Touring tips for going in June...

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

Any tips on touring the parks with an 8 yr old (girl)...
What not to miss , what's too little for her , whats new (went in 2006)?



Do you go left or right?

Do you head straight for the big rides that will have long lines later in the day?

Do you take a break & swim & come back after the afternoon rain?

What would your game plan be if you were going in June?

(yeah I know you wouldn't go in June, right: )

 

[MidgeD79]

Are you staying on-site. If yes, go to whatever park is having am emh and find out what areas are open. At MK, TomorrowLand and FantasyLand are open. Ride the slow-loading rides first like Cinderellas Carousel, Astro-Orbiter etc. have fun!

 

[PrincessAbby'sMom]

Yes....sorry

We are staying in a Value resort, tenatively going June 9-16th.

 

[Arielx2]

Any tips on touring the parks with an 8 yr old (girl)...
What not to miss , what's too little for her , whats new (went in 2006)?



Do you go left or right?

Do you head straight for the big rides that will have long lines later in the day?

Do you take a break & swim & come back after the afternoon rain?

What would your game plan be if you were going in June?

(yeah I know you wouldn't go in June, right: )

I have not been in June (first time next coming up), but we have been in May and July. My daughter is 7 and she will ride everything and anything except RnR & EE. We always get to the park at opening and hit Fantasyland first in MK, Soarin' first in Epcot, ToT in HS, and KS in AK. After that we play it by ear.

Afternoon naps/swim are a must for us with the heat. Swimming is a big part of the vacation that my kids enjoy.

 

[disneymomofmyca]

Hi there! My daughter and myself have a tradition of going to Disney alone without the hubby. It is wonderful! She was 6 last year and we would take a nap in the afternoon then hit up the EMH. The parks were near empty each night( And this was peak season in July!) at which ever park offered EMH. During the day we would hit the major attractions and then at night it was all her choice. Even if I wanted to ride a certain ride I would keep quite during the EMH and let her choose. It was quite fun and we hit some attractions that I wouldn't have chosen, yet were utterly entertaining and fun! We rode Buzz Lightyear countless times in a row with no wait! I hope you have fun and really enjoy your mother daughter trip!

 

[Mrsgrumpy2000]

Always arrive early at the park of your choice. Make sure to ride headliners and slow-loading rides first. I am very organized. My dd chooses the rides and shows she would like to do. I plan the order that we enjoy them. I write my plan down on a 3x5 card for each park. Usually we ride all that she requested in the first 2 hours. Then we enjoy the shows and character greetings. Around noon, we head back to the resort for a swim and a nap. I always have a poncho in our bags. It is a wonderful time that we have had in the rain! Walk on almost any ride without a wait! The parks stay open very late in the summer, so enjoy the late hours and very short lines. My girls and I went to WDW in December of this year. Positive note: I enjoyed the Christmas decorations. Negative note: Parks closed early and crowds were comparable to the summer. Usually we go in June or July. I enjoyed my trips in the summer much more! We always go without hubby...not his type of relaxation.

 

[Mrsgrumpy2000]

Sorry...I almost forgot an important part to the plan! Make sure you plan the fastpasses accordingly.

 

[melbournekiwi]

Hi all,

We are also going to be at Disney World June 13-20. It is part of a six week trip to the US.

I'm also concerned about being able to see everything at the 4 parks and still have a day to go to Kennedy Space Centre.

We are a family of 4 (girls will be 10 and 12).

Any advice will be gratefully received - we are staying at Orange Lakes West Village.

Thanks.

I should mention this is a first ever!

 

[mikeandkarla]

Best advice: arrive at the parks at opening, stay until lunch, head back to resort for nap or swim. Return to park at night for fireworks or show.
Take it slow, have an itenerary, but don't stress if you don't get to everything. Check out www.touringplans.com for touring advice. Good luck.

 

[iluv2go2disney]

Best advice: arrive at the parks at opening, stay until lunch, head back to resort for nap or swim. Return to park at night for fireworks or show.
Take it slow, have an itenerary, but don't stress if you don't get to everything. Check out www.touringplans.com for touring advice. Good luck.

I totally agree. We get to the parks early and stay until around noon. Head back to the hotel and rest or swim or go to DTD. Then clean up and go back to the parks for dinner and more attractions. We always go in the summer and the crowds don't bother us. Make sure you use FastPass. Get a second one as soon as you can. This will save you lots of time. You can't see it all and doing it this way we don't have very many meltdowns. Good luck and have a great trip.

 

[melbournekiwi]

Thanks for the fantastic advice - it definitely makes sense.

I have to admit I was worried about how the kids would handle things because we are coming from New York where we will be walking and doing every day.

We're getting very excited!

 

[disneyag]

First of all -- You CAN'T see everything at all 4 parks unless you stay for a month (that's what additional trips are for! )

If you are staying offsite--Check and see which parks have EMH's and then AVOID them that day. Many frustrated offsite folks arrive at the MK at 9am, only to find hour long lines for rides since EMH began at 8.

Each trip, we make a list of must-sees. We make sure we hit those attractions and consider everything else "gravy".

Finally -- Have a great time!

 

[melbournekiwi]

I understand when you say that we won't see everything, but unfortunately we don't have the luxury of a return visit.

This trip is a 'trip of a life time' and is costing us $40,000. So the likelihood of heading back while I'm still young enough to enjoy it is slim!

If anybody has advice in relation to 'must do/see', that would be great!

 

[mecllap]

m-kiwi -- you will definitely need to plan ahead and prioritize what are the most important things to see/do at each park. Especially if you have travel days in your dates, you will not be able to see/do all of the major 4 parks and have a long day out to Kennedy Sp Ctr. You will be able to go to each park for a day, so plan what you "must" see. Be flexible and realize you will likely miss some of your must-sees. You can bounce around between parks if you get park-hopper tickets, but not sure that would be worth it, with the limited time you have.

The Parks are huge, and can be very exhausting. And it will be busy in June, with wait times at the rides (and there's lots of other stuff to see/do as well). Be sure to read a lot of this forum, especially tips for first-timers.

I would not recommend that you go back to OLCC during the day for a break -- it's close by, and has handy access via Sherbeth Road, but it would eat up quite a bit of time (it's a lovely resort; we really enjoyed a week there one trip when we did not go to WDW at all -- we went to US/IOA and other places). Of course, that depends on your stamina -- maybe a day or two you'll just want to go til you drop, and not stay on in the evening (pick which major fireworks show you want to see, and plan on staying for the evening in that park).

In June the Studios have Star Wars weekends (SWW); if you have any fans, and a weekend day, you might want to go to DHS that day to see the characters, parade, etc. (We're going to be there two weeks in June, including 13-20, so may have two chances for SWW).

Sounds like you've got a wonderful trip planned -- best of luck and I hope you really enjoy your trip over here!

 

[melbournekiwi]

m-kiwi -- you will definitely need to plan ahead and prioritize what are the most important things to see/do at each park. Especially if you have travel days in your dates, you will not be able to see/do all of the major 4 parks and have a long day out to Kennedy Sp Ctr. You will be able to go to each park for a day, so plan what you "must" see. Be flexible and realize you will likely miss some of your must-sees. You can bounce around between parks if you get park-hopper tickets, but not sure that would be worth it, with the limited time you have.

The Parks are huge, and can be very exhausting. And it will be busy in June, with wait times at the rides (and there's lots of other stuff to see/do as well). Be sure to read a lot of this forum, especially tips for first-timers.

I would not recommend that you go back to OLCC during the day for a break -- it's close by, and has handy access via Sherbeth Road, but it would eat up quite a bit of time (it's a lovely resort; we really enjoyed a week there one trip when we did not go to WDW at all -- we went to US/IOA and other places). Of course, that depends on your stamina -- maybe a day or two you'll just want to go til you drop, and not stay on in the evening (pick which major fireworks show you want to see, and plan on staying for the evening in that park).

In June the Studios have Star Wars weekends (SWW); if you have any fans, and a weekend day, you might want to go to DHS that day to see the characters, parade, etc. (We're going to be there two weeks in June, including 13-20, so may have two chances for SWW).

Sounds like you've got a wonderful trip planned -- best of luck and I hope you really enjoy your trip over here!

Thanks for the feedback. I was interested to see that you thought OL is not worth going back to. In my head I thought we could go back just for a few hours and return in the late afternoon evening. The girls will be 10 and 12 but coming from an intense visit to New York and week 4 of our trip. I don't think they would make it day after day all day.

How do I plan what's a must see if I've never been there?

Help please

 

[mecllap]

It may be worth going back to OLCC, it just takes some time out of the day. River Island there is fun -- or just resting works well for some people. If your stamina is at a low ebb from so much travelling, go on back; don't over tire yourselves, or stress yourselves out. For me, if I get back to the resort, it's hard for me to leave and go out again! Totally your choice -- I think most people recommend the mid-day break, but it doesn't work for us, whether onsite, or off.

You can get some good ideas on "must sees" for your family by your interests, reading the forums, and from a good guidebook (I like the Unofficial Guide, and Passporter is also handy). Some people like Mike's touring plans -- there are ideas there for what are popular "must sees" for many people. There are lots of threads on here of people's favorites as well.

 

[codenamejack]

I'm also concerned about being able to see everything at the 4 parks and still have a day to go to Kennedy Space Centre.

If you do manage to work in a day at KSC, know that the visitor's center itself is small. It's roughly the size of one "land" at the Magic Kingdom. It has some interesting things, but it definitely has a "theme park" feel to it, sort of the Disney version of NASA.

If your girls are willing to sit through a long bus tour and you feel they would appreciate the history of NASA, I recommend the behind the scenes tours. If your girls aren't budding scientists, they may find it all rather dry. But you do get to walk around the historic launch sites and see a real Saturn V rocket. And if you're very lucky, the space shuttle will be on the launch pad!

But wow... it sounds like you guys have quite a trip planned! You're going to have an amazing time!

 

[melbournekiwi]

If you do manage to work in a day at KSC, know that the visitor's center itself is small. It's roughly the size of one "land" at the Magic Kingdom. It has some interesting things, but it definitely has a "theme park" feel to it, sort of the Disney version of NASA.

If your girls are willing to sit through a long bus tour and you feel they would appreciate the history of NASA, I recommend the behind the scenes tours. If your girls aren't budding scientists, they may find it all rather dry. But you do get to walk around the historic launch sites and see a real Saturn V rocket. And if you're very lucky, the space shuttle will be on the launch pad!

But wow... it sounds like you guys have quite a trip planned! You're going to have an amazing time!

OMG! I'm so glad you told me! We will definitely do the bus tour. Sabrina has studied space, first landing on the moon etc. last year, and Veronica loves everything science.

Thanks so much!

 

[codenamejack]

Oh, that's wonderful! Yes, they'll definitely like the behind-the-scenes stuff in that case! Make sure you check out this page and make reservations: http://kennedyspacecenter.com/guided-tours.aspx

I found the people who work there very helpful, by the way. You could always call and ask them questions about the tours.

It also looks like there will be a rocket launch on the last day of June: http://kennedyspacecenter.com/event.aspx?id=e940b964-9302-4ba9-93b8-cb6a6da270b7&calendar=2009/6/30/

 

[ilovmy3kidz]

Thanks for the feedback. I was interested to see that you thought OL is not worth going back to. In my head I thought we could go back just for a few hours and return in the late afternoon evening. The girls will be 10 and 12 but coming from an intense visit to New York and week 4 of our trip. I don't think they would make it day after day all day.

How do I plan what's a must see if I've never been there?

Help please

Oh I do so love Disney!! We live in FLA and are Annual Passholders, so we can tell our kids it's ok if we skip a ride, we'll be back next month! You will not have that luxury. I, for one, have never understood the "go back and nap" theory of doing WDW. Nor do I understand the "Comando" approach. You will need to set priorities.

Get there close to opening (I would avoid parks that have extra magic hours that day - you will be able to check the schedule online).

For major attractions - one word - FASTPASS! I do not see the point of waiting in line for Soarin' for over 2 hours. Once you enter a park, send one member (usually Daddy!) to go and grab Fastpasses. One moves faster than 4. Have an arranged spot to meet, or idea where you will be. Cell phones are fab, however half the time ours never work at WDW, we just keep leaving messages.

Get park maps ahead of time to familiarize yourself with the layout. Go to I can't post a link, but google "walt disney world custom map" and your first hit should be for disney's site. The maps are free and beautiful. They take 2-4 weeks (probably more overseas).

A Few tips:

MK - head to Frontierland and FP Splash Mountain right away, then ride Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road, the ride Splash Mountain and save your FP for the afternoon when it's hot. Our general rule, if the line is more than 30 min, Fastpass it or come back!

Decide on the parades. Are they important to you? Are you willing to stake out a prime spot up to 1hr in advance? Does a partial view sound OK to you? or will you ride rides while everyone is at the parade. If there are 2 Spectromagic parades, stay for the late one.

EPCOT - enter park, immediately send Daddy for Soarin' FP. Take the kids and ride The seas with Nemo and Friends. (Daddy won't care he missed it, but the FP line for Soarin' can be long). As soon as possible, FP TestTrack or Mission Space (depending on your family) The best eating is definately at EPCOT!

Hollywood Studios - immediately head to Toy Storia Midway Mania. FP, then ride and save FP for later in the day. IT IS AWESOME! FP Rockin' Rollercoaster ASAP or Tower of Terror (depending on your family)

Animal Kingdom - FP Expedition Everest immediately, some folks like to ride the safari in the a.m. Next FP should be Kalahari River Rapids (you WILL get soaked, poncho's will not help)

a nice site to understand each ride (but may give away some of the "surprise" is allears.net

1-407-WDW-DINE to make reservations, some up to 180 days in advance. We don't spend a ton of time in table service, but snack and move.

Have a list of "must see", "that's cool" and "would be nice, but..." If you spend your time being tense, trying to do it all, you won't enjoy yourself.