7 days with an 5 and 3 year old

Gentieno

New Member
Dear forum users,

I am going to Orlando with my wife and two kids, 3 and 5 year old, from october 16th till 25th. We booked an 7 day magic base card for WDW. Ofcourse e want to make our stay as magical as possible with the kids and also for us. Weve been to the world 3 times before so we know what to expect. Do you guys have any advice for us? Will they enjoy, Soarin and BTMR or other big attractions?

The planning is:
2 times animal kingdom (Maybe 3)
2 times DHS (Maybe 1)
2 times magic kingdom (Maybe 1)
1 time EPCOT (Maybe 2)

Hope to get some nice from the hardcore Disney fans or other parants who went with kids from the same age?

Thanks in advance, Dennis
 

sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
Dear forum users,

I am going to Orlando with my wife and two kids, 3 and 5 year old, from october 16th till 25th. We booked an 7 day magic base card for WDW. Ofcourse e want to make our stay as magical as possible with the kids and also for us. Weve been to the world 3 times before so we know what to expect. Do you guys have any advice for us? Will they enjoy, Soarin and BTMR or other big attractions?

The planning is:
2 times animal kingdom (Maybe 3)
2 times DHS (Maybe 1)
2 times magic kingdom (Maybe 1)
1 time EPCOT (Maybe 2)

Hope to get some nice from the hardcore Disney fans or other parants who went with kids from the same age?

Thanks in advance, Dennis
One little piece of advice I would definately do at least 2 days at MK being you have the little ones. Tends to be the fave park amongst little children and had lots of rides and activities for them. I would also definitely do 2 days at Epcot.
Animal Kingdom although we love that park will not be enough to fill 3 days in my opinion. I say do 2 days in each park besides HS I think one full day would be enough or 1 1/2 days maybe. Again purely my opinion but I feel that would be a good plan. I do not have little ones but my family members do and they usually spend most time in MK, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom, and probably the least at HS unless their kiddos are older.
Also do you have little girls? I know you just said their ages. If you do have a girl esp the 5 year old would love to do Bibidi Bobodi Boutique in Cinderelas Castle or World of Disney, where they get to pick out a princess outfit, get their hair done, etc. Little girls love that! Reservations are needed for that ahead if time. They also have a pirate experience forgot what its called for little boys to do if you have boys. Hope you all have a wonderful time! :)
 
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Nero the dog

Well-Known Member
You can enjoy the world showcase at Epcot by getting the kids to do the kids stop. Basically go to your country and find the kids stop area (marked on the maps), then at each country the kids can stop and add to their mask or other work of art. It keeps them entertained.
You and your wife may have to look round the countries on your own while the other supervises the little ones, but at least you will get to do it.
 
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sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
I have 7 days with a 5 and 1 year old so I am curious to see the replies to this post!! I amplanning
2 times MK
1 AK
1 HS
1 Epcot
1 Water parks
1 up in the air!:)
Good plan but I would add a day at Epcot to do 2 full days. Just to do the worlds in the back of the park can take a full day besides also doing the front of the park! Lol It is a very large park as I'm sure you know already. Lol I say do this :

2 at MK
2 at Epcot
1 at HS
1 at AK
1 Water Parks

Hope you and your family have a wonderful trip!!! :)
 
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olinecoach61

Well-Known Member
I would def plan more time in MK, when I took my three year old last summer that was def her favorite park. Between characters and all the fantasyland rides we spent a lot of time there. AK was also a big hit, she loved the animals. Epcot was ehh for her, DHS was pretty good but we were done in a half day, there just isn't as much for her age it seems.
 
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Gentieno

New Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the fast advice.

I love magic kingdom as wel. We want to start in that park and end with it. Animal kingdom i just love, i know there are people who say one day is enough but i like it a lot. It is up to me to makne the choiches but it is hard!

Like i said we ve been in the world before, thats two years ago my daughter was 2,5 and my son 0,5 years. I made i video of that trip and they just love the dvd. They want to see it everyday and they do not even know that we are going! They love the finding nemo show!!!!!!! And the magic kingdom parade and block buster and HS. As soon as my son hears the music of the parade (almost 3 now) he starts dancing! I think whatever we choose they will enjoy. I find it difficult to make choiches because i just love Disney! I like to stay 3 days in magic kingdom! But i have got to skip an other day of the other parcs. I personnally think EPCOT is the least joyable, sorry guys. It is nice but has the least Disney feeling in my opinion, thats why i wnat to go 1 day.

I personally hope they enjoy rides like BTMR and soarin! Some one experience with young children in those atractions?

If someone has tips please feel welcome to post.

Btw sorry for the english, i am from the Netherlands!

Dennis
 
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Tom 55

Well-Known Member
Dear forum users,

I am going to Orlando with my wife and two kids, 3 and 5 year old, from october 16th till 25th. We booked an 7 day magic base card for WDW. Ofcourse e want to make our stay as magical as possible with the kids and also for us. Weve been to the world 3 times before so we know what to expect. Do you guys have any advice for us? Will they enjoy, Soarin and BTMR or other big attractions?

The planning is:
2 times animal kingdom (Maybe 3)
2 times DHS (Maybe 1)
2 times magic kingdom (Maybe 1)
1 time EPCOT (Maybe 2)

Hope to get some nice from the hardcore Disney fans or other parants who went with kids from the same age?

Thanks in advance, Dennis



More time at MK less at AK. I did this in 2008 with 3 and 5 year old grandsons. My advise is rent one of the double strollers from what every park you are in. It allows you to save the kids energy.
 
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deanaandrich

Well-Known Member
I would spend most of my days at MK and AK. Your kids are at that age that they love animals, so it makes more sense than to take them thru the WS at Epcot just for the kid stops.
Remember to take breaks during the day and go back to your resort for some pool time and naps so they aren't exhausted and fussy at night.
 
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hull327

Well-Known Member
Dear forum users,

I am going to Orlando with my wife and two kids, 3 and 5 year old... Will they enjoy, Soarin and BTMR or other big attractions?
I don't know how tall your kids are but both of those rides have 40" height requirements. I'm not saying you're wrong for going but this is the reason my wife and I waited until our kids were 8 and 6. My youngest finally met all the height requirements for all the rides (except for RnRC) which meant all 4 of us could ride every ride together rather than 1 parent always having to sit out to watch the younger one.
 
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Gentieno

New Member
Original Poster
My kids love animals! My daughter is 1,15 meter i think and my son is just over 1 meter. As far as i know thats above 40 inch. It is just normal size here in the Netherlands.

We take our own stroller from Holland with us, it is a double one! We take it very easy. We are not leaving the parcs but take the rest in the parc during a meal or just sit some where for a while! We did it last tome to and it worked great! Both are kids are very easy going so I expect no problem at all. Btw we are not staying in the resort it self, we stay at oakwater resort jsut a few miles outside of Disney area.
 
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75disney

Well-Known Member
I took both my DDs to WDW at those ages. We did not do the big rides with them when they were 3 because they did not make the height requirements. I did take my 5 year old on Splash, BTMMR, and Soarin' and TOT. She loved everything but TOT. At 3, they both loved the Barnstormer in MK. I recommend trying the more benign rides first, like Soarin' and the Great Goofini. Gauge their reactions and then work up to the more thrilling rides, like BTMMR.

Your itinerary looks good except I would definitely do 2 days in MK, 2 days in Epcot (take the time to do the Kidcot stations and visit all the characters in World Showcase), 2 days in AK if your kids really love animals, and 1 day in HS. We also stay in the parks all day with our meals being our breaks. My kids were never big nappers. Try to stick to their schedule for bedtime and meals or else they will melt on you at some point.

Have a good trip!
 
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RandomPrincess

Keep Moving Forward
My kids will be 2.4 and 4.5 on our trip. We like to split Epcot in half one day for WS and one for FW. My daughter really enjoys WS she like meeting all the characters and getting her passport stamped in each country. You are going during the Food and Wine Festival so there be a lot of extra food booths set up and it can be fun trying foods from around the world.

I would do 2 days each at MK, Epcot and AK and one at DHS.

If your kids are new to coasters I would to the front car on BTMRR for their first ride. It is ever tame up front and can help get them over the coaster jitters.

AK has the new Wilderness Explorers activities. You kids can earn "badges" for completing tasks around AK.
 
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G8rchamps

Well-Known Member
My daughter just turned 6 and BTMR is her favorite ride in all the parks. She holds on to the lap bar with both arms and screams the whole time- then asks to ride again as soon as we are done. She rode it for the first time on our prior trip when she was 4 and did fine. We also rode Soarin on that trip and she was good for that too. My son is a full on coaster fanatic at 8 yrs old. The kids can be afraid of anything dark or unexpected. Many people watch youtube videos of the rides so the kids know what to expect- I personally like the thrill of a first time experience. Every kid is different, take lots of breaks, and have a great trip!
 
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Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
I would suggest at least one rest day (or two half days, split up), less time at AK and HS, and more time at MK. When we went with our 4 and 6 year olds last year, we discovered the following. Of course, every child is different and your kids may like totally different things from mine, but in the interest of throwing as much information at you as possible, ;) here was our schedule and their reaction to it:

1 day at AK - Animal Kingdom was exhausting for them, even though they are exceptionally energetic and healthy kids. Walking it even once was hard. The best "rides" at AK, Dinosaur and Expedition Everest, were either un-rideable due to height requirements, or too rough for them to enjoy if they were tall enough to do them. We have a couple of passable zoos within driving distance of home, so they had little patience for trying to find animals on the trails and in the oasis. Kilimanjaro Safaris and some of the shows were excellent, but honestly, at the end of the day they still said their favorite things about Animal Kingdom were Triceratop Spin (a Dumbo-style spinner with dinosaurs) and the chocolate milkshakes they had after lunch. We spent less than a full day here, and it was more than enough for the kids. Everything they saw reminded them of something more exciting in Epcot or the Magic Kingdom, and they kept begging to go back to one of those parks.

1 day at HS - Hollywood Studios was all about Toy Story Midway Mania, Star Tours, the Muppets, and some live shows. (Even then, we had to be careful not to have them sitting in show after show -- they were getting so antsy from sitting around, and that's mostly what Hollywood Studios has to offer.) Again, some of the headliners (Rock 'n' Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror) were not suitable for them, so they were skipped. The Disney Jr. show was a bitg hit, as was the Indiana Jones stunt show. One day at Hollywood Studios allowed us to see everything that interested the kids (plus more that interested US), and we did TSMM three times (twice at rope drop, once later with fastpass). If we'd gone back a second time, it would have been just to let the kids do Jedi Training Academy.

1-2 days at Epcot - At Epcot, it was all about Future World. Except for the 3 or 4 ride-style attractions in World Showcase, there was very little for small children to do in World Showcase. (Granted, we did not stop at the Kidcot crafting stations or attempt Agent P's World Showcase adventure.) The kids could have ridden Mission:Space (the mild version), Soarin' and Spaceship Earth a thousand times: they were far and away the "big hits" of our Epcot days. We spent 1-and-a-half days at Epcot and it was perfect.

2-3 days at MK - The Magic Kingdom was the one place the kids kept asking to return, over and over. We spent a full 2 days there and although we did all of our favorite attractions multiple times, there were still things we never got to. It's also nice to spend multiple mornings there, as you can get to different headliners after rope drop, and to spend multiple evenings, so you can see the evening parade one night and the next night, take advantage of the low crowds on attractions during the parade, riding your favorites multiple times. We save the fireworks for the last night, so we can get the kids to bed at a decent hour (and be ready for rope drop) the other nights.

1 day to relax - We devoted one half-day in the middle of our vacation for touring the resort, swimming, and meandering around (capped off with a cruise down the Sassagoula River from Port Orleans Riverside to Downtown Disney, for a late dinner at Raglan Road). It was the perfect way to recharge our batteries, and the kids were just as entertained and delighted by an ordinary swimming pool as they had been by Splash Mountain.

Daily naps - Daily breaks were very necessary, too. After lunch every day, we headed back to the resort and spent a full 2 hours napping. My husband and I needed it as much as the kids did, and afterwards, we were all refreshed and ready to go. The only day we experienced any exhausted meltdowns was the one day we tried to skip the naps.
 
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SMS55

Well-Known Member
Have the kids been there before? If they haven't put them on everything they can ride. They won't know what to expect. My kids as soon as they were tall enough for it they were on it. At 3 both my boys were riding BTMRR and Splash. I didn't put them on Space because i didn't like the fact I wasn't next to them. One of them always rode everything, but one later went through a phase where he didn't want to go into anything that was dark. That was when he was about 6.
 
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Gentieno

New Member
Original Poster
We arrive on wednesday around 18 o clock and leave on Friday 20 o clock. So in total we ve got 8,75 day. In the middle of teh trip prob sunday we are planning a day rest at home in the condo. The rest of the days we will be in the world. On Friday we are doing nothing, prob going downtown Disney. So yes we have planned a day rest!

Planning now is:
Wednesday Arrive by plane
Thursday MK
Friday AK
Saterday HS
Sunday day off
Monday EPCOT or magic kingdom
Tuesday AK
Wednesday EPCOT
Thursday MK
Friday leaving by plane at 20 o clock. Prob day downtown Disney (or maybe spend it at AK and plan an extra day off, the tuesday will be day off than)
 
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