First trip with my boys 3&5

[HeatherZ]

Hi everyone, I am planning my first trip to Disney in 10 years with my boys who will be 3 and 5 and I have some questions.

How do you feel about the memory maker package you can purchase? is it worth it?

If I plan on eating at chef mickey, crystal palace, Hollywood and vine for character meals and T-Rex, as well as Be our Guest, do you still think the dinning plan is not worth it? I would obviously be purchasing the plan that would include character dinning. Would it just be better to pay for these restaurants on our own?

It seems like DHS does not have many rides that my boys will be able to ride on either due to height restrictions or the trill factor being too much for them and I know my 5 year old will be ok sitting through shows but not sure about my 3yr old and also dont know if they will want to sit through multiple shows. They both LOVE Disney Junior Characters though so i was thinking of doing DHS on our departure day since we dont leave until 7pm, and just doing the character dinning at Hollywood and Vine, and then seeing a couple shows and doing some of the rides that they can actually go on, thoughts on this? I was thinking of skipping this park but they really really LOVE the disney jr characters. I went ten years ago with my daughter and didnt think the best of it then.

Also wondering which you think is a better pick for the kids Epcot or AK? I have never been to AK but I am thinking that it just seems like any other type of zoo we could go to to see the same type of animals but with the little bit of Disney flair...I also have read many books and the like saying that sometimes its hard to even spot the animals .I LOVE Epcot but not sure if the kids would be bored.

I am planning on touring the MK in one day, both my boys are troopers and we are traveling May 15th-21st 2016 so it shouldn't be too crowded in the park but was wondering if i should plan a second day just because its the most magical and really the whole reason for the trip and then the boys can visit anything they missed and everything they loved a second time. I will ask my 5yr old what he prefers and show him videos also before we go but you know how kids can be when they see things, they want to do it all lol so i wanted a parents perspective.

I am sure I will come up with a million other questions while I am obsessively planning this trip lol. Thank you in advance for all your advice

 

[Figgy1]

If there is any way to swing adding one day try and do it. My boys could easily spend at least 2 full days if not more in MK from the time my baby was 5. At 5 he LOVED EPCOT he went on all the rides, hit every kid cot stop and it's now his favorite park. He also loved trying the food from all the different countries. AK is not just a zoo with a Disney twist, the shows have just enough cheese to keep the little ones happy and are well done enough to enjoy as an adult. In AK they can earn an Explorers badge by stopping at different places and learning about animals, the Bone Yard is a wonderful place for them to play and just be kids. We enjoy just exploring the trails and Safari ride. If you have to skip a park at their ages I'd say DHS, but that's just me happy planning

 

[SAV]

I agree with Figgy. Add an MK day if you can. There is so much for them to see and do there. AK is not just a zoo. It has Broadway quality shows that are amazing to watch. They will keep the interest of both kids and adults. They can go on the Safari and explore the Oasis and trails. They can take the train to Rafiki's. Explore Dinorama. It's tough to be a bug may freak out the 3 yr old, so you may want to avoid that one with him.

This Giraffe wasn't too tough to spot about a foot away from the Safari car:

As for EPCOT, it is my kids favorite park. They are older now, but still love Turtle Talk with Crush, Nemo, Figment, etc. They can spend hours in Innoventions. They love the Kidcot stops, exploring the pavilions and eating in the different countries.

I'd have to agree to skip DHS if you skip any park. It just doesn't have as much to offer.

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

Memory Maker- we decided it was not worth it for us and we were happy with our choice. The photopass photographers will always take a picture with your own camera. The photo pass lines were very long while we were there. Our daughter was almost 4 and after waiting in lines for rides, shows, food, etc, there's no way she would have waited in photo lines too (at least enough to get our monies worth). The ones we did wait in, we were not impressed with the results. The photographers are most concerned with the background and focus than the kids. Most of the time, our daughter wasn't smiling or looking at the camera. With our camera, they would count to 3 and click, and our pictures were always much better. They do include some on ride photos on the memory maker but when we viewed them online, because our daughter was so small, you couldn't even see her. She was always blocked by the rider in front of her. We were glad we didn't waste our money.

My daughter personally loved Animal Kingdom, We spent 2 full days there, one from 9-6 and one from 9-4. She loved the safari, the Lion King show, Nemo show, the bird show, the spinning dinosaur ride, the Boneyard, all the animal trails (you can pretty much always get an up close view), meeting the characters, taking the train to Rafiki's planet watch, etc. There is so much to do for little ones!
We also spent almost 3 full days at MK and two partial days at DHS. Our daughter loved the Disney Junior show, Ariel show, Toy Story ride, Frozen show & attractions, meeting characters etc. We were there the week after Thanksgiving so we also saw the Dancing Lights. Epcot was our daughters least favorite, she only spent one day there from 10-5ish. However, she still talks about how much she loves Soarin and the Nemo ride.

 

[Mamaof2QTs]

We let the photographers take our photos then view them online later. We usually only purchase 2 or 3 photos. I often have better photos on my camera because I take many many shots and eventually catch a smile. However, it also depends on the quality of the camera.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Dining Plan - for the restaurants you've mentioned, I don't think the DDP is a good value at all. You can confirm it if you wish (and find out what the projected cost would be out-of-pocket) with the calculator at distripplanner.com -- just enter your dates and the restaurants you want to visit, and voila! -- out of pocket cost vs. DDP cost.

Memory Maker - If you own a camera or a phone with a good camera, I don't think it's worth it. You can get all the photos you want, for free, just by asking a nearby CM or Disney photographer to use your device. They will, happily. All you'll miss are on-ride photos (and with a 3 and 5-year-old, you'll likely be skipping most of the thrill rides that have on-ride cameras) and Magic Shots (which have Disney characters photoshopped into the picture -- if you want to photoshop Disney characters into your photos, you can do that at home, too, if you have the inclination).

I also second the advice to try and do 2 days at MK if possible -- it has more than twice the number of attractions of any other park, and has more for children the ages of yours than anywhere else.

Good luck, and have a wonderful time!