What not to miss with kids ( 7 girl 3 boy)

[Bri1121]

We haven't been in to Disney and two years! Last time my son was only 16 months but since he is basically 3.5 we are wondering what not to miss. Is there anything new? We went New Years 2009. We are traveling with family, so there will be 5 adults and 3 kids. My uncle is planning a lot, he goes every other year but his kid is 12 so we have some different priorities. Any tips? Any restaurants we should hit? We will do a castle meal, hopefully on my daughters bday and probably the crystal palace? Any other ideas? Was looking into Ohana? Oh and my daughter will turn 7 while we are there. Wondering if anyone had some good ideas on how to make it special? I saw that you can have cakes made at most restaurants, they give out big buttons too. We already plan to take her to BBB that day too. Anything else?

Thanks

 

[MITCH 112198]

chef mickeys and 1900 park fare dinner are a must for us every year i have DD 6 and DS 2

 

[bmarkelon]

We just went in October with DD 5 and DS 3. They both loved their makeovers, daughter did the BBB and son did the Pirates League. Cutest thing ever!! On our last couple of trips my daughter and I have gotten pedicures together at the Grand Floridian Spa and loved it, fabulous quiet alone time!
We are huge fans of the Ohana breakfast and will be trying the dinner finally in August.
Just be sure to mention her birthday when booking your ADRs, you could pretty much celebrate it your whole trip. Each place can give her a special birthday treat for dessert.
I will let you know if I think of anything else! Best place to celebrate!!

 

[Bri1121]

I love that idea of a little dessert treat every day!

I heard the Chef Mickey's went downhill a little bit? We haven't been to that since 06'. I remember doing that the night we arrived and it was great. Is this not true?

Thanks guys for your input! Greatly appreciate it. I am very type A and want everything to be perfect, ha! I always get like this and no matter what we always have an amazing time! :ROFLOL:

 

[bmarkelon]

I love that idea of a little dessert treat every day!

I heard the Chef Mickey's went downhill a little bit? We haven't been to that since 06'. I remember doing that the night we arrived and it was great. Is this not true?

Thanks guys for your input! Greatly appreciate it. I am very type A and want everything to be perfect, ha! I always get like this and no matter what we always have an amazing time! :ROFLOL:

I am the same when it comes to planning our itinerary. We have done Chef Mickey's breakfast a couple of times for breakfast and LOVE it, it is one of the most fun character meals. We will be trying the dinner for the first time our next trip in August. I am going with pretty low expectations and hoping to be pleased. This trip I planned for more fun and themed dinners to please and entertain the kiddos more. Where we usually would do that stuff for breakfast and have some fabulous signature meals for dinner.
Our breakfasts are, Ohana, Chef Mickey's, Crystal Palace, Tusker House, Kona, and Play and Dine.
Our dinners for next trip are, Chef Mickey's, Ohana, Sci Fi, T-Rex, 1900 Park Fare, Spirit of Aloha, Tony's Town Square and Kona. Man oh man am I looking forward to this all star list!! :slurp:

 

[mickeymatt]

Congrats on your trip. My advice is make sure to get your daughters birthday button when you check in and have her wear it for the entire trip. CM's will tell her Happy Birthday (name) and she will love the interaction. It doesn't hurt that at every meal she will probably get a special treat. I received a cupcake with sprinkles at crystal palace which I gave to my daughter. I also received a birthday card signed by Pooh and all the others. In my resort room I received a birthday card from Mickey and friends. Wearing the button just brings out that little extra magic.

Both character meals you listed are great but my favorite is Donald's Safari breakfast at Tusker House in AK. Donald, Daisey Mickey Minnie and i believe Pluto were all there on our last trip.

Have a great trip!

 

[mets7]

I know if you do the Princess dinner or breakfast at the norway pavillion in epcot you will get a special dessert and a card signed by all of the princesses you meet during the meal. My daughters loved that and were very proud of their birtday card.

 

[SAV]

Have you given any thought to Pin Trading? My kids loved it last trip. They were 9 & 5 at the time. You can get a 20 pack of pins on Ebay for around $15(there are several auctions for lots going, so don't overbid on one set...another will be available within 10 minutes.). You can get lanyards at Wal-mart for a buck or buy "official" ones for a lot more.

All CM's are required to trade with Kids and won't turn them down even if it isn't a "fair" trade off. There are some CM's who have special colored lanyards that only trade with kids. POP has a "Pin Board" that they unveil at a specific time where you have a short amount of time to look and make a trade, which would be neat for the oldest one. I know some of the shops in the parks have that too.

Before we left, each kid picked out 5 pins that they "would never trade" and they both traded them all away by the end of the trip. It's fun to watch them try to decide what they are willing to part with to get the new one.

 

[bmarkelon]

Have you given any thought to Pin Trading? My kids loved it last trip. They were 9 & 5 at the time. You can get a 20 pack of pins on Ebay for around $15(there are several auctions for lots going, so don't overbid on one set...another will be available within 10 minutes.). You can get lanyards at Wal-mart for a buck or buy "official" ones for a lot more.

All CM's are required to trade with Kids and won't turn them down even if it isn't a "fair" trade off. There are some CM's who have special colored lanyards that only trade with kids. POP has a "Pin Board" that they unveil at a specific time where you have a short amount of time to look and make a trade, which would be neat for the oldest one. I know some of the shops in the parks have that too.

Before we left, each kid picked out 5 pins that they "would never trade" and they both traded them all away by the end of the trip. It's fun to watch them try to decide what they are willing to part with to get the new one.

We are pretty into the pin trading too. Great suggestion. My DD 6 LOVES it. We've done it our past 2 trips and have a great collection. The trading part of it is super fun.

 

[Bri1121]

Pin trading got it!!

I have only done Chef Mickey's for dinner. We really enjoyed the atmosphere. We shall see. I like to try new things though.

So to get these bday cards- all we have to do is mention it to the hotel and at meal reservations? I love it!!

Will definitely look into the AK breakfast!

bmarkelon- Tony's is very good! We always eat there. We have never done 1900 Park Fare? Will look into it! We are going in August too! First week! Oh and we have reservations at T Rex. The last time we were there -2 yrs ago there was a 30 minute line just to put your name in at TRex! Crazy!

What about the Hoopty Do Review? Did I get that right? My mom says we should do it but worrying about my son staying at a table for so long?

I am getting so excited! We are not even telling our kids until they see us entering Disney World!