to do or ride something.

This is the KEY THING TO REMEMBER...you know there are 500 other rides and attractions, they just know they are having fun digging for dinosaur bones NOW.

That isn't to say that you shouldn't mush them along after a bit, but if you thought the fireworks would be awesome because they love fireworks, but they are tired and cranky, then just skip it. They don't know what they are missing.
Corollary: Don't tell them about things that you will do "later", just in case you can't do them.