What's realistic itinerary and time frame for parks with 5 y.o. daughter?

[Alice28]

Although it looks like your questions were answered, I just have to chime in.

We went in late Feb/early March for 10 days with our 5 year old and 20 month old. We traveled from west coast to east coast, so factoring in the time change...our 5 year old did awesome. He had been to Disneyland before, so he kind of knew what to expect. We went to MK the first day, and he liked seeing some of his favorites he saw at DL, and yet it didn't seem to set him up for disappointment with the other parks. We had watched the WDW planning video a lot, so he got excited to see the Epcot "ball", Test Track...everything was an adventure to him. I think he almost like MGM Studios more than the MK- almost! He loved the Indiana Jones stunt show, he braved Tower of Terror (although he said he didn't really want to do it again) and LOVED Star Tours and the Star Tours store. He even thought being on the set of Millionaire was way cool. And he loved eating in Toy Story's pizza planet and meeting Buzz was one of the highlights of the trip. He liked Animal Kingdom, - esp Kali River Rapids. He enjoyed the Safari and Lion King too. We made sure we did plenty of the things he wanted to do, or we thought he would like (Pirate Cruise), but we made sure he understood that there were some things Mommy and Daddy wanted to see too and to be patient. Although we spent the most time at the MK, I would say he almost equally enjoyed all the other parks too. As for meals, I made some PS's- we had one almost daily, but we ate at counter service too. He liked 'Ohana and Whispering Canyon for their kid's games, although he didn't like the food at 'Ohana so much. We did Chef Mickey's the first night and I regret that- we were way too tired and weren't able to enjoy it as much as we would have a night we were better rested. Every restaurant seems to have plenty of kid type food- mac and cheese, chicken strips, PB and J, hot dogs, pizza, etc. If they don't have something your child likes, ask and they will do their best to accomodate you. The one thing we did not do with our son, is we did not go into too many of the gift shops. I mean, we went in several, don't get me wrong and he was able to get many toys...but I decided we weren't going to Downtown Disney with him (my DH and I went alone on date night, and my Mom, mother in law and DS2 went another time) because I just knew all those toys at Once Upon a Toy and World of Disney would overwhelm him. I told him ahead of time that we had "x" amount of dollars to spend on toys and when it was gone, it was gone. He was pretty good and waited a few days before choosing a Buzz Lightyear ship and a Buzz and Woody, and then saving some of his $$ for the Star Wars store at MGM, which we didn't get to til day 5- pretty good for a 5 year old in my opinion.

 

[KIS]

I see the important thread that's developed as "more is less" and the ability to be flexible with a young child at WDW. Despite all the exciting options that require PS, I still see folks as curbing this tendency in order to focus on the child.

Learning about all that WDW has to offer for the first time feels like being in a candyshop. I suppose if I can learn to manage my own excitement and delight in hearing about all that's available, I will be better equipped for assisting my daughter when all the options are before her on her first day at MK, etc.

It seems like others are enjoying this discussion. So, I hope we all will continue it.

It's too early for me to have an actual map of what we're doing. When I do, I will be sure to mention it here. I hope you all will critique it at that point.

Shall we continue sharing "realistic" plans?

KIS

 

[swilphil]

KIS--I just got back from a trip to the Dolphin and would highly recommend it. That way if you want to make short trips over to Epcot and MGM, you can do so easily. Plus I think your daughter would enjoy the Boardwalk in the evening. So would you!

One great thing about the Dolphin is the concierge desk will make PS's for you. I think they get first dibs on available times. We made a PS for Donald's Breakfastasuarus the day before. We had our PS before the Park opened. After our meal with great character interaction, we were able to get on a couple of rides with no wait. DS loved the Tricertops Spin. It's like Dumbo without the wait. The Boneyard is also fun. DS was too small to go on some other rides, but he's really small so you probably won't have that problem.

Epcot has an ice cream social with characters that you can make a PS for. I wish I had done that and spent more time at Epcot. We were so close and kept thinking that we would be able to get back. We were only there for 3 days.

MGM has a lot of fun shows that your daughter would like. It would be a good place to go if you want to be indoors due to weather, or if you just want to sit more. Mermaid and MuppetVision have the Fastpass option. There's also tons of characters. He loved the 5:30 parade, too, and Pizza Planet, which has an arcade.

You will be fine with a 5-6 day pass. Plus you can take a trip to the water park. The pool at the Dolphin is very fun. It has a slide and a play area on the beach. You definitely won't regret staying at the Dolphin. You won't need a car, and the park transportation from there is fabulous.

Have fun

 

[mrsR123]

I think you'll love the Dolphin/Swan. We stayed there on teacher rates for our first and last nights last year, and DH preferred it over the Poly. The rooms are lovely, the pool is amazing, and the proximity to Epcot, MGM, and the BW can't be beat. We could watch Illuminations and Fantasmic from our room!

As you begin your planning, my best advice is to divide the days into thirds: we always know ahead of time which park we'll visit in the morning and have evening plans-- some nights later some nights earlier for each day. We do EMH for MK and will this year for AK. I think we'll skip Epcot's this year, and I haven't decided about MGM. I try to balance EMH with late night the night before. There's no way I can get everyone out the door for ENH after a fireworks night! With a five year old, a midday break is essential. Your child might not want to sleep-- although my two oldest have almost every day of each trip the last two years, but even a dip in the pool, off your feet, helps a lot!

I always plan one meal per day with PS's as well. Having one good meal when you can get something other than just french fries in my kids is important to me. I agree with other posters idea that the silver plan probably isn't worth the expense.

My kids have enjoyed all four parks. Last year we were 8, 5, and 2. They really enjoyed the Kidcot stops mentioned above. AK is tricky, as it seems really hot and crowded, but then April might be another story. Definitely do the Lion King show; it's DD's favorite thing outside of character dining.

Keep reading-- these boards are an amazing, free source of really good, up-to-date information.

 

[KIS]

I agree with you about the boards being so valuable.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

I think I'm going to attempt the itinerary on paper using post-its or something and cut out, alter plans.

I like hearing about the swan/dolphin. It's reassuring to hear that it's a pleasant place.

KIS

 

[Disneylovers]

Kis,

Since you obviously have a computer, use it! For our last two trips my DD who's now 15, made a list of the rides, attractions, parades that were our "can't miss". She just used our word processor, and modified the list as the trip got closer. Of course, we have the knowledge of going every other year, so we knew what we wanted to see, but if you continue with the boards, you'll get many suggestions/ideas for your own "can't miss" list! We make sure we see what's on the "can't miss" list, and if there's anything else that looks interesting, then we check it out! If we don't get to everything, well, gosh, we'll just HAVE to go b ack!!!! Just make a copy of your list and take both with you. Ours got wet riding in DD's pocket last year(between water rides, and June rains!) and after three days, it disintergrated! We had to "wing it" after that!

If you haven't ordered your planning video from Disney, do so! Your little one will enjoy seeing what's in store (you will too, trust me! I use mine as "inspiration" as I pull down the treadmill and walk to build up my stamina for walking the parks!)

Regarding the stroller, since our little DD was 9 months old when we made our first trip down, it was a given that we took it. The next two trips (she was almost 3, and almost 5) it came with us too! She enjoyed riding when she got tired, we used it to carry our bag of "goodies" (ponchos, camera gear, etc.), and since she's got little legs, it helped us get to places in less time. Older DD even tried to sit in it a few times!!) We just bought an inexpensive collapsable stroller, which wasn't too much of a pain to fold up and carry onto the buses.

Hope this helps.

 

[KIS]

Dear Disneylover,

Of course the discussion on these boards will help me to refine my itinerary. That's part of my plan, too.

My family has watched the video already and I intend to take it out a few times more, at least. I'd like to try to involve my daughter and husband in making a few "must see" selections at each park once I narrow it down a bit.

I am leaning towards only one day at AK and MGM, in favor of more times at Epcot and MK, with MK being the main park we frequent.

I have reservations for HDD and hope to make some for the tea, breakfast with Mary Poppins, the princesses at Rest. A, dinner with CM, and lunch at CRT, as well as an Ohana's dinner and Fantasmic. Oh yes -- my daughter insists on seeing the belly dancer in Morocco. The tea and Mary Poppins are non-negotiable with her. She's been asking about them for a year or so.

She also wants to try the Body Wars, the Haunted House, Cinderella's Carousel, the Festival of the Lion King, Digging for Bones at AK, Goofy's Barnraiser, (these are the ones that she's seen pictures of.) I think whatever she sees a picture of, she wants to do. Actually, that's not true since she's watched the video and also has seen some sing-along of Disney's that's filmed on-site and has only mentioned the above.

You have just about seen everything I've planned.

The stroller is an interesting question. It's the rent or bring one question for us. I was opting for bringing. My husband was in favor of renting. My thinking was that there are plenty of places we will be walking to that are not in a park. For instance, when we go to breakfast, to tea. If we are, in fact at the Dolphin and we walk to Epcot or MGM, having our own stroller is a must.

We have a Claridge Stroller. It's collapsable. It's not the lightest since it's rather sturdy and has a metal frame. We have taken it most everywhere all the same. I'm thinking about comparing it with what's out there that might be lighter and cheaper. May be some have plastic frames, for instance. I'm not about to spend significantly, however for that feature. What sort did you purchase?

Thanks.


KIS

 

[lenshanem]

We bought a Graco stroller at BabiesRUs a couple years back. We already had a big stroller and a nice umbrella stroller, but having a tray with drink holders for both us and our daughter is invaluable in my opinion. The seat reclines, has a canopy and most importabnt a nice sized basket! Plus it was cheap and is very light! It is navy blue and has zoo animals on it. Last trip I saw a million of them. It is really a wonderful stroller. Plus, I used a coupon from the paper.

 

[Madi100]

With our four year old, we rented a stroller in the parks. The only park we needed to rent one was Epcot. She was fine walking the rest of the time. I'm trying to decide if renting is the way we want to go with our 3 year old. With our five year old, she was fine walking to the bus stop from the stroller drop off. She was old enough that she rarely used a stroller anyway. I'm not sure how much of a hassle it is going to be with the stroller and the airport and then putting it on the bus or putting it on whatever transportation we are on.

Also, I saw that you want to eat at CRT for lunch. I assume that means Cinderella's Royal Table. Just so you know, the last time I knew the only time that they had the characters there is for breakfast. Just wanted to make sure you knew that.

 

[NotUrsula]

We've been going every six months since DS was a baby. He turned 6 during our most recent trip a month ago.

I find that the best way to set up the "planning calendar" is with a very basic Excel spreadsheet; it's just one page. I create a row for each day, then make 7 columns: Breakfast, AM, Lunch, PM, Dinner, Events, and Notes. AM & PM we choose a park, Events and Notes carry info about parade times, special shows we want to see, or PS's for the kids' clubs. It's OK if blocks are blank; this is just a way of balancing what we do, without keeping up with a bunch of paper.

We prefer sit-down meals at least once per day, so there are spaces to record the PS. We usually do PS for lunch, and we find that doing that is good for us, because it FORCES us to stop and eat before we get too tired. This is especially important after early entry at MK, which is the only park where we feel that early entry is a must-do. You want to leave no later than noon after an EE morning, and a lunch ressie keeps you from lingering for "just one more ride." Linger too long, and you end up paying in cranky time.

MGM and AK are at their best in the morning (except for Fantasmic at MGM, of course.) Many of MGM's kiddie shows only run until about 3 pm, and they don't start right at opening because it takes time for the cast to make up. If you are only doing one day at MGM, you are going to have to time that day like clockwork. Here is my "little one's hit the highlights" AM touring plan for MGM: Arrive at opening, and send someone immediately to fetch FastPasses for the first show of Little Mermaid. Then swing left to go to the back of park, ride StarTours first while there is no line, then see the Muppet Show. Then head back to Animation Courtyard, where you will be just in time for the first show of Playhouse Disney. That show lasts 20 minutes, and when it lets out, you will be just in time for your Little Mermaid FP across the street. When you get out of that, it will be just after noon, time for lunch. Presuming that you got there at 9 am, you will have done one ride and 3 shows in 3 hrs.
You can also fit in Beauty & the Beast, but it's tricky; check the showtimes.

Note that for most kids, the best part of Epcot is FW. Count on an hour to do Ellen's Energy Adventure (aka, "the Epcot Dinosaur ride"). It is next-door to Wonders of Life, where BodyWars is. The problem there is that, except for TestTrack, FW opens late and closes early, but many of the attractions there take a long time to do. Except for Norway (the ride & playground) and the model trains in Germany, we often don't do WS at all.

I have one major caution for you, and it cannot be emphasized enough: find out ahead of time how your child feels about interacting with life-size characters. Take her to see some at a mall or a local park for practice. If she really loves them and wants to autograph-hunt; that will take a huge amount of park time; if she hates them and wants nothing to do with them, you should steer completely clear of character meals. Also, make an ironclad rule about shopping time; you will avoid a lot of whining by setting aside a special time at each park for shopping, and not deviating from that rule.

Oh, BTW, do consider a kid's club for a night out for Mom & Dad. I especially recommend Neverland Club at the Poly. In the midst of that much "together time" you will all be glad of a break from one another, and NLC is one of my guy's favorite places. Once through that nursery window into Neverland, he doesn't look back. He's normally rather shy (hates characters), but even the first time he was there, it was "See ya!" the minute he got a look at all the cool stuff they had. There are lots of good restaurants to choose in the MK resort area, and they will give you a pager to carry. One thing that we often do is a morning water park visit on a no-rides day, then we go to dinner that night while DS goes to a club.

 

[lenshanem]

Sorry I just realized the stroller option woudl be for your 5 year old. The stroller I suggested was for our now 2 1/2 year old. Our oldest has not used a stroller since she was 3 even at WDW and we've had several trips since then. She has always doen fine. I woudl think many 5 year olds would be fine at MK, MGM and AK. Epcot is rather large so a stroller might be good there. I woudl think the rental option woudl be good for you. Just rent a stroller in the middle of the day or at night if they get tired. Taking the middle of the day break really helps cause that heat can get to anyone. I think I've wanted a stroller there many times myself come 2:00!

 

[KIS]

Wow, Ursula, thanks for all those tips. It great of you to share your experience with me.

I took notes.

The Epcot news about FW hours is so important not to overlook. The MGM plan sounds helpful. You seemed to cover the important kiddie things. Where did your kid/s enjoy lunch at MGM?

I have been interested in having a day where the water park was combined with a babysitting time for our daughter.

We are staying at the Dolphin which has a club of it's own. It doesn't sound as precious as the Neverland Club. My daughter was Tinkerbell in her preschool's rendition of Peter Pan and so it is contending against the practical one. Do you know any places to dance around the MK resorts by any chance. Actually, if we combine it with the water parks, we may be too bushed. Do you know if those at the Dolphin can use the clubs of other WDW resorts? I thought it was OK, but that priority would be given to guests of that resort.

Given my daughter's proclivities, I think she will want to tour briefly all of the countries at the epcot. She has greatly enjoyed learning about a few countries in her preschool this year and has an interest in the flags, costumes, names, and holidays from various countries. I honestly think we can spend a whole day at Epcot, or the equivalant. If we are at the dolphin, we can go back to our room and rest in between.

How old again are/is your child/ren?

How many hours did you allow for each park? I'm with you about MK, even though I've never been there, my daughter does quite well in 3-4 hour stretches as a rule with most activities or adventures. Then, she fades. If she rests 2-3 hours, she can repeat another 3-4 hours stretch. Fortunately for my family, we are early-risers, so we will definitely take advantage of the EE.

I'm thinking of getting a refridgerator and doing cereal in the room and then having some lunches out, etc.

I am aware of that CRT craze for the breakfast. Did you attempt that mad dash? It doesn't sound like something I'm keen on doing. I might try a call or two and see if I'm lucky, but really eating after the park rides, etc, at the castle will be just fine.

We live about 2 hours from Sesame Place. We went there last year and she's itching to go this year as well. We did the character dinner. She spoke with all of them. She gave Big Bird a copy of a drawing of Wilbur the Pig from Charlotte's perspective upon her web. This year, she wants to give Ernie a rubber duck as a present. What I'm wondering about is the people in costumes. I wonder if that will spook her or not. Now, she goes to a kids' theatre where the actors stand afterwards for autographs and pictures and greetings. She is shy but always wants to have them sign or pose with her. She shies away from the "bad guys" however, even once I remind her that they are actors playing the part. Did your kids have an OK time with people dressed as characters?

KIS

 

[KIS]

The concern is for when we will go strolling (literally) to MGM or Epcot from the Dolphin. I don't believe the rental strollers can leave the parks. At the end of the day or in between if we hike back, I'm wondering if it would make sense to have a stroller. If so, I don't believe the rentals leave the theme parks.

KIS

 

[Magic2000]

Unfortunately, the rental strollers cannot leave the park. When we stayed at the Swan and my DD fell asleep in the stroller at Epcot. I took advantage of the time and did some shopping. I then pushed the stroller all the way to the shop right by the Boardwalk entrance to Epcot and had to wake my daughter up to get back to the hotel. DH and I took turns carrying her back to the hotel; but it would have been much easier to just push her there. Also, if you want to do some shopping at Downtown Disney.

My DDs like eating at either SciFi or 50s Prime Time Cafe. At first my youngest DD was a little apprehensive about SciFi, but she really liked sitting in the "car" for lunch. The whole family enjoys 50s Prime Time.

My youngest DD loves Epcot - she really enjoys decorating her mask at each of the countries. We have quite a collection of the masks at home. Be sure to allow some extra time for this.

 

[Planogirl]

I would try to take the boat between the Dolphin and the parks as much as possible. It saves the legs and it's kind of like another ride to a lot of kids.

You might want to try all four parks one right after the other to gauge how much your daughter (and you!) enjoy each of them. Then you can alter your plans as needed to include more of one if needed. My son really loved Epcot when he was small; so much that he asked to go to Epcot once while we were at MK! He was totally smitten with the "big silver ball" and we saw Food Rocks enough to know the songs by heart . You just never know.

I also made it a rule to take turns revisiting favorite attractions. If he wanted to see Food Rocks over and over that was OK but we all agreed that I would pick other attractions in between (usually World Showcase!). Plus I got Mom down-time too at full service restaurants. Once my son knew all of the rules going in, we had very little trouble of any kind. I bought him the kid's version of the WDW Official Guide and we had fun planning all of the things we wanted to do.

 

[NotUrsula]

I don't have a girl, but a boy, and luckily for us, princesses are not his thing, so we have dodged the Cindy's bullet.

Actually, DS doesn't do characters at all, except from a distance of 20 ft. or more. We don't have a lot of cute photos, but we don't waste time in autograph lines, and we escape the expense of character meals, so mostly, it's a plus factor. We've only once made the mistake of trying a character meal, at Liberty Tree prior to an e-nite, back when he was 3. We booked it because we wanted a sit-down dinner on the back side of the parks, and we thought perhaps we could just ignore the characters. Big expensive mistake. He spent the entire dinner cowering under the table, crying and refusing to eat a single bite.

We seldom eat at MGM, or any park for that matter, because I try to time park visits for morning and evenings, with a rest during the hot part of the day. We tend to eat at resorts, where it is quieter and the food is better. However, we did put in a longer day at Star Wars weekend this last trip, so we ate at Sci-Fi. The novelty of "watching TV" while we ate delighted him. We have also eaten dinner at Hollywood and Vine on Fantasmic nights, and he liked that, too. (We take a rolling ice chest as a checked bag, so that we can ice down beverages in our room. We have our milk, juice, fruit, cereal &/or muffins before heading out most days.)

As to number of hours in parks, that varies with the weather and the crowd levels. We don't often stay in one park more than 3.5 hours during the daytime, but we like nights, so we usually arrive at our night park around 6:00 and stay until closing.

We usually stay at the S/D, because we collect Starwood pts. and use them to pay for our stays. We eat around the Boardwalk & S/D quite often. To my knowledge, you can use any kids' club, as long as there is room, and you must reserve a minimum of 24 hrs. in advance. There isn't a dance club near MK that I know of, but we find late nights to be too much when we are dealing with the daily exertion of parks. DH & I stick to great Disney food experiences at this point!

 

[Madi100]

If your daughter is afraid of the villian type person, I would avoid the real life villians like Cruella De Vil. She is not very nice. To me, it was hilarious how true to character she was being. However, to my daughter, she was a little apprehensive of her behavior. When my daughter walked up to her with her autograph book, Cruella grabbed it out of her hand and was just really rude and short with her. That is just her character. On the other hand, the villian characters that are in complete costume, like Captain Hook, didn't bother her at all because they were in costume.

 

[KIS]

People are so different and I guess it starts as kids. It was interesting to hear about kids who don't respond to the characters. I imagine that would have been me. Not my daughter, however. Madi100, I will try to prevent my daughter from interacting with the villian characters who are people dressed in costumes -- with the exception of the MK Family Magic Experience Tour. I think she'll like that because she was Tinkerbell in her preschool's rendition of Peter Pan and from what I hear the tour is a scavanger hunt often focused on Hook or Wendy.

I saw that kid's guide to WDW and was thinking of presenting it to my daughter in flight as an activity. What do you think, Planogirl?

Not Ursula, the pace of your days sounds easy and fun. Checking a ice chest on wheels is a interesting strategy. What kind do you use? Where do you get it? How many people are you tending to with that? You prefer that to a fridge rental?

You sound like a WDW pro. I appreciate you sharing these tips.

NotUrsula, have you enjoyed the s/d? We are staying at the S/D with the teacher's discount. I know the Swan is newly renovated, but the Dolphin fits our budget better. Which do you prefer the s or the d?

Also, which kid's clubs have you used. It's funny how much advance thought helps. My husband wanted to go dancing and I first was concerned with travel to Downtown Disney taking half of the night! Then, wondering about the Neverland Club and being near enough to pick her up. And I started wondering along your line of advice. Are we going to be up for dancing after all the activity of the day? We are in our mid-40s, after all. We hope we will be able to keep up with our daughter.

Magic, thanks for the stroller tips. Your experience is valuable to share about that long walk home carrying your child.... I'd much rather push our kid.

kis

KIS

 

[swilphil]

If you like the stroller you have, consider taking it. Because you're at the Dolphin, you will want it to get around to Epcot, MgM and Boardwalk. Plus you don't have to fold the stroller up to get on the boats to the resorts or even the monorail. It's not that big of deal to have to fold the stroller up for the bus. Get a mesh stroller bag to go over the handles for storage if you're stroller won't fold up when the underneath basket is full.

I don't think you would have any probably doing AK in just one day, or even a half day. Since it's so close, you may want to do MGM one morning and then again one afternoon or evening, especially if you want to do Fantasmic. My son really liked some of the shows and would have been happy to resee them. For lunch, he loved Pizza Planet and playing in the arcade there.

We stayed at the Dolphin and loved it. Our inlaws were at the Swan, and I thought the Dolphin's lobby was much more impressive. Try to get the West Wing and a renovated room.

 

[jtslykin]

This post has been great! I am also going to WDW on April 25th, 2004 and have never been there. I grew up going to DL. It will be me DH and DS (6) and DD (4). We are staying a CBR for two nights and then transfering to the WL cabins when the rest of my extended family comes. We are also doing a 4 day Disney Cruise after. We got the UPH passes. Thanks to this post I now have my MGM morning itinerary. I was planning on skipping Epcot. But now I am questioning myself. Has anyone took a 4 year old, she does like crafts and I really like the idea of the ice cream social. I know my DS will like it.