Tips for a first trip to Disneyworld

[nemothefish]

Hello, we are planning to do our first family trip with a 5 and 3 years old boys next year in May. We are driving from Toronto, ON to Florida. Any tips I could get will be really appreciated
I'm trying to convince my hubby to fly but he is refusing

 

[AuthorAndrea]

Always present things in a way that will make him think it was his idea!

Flying will put you there in 4-5 hours (I'm guessing - it's a 3 hour flight from CT); driving will mean 2-3 days on each end. Add up the cost of gas, overnight accommodations, food and tolls along the way, and weigh it against the cost of flights. I have also weighed the cost of staying off-property vs. on-property - I figured I'd book the flights, then use a Groupon to save money on an area hotel, but two of the "really nice" ones we liked received horrible reviews. At least at Disney, you KNOW they will make things right.

Disney makes things SO EASY! You get off the airplane and onto the bus and are brought directly to your hotel. Your luggage is brought to your room. The stroller you rented is waiting for you (use a rental agency for a double stroller). Rather than schlep everyone into a hot car, you get on an air conditioned bus that takes you to any of the parks or back to your hotel.

With kids your age, my best advice would be "lower your expectations." Do not alter their schedules (eating, naps) but build the trip around them. Don't expect to see it all or do it all; prioritize the most important. Allears.com has two great articles on "overlooked attractions" that may appeal to kids their age.

 

[Rae1232]

Convince your husband and never miss the chance. I AM GIVING YOU SOME SUGGESTIONS ABOUT YOUR FIRST TRIP. On weekends the area is so much over crowded so select your day accordingly. And you are having tiny kids with you so you may have online tickets. To avoid the summer heat ice cup are free over there so you don’t take tension about that.

 

[Mrs Lapo]

We're going on our 1st trip this Nov so I can't offer much advice there but I wanted to tell you my husband also wanted to drive. And like a previous posted said once I added up all the exp plus the days needed to drive it was able to convince him to fly & spend more time "on vacation". I was able to find GREAT flights from southwest $145 pp each way compared to $400 pp with another carrier like delta or us airways etc. Idk if you will have any luck there but just wanted to share.

 

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

We always drive from St. Louis. It's about 1100 miles each way. DH also refuses to fly. Driving does save us a ton of $ though. Depending on gas prices, it's around $450 RT to drive, maybe $100 for a hotel but we try to use our points vs $450 each person to fly plus car rental. The kids don't mind the drive (it helps that we have a DVD player!) DD has a nintendo ds and DS has a leap pad, so those come as well. We also bring those trays that fit over the carseats so they can draw or color. Oh, and we also bring a cooler with waters, soda, juice boxes, cheese sticks, milk and bags with a ton of snacks.