WDW in October

[sarahenap]

We are thinking of heading to WDW in October. The last time we visited, my kids were wanting to play with other kids. What is the best way to meet other families with similar aged kids to play together for some fun time for a few hours during our week long stay?

We invited everyone we know to come along that week, but no one else is able to travel on the dates we need.

Thanks in advance!

 

[PJBeans]

If you spend time in the resort pool, kids will generally naturally gravitate to each other and have a good time like magic.

 

[Nancyg56]

I agree that the pool is a great place for kids to find each other. My DGD is shy and yet she always had kids t play with.

 

[JessM]

I second spending time at the resort pools. Its the one place in Disney that's truly designed for "free" play and families will likely be spending more than a few minutes there (unlike theme park play areas).

A lot of the pool areas also now have games lead by CMs in the afternoons, I suspect getting your kids to participate would allow them to meet other children.

Attending your resort outdoor movie one night might be a good idea too. If you arrive early your kids may be able to interact with other kids before the movie starts.

There's other events I can imagine would be great for meeting other kids, Chip n' Dale Campfire at Fort Wilderness, Pirates cruise, etc. but unless you meet them at your resort I doubt you'd see them again that week.

 

[mm1971]

Agree with PP that the pool is the best place to meet new friends for the kids. They tend to be more in the play mode there and they usually have some pool activities run by CM's during the day to get kids together.

It's really hard with regards to the parks and other spots as most families have plans for the day and don't really go off the map for extra play time. My kids found a couple of friends to hang with at DQ the time we went there. They spent a couple of hours playing the video games and doing activities.

 

[lucyem]

Totally agree - pool & outdoor movie. Another place is the kids club but only if the club is in the hotel we are staying at. Then we have run into the same kids at the pool.

 

[aLLpInK]

My girls made new friends every time we went to the pool. They love meeting "friends" from around the country and around the world. lol

 

[sarahenap]

Last visit to Disney I left it up to chance meetings at the pool at the resort. It seemed like a good idea. That didn't happen for us. Not many kids around my kid's age, only much older kids that weren't interested in letting him play. I would prefer to intentionally plan something in advance . . . Now he does have a sister to play with, but he likes variety. He nearly cried our last visit in the parks and kept asking for kids to play with. He is a little social butterfly and is used to meeting new kids to play constantly as I worked at an indoor playground for almost three years and we are very active in moms clubs. Many of the play areas wold have been much more fun with a friend.

We didn't have any luck striking up conversations with strangers at Disney.

On our recent beach trip, he found people to play with almost daily, but we were in the same place for a week solid.