What should we do??

[mayandjanmom]

Hey there

We are leaving for Orlando on May 2..My immediate family, dh, me, and my 3 kids aged 5, 3, and 2 mths, will be there one day before my sister's family and my father..Now, we have park hopper passes, but we want to use them WHEN all of my family will be there (4 day park hopper plus passes)..So, can anyone suggest something for us to go and do or see the day prior to the rest of my family showing up-that isn't WDW, AK, Epcot, MGM or Blizzard Beach???

I think Universal is too old for my kids right now, so any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated..

Thanks
mayandjanmom

 

[Scratch42]

Downtown Disney!

I'm sure the kids would love the Leggo Store!

Scratch

 

[memymomonica]

I would jump on a bus to DTD. Do some shopping for things you have to take home to family and friends and get it out of the way. You can also take a ride on the monorail. Just look at all the parks. Spend the day at the pool. You didn't say where you are staying? You can always check out a few resorts. Go to the Boardwalk and rent a surrey bike. Or rent some water mice. I think the campgrounds has a petting zoo and horseback riding.

Hope that helps!

 

[Big V]

If you have a car I would suggest either SeaWorld or Gatorland. If you don't have a car, how about just going to Downtown Disney and visiting some of the resorts? Fort Wilderness has a petting area and they have a very nice and less expensive lunch buffet. Take a monorail ride around Epcot or the boats around Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach Clubs. Take a stroll on the Boardwalk! Have a fun day!

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by mayandjanmom
I think Universal is too old for my kids right now, so any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated..

If your kids are big Barney, Nick Jr or Feivel fans, they'll enjoy the Barney's Playland and Feivel's playground area of Universal, but that's pretty much it at their ages. I would do a day at Downtown Disney. Or, if they like dolphins and fish and such, a day at SeaWorld would be a good choice.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by Scratch42
Downtown Disney!

I'm sure the kids would love the Leggo Store!

Scratch

Definately try this. There is a lego playground where kids can play with legos (free) outside and kids seem to love this. We had a hard time pulling my neice away from this when she was 4.

They also have a Winnie the Pooh Store, and a Rainforest Cafe I bet the kids would love too. It's a nice low key way to spend a day at Disney.

 

[my3princes]

If you have a car I highly recommend visiting the Belz factory outlet stores. There are 2 Disney discount stores and a Universal Discount store. We like to go early in the trip to see what they have for souveniers before we pick up pricey ones in the park. My children are usually content buying stuff there and don't tease the rest of the trip.

 

[stacieps]

when my kids were 2 and 4 (and older nephews) we went to Green Meadows petting farm. It was interesting and everyone (even the older kids and adults) really enjoyed it there. You can check out their site http://www.greenmeadowsfarm.com/

 

[whozit]

I second a lot of the suggestions given already. Ride the monorail, ride the boats that take you to the MK resorts (and/or Ft. Wilderness). While at Ft. Wilderness, spend time at the petting zoo, seeing the horses (that "work" at MK) in their barn (you might even carch the blacksmith working), if it won't keep the little ones up too late, go to the campfire program (and sing-a-long with Chip at Dale), and hang around for the movie. If you were planning on a Character meal, using a non-park day to go to a character meal at one of the resorts allows you to maximize your time in the park (instead of using some of your precious park time eating, when you could be experiencing the attractions). Downtown Disney is also a good choice, the children can play in the water fountains (bring swim suits or dry clothes). And playing at your resort is fun (swimming, playground, fishing hole at POR, bicycles, etc). You can spend a lot of time doing Disney stuff without burning up a park pass (usually too many things to fit in a day).

 

[Twigs]

I would definately go to Sea World (it's a favorite of ours), or even Discovery Cove ( we did this last trip and it was fantastic!).
Also go to Medieval Times for dinner(jousting knights while you eat dinner), make reservations though, and you can get discount coupons from their website. We brought our DS's there when they were 4 and they loved the whole show.

 

[mayandjanmom]

Thank you so very much..

Downtown Disney sounds like it would be a big hit..

mayandjanmom

 

[Madi100]

We always spend our first day out of the parks. We get to the resort around noon, and we spend the rest of the time exploring the World. One of our favorite things to do is to go to MK and hop on the monorail. We always ask to sit in the front. If someone is already sitting there, wait for the next one. We always ride it all the way around. When you get back to MK, you can go over and ride the boat to Ft. Wilderness. When you get to Ft. Wilderness do the activites that another person mentioned. On thing they forgot, though, were the pony rides. These are a huge hit with my kids!!!

Another favorite of ours this time was the Boardwalk. When we were there, there were only activities on the weekends at night. Maybe when it's busier it's all of the time. But, there are some things you can do there.

Downtown Disney was a favorite of ours, too. The girls loved the fountains. There is a new toy store that is so neat to look through. There is the legoland. And, a lot of times there is entertainment down there.

My only advice to you is that is your first day in the World, that you don't push it. We did this our first trip with our DD. She was 4 at the time. It was my birthday, and I wanted to eat at Rainforest Cafe. It was not a fun experience.

I don't know where you'll be staying, but take advantage of the pools and activites at your resort. We went this last time with my parents, and I was amazed at how little free time we had trying to make everyone happy.

Have Fun!!!

 

[TerryU.]

DTD is a great place! We loved it. Those legos are something. I was standing next to one made of a human, and from the corner of my eye I thought he was real! You'll have a great time there!